Chapter 88: Nexus Guild

Zachary was grinning like a Cheshire cat when Russell’s face got into several shades of crimson from blushing. The older man sure enjoyed this.

"Zachary!" Lydia glared at him. "We didn’t do anything afterward. Russell is a perfect gentleman!"

Zachary only smirked at her. His gaze shifted toward Russell, whose carefully composed expression did little to hide the tension in his jaw.

Lydia was too busy defending him to notice.

Zachary and Ephraim exchanged a brief glance. Neither said a word.

They simply narrowed their eyes at the new rival before deciding to let it slide.

Russell might have looked perfectly composed, but the tension in his jaw told a different story.

"Careful to not let the wolf eat the deer, Lydia." Ephraim smiled politely.

Men understood men, after all.

Suddenly, Lydia could feel the familiar feeling of fire against ice Resonance between them when Russell smiled back at Ephraim.

Ah, it was their usual polite smiles. Great.

"The same goes for lions and black panthers. Since we’re the same age, I’ll call you Ephraim. You don’t mind, do you?"

"Sure, go ahead, Rish—I mean, Russell."

Ephraim sure did that on purpose. How cheeky of him.

"Yeah, yeah. Sure. You Sentinels are predators who preyed on deer, after all. Lucky me." Lydia took a sip of her apple juice and sighed. "Just try to get along or I’ll stab you all with my antlers."

Before their rivalry went through the roof, Zachary decided to change the subject.

"Oh well, guess the Head of the Imperial Elite Sentinels was the real MVP, huh? The Valendorf brothers sure have a special place for their little sister."

Lydia almost choked on her apple juice. "What do you mean by that, Zachary?"

Actually, Lord Vincent didn’t want to bring the Prime Minister back from Luanna.

He was this close to killing him after Lord Sylvain told him how Larkas had nearly killed you." Zachary reached for his bracelet and paid the bill for their food as he continued. "House Ludenberg had to send our best Sentinels with the military deployment just to keep Lord Vincent under control. They managed to restrain him until we returned to Adelstein. But the moment they let him go..."

Zachary gave a small, helpless shrug. "He went mad and killed both the father and the son. My bad."

After a long pause, Zachary whistled.

"Sounds like you’d make a great addition to our group. Our... Student Committee, I mean." He gave Russell an amused look. "You’re strong. I can tell."

Lydia nodded. "Rish—I mean, Russell is an SS-Rank Sentinel, after all. He’s great with his spear."

"House Ludenberg will provide the funds and resources needed to rebuild your kingdom."

Ephraim nodded. "My father has already been informed. The Empire will help you restore your royal government and establish your authority as king. We’ll discuss the details through the proper channels."

Lydia looked at Ephraim and Zachary in awe.

Their help was really generous and politically significant. Other kingdoms even might interpret this as Adelstein extending its influence over Luanna.

It was finally happening.

Ephraim grinned and let his black panther ears appear atop his head, and his long tail swayed behind him.

"We’ve already done so much for you, haven’t we? So, why don’t you join our Student Committee? That way, we can become friends, too."

His mischievous grin spread across his face as he looked directly at Russell.

Oh, so that was what he wanted all along. How smooth. Honestly, she should have expected this.

"...Student Committee?" Russell blinked. "That’s your condition?"

"Of course!" Zachary grinned. "Someone as strong as you would make a great addition to our group."

"Wait. You asked me to join the Student Committee as well, but things happened, and I never got to know more about it, Zachary. And now you want Russell to join as well?"

She remembered Zachary mentioning the invitation before the Hunting Competition. Unfortunately, the events surrounding the Glacial Dragon, the assassination attempt, and Russell’s identity had kept her too busy to ask about it again.

Ephraim remained quiet, watching Zachary as he began explaining his proposal.

"Well, we’re all students at Belfort University, aren’t we?" Zachary replied with a casual shrug. "We can get to know each other better if we—"

"You’re not fooling anyone here, Senior Zachary."

Russell folded his arms and smiled, although the expression never quite reached his eyes.

"I’ve heard about it. You only recruit the best Sentinels and Guides into your-so-called-Committee—No, Nexus Guild. Am I right?"

Zachary’s black panther ears flicked.

"Oho~ Not so clueless, I see. You blew me up. The straightforward type. I like it."

Lydia stared at Zachary in surprise. She hadn’t even known the Student Committee’s real name and purpose. He had never mentioned it to her before.

"If you want the best, why recruit me? I’m just a C-Rank Guide. I get why you’d want Russell, but what about me?!"

"Are you seriously buying everything those clowns told you, deerling?"

"Clowns?" Lydia blinked. "They were our professors and the Imperial Authority! Surely they know what they’re doing? They tested me over and over again!"

Ephraim reached over and gently patted her head.

"That was what I thought back then, too. But your guiding and mental power aren’t ordinary, Lydia. And I’m saying this based on my years of experience as the Commander of the Imperial Elite Sentinels."

His words made her pause.

Russell’s expression softened as he watched Lydia’s inferiority.

"Do you remember that they asked the other students to help determine your rank? Most of them were only between D-Rank and A-Rank. But you managed to guide me, Ephraim, and Senior Zachary." He gave her a small smile. "That’s an incredible achievement, Lydia. Not many Guides could do something like that."

After a long pause, Russell nodded at Zachary.

"I’ll join Nexus Guild but only if you help Lydia reevaluate her actual Guide Rank." Russell smiled warmly at her. "After all, she’s already demonstrated that she can guide S-Rank, SS-Rank, and SSS-Rank Sentinels. Her abilities deserve a proper evaluation."

Oh, wow. Russell had just earned himself a whole lot of brownie points. What a genuinely good man.

This man sure is a green-flag type. No, he’s a green forest. The husband material type.

Zachary chuckled.

"Well, well. Using my own offer to negotiate for our deerling? You’re quite the businessman, Your Majesty."

"Is there a problem with that, Senior Zachary?"

"Not at all. I’ll gladly do it for you and my deerling. Anything for her."

Zachary reached for his bracelet and quickly arranged an appointment with Dr. Sasha.

"All’s good to go. You can meet her after class tomorrow for Guide reevaluation. She can be a bit quirky. But Dr. Sasha is the best doctor in this field."

"Tomorrow? That quickly?"

"Why wait? The Ludenbergs don’t believe in wasting time when money can solve the problem." Zachary gave Lydia a charming smile. The kind smile that you often see in toothpaste ads.

Having a sugar daddy sure helped in such situations! Lydia had no idea what the reevaluation would reveal, but at least she would finally have a chance to understand her true abilities.

Russell watched Zachary for a moment before speaking again.

"I know you’ve been aware of her potential since the beginning, Senior Zachary. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been watching over Lydia ever since she and Ephraim cleared that A-Rank Dimensional Rift at Belfort University."

"So it was you who was watching us from afar, Senior?" Ephraim quickly pulled Lydia to his side as he narrowed his eyes cautiously at the black-haired Sentinel.

"Why did you do that, Zachary?"

Zachary was still smiling but his panther ears twitched.

Awkward silence made everyone grow tense around him. Meanwhile, Russell seemed perfectly comfortable with everyone’s suspicion toward his senior.

He simply watched Zachary with a calm expression, as though he had been waiting to see his answer.

"...Damn. You sure are a wolf in sheep’s clothing, Russell."

Zachary let out a small laugh, although his smile had grown noticeably tense.

"How did you know so much? You’re the dangerous type, huh? Not good for my heart."

Russell sure knows a lot.

As someone who was always several steps ahead of everyone else, it was rare to see Zachary lost his composure.

Not even Ephraim could do that to him. But Russell had managed to turn the tables on Zachary with only a few words.

Good grief. Just how dangerous is our new King?