Chapter 57: Academy Sponsors

"Kina isn’t in class today either?"

"Ah, right..."

Julian nodded. Yeah, rather than sitting through class, Kina tended to head off for solo training instead, and of course, Julian always made time to check in on her, just in case she had something else to bring up.

Julian didn’t need to explain anything particularly complex, he just had to learn to summarize his own intuitive grasp of what the skill involved and pass that on to Kina, and from there, she’d figure the rest out in her own way.

Even if it took some time.

Julian glanced briefly across the whole classroom, plenty of students turning to stare at him as he called out for Ilunia.

Since Julian had never once mentioned that Ilunia had become his disciple, it caught quite a few students off guard whenever they spotted the two of them together.

They naturally wondered, but Julian didn’t concern himself with that, he’d answer if asked, and stay silent if they stayed silent too.

"Let’s go."

Julian started walking, deliberately keeping his pace slow so he wouldn’t leave Ilunia behind.

"Where are we headed, Master?"

"Anywhere. The park, maybe."

"Ah, alright."

Ilunia nodded obediently, smiling brightly behind him.

Stepping out of the Academy building, the somewhat harsh sun greeted them immediately. Still, thanks to how well-maintained the park was, with plenty of plants and trees, the air stayed pleasantly cool.

Birds chirped in the distance, swans foraged along the lake’s edge, and a few herons perched near the fountain in the middle of the park.

Glancing back at Ilunia behind him, Julian smiled, a little nervous. ’I hope she likes it...’

He had no idea whether Ilunia had already planned out which skill she’d wanted for herself going forward, which was exactly why Julian felt a bit anxious that what he’d chosen might not actually match her preferences.

With that awkward feeling lingering, Julian brushed the thought aside. ’Ah, whatever. If it doesn’t fit, I’ll just return it.’

Julian nodded a few times, turned around, and looked at Ilunia. Hearing Julian’s footsteps come to a stop, Ilunia stopped walking too.

"Master?"

"Ilunia, I just picked up a skill book for you, I’m not sure if you’ll like it."

Julian hesitated for a moment, then said, "Hold out your hand."

Though clearly puzzled, Ilunia extended her hand forward. With that, Julian placed the skill book into her palm.

It was an E-Grade skill.

For now, Ilunia likely wouldn’t be able to read it herself, given her blindness. But the program the Academy had arranged for her allowed the book to be read aloud to her through a specific piece of technology.

That was admittedly a bit of a hurdle, one that slowed her growth somewhat, but it wasn’t a complete dead end either. Ilunia having a chance to learn despite her blindness still beat having no chance at all.

"Thank you, Master."

Watching Ilunia hug the book close, smiling sweetly, her whole face glowing, made Julian feel a flicker of nervousness for a moment.

’This girl... she’s really adorable.’

Julian was absolutely certain his life would be considerably more delightful if he had a cute little sister like Ilunia.

Besides, if she ever became an actress, it was practically guaranteed she’d become a massive success.

Julian nodded without hesitation. ’Unfortunately, this world operates on entirely different rules.’

Sure, entertainment still existed here, idols still existed too, but very few chose to pursue that path, since becoming a Hunter was always considered the better option here.

Julian let out a soft sigh, then, remembering something, decided to ask.

"By the way, I heard you’re planning to use a bow as your weapon, is that true?"

That was a genuinely surprising piece of news, coming from a girl with no ability to see at all.

Given that a bow demanded sharp aim, clear vision, and precision, how exactly had she arrived at that decision?

Ilunia’s smile never wavered as she nodded. "Yes, Master. I’ve been thinking of using a bow."

Then, after a brief pause to gather her thoughts, Ilunia added:

"I chose the bow as my weapon, because that’s what I saw in my dream."

’...Ah, a prophecy, then?’ Everything clicked into place, and Julian nodded a few times.

Unlike Ilunia, Julian had never experienced another prophetic dream since that first one. Maybe because he wasn’t the skill’s true original owner to begin with?

And since Ilunia was the one fated to hold that skill, that was probably why she kept receiving more prophetic dreams than he ever had.

’Hm... speaking of fate, does receiving this prophecy skill in the first place count as fate too? I mean, fate itself was what gave me that prophetic dream after all.’

Julian had never actually considered this before. He suddenly felt a flicker of curiosity, tried mulling it over, but eventually gave up.

He led Ilunia to sit on a park bench, looking out at the sprawling Academy building.

Then, he glanced over at Ilunia, who lifted her head, "looking" up at him.

"Master, what do you think of this Academy?"

’What kind of strange question is that now? Something to do with her prophecy?’

Julian smiled awkwardly, sweat trickling down his cheek as he studied that innocent face. At a glance, Ilunia looked nothing like a girl who should be considered dangerous or worth being wary of.

But Julian, who understood exactly how her power actually worked, had come to realize that every single sentence Ilunia spoke might carry a meaning and purpose he couldn’t fully grasp.

Because of that, Julian had to watch his words carefully. Especially considering how badly a few things about him had already been misunderstood, putting Julian in an already precarious position.

After hesitating, Julian touched his chin and said:

"They probably coddle their students a bit too much?" Julian chose to be honest, recalling how the Elite Academy actually operated. "With the system they’ve got in place, student growth ends up hindered, developing far slower than it should."

Adelle clearly already knew this. The woman had every ability to take steps toward reforming their training system into something better, more optimized.

But...

"Then why does this kind of training program stay in place, Master?"

Julian probably didn’t fully register it, simply treating Ilunia’s words as an ordinary follow-up question.

But Julian genuinely thought through his answer. "It’s a matter of sponsors, of course."

This Academy couldn’t sustain itself without sponsorship. They lacked sufficient funding on their own, so to keep the Academy running, Adelle had no choice but to cave to their demands just to keep that funding stable.

"Hmm... it’d be great if this Academy had a company sponsoring them without meddling in the Academy’s own programs. The current sponsors are, frankly, pretty rotten."

No different from companies operating in the entertainment industry. Sponsors didn’t just chase profit and wealth, they exploited their targets too.

That was a pattern that repeated itself endlessly in the entertainment world.

Julian felt a flare of irritation thinking about it, muttering without quite meaning to, "If there were a better sponsor available, it’d honestly be an improvement to just get rid of the current ones entirely."

Of course, what he meant was simply pulling that sponsorship.

But Ilunia seemed to have gotten exactly what she needed, and smiled.

"Yes, Master."