Chapter 81: Old Jon and Meeting Abel

Not long after, Karl, Arthur, Leon, Mira and Galzan were sitting aboard a ferry crossing Aurelis Lake.

The vessel moved steadily across the enormous stretch of dark blue water while Sovereign Academy remained ahead of them, still distant enough that the floating island seemed almost unreal against the sky.

At the front stood a dark-skinned man wearing a straw hat and simple peasant-like clothes, one hand resting casually near the controls while a massive cigar remained between his lips.

The ride itself was strangely peaceful.

Aurelis Lake looked almost endless from the middle, with the city spreading along its distant shores while the great structures around Sovereign rose farther ahead.

From here, even the busy Grand Meridian seemed far away, leaving only the open water, the distant city and the academy hanging above the lake.

The ferry cut a clean path through the water without any noticeable effort, barely disturbing the surface as it moved.

For a while Leon simply leaned over the side, watching the dark blue water below while Mira looked ahead toward Sovereign.

Then a huge shadow passed beneath them.

It was there for only a moment before sinking deeper into the water, but its size made Leon hurriedly back up.

"What is that?"

Arthur glanced down as though there was nothing particularly strange about it.

"Well, well it’s just some of the beings living in the lake,most of them are also Sovereign Academy’s guardian beasts and pets."

Another dark shape moved far below them, this one broad enough that Leon couldn’t even make out where it began or ended before it disappeared into the deeper blue.

"Cool."

Arthur chuckled.

"You’d better not stare down too much. They’re not exactly friendly either."

"If you fall in, you probably wouldn’t even make a proper meal for the myriad massive creatures living down there."

Leon slowly moved a little farther away from the edge.

Mira, on the other hand, looked considerably more interested and continued watching the water.

"Then how do they not interfere with the ferry?"

Arthur smiled and pointed toward the man standing at the front.

"Well, that’s up to Old Jon here, he’s the one taking us through, isn’t that right, Old Jon?"

For the first time since they had boarded, the man removed the cigar from his mouth and turned slightly toward them.

"So you haven’t forgotten me, huh, little punk?"

Leon, Mira and Galzan all glanced toward Arthur.

Old Jon looked middle-aged at most, yet he had just called Arthur a little punk without the slightest hesitation, and Arthur didn’t seem bothered by it at all.

Old Jon gave Karl, Leon and Mira a brief look before nodding once.

"A talented bunch."

Then his eyes returned to Arthur.

"I just hope your grandson isn’t like you. You and William Malfoy used to turn this whole academy upside down."

"Half the time some professor or guard was chasing one of you across the grounds while the other was making things worse somewhere else."

Arthur merely smiled as Old Jon clicked his tongue and put the cigar back between his lips.

"Arthur Reed and William Malfoy... look at you two punks now, becoming such high-ranking officers."

His gaze then shifted toward Galzan.

"And this beast was only registered because Abel allowed it, hopefully it’s docile enough, otherwise I wouldn’t mind tasting some unique beast meat."

Galzan’s expression stiffened, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.

Old Jon ignored him after that and turned back toward the lake, continuing to smoke as the ferry moved onward.

Karl watched him for a moment with a faint smile.

Sovereign really is different, monsters hidden everywhere.

Old Jon was clearly abnormal, yet here he was casually working as a ferryman.

Karl didn’t think much further about it. He had barely visited Sovereign in his previous life, and the only time he had properly entered the academy had been during a special competition.

Back then, he had been transported directly inside and had never used this route, he dismissed the thought and looked ahead again.

The academy was much closer now, yet the ferry continued moving at the same relaxed pace.

The enormous structures surrounding the floating island gradually filled more of their view, while the island itself still hung high above the lake.

After some time, Leon finally looked toward Old Jon.

"Couldn’t this thing go faster? You clearly could’ve brought us there way sooner."

Old Jon took another drag from his cigar before answering.

"You youngsters don’t understand anything. It’s about enjoying the journey."

Leon looked at him blankly.

"So we’re moving slowly on purpose?"

"Exactly."

Leon opened his mouth, seemed to think better of it and leaned back again while Arthur laughed.

"Don’t bother arguing with him."

"Yeah, yeah enjoy the journey."

The ferry continued onward and eventually reached the waters directly beneath Sovereign Academy.

Then, without warning, it began rising, Leon immediately looked over the edge again.

"Woah."

Aurelis Lake slowly dropped farther beneath them while the ferry climbed through the open air.

The water that had filled almost their entire view moments earlier began spreading out beneath them, and the surrounding shore of Aurelis became easier to see in the distance.

Galzan gripped the side and looked down with a much less enthusiastic expression, while Mira turned her attention toward the island above.

As they rose, Sovereign Academy gradually stopped looking like a distant floating mass and revealed its true scale.

The island spread out above the lake like a city suspended in the sky and at the front stood an enormous gate.

It dominated the edge of the island so completely that the guards near it looked tiny by comparison, and behind it the academy continued so far that they could see no clear end to it.

As the reach the edges a man appeared in front of them Karl’s eyes settled on him as the ferry slowly started descending.

The man wasn’t releasing any obvious pressure, but his presence was impossible to ignore.

There was something about him that reminded Karl of the rising sun, bright and powerful without needing to deliberately show anything.

And even across both of Karl’s lives, he had rarely seen someone so ridiculously handsome while carrying that kind of presence.

As the ferry finally reached the island, the man looked toward Arthur and smiled.

"So you’re here at last, old friend."

Arthur stepped off the ferry first with an amused expression.

"Now, now how and why are you being so formal? Has becoming Vice Principal finally put some wits into you?"

He looked Abel over once.

"Though it doesn’t seem like you’ve changed much in other aspects."

Abel gritted his teeth slightly.

"It seems you have not changed even one bit either at most you have just become an old fogey."

Arthur scoffed.

"You call me old, yet you did not even tell the main staff down there about my arrival,.they nearly fainted when they saw your letter." ℴ

Karl, Leon and Mira chuckled.

It really had been quite a scene earlier, the staff member handling Arthur’s documents had gone from perfectly calm to nearly panicking within seconds before several more people hurried over.

Abel simply shrugged.

"Things slip my mind, I have a lot of work, after all, as Vice Principal."

Then he looked toward Old Jon, who was still standing at the front of the ferry smoking as though none of this concerned him.

"Anyway, Old Jon, thanks for the escort,.you can go rest now and stop eavesdropping on us."

Old Jon scoffed.

"As if I have any need for rest of any interest in the conversations and gossips of you youngsters."

He turned the ferry around without another word and slowly descended and within moments, the vessel slipped beneath the clouds and disappeared from sight.

Abel then looked toward the massive entrance gate.

Several guards stood on either side of it with their backs almost unnaturally straight, sweat gathering across their faces while Abel remained nearby.

Seeing them, Abel clicked his tongue.

"Truly, there’s no fun in being Vice Principal."

He glanced toward Arthur.

"You remember how we used to prank the guards back in our time?"

Arthur’s smile widened.

Abel looked at the current guards before shaking his head.

"Well, whatever forget it."

His attention moved toward Karl, Leon, Mira and Galzan.

"Let’s go to my office, that old bastard William already told me most of the story, but I’d still like to hear it from your side."

Before Karl could respond, the space around him suddenly shifted.

A brief wave of disorientation passed through his body and the enormous academy gate vanished from sight.

The next moment, his feet touched solid ground again,.he was standing inside a large, pristine office.

A massive window covered much of the far wall, giving a clear view over Aurelis Lake and the colossal pillars surrounding Sovereign Academy.

From this height, the lake stretched far beneath the floating island while the city occupied the distant shores.

A large dark wooden desk stood near the centre of the room, and tall shelves packed with old books covered most of the remaining walls.

The office was spacious and clean, but the old books and heavy desk gave it a much older feeling than the pristine floor and walls.