Chapter 1528: She Needs An Army
After that talk with Director Vesper, I decided there was one other person that I figured should know about this.
I went to the Central Spire through the teleportation array and walked towards the front doors of the tower.
Incidentally, there seemed to be a few students standing outside right now. From what I could see, they seemed to be stuck in an argument with the guards at the gates.
"Why not?! We have every right to at least petition this!"
"This isn’t a place where anyone can just walk in anytime they want. If you want to have a meeting with the Grand Chancellor, you need to submit a request and obtain an appointment first! The Grand Chancellor isn’t someone you can just ask to meet because you want to!"
The group of students were not backing down despite the guards words and stood their ground.
"We are just asking to have a quick word! Our project is important!"
"Yeah!! We would just be but a moment! Just put our request up to the Grand Chancellor!"
"Please! Our project is riding on the Chancellor’s approval!"
The guard huffed, "Go through the proper channels! This is not the way to get an audience!"
Judging by the robes those students were wearing, they seem to be second year students which surprised me a little since I would assume second year students should at least know the rules by now?
I mean... Even I know that normal people probably wouldn’t be able to just go meet Chancellor Vastraea whenever they want... What were these people even thinking?
As I ascended the steps to reach the front doors of the tower, the students seemed to have finally given up when they realised the guard was definitely not backing down despite all their pleading.
"Damnit... We’ll have to find another way to get our project approved..." One of them groaned.
"Maybe we can find one of the Directors instead?" Another suggested.
Their discussion stopped when they saw me walking up the steps, their gaze moving from my egg, then to my face, to the crown on my head and then to the robes I was wearing.
"Who the heck is that?" One of them whispered, though loud enough for me to hear.
"No idea... A first year student?"
"Wait, you two don’t know her? She’s been causing a lot of problems around the Academy recently."
"Yeah, even I heard of her. She’s a troublemaker for sure."
Hey!! I have not and I am not!! Those problems were not caused by me!!
Ah whatever... I’m trying to appear like a villain anyway so this works for me...
I continued up the steps and when it was obvious I was heading directly towards the door of the tower, the students started getting noisy again.
"Wait... Is she also trying to go in?"
𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
"She’s really shameless huh?"
"I heard she’s practically acting like she owns the entire Academy or something..."
I ignored them and walked right up to the guards who were standing in front of the door.
The leader of the guards simply gave me a wave in greeting before stepping aside, "Hey. Looking for the Chancellor? She’s upstairs."
"Thanks."
I stepped past him and walked through the door, chancing a peek behind me to see the students just standing there with their jaws hanging open in disbelief.
I managed to keep my face neutral as I waited to be teleported up into Chancellor Vastraea’s study, which happened as soon as the doors closed behind me.
When I appeared in the familiar study, I heard a clatter before I turned to see Vastraea scrambling out from behind her desk to kneel on the ground in front of it.
"Ap... Apostle Aster!!" She cried out, looking quite panicked. "I... I didn’t know you were coming! Please forgive me!"
What the heck... Didn’t I already spend all that time to get her to snap out of this?
I cleared my throat, "Ahem... What are you doing, Chancellor?"
She flinched a little before looking up at me, "Ah... Umm... I wasn’t aware you were coming, Aster... If I had known I would have prepared myself for your arrival..."
I waved my hand at her, "I’m just a student here, please treat me like one like I already requested... Didn’t we already agree that you won’t treat me like some apostle to be revered? And err... Please get up from the floor."
She hesitated a little before standing up, "Forgive me... I... I was called by my Goddess to fulfil a matter of importance and I fear that being in my Goddess’s presence has made me more... Reverent... Of everything that is related to my Goddess..."
Ah... I guess that might explain it...
"What did Isre need from you?"
She flinched and gaped at me for a moment when she heard me say her name, only to stop herself because, I’m assuming, she remembered Isre specifically told her that she granted me permission to do that.
She pursed her lips, "It’s nothing serious... She just needed me to... Finish some unfinished business. It’s nothing to worry about. Ahem... So what can I help you with, Apos-- I mean... Aster?"
Something tells me that she might have done something that displeased Isre so she’s acting even more careful now.
I gestured for her to take a seat and proceeded to request that she swear that what I was about to tell her had to remain a secret.
She didn’t even hesitate as she stood up from her seat, letting her wings appear from behind her as she gave me a look of absolute seriousness.
"I swear as the servant of my Goddess Isre, may I be struck down and cast out from the ranks of her servants should I ever betray the trust Apostle Aster has vested in me today!"
Oh, geez... No need to be so serious about it Vastraea... Calm down...
I mean... Yeah, it’s serious but not that serious... Ahem...
Anyway, after I obtained her oath on maintaining the secret, I went ahead to tell her about my Shadow Guards as well, giving her the same information as Director Vesper.
I figured that if Director Vesper was going to improve my Umbramancy, she needed to know my full capabilities to better guide me. And since I was technically apprenticed to Chancellor Vastraea first before anyone else... And she also knew about my ties to the gods, I figured that it would also be a good idea for her to know about this as well.
Especially considering the fact that if this information somehow leaked out, the Academy would probably be the one that had to worry about outsiders coming in to find me.
Also... I figured that she might even be able to provide me with insights to using or improving my Shadow Guards given her position.
While I trust Director Vesper to hold true to her oath, I know that Chancellor Vastraea would most likely cut out her own tongue before she risked betraying me because of her dedication to Isre.
And yes, I fully intend to make use of my connection with her to get as many benefits as I can while I’m here. After all... That’s what I’m here for, right?
The Chancellor listened to my explanation silently and only spoke up once I was done.
"You... Have an army in your shadow, Aster?"
"Err... Technically speaking... Yes."
"I see... Hmm... I think... I think I know why my Goddess has chosen me for the task now..."
I tilted my head, "What do you mean?"
"My Goddess... She gave me a task which I was unsure if I would be able to carry out and complete on my own... But I see now... She meant for me to bring you along."
I blinked at her again, showing that I had no idea what she was talking about.
She lowered her head slightly, "Forgive me, Aster... If I had known that you were capable of this, I would have answered your earlier question instead of avoiding it. But first... I understand you told me this in confidence that I will keep this a secret and that I will use this knowledge to help you improve your magic. You do not need to worry, I will not let you down in that regard."
"Ah, I do need to tell you that I also told Director Vesper and I’m now apprenticed to her and Director Fetra."
She paused and nodded, "Understandable. Now for the question you asked about what my Goddess has asked of me... Might you be aware of the history of how this Academy came to be?"
"I have attended the history class so I know the basics I suppose?"
"Then you will know that these floating islands used to be normal islands on the sea before they were floated up into the sky. It seems like the space that the islands once occupied have spawned a magic rift from the remnants of magic that were used to float these islands out of the sea... And I am tasked to close it..."
Err... Ok? So I guess she wants an army to help her? Ok then?