Chapter 87: A Sword Between His Teeth (4)

The host was at a loss for words and broke out in cold sweat due to Louis’s boldness. He quickly scanned the room, searching for someone.

“Lord Dexter! Lord Dexter, sir!”

“I’m right here.” Dexter stood up from his seat on one side of the room. All eyes turned toward him, which made him beam brightly.

Ha-ha.

His gaze landed on the back of Louis’s head, visible above the front row seats. The corners of his mouth curled upward ever so slightly.

Dexter responded casually as if it were no big deal despite the host pleading with him to clarify matters.

“Heh-heh, you’ve got that wrong. I am not the current Lord of the Tower but its former leader. Just now, I passed down my position to this young man.”

“…?!”

Dexter’s statement caused murmurs to spread throughout the room. The host was surprised by this unexpected revelation and asked again, “A-Are you serious? That child is…the Lord of the Tower?”

“Yes,” Dexter replied without any hesitation.

Hearing this, Blake muttered incredulously, “Ha! No matter how unorthodox the tower may be, I’ve never seen such nonsense.”

His voice was barely audible, almost a whisper, but Louis, seated nearby, couldn’t help but overhear. Sparks seemed to fly from Louis’ eyes.

‘Done talking, old man?’

Louis glared fiercely, but Blake simply snorted and ignored him.

The chaos in the auditorium showed no signs of abating. The announcement had been delayed due to the sudden appearance of the youngest-ever Lord of the Tower.

Suddenly…

Clap!

The sound of applause echoed throughout the auditorium. The one responsible was Ron Gremillion himself.

In his calm voice, he spoke up. “Everyone, please settle down. Whether the Tower of Wishes hands over its chairmanship to a child or bestows it upon someone on their deathbed is solely within its purview. It’s not our place to interfere.”

“…”

Ron’s words quieted the crowd.

“How long shall we let them stand there like this?” Ron gestured toward the flustered chairmen caught off guard by the unexpected turn of events.

Finally regaining their composure, they turned their attention forward once more.

The host subtly bowed to Ron as a gesture of gratitude for helping restore order amidst the chaos.

The host smiled lightly before turning to Louis. The boy sat expressionlessly facing forward as if none of this concerned him. Despite maintaining his composure, Ron was quite taken aback internally. To think that a child who appeared no older than seven had become the chairman of one of the towers! This unprecedented event would go down in the annals of Fall’s history.

What were you thinking, Chairman Dexter?

Had it not been for Ron’s knowledge of the deal between Louis and Dexter, he might have wondered about this mystery for the rest of his life.

Putting aside these perplexing thoughts, Ron refocused on the stage ahead. Regardless of the current situation, they were at the Academic Festival held once every five years. Witnessing the fruits of labor from mages who had poured their blood, sweat, and tears over the past half-decade was more important than pondering the emergence of the youngest tower chairman in history.

As Ron and many others focused their attention on the presentation stage, the next presenter nervously cleared their throat before beginning.

“Ahem… Good day to you all. I am Huen, the lead researcher from Baekmok Tower. It is truly an honor to stand before such esteemed seniors whom I have long admired and our promising juniors who will shape the future…”

The subsequent tower’s presentation followed a conventional format. After briefly introducing their tower, they outlined their research topic and objectives. Then, a pot was brought onto the stage.

Inside this pot were two distinct trees planted together: a deciduous tree and an evergreen tree. These completely different species of trees were placed atop a meticulously prepared magic spell array.

Once everything was set, the presenter exclaimed loudly.

“This is our Baekmok Tower’s developed theory on plant form grafting.”

As the presenter confidently explained, light erupted from behind him and the pot.

“Wow!”

The audience gasped softly at the sight revealed within the glow.

Two small trees had been planted together in one pot. The distinct-looking trees suddenly vanished, leaving only a single large tree with both broad leaves and needle-like foliage.

Although most attendees were mages, they displayed keen interest in witnessing two trees merging into one. When the Baekmok representative concluded their demonstration by inviting questions, hands shot up all around the room.

Questions poured forth rapidly: How long did it take to research this? What amount of Attribute Power was required? Generally, they were straightforward inquiries.

Louis listened quietly, his expression growing sourer by the moment.

Look at these fools.

Even superficially, none of the questions posed much difficulty in answering. As his scowl deepened, Louis’s lips automatically curled downward.

They’re just playing nice among themselves.

It seemed evident that the presentations had barely begun, and some attendees feared stirring trouble with the first tower’s presentation, anticipating more challenging queries during their own turns later on. However, not everyone shared this concern.

This is what presenting entails. After all, fielding tough questions is part of being a presenter.

Even though the Wish Tower had gone first, they were bombarded with questions. Blake smiled inwardly as he continued to listen attentively.

“Please proceed, Lord Blake.”

“What benefits does grafting trees together provide?”

“There are several advantages. For example, one tree can bear different types of fruits. Also, by combining a species susceptible to pests but easy to grow with another resistant to pests but slow-growing, you can create a new breed that possesses both desirable traits.”

“Aha, I see.”

Incredibly, Blake’s voice was now soft and courteous, a stark contrast from his earlier rudeness towards Dexter.

Following this, several towers, including Baekmok, posed straightforward questions related to tree attributes, and it seemed like the Q&A session was coming to an end—until one last hand shot up unexpectedly.

“Hmm…”

A small hand raised beside Blake caught everyone’s attention. The presenter appeared unsure how to proceed, as he couldn’t dismiss the question from Louis, officially introduced as the chairman of Tower of Wishes. With a slight sigh, the presenter relented.

“Yes, go ahead with your question.”

Although he allowed Louis to ask, he addressed him without any formalities. This momentarily irked Louis, but he quickly composed himself. Standing on his chair, he looked directly at the presenter.

“I am Louis, Lord of the Tower of Wishes.”

“I am aware.”

“Your research presentation was fascinating.”

“Thank you. Do you have any questions?”

The presenter from Baekmok appeared nonchalant at first but visibly shifted upon hearing Louis’s query.

“The idea of combining two species with distinct characteristics is intriguing, but how long can that tree survive?”

”…?!?”

Louis’s question visibly flustered the representative from Baekmok.

Heh-heh.

Realizing his question had struck a chord, Louis smirked slightly.

The presenter tried to regain composure before responding, “Since it’s still in the development stage…”

“How long does it last?”

”…It requires some improvements…”

“So, how long is its lifespan?”

”…”

The presenter from Baekmok Tower fell silent, visibly flustered by Louis’s question. The room became quiet as all eyes focused on him.

Sweating profusely, the conflicted presenter finally responded, ”…One month.”

“What did you say?”

“He said one month.”

“So, this tree will die after a month?”

”…Yes.”

A murmur spread throughout the audience.

Unfazed, Louis continued his questioning. “Hmm… So these trees, which would naturally live for several decades if left alone, will be killed within a month? How can they properly bear fruit under such conditions?”

“…” The sharp question hit him hard, leaving Baekmok Tower’s representative flustered and fidgeting.

“Why did you hide this fact from everyone?”

“It’s not that we hid it per se…”

“Oh, so no one asked, so you didn’t bother mentioning it?”

“That’s right!”

“So if nobody ever questioned it, would you have kept it hidden forever?”

“No, th-that’s not true… It was still early in development, and we believed the issue could be resolved through improvements…”

“Aha, so just improve upon it, then. Understood. Absolutely, it can be fixed with improvements.”

“…”

“Whether it takes ten years, twenty years, or even a hundred years, it’s solvable as long as progress continues across generations, correct?”

“Y-yes, that’s right!”

“I…I see.” With those words, Louis comfortably settled back down in his seat and shot a glance at Blake sitting next to him.

“Ahem…” Feeling Louis’s gaze, Blake cleared his throat uneasily.

Louis’s mention of inheriting and improving over generations was clearly mocking Blake’s earlier question about whether improvements could make a difference during the presentation for the Wish Tower. The storm of Louis’s questions had passed.

“Well, then, th-that concludes Baekmok Castle Tower’s presentation.” The presenter hastily wrapped up their session and disappeared from view.

However, the murmurs spreading among the audience didn’t die down easily. Amidst the chaos, Dexter tried his best not to laugh as he watched Louis from behind.

Was this why you wanted to be chairman?!

Only chairmen of participating towers had the right to ask questions during the Academic Festival. Therefore, one needed to become a tower’s chairman solely for the purpose of posing inquiries. For Louis, securing the position was merely a means to an end.

Bwa-ha-ha-ha!

Dexter struggled to suppress his grin while casting a mix of pity and satisfaction toward the other tower chairmen seated in the VIP section.

I hope they’re ready.

Despite his young age, Dexter possessed exceptional eloquence that could easily outwit most adults. Moreover, he was incredibly cunning, as Louis had experienced firsthand over the past two months under constant pressure from him.

Ha-ha! There goes the bomb.

Dexter’s eyes sparkled with delight as he gazed at the VIP seats.

Meanwhile, Louis sat casually with legs crossed, eagerly awaiting the next presentation. His relaxed demeanor belied the intensity burning in his gaze.

These whippersnappers… Let’s see what they’ve got.

It remained to be seen how impressive their findings were.

I’ll tear them apart piece by piece.

Louis clenched his jaw firmly, readying his metaphorical blade. Naturally, its target would be the upcoming presentations from the Towers.