Wizard Laura had no idea that Saul’s mention of “bad luck” was actually meant for others to hear.

She nodded understandingly. “Yes, honestly speaking, which instructor here doesn’t lack a bit of luck?”

First-rank wizards who served as instructors here for long periods certainly had solid fundamentals, but definitely had problems with advancement.

Otherwise, how could these wizards who pursued power and knowledge truly be content teaching a group of apprentices?

Laura wanted to comfort Saul, but he was already preparing to leave.

At this moment, a voice called out from behind, stopping Saul.

“Instructor Saul!”

Saul turned around and saw Nathan jogging over.

Seeing it was Nathan, Laura glanced at Saul again, refreshing her impression of him for the second time.

Saul watched Wizard Laura depart, then crossed his arms and looked at Nathan with an ambiguous smile. “Are you wanting to ask me how to improve your locator?”

Nathan opened his mouth.

Saul was right—that was exactly the question he’d come to ask.

Nathan had long ago discovered the problems emerging in himself.

Although he could force advancement, becoming a first-rank wizard that way would leave him in a very unstable state.

So he had been suppressing himself while seeking a solution.

He had even resorted to using the white porcelain cat again.

Although he was the true owner of the white porcelain cat, he rarely relied on it.

Up until now, Nathan had only used the white porcelain cat twice.

Once when selecting his locator.

The other time was yesterday, when he discovered he was already being controlled in reverse by his locator but couldn’t find a solution no matter what.

Looking at Nathan, who didn’t know what to say, Saul didn’t actively approach him.

He turned around, actually intending to leave directly.

“I said before that answers can’t replace your thinking process. If you’re here to directly seek answers, my response is that I won’t tell you.”

Seeing Saul was really about to leave, Nathan hurried forward and lowered his voice. “Instructor, I’ve really been thinking about this for a long time—almost half a year. Actually, I could have attempted advancement half a year ago, but because my locator’s state was unstable, I’ve been delaying until now.”

Saul continued walking forward with an expression of “what does that have to do with me.”

Nathan couldn’t help but reach forward to grab Saul’s sleeve.

Feeling the resistance on his arm, Saul’s face turned cold as he looked down at Nathan’s hand.

“Don’t want your hand anymore? Or don’t want your life?”

Nathan’s mind suddenly echoed with Saul’s conversation with Wizard Laura, and he quickly spoke before Saul could actually act, “Instructor, do you think a person’s luck can increase out of thin air?”

Saul stopped walking, though his expression didn’t improve. “Luck? Maybe, but that’s not knowledge you can research—even I can’t reach that level.”

Nathan spoke again, now using secret speech technique.

“Though this is presumptuous, Instructor Saul, have you heard of ‘the cat’s gratitude’?”

Here it comes!

Saul’s expression shifted slightly as he said, half-truthfully, “You… have one?”

Nathan looked around. “Instructor, let’s change locations.”

Ten minutes later, the two arrived at a private booth in a tavern.

This place only served formal wizards, so Nathan could only enter by following Saul.

The booth walls had the most basic isolation magic formations, ensuring ordinary people couldn’t eavesdrop on conversations inside.

Even so, Nathan and Saul still used secret speech technique when communicating.

“Instructor, where did you hear about it?”

Saul seemed somewhat displeased but still answered him.

“On the airship coming here. I witnessed it once but couldn’t get my hands on it.”

Nathan pressed his lips together. Saul could sense his spiritual body becoming much more relaxed.

“I do indeed have one. To be honest, I bought it from an out-of-town merchant and spent a large sum of money. But it really is useful.”

Saul finally sat up straight.

“You have one? Give it to me!”

Nathan seemed startled by Saul’s directness, appearing restless.

“Instructor Saul, please don’t be hasty. The cat’s gratitude can’t be forcibly taken, or it will actively run away.”

Saul leaned back with a smile tugging at his lips. “Who said I was going to steal it? Whatever you paid, I’ll give you double!”

Seeing Saul’s aggressive yet greedy expression, Nathan actually breathed a sigh of relief.

“I don’t want money, Instructor Saul.”

Saul nodded with understanding. “You want me to help you modify your locator?”

Saul tapped his cheek with his index finger, considering the reliability of the other party’s words.

“If you’re lying to me, I’ll kill you immediately.”

Nathan nodded repeatedly. “I can sign a fairy contract with you.”

“No need.” Saul didn’t want the white porcelain cat to become entangled with fairy contracts.

To avoid bringing unknown influences.

He stood up. “After my next class ends, come wait for me here again. Bring your cat.”

Nathan smiled happily and nodded quickly.

“Now, close your eyes and take a nap.”

The other party froze, his smile nearly freezing on his face.

“I want to carefully examine your locator again to determine the modification plan. I’ll formally modify it for you during our next meeting.”

Saul glanced at Nathan and nearly rolled his eyes.

…

That evening, Saul returned to the inn again.

Kate had followed Saul the entire way and jumped into Saul’s room through the outer wall.

“Lord Saul, did you find that white porcelain cat?”

Saul shook his head. “I didn’t see any anomalies in Nathan’s dreamscape either. The white porcelain cat didn’t even appear in his dreams.”

Saul was somewhat worried that Nathan also wasn’t the final owner of the white porcelain cat. Although he could continue following leads from Nathan.

But that would be too time-consuming.

In a few days, he still needed to visit the White Glass Palace and couldn’t return empty-handed.

“Nathan told me he obtained the white porcelain cat from a merchant on an airship. The merchant was very likely Mike.”

At this point, Agu in the diary spoke up.

[Master, do you think Nathan might already know about the merchant’s death? After all, he knows the attendant on the airship.]

Agu’s words reminded Saul.

“Right, he might already know about the merchant’s death, so he chose to push the white porcelain cat’s origin onto the merchant. After all, there’s no way to verify it now that he’s dead.”

Saul smiled. “This actually proves even more that he’s the source of the white porcelain cat.”

Deliberately mentioning the merchant who was indeed connected to the white porcelain cat, combined with the attendant’s dream of “getting goods” from Nathan, already confirmed that the other party was deeply entangled with the white porcelain cat.

[Ah! Brother Saul, you’re both such good actors! Why don’t you really take him as an apprentice so your acting skills don’t go to waste? Hehe…]

Penny snickered in the diary.

“Tch!” Saul gave Penny a genuine eye roll.

Three days later, Saul completed his substitute teaching assignment once again.

When class ended, the third-level wizard apprentices in the classroom were already looking at him with admiring gazes.

Although the knowledge Saul taught didn’t exceed what a first-rank wizard should know, his understanding of knowledge reached depths that other instructors had never touched.

After class, Saul still chatted briefly with Wizard Laura at the door, and only bid farewell after seeing Nathan emerge from the lecture hall.

Ten minutes later, the two met again in the same tavern booth.

After closing the door, Nathan stepped forward and directly placed a small cloth bag on the table.

Saul glanced at Nathan and raised his hand to untie the string on the bag.

The bag opened, revealing the white porcelain cat inside.

A pair of eyes painted red with paint looked directly at Saul.

(End of Chapter)