Chapter 57: Time Is Of No ConsequenceI shouted my greetings at the top of my lungs, which was probably not the best thing to do at night.

    "Solace?!" [Vincent]

    "Master! I beseech thee! Please help-" [Solace]

    "Quiet!" [Vincent]

    With the quick movement of his hand, I was struck by a stick of chalk before I even knew it.

    "Ow!" [Solace]

    Rubbing my forehead, I found residual white chalk on my hand.

    "Well? What are you doing here so late at night?" [Vincent]

    "...I was actually going to ask you that too. What kind of teacher stays so late at school?" [Solace]

    "I currently live here." [Vincent]

    "Like... in a dorm?" [Solace]

    My master shook his head, waving a hand across the room.

    "What you see is what I have." [Vincent]

    "Eh..." [Solace]

    I scanned the room, only to see an empty dojo with the doors leading to the storage.

    "Do you sleep in the storage unit?" [Solace]

    "Silly disciple..." [Vincent]

    Sighing while shaking his head, my master approached the wall across me and knocked on it.

    "|Unveil|." [Vincent] sea??h thё Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The wall seemed to fade, revealing another room within.

    "...Magic?" [Solace]

    "Correct. I tend to hide the things I lounge in with illusion magic." [Vincent]

    "...Okay, but if it was magic; why did you knock on it? Can''t you just use the spell?" [Solace]

    "...We''re getting off topic. Didn''t you need my help for something?" [Vincent]

    "Oh. Yeah." [Solace]

    Not going to lie, it completely slipped my mind.

    "I need your help with my master." [Solace]

    "Me?" [Vincent]

    "No, my summoner. You know, because I''m a spirit?" [Solace]

    "Don''t talk to me with that kind of attitude." [Vincent]

    Raising a stick of chalk, he threatened to throw it.

    "Well, let me make this short..." [Solace]

    I summarized the past events as much as I could, hoping that my master would find a solution.

    "Hm... This is a simple fix." [Vincent]

    "Really?" [Solace]

    "The problem is that her family is controlling her, yes?" [Vincent]

    "Uh... I guess...?" [Solace]

    The situation seemed more complicated than that, but it was basically the main problem.

    "Your... summoner, Fina, needs to become stronger. That''s how you solve it." [Vincent]

    "...Bruh." [Solace]

    I couldn''t believe my ears. The answer given was so basic and stupid that I thought of leaving that instant.

    "Is what I would say, but it appears that you''ve been avoiding contact with your summoner. Without you truly telling her about yourself, then you cannot help her." [Vincent]

    "There has to be another way." [Solace]

    "Another way you could go about it is to strengthen yourself. Become strong enough that your summoner won''t be pushed around." [Vincent]

    "Strengthen myself...?" [Solace]

    It was something easier said than done. I could still recall the fight between Relton, his father, and the knight Vanport.

    "I don''t have enough time for that. Fina''s going to be married off in a month. I have to stop it before then." [Solace]

    "That is where you are wrong. You do have time." [Vincent]

    Master approached me quietly, somehow making me feel a bit anxious.

    "Do you remember the 100 gentleman rules?" [Vincent]

    "Uh... Some?" [Solace]

    "Up to how much?" [Vincent]

    As he slowly made his way to me, a chill ran down my spine.

    "Th-thirty?" [Solace]

    "I see. Cite gentlemanly rule number 24." [Vincent]

    Edging backwards a bit, I tried to recite the rule.

    "Gentlemanly rule number 24. A gentleman must have a strong mind to maintain his demeanor at any point, time, or place." [Solace]

    "Good." [Vincent]

    At this point, my master was already standing before me. Looming over me with a strange look on his face, he raised a hand towards me.

    "M-master? What are you doing?" [Solace]

    "I''m giving you "time". The rest is up to you." [Vincent]

    Tapping my forehead with a finger, the world started to spin.

    "What the..." [Solace]

    "Illusion magic, |Convolution|." [Vincent]

    Within that instant, everything went dark.