[BONUS]

When Silvia, Lucia, and Pamela left, chaos exploded in the room, and everyone talked about Silvia's big birthday bash.

Everyone was excited because it was a whole day event — that also meant overnight together with friends and lovers!

It was an anticipated birthday of the year and could also be considered as one of Golden Phoenix's biggest publicity.

"Are you going?" Evie asked Ren amidst the voices ringing in the air.

"I don't know." Ren shrugged. "You?"

Evie was silent for a moment, seemingly pondering her choice. "I don't know. I won't know anyone there except you, so I probably won't."

'Then I'm not going,' Ren thought to himself. He wasn't keen on big parties anyway. And partying with strangers wasn't exactly his idea of relaxation and fun.

Although . . . It was a shame that he wouldn't be able to see Evie in a swimsuit. For him, that was the only thing worthy of his regret.

Ren kept the invitation just in case, and Evie did the same.

After a while, their teacher came in and started class.

When it was lunch break, Ren decided to go to the Principal's office. Initially, he planned to go after school, but since he was going home with Evie and he didn't want her to wait, he decided to get this done and over with.

Inside the Principal's Office, Principal DeGette sat on his leader chair while rubbing his hands together in excitement. It was his favorite time of the day – lunch!

However, his supposedly relaxing lunch turned the other way around when he heard a knock on the door. It became even worse when his secretary announced that Ren of World Conqueror was at his door.

Principal DeGette grumbled under his breath, but he did say that Ren could come over anytime to discuss the future of Fate Alliance Guild.

"Let him in," he said grumpily.

'The start of this meeting is definitely not going to turn out well,' Principal DeGette thought, and it was because Ren disrupted his meal.

When Ren entered the Principal's Office, the first thing he saw was the display of various awards on the walls. Based on their labels, they were the Principal and were from different organizations, acknowledging his outstanding achievements in education. The other walls in his office were all lined with pictures of him shaking hands with famous people like the President, former governors, senators, and even movie stars.

Principal DeGette was a plump fifty-year-old man whose ego was as big as his bulging stomach. In any gathering, his boastful voice would sound the loudest, and it was always about himself and how Fate Academy became the number one school under his leadership. He had been principal for over ten years now, the longest in history, and he never failed to remind everyone of that fact.

In a way, the Principal indeed deserved that confidence, pride, and a little bit of ego to be able to run a school such as this, but it was clear by looking at Principal DeGette that he had run the school for far too long that his feet were no longer on the ground.

Success had brought out the worst in him, some might say.

"Good morning, Mr. DeGette," Ren said when he entered the room.

Principal DeGette's office had a large window overlooking the courtyard because he liked to look at the students while they were playing sports or doing their homework. It gave him great pleasure watching them work hard. The only problem was that most of the time, his window curtain was shut close.

"Please take a seat," said Principal DeGette, gesturing towards an empty chair in front of the table. "We have been expecting you."

Ren was straight to the point and said, "I won't waste your time, Principal. The answer is no."

". . .E xcuse me?"

"Your invitation to merge World Conqueror with Fate Alliance Guild. The answer is no."

". . ." Principal DeGette's ears went hot with what he heard. "Surely you can think things over. You're a student here and–"

"Students aren't obligated to join the school's guild. It's well known that a lot of students here have their own group."

Principal DeGette tried to keep the smile on his chubby cheeks. "I understand that some of the members in your group don't belong here in our school, and I also understand that you want to keep your group . . ."

"Tell you what . . . Why don't World Conqueror help our school's guild in the game? Fate Alliance could use your help."

Ren shrugged. "Sure. For the right price."

Principal DeGette's smile disappeared. "You want payment?"

"Yeah. Depends on the difficulty of the job."

". . . Can you not do it for the school's honor? After all, you're a student here."

"Honor wouldn't pay my bills."

Principal DeGette seriously looked Ren in the eyes. "Don't test me, boy. Do you know that I'm still disappointed and angry that you chose to help a foreign guild in that World Boss rather than your own school? Fate Academy would have reached a new height, and our guild would have become top one! New investors would start pouring in, and the whole school would have benefited from it as a whole!

"But no. you chose to be selfish and only thought about money and self-gain–"

"What's wrong with it?" Ren interrupted.

"Huh?" Principal DeGette couldn't believe his ears.

"What's wrong in doing something that only benefits me? In the end, isn't that the nature of man? People who help others and deny their inner demons are called martyrs, and I'm not one of them."

". . ." Principal DeGette caught his tongue, and for the first time in his life . . . he couldn't find any words to retort. His boastful voice suddenly turned meek as he resorted to threats.

"Be careful, Ren. I am still the Principal of this school. One word from me, and you're out of the Academy. And mark my words. When I'm through with you, no school will ever accept you."

". . ."

Principal DeGette smirked when Ren didn't reply. He thought he had won . . . but he thought wrong.

( . . . continuation on NOTES)