Do ratmen dream of the sacred tree of spirits?

Chapter 86 Letters

Chapter 87 Letters

As Fafnir left the city hall, a sense of powerlessness welled up within him, especially after Bishop Leiden's order, "Don't come to me unless it's important." Fafnir felt somewhat frustrated and irritable, even though he had anticipated it. Bishop Leiden's behavior at the welcoming banquet had already disappointed him. Now, he only felt even more depressed, but what good was a bad mood? It wouldn't change anything. Suspending the school's afternoon tutoring classes for informal students from 3 to 5 pm, just to improve the school's image?

Fafner wondered how he would face the little ones. This afternoon at three o'clock, he made up an excuse about something urgent and suspended the tutoring sessions for non-regular students. He didn't immediately announce the suspension to the non-regular students because he thought there was still room for negotiation after meeting with Bishop Leiden. Unexpectedly—

What should we do tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and the days to come?

Fafnir kept thinking.

Returning to the grammar school alone, Fafner found a letter lying at the entrance of the faculty dormitory. Upon closer inspection, he was pleasantly surprised to find the sender's name written in beautiful cursive script: Viktor Zaitsev.

It took a whole month to receive a reply. Fafnir couldn't wait to return to his dormitory, close the door, and open the letter: "Letter received! My little Fafnir, have a good rest during the holidays. Extraordinary practice requires perseverance, but it also requires rest. By the time you receive my reply, you should have already started school, haha. The speed of mail delivery may be a bit slow; because the distance is a bit far, you, as a preparatory student, cannot use the telematics system to contact me right now. If you need to contact me immediately, please ask Bishop Kingsley and Bishop Fanning for help. They are both top enlighteners and can use the telematics system across regions."

I'm very pleased that you've given some thought to my question about roads.

I look forward to receiving your reply soon.

Fafnir carefully read Mr. Victor's reply, pondered for a moment, and then spread out a sheet of paper: "Dear Mr. Victor, I am pleased to receive your letter—"

"—Recently, with the start of the school year, some things have puzzled me. The new Bishop of Leyton has appointed a man named Tyrell Gideon to be in charge of the school for the poor children. Now the school is independent of the grammar school and has become a separate entity. For the sake of appearances and the possibility of a diplomatic committee meeting, the new head has decided to drastically renovate the school and suspend the afternoon tutoring classes from 3 pm to 5 pm. Bishop Leyton seems to be a bit heartless."

Fafnir carefully chose his words, and only after finishing the letter did he feel a little better. Of course, he didn't need to contact Mr. Victor through the telematics system because of the school closure. He didn't want to bother Mr. Victor; he just felt depressed and tired and wanted to talk about his feelings. Fafnir understood that although Mr. Victor was now the vice chief judge of the Eastern District Joint Court, he didn't have much say in such a trivial matter with just this position as the chief judge in charge of trials.

Thinking too much is pointless. He should practice filling the spiritual gaps first. Mr. Victor left him plenty of spiritual amber. Strength is the key.

The next morning, Fafnir and Martha Allen went to school together.

"Fafner, why did Tyrell Gideon suspend classes from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.?" Martha asked.

"Because it is said that people from the Holy Kingdom's Foreign Affairs Committee will be visiting soon, and non-official students will affect the school's image."

"I don't understand the connection between the two." Allen was even more confused after hearing Fafnir's explanation.

Upon arriving at the school, Fafnir discovered that Tyrell Gideon was not there. Several well-dressed gentlemen were waiting near the school gate. "Gentlemen, may I ask where you are—"

They had been standing there casually, but they perked up a bit when they saw the silver raven feather on Fafnir's chest. One of them began to introduce himself: "Priest, we are the Holy Kingdom Security Construction Company, which has the highest construction qualifications in the Eastern Region. We recently received a letter from His Holiness the Bishop of Leiden, requesting that this place be renovated as soon as possible. Are you Priest Tyrell Gideon, the person in charge of the school? We need to contact him."

Few construction companies in the entire eastern region could handle such a fast and efficient job.

Those gentlemen seemed very proud.

"Oh, I see. But I'm not Tyrell Gideon. He'll be here later." Fafnir nodded.

Classes proceeded as usual. Fafnir was in charge of the second-grade students this semester. The school for poor children's curriculum only lasted two years and four semesters. Luca, Irene, and many other familiar faces were there. Fafnir had been teaching them for a whole year. At the beginning of this semester, Fafnir explained more detailed grammar and some simple classic texts to them. Fafnir felt quite happy teaching. Most of these children, who were about his age, respected him and cherished their time at school. Fafnir enjoyed communicating with them. After a long morning, Fafnir went to his office for lunch and saw Tyrell sitting there looking through documents.

"Everyone, the school renovation has been finalized. Also, I plan to convert the leftmost classroom in the new teaching building into my office. I won't be staying here starting tomorrow."

Tyrell Gideon informed all the teachers in the office. Martha, Alan, Anna, and the four older teachers remained silent, not daring to object to the plenipotentiary appointed by the bishop.

"However, the classroom that was reserved was intended to be a reading room for the students. I had already contacted Sister Fanning, the principal of the grammar school, and she agreed to send the books that the grammar school library was no longer using here."

"Oh?" Tyrell said slowly, "A reading room? With only a two-year program, most students are illiterate and can't read many words. What do we need a reading room for?"

Even if books are needed, couldn't we just put them at the back of the classroom? But the guests from the Foreign Affairs Committee are arriving soon, is there a place here to accommodate them?

"I am the principal here, and I need a principal's office that also serves as a reception room, understand? Reverend Fafnir."

"Those books the library discarded were all children's books, how could they be—"

"Alright, that's enough—that's enough, Father Fafnir. Now, let's focus on the bigger picture. If you have any complaints or anything you want to say, don't tell me. You can go directly to Bishop Leighton. Of course, you can also raise your opinions, and I will help you resolve them. But this is working hours. We can talk privately after school. You're still so young. To be honest, many of your actions are too impetuous."

Alan and Martha, who were standing nearby, wanted to argue for Fafnir, but Fafnir stopped them with a look.