Another World Mall

"I'm sorry. I never thought that they would call that person to this country to mess with us." The principal of the first academy lowered his head. He had been trying to protect Clovis as a part of the agreement.

However, the situation became even more complicated once a Tier 9 family joined the battle.

Clovis closed his eyes for a moment. "What are their demands?"

"They want to fight you, who is said to be the most monstrous talent in this country. In addition, they're provoking your friend, especially Christina Elseingarde."

"Mhmm…" Clovis looked at the principal through the screen. It appeared that the enemies only knew about Christina for the time being. They must still be searching for his information, so it should be safe for a moment. "It seems they're aiming for Christina instead of me."

"No. It's only because of us that they're coming to this country in the first place. It's my fault for not stopping those people." The principal shook his head.

"Is there anything I need to know?"

"The problem right now is that they're thinking about coming together with the Lord of the North under the pretext of sightseeing and looking at talented people.

"However, this is clearly a lie. They're placing you in a scenario that you can't win against him. If the Tier 9 human gets involved, there's no chance to get an explanation."

"How about this country?"

"We don't have any Tier 9 humans in this country, so unfortunately, we can't help you. But they're debating how to proceed. It seems they're planning to protect you in one way or another.

"They haven't made a decision yet, but the discussion is leaning toward how many Tier 8 they will bring to protect you and stop the Lord of the North."

Clovis crossed his arms. He didn't know why the country wanted to protect him from a Tier 8, but considering he was a Hacfield while still cooperating with the Elseingarde, there was no way they would let such a person go. In addition, Hana and the entire Skylark would come to back him up, so the country wouldn't be so foolish as to let him go.

Clovis narrowed his eyes. "Only a fight against me?"

"No. They brought a team of six. They're planning to destroy you and your entire team."

"When are they planning to come and challenge us?"

"They're on their way here already."

Clovis' expression turned cold. "Suppose I plan to defeat him…"

"The first academy will stand by you. In addition, I have gained cooperation with several Tier 8 humans as well."

"What if I have a way to stop their Tier 9?"

"You can?" The principal paused for a moment. "If that's the case, you can focus on defeating them. The rest will be dealt with by me."

"I have three goals and three conditions." Clovis raised three fingers. "I'll state my goal first. Crush other academies. If I manage to win and stop the Tier 9, can you do it?"

"Of course. The academies have been competing with each other, so crushing them is something I also want to do. I can't destroy them, but destroying their reputation and such is possible. In the end, the country will try to preserve them to avoid a monopoly on students.

"Either way, if we crush them, the investors will be gone and their management will be in shambles. By not destroying them, we can keep them stuck in that place. This is an easier way to monitor them and prevent them from doing anything this crazy again. Even the country will cooperate with me in that area."

Clovis nodded, satisfied. "My second goal is to crush the Lord of the North. Although I can't guarantee I'll be able to defeat him, I'm planning to promote the new beast soul through this challenge."

The principal raised his eyebrows. "If you manage to win, it's the best advertisement you can have. After all, I'm afraid this battle has gained the attention of all people around the world.

"If you strike them by blacklisting their country, it should harm their reputation. They will have a hard time moving after that. However, this will put your group in danger."

"We're not afraid of danger." Clovis nodded. "My last goal is to focus on my own personal growth, whether it's strength or reputation…"

"If that's the case, we'll do our best to cooperate." The principal nodded.

Clovis nodded. "All right. In that case, I will give you three conditions. That guy is a Tier 5, right?"

"According to our information, he is indeed a Tier 5, but it's been a while since he reached Tier 5. Hence, he might be close to Tier 6."

"As long as he is still Tier 5, it's still possible for me to defeat him. It's just… right now is not possible. I need to make another preparation. And it might cost you…"

"!!!" The principal knew that Clovis wanted him to stall for time. And it would be the same as sacrificing his students. Still, Clovis wouldn't really come out without any chance of winning. After some consideration, the principal nodded. "I can give you time. How long do you need?"

"One week is enough."

"You will get it."

Clovis continued, "My second condition is rather simple. Since the enemies are bringing their big guns, I'm planning to do the same."

"!!!" The principal widened his eyes in shock. "Don't tell me… Lord Ezekiel Elseingarde?"

Clovis smiled. "Yes. He said he will come. I want you to handle all the administration processes as secretly as possible. At the same time, he doesn't like to appear in public, especially outside his country. During the negotiation and such, I hope you can take care of the media for a bit.

"It will be fine if people create a narration of him being in this country, but there's no need for his picture or video. He will also handle his own disguise."

"I see. All you want is an arrangement in a way that they can't find him, huh?" The principal nodded. "If that's all, it shouldn't be too hard."

"My last condition is that you help me to do something once I reach Tier 5."

"Huh? Not right now?" The principal frowned.

"Yes. Just consider it as you owing me a favor. After all, if I defeat him, the reputation of the academy as well as yours will skyrocket. It's not like I'm going to ask you to do the impossible. Of course, it's fine if you don't follow through with this agreement if I end up losing."

The principal squinted his eyes. After some thoughts, the principal nodded his head. "I understand. I will deal with the rest." The principal nodded. "Good luck."