After Sherisa’s explanation, Henry finally understood that this time, there was no transaction between the Empire and the Noel Family at all—it was a forcible seizure.
The Empire’s external claim of a twenty-year rental was just an excuse.
They wanted to use train transportation to expand trade while simultaneously crushing the Noel Family completely.
This matter wasn’t actually important to the Noel Family.
After all, if this train was gone, they could still build another one and develop a new route.
But the Empire’s most excessive action was that they actually prohibited the Noel Family from using trains for trade.
This directly touched upon the Noel Family’s core interests.
You must know that the Empire had been in many predicaments before, and it was the Noel Family who stepped in to help.
Now the Empire was simply being a whore while still wanting to build a memorial arch.
“I don’t know what madness His Majesty the King has gotten into, but his attitude recently has been very wrong. However, Princess Jessica has no authority to interfere in domestic affairs, so I won’t count on her to do this.”
Upon hearing this, Henry fell into silence.
He hadn’t expected that the entire Empire was now caught in this kind of crisis.
His Majesty the King’s autocracy seemed to be getting increasingly severe, to the point where he wanted to monopolize all interests under his own control.
If things continued like this, the Noel Family would probably clash with the Empire.
If the Empire experienced turmoil, then his current life would definitely be disrupted.
When that time came, Saint Nad Magic Academy would definitely have to make a choice.
This was truly a troublesome matter.
Henry felt somewhat melancholic in his heart. Although he had long understood that his life wouldn’t be peaceful, he hadn’t expected it to come this quickly.
【Ding! Key mission triggered】
【Your companion is now facing danger. As the strongest Sword Immortal, how can you stand by and watch? Come help me if you’re truly my brother!】
【Mission: Help your companion resolve their difficulties】
【Reward: Sword Flight】
【Have you ever seen a Sword Immortal who can’t fly in the sky? Sword Flight is every man’s dream!】
Help! He, Henry, loved helping people the most!
When his companion was in danger and he didn’t help, would that still make him human?
As for the reward, was he, Henry, the kind of person who forgot righteousness for profit?
“So, what do you need me to help you do?”
“The Empire needs us to help transport some supplies to the neighboring town. Originally, we also had our people in the neighboring town, but suddenly they all lost contact. I suspect there’s a mole within the family, so this matter can’t be entrusted to the Noel Family’s people.”
Sherisa’s expression was serious, and she seemed to take this matter very seriously.
After all, to her, the Noel Family was her everything.
“Henry, the only person I can trust now is you.”
Sherisa looked at Henry, her eyes filled with expectation.
Being entrusted with such high hopes by Sherisa, Henry also felt somewhat honored.
However, since he had agreed to the other party, Henry would naturally follow through.
“So after I get there, what else do I need to do?”
Sherisa took out a badge from her pocket. Henry recognized this as the Noel Family’s family crest.
She placed the badge in Henry’s hand.
“I don’t know what the situation is like there right now, but if the contact person sees this badge, they will actively seek you out. When that happens, you just need to understand what happened and then you can leave.”
“Understood.”
Henry put the badge back in his pocket.
Just as he was about to leave, Sherisa grabbed his wrist.
She looked at Henry, her eyes flickering with worry.
“Henry, promise me. If you encounter danger, leave immediately. Even if the mission isn’t completed, I will still pay you.”
She didn’t want Henry to get hurt in this matter, even though this was her last resort.
Father wasn’t within the Empire’s territory, Mother was being monitored by the Empire, and the Noel Family could only rely on her now.
After hearing Sherisa’s words, Henry’s face showed a confident smile.
“Don’t worry, I’ll resolve your troubles.”
Sherisa looked at his smile, and her heart also accelerated a bit, her cheeks taking on a hint of crimson.
She silently lowered her head, not wanting Henry to notice her emotional changes.
It seemed she was still too easily influenced by others.
It appeared that for her to become the head of the Noel Family, she still had a long way to go.
****
Since he had agreed to Sherisa’s request, Henry naturally had to handle his academic affairs at the academy.
Once again, Henry appeared in Principal Merlin’s office.
“Henry, you’re saying you need to take leave? But it’s only been this long since school started, and you already need several days off. This doesn’t seem to follow the rules.”
Merlin, this old fox, pushed his glasses frame, his face maintaining a constant smile.
Every time Henry saw this smile, he felt that the other party had ulterior motives.
“Well, mainly I have some very important matters that I need to handle.”
“Hmm, every student who comes to ask for leave uses this excuse. Perhaps you could come up with some new reasons to convince me?”
This was really too troublesome!
Henry hadn’t expected that one day he would actually worry about reasons for taking leave.
“Alright, actually it’s because the pig I’ve been raising is about to give birth to piglets, and I need to go provide special care.”
Upon hearing this, Merlin’s face showed a surprised expression.
He quickly walked up to Henry, his tone becoming somewhat excited.
“Henry, you actually raise pigs? I really didn’t expect that a young master like you would personally do such things!”
“Yes… yes, it’s a domestic pig I’ve raised for many years. I already have feelings for it.”
“I see.”
Merlin’s expression seemed somewhat troubled, but very quickly, he appeared to have settled on this matter.
“Alright, although academics are important, a brand new life is even more important. Saint Nad Magic Academy is not a rigidly unchanging school. I agree to this matter!”
Merlin walked to his desk and picked up a piece of paper, handing it to Henry.
On it was Henry’s leave application.
Henry was somewhat puzzled—he hadn’t seen him write a leave application for him after coming in.
The more he thought about it, the more complicated it became. Things he couldn’t figure out were better left alone.
After all, for Principal Merlin to actually agree to let him go take care of a pig, ordinary people really couldn’t do that.
Henry stood up and bowed to Merlin.
Just as his hand touched the door handle, Merlin’s voice rang out behind Henry.
“Henry, you must work hard. If you succeed, it means you’ve saved a life. That’s a wonderful thing.”
“I’ll do my best, Principal Merlin.”
After Henry pushed the door and left, only the principal remained in the office.
He sat back down on the sofa, gently sipping the coffee in his hand.
After an unknown amount of time had passed, he sighed softly.
“Entrusting important tasks to a student without magical power, that’s really like your style.”
“Henry just lacks magical power, but he’s not incompetent.”
A voice rang out behind him.
Reina had appeared here at some unknown time, or perhaps she had always been here.
“Joseph is getting crazier and crazier. I can’t even see through what he wants to do anymore.”
“I hope he doesn’t violate the taboos.”
Reina was very clear about what taboos Merlin was referring to.
Once it was discovered that the Empire had dealings with cultists, the entire Empire would be destroyed, and countless lives would disappear as a result.
They all hoped that Joseph wouldn’t walk down this path of madness.
“However, Henry’s reason was too perfunctory. Actually saying that his pig was about to give birth—I should have made him bring one back for me to see.”
Merlin chuckled softly.
Reina looked at Merlin helplessly.
In her view, Henry and Merlin’s personalities were somewhat similar.