Chapter 59

"Hahaha, you're a smart boy, Erik," the Director laughed pleasantly at Erik's sharp inferences with the little information he knew. After all, the only ones who knew how the tournament would unfold were Adrian, Ngozi, and himself. Although the Masters present were at the meeting where the rules were discussed, since several had their own disciples in the tournament, they weren't informed of everything due to their conflict of interest. So it was somewhat surprising how close Erik's assumptions were to what they had planned.

"I'm flattered, Director. It's something anyone could think of."

"Don't be so sure about that. You're quite brilliant and sharp to suppose such a thing," the Director commented amicably as he watched Erik eat a cookie from his plate.

"Well, you've interrogated our disciple enough. My poor Erik must be tired after surpassing a tournament in record time. Please excuse us, but we'll take him to rest," Sigrún commented with a calm and measured voice that couldn't hide the vanity she felt, as she stood up from her chair, followed by Eleonora who elegantly commented.

"I apologize for our early departure, but Sig is right, Erik needs to rest."

"Yes, we've talked enough. Go rest, Erik. We will continue this conversation another time," the Director spoke, ending the interrogation of Erik.

"Thank you very much, Director. I bid you farewell then."

Erik bowed respectfully after saying goodbye, then walked towards the exit accompanied by Eleonora, Sigrún, and Seraphina, while all the present Masters watched the monstrously talented star-haired boy with deep and meaningful eyes.

"That boy is an absurd monster..." Ngozi commented in a slightly tired voice after Erik left the room. "Also, I have a strong suspicion that the spirit accompanying him is beyond being a mere mature spirit."

"Are you sure about that, Ngozi?" Adrian asked, surprised, a sentiment shared by all the other Masters present, who looked at her with interest.

"I'm not certain, it's just a suspicion. But although everything about that dragon spirit seems to indicate it's a mature spirit, there was something curious. In the competition, there was a member of my clan, who also has a contract with a mature spirit, and that spirit was incredibly scared of the dragon spirit accompanying Erik."

"Are you not exaggerating a bit, Ngozi? Even among mature spirits, there are differences in power levels, and it might just be that the dragon spirit is more powerful," Thalia commented, somewhat skeptical of the situation. Ngozi shook her head in response.

"The thing is, you don't have contracts with spirits, so you don't understand. Spirits show respect for power, not fear. After all, spirits are quasi-immortal beings themselves. But the spirit accompanying my clan member, as well as the fox spirit of the Sakuraba clan, reacted strangely around the dragon," Ngozi turned to look at Ryoma and asked with interest, "Don't you think the same, Ryoma?"

"In that, Ngozi is right. Hiyori did behave oddly around that dragon..." Ryoma commented thoughtfully, recalling the brief interaction between Hiyori, the fox spirit allied with his family, and the dragon spirit accompanying Erik.

"It's best to end your conjectures here," the Director interjected, drawing everyone's attention and forcibly pulling them out of their thoughts.

"Do you know something, Director?" Ngozi asked curiously, but the Director shook his head and replied.

"It's not so much that I know something; it's just that it's not worth trying to scrutinize the secrets of a member of the Order as valuable as Erik. His future is practically limitless, and he feels a great attachment to the faction, to the point that he offered to donate two of his patents to the Order."

The present Masters, apart from Adrian, who was already privy to this information, looked at the Director in surprise. After all, donating patents was incredibly rare, and offering a patent to the faction was something that had probably never happened before in the history of the Order.

Patents as useful as Erik's generally require immense investment and represent significant earnings for their owners. In a way, it was considered unfair in the Arcane Order that the inventor of the patent couldn't benefit from it. Additionally, the Arcane Order wasn't exactly lacking in funds or anything of the sort.

However, this didn't mean the faction didn't have its own patents. After all, they invested heavily in research and development, so countless researchers were working for the Order, and the patents they developed belonged to the Order, although these researchers retained 30% of the profits from the patents, and their names were recognized as the inventors.

"Did Erik really do that, Director? Did he actually donate two of his patents to the Order?" Thalia asked in surprise.

"He tried to, but what actually happened was that we ended up buying them at a fair price. It wouldn't look right for us to just receive such a donation," the Director replied with a smile. Ryoma then commented.

"But why did he do it? I can't see either Eleonora or Sigrún advising him to do that, and really, the faction hasn't done much for him. After all, if the boy is grateful to anyone, it should be his masters who brought him here and have taken care of him until now."

"Hahaha, yes, you're right, Ryoma. The Order hasn't done much for him, but according to Erik's own words, the Arcane Order is a paradise for him, and he just wants to show his support in some way. He said, 'a place with equality before the law, free market, low taxes, and no collectivists doing foolish things is like a dream come true.'"

"Collectivists?" Ngozi asked, somewhat confused by the unfamiliar term.

"Yes, something Erik mentions now and then and tends to refer to in quite derogatory terms. Apparently, he uses it to describe 'those who believe the group is more important than the individual,'" Adrian answered instead of the Director, with an ironic smile on his face.

"Is it okay for him to have those thoughts?" Jessica asked, a bit concerned, and added, "His words seem to indicate that for him, the individual is above the common good, which isn't very healthy if we think about the benefit of the Order."

"It's a joy that you already think as part of the Order, Jessica," the Director commented with a small smile, looking at Jessica, who no longer wore her usual outfit but now donned the Order's uniform.

"It's just that, since I've joined the Arcane Order, I must act accordingly," Jessica commented confidently, bringing a cheerful smile to the Director's face, who then said.

"That's really good, and although indeed an individualistic mindset could potentially be harmful for someone who will undoubtedly occupy an important position within the faction, as it could mean seeking personal benefit over the faction's interests, the reality is a bit different. The mere fact that he offered to donate his patents to the faction, most likely against his masters' wishes, is a clear indication of that.

For Erik, individualism, rather than being about excessive selfishness, refers to the personal freedom to make decisions and bear the consequences of those decisions, whatever they may be. That's why he loves the Arcane Order and considers it a paradise. Here, he is free to decide, and it seems he is particularly fond of the low taxes, to the point that he submitted several proposals on different sources of income and possible cost reductions that could allow for even lower taxes, hahaha."

The Director laughed heartily, recalling the documents Erik had sent to the government offices with his proposals. Jessica commented, a bit dismayed.

"Erik is a strange and somewhat contradictory boy..."

"You can say that again. Eleonora and Sigrún constantly complain that Erik only accepts a minimal fraction of the money they give him, which he spends in moments, only to go 'broke' for the rest of the month, as if he were a poor man. He even goes to the extent of 'saving' for several months to buy more expensive materials," Thalia added with an ironic smile, remembering some of her conversations with Eleonora and Sigrún.

"Hahaha, Erik really is a strange boy, but it's likely thanks to that he was able to present so many valuable patents, which significantly reduce the cost of various devices and production methods," the Director commented, amused by Erik's peculiar habits.

"In that, the Director is right. It seems true that genius and madness are two sides of the same coin..." Ngozi commented, somewhat distractedly, as she looked towards the door through which Erik had exited.