Chapter 61: The Final (6)

The thirteenth match of the first round of the finals had ended—probably the most exciting and intense match in the entire finals.
The once-flat competition field was now reduced to ruins, covered with debris and pits. Although there were no flames left on the field, the air around it remained scorching hot, as the dense fire elements still dominated the area.
When the protective shield outside was removed, cool breezes blew toward the field. Following the world’s most fundamental laws, other elements, especially water, slowly began to flow back into the area.
“Good job, Thos!” Scott murmured with a smile as he glanced at Jiang Zhe on the field. Then he turned and headed toward the ancient castle—regardless of whether he could get temporary leave or not, he had to return to Galic today.
The match was suspended for about ten minutes as Rex’s professors needed time to repair the field, as it had been almost completely destroyed by Jiang Zhe and Ravia.
While the professors used earth magic to repair the field, Jiang Zhe, Allen, and Ravia left, pushing through the crowd amidst the congratulations, disdain, sarcasm, and admiration from countless students.
Up to this point, Jiang Zhe and Allen were the only two second-year students left in the competition. The rest, such as Scott, Vincent, Ravia, and other exceptionally talented younger students, had already been eliminated. The upcoming matches would be between the upper-year students from Rex and Milko academies.
Whether out of jealousy or mockery, no one would underestimate these two second-year kids anymore. Both Jiang Zhe and Allen were opponents worthy of being treated on equal terms—when strength is sufficient, grade is merely a measure of a genius’s level.
“That kid… is really strong!” Eddie, who had been watching from a distance, glanced at the field after saying this in a low voice. “Geller, Katerina, get ready. It’s our turn soon!”
“Mm, okay… but I’m not very confident…” Katerina said hesitantly, biting her lip.

“Heh, do your best,” Eddie said with a smile, turning to look at Katerina. “We have a pretty good idea of the level of the fifth and sixth graders at Rexox Academy… Believe in your own strength; you can do it…” He paused for a moment, then glanced at Jiang Zhe and the others as they left, adding with interest, “Interesting kid…”
“Hey!” Gayer said, looking at Eddie amusingly with a hint of sarcasm, “I thought only Gert would bully younger kids. What, are you interested in a second-year brat too?”
“Gayer, age isn’t the only measure of strength—wasn’t that something you said?” Eddie replied, pausing as he looked at the competition field being repaired by the professors. “If I run into him in the next match, I’d really like to test his strength—his full strength!”
“Hey! Alright, alright,” Gayer scratched his head, yawned, and turned back, saying nonchalantly, “To be honest, only this match is a bit interesting—Is it my turn next? I can’t wait!”
Meanwhile, Jiang Zhe and the others had returned to their dormitory.
As agreed earlier, Ravia went back to her dormitory to get gauze, while Lisa and Lelira stayed behind.
Looking around the boys’ dormitory, Lelira asked carefully, “Sos, Allen, have you seen Scott?”
“That guy?” Allen, who was chatting and joking with Lisa, replied irritably, “Is he hiding in there crying?” As soon as he finished speaking, Lisa tapped him on the head with her small hand.
“Allen!”
“Okay, okay!” Honestly, Allen’s ability to change his expression was remarkable—he immediately put on a smile and teased Lelira, pointing at the room inside, “Maybe that guy needs someone to comfort him right now!”
“Ah…” Lelira said softly, a bit confused and hesitant, “That’s not right…” In her opinion, as a girl, entering a boys’ bedroom wasn’t very proper.
Even though they often went into this boys’ dormitory, they had never entered a bedroom before—it was off-limits to them; not even Ravia had stepped inside.
Shrugging, Allen said indifferently, “Well, that’s that! Anyway, don’t expect me to drag that guy out—I’m already furious just at the thought of him!”
“Allen,” Jiang Zhe, who had remained silent, said softly, “Scott didn’t lose the match on his own choice; his opponent was quite strong!”

“Sigh!” With a long sigh, Allen stood up, scratched his head, and said, “Well, buddy, since you put it that way…” He then called in the direction of the bedroom, “Scott! Hey, buddy? There’s no need to hide in there just because you lost, right? Come out!”
“Allen…”
“Hm?” Reaching out, Allen interrupted Jiang Zhe’s words. He glanced doubtfully toward the bedroom and called again, “Scott? Buddy?”
But no matter how hard he called, there was no response from inside. Full of suspicion, he stood up and headed toward the bedroom.
Just over ten seconds later, he returned, scratching his head in confusion. “He’s not here, that guy…” He chuckled and said helplessly, “Maybe he’s upset about losing the match and wandering around the academy? That jerk!”
“Allen…”
“Hm? What is it?”
Looking at the uninformed Allen, Jiang Zhe hesitated for a moment before saying, “Before the match, he mentioned to me that he wanted to go home for a while…”
“What?” Allen’s expression changed, and he said angrily, “You mean that bastard went home? Good heavens, does he just run home with his tail between his legs after losing a match?”
Shaking his head helplessly, Jiang Zhe explained softly, “It’s not like that, Allen…” But before he could finish, Allen interrupted him. Grasping Jiang Zhe’s right arm tightly, he growled angrily, “Where is that bastard now? Thor, tell me! I have to teach that bastard a lesson!”
Pinned tightly by Allen, Jiang Zhe felt intense pain in his right hand. Before he could say anything, an annoyed voice came from the door.
“Let go! Allen, don’t you know he’s injured?”
Ravia, who had gone to her dormitory to get gauze, had returned.
Glancing at Jiang Zhe’s right hand, which was still bleeding, Allen seemed to realize his mistake. He quickly released his grip and apologized, “Sorry, buddy!”
Jiang Zhe gave a wry smile, looked at his injured hand, shrugged, and said, “It’s okay. It’s not a big deal. As long as you can calm down and listen to my explanation!” He then patted Allen’s shoulder with his left hand, told him to sit on the sofa, and began to explain everything that had happened in detail.
“Oh, I see…”
After listening quietly to Jiang Zhe’s explanation, Allen scratched his head and said sheepishly, “I thought that guy was upset about losing the match and wanted to go home to hide for a while, haha!”

“Do you think Scott is like you?” Ravia, who was carefully bandaging Jiang Zhe’s wound, sneered irritably.
“Haha, haha,” Allen laughed awkwardly, looking at Lisa’s sympathetic smile, scratching his head before suddenly freezing and saying to Jiang Zhe in a strange tone, “But with such an important matter, it seems unreasonable if he doesn’t tell us personally, right?”
“With your temper at the time, would you even listen to him? I couldn’t even explain clearly…” As he spoke, Jiang Zhe suddenly felt a sharp pain in his right hand, so intense that he stopped speaking and gasped. He couldn’t help but look down at his right hand.
“This… are you really bandaging me?” Jiang Zhe asked strangely, looking at his right hand wrapped in messy layers of gauze.
Ravia, for once showing signs of embarrassment, lowered her head and tried to defend herself, “…How isn’t it bandaging a wound?” She then bent down and used her teeth to tear off a knot in the gauze.
Looking at his hand that resembled a zongzi, Jiang Zhe said helplessly, “Is this how you bandage? Please, if you can’t do it, just say so in advance. That’s all there is to it.”
“Hey, Sos, what do you mean? How can I not know? Look, the bleeding has stopped!”
“Hey, if you squeeze so hard like that and the blood keeps flowing, that’s strange!”
“Uh…” Watching the two argue, Allen scratched his head and said awkwardly, “I mean, guys, Ravia, should we discuss Scott’s matter first…”
“What’s there to discuss?” Ravia glared at Jiang Zhe angrily, took a deep breath, and recalled, “I’ve heard about this too. The rebellion in Jacobsenbu has been quite fierce lately. It’s said that the lord of the Brownhill region was assassinated a few days ago, and the whole of Brownhill is in chaos. The local army is arresting suspicious people everywhere, killing them on the spot if they resist… If this rebellion really spreads to Galic, it’s indeed something Scott should worry about…”
“So that’s it?” Allen glared at Jiang Zhe resentfully, clenched his fist, and pretended to look fierce as he said angrily, “That guy Scott is really unfair. Anyway, we must teach him a lesson!”
“How?” Jiang Zhe looked at Allen jokingly and said mockingly, “Are you planning to chase after him to Galic?”
“Eh!” Allen’s eyes sparkled as he pointed with his right hand and said smilingly, “That’s exactly it!”

“Give up, Allen,” Laryla said, following Raviya’s gaze. She noticed Knight, the knight doll standing on the long table like a javelin, and shook her head. “He didn’t even bring Knight with him. I guess Scott is in a hurry this time—after all, it concerns the safety of his grandfather. We should understand him…”
“Yes!” Agreeing with Raviya, Laryla walked over to the long table and reached out to touch him when suddenly Knight raised his slender spear, its tip touching Laryla’s fingers.
“Be careful, Laryla! That guy is dangerous!” Allen said cheerfully, clearly having seen Laryla’s move.
But against Allen’s expectations, after staring into Laryla’s eyes for a while, Knight slowly lowered his spear, allowing her to hold it in her hands.
“Wow!” Allen clapped his hands in surprise, then turned to Jiang Zhe, scratching his head. “So… did that guy say when he’ll be back?”
“Hmm… maybe once the rebellion is over, or when he can guarantee his grandfather’s safety…”
“Hey! When will that be?” Allen said irritably, holding his head in his hands. “Does that mean if the rebellion isn’t resolved and he can’t guarantee his grandfather’s safety, he won’t be back?”
Jiang Zhe shrugged and replied honestly, “I’m afraid so…”
“Thump!” Allen slammed the table in frustration, stood up quickly, and paced back and forth in the room, muttering angrily, “That bastard! Next time I see him, I’m gonna punch him hard!” Then he walked over to the long table, rested his hands on it, and said seriously, “I’ve made up my mind! I’m going to beat the guy who defeated Scott, then punch that bastard hard when I see him next time, and tell him about it—hahaha… I really want to see his face then!”
Glancing at Allen, who was laughing heartily, Jiang Zhe shook his head and said helplessly, “Well, good luck then!”
“Hey!” Allen patted Jiang Zhe’s shoulder and said cheerfully, “Don’t make it sound so easy. Even if this round is over, there will still be thirty-two of us. I’m not sure I’ll be that lucky to run into that guy with the single eyeglass. How about this, buddy? If you meet him and defeat him, when you see Scott, just say it was me who did it. Is that okay?”

With a strange look at Allen, Jiang Zhe shook his head speechlessly and said with a light laugh, “You’ve miscalculated, Allen. It includes you and thirty-one others. There’s no way I’d run into that guy named Gert…”
“What do you mean?” Allen stared at Jiang Zhe in surprise, eyes wide, saying in disbelief, “You’re not telling me you’re withdrawing, are you?”
“That’s exactly what I mean!”
“…”
The short day came to an end. While Scott was riding in a carriage toward Galic, at Riox Academy, the first round of the finals had already concluded. After days of selection, only thirty-two students were qualified to advance to the next round.
Allen had initially thought Jiang Zhe’s mention of withdrawing was just a joke, so he hadn’t taken it seriously. But when, the next morning, he, Lisa, and Lailira waited for a long time at the competition venue—still without a sign of Jiang Zhe even as the match was about to start—he realized his roommate wasn’t joking.
Good heavens! What kind of joke is this!
He, who had stood out from four hundred students to become one of the thirty-two outstanding students advancing to the second round of the finals, would actually choose to withdraw at this moment?
Allen covered his forehead in exasperation.
Ten minutes before the match began, Professor Puli, the referee, stepped onto the competition field and read out all the paired opponents one by one.
First match: Utreid Betrich, a sixth-year student from Riox Academy, against Edie Cafferty, a sixth-year student from Mill Academy.
Second match: Uterburn O’Breedy, a fifth-year student from Riox Academy, against Claudine Emmer, a sixth-year student from Mill Academy.
Third match: Kelly Danvers, a sixth-year student from Riox Academy, against Gert Danzi, a fifth-year student from Mill Academy.
…
Seventh match: Thos, a second-year student from Riox Academy, against Eddie Neuhm Amherst, a fifth-year student from Mill Academy.
Eighth match: Allen Skander, a second-year student from Riox Academy, against Gayer Wizin, a fifth-year student from Mill Academy.
…
But not only was Jiang Zhe nowhere to be seen at the start of the matches, but even near the end of the sixth match, Allen still hadn’t spotted his roommate.
“Hey, Avi!” Suddenly, Lisa’s call caught Allen’s attention. He looked up just in time to see Ravia walking toward them.

In the past few matches, the senior students at Rex Academy had all gotten to know this junior who was equally outstanding in both appearance and ability, and they politely made way for her. With grace, she smiled at those seniors who stepped aside, then walked over to Allen and Lisa, asking with a smile, “How’s the match going, Allen? By the way, which match are you in?” Glancing behind at Ravia, Allen said nonchalantly, “Why are you here?” As soon as he finished speaking, Ravia smacked him hard on the head with the book in her hand. Ravia, holding a very thick magic book in both hands, said irritably, “Can’t you come here after losing?” Allen forced a smile, rubbed his head awkwardly, and said, “No, no, that’s not what I meant…” “Giggle,” Ravia giggled, holding the magic book. “Alright, I went to the library to borrow a book. When I saw the match started, I came by to cheer you on. Don’t lose, Allen!” “Huh?” Looking at Ravia in surprise, Lisa asked curiously, “Avi, you seem in a good mood today. Did something good happen?” Ravia replied puzzledly, “Did it?” “Yeah!” Lisa nodded vigorously. “Hmm… maybe,” Ravia giggled again and turned to Allen, “Go ahead, Allen!” Then she turned to leave. “Wait, Ravia,” Allen called out to her as she was about to leave, looking odd. “What about that guy? I mean…” “Thors?” Ravia tilted her head and said jokingly, “You coming to me to ask about him? Giggle, I think that idiot is still sleeping in… By the way, Allen, hasn’t your dorm’s spell been changed?” “No…” Allen shook his head hesitantly, saying in disbelief, “I mean, Ravia… is Thors really planning to withdraw?” “Hmm,” Ravia nodded, saying strangely, “Didn’t he say that yesterday?” “But…” Allen opened his mouth, hesitated for a long time, and said oddly, “I thought he was just joking… Okay, okay, even if it’s not a joke, if he withdraws, aren’t you going to say anything?” Looking at Allen in confusion, Ravia asked, “Say what?” “Hey!” Allen laughed, cleared his throat, and whispered, “If he withdraws, it means he admits defeat… Aren’t you going to persuade him?” “That’s different!”

“How is it different? Do you expect him to withdraw when facing others after beating you?”
“What does that matter?”
“…” Allen was completely speechless. Suddenly, he had an idea and whispered to Ravia, “We all know that Sos is extremely strong, but others don’t. What if they think he’s withdrawing out of fear of his opponent…”
“Well…” Ravia hesitated.
At that moment, the sixth match ended. Professor Puli stepped onto the competition area and shouted, “Next is the seventh match: Sos from our school’s second-year academy against Eddie Neuhm Amherst, a fifth-year student from theMilne Academy. Please have these two contestants enter immediately!”
“Look, look,” Allen said softly, pointing at Eddie as he slowly walked toward the center of the stage. “Look at that pretentious guy. See his expression? It’s really annoying…”
Following Allen’s finger, Ravia glanced at Eddie on the stage. He had his hands tucked into his wide white robe, eyes slightly narrowed, appearing very calm and confident of victory.
“Hmm…” Ravia frowned and whispered, “Wait, I’ll go call him!”
“Hey!” Allen smiled triumphantly as he watched Ravia rush toward the castle.
“Allen,” Lisa said doubtfully, pulling at his robe sleeve, “why do you insist on having Sos participate in the competition?”
“It’s simple,” Allen replied. The playful expression on his face gradually turned serious as he said earnestly, “My purpose in participating in this competition is to compete with Sos and Scott… In the past, it was more of a half-joking, half-serious fight, so this time…” He suddenly chuckled and winked at Lisa, “Especially that bastard Scott, who always mocks me and never takes me, a future battle mage, seriously. I’ve wanted to teach him a lesson for a long time. It’s a shame he’s such a loser… Well, let Sos experience the power of a battle mage first, hahaha!”
“Oh…” Lisa was stunned. She exchanged a glance with Lelira, who shook her head helplessly. Both smiled slightly, though Lelira’s smile seemed forced.
But things clearly went beyond Allen’s expectations…
It turned out that Ravia, persuaded by Allen, rushed to Jiang Zhe’s dormitory. When she pushed the door open, she indeed saw Jiang Zhe lying on the sofa, dozing off with a book over his face.

Shaking his head in annoyance, Ravia walked over a few steps, picked up the book, and tossed it aside. Without hesitation, she tried to pull Jiang Zhe up.
“Hey, it hurts! It hurts!” His injured right hand was suddenly attacked, and Jiang Zhe, half-asleep, gasped in pain and shouted, “What are you doing?”
“I… I’m sorry,” Ravia quickly released Jiang Zhe’s hand, speaking with some remorse. “I didn’t mean to. I just forgot…” Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she said anxiously, “Hurry up, Thos! The competition is about to start!”
Holding his right hand, Jiang Zhe looked at Ravia in surprise and said, “I told you I’d withdraw. You heard that yesterday too…”
“Yes, I heard. But…” Ravia hesitated, looking at Jiang Zhe. “Maybe withdrawing means losing the competition…”
“Then I’ll lose,” Jiang Zhe said calmly, lying back on the sofa. “I wasn’t there to win or for some legendary magic item…” He glanced at Ravia and added irritably, “If you hadn’t threatened me, I wouldn’t have participated in that competition at all!”
“How did I threaten you?” Ravia retorted instinctively, then paused, looking at Jiang Zhe awkwardly and asking softly, “Do you mean… you went to the competition to keep our promise?”
Rolling his eyes, Jiang Zhe grunted and asked back, “What do you think?”
“How would I know…” Ravia muttered, but her eyes showed satisfaction and joy. She bit her lip lightly and stammered, “But others might misunderstand you. What if they say you gave up because you were afraid of your opponent?”
“What do others think? It’s none of my business.”
“Giggle,” Ravia giggled under Jiang Zhe’s surprised gaze, then cleared her throat seriously. “Alright, let’s do this. Since you’re indeed injured, you can just explain that later. Um… stop sleeping all the time. I borrowed a book from the library that explains the theory of fire elements…”
“Wait, no way…”
“No arguing! I know you’d never voluntarily read such stuff on your own! Hmph! Don’t try to fool me. To become a proper magician, you have to master this knowledge sooner or later! Now, listen carefully. No dozing off, and no interrupting me…”
“…”
As a result, not only Jiang Zhe but even Ravia didn’t go back…

“What’s going on?”
“Where’s that little guy named Thors?”
“Could he be too timid?”
“Nonsense! That kid is extremely strong!”
Amidst the students’ chatter around the arena, Professor Puli kept checking his pocket watch from time to time.
To be honest, Professor Puli already had a favorable impression of that kid who, despite being only in the second grade, possessed the strength of a fifth-grader. Not to mention he was also an apprentice of Professor Hode, with whom Professor Puli got along well.
That’s why Professor Puli hadn’t yet declared Jiang Zhe a loser for delaying the match.
But even so, it had been nearly ten minutes, and the kid still hadn’t shown up, leaving Professor Puli in a difficult position…
Seeming to sense Professor Puli’s dilemma, Eddie politely said, “Professor, may we wait a little longer? I really want to exchange some magic techniques with your student here…”
“Of course, absolutely!” Professor Puli clearly hoped Eddie would say that. He glanced around and then pointed at Allen, saying, “Allen, could you go and call Thors over?”
Obviously, both Allen and Thors—those two students with extraordinary abilities—had caught the professors’ attention long ago, and after this match, their fame grew even more.
“Sure, Professor!”
Nodding gratefully, Allen, clad in armor, rushed toward the castle with heavy footsteps.
After waiting another ten minutes, Allen finally returned to the arena, looking rather unenthusiastic…
“Allen, where’s Thors?”
“Uh, well…” Rubbing his head, Allen stepped onto the arena and said awkwardly to Professor Puli, “He… he said he’s withdrawing!”
“Withdrawing?” Professor Puli’s eyes widened in surprise. “Was he seriously injured in the last match?”
“Eh… I think so!” Allen replied oddly, then secretly smirked. Seriously injured? That guy is fine now!
“That’s too unfortunate!” Professor Puli sighed and shook his head, frowning. “If his injury was serious, he should have shown it to the professors. Ah… what a pity!” With that, he glanced at Eddie and nodded, saying, “This student, Thors has given up this match, so you win!”

It was clear that Eddie wasn’t very happy upon hearing the news; instead, he seemed disappointed. After giving Allen a frowning glance, he nodded and said politely, “That’s really unfortunate… I understand. Thank you, Professor!” With that, he turned and walked straight away from the arena.

“Acting tough!” Allen huffed as he watched Eddie leave, then scratched his head before turning to leave as well.

“Wait, Allen!” Professor Puli called out to him in time, pointing at the match list in his hand. “Don’t go, Allen. It’s your turn next…”

“No need, Professor!” Allen turned around, speaking weakly. “Please tell my lucky opponent that I’m withdrawing!”

“Huh?” Professor Puli stared in shock, clearly stunned.

“Stop!” Just as Allen was about to leave the arena, a shout came from outside.

Geller pushed his way through the crowd, placed a hand on Allen’s shoulder, and said viciously, “You brat! Don’t think I didn’t hear that! What did you mean by that?”

“Geller!” Eddie, who had arrived shortly after, frowned and said, “What are you doing, Geller?!”

“What am I doing?” Geller sneered mockingly. “I can’t pretend I didn’t hear a second-year kid calling me lucky!”

Glancing at his left shoulder, Allen said calmly, “So what do you want?”

“What do I want?” Geller smiled coldly and pointed behind him at the arena—his intention was obvious.

With a mocking smile, Allen said, “Hmph. I don’t have that much time to play games with you. Let go!”

“What if I don’t?”

“Don’t?” As if hearing a funny joke, Allen laughed and said, “That’s simple!” With that, he raised his right hand and placed it on Geller’s.

The next moment, both Allen and Geller’s expressions changed simultaneously.

“Stop it, Geller!”

“Stop, Allen…”

At Eddie and Lisa’s urging, Allen and Geller gripped each other’s hands tightly, their eyes growing increasingly fierce.

“What are you two doing?” Professor Puli, who had come to his senses, rushed over and shouted, “Allen, and you too, student from the Mill Academy—both of you, control yourselves!”

“Sorry, Professor!”

“I’m very sorry…”

They apologized in a tone lacking sincerity before slowly releasing each other’s hands.

With a smirk, Allen whispered, “You’ve got quite a bit of strength, lucky guy!”
Feeling veins bulge on his forehead, Geller snapped, “You’re not bad either, kid!”
Then, the two exchanged a glance before turning and leaving. Meanwhile, Allen kept rubbing his right hand, muttering under his breath, “It hurts so much, that bastard…”
Geller did the same, glancing at his slightly swollen right hand, and growled angrily, “That damn kid—is he some kind of monster?”
And so, after waiting nearly twenty minutes, both matches ended almost at the same time…
Professor Pley shook his head with a wry smile. Having never encountered such a situation before, he sighed helplessly and shouted back to the center of the arena, “The seventh match of the second round of the finals: Our second-year student Thors has to withdraw due to injury from the previous match. The winner is Eddie Neuhm Amherst, a fifth-year student from Milko Academy. As for the eighth match, uh, for special reasons, our second-year student Allen Skander also withdraws. The winner is Geller Vizin, a fifth-year student from Milko Academy…”
At the same time, outside the gates of Riox Academy, a girl with long azure hair gazed blankly at the ancient castle in the distance, letting out a soft sigh.
Then, she took out a slightly yellowed piece of paper from her bag, on which a few lines seemed to be written in ink. With a gentle release, the paper mysteriously flew toward the castle.
After waiting about ten minutes, the sound of footsteps came as a middle-aged professor rushed over. After glancing at the girl outside the iron gate, he recited a few spells, and with a click, the gate opened.
After opening the ancient iron gate, the middle-aged professor looked at the girl with deep apology, saying, “I’m very sorry. Since there are competitions going on in the academy and we are acting as referees, well… heh, you must have waited quite a while, right?”
“No, Professor. Just a little while…”
“Heh, that’s good,” the middle-aged professor nodded and asked hesitantly, “Are you… Dia Palas?”
“Yes, Professor… Do you know me?”
“Oh, yes,” the professor smiled and said, “I’ve heard of you from your mentor, Professor Kati… It must have been tough on the way here. Come on, come in quickly!”
“Mm,” the girl nodded obediently and walked in.

Reciting a spell to close that ancient iron door, the middle-aged professor turned around and said curiously, “By the way, I heard from Professor Katie that you’ve returned…” He paused, then looked at the girl in surprise and asked, “Hmm? Dia Palas? You don’t seem well. Are you feeling unwell?”
“No,” the girl shook her head, forcing a smile as she said softly, “I’m… I’m fine, thank you, Professor…”
“Oh, I’m glad if that’s the case…”