Chapter 546: 546 - Taming the Fourth Year: Connections - Guidance

Chapter 546: Chapter 546 – Taming the Fourth Year: Connections – Guidance

The question hung in the air, loaded with the banker’s characteristic curiosity. Ren could feel the three boys’ attention refocus on him too, probably hoping this would lead to more ammunition for their theories about his supposed expertise with girls.

The irony wasn’t lost on him that he was seeking advice about apologizing to the very girls his classmates assumed he had some special understanding of. If they only knew how badly he had mishandled those relationships recently…

“Something like that,” Ren murmured to not give any more information and changed the subject. “And I also need to tell you something about the golden spores for your cultivation… they’re going to be impossible to obtain for a while.”

The effect was immediate and dramatic.

Both Finch and Theodore clutched their chests and staggered backward as if they had received devastating hits.

“It can’t be!” Finch exclaimed.

“Tragedy!” Theodore squeaked in the new ‘ventriloquist’ voice from Finch’s nearly closed mouth, a voice which was surprisingly deep for a mouse.

Even the small mushrooms on their heads went completely dark, as if they were expressing death.

Ren observed this performance with amusement.

“How the hell do you have such ridiculous reactions?” he muttered.

“Lots of practice!” Finch responded proudly, recovering instantaneously from his dramatic swoon. “Theodore and I have been perfecting our repertoire!”

“It’s important to keep our clients entertained!” added ‘Theodore’, straightening his tiny whiskers with its tiny paw.

But then Finch noticed something in Ren’s expression that made his demeanor change.

“Wait a moment,” he said more quietly, studying Ren’s face with genuine concern. “You’re sad. Really sad…”

Ren felt surprised by the banker’s sudden perceptiveness.

“I… maybe am… it will be a difficult period,” he admitted.

“Ah.” Finch nodded understandingly. “Related to the loss of those important golden spores, I suppose?”

“Among other things…”

The admission carried more weight than Finch could know. The loss of his fungus, the reduction in his abilities, the damaged relationships, all of it combined into a burden that felt almost overwhelming some days.

Finch exchanged a significant look with Theodore, and both seemed to reach a silent agreement.

“Young Ren,” Finch said, his voice unusually serious, “I want you to know that Theodore and I will be perfectly fine with what we’ve achieved with our second beast up to Silver. Even if we don’t manage to make it a wild card for a third one like you said would happen, we like being part of the mushroom club… And we’ve already progressed more than we ever dreamed possible!”

“Exactly!” squeaked Theodore, bowing at an angle too straight for a mouse. “And only thanks to you!”

“When you selected us as doubles,” Finch continued, “when we had no particular usefulness, no special talent, no important connections… it was the first time someone saw potential in us.”

Ren felt unexpectedly moved by the sincerity in the banker’s voice.

“You do have usefulness,” he said firmly. “You were brave when no one else dared to defend someone innocent. That took courage.”

“And you gave us the opportunity to be rewarded far above our payroll!” Finch smiled warmly. “I’m sure you’ll find the solution to whatever current problem you’re facing. You’ve always been special and surprising, so I expect another surprise when this problem is resolved.”

Theodore nodded vigorously in agreement when Finch handed the crystals to Ren.

“Although,” Finch added, returning to his more typical dramatic demeanor, “before you leave, could you please take these three troublemakers and give them some appropriate advice about… social behavior?”

He gestured toward Roran, Trent, and Jun, who had been standing awkwardly during the entire conversation, clearly hoping to be forgotten.

Ren sighed again.

“Fine. Come on, you three.”

The boys followed him in single file, but with their heads and arms hanging down like defeated zombies.

“Excellent!” Finch called from behind them. “And remember, Ren, whatever gift you’re planning, it’s the thought that truly counts!”

As they walked away, Ren couldn’t help but feel slightly better. Finch and Theodore, despite their ridiculous theatrics, had managed again to remind him that he had people who genuinely cared about him and they believed in his ability to overcome any challenges.

Now he just had to figure out what exactly to tell these three hormone-addled friends of his about appropriate behavior toward their female classmates.

♢♢♢♢

Ren began walking back to where he had been before with a more specific plan in mind.

He had decided to create some special clothing accessories for Luna and Liora, using high-quality furs and injecting runes and dissolution liquids with crystals to give them slightly useful properties in addition to their aesthetic value.

During the rest days between intermediate semesters, he had noticed how both girls always liked to look at certain shiny clothing in the city shops for a while.

Luna seemed to prefer deep blue and silver tones, while Liora leaned toward elegant purples and blacks.

Fortunately, he had theorized how to create them before losing the connection with his companion… It wasn’t information he had consciously sought, but after spending so much time near them, he had begun to notice they liked those things, that and other small details.

And the observation process had been almost unconscious… the way Luna’s eyes lingered on certain fabric patterns, how Liora would touch displays with careful appreciation.

Without his fungus’s analytical enhancement now, he was surprised to realize how much he had actually noticed then… Was it all thanks to his beast?

However, his three “advisees” hadn’t disappeared or escaped as he had hoped.

Roran, Trent, and Jun followed him at a respectful distance, clearly waiting for the promised lecture about appropriate behavior. The problem was that, instead of being quiet and repentant, they had begun whispering among themselves in a way that was making Ren feel uncomfortable again.

Until…

“Hey, Ren,” Roran called with apparent innocence, “what’s the gift going to be in the end?”

Ren, distracted by his thoughts about runes and injection techniques, responded without thinking much.

“Clothing.”

The three boys stopped immediately, exchanging significant looks.

“Complete dresses?” Trent asked with growing interest. “Because technically those aren’t allowed at school and…”

“No, I already know that, it’s not that kind of clothing,” Ren hurried to correct. “They’re smaller things that don’t affect the dress code much and aren’t too visible.”

The effect of his words was completely opposite to what he expected.

The three boys looked at each other, processed the information for exactly three seconds, and then simultaneously knelt before him in genuine reverence.

“You’re a god!” Jun exclaimed.

“The supreme master!” Roran added.

“Teach us your ways!” Trent pleaded.

Ren looked at them with growing confusion.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Underwear!” Roran whispered as if he were sharing state secrets. “You’re going to give underwear to the prettiest girls, and from the best families, in school!”

The realization of what they had understood hit Ren like a hammer. His face turned red instantly, but not just from embarrassment. His adolescent mind, despite his attempts to keep it focused on appropriate topics, immediately conjured images (ultra vanilla) that (according to him) he definitely shouldn’t be thinking about.

“NO!” he shouted, more to silence his own thoughts than to correct his classmates. “It’s not…! You have sick minds!”

“But you said small clothing that’s hard to see and…” Jun began.

“Accessories!”

Phew… I only owe you guys one extra chapter this week now… hopefully I won’t fall back to just one a day again.

I also need to save 5 extra chapters for next month’s privilege since it seems WN isn’t too happy with me keeping priv with so few chapters and so cheap, because it ‘breaks the market’…

Sorry about that for next month, my “priv buying Dragon God Samas”. orz

At the very least, I’ll try to make sure the laughs, the tears, or the excitement are worth it if you decide to still buy!

Anyway, as always…

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