After a little back and forth between father and son and an assurance from Jill that everything would be kept under wraps, they left the academy premises with a strong reminder that Orson was to start attending classes effective the next day.
By evening, they had finished carrying out all their businesses for the day and retired back to the inn where their room was, and then, as usual, a casual conversation that would eventually turn serious ensued.
"The academy seems nice, " Peter said.
"Yeah, yeah, nice. It has nice curves, and you could drown in the pool or get lost in the cave, " Orson said, rolling his eyes.
"I don't really know all that much about the Pearl Magic Academy, but I guess a pool isn't beneath them. And caves, caves, hmmm, yeah, the Academy should have mining caves, cultivation caves, etc, although I doubt if they would be located directly in the academy. It seems someone is eager to attend school and has done their research, " Peter said.
"Yeah, yeah, and someone wants to feel the curves, drown in the pool, or get lost in the cave of the academy, " Orson said.
"Why are you repeating stuff you've said already, and what is with you and cur-"
Peter suddenly came to a realization and Orson could have sworn that he heard a click sound coming from Peter's skull.
"So that's what you meant, sigh, I don't even have the strength to dance with you this night, " Peter said.
"Well, you're a man; a man has his needs. You and Mum should just get a divorce and stop punishing each other; you know I'm right, " Orson said.
"What does a thirteen-year-old like, you know, dumbass," Peter said as he looked at Orson like a pile of shit, clearly displaying his dislike for what Orson had said.
"Pout all you want, father; after all, you've always been a baby, " Orson said.
"What did you just sa-"
"Have you realized something, that when we were in the test room, we kind of weren't ourselves? Principal Orion wasn't her normal seductive self, you were kind of behaving like an uninformed commoner, a clear contrast to how you behave, even more so how you've been behaving this past few days, and as for me, well, I guess I was still normal, " Orson said.
"I'll just leave out the part where you just insulted me and disprove assessment. Jill was clearly shaken from the results of the test; that's why she was like that, " Peter said.
"Oh! Already on the first name base, I see; I clearly saw this coming, " Orson said, giving Peter a knowing smile.
"Whatever it is you're thinking, better unthink it, " Peter said.
"Yeah, I've heard you. Back to PRINCIPAL ORION, do you want to tell me that a whole principal of an academy, in fact, The Pearl Magic Academy, would be that ignorant? " Orson asked.
"You have a point there, what could be the... My God, " Peter said as he broke into a cold sweat.
"What's wrong? " Orson asked.
"I'm not too sure, but I think someone used a divine technique on us, and if that is true, it must be a truly terrifying being, and another thing it means is that we were being watched, " Peter said.
When Orson followed the train of Peter's thoughts, he also shivered, imagining how easily their life could be lost at any moment.
Peter, on the other hand, still thought it was something and then spoke, "Well, it might also be that we were not the intended targets of the technique and that what we experienced was an aura spill from whatever technique that was used.
If this is the case, I'm sure that when you start going to the academy tomorrow and you put your ears down, you might hear of something related to this. It might be that on this very day, a crime was committed, a murder perhaps, theft, who knows. "
"And if something like what you said happened, it means we might be in danger as if the other party knows we were present, whether we know anything or not, they would attempt to silence us as all loose ends must be tied, " Orson said.
"My thoughts exactly, " Peter agreed.
"So what do we do now? " Orson asked.
"Simple, don't go looking for trouble and remain vigilant. The key is to be low-key," Peter replied.
"The key is to be low-key; you've outdone yourself, father, hahaha! " Orson laughed.
"I know, right? The words just flowed out like a gentle stream, hahaha! " Peter laughed also.
"I guess you'll be using your lyrical genius for good and not for personal gain, " Orson quipped.
"Ok, you're dead, " Peter said in a chilling tone that made Orson's hair stand on end.
"Come on, isn't this getting old? " Orson asked.
"Well you're still very immature, and it will only get old when you're old, " Peter said.
'This should be a perfect time to test something out, ' Orson thought.
The next moment, he lunged at Peter, striking at his neck with a concealed blade but then, everywhere suddenly became dark.
By the time everywhere had light again, Orson discovered that it was day already.
"W-what happened? Argh! My head! "
"Oh! You're awake. I guess you were pretty tired yesterday, " Peter said before asking, "How are you feeling today? "
Before Orson replied, his head was already steady and the memories of the night that had passed came flooding in.
'I couldn't do anything. So this means that his cultivation is a lot higher than mine. He knocked me down instantly and -'
Baarrff!!!
"What the hell, you fed dog shit, " Orson screamed.
"Hahaha! One day, we'll sit down reminiscing about the good old days. We'll look back to this day and make comments like, Those were the good old days, or, Such a wonderful time that day was, " Peter said.
"Why the hell would you feed me dog shit! " Orson screamed again.
"You were the one thinking about testing your new power level on me, or am I wrong? I just wanted to show you the dangers of karma. "