Chapter 111: Visiting the Finance Department!

Ronan stared at Ethan as though he had just announced that he wanted to throw away a fortune.

Which practically was exactly what Ethan had just done!

For a moment, the principal genuinely seemed unable to understand why anyone would willingly reject such privileges, especially when most students in the academy would probably do anything to obtain even a fraction of what had just been offered to Ethan.

But Ethan knew better.

He remembered what Drey had told him before.

He never gave anything away for free.

There was always a reason behind everything Drey did, and Ethan refused to believe that this sudden offer was nothing more than some generous gesture from a man who had once treated him like he was worthless.

If anything, the offer made Ethan even more suspicious.

What did Drey want from him?

The answer came to Ethan almost immediately.

Guidance.

There was no other reason that made sense.

Drey had probably realized that Ethan was capable of doing something the other Guides couldn’t, especially after what had happened during the rift mission. If Drey wanted Ethan to Guide him again, then offering him a better dorm room and a few privileges was probably his way of trying to get Ethan to change his mind.

But Drey was going to have to try much harder than that.

Ethan had survived perfectly well without any of those privileges.

He didn’t need Drey’s room.

He didn’t need Drey’s status.

And he certainly didn’t need whatever superficial benefits came with being treated as though he were somehow connected to Drey again.

Most importantly, Ethan had already promised himself that he would never Guide Drey again.

There was no way a nicer room was going to change that.

Ronan finally broke the silence with an incredulous scoff.

"You’re really rejecting this offer?"

"Yes."

"You do realize how ridiculous that sounds, right?"

"I do."

"And you’re still refusing?"

"Yes."

Ronan stared at him for another moment, as though waiting for Ethan to suddenly come to his senses.

Ethan simply stood there without changing his mind.

Eventually, Ronan sighed.

"Fine. I’ll let Lord Drey know that you rejected his offer."

"Good."

Ethan didn’t hesitate.

With that settled, he turned around and prepared to leave the office.

His hand had already reached the door when another thought suddenly crossed his mind.

The money.

The enormous amount of anonymous money that had appeared in his student account a few days ago.

He had been so distracted by everything else happening around him that he hadn’t had the chance to properly investigate it.

Ethan turned back.

"Principal."

Ronan looked at him.

"There was something else I wanted to ask."

"What is it?"

"A large amount of money suddenly appeared in my student account a few days ago. I don’t know where it came from, and I haven’t received any explanation for it. Do you know anything about it?"

Ronan’s brows furrowed.

"How much?"

Ethan told him the amount.

Ronan’s expression changed slightly.

He immediately pulled up Ethan’s student records and checked his account information.

After going through the transaction history, he looked back at Ethan.

"The amount is indeed there."

"So you don’t know who sent it?"

Ronan shook his head.

"If you’re asking about the source of the transfer, you’ll need to go to the accounting department. They handle student account transactions and should be able to tell you more about the transfer history."

He then reached for a small file pass and handed it to Ethan.

"Take this. Show it to them and explain the situation. They should be able to check the details of the transaction for you."

Ethan took the pass.

"Thanks."

He turned and walked out of the office.

As he made his way down the hallway, however, one thing kept bothering him.

Ronan’s attitude.

It hadn’t been nearly as harsh or hateful as usual.

Normally, whenever Ronan summoned Ethan, there was an obvious edge to his words, especially when Ethan had somehow managed to become involved in another troublesome situation.

But this time, Ronan had been surprisingly calm.

Why?

Was it because of Drey’s privileges?

But Ethan had already rejected them.

Knowing Ronan, there should have been no reason for him to continue pretending to be so mild after Ethan refused the offer.

Ethan frowned slightly.

Perhaps he was simply overthinking it.

There was no point dwelling on it.

Whatever Ronan’s reason was, Ethan had more important things to deal with now.

He tucked the pass away and quickly made his way toward the accounting department.

After walking for a while, Ethan finally arrived at the department and entered the building.

Unlike the crowded academy grounds outside, the atmosphere here was considerably quieter.

A few staff members were seated behind their respective desks, dealing with documents and student records, while several students waited around the department to have various account-related issues handled.

Ethan looked around before approaching one of the staff members.

"Excuse me."

The staff member looked up.

"Yes?"

Ethan took out the file pass Ronan had given him and handed it over.

"The principal sent me here. There’s a large amount of money in my student account that I don’t recognize, and I’m trying to find out where it came from."

The staff member accepted the pass and glanced through it before nodding.

"Alright. Give me a moment. We’ll check your student account history."

Ethan nodded.

"Okay."

The staff member began working through the records while Ethan waited nearby.

At first, Ethan didn’t think much of it.

He had already been through enough strange situations lately that an unexplained transfer of money was almost starting to feel normal.

Almost.

Still, the longer the staff member checked, the more curious Ethan became.

Eventually, the staff member disappeared into another section of the department with his records.

Ethan waited.

A few minutes passed.

Then more.

Finally, the staff member returned and called him over.

"Ethan Ashford?"

Ethan immediately approached.

"Yes?"

The staff member looked down at the records in his hands before raising his eyes to Ethan.

"We’ve checked your student account history."

Ethan waited.

"There was indeed a large amount of money transferred into your account."

His brows lifted slightly.

"So who sent it?"

The staff member looked at the transaction details again.

"It was transferred by an account registered under the name..."

He paused.

Ethan’s expression slowly changed.

"...Steve Ashford."