The elderly servant Nameless was no ordinary man. As such, it was not totally out of the blue for him to know with just a single look that Missy Williams was a martial arts prodigy.
However, his extraordinary sense of judgment had also encircled him into a conflict of interests with an enraged Mr. Collins. Mr. Collins had been the first one to discover Missy’s immense talent, and now Nameless was shamelessly trying to snatch his apprentice-in-all-but-name away from him.
Rolling up his sleeves, Mr. Collins decided there was only one way to settle this problem. He would fight Nameless fair and square, with the winner taking all including the right to train Missy.
However, throughout the fight, Nameless seemed to be consciously holding back. In fact, he had ditched their fight halfway through, leaving without any explanation.
In their fight, Nameless had merely been exhibiting the abilities typical of the Archduke class.
If Zeke’s observations did not fail him, he predicted that if Nameless had exploited his full strength, he could have unleashed the power of a King Class warrior. Though the old man was hiding something, he had not given up hope of taking on Missy as an apprentice.
Later in the afternoon, Zeke was going about his routine of meditating inside the imperial mausoleum and communing with the Power of the Universe when Nameless barged into the entrance of the tomb, creating the loudest ruckus he could.
Walking over to the entrance to check out the source of the commotion, Zeke had to quickly swallow a laugh when he discovered that Nameless’ impressive beard and eyebrows had mysteriously disappeared, leaving his entire head as smooth and shiny as a hard-boiled egg.
Nameless was literally vibrating in frustration like a boiling kettle. Zeke half-expected to see steam whistling out of his ears. The old man shouted, “Zeke Williams, come out here now! You owe me a reasonable explanation for this matter today!”
Zeke was offended. “Nameless, what are you raving about?”
Nameless jabbed a finger at his squeaky-clean chin and forehead. “When I was taking a nap just now, your daughter took the opportunity to shave off my eyebrows and beard! Oh, the sheer disrespect! You need to give me a proper explanation.”
Exasperation and amusement battling within him, Zeke turned to his daughter. “Missy, did you do this?”
“Well, dad,” Missy said, rubbing her neck guiltily. “Grandpa Nameless bought me so many toys... I really didn’t know how to repay him. I thought his beard looked really dirty, so I helped him trim it a bit. I didn’t think he’d be so angry!”
Upon seeing Missy’s guilty face, Nameless abruptly felt guilty himself. But he hardened his heart, restraining the urge to go comfort her. He had a goal to accomplish.
Zeke just raised an eyebrow. “So, you trimmed his beard, but why his eyebrows as well?”
“I didn’t!” Missy protested hurriedly.
“Children really shouldn’t lie,” Nameless said as hurriedly as Missy did. “I saw you shaving my eyebrows, little girl!”
Zeke’s eyebrows had almost reached his hairline by now. “Well, if you saw her, why didn’t you stop her?”
“I... “Nameless found himself suddenly speechless before he regained his earlier bluster. “Don’t go off-topic! I want an explanation today, and that’s final.”
Zeke just dragged a hand across his face. “Tell me then, what sort of explanation would make you shut up?”
“Simple.” Nameless suddenly turned into a jovial old man. “Let Missy recognize me as her teacher and learn all that I’ll teach her.”
Zeke had to restrain the urge to sigh loudly. In the end, they had returned to square one with the truth being that everything Nameless had done today was all part of his ploy to get Missy to be his apprentice.
There was no way Missy could have gotten away with shaving Nameless’s beard. The old man had simply not stopped her just so he could collect on the debt later. Zeke also assumed that Nameless had shaved his eyebrows off himself and pinned the blame on Missy.
Ah, the old rascal, Zeke found himself thinking with grudging respect. At that moment, Mr. Collins came storming over as well, trailing fire and smoke. The smell of gunpowder in the air was strong. Zeke resisted the sudden urge to bury his face in his hands.
“You old fox!” Mr. Collins waved his fist at Nameless. “Thinking of stealing my apprentice again? Nice to see you’ve even sacrificed your eyebrows for the show. Why don’t you face me like a real man today instead of running away like you did last time?”
“I ran away last time so I wouldn’t have to cripple you, you old geezer,” Nameless taunted in reply. “But since you’re offering yourself up to die so nicely today, I’m not about to refuse you!”
The two old men immediately circled each other, their fists tensed and ready to strike. A large storm was brewing.
Upon watching the trouble go down eagerly, the gathered soldiers were unsure of whether they should laugh, or cry, or just pull out the popcorn and start munching. With these two old rascals and Missy the little cutie, life in the army camp within the Restricted Zone had certainly become more colorful recently. There would be no more lonely days ahead.
However, Zeke sighed and broke up the fight before it could happen. “Alright, stop it. Stop it now. Both of you!”
He glanced at Nameless. “Nameless, are you truly serious about taking on Missy as your apprentice?”
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