After spending a few days with Princess Sidonie, William once again returned to Aamon's Temple to report his completion of the Quest that was given to him.
"Tell me, did you wash your hands before you came here?" Aamon asked with suspicion.
The corner of William's lips twitched because this was the first sentence that came out of Aamon's lips as soon as he appeared in front of him.
"Of course I did," William replied. "I'm a very hygienic person, you know?"
Aamon arched an eyebrow, but he didn't say anything else. Instead, he went straight to business and informed William about his next trial.
"Listen well, Half-Elf. Due to the manner of how you cleared the other trials, I decided to give you one last trial," Aamon said. "If you clear this trial, I will honor my words and lift the curse on Est's, Ian's, and Isaac's bodies."
At first, William thought that he just misheard Aamon's words. But, after asking for confirmation, Astrid's twin brother had indeed said that this would be his final trial, and it made William very happy.
"No matter what it is, I will definitely accomplish it without fail!" William patted his chest with confidence. "Come at me, Bro!"
Aamon snorted. "I sincerely hope that you will be able to pass this trial as well. I look forward to your performance."
William quieted down and waited for Aamon to finish his explanation. He was very curious about what the final trial would be. Naturally, he expected that this trial would be more difficult than the two trials that he had finished not long ago.
"There is a young lady who is staying in Hestia Academy that goes by the name Shannon," Aamon said. "What I want you to do is help her with her problem."
William nodded his head, "What is her problem?"
"Well, you can go and ask her yourself. After you finish this last trial, you don't have to report to me. I will honor my word, and carry my end of our agreement."
"Thank you, Your Excellency!"
Aamon waved his hand in a casual manner. "No need to thank me. Like I said, this is our agreement. You may now go."
William gave Aamon a brief bow before leaving the Temple. The Grand Marquis of Hell watched the Half-Elf's retreating back with a mischievous smile on his lips.
'Good luck, William,' Aamon mused. 'You will need all the luck in the world in order to clear this quest.'
After his short chat with William, Aamon went to the Temple of the Gods to see his sister. Astrid had taken a hands off policy in regards to the red-headed teenager's trials, so Aamon thought it would be a good idea to inform her about William's last quest.
"You really asked him that?" Astrid inquired as she looked at her twin in disbelief. "You tasked him to meet Shannon and help her solve her problems?"
"Yes," Aamon answered. "I was supposed to give him a few more trials, but I'm afraid that he will be able to breeze through them in no time at all. Since that is the case, I should just let him face the Last Boss. Who knows? Maybe he will surprise me."
Astrid stared long and hard at Aamon, "Are you sure about this? Although I think that his chances for succeeding are slim, that boy is indeed capable. I thought he would not be able to clear the 51st Floor of Babylon, but to our surprise, he really managed to do it.
"Are you sure you thought this through? Are you prepared for the possible result of this endeavor?"
Aamon chuckled, "If he passes then great. I will even be thankful to him if he manages to solve Shannon's problem."
Astrid sighed as she drank her tea. Her twin had taken a gamble, and he was betting his chips on William's success.
'I guess this is his way of showing that he cares for her,' Astrid thought. 'I just hope that my brother will not regret the decision he made today.'
—-
After leaving the Temple, William hurriedly went to find Chloee. She was Celeste's familiar, and knew a lot about Hestia Academy. The Half-Elf was hoping that he would be able to gain some information regarding the girl named Shannon, who seemed to be studying inside Hestia Academy.
"How do you know about Shannon?" Chloee frowned. Not many knew about Shannon's existence. For William to know about this secret meant that he had been told the news by someone else.
Chloee crossed her arms on her chest and eyed William with a critical gaze.
She didn't understand how a closely guarded secret was known to someone who was not even enrolled at the academy.
"A God told me," William replied with a smile.
"…Then listen, and listen well," Chloee said after thinking things through. She decided to tell William all the information she knew about Shannon, to prevent William from investigating on his own.
If he was caught by one of the guards that were tasked to protect the white-haired girl from the academy, he might be subjected to a severe punishment that might also find its way to her, because she was William's sixth master.
"Shannon is a year older than you, and she has a very peculiar ability," Chloee whispered. "Almost everyone who has laid their eyes on her has commited suicide. So, if you don't want to die, don't even try to find Shannon in the academy. This is for your own good, do you understand?"
William could only nod his head because Chloee was starting to get agitated. This was the first time that he had seen her act this way. Although he was confident in his strength, he wasn't omnipotent.
The way Chloee was acting made him realize that there was more to Shannon than met the eye.. For now, he just nodded his head in order to calm the little familiar, who was looking back at him with an anxious expression written on her face.
