Three days after his second meeting with Shannon, William went to find Zhu and Sha.
The two of them were two of his most trusted companions, and he planned to invite them to go with him to the Orc Dungeon when the Academy started their Quarterly Assessment Test for the students.
This was quite similar to what Silverwind Academy did when William was still studying under them.
As students of Hestia Academy, all of the students were required to undertake missions that would benefit the lives of the people living in the Central Continent.
Some of these missions were Bandit Subjugation, Merchant Escorting Services, Exploration Quests, Investigations, Archeological Digging, Dungeon Expeditions, Harvesting rare materials, and many more.
The Founders of Hestia Academy didn't want to raise flowers inside greenhouses. They wanted to raise individuals that could, and would, contribute to the betterment of society as a whole.
No one was exempt from this rule. Even the professors would usually take this opportunity to gain some Merit Points in the Academy in exchange for money or resources.
Also, this Quarterly Event had no restrictions when it came to forming groups.
Those in the upper years could even help the Freshmen in their missions.
It was a good way to form strong connections, and this was greatly encouraged by the Academy.
The first person that William found was Zhu. However, the Half-Elf almost did a double take because he thought that he was just seeing things. Right now, the chubby young man had an impatient expression on his face, while being surrounded by beautiful women
"Ladies, can you please let me pass," Zhu said while frowning. "I need to find Sha. There is something I need to discuss with him."
"Lord Zhu, please stay with us for a bit," a cute girl held onto Zhu's right arm and looked up at him with a bashful expression. "We baked some cookies. Why don't you join us for an afternoon snack?"
"That's right, Lord Zhu," a pretty young lady who obviously came from a noble family held Zhu's left arm and hugged it tightly. "Please, join us for an afternoon snack. I promise that you will not regret it."
Her ample bosom pressed down on the chubby young man's arm. Clearly, she was doing her best to use her natural endowments to make Zhu accompany them.
Three more girls latched onto Zhu's body, giving him no chance to escape their grasps.
The frown on Zhu's face deepend. It was quite obvious that he had no interest in the beautiful young ladies that surrounded him.
Just as he was about to push them away, he noticed William who was looking at him with a big grin on his face.
"Will, don't just stand there, help me!" Zhu said as he called out to the Half-Elf who was leaning against a pillar.
The girls turned their heads to look at William. Their gazes were saying "Don't take Lord Zhu from us or else…"
William scratched the back of his head because he didn't know what to do in this situation. He never expected that Zhu was quite popular with the ladies, and this took him completely by surprise.
"Um, do you know where Sha is?" William asked. "There's something that I need to ask him."
"Sha? He might be in the library," Zhu replied. "He likes to know more about this worl– I mean, the Central Continent and the other Continents surrounding it. There is a high chance that you will find him there."
"Thanks!"
"O-Oi! Don't leave me here!"
William ignored Zhu's calls for help and hurriedly left towards the library. He might be strong enough to fight Saints now, but he would never attack a group of girls, who were looking at Zhu with hearts in their eyes.
He simply offered a prayer for Zhu's well being in his heart.
Several minutes later, William arrived at the Library.
This was a very huge building where books that hailed from all over the world were gathered in order to help educate the young men and women of the next generation.
It didn't take long for William to find Sha because Optimus was able to detect all of his allies on the map.
The scholarly young man was seated on a table, surrounded by many books. There were also maps that were laid out on the table, and he glanced at them from time to time as if using them as reference.
Right next to him was a cold beauty with long black hair. She was leaning on Sha's back and saying a few things, while pointing at the map in front of them.
William couldn't help but think that his two friends were experiencing the Academy life that many single people would practically kill for.
Just as William was thinking whether he should disturb the atmosphere of the two, Sha raised his head and glanced at William's direction.
"Will, do you need me for something?" Sha asked with a smile.
The beautiful lady then glanced at William before whispering something in Sha's ear.
Not long after, she took out a pair of glasses from her pocket and wore them. She then gave Wiliam a brief nod before walking towards the desk that was reserved for the assistant librarians who managed the entire Library.
The girl's friend giggled as the black-haired beauty sat back on her chair. The beautiful librarian was still on duty, but she would almost always be with Sha whenever he appeared in the library.
Her friends didn't mind taking over her spot for a little while, because she was still doing her job to help people in the library.
"You and Zhu are good," William commented as he sat beside Sha. "Who is that lady? Is she your girlfriend?"
Sha shook his head. "Her name is Hazel and she is an assistant librarian. She often helps me find books about the Empires in the Central Continent. She's quite knowledgeable and I am grateful for her help."
"Is that all?" William asked in a teasing tone. "Don't tell me you're not one of those dense protagonists that have no idea when a girl likes them?"
Sha shook his head for the second time before giving William the "you know what my true form is like" stare, which made the Half-Elf chuckle.
"You're so outdated, Sha," William commented. "Even Demons can form relationships with humans. Just look at my wife, Chiffon. Her mother is a dwarf, and her father is a bastard that I will punch to oblivion once I visit the Demonic Continent."
Sha didn't want to talk about Hazel, so he pressed William for his reason in looking for him.
"I wanted to talk to you and Zhu about the Quarterly Event that is going to happen in a few days," William said. "Zhu was surrounded by beautiful ladies earlier, so I didn't have the opportunity to talk to him. However, do the two of you have any plans for the Quarterly Assessment?"
Sha shook his head "Actually, I was also about to look for you in order to discuss this Academy-wide event. We came here to repay you for our freedom. You only need to say the word and we will be there to help you with anything."
William felt touched because he could feel Sha's sincerity. When he paid for their freedom, he didn't even think of anything in return. This was why he was pleasantly surprised when he saw his two friends in the Misty Sect, along with Sun Wukong, for their Founding Day celebrations.
"Sha, I don't want you and Zhu to feel indebted to me," William said. "Friends don't need debts between them. I did what I did because I was the one that was indebted to the two of you. If you didn't help me back in the Heavenly Domain, I would have never been able to pass through the Gate."
Sha remained silent because he knew that William truly felt that way about them. Since that was the case, there was no need to force the issue.
"Where do you plan to go for the Quarterly Assessment?" Sha inquired. "Zhu and I have also been invited by our classmates to go with them on missions, but we politely turned them down. We said that we are planning to form a party with you, so most of them backed out. With the exception of the girls who are infatuated with Zhu.
"You better be careful with those girls. They are serious in their attempts to court Zhu, and he is also feeling helpless about it. There was a time when he had been tempted to take on his Demonic Form just to scare them, but I managed to stop him in time."
William nodded his head in agreement. He had already seen the glares that the girls had thrown in his direction when he was talking to Zhu, and he could feel a sense of jealousy from them due to the closeness with which Zhu and him could treat each other.
"Okay, so this is my plan for the Assessment Test…," William told Sha his plan, and the latter promised to relay the message to Zhu.
With this, William had secured two helpers to help him clear the Orc Dungeon. Although it would be easy for him to solo it, he still wanted to help Zhu and Sha gain some Merit Points. He also planned to bring Princess Sidonie, Chiffon, and Ian with him to maximize the limit of the party members that was allowed by the Academy.
After finalizing a date for their departure, William left Sha alone. However, just as he was about to leave the library, he noticed that the beautiful librarian had once again left her post, and headed towards the handsome scholar that had returned to reading the books on his table.
"Do your best, Sha," William said with a smirk as he left the library in good spirits.
He hoped more than anything else that his two friends, Zhu, and Sha, would find happiness in Hestia.
A happiness that would last them a lifetime.
