39 Unexpected praise (2/2)

”Nonsense, you seem like a very smart girl, and you don't need to worry about the tuition. We can work on a price that both of us are okay with, I'm doing this to help the youth not to get rich.” Ensen stated, dying to have an A grade talent as one of his first students.

Looking down towards her feet, Alina said with a sad voice ”We really don't have any money, the farm has not been doing well recently.”

'Why does it sound like I'm extorting this girl? Is it just me?' Ensen thought to himself as he had begun to feel embarrassed about his persistence.

”The payment is not a big deal. I could reduce it to a low price and you can pay it whenever with no interest,” Ensen said.

'Damn, I would ask if she would work at the school as a teacher after she graduated but the specialty I picked doesn't allow me to.' Ensen pondered, although it was disappointing he did not regret his choices.

With a look of uncertainty, Alina said ”Okay, I'll talk to my parents about it tonight.”

Nodding in satisfaction, Ensen talked about the novel for a few more minutes before Alina had to leave.

'That took way more effort than I thought. Luckily I found that book though, I wouldn't be surprised if she bolted out of the building if I talked to her without it.' Ensen thought as he waited a few minutes before returning to his car.

Feeling slightly tired from the recruiting, he took a brief pit stop at a local restaurant and ordered some food to eat.

Thinking about where to go next, Ensen was not really certain. It wasn't that he lacked locations to go, it was just that he had to consider his reputation. After all, reputation was an institute's lifeline.

'Well I already found three potential students so far, so it doesn't seem that hard.' Ensen thought as his mouth watered looking at the food laid out on his table.

Ensen spent the rest of the day driving around to various locations, but he didn't manage to find any talents that met his standards. He did use the talent scanner once on a rather young man who was practicing a poem at a nearby lake, but it turned out he was already affiliated with an academy.

Ensen knew his limits. He couldn't casually poach talents from other academies in the area. Even if he could, it would draw the ire from the academic circle in the area which would severely harm both his reputation and the growth of the academy for the future.

As such, Ensen retired to his apartment after searching for several hours, intent on searching more tomorrow. At this point, he was exhausted but also excited for the future.

Arriving at the door to his apartment, he noticed a small note with a five-dollar bill attached was taped to the front of the door.

The note had four simple words written on it. 'More cookies, please. - Kaitlin.'

Looking at the note taped on the door taken aback by the request, Ensen smiled happily as he gently pulled it from the door and entered into his apartment.

Energized by the fact that he had received his first-ever compliment for his baking abilities, Ensen decided to make the cookies for her now.

After going back into his search history on his phone, he found the recipe and began to make it once again, making sure to follow all of the steps. After a while, a batch of fresh cookies laid on a cookie sheet.

Letting them cool off slightly, Ensen then put them in another container and grabbed the five-dollar note before heading out to the hallway. Walking over to Kaitlin's door, Ensen sat the container full of cookies down and placed the five-dollar note on top.

It didn't cost too much to make the cookies and it was a nice way to get closer to Kaitlin.

'Wait, am I her cookie dealer from now on?' Ensen thought to himself as he went back inside his apartment.

Moments later, Kaitlin's door opened quickly and within moments the container had been dragged inside and the door closed once again.

Deciding to have a shower, Ensen quickly undressed and threw his clothes in the hamper before putting his phone on shuffle and having a nice steamy shower.

'I really did make a lot of progress today, let's hope I can find the last two students tomorrow. Well, I say that, but I really don't know if the three I spoke to today will want to join my academy. I think the siblings will, but Alina I'm really not sure about.' Ensen considered as he was relaxing in the shower.

After briefly taking the time to search online for a digital copy of The all-slaying dog, Ensen quickly bought it in excitement and went to his bedroom for the night, reading a few chapters before falling asleep.