“Mr. Lanqi, do you really believe what you said in class?”

Xi Duo smiled, a hint of weariness in his expression.

Lanqi nodded, gazing into the distance.

They walked along a stone corridor, the terrace side of which overlooked a small pond in the center of the green garden, its surface dotted with floating flower petals.

"Based on my personal research, I really don't think those things in the images resemble the demons I know."

Lanqi replied objectively.

Even though he might be wrong, from his subjective point of view, those fellows were not qualified demons.

"..."

Xi Duo pondered for a long time.

"I can tell you something."

He looked at the pond and said softly.

"Please do, Mr. Xi Duo."

Lanqi now found Xi Duo's position to be quite subtle.

From what Lanqi previously understood, Xi Duo Arundel belonged to the academic faction of the Great Sage Isis of the Empire and had maintained an absolutely neutral stance regarding the Empire's turmoil.

They had not mentioned anything about their respective positions in their conversations, but they could roughly discern each other's leanings.

"This month's examination day, there might be someone who wants to do something cruel to Zestiria, such as taking her dragon horns or eyes."

Xi Duo's hesitant voice was filled with uncertainty.

"Why?"

Lanqi paused and asked.

"It's just a guess."

Xi Duo stopped there.

A silence fell between them.

Lanqi roughly understood Xi Duo's meaning.

Some things were just inconvenient to say directly.

Xi Duo also suspected that some forces in the Northern Continent were trying to create spells to perfectly disguise demons, thereby deepening fear and triggering war.

This experimentation and refinement process was destined to require samples.

In the Protoss Empire, most demons were of mixed blood with a low degree of demonic heritage.

Zestiria's latest enrollment test report, however, showed that she had reverted to an almost pure-blooded demonic state.

Obtaining materials from Zestiria might be of significant value.

Xi Duo must know something more to make such a deduction.

They approached the History Department's office building, the outer walls of which were slightly worn by time, but the texture of the bricks appeared particularly mellow after the winter snow melted.

"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Xi Duo."

Lanqi finally spoke slowly after stepping through the doorway.

Inside, a dim yellow light illuminated the entrance. At the end of the corridor, an old iron chandelier cast faint rays accompanied by shadows on the walls, brightening the space.

That is, on the day of the monthly examination on Wednesday, two days from now.

If he could protect Zestiria and confirm Xi Duo's conjecture with the suspected individuals, Xi Duo might tell him more information known to the neutral faction.

"Please help me manage the classroom discipline in these next two days, Mr. Lanqi."

Xi Duo smiled slightly and said sincerely.

The words he had just exchanged with Lanqi vanished as naturally as smoke.

"Don't worry, I guarantee I will rectify the study atmosphere."

Lanqi nodded with a sense of responsibility.

...

The sun set, the sky turned pitch black, and then the dawn shone upon the earth once more.

Thus, two days passed in a flash.

The day of the monthly examination at Helrom at the end of February.

A soft pink gradually dispelled the silence and darkness of the night. In the quiet residential area of the Protoss Royal Academy, a detached dormitory quietly awakened.

The exterior walls of the house were covered with ivy, revealing beige walls amidst the greenery. Behind the curtains of the floor-to-ceiling windows, Zestiria slowly sat up in bed.

Her sleepy, dazed eyes looked slightly fierce as she scratched her messy hair.

She had to get up early to arrive at the barrier assessment district before 7:50 a.m., otherwise, it would be counted as an absence, and she would not only lose the opportunity to obtain a large number of credits, which only occurred once a month, but would also have many credits deducted as punishment.

The chirping of canaries could already be heard in the courtyard outside the window.

"..."

She knew that the teacher must have gotten up early and was now feeding the birds in the garden.

Zestiria lit up her student bracelet and looked down at it in confusion. In addition to the time, the bracelet also displayed a dim, dark red number: [172 (+10)] credit points.

"Why were so many credits credited yesterday?"

She muttered to herself.

A new amount of credits must have been credited at midnight today, bringing her total credits to 182.

The points appeared in parentheses, indicating that Mr. Lanqi had earned them for her.

Ten credits didn't seem like much, but even though she was already at the top of the preparatory students, she usually couldn't earn double-digit credits in a single day.

Generally speaking, the main way for preparatory and first-year students to earn credits was through the monthly examination day.

Based on performance on the monthly examination day, earning 100 credits was already considered high.

If one performed and had extremely good luck, it was even possible to get close to 300 points. For preparatory students, once the total credit points reached 1000, they would be qualified to advance to the first year ahead of schedule.

"I told him he didn't have to do anything."

Zestiria muttered as she stepped out of bed and walked on the soft carpet.

But she was still a little touched.

Earning 10 credits in a single day was not an easy task, even for higher-grade students.

She hadn't seen the teacher much in the past two days.

He left early in the morning and returned to his apartment very late. She couldn't see him in the lower-grade area at all. He must be working very hard.

The main house was surrounded by lush greenery and flowers. In one corner of the garden stood a tall eucalyptus tree, its canopy like a large umbrella, providing ample shade for the plants and small animals below.

Zestiria left the mansion and quickly spotted Lanqi's figure in the garden.

She approached the direction under the big tree with light steps.

The garden path was paved with exquisite pebbles, and various flowers were planted on both sides. They bloomed with shy colors in the morning light. A pair of white butterflies danced among the flowers, their wings shimmering with a light luster in the morning light.

Zestiria stopped in front of Lanqi.

"Teacher, what's with these 10 credits?"

This time was different from usual. Although some birds were startled and flew away, several hesitantly flew back after a while.

It seemed that they heard Lanqi telling them that Zestiria was also a friend, or perhaps they had indeed discovered that this dragon was not aggressive.

"Normal work rewards. You will receive 10 credits every day for the next three days. As long as I come to school, I can earn credits for you. I was too busy yesterday and didn't have time to tell you."

Lanqi smiled and put down the bag of grain in his hand.

He had completed the employment procedures on Monday, and Tuesday was considered his official first day of work, so Zestiria should have received yesterday's credit rewards.

"Teacher, have you been bullied by higher-grade students at school these past two days?"

Zestiria glanced at her bracelet and asked.

She was still a little worried about Lanqi, who spent all day mixing with higher-grade students.

"No."

Lanqi tilted his head naturally.

"That's good."

Zestiria's only concern was that the teacher would be targeted by higher-grade students.

There would be a bounty mechanism in today's monthly examination.

If one made enemies at school, one could potentially receive a reward.

And if one made a lot of enemies, that number could multiply.

But logically speaking, it was generally impossible to offend too many people at this school.

(End of Chapter)