By the city's river, the water shimmered, but the Herlom River was no ordinary river; it flowed with liquid mineral water containing magical energy.

Whenever Lanchi, as a magic artificer, passed by, he couldn't help but subconsciously move closer to the river, staring at the surface, analyzing and contemplating, until Xide nearly sent him tumbling into the river with a sudden turn.

"Don't tease a magic artificer," Lanchi sternly protested.

"Don't worry, even if you fall, I'll catch you," Xide huffed, crossing her arms triumphantly, as if waiting for Lanchi to thank her.

She always handled Lanchi with care, never hurting him.

Experienced as they were, they knew to avoid the old quarter with its spatial distortions, but that meant passing by this river.

The two chatted idly along the way, occasionally bickering, then cautiously bypassed the Herlom Zoo.

This zoo was too eerie. Without Sigrid in her prime, they didn't dare set foot inside. Next, the Endless Library and the Starry Theater flashed past, and ahead, they could see the gates of the Protos Royal Magic Academy.

The deepest impression Lanchi had when he first came to the capital city of Herlom with Zestira was that the Protos Royal Magic Academy was within walking distance from the station.

Having been away from the school for a long time, the two saw that the wide square outside the school was now full of the buds of demonic flora, and in the center of the square stood the new gate of the Royal Magic Academy.

It looked different from the traditional Herlom classical architectural design, with a more ancient demonic realm's lost charm, combined with the divine mountain wilderness and temple construction methods of the primordial stone slab's internal space, giving it a psychedelic color of the intersection between heaven and the underworld.

Many residents of the capital had begun to visit the entrance of the Protos Royal Magic Academy to take pictures.

Walking quickly into the inner area of the school with Lanchi, Sigrid only knew that the school's new season of renovation planning was handled by the principal himself.

She wondered what kind of impact this work he left in Herlom would have.

The only thing she was sure of was that it would likely become a landmark building in Herlom in the future, be included in books, and possibly even spread to the Southern Continent, bearing the name of the legendary artificer Loki McCarthy.

"You're really not a famous artist back home?" Sigrid gazed at the scenery, then at Lanchi, her eyes filled with some confusion.

"No, apart from the prince who liked me very much, no one else ever looked at my paintings," Lanchi said with a smile, shaking his head.

At that time, he was only at the Second Order and had just left home, and he didn't think it was a good thing to show too much of his talent, so he lived quite inconspicuously in the Hutton Kingdom.

Facts proved him right, like those who possessed the stone slabs, "a common man is innocent, but possesses a treasure," once their deterrent power waned, anyone might run to kill them.

It was only because he was thriving in the Northern Continent, had his own business foundation, and had a powerful backer protecting him that he was able to enjoy himself so much.

When he returned to the Southern Continent, with Tata as his cheap bodyguard, who wasn't even one-ten-thousandth as reliable as Xide, he'd better keep a low profile before stepping into the true Seventh Order Transcendence realm. If he were really targeted, even Duke Micaiah could disappear.

Sigrid frowned in confusion.

What the prince liked was not just her holy son's paintings? He even liked him as a person?

"You're better at painting?" Sigrid had always liked to collect various works of art, and her home was like a museum. As a collector, she felt that the holy son was best at carving, and applying it to card-making, and his landscape design was also quite impressive.

In her impression, this kid did everything except paint seriously, and pure painting… she hadn't even seen this guy put his mind to painting.

If he really wanted to become a top painter, he should work hard at this age and love painting.

"I know a little, just a hobby," he would only answer when others asked him.

"Then how many paintings have you seriously painted in the Southern Continent?" Sigrid asked again.

It wasn't that this kid hadn't painted before, it's just that he was too casual, putting on an appearance of perfunctoriness. She had seen the drafts that this kid used to show to the nobles in the Snowfield Province before.

"Seems like just one."

"..."

It seemed that this kid really didn't like painting.

"Very good, I've figured out how to punish you," Sigrid said to Lanchi with a slight smile on her lips.

"It's not going to be to make me paint, is it?" Lanchi looked at Sigrid walking beside him in surprise.

He knew what Sigrid meant by "punishment." As early as when they reached the agreement to infiltrate the Nihility branch, Sigrid had said that if she had to go all out and expose her identity, then Lanchi must be punished a little. Sure enough, she still remembered.

"When everything is resolved, and I don't need to hide my identity from you anymore, I want you to paint a picture for me, called 'Loki McCarthy's Gift to Archbishop Sigrid,' and then have you publicly executed, so everyone can see that Principal Loki McCarthy also has things he's not good at," Sigrid said with a sly smile.

Punishment had to be making people do something they disliked that they also liked, in order to be effective. Otherwise, it would become a reward for him.

"Like that, I understand," Lanchi didn't resist much, just nodded. He would naturally fulfill the rules he had agreed to.

The two walked through the school's busy main road and entered an area with courtyards and residences on both sides. The atmosphere here was noticeably quieter.

"We're almost there," led by Sigrid, they quickly followed the house number and rang the doorbell in front of Gloria's residence.

Now, not only had Sigrid changed her identity to a freshman from Kinston City in the Snowfield Province, but even Lanchi was temporarily not using Loki McCarthy's appearance.

After all, the principal and a female student returning from outside the school together, and walking together all the way in the school, might attract attention or misunderstandings.

The sound of the doorbell echoed in Gloria's residence for a moment, and then, accompanied by approaching footsteps, the door opened, and a girl appeared at the door, her face showing obvious confusion.

Gloria blinked.

"Who are you two...?" Gloria's voice was mixed with wariness and curiosity, her eyes alternating between the two of them.

"It's me," Sigrid stared into Gloria's eyes and nodded.

"!"

Although Gloria had shown a look of doubt earlier, she knew in an instant who the man and woman who had found her were.

Four updates today, three more chapters to come.

(End of this chapter)