"Lord Francis, Miss Zestira."
Lanqi offered them both a polite bow, then took his usual seat beside Viscount Francis.
"Mr. Luoqi, I hear you go for a stroll around town every afternoon. What do you think of this place?" Viscount Francis asked with a smile.
"It is an exceptional town for tourism and living, with immense development potential. So long as it focuses on developing its tourism industry vigorously, prosperity and flourishing growth are guaranteed," Lanqi replied earnestly.
Immediately afterward, he realized that wasn't quite what Viscount Francis had meant.
Hearing this, Viscount Francis fell silent for a moment as well.
He had simply wanted to ask Lanqi how he liked living in the town.
Why did this sound like a high-ranking official sent by the provincial administration giving an inspection briefing?
Still, remembering Lanqi was a scholar by trade, he figured it wasn't too out of place.
"I called you both here today mainly to ask for your opinions." Viscount Francis cleared his throat. Now that Lanqi had arrived, he instructed the butler to notify the kitchen that their dinner could begin. "Zestira, I would like to retain Mr. Luoqi as your home tutor—that is, to accompany you back to the Protos Royal Magic Academy as your retainer. Would you be open to that?"
In truth, Viscount Francis felt very apprehensive.
At times he had no idea whether his words might upset or hurt Zestira, so he was always cautious when communicating with her.
If Zestira agreed, he would take the risk of using his authority to secure Lilom City residency papers for Lanqi, making it easier for him to travel to the Imperial Capital.
Sitting beside Viscount Francis, Lanqi noticed a faint trace of reluctance on Zestira's face across the table.
Yet she was pondering it and had not immediately rejected the idea.
Although she never took the initiative to ask Lanqi about magic genealogy and magic engineering, she diligently read through the annotations he left in her textbooks every day according to schedule. Each day, she swapped the finished magic genealogy textbook for the magic engineering one; once Lanqi finished annotating the magic genealogy textbook, she swapped the magic engineering one back.
She preferred this kind of self-directed study.
The instructors at the Protos Royal Magic Academy would never be as patient as Lanqi, nor did many in the Northern Continent possess such a unique understanding of magic engineering.
The dining table fell quiet following Viscount Francis's proposal. Even the servants bringing in the food sensed the awkward atmosphere, quickly taking their leave after setting down the dishes.
Over the past few days, Lanqi had looked into that academy and had a rough idea of what Zestira was worried about.
The Protos Royal Magic Academy stood somewhere between Ikerite Academy and Purgatory Corridor Academy in style, yet its defining feature was distinct from both.
First, lineage and social standing were paramount. Upon enrollment, students were divided into the Upper House and Lower House, which differed starkly in faculty and privileges; aristocratic students inherently enjoyed numerous perks.
Second, cliquish factionalism ran rampant among the students, and genuine goodwill was exceedingly rare.
During conversations with the silver-armored priest, Lanqi had overheard things in passing: when students at the Protos Royal Magic Academy fought, they didn't just want their opponent's life—they often preferred to humiliate and torture them first to blackmail and control them. It was a dark, ruthless place under the facade of rules, though correspondingly, one could grow stronger rapidly there.
Back then, the Bishop of Extinction had sent the Holy Son of Extinction to study at the Protos Royal Magic Academy under an assumed identity. He had ultimately graduated with stellar grades and a bloody track record, leaving the Bishop of Extinction thoroughly pleased.
Later, even the Saintess of Domination had met her end at the hands of the Holy Son of Extinction.
Of course, precisely because of the academy's brutal survival-of-the-fittest system, aristocratic students who distinguished themselves through assessments were granted even greater privileges and favoritism, far outstripping ordinary teachers.
Not only could they skip grades using academic credits, but they also possessed numerous optional privileges, which they could even share with their retainers to grant them greater conveniences in the academy, thereby better serving their masters.
Many imperials jokingly referred to this privilege of noble students bringing attendants as "servant summoning"—a contest of whose familial foundation ran deeper.
Bringing a useful or powerful retainer could make a noble's academy life substantially easier.
Naturally, retainers were restricted to Tier 6 or below—the ceiling for third-year students.
A major pastime for many high-ranking students and even professors was evaluating and ranking incoming noble freshmen's retainers. Some even treated retainers like summoned entities, gauging their worth by tier and grade.
Zestira had originally refused the retainers Viscount Francis arranged for her, and he could only resign himself to respecting her wishes, given her personality.
But now, Viscount Francis had unexpectedly fished an unranked magic engineer from the Southern Continent out of the sea.
More importantly, Zestira was actually willing to interact with him. Perhaps she could be persuaded to take him along as a scholarly retainer. Her academic performance was heavily skewed, and she sorely needed a tutor whose words she could tolerate.
"..."
Zestira remained silent for a long time.
She did not really want to bring a retainer; being on her own was far more comfortable.
Most critically, once she entered that cage where power and status were everything, if she failed to secure a firm footing, serving as the retainer of a half-demon like her would be no easy job. The person might even be dragged down by her, facing prejudice, discrimination, sudden calamities, and unjust treatment.
"Zestira..."
Just as Viscount Francis was about to ask how well she had grasped the material in magic genealogy and magic engineering to persuade her—
"Perhaps we should let it be, Lord Viscount,"
Lanqi spoke gently to Viscount Francis, seemingly unwilling to put Zestira in an awkward spot.
"Misfortune has plagued me since I was a child. Even my family's merchant guild was dragged down by me and pushed to the brink of bankruptcy... If I accompany the young lady to the Imperial Capital, I fear I won't just fail to be of help... I'll only cause trouble for others."
As he spoke, Lanqi seemed to recall some deeply sorrowful memory.
The dining table fell dead silent.
A topic this somber didn't sound made up.
This well-mannered, gentle, and earnest young man certainly didn't look like an unfilial son who would curse his own family's merchant guild into bankruptcy.
Finally—
"I don't mind trouble. I'm very good at looking after people,"
Zestira looked up, gazing into Lanqi's eyes as she spoke.
"Is that really...?"
Lanqi hesitated.
"Come with me to the Imperial Capital and keep teaching me magic genealogy and magic engineering. I don't want to listen to those teachers at the academy."
Having said that, Zestira returned her focus to her meal.
"Thank you, Miss Zestira."
Their conversation concluded, and the dining table returned to its earlier tranquility. Only the occasional clinking of spoons against porcelain plates echoed through the dining room now and then.
Viscount Francis: "???"
Chapter 255