Zestira listened in silence to Lanqi's legal guidance.
Every now and then, staff members in neat uniforms walked past them carrying trays, each steady stride bearing freshly prepared coffees, pastries, and cold drinks, trailing a rich aroma of caramel.
For some inexplicable reason, Zestira found herself thinking that Lanqi actually made a lot of sense.
There were indeed some annoying monkeys at Protos Royal Magic Academy who could be dealt with in exactly this manner.
She quickly shook her head, however, choosing to seal away these theories deep within her mind.
She was a dragon demon, not a canine demon.
In truth, when it came to reporting the Resurrection Church, the most incredible part wasn't that this guy had dared to do it.
It was that even after he did, no one from the Extinction Branch had come looking for trouble or seeking revenge.
It was hard to imagine what state of mind could have led him to pull off an act that should have meant certain death.
If an ordinary person pulled a stunt like that, ten lives probably wouldn't have been enough.
Yet the Extinction Branch had swallowed the bitter pill in silence, as if having nowhere to vent their frustration, choosing to settle the matter entirely in-house to keep the peace. All the details of the incident had been suppressed by the branch as well.
Zestira's attitude toward the Resurrection Church was neither dislike nor affection, so she didn't view what Lanqi did as particularly good or bad.
She merely found it rather nice.
Starting yesterday, the monkeys who loved casting blatant hostility at her had begun restraining themselves a bit, seemingly worried that her attendant might set his sights on them and report their entire families.
After all, if even the Extinction Branch—notorious within the Resurrection Church for being sinister and vicious—could do nothing against him, the empire's prominent aristocrats, who still cared about saving face, were completely unwilling to provoke such a person.
In the corner, the wall clock hung quietly, the ticking of its hands masked by the breezy, carefree jazz rippling through the shop.
By the time Lanqi finished speaking, Zestira finally let out a sigh of relief.
She was reasonably certain she hadn't been assimilated.
Zestira turned her head to look at the shop clock. It was indeed noon; that faint pang of hunger hadn't lied to her.
"Let's go. I'll take you around the academy to show you the safe areas."
Picking up the neatly stacked books from the table, Zestira stood up and said to Lanqi, "Next week is Monthly Evaluation Day, so I'll be counting on your hard work."
Once this weekend passed, Lanqi would need to remain inside Protos Royal Academy for five days, as attendants and students were not permitted to enter or leave midway during weekdays without a special reason.
"No problem."
Lanqi nodded, stood up, took his overcoat off the wall hanger, and walked out of the café with Zestira.
Over at the Extinction Branch, due to the dismissal of the former chief examiner Caius and the sudden surge of work from internal personnel adjustments, the coordination of the final evaluation—originally slated for completion yesterday—had been pushed back a day. The notice would now go out today, Saturday, and candidates would report to the Temple of the Knights of Extinction tomorrow.
When Lanqi had submitted his resume, he had stated that his primary occupation was serving as an aristocratic student's tutor at Protos Royal Academy, which meant he might need to stay there for five working days at any time. The Resurrection Church's reply had also stated that new priests would not be assigned fixed public duties and could prioritize their secular professions.
Though it had now transitioned into an official organization, the Resurrection Church's fundamental need for priests operating in the shadows had not changed.
Lanqi would do his utmost during his time at the academy to help Zestira earn enough credits to view the [Original Slate - Light].
When the time came, Zestira's academic advancement would soar forward, and he would get to study the slate. They both had a bright future ahead.
Under the rules of Protos Royal Magic Academy, regardless of how many credits he helped Zestira earn, the right to spend them belonged to her. However, Zestira had told him long ago that he could decide what to redeem with the credits he earned.
Lanqi felt that this trip to the Northern Continent might allow him to view even more slates than he had anticipated. Studying slates wasn't exhausting for him in the least; he could just enter the slate's space, find a spot to sit, and act as a supervisor for the Poet of Great Love. She would work diligently.
At midday in Herrom, the Imperial Capital, as the two stepped out of the commercial building, the rare, gentle warmth of the sunlight caressed them, as though the entire world were welcoming their presence.
In this fortress city-state's winter, bright and mild weather was relatively scarce, especially in a bitter winter like this one, when snow had flurried even in Lilom City.
The buildings lining both sides of the street carried either the weight of history or a modern, newly constructed flair. Even after nearly a week in Herrom, Lanqi could still distinctly feel the city-state's fusion of styles, creating a magical charm spanning several centuries.
Pedestrians in the bustling downtown walked at leisurely or hurried paces, making the otherwise wide avenues feel slightly crowded and sluggish.
Lanqi and Zestira walked along the road toward Protos Royal Academy. Their conversation didn't stop upon leaving the café; on the contrary, amid the lively streets, Zestira continued explaining the academy's essential rules to Lanqi with meticulous care.
Because she could discern goodwill and malice with absolute directness, Zestira rarely connected with others or associated with anyone harboring ill intent, which made her seem somewhat withdrawn. Yet once her chatterbox was unlocked, she was actually among the more talkative people Lanqi knew.
Most of the time, she was either asking him for advice or teaching him something.
Lanqi figured that if she were put together with a chatterbox like Senior Luvishir, they would probably talk for an entire day straight.
Still, he was very good at listening to his students' inner voices; in this regard, he was just like Dean Loren.
"On Monthly Evaluation Day, before entering the examination room, you can only see the difficulty level, not the type of assessment. If I'm lucky and get something I'm already good at, it'll be quite simple. But if luck isn't on my side, I might need your wisdom and knowledge to help me out."
Suddenly, Zestira paused mid-sentence.
"I seem to sense something watching us..."
Whether it was a gaze or mana, she couldn't say for sure.
"It vanished again," Zestira murmured, furrowing her brow.
Lanqi's stride didn't falter in the slightest. He merely turned his head to look at her in puzzlement, having felt no sense of danger whatsoever.
If even Boss Cat hadn't noticed anything, it meant the other party was at least far stronger than he was.
The bustling downtown of Herrom, the Imperial Capital, was practically an absolute safe zone; almost no one would dare commit an act of violence here.
It must have been Zestira's innate talent picking up on something.
"It wasn't malice, though, so don't worry too much," Zestira added, reassuring him.
It was rare for an entity to harbor no ill will even toward her; they were likely even less ill-disposed toward Lanqi.
Hearing her say this, Lanqi nodded, any trace of concern fading away.
"Train your innate magic more," Lanqi told Zestira, confident that her gift was exceptionally useful. "Once your tier advances in the future, it might even evolve."
"How should I train it, and what evolutionary paths are there?" Zestira asked, clearly intrigued.
In truth, even she understood very little about the demon race's innate magic; many books on the subject had long since ceased to circulate.
Yet her teacher was a Southerner who had conducted considerable research into the demon race.
Perhaps he possessed key information that could not be traced anywhere in the Northern Continent.
"I'm not entirely sure how to train it, but I do know a few directions it could evolve into. For example, your talent could also evolve into mind reading," Lanqi replied, crossing his arms and furrowing his brow slightly.
"Also?"
Zestira noticed that Lanqi seemed to know other demons—and ones who possessed talents similar to hers.
"My teacher is a demon," Lanqi explained, shaking his head with a wry laugh. "Though for her, evolving into mind reading is practically impossible. She avoids socializing, spends all day cooped up at home in self-imposed retirement, and never cares to listen to what anyone else is feeling. She probably won't manage mind reading even after several decades or a century. I strongly advise you not to follow her example."
Chapter 267