"Teacher Luoqi, did you truly mean what you said in class?"
Sido smiled, a faint hint of exhaustion showing through the expression.
Lanqi nodded, gazing into the distance.
The two walked along a stone-colonnaded walkway. Beside its open terrace, several flower petals drifted atop the pond in the center of the green garden.
"Speaking from my own research, those beings in the projection truly did not resemble the demon race I am familiar with," Lanqi answered equably.
Though he might not necessarily be correct, from his subjective assessment, those fellows did not qualify as proper demons.
"..."
Sido remained lost in thought for a long moment.
"There is something I can tell you," he said softly, gazing at the pond.
"Please do, Teacher Sido."
Lanqi now found Sido's stance rather subtle.
From what Lanqi knew, Sido Arendelle belonged to the academic faction aligned with the Empire's Great Sage, Isis, maintaining strict neutrality toward the Empire's turmoil.
Neither of them had breathed a word about political leanings in their conversations, yet each could broadly discern the other's disposition.
"On this upcoming Monthly Evaluation Day, someone might attempt something cruel against Zestira—such as taking her dragon horns or her eyes."
Sido's voice was hesitant, laced with uncertainty.
"Why?" Lanqi paused, then asked.
"Merely a suspicion." Sido fell silent after saying this.
A quiet lull settled between them.
Lanqi had a fair idea of what Sido meant. Some things simply could not be stated openly.
Sido also suspected that some faction in the Northern Continent was attempting to craft a spell that could perfectly disguise demons, aiming to deepen fear and incite war.
Such experimentation and refinement inevitably required samples.
Most of the demon race in the Protos Empire were mixed-bloods with heavily diluted bloodlines. Yet Zestira's latest enrollment evaluation indicated an atavistic purity approaching that of a pure-blooded demon.
Harvesting materials from Zestira's body would likely hold immense value.
Sido surely possessed further knowledge to arrive at such a conclusion.
The two approached the History Department faculty building. The exterior walls showed the weathered marks of time, but the texture of the masonry appeared especially rich and mellow after the winter snows melted.
"Thank you for the warning, Teacher Sido," Lanqi finally said in a measured tone as he stepped across the threshold.
Past the doorway, a warm amber glow greeted them. At the end of the corridor, the faint light of an antique wrought-iron chandelier, paired with shadows dancing along the wall, softly illuminated the space.
That meant the day after tomorrow—Wednesday's Monthly Evaluation Day.
If he could protect Zestira and identify suspects to corroborate Sido's hypothesis, Sido might well share more intelligence known only to the neutral faction.
"For the next two days, I must ask Teacher Luoqi to help me maintain classroom discipline," Sido said with a faint, sincere smile.
The heavy words they had just exchanged vanished as naturally as passing smoke.
"Rest assured. I promise to whip the study culture into shape," Lanqi said, nodding with a profound sense of duty.
...
The sun dipped beneath the horizon, plunging the world into darkness, and soon the dawn illuminated the earth once more.
Day turned to night and back again, and two days slipped by in a flash.
It was now late February in Herrom—the day of the Monthly Evaluation.
A soft blush of pink gradually dispelled the night's stillness and dark. In the quiet residential district of Protos Royal Academy, a detached dormitory quietly awoke.
Ivy draped the exterior walls, letting patches of beige masonry peek through the lush green. On one side behind the full-length window curtains, Zestira slowly sat up in bed.
Her sleepy, unfocused eyes appeared slightly fierce as she scratched her messy hair.
She had to get up early today to reach the Barrier Assessment Teaching District before 7:50 a.m. Otherwise, she would be marked absent, which would not only forfeit her sole monthly chance to earn a massive sum of credits, but also result in a severe penalty deduction.
The chirping of canaries already drifted from the courtyard outside the window.
"..."
She knew her teacher had likely risen long ago and was currently in the garden feeding the birds.
Zestira activated her student wristband and looked down in confusion. Aside from the time, the dim, crimson-glowing characters on the wristband displayed her credit total as [172 (+10)].
"Why did so many credits come in yesterday?" she murmured to herself.
A new deposit must have arrived at midnight, bringing her total credits to 182.
The number in parentheses indicated that Teacher Luoqi had earned these points on her behalf.
Ten credits might not sound like much, but even though she ranked among the top preparatory students, her ordinary daily coursework never yielded double-digit credits in a single day.
Generally, the primary avenue for preparatory and first-year students to earn credits was the Monthly Evaluation Day.
Depending on performance during the Monthly Evaluation, earning a hundred credits was already considered remarkably high.
With both stellar execution and incredible luck, one might even approach three hundred. For a preparatory student, reaching a cumulative total of one thousand credits granted the qualification to advance early to the first year.
"I explicitly told him he didn't need to do anything..." Zestira muttered under her breath, slipping out of bed and padding across the soft rug.
Yet a warmth bloomed in her heart nonetheless.
Earning ten credits in a single day was by no means an easy task, even for upperclassmen.
She had barely seen her teacher over the past two days.
He had left early each morning and returned late to his unit, nowhere to be seen in the lower-grade areas. He must have been working terribly hard.
The main house was embraced by lush greenery and vibrant blossoms. In one corner of the garden stood a tall eucalyptus tree whose canopy spread like a massive parasol, casting generous shade over the flora and little critters beneath.
Stepping out of the residence, Zestira quickly spotted Lanqi in the garden.
She lightened her steps and approached the great tree.
The garden pathway was paved with polished pebbles, flanked on both sides by diverse blooms unfurling shy hues in the morning light. A pair of white butterflies fluttered among the flowers, their wings shimmering with a light gleam under the dawn.
Zestira came to a stop in front of Lanqi.
"Teacher, what is the story with these ten credits?"
Unlike before, although several small birds startled and took flight at her approach, a few soon fluttered back hesitantly.
They seemed to have heard Lanqi telling them that Zestira was also a friend, or perhaps they truly realized this magic dragon posed no threat.
"Standard employment compensation. For the next three days, ten credits will be credited each day. As long as I come to the academy, I can earn credits for you. I was rather busy yesterday and didn't have time to tell you," Lanqi explained with a smile, setting down the pouch of grain in his hand.
He had completed the onboarding paperwork on Monday and officially began working on Tuesday, so what Zestira received should be yesterday's credit reward.
"Teacher, you haven't been bullied by upperclassmen at school over the past two days, have you?" Zestira asked, glancing down at her wristband.
She remained somewhat worried about Lanqi spending his days mingling in the upper-grade sectors.
"Not at all." Lanqi tilted his head in genuine innocence.
"That's a relief."
Zestira's sole concern was that her teacher might be targeted by upperclassmen.
During the upcoming Monthly Evaluation Day, there would be a bounty mechanism.
If one made enemies in the academy, a bounty would very likely be placed on them.
And if one made a whole horde of enemies, that figure could multiply exponentially.
Then again, it was practically impossible for someone to offend an extraordinary number of people in this academy anyway.
Chapter 282