Everywhere the eye could see, crystal screens glowed with light.
And upon every interconnected screen was a bounty on Zestira herself.
Staring at her own portrait, Zestira parted her lips slightly, speechless for a long while.
"Teacher... just what did you do these past two days...?"
She looked up at Lanqi beside her and swallowed hard, finally realizing the sheer gravity of the situation.
"I helped Associate Professor Sido maintain classroom discipline. I assumed they had turned over a new leaf, but it seems their rebellious phase has arrived after all," Lanqi sighed, shaking his head.
The system at the Protos Royal Magic Academy was far inferior to that of Purgatory Corridor Academy. If one wished to solve the students' unruly behavior at its root, one had to start by dealing with the students themselves.
"...?"
Zestira felt that all was lost.
Just how did you torment those upperclassmen to get slapped with a combined bounty of over a hundred and thirty thousand credits?!
She could not wrap her head around it!
And yet.
"Come on, Zestira. There was a nice-looking classroom along the way here."
Lanqi showed not the slightest hint of panic. In fact, he looked invigorated, showing signs of rolling up his sleeves, raring to go.
His vitality and easygoing aura snapped Zestira out of her daze.
The coach was about to warm up and take the field, which gave her a faint, glimmering sense of security.
Still, it left Zestira utterly bewildered.
Whether it was his mental state or his demeanor, she could not say, but she felt that a strange shift had come over Luoqi since a moment ago...
...
On the northern side of the Protos Royal Magic Academy.
Beside a tranquil street stood a detached estate occupying an entire district to itself. Lush flora and fountain basins adorned the garden, while white moonstone pillars and towering lacquered wooden arches lent the mansion a magnificent splendor.
Second- and third-year students faced no penalty of deducted credits even if they chose not to take part in the Monthly Evaluation Day. Should they actively participate, they could still earn credits.
For many upperclassmen, however, the credits awarded from joining the Monthly Evaluation Day were no longer necessary.
Those holding exalted status preferred to exercise their privileges by watching the live assessment from behind the scenes and intervening as they pleased.
That was the game meant for them.
The credit rewards from casually betting on the champion far exceeded what other students could gain by stepping onto the field themselves.
This mansion belonged to the tenth seat of the third-years, Gloria. The interior's lavish décor was paired with dark brown wood paneling, while intricate ceiling mouldings and wall sconces cast a gentle glow. A grand piano quietly occupied a corner, beside floor-to-ceiling windows facing the garden that were currently drawn shut with curtains.
At this moment, Gloria stood quietly beside the sofa like an attendant.
As a direct retainer of the Domination branch, there was only one person for whom she would assume such a posture of heartfelt deference.
Side sat on the sofa. Today, she wore a white shirt and a long black skirt, resting her chin on one hand as she languidly watched the large screen on the wall, appearing both capable and aloof.
"Lord Side, do you wish me to wager my credits on Zestira, whom the Holy Son is assisting?"
Gloria's expression remained unchanged, her voice respectful.
Within the academy, even when Gloria was alone with the Bishop of Domination, she still addressed her by the pseudonym Side.
"You may if you want to."
The persona Sigrid played within the school was roughly that of an underachieving student who barely scraped passing marks and frequently lost points for absences. Unlike Gloria, she possessed neither the authority nor the credit points to wager on lowerclassmen.
"Are you not certain he can seize the championship?"
After a slight hesitation, Gloria gathered her courage and voiced the thought in her mind.
From start to finish, she harbored doubts and resentment toward this Holy Son.
"All I can say is that if I could wager credits, I would bet every last one of mine on him. As for yours, it is up to you how you spend them," Sigrid said flatly.
Hearing this, Gloria said no more.
The Bishop of Domination's meaning was crystal clear: she was neither guaranteeing a win nor analyzing the odds; she simply favored her Holy Son.
Gloria was certain that if the former Saintess of Domination were here, she would have staked all her credits on the Saintess even without any suggestion from Sigrid.
And had someone like the Holy Son of Extinction become an attendant, the outcome of this evaluation would have been even more of a foregone conclusion.
The more she thought about it, the more indignant Gloria felt. Aside from flattering and catering to the imperial political climate, what right did that manipulative hypocrite have to become the person closest to the Bishop of Domination?
"I told him to bring me a little surprise. I wonder if he took it to heart," Sigrid remarked to Gloria, almost murmuring to herself.
Though it had merely been an offhand comment back then, she preferred people who listened to her words and pleased her.
These past few days at the academy had been thoroughly dull. Having finally waited until the Monthly Evaluation Day to see the Holy Son, the prolonged delay before the assessment officially began left even Side feeling somewhat drowsy.
"Let us hope the Holy Son puts on an outstanding performance in the evaluation," Gloria said, looking at Sigrid. She had no intention of betting her credits on him.
Delivering a performance deemed "interesting" by the Bishop of Domination was likely far more difficult than merely seizing first place.
Gloria considered it even less likely that a Holy Son adjusting to the intricate, demanding format of the Protos Royal Magic Academy's Monthly Evaluation for the first time could pull it off.
"Look there, for instance."
A shift seemed to have occurred on the screen, and Side raised a finger with satisfaction, gesturing for Gloria to look.
Puzzled, Gloria lifted her gaze toward the display.
Every corner of the evaluation area on the screen was now broadcasting the bounty notice alongside the name at the top of the leaderboard.
The digits beside the top rank were ticking upward ceaselessly, showing no sign of stopping.
"...?"
Gloria tilted her head in confusion, staring at the screen directly ahead as her mouth fell wider and wider open.
In the blink of an eye, the number had already surpassed ten thousand.
She had almost never seen anyone accumulate a bounty of this scale.
Every time she thought the counter was about to halt, the numbers only surged faster!
When the numbers finally froze and she clearly saw the total bounty exceeding a hundred and thirty thousand, she nearly lost her composure entirely.
Since the founding of the academy,
no matter how monstrously talented a student might be,
scarcely anyone had ever possessed a six-figure credit balance upon graduation!
And those capable of reaching the hundred-thousand-credit threshold had, without exception, become legendary figures etched into the history of the Protos Empire and even the entire Northern Continent.
For every student taking part in the Monthly Evaluation Day right now, an opportunity to forge a legend in a single step lay right before their eyes.
Gloria hardly dared imagine how insane this evaluation was about to become!
Its very nature had changed!
"Lord Side, the Holy Son... he..."
Standing to the side, Gloria, the direct retainer, stared wide-eyed, struggling to find the words.
She had finally witnessed the talent of this Holy Son of Domination.
At least when it came to drawing aggro, he possessed a talent beyond all human comprehension!
"Fascinating. Only someone with this kind of price on his head is worthy of being my Holy Son."
Side leaned against the back of the sofa, looking even more pleased with her Holy Son.
"Are you not worried something might happen to him?" Gloria asked.
This time, the Holy Son might have taken things entirely too far!
Chapter 284