Dark clouds blanketed the sky, threatening rain at any moment. Many pedestrians pulled up their hoods, bracing for the first drops to fall into the chilly, damp evening.
In the dense crowd gathered around the Herrom Broadcasting Corporation building, many turned their eyes into the distance or fixed them on the screens. The giant display on the building's facade continued to broadcast sideline interviews live. Amidst the clamor surrounding the microphone, every word was amplified, echoing beneath the entire tower.
On the massive screen, the figures of the two girls were blown up larger than life. Every subtle movement, every flicker of expression, became the center of public attention.
"I didn't..."
Hyperion had never imagined that Lanqi's interview would be so inflammatory, nor that so many fanatic supporters would spring up in such a short span of time.
Before they parted ways, even she had never witnessed Lanqi display a talent for spreading fanaticism on such a massive scale back in Ikerite. It left her utterly bewildered as to what on earth he had gone through over the past two-plus months in the Protos Empire!
Yet gradually, no one was listening to her anymore. The crowd's gazes bristled with varying degrees of hostility.
In the eyes of this political celebrity's zealous supporters, the remarks of this noble miss from the Milford family were a display of disrespect toward their leader—and an open challenge from the opposition.
"These two young ladies were merely expressing their own views. In Mr. Luoqi McCarthy's philosophy, everyone has the right to actively voice their opinions, and every single voice deserves to be heard—that is the only way we can progress, isn't it?"
The reporter did his best to interject and maintain order, trying simultaneously to calm the emotions that threatened to boil over at any second.
Still, he didn't dare defend the two girls too openly, afraid McCarthy's fans would brand him an enemy of Luoqi McCarthy as well.
"You don't understand Luoqi McCarthy at all!"
"You pedantic noble ladies should be expelled! Mr. Luoqi McCarthy is just too merciful, granting you far too much freedom on campus!"
Gradually, fans in the surrounding crowd began voicing their discontent aloud. A few more impulsive individuals even pointed toward them and shouted.
The sentiment rippled outward like a wave, pressing down heavily on the reporter and leaving him no choice but to try to bring this high-stress interview to a close as quickly as possible.
"You...!"
Mixiula was on the verge of snapping at them. Though she didn't know why her sister didn't want Luoqi to run for president, she knew her sister was feeling wronged and defenseless right now—when in truth, her sister was the woman who supported Luoqi the most from the bottom of her heart.
Yet just as Mixiula was about to flare up, Hyperion's cold hand caught her.
They couldn't afford to make an even bigger scene right now, nor bring trouble to the Milford family in such a conspicuous spot right beneath the Herrom Broadcasting Corporation.
The air grew thick with a palpable tension, danger drawn taut like a string on the verge of snapping.
The security guards also noticed the crowd's agitation seeking an outlet. They tightened their perimeter at once, prepared to intervene if necessary to ensure the interview could conclude safely.
The spot where the two girls stood had become the most watched focal point in all of Herrom's sleepless city in the blink of an eye. The crowd pressed inward, steadily squeezing their standing room.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
The revolving glass doors of the Herrom Broadcasting Corporation building slowly began to turn.
Escorted by a group of solemn security personnel in suits, the figure of the young political celebrity stepped out of the building.
His presence was distinct, an innate poise that not even the night could conceal. The shadow cast by his tall frame lengthened along the ground with his stride. Draped over his purple suit was a dark woolen overcoat. He glanced out at the scene, slipped one hand into his coat pocket, and walked forward to a thunderous roar of cheers erupting from the dense crowd.
Even a casual glance radiated effortless charismatic leadership.
People chanted Luoqi McCarthy's name and the inspiring slogans he had delivered during tonight's interview.
For a moment, the overwhelming tidal wave of sound even drowned out the muttering and unrest on the other side of the building.
"Students from our academy?"
Glimpsing the girls' attire through the gaps in the dense crowd, Lanqi murmured in mild confusion.
His gaze fell like a spotlight onto that small circle. Even without speaking, his presence acted like a calming balm, drawing the crowd in that direction to follow his line of sight.
The moment he stepped through the doors of the Herrom Broadcasting Corporation, he had noticed a commotion in the distance.
If trouble was brewing, he certainly couldn't just stand by and watch.
"Please assist me, if you would."
Turning his head, he spoke briefly with the security personnel beside him and raised a hand.
Prompted by the young political celebrity's simple gesture, the surrounding crowd parted willingly, opening a path.
The guards seized the opportunity immediately, guiding him smoothly through the crowd toward where the two girls stood.
With every step he took, the crowd on either side instinctively stepped back, clearing the way for him.
Though cheers still resounded all around, under Lanqi's aura, the deafening roars seemed oddly muted, like quiet space carved out for him on the nighttime canvas.
At last, moving along the open path, he arrived beside the Herrom Broadcasting Corporation reporter and the two girls.
Lanqi let out a helpless sigh.
Though no one knew what he was sighing for.
Why was it these two Milford girls again?
In a span of just two days, this was already their second encounter.
Only, back at Rock Confluence Station in Box Mountain Province, he had met them in his role as the Holy Son of Extinction escorting Sigrid.
So to these two girls, this was probably their first time coming into contact with Luoqi McCarthy.
Lanqi's gaze then swept across the crowd. His calm, reasonable eyes seemed to convey a message to everyone: these were students of the academy under his stewardship, so please remain calm.
As headmaster, he bore an unspoken responsibility to protect these young people.
As he drew near the two girls, Lanqi's figure appeared once again on the massive building screen.
Raising a hand, he gestured gently yet firmly toward the surrounding fans, using the simplest of actions to show everyone that in a spotlight this bright, respect and understanding were the core values he upheld as a leader.
"...!"
Hyperion stared blankly at the figure who had appeared out of nowhere—someone so familiar yet so strange, standing inches away yet seeming separated by a towering wall.
She had never expected that once again, he would be the one stepping up beside her to help.
And under his shield, she finally felt a glimmer of safety and relief.
"Pardon me, everyone, but I think you might have misunderstood her. At the academy, I am deeply beloved by some of our students, and as a result, there are those who don't want to see me leave the campus to take on political work tied up with imperial affairs. Please be understanding toward them."
Facing the camera, Lanqi unhurriedly rephrased what Hyperion had just said.
"...Ngh."
Hyperion's bright eyes—mingled with touch, relief, and grievance—reflected his silhouette.
Though the noisy reaction of the surrounding crowd felt deafening, the gentle voice of Luoqi McCarthy echoing beneath the building was uniquely clear, every word ringing straight into her mind.
It turned out that not only in the Southern Continent, in Ikerite...
Even here in the Northern Continent, in this city of Herrom where they had never supposedly met, without piercing her disguise, he still came to help her.
It was also at this moment that Hyperion remembered the past, when she had first met an unfamiliar Lanqi back at Ikerite Academy.
Back then, he had spoken just like this, constantly helping her.
During the entrance exam, he helped her defeat the ill-intentioned Viscount Ferrat; after the exam, he smoothed over her relationship with Princess Vivian; when the son of Marquis Modan came looking for trouble, Lanqi drove him away; he guided her through the Demon Academy Shadow World to grow stronger rapidly; he rushed to the garden to defeat the female assassin from the Resurrection Church; he shielded her at the Cathedral banquet when she was targeted for assassination as a Blood Clan dependent; he protected her from the direct retainer assassins of the Aloran academic delegation...
Only at this moment did Hyperion finally understand why she was always so unlucky.
Although this man constantly drained her good karma, he would always come to save her whenever danger struck.
The person she had spent all her luck to meet... was this what it really meant?
Chapter 376