Lanqi Begins His Tale

Night fell as rain tapped lightly against the car windows, a faint patter weaving through the conversation among the three. The atmosphere inside the enclosed cabin was quiet and peaceful, a world apart from the rain and fading clamor outside. "You... you couldn't possibly be headmaster this time, right?" Hyperion clenched her fists nervously, waiting for Lanqi's response. According to the Ice Snow Witch, the Protos Royal Magic Academy was an intensely cutthroat institution directly subordinate to the Department of Education. While Great Sage Isis could intervene to a certain extent, in terms of rules, it operated entirely according to the parameters set by the ancient magical barrier established a century ago at its founding. Even the many nobles and dignitaries of the Protos Empire could not manipulate the academy for personal gain; at most, the rules afforded a degree of leniency to their children. Consequently, there was simply no such position as headmaster, which in theory closed off any possibility of Lanqi exercising his true calling at the root. Logically speaking, Lanqi was currently neither a noble nor even officially enrolled. Becoming an instructor at the academy should have meant starting on "Hell Mode," and his political status wouldn't necessarily intimidate that bunch of students. Word had it that the student seated at the very top of the student body was the young lady of Duke Bernhardt's family—the most influential house in the Imperial Capital—someone entirely out of reach. "..." Lanqi turned around, looking at Hyperion with a gentle smile, and held his hands out. Everything went without saying. It was as if he were welcoming Hyperion to Herrom, having already carved out a new world for her. "While I'm not headmaster in name, everyone calls me Headmaster." Lanqi had no choice in the matter either. He could only say that the faculty's hospitality was simply too hard to decline. Strictly speaking, he had been thrust into this position back during that cold winter. As the saying went, with great power came great responsibility, and Lanqi never shied away from doing his duty. Hyperion stared at Lanqi with wide eyes, completely at a loss for words. Beside her, Michaela was also struck dumb, her eyes darting repeatedly between her sister's expression and Lanqi's face. Michaela couldn't understand why her sister would react like this to something that seemed so worthy of celebration. "First... tell me how you became headmaster." Hyperion inhaled with extraordinary calm, then exhaled slowly before speaking to Lanqi—or perhaps her heart had simply stopped beating altogether. "Well, that starts back when Viscount Francis hired me as a private tutor, and then I accompanied Miss Zestira from the seaside of Lilom City all the way to the Imperial Capital, Herrom..." And so, Lanqi began recounting the story of when he first arrived in Herrom. He described how he met Associate Professor Sido at the Protos Royal Magic Academy, how he became a teaching assistant at Sido's invitation, how he started out with a bounty of one hundred and thirty thousand credits on Monthly Evaluation Day, and how, surrounded by the students' overwhelming support and acclaim, he reached the pinnacle step by step, culminating in his proposal of the McCarthy Reforms for the academy, which garnered a one-hundred-percent approval rating and unanimous praise across the entire school. Listening to this, Michaela clapped in utter astonishment. The tale sounded made up, but considering the reality before them, the story might have even been an understatement. Lanqi then looked at Hyperion with high anticipation, waiting for her reaction. It was as if he were asking her: *The academy I conquered for you—are you pleased?* Remembering how they had initially challenged the Purgatory Corridor Academy together, this finally made up for the lingering regret of having their time cut short back then. Those twelve hours had been far too brief; Lanqi, having just taken command of lightning, hadn't even had the chance to show Hyperion properly around the Purgatory Corridor Academy before the Shadow World dissolved into thin air. A tear slipped from the corner of Hyperion's eye. Not tears of being moved. Tears born of sheer terror—she didn't dare move a muscle. She felt the Goddess looking down on them right now. From hearing the bounty's escalation formula and Lanqi's final bounty figure, Hyperion made a rough mental calculation of how much student blood Lanqi's throne was built upon. She knew instantly that all the good karma she had painstakingly accumulated in Aisetelan had been wiped clean out. When she was young, her father, Duke Mikhail, had always told her that if one didn't diligently do good deeds and accumulate virtue, their luck would turn sour. Having suffered terrible luck since childhood, she was terrified of anything that diminished her karmic merit. Now, Hyperion realized that no matter how many good deeds she did, she could never replenish what Lanqi squandered so recklessly. "...You." Tears brimmed in Hyperion's eyes; she felt almost numb. After learning about Lanqi's political exploits, hearing that he was also the headmaster didn't feel quite as earth-shattering as seeing that interview on the plaza screen. Yet Hyperion's heart was still pounding wildly— It seemed this fellow had only told about a third of his story. He hadn't made the slightest mention of how he had broken into the politics of the Protos Empire. That left Hyperion terrified to hear him tell any more. Still, at least Lanqi seemed to have drifted off-target due to the shifting political climate, rather than stubbornly joining the Extinction Branch as originally planned and walking down a dark path to the very end amid this chaotic situation. The Bishop of Extinction was someone who must not be crossed under any circumstances! The Holy Son of Extinction and a Great Cleric of the Extinction Branch had already frightened her and Michaela half to death. She couldn't begin to imagine what kind of horrifying, insane, evil fiend the Bishop of Extinction—standing atop the Northern Continent—must be. Besides, as a priest of the Church of the Goddess of Fate, she was fundamentally incompatible with the Resurrection Church. She would never allow Lanqi to have the slightest tie to those cultists. If she discovered that Lanqi was obstinately heading down that road, she would risk her life to drag him out of the Northern Continent. "My heart and actions are clear as a mirror; all that I do is justice," Lanqi declared with utmost righteousness, looking straight at Hyperion. "Rest assured, I promise that everything I do in the Protos Empire is open and upright." "..." Hyperion did believe that Lanqi acted with complete integrity. The problem was that she was afraid. The brighter and sunnier this guy seemed, the more terrified she became! Granted, all along the way—not just in the Milford Territory and Box Mountain Province, but even upon arriving in Herrom and the Protos Royal Magic Academy—everything had shifted from the "Hell Mode" estimated by the Ice Snow Witch into an actual "Baby Mode," making her feel extraordinarily lucky. However, fate had already set a price for that piece of good fortune at the Protos Royal Magic Academy. Hyperion constantly comforted herself: *Don't overthink it. Look forward. The only difficulty remaining is the prison break, the hardest task of all.* As long as she could rescue that dear friend of Aunt Talia, her mission would be accomplished. That would yield an immense mountain of karmic merit, surely enough to cover Lanqi's deficits, and the Goddess would watch over him. He was always walking along the water's edge; he needed all the good luck he could get to make it safely through this life. "You're so cool, Brother-in-law! My father will definitely support you when the time comes. House Milford and our allies in the Northwestern Province will back you with everything we've got in the House of Lords!" Michaela gave him a thumbs-up in sincere admiration. "We are not in that kind of relationship," Lanqi and Hyperion said simultaneously. Michaela merely nodded, a faint smile touching her stiff face, making her look like a spectator relishing some juicy gossip. "..." In the momentary, slightly awkward silence that settled inside the vehicle, Hyperion had no time for stray thoughts; she put the increasingly urgent mission ahead of everything else. She didn't know how to bring it up—how to ask Lanqi to help her infiltrate Herrom Prison. If she leveraged Lanqi's authority, it might seem a bit too shameful. He was never one to abuse his power for personal gain. She would talk to Lanqi a bit later to see if she could... ask him for a small favor.