At the Protos Royal Magic Academy, as three o'clock in the afternoon approached, only a distinctive stillness remained along the main thoroughfare on the north side of the campus.
Faint traces of clear skies had lingered at first, lending the storied, historic buildings a more solemn air under the warm afternoon sun. As time slipped by, however, a gray blanket of clouds gradually covered the sky.
In the residential quarters of the campus, students almost always brought along an umbrella when heading out. Even without glancing up at the sky, one could sense the crisp, moist dampness in the air; the trees and lawns seemed to anticipate the nourishment of the coming rain.
Three teacherly figures walked along the campus pathway toward the Redmond Administrative Building. Their strides were brisk and relaxed, and the easy banter between them carried the warmth of old friends reuniting after long years apart.
"To be honest, I'm a bit nervous. After all, this is our first time meeting the New King since officially taking up our posts."
Sinora pressed a hand to her chest, her expression tinged with mild apprehension.
She retained her usual quiet, gentle ladylike demeanor. Her eyes remained closed as if she were immersed in a world of her own, yet the aura radiating from her was impossible to ignore.
Her long-sleeved black silk gown fluttered softly in the breeze, and her occasional remarks were spoken in a low, gentle whisper.
It was Antanas who had come knocking on her door first.
After heading home and changing clothes, Antanas had happily gone out visiting, latching onto the siblings to drag them out for a meal while chattering away without pause.
Because of that, the three had spent the entire midday together.
Sinora and Pranay both possessed calm, reserved temperaments. They never found Antanas too noisy and had listened attentively to everything she had to say.
As long as the subject touched on the New King, they were indeed immensely intrigued.
"It's fine, don't worry! I've seen the New King's true appearance. Although she really is quite stunning, she's still just as gentle and amiable."
Antanas patted Sinora's shoulder with a broad grin.
Unlike Sinora, Antanas wore a leather vest, form-fitting leather trousers, and tall riding boots.
Among the three professors, she looked the least like a senior academic and far more like an approachable lecturer who mingled effortlessly with students.
Her stride carried a touch of playfulness beneath its firmness. Her androgynous charm blended with the sunlight and the imminent raindrops to create a distinct grace—one could easily picture her dancing blithely in the rain.
Antanas knew that because the card Polymorph: Human carried a twenty-four-hour cooldown, the New King had never undone the disguise on the fifth or sixth subterranean levels of Herrom Prison, only revealing that demon form on the fourth subterranean level.
"What does she look like?" Sinora asked curiously.
"Gray hair and blue eyes. She looks strikingly like Talia in my memory, but her temperament is entirely different," Antanas explained.
"Ah..."
Having not seen Talia in a hundred years, Sinora could no longer picture her precise features clearly.
"Then my mind is at ease. When I meet the New King in a moment, I will be sure to mind my manners."
Sinora had actually been worried that trading blows with Antanas right when they met might have left a poor impression on the New King.
As a noble lady from an illustrious Demon Realm house, Sinora cared deeply about her decorum and how the New King viewed her.
Yet hearing from Antanas that the New King remained so gentle no matter what form she assumed, Sinora relaxed. When the time came, she would ensure her speech was proper and her poise elegant before the New King.
"..."
Walking behind Antanas and Sinora, Pranay listened to their exchange. His dark blue suit appeared exceptionally understated and solemn beneath the dimming sunlight, while his immaculate collar and hems clearly marked him as a professor devoted to precision and detail.
"You two, stop gossiping. We're almost at the Redmond Building. Be careful not to be overheard."
Even if the New King learned they were chattering behind her back, she likely wouldn't mind much, but Pranay had no desire to make the three of them look juvenile in the New King's eyes.
"Fine, fine."
Antanas glanced back at Pranay and nodded with a slight pout.
Though the cool detachment in Pranay's eyes kept ordinary people at a distance, his posture remained thoroughly courteous, and his words carried only respect and concern for his sister and friend.
After surviving the fall of the demon race, the bond between the three of them had grown far sturdier than it had been a century ago.
Perhaps it was because only a handful of familiar kin remained. If they did not cherish one another now, they truly would be left all alone in this world—and that would be true desolation.
As Antanas, Sinora, and Pranay walked, passing students frequently cast curious glances their way.
For one thing, none of them had ever seen three professors of such remarkable bearing on campus before. Yet judging by the style of their nameplates, all three appeared to be newly appointed senior professors specially recruited by the academy.
As their footsteps drew them nearer to the Redmond Administrative Building, a masonry structure adorned with dark gray reliefs rose before their eyes.
The building exuded a solemn, ancient aura. The stone and carvings were distillations of history, their intricate and exquisite patterns chronicling the academic and intellectual glory of the Protos Royal Magic Academy.
Presenting their staff badges, the three great demons passed through the building's spacious entrance and stepped into the ground-floor lobby.
The ceiling vaulted more than ten meters above them, and the warm, soft illumination dispelled every trace of the gloom outside.
Across the vast lobby, they spotted the figure of an attendant waiting for them in the distance.
It was a male student dressed in the standard uniform of the Protos Royal Magic Academy.
"Professors, this way, please. I will take you to see that lord."
The flaxen-haired youth appeared to be a first-year student, yet his bearing bore an uncanny resemblance to a battle-hardened demon warrior.
His pale cheeks carried a touch of sickly beauty, while his cold, pitch-black eyes held a gentle warmth remarkably akin to the King's.
For an instant, Antanas, Sinora, and Pranay all felt as though they were looking at the team leader of their Demon King's Army Special Slaughter Unit Reconnaissance Team from back in the day.
The three exchanged brief glances, none of them entirely certain whether this youth was a fellow demon in human disguise.
Led by the attendant, the three figures ascended the wide staircase.
"Student, where are you from?"
Pranay was rather intrigued by the youth's identity. Unable to ask about his background outright, he framed the question quite delicately.
"I am a ruined noble from the eastern Protos Empire, though it has already been arranged that I will marry into a family in the northern Snowfield Province. It was only through my teacher's grace and guidance that I was granted a new lease on life, so I wish to do everything in my power to repay him," Xiaya answered.
Just yesterday, he had arrived in the Imperial Capital of Herrom with his fiancée, Lilith Chinston. Upon reaching the Protos Royal Magic Academy, he had received word from the Headmaster instructing him, in addition to attending classes, to serve temporarily as an assistant in the Redmond Administrative Building. The duty would earn him academic credits, counted as a course.
Chapter 457