"Is this young lady from Saint Creti Academy?" Nikolai asked Lanqi thoughtfully, looking Naila up and down.
At this moment, Kestrel Nikolai, clad in the long coat of an imperial officer; the Saint Creti Monastery headmaster's secretary; and Lanqi, the soon-to-be-inaugurated professor, stood at the edge of Duke Oseta Square outside Brierda First Station.
Nikolai was originally supposed to escort Professor Landry to Saint Creti Monastery.
The two of them could have continued chatting on the way, but now someone from the monastery had appeared.
"Indeed. I have come at the headmaster's behest to receive our school's Professor Landry. If Your Excellency has no other business, I will escort Professor Landry on his way so as not to detain your official duties."
Naila, who had not spared Nikolai a single glance and had focused solely on speaking with Lanqi, turned her head and answered the imperial officer with deferential courtesy.
Even Lanqi, who had been preparing to politely smooth things over with Nikolai, bit back his words. He had not expected Naila to take such an unyielding stance.
Evidently, she had realized that her academy's professor was being eyed by this secret service chief, and letting him remain entangled with him was definitely not a good idea.
"Hold on. Professor Landry and I still have a few matters to discuss. Regardless of whose hands he is placed into, I need to ensure his safety."
Nikolai raised a hand to stop them. After scrutinizing Naila just now, he seemed convinced that she was indeed from Saint Creti Monastery.
"Or does your esteemed academy not approve of my friendship with Professor Landry?" he asked, staring at Naila.
"It is naturally best for a professor not to become too entangled with secret service agents—just as a white dove is best left unpursued by hounds."
Naila maintained the graceful poise of a secretary, hands resting lightly against her midriff, but her words no longer concealed her attitude.
"Miss Naila, you should understand that the Creti Empire is currently in a state of war. As section chief of the Domestic Countermeasures Section, I have the authority to investigate or protect any imperial citizen. Escorting Professor Landry to Saint Creti Monastery was my scheduled task. You step in uninvited, and now you mock me instead?"
Nikolai's tone remained calm, but his voice grew a notch heavier.
"Are you putting the cap on yourself?"
Secretary Naila regarded Kestrel Nikolai with a frosty, superficial smile, seemingly finding this secret service chief quite tactless.
"..."
Just as they seemed on the verge of trading blunt, nasty words, Lanqi looked at the two of them with an expression full of worry.
He was terribly anxious that they might have an unpleasant falling out on his account.
Talia felt that whatever Lanqi said right now would be wrong. It was best for him to keep quiet and let the two of them hash out a conclusion.
Either way, one of them would have to escort Lanqi to Saint Creti Monastery.
The headmaster's secretary, Naila, clearly disliked people from the Imperial Special Operations Department and had never intended to give this secret service chief much face from the start.
Taking either side would offend the other.
And if Lanqi wanted to get by in the empire moving forward, he really couldn't afford to offend either party.
"How about this? Why don't the three of us head to the academy together?" Lanqi suddenly suggested.
His friendly gaze looked as if he hadn't noticed their discord at all, believing everyone could just share a happy family gathering.
Both looked at him in bewilderment, wondering if he was joking.
"If we do that, Miss Naila's duty of bringing me back to the academy will be fulfilled, Mr. Nikolai's task of questioning me while escorting me will be fulfilled, and the two of you can ensure my safety together. Doesn't that satisfy everyone's needs?" Lanqi nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world, smiling cheerfully.
"..."
Neither Secretary Naila nor Kestrel Nikolai said a word.
Even Talia fell silent.
*Three people in one car, trapped together for the whole ride. Do you think the tension between them isn't bad enough? What kind of mutual torture is this?*
"Both of you have taken such wonderful care of me. I truly appreciate and am grateful for your help, and if possible, I would love to keep conversing with you both," Lanqi added. He took a stride forward, as though already ushering them both toward the Saint Creti Monastery vehicle parked in the distance.
His unhesitating, gracious manner made Nikolai hesitate—a rare sight.
Naila stared at Lanqi, seemingly analyzing the professor's mental state.
"Let's not today. Since Saint Creti Monastery has already sent someone to pick up Professor Landry, I'll entrust him to your hands. I also need to see to investigating the Allied front."
Looking at Lanqi's sincere and steadfast gaze, Kestrel Nikolai furrowed his brows and had no choice but to yield for the moment.
Yet he seemed somewhat unwilling to let Lanqi leave just like that.
On second thought, with someone from Saint Creti Monastery present, questioning Professor Landry now was an ideal opportunity to test a suspicion of his.
"Before leaving, there is one matter I am curious about. May I ask Professor Landry for some insight?" Kestrel Nikolai asked Lanqi politely.
Secretary Naila did not make a sound, merely waiting to the side like a statue.
Her posture signaled that she didn't mind.
"Go right ahead, Section Chief Nikolai. I will answer anything I know," Lanqi nodded easily.
"As an expert in magic engineering, Professor Landry seems very knowledgeable in demon magic engineering. Looking at your specialties, Demon Magic Script and demon-system magic engineering were both major highlights. Could you enlighten me on what the demon script inscribed on the dome of Brierda First Station means?" Kestrel Nikolai asked with interest.
"..."
Lanqi glanced back toward Brierda First Station and fell silent for a brief moment.
"Professor Landry, what do you think?"
Kestrel Nikolai narrowed his eyes, sizing Lanqi up.
He distinctly remembered Professor Landry looking up at the dome earlier while walking through the station with him.
If he were a genuine expert, he would surely recognize its meaning at a single glance.
Standing aside, Secretary Naila glanced at Nikolai and Lanqi.
She vaguely understood Kestrel Nikolai's suspicion.
This agent seemed to suspect that the Professor Landry before them was not the real person, and that there was a possibility he had been swapped during the incident.
Though the probability was virtually zero, upon reflection, it was indeed not absolute zero. One could only say that Kestrel Nikolai, as a secret service chief, was not only suspicious but also extraordinarily meticulous.
The black-haired, blue-eyed youth's brief hesitation seemed to deepen Nikolai's suspicion further, his gaze locking onto the young professor's face.
After all, if this fellow were an impostor, he certainly wouldn't understand the demon script that was supposed to be his area of expertise.
"Section Chief Nikolai flatters me. I do know a bit about the demon race, but I wouldn't call myself an expert. Truly understanding the origin repository of magical script for the demon race's inexhaustible matter requires several centuries of accumulation," Lanqi answered unhurriedly.
"The script on that dome actually has no practical meaning. It is 'filler text' unique to Demon Script. Due to grammatical differences between Demon Script and human languages, many demon words are used solely to adjust syllables, thereby preventing ordinary speech from triggering spells."
"So that is how it is."
Kestrel Nikolai nodded slightly, looking as though he had learned something new.
He had, of course, known the answer before asking.
It appeared the black-haired, blue-eyed youth before him truly did understand demon script.
Naturally, this alone was not enough to confirm he was an expert; it only indicated that the likelihood of Landry being an impostor had decreased significantly. After all, such an unpolished and hesitant response could have been given by any student at Saint Creti Monastery who had studied Demon Magic Script.
"However, do you know of a certain demon allusion, Mr. Nikolai?" Lanqi added, seemingly not quite finished.
"Oh?"
Kestrel Nikolai looked up, fixing his eyes on Lanqi.
"Writing upon a wall carries an allegorical implication inherent to the act itself, entirely separate from the words themselves," Lanqi explained, his eyes tinged with profound meaning, as if also explaining why he had hesitated moments earlier.
"Please enlighten me," Nikolai invited.
He had genuinely never heard of such a notion.
"This actually comes from a tale in the Book of Daniel, Chapter Fifteen of the *Tome of Demons: Ancient Volume*. During the Age of the Gods, a human king named Beshir held a great feast. Due to a shortage of tableware, he used gold and silver vessels taken from the sacred city to drink wine. Suddenly, a human hand appeared and began writing on the wall," Lanqi began his explanation.
"And then?"
Nikolai did not see the connection between this story and the demon script on the dome of Brierda First Station. He stared thoughtfully at Professor Landry's profile, as if trying to discern some hidden clue.
Still, whether the story was real or not, he could easily verify it.
After all, like the *Tome of Creation*, the *Tome of Demons* was an indestructible heritage and a multi-generational demonic treasure, with translations available in every nation.
"However, none of the kingdom's scholars, sorcerers, or soothsayers could read the writing, nor could they interpret its meaning for the king. Thus, Daniel, who was a half-demon, was summoned to explain it to him. Daniel said that the writing was written by god, and its words were 'Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.' It could not be deciphered through human grammar, and its meaning could only be grasped intuitively: 'God is displeased with your desecration of the sacred vessels; the days of your kingdom are brought to an end, and you have been weighed in the balances and found deficient.' That very night, King Beshir was slain, marking the beginning of the kingdom's fall."
Lanqi finished recounting the story for Kestrel Nikolai.
"..."
Hearing Lanqi's words, Kestrel Nikolai furrowed his brows deeply.
He now understood why Professor Landry had not answered immediately.
When Brierda First Station was being constructed, the obstacle it faced was precisely the demon Holy War a century ago; hence, the design drafted by that half-demon imperial craftsman met with intense opposition and resistance. Fortunately, it was eventually built, preventing such a brilliant design from coming to naught.
Certain details subtly resonated with the allusion Professor Landry had described.
The allegory from that mythic age possessed multiple interpretations, the most straightforward being: *If a proud ruler acts with reckless abandon, destruction will inevitably follow.*
Yet such sentiments could never be spoken carelessly within the Creti Empire.
It might well have been that imperial craftsman's subtle protest against the Creti Empire or its rulers a century ago.
Perhaps only today had someone finally deciphered the craftsman's hidden message through a unique, perceptive understanding.
"Of course, I might simply be overthinking it. After all, only a fraction of ancient demons considered writing on a wall an omen of doom or an impending catastrophe," Lanqi called out, snapping Kestrel Nikolai out of his frowning daze.
The fact that they had launched a Holy War proved that the demon race had long forgotten the warning of that parable.
Naturally, this interpretation was something an associate professor of history at Protos Royal Magic Academy had mentioned to him back in the Northern Continent; scholars in the Northern Continent, having borne the heavier brunt of the Holy War, studied the *Tome of Demons* far more extensively.
"Very well, then I shall not take up any more of Professor Landry's time. We shall speak again another day."
Kestrel Nikolai quickly collected himself, touched the brim of his cap, and took his leave of Lanqi.
Secretary Naila also looked at the professor with an altered expression.
It was not without reason that the headmaster had favored him.
"Of course," Lanqi replied to Nikolai.
During that brief interlude, Secretary Naila had already brought the silver magic-drive vehicle onto the roadway, waiting for Professor Landry to board.
Lanqi glanced to his side; the cabin, fitted entirely with leather seats, was extraordinarily luxurious, and from the look of its performance, it likely far surpassed the mana-driven vehicles of the Hutton Kingdom.
With one hand behind his back, Nikolai opened the car door for Lanqi with the other, watching him settle inside.
Secretary Naila started the engine soundlessly.
Accompanied by a low hum, the vehicle pulled away from Brierda's grand First Station, heading toward the distant southern reaches where Saint Creti Monastery lay.
In the rear seat.
Warm yellow afternoon light spilled through the car window onto Lanqi's slightly weary face, adding a touch of indolence to Landry's handsome features.
"You little devil. You intentionally let Nikolai suspect you a little, only to completely dispel it. Do that a few more times, and he won't be able to suspect you at all, will he?" Talia's voice murmured softly beside his ear.
"It wasn't anywhere near as complicated as you think. At the time, I genuinely didn't know how to explain it. After all, the sentiment isn't very auspicious, and having just arrived in the capital, Brierda, I should be keeping things cheerful and festive," Lanqi chuckled softly, replying in his mind.
With that, he looked out the window at the imperial buildings flitting past.
Everything seemed novel to him; this most developed city on the Southern Continent held countless landmarks waiting for him to explore.
Taking things as they come was the best mindset, no matter what he might end up doing in the Creti Empire.
"Professor Landry, if you've caught the attention of that man named Kestrel, things might become rather troublesome for you in the capital going forward. He is like a falcon—he never takes his eyes off his prey. That's why I wanted you to minimize contact with him just now."
At that moment, from the driver's seat up front, the pale-blue eye outside Secretary Naila's mechanical visor stared straight at the road ahead as she spoke to Lanqi.
"It's fine. A clear conscience fears no knocking at midnight," Lanqi replied, offering a grateful smile toward Secretary Naila in the front seat, confident she could see him in the rearview mirror.
Seeing how confident Professor Landry was, Secretary Naila said no more.
Headmaster Violet's actual instruction to her had been to keep a close eye on this Professor Landry. After all, Saint Creti Monastery was currently caught in the teeth of the storm; anyone seeking to enter or leave was likely anything but simple, and the headmaster harbored serious doubts.
As it stood, at least this Professor Landry's abilities were the genuine article, and she could report his conversation with Secret Service Section Chief Nikolai in full to the headmaster.
Chapter 712