Mid-February, the day of Valentine's Day on the Southern Continent.
7:15 a.m.
"Come to think of it, today is clearly the anniversary of Priest Valentine's execution. Why do couples celebrate it? Aren't they afraid of getting executed too?"
Seated at an open-air café on the street corner, a light-blue-haired girl wrote in her notebook as she voiced her long-standing perplexity.
A magical recording camera hung from the young reporter's neck, and two work badges were pinned to her chest. She sipped her hot coffee as leisurely as if she were on vacation. In addition to serving as the student council secretary, Luweixier was also a reporter for the Hutton Times.
"Senior, aren't there always heaps of bouquets in the trash cans every Valentine's Day? Doesn't that count as an execution?" Deep-red-haired Kukulka, seated beside Luweixier, asked in all seriousness.
Ever since transferring to Ikerite Academy from the Aloran Royal Academy's academic exchange delegation, she had been doing fieldwork alongside Senior Luweixier. Now, she had even joined the understaffed student council as a newly appointed officer.
Her older brother, Kuse, was the eldest son of Earl Parkas, a nobleman of the Kingdom of Aloran, and had once been the strongest combatant among the third-years at Aloran Royal Academy. Two years ago, when he visited Ikerite, he met with an unfortunate accident.
To this day, Kuse remained holed up at home, too frightened to step out the front door. Far from engaging in combat, he was terrified whenever even a servant approached him, panicked that someone was about to beat him up.
As for who had instigated that accident and who had presided over the arena duel as referee, it had undoubtedly been Loren, the Dean of the School of Sages.
Even though she felt her brother had largely brought it upon himself, she personally still felt about Loren...
If he truly were the Mr. Nice Guy everyone called him, he never would have ascended to the position of Emperor so effortlessly. Everything felt too meticulously, too perfectly calculated.
"Fair point. At least it's not like the ancient Porsen Emperor Lanyi XVI getting executed on the guillotine," Luweixier muttered to herself.
From time to time, masked by the motion of sipping her coffee, she naturally glanced toward the pedestrian plaza in the distance.
Beneath a tall, distant tree on the pedestrian street, standing beside a circular wooden bench, was a slightly anxious young man—a legendary emperor, Loren.
*Wonder who he's squaring off against today.*
*Hang in there, Loren! We've placed high hopes on you.*
"Kukulka, remember what I taught you last time. In essence, reporters aren't much different from detectives. When we tail an eighth-tier powerhouse, we can't focus our attention on them directly, or we'll get spotted easily. We have to position ourselves just right in a commercial district that's neither too close nor too far, blend in using the crowd, mind our own business, and leave recording to luck."
Luweixier tilted her head and spoke to her junior seated beside her.
"Then what about tailing a ninth-tier powerhouse?" Kukulka asked.
Imposing and sharp, her deep red eyes were cold and piercing, seeming capable of seeing right through people's hearts.
Aside from her uniform bearing her family's interlaced black-and-white crest, she wore a striking inverted-cross holy emblem hair ornament crafted from a red ribbon and gold metallic lining. She, too, was a cleric of the Church of the Goddess of Fate, which made her feelings toward Loren immensely complicated.
In the past, she had revered Loren as a High Priest. Later, because of what happened to her brother, she considered him a sanctimonious hypocrite. But after that, Loren had indeed put an end to the warfare across Crete, leaving her utterly unable to see through him.
"That goes beyond my experience. It's my first time tailing a ninth-tier powerhouse too," Luweixier advised her junior. "Even though this is an urban area with regulations and Dean Loren is a law-abiding good citizen who won't casually cast spells, we still need to keep a greater distance from him to keep him from noticing our gaze. Also, don't force coincidences. Today we're just out to have fun. Bumping into him is pure serendipity."
If they caught him, it was a massive win; if they didn't, no loss.
To dig up intel regarding Dean Loren, Luweixier had pulled out all the stops lately handling student council duties. She had wheedled and nagged President Monaster and Frey, asking everyone around her who could possibly be asked. Unexpectedly, she had finally obtained the scoop from Miss Antanas, a colleague from another department at the Hutton Times Broadcasting Company.
"Understood, Senior."
Kukulka nodded, her gaze turning solemn as she lowered her head.
"It's such a pity that kid Frey refused to help me this time. He might as well not have come back! Otherwise, for something like this, I wouldn't need to investigate personally at all. I could just commission him and get all the info directly." Noticing that her junior seemed rather tense about coming out to secretly dig up news with her again today, Luweixier changed the subject to grumble.
Ever since that lovely junior returned, he stopped listening to her.
In the past, apart from being expensive, he basically had no flaws. Now, money couldn't even buy intel from him. He acted as though he genuinely knew Loren's entire itinerary.
"Frey is back?"
Kukulka was no stranger to that name. Before coming to Ikerite Academy, she had heard of the legendary deeds of the student council, and Senior Luweixier and President Monaster constantly mentioned him.
For instance, with student council commissions or community service, so long as the president assigned them to Frey, he would get them done quickly and pro bono. As for matters outside the student council, one could also hire Frey—as long as the coin was right, he could accomplish practically anything.
"Even though he's back, he's nowhere to be seen. Unless you reach him through communication magic, he's practically impossible to find." Luweixier closed her eyes and spread her hands.
That guy seemed to possess a passive ability that let him vanish off the map and become entirely untargetable.
"Still, even if Frey isn't willing to sell Loren's itinerary, I can roughly deduce that there's a high probability Dean Loren will go see the performance of *Holy War Romance: Half-Witch Chapter* this afternoon. After all, it's the absolute perfect date venue."
Luweixier smugly fished out two tickets from her coat.
"Huh? Senior, where did you buy tickets?"
Kukulka looked in astonishment at the two translucent standard tickets for the Ikerite Academy Grand Theater in Luweixier's hand. She had heard about this performance long ago, but tickets were completely impossible to purchase.
"Please, the lead actors are my lovely Junior Hyperion and Junior Lan—ahem, Headmaster Lan! May my great Headmaster Lan live forever! Getting advance reserved tickets from them is a piece of cake," Luweixier explained to Kukulka.
Kukulka had originally joined the student council to take over the officer duties of Hyperion, Lanqi, and the others. Later, after Lanqi returned, he rarely visited the student council, seemingly preoccupied with matters concerning the School of Sages assigned by Professor Polao. Consequently, she had barely ever crossed paths with him.
"So today, it feels like we're just out to have fun?"
Kukulka had originally been called out by her senior prepared for a full day of hard work. Now it seemed they could enjoy themselves thoroughly whether the work succeeded or not.
"You're not wrong to put it that way. The main event is definitely the opera this afternoon anyway. In the morning, let's just stroll around casually." Luweixier handed one ticket to Kukulka and patted her junior's shoulder.
There were two public performances in total this weekend, both with the same content, staged respectively today on Saturday and tomorrow on Sunday. She had secured tickets for today's opening show.
Generally, tickets for the first day were more sought after, especially with today being Valentine's Day.
Once the first day's performance concluded, based on the reception, the scalper prices for the second day would likely be heavily impacted. If the opening performance flopped, tickets for the second day would take a nosedive; but if it was an extraordinary success, the second day's prices would be hyped to an absurd level.
"Thank you, Senior. When work calls, I'll definitely take it seriously," Kukulka said gratefully.
"Don't get your hopes too high about digging up explosive scoops today, though. As an emperor, he'll definitely be watching from a private box upstairs. The chances of us snapping a photo of him are slim. There'll surely be plenty of media peers on site keeping their eyes glued to the stage. Unless a massive stage accident occurs—one that severely affects the Emperor—we'll hardly get a chance to capture any big news," Luweixier analyzed.
"In short, let's just enjoy the play in peace today. Don't build up wild fantasies. It should be a show well worth looking forward to."
She didn't know why Frey had bought up tickets exclusively for the second day.
That investment carried the risk of losing every penny. Was he truly that confident the performance would succeed? Luweixier couldn't fathom it.
Frey existed in a state of divine-or-devilish duality—sometimes winning big, other times losing everything.
"Oh, looks like someone is coming."
Kukulka seemed to notice a figure appearing around another corner far down the pedestrian street. She immediately alerted Luweixier to snap out of her thoughts.
Both picked up their coffee cups, gazing into the distance as if casually admiring the scenery.
At the end of the pedestrian street.
Beneath the tall tree.
Loren was in light disguise today; unless one was intimately familiar with him, he was difficult to recognize.
He actually carried quite the aristocratic air, his front hair brushed back meticulously from his forehead. It gave him an entirely different impression from usual.
Though his face remained gentle, it was tinged with the presence of an aristocratic scion and an overbearing executive. One could only wonder which stylist had made him up this way.
"He looks ready to walk down the wedding aisle at any moment. Why's Dean Loren so dashing today? Is this what an emperor looks like?"
Luweixier secretly snapped two photos. Capturing a few candid shots of the Emperor's daily life would already be enough to wrap up her assignment for the newspaper.
*"Shocking: Emperor of Crete Appears on the Streets of Ikerite, Suspected of Waiting for Mysterious Girlfriend!"*
She jotted down such a tentative headline in her notebook.
However, the woman walking toward the tree where Loren stood came as quite a surprise to them.
Because—
She was not Juliana of the Kingdom of Aloran.
Rather, she was a woman they had never seen before, yet who looked surprisingly familiar.
Her facial features were delicate and exquisite, and her skin was fair and supple. The first impression she gave was bound to be sweetness.
Her lips were vivid and lustrous, though not from makeup; it seemed more like a natural trait, adding a splash of radiance to her face that complemented her fair complexion and lent her an air of lively charm.
Youthful and radiant, her aura possessed innocent naivety without lacking the charm of a mature woman.
7:22 a.m.
Loren originally assumed she was just waiting for someone under the tree like himself.
Unexpectedly, as if mustering all her courage, she walked straight up to him.
She seemed to have something to say, yet held back shyly, unable to speak.
"Miss, is there something I can help you with?" Loren asked with concern.
He could sense the unease in her heart.
"Um... that..."
She stammered, unable to form words, as if waiting for someone to guide her.
"Take your time, no rush. I'm waiting for someone, so I have plenty of free time right now." Loren was now even more certain she needed assistance, waving his hand reassuringly.
Moreover, this girl gave him an inexplicable sense of warmth and familiarity. Her pear-wood-colored hair was the very same shade as his good brother's and the latter's younger brother Monaster's.
"Loren... I'm Florence..." Florence mumbled, keeping her head down.
Saying those words made her ears flush crimson. She didn't know what Loren would think.
Would he be terrified? Surprised? Delighted?
Even though Hyperion had told her she was pretty, she didn't know whether she was the type Loren liked.
Sure enough, Loren froze for half a second.
"Brother, why did you dress up as a girl?" he asked with a hearty, relieved chuckle.
Showing not the slightest bit of surprise, he even sized up Florence's brand-new look with curiosity.
"Huh?"
Florence looked up at Loren, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Why was Loren reacting like this?
Seeing her in her true appearance, he still thought she was a guy?
"Don't worry, I won't laugh at you. I know you must have your reasons for disguising yourself as a woman," Loren hurriedly added.
Now he finally understood why his good brother had looked so terrified just a moment ago.
Florence fought back tears, clutching the hem of her clothes, masking her fluster in a mix of shame and embarrassment. The mortification was about to kill her.
"Ah... haha... I—I did dress up as a woman today. B-Because members of my family might see me meeting privately with the Imperial Emperor, so I had to disguise myself to slip out and meet you."
She forced a smile as she replied.
Drillmaster Hyperion had never taught her what to do in a situation like this. To break the awkwardness, she had simply blurted that out once her mind rebooted.
Yet the moment the words left her mouth, regret washed over her.
*Hyperion: Miss Florence, you can't answer like that! That lie is way too fake! When Loren realizes you're lying later, he'll also realize how embarrassed you are!*
Hyperion had immediately pointed out the problem to her.
"I see. So that's how it is." Loren nodded earnestly, harboring not a shred of suspicion toward Florence.
He had another good brother who always did the same, dressing up as a woman whenever he went out to keep a low profile.
"..."
Florence's mind crashed once again.
This time, not just her—there was total silence from Hyperion's end as well.
*Loren accepted that excuse just like that?!*
Florence had thought her excuse was so clumsy it would be exposed in the very next breath. Instead, things had devolved to the point where it was now even harder to admit she was actually a woman. And how was she supposed to prove to Loren that she was a woman anyway?
With this back-and-forth, she had only ended up reinforcing to Loren that they were good bros.
On the other side.
"Brother, why aren't you saying anything?"
Loren wondered why Florence had suddenly fallen silent.
Regarding the earliest item on today's schedule—"Meet with brother"—he hadn't really consulted the drillmaster.
The drillmaster's coaching services were strictly limited to offering guidance on interacting with women and coordinating his timetable for the entire day.
*Lan: ...*
The drillmaster indeed said nothing at this moment.
Perhaps he couldn't speak right now, or perhaps he was simply speechless.
Loren glanced at the time on his wristwatch.
It was now 7:24 a.m.
Before 7:35, he had to rush over to the east gate entrance of Golden Bee Amusement Park to meet the Ice Witch and chat briefly; then, around 7:45, under the pretext of buying snacks, have the Ice Witch hold their place in the park line;
Before Golden Bee Amusement Park opened at 8:00, he had to find Juliana, have breakfast with her, and settle her in the restaurant; by then, meet up with Florence, take the VIP entrance to Golden Bee Amusement Park at 8:10, and lead Florence inside;
After finding an attraction to settle Florence in, head back to the entrance around 8:15 to rejoin the Ice Witch in line...
Loren silently recited the itinerary the drillmaster had mapped out for him. Every second counted today. Most of his time would be spent rushing from one spot to another; he couldn't afford a split second of delay, and the route planning had to be executed without a single misstep.
Even though the drillmaster hadn't prompted him about the time, he couldn't just stand here blankly staring at Florence in silence. Otherwise, he wouldn't make it to the Ice Witch's side, and Almis might already be waiting for him.
"Florence..."
Loren looked intently at Florence. He recalled their last meeting, when the drillmaster had praised him for handling things remarkably well.
The drillmaster had instructed him beforehand that whenever no dialogue was provided, he was to improvise on his own, either referring to the schedule or drawing upon the successful examples taught last time.
In that case...
Loren reached a conclusion.
He reached out with both hands, pressed them firmly onto Florence's shoulders, and pulled Florence into a silent, tight embrace.
*Huh? Huh?!*
Before Florence could even process what was happening, she was already locked in Loren's hug.
*Hyperion: Huh?!*
There was no reaction from Hyperion's side either.
*Dean Loren is this aggressive?!*
Florence's already-stalled brain threatened to blow a fuse at this very moment.
*Hyperion: J-J-J-Just roll with it for now! Play along! Play along!*
After a long pause, Hyperion's voice drifted through Florence's communication magic, sounding completely flustered. Even Hyperion didn't know what to do.
How could someone learn their soulmate was a girl and simply conclude he was cross-dressing?! That wasn't normal at all!
*Hyperion: I'll tail you from a distance today. Let me observe first before advising you. You can't really hold your own right now, so yield your ground and play it safe for a bit.*
That was the only reassurance she could offer Florence.
Beneath the tall tree.
"Florence, I'm back. I'm sorry for making you worry," Loren apologized to Florence, hugging his brother tightly.
"Aba... aba..."
Florence was on the verge of fainting in Loren's arms.
...
7:30 a.m.
On the other side of Ikerite.
At the north gate entrance of Golden Bee Amusement Park.
Long before the official opening hour, long queues had already formed as visitors eagerly anticipated the park gates swinging open. Even without the evening light shows and fireworks, the magnificent amusement park already appeared bustling at a glance.
Its parent entity, Ikerite Crown, was the largest comprehensive entertainment conglomerate located in Hutton's royal capital on the Southern Continent, encompassing casinos, hotels, restaurants, shops, and convention facilities. Situated on prime land along the banks of the River Yara, it had gradually been developed into one of the Southern Continent's largest comprehensive entertainment hubs, serving as a renowned tourist landmark of Ikerite.
Since its opening, Ikerite Crown had undergone numerous expansions and renovations, continuously widening its scale and service portfolio to include more amusement rides, hotel rooms, catering services, and an all-ages theme park.
Today, with the special holiday falling on a weekend, long lines had formed at the Golden Bee Amusement Park's ticket turnstiles well before opening time.
Lanqi and Talia stood queued in the crowd, waiting for the turnstiles in the distance to open half an hour later.
"..."
Lanqi listened to the situation unfolding on the other end of the communication magic.
His silence didn't mean he had nothing to say.
It was simply that standing next to Talia, he couldn't speak.
Fortunately, there was no need for him to intervene in this matchup.
The opponent was far too weak. Aside from Loren being a bit overly aggressive, there were virtually no risks.
"Lanqi, what are you daydreaming about?"
Talia tugged at Lanqi's hand, puffing out her cheeks as she asked. She sensed that Lanqi had just been distracted.
Since he had agreed to accompany her to the amusement park, his focus ought to be entirely on her.
"My apologies. It's just been so busy today, and I barely slept a few hours last night," Lanqi told Talia apologetically.
"Is that so?"
Talia studied Lanqi's eyes for a moment, seeing traces of how he had looked during his working days in the Creti Empire.
"It's fine. We'll stick to relaxing attractions later. You can also lean on me and take a nap on a bench." Talia felt a sudden pang of sympathy; from his expression, she could tell he truly was exhausted.
And he still had a performance this afternoon. She would just let him unwind this morning.
Besides, if Lanqi fell asleep, she could take the opportunity to coach Juliana. She needed to carve out some free time to instruct Juliana on how to date Loren anyway.
"Thank you so much, Tata," Lanqi thanked Talia.
His own difficulty today was vastly higher than Loren's. He needed to shadow Loren as closely as possible to keep track of the real-time situation, while keeping both Talia and Sigrid satisfied.
In any case, things had already come to this. Loren had chosen "date everyone" over "date one of them," so Lanqi could only see it through to the end and go all out to assist him.
He was determined to pass today's ordeal.
"Meow..."
Boss Cat poked its head out from the shadow beneath Lanqi's feet, not daring to emerge completely, revealing only its feline head and glistening eyes.
It was terrified. Lanqi's timetable was packed tighter than the curriculum of Purgatory Corridor Academy, with every transition tightly interlocking at the razor's edge. If a single cog went wrong, the entire operation would blow sky-high.
Lanqi's own schedule was more than twice as packed as Loren's. While juggling simultaneous dates with a wolf and a tiger, he had to adjust his positioning to monitor Loren and coach him on how to date.
Boss Cat had originally intended to stay with Pranay today, but it was simply too worried about Lanqi. Moreover, only it knew Lanqi's full plan; if Lanqi found himself stretched too thin, only it could step in to help Lanqi save Loren. So it had followed Lanqi after all.
Its feline ears twitched, and it looked back toward the far end of the queue.
Behind a tall tree along the wide road, a relaxed figure could be faintly seen leaning back.
She hadn't joined the crowd to queue at all, seemingly planning to wait until the line cleared before strolling in without waiting. And Boss Cat knew exactly who that was—
Sigrid wore a beret today, looking quite like an adult version of 'Little Sig,' decidedly boyish.
She had changed into a more youthful outfit convenient for traveling, with her hair tucked up beneath the hat, save for a few strands of light-colored hair falling naturally along her temples. That way, she wouldn't draw too much attention when playing with Lanqi later, and moving around would be far more convenient.
Her dashing appearance drew the gazes of quite a few young ladies. Only upon staring closely did they realize what a beauty she was.
Some girls sighed and looked away, while others grew even more excited.
Sigrid was currently conversing over communication magic.
"Almis, don't be nervous. Don't frame it as some romantic date between a man and a woman. If asked, say it's strictly official business; if pressed further, invoke the name of God. I might not be able to stay in real-time contact with you later, but rest assured, I'll be helping you most of the time. I'm at Golden Bee Amusement Park this morning too, and I'll also be heading to the Brierda Opera House in the afternoon."
Sigrid spoke with focus.
Now and then, her gaze drifted toward the distant figures of Lanqi and Talia in the queue.
She would wait for Lanqi to find an opportunity to settle Talia before coming over to date her.
Until then, she had plenty of time and space to instruct the Ice Witch on how to talk to her date.
Chapter 878