NOVPUBImposing and solemn red-brick buildings stood there, etched with the wisdom and engineering secrets left by the history of Sage Academy.
Two figures walked along the deep pulse of the school, following an increasingly familiar path.
The stream by the roadside flowed like strings of amber, playfully slipping over pebbles and making a pleasing sound. The water mirrored the awakening trees, the green branches swaying on the clear surface and whispering serenity.
At first, Noe found the layout of the school complex and kept getting lost. But with the help of Lavisseir, who was familiar with the school, he soon passed several significant landmarks and should be reaching Jera Memorial Square shortly.
"In truth, I am a failed father and educator. I focused too much on the business, ignoring him, letting him grow freely. Unconsciously, every time I saw him, he had changed into someone I didn’t recognize."
Noe sighed, reflecting on himself.
He didn’t expect Lanci to have done so well.
A boy who seemed to waste his days away.
But in reality, he had talents and efforts that no one else had discovered.
Maybe all of it was because he met Miss Tata.
According to the Butler Hans and Maid Francine, a drunken Lanci had brought back a pigeon one night and seemed to have accidentally stumbled into the temple of the Goddess of Destiny.
After that.
When Lanci woke up the next morning, he started to reform.
Maybe he fell in love, encountered a mysterious and beautiful woman, and realized that he needed to become better to win her favor.
Although Noe only stayed in Nanwantina for a few days on his last visit home and didn’t get to meet the Miss Tata that the butler and maid mentioned, he would certainly thank Miss Tata if he gets a chance to meet her, for taking care of his foolish son, and try to play matchmaker for this foolish boy and the girl he fancied.
The only pity was that she seemed to be a bit older, probably several years older than Lanci.
But if Lanci liked her, Noe wouldn’t say anything.
"You haven’t seen him for almost six months, have you ever thought about what he might have become this time?"
Lavisseir asked while recording the interview with Noe in a small notebook.
Noe slightly raised his eyes, looking at the distance where flowers in the field across the river were blazing like fire. It was a corner of the systematic botanical garden carefully cultivated by the Alchemy College and fertile ground for the teaching and research of biological engineering.
"If I’m right, he should already understand that a man needs to work hard enough and achieve something in order to match the softest woman he wants to meet. If this boy’s academic performance could be slightly better, I will be completely at ease."
Noe said with a smile.
In the Sage Academy where magic skills are the main subject, Noe was quite worried about Lanci’s current school life.
He knew about Lanci’s magic talent. When he let the more magic-skilled battle maid Francine from home teach him magic earlier, he was completely clueless, and even after a month of learning, he didn’t know how to use the first-order Fireball Technique.
According to maid Francine’s tactful words, even if Lanci learned the Fireball Technique, his magic power was so weak that it would only become a spell to help light a cigarette.
"You can be absolutely sure."
Lavisseir nodded assuredly.
She decided to let Lanci show his academic achievements to his father, to bring the most staggering impact.
"Do you have any other wishes?"
Lavisseir asked careingly.
Noe thought for a while.
"Our family has always been faithful to the Goddess of Destiny, except for that boy Lanci, who has never believed in deities since childhood... How I wished he could work in a church, getting along well with the clergy. What a harmonious picture it would be."
The old father said, as if he were praying to the Goddess.
"Then today is your lucky day."
Lavisseir said with a smile.
Crossing this tree-shaded path, they had already reached the vicinity of Jera Memorial Square.
The clock face of the tall clock tower leisurely pointed to half-past nine. The outdoor giant screen embraced by numerous teaching buildings was showing the Shadow World scene of today’s challenge to the Ichrite Academy.
This weekend, the vitality of the academy was more vigorous than any other day.
The enthusiastic noise surged like waves on the spacious stone steps, the seats on the stairs were occupied by the students, the roads were no exception, passersby were attracted by this force, all stopped and focused their eyes on the giant screen.
The huge open-air screen now showed a close-up of Lanci in the Shadow World.
It was still the basic-layer cathedral of Lichtenstein Castle.
The glass dome reaching the top of the castle shone in the morning sunlight, a breathtaking panorama. The golden veil cascaded down, sweeping across the marble floor, illuminating the ornate, dark stone carved walls.
The colossal organ, nearly five floors high, occupied the entire back wall. The intertwined pipes, erect and elegantly curved, bathed in the golden light and dipped in the understated wood color, radiated an indescribable sense of awe-inspiring sanctity.
As this light danced in the cathedral’s air, it cast Lanci into a bright silhouette.
Even as Lanci stood on stage with a gentle smile, watching the scene, a silent exclamation seemed to guide the audience out of the fog towards the distant truth.
"Your work will fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you feel is great work,"
Finally, Lanci’s voice rose.
Directed at the onlookers before the screen.
He was dressed in a neatly arranged suit, as if he was hosting a press conference for everyone.
"Today, we will make history together."
Meanwhile, a square wooden coffin, two meters long and wide with a brown oak exterior and an iron core, was pushed out by three members of the clergy.
It was placed in the center of the cathedral, its appearance decorated with fine carvings and painted designs, revealing an artistry reminiscent of a mysterious realm. The coffin was adorned with depictions of divine beings and various symbolic patterns. The colors were dark, yet the lines were still clearly visible, showcasing the superior craftsmanship.
"Design is not just about appearances and feelings, design is about how it works,"
Lanci continued in his calm and collected tone.
The screen transitioned.
With the aid of the clergy members revealing the innards of the coffin placed inside the temple—
There were two coffins, side by side.
But between the two coffins, there was only one shared sliding coffin lid.
The vampires inside had been turned into immobilized mummies, their entire bodies, down to their fingers, unable to move. They each had a tube inserted into their mouths.
"Your body may have turned into dust, but your spirit will never vanish. Just as a pyramid stands forever in the harsh sun, your existence will be forever etched into our memories. I pray, may your soul shine forever under the protection of the Sun God."
Firstly, after the priest’s prayer, he closed the left coffin, obscuring Viscount Augustin.
Count Paluocas, in the right coffin, was exposed to the sun rolling in from the glass dome.
At this moment, right-side mummy Count Paluocas began to blow desperately into his tube.
According to the built-in air lock mechanism in the coffin, the coffin lid gradually slid to the right.
Until the right coffin was covered, the air lock connected to the right side tube was also plugged at the same time.
Meanwhile, the undead Viscount Augustin, originally lying in the left coffin, was exposed to the sun due to the shift of the coffin lid, and he started struggling in agony. He too began to blow air, attempting to move the lid towards his side.
So, the coffin lid slid to the left again.
Then, the air lock on the left side was blocked, the air lock on the right side was opened, and Count Paluocas in the right coffin could blow air, moving the coffin lid back to the right.
As the sunlight poured onto the two ancient coffins, the light seemed to grant them new life. The golden rays danced on the coffins, shattering their originally calm hue. The patterns became more vivid, sparkling brilliantly. Simultaneously, the silence of the cathedral was broken by faint howls.
Viscount Augustin and Count Paluocas had thus become a zombie and a mummy, lying side by side in their coffins, ceaselessly pulling and pushing the coffin lid back and forth.
"Each time only when the coffin lid is fully covered on one side, does the air lock on the other side open, allowing the coffin lid to move again."
Lanci, displayed on the screen, spread his hands and introduced this nocturnal duel with a smile,
"This is our company’s solar energy virtue unlimited machine. We only need to capture two members of the Blood Clan, and they will continuously help each other give sunlight to their counterpart. The initiator can accumulate virtue while producing natural energy, protecting the environment and preventing global warming."
...
At the Ichrite Academy, in Jera Memorial Square.
It was eerily silent.
For this era, Lanci’s design philosophy was still too futuristic.
