NOVPUBIchrite Academy was still immersed in a lingering serenity.
Dawn had just started to illuminate this tranquil world from the horizon, from the grey-blue sky in the distance to the pale pink ground below, gradually dyed like ink dripped into water.
At six o’clock on this Tuesday morning, after Lanci, Hyperion, and Frey had returned to school and finished breakfast together, the three of them walked along the academy’s broad road to the Sage Academy Dormitory.
The dim and warm light in the lobby of the first floor, with the dormitory administrator leaning against a soft cushion behind the reception desk, held a book in his hand to dispel the morning drowsiness.
Most students were still sound asleep, with only a few early risers quietly emerging from the dormitory at this time.
"Let’s take a short break, and then go to the Student Union together in the afternoon."
Lanci suggested to Hyperion at the crossroad.
"Okay."
Hyperion nodded, and then parted ways with Lanci and Frey.
Lanci then took Frey to his dormitory.
On the carpet of the first-floor corridor in the dormitory, Lanci and Frey walked leisurely.
Their low laughter echoed in the empty hallway. The dormitory doors on both sides were tightly closed, quiet as if they were breathing organisms. Each door led to a separate little world, housing countless stories and dreams.
The men’s dormitory was in the front building, and the women’s dormitory was in the rear one, not too far apart.
Lanci had already lent the Great Love Poet to Hyperion. Once Hyperion returned to her dormitory, she just needed to call the Great Love Poet, and it would come out by itself.
The Great Love Poet knew Magic Cards too well. As long as Lanci lifted the only summoning restriction on the Great Love Poet, it could even summon itself and undo its summoned state on its own, something that other summonings could not do.
For this morning, Frey would go to Lanci’s dormitory first. One would stand guard while the other slept, each resting for three hours.
The Student Union was closed this early in the morning, and they had nothing else to do.
Although this [Sacred Hall Villains Banquet] was not a 12-hour overnight Shadow World like [Purgatory Corridor Academy], and there were 5 days in total, they got up extraordinarily early as today was the final morning.
Moreover, after traveling for several days, they were quite tired from returning and just wanted to have a good sleep.
They stopped in front of a door, Lanci took out a key, inserted it into the door lock, turned it gently, opened the door, and walked into his dormitory with Frey.
The light in the dormitory living room was more inviting than that in the corridor. The soft sofa and the minimalist style tea table were arranged quietly together, on which some books and a set of glass tableware were placed.
"This mole is not easy to catch."
Frey sat on the sofa with his arms crossed and said with a frown.
His hunter instincts were always on alert.
Although the three seemed to be on guard during their journey, Frey did not detect any signs of being followed or even being watched.
In order not to stress Hyperion, who acted as their bait, the two hunters did not put any pressure on her.
Many things were only discussed when the two of them were alone.
"Right now, it would seem that the other side would only make a move to attack Hyperion if they were completely assured, if we tried to lure or probe them, it would alert them instead."
Lanci poured two cups of lemon honey water, gave one to Frey, and sat down on the sofa next to him to continue.
If they were to take initiative, for example, by enforcing anti-heretic education on the academic visit team from the Arolan Kingdom, this behavior would clearly show a strong motive, like already knowing there’s a Resurrection Believer among the team. The Rebirth Church would definitely be aware that it was the captured Elite Devotee, Stisera, who breached the information in the Shadow World. This would lead to the Church taking revenge on Stisera, even if she was in prison.
Stisera had risked her life to give the information to Lanci, naturally, Lanci would do everything he could to protect her.
"So, you’re still thinking of using Hyperion as bait?"
Frey took a sip of the lemon honey water. The refreshing coolness moistened his throat and pleasantly met his taste. The honey in the lemon water prevented it from being sour while the lemon buffered the sweetness of the honey, forming a perfect combination.
"Entrapment is the safest method, because at present, we only have scant details about the information we obtained. You see—"
Lanci put down his mug, and one by one listed examples for Frey with his fingers,
"For instance, the assassin may have conducted a deep self-hypnosis in advance, remaining a perfect normal student until activated by specific means, then we could not catch the assassin no matter what we do proactively in reality, but only startle the snake in the grass."
This is the difference between Reality and the Shadow World. If a deep self-hypnosis is carried out upon entering the Shadow World, and danger emerges, chances are it will be impossible to break free, thus posing significant risks. But in reality, the assassin had already disguised himself as a normal person to come to the safe Hutton Kingdom. Even if he had not broken free from self-hypnosis, he would not face any lethal threats.
"Moreover, in the unlikely case that the enemy possesses some troublesome unknown magic, complex traps can be set up."
"A simple example is, if the enemy is skilled in disguise or impersonation, like the magic that can mimic [Blood Disguise]."
"Firstly, the assassin could try to obtain information about a first-year female student living next to Hyperion in Ichrite Academy from the mole, then target the innocent student first and lure her away into seclusion. Then, he disguises himself as the victim and lives next to Hyperion. Meanwhile, his real self has vanished without a trace, creating the impression that a member of the academic visit team is missing, attracting the school’s attention and lead them investigate the case of the missing student from the Arolan Kingdom. Meanwhile, the actual assassin is waiting at a place very close to Hyperion and get a chance to strike her unexpectedly."
"Also, it could be a time when Hyperion cannot have an alibi, by directly impersonating her, and commit a murder as Hyperion, framing her as a suspect and get her temporarily detained by the police. This isolates her from the school and us, and in the period while she waits for the trial and should avoid any suspicion in prison, it would be easy to kill her using secret operations and sinister means."
"Furthermore..."
"Enough, enough."
Frey quickly raised his hand to stop Lanci.
"I’ve at least confirmed one good thing now,"
Frey said with a serious expression.
"What?"
Lanci asked in confusion.
He didn’t know what blind spot Frey had found in such a short time.
"I’m glad the person who came to kill Hyperion isn’t you."
Frey said, staring at Lanci.
"..."
Lanci was slightly stunned and silent for a moment,
"How on earth could I kill Hyperion!"
He was seriously considering all possibilities, yet Frey was playing with him.
"If the Rebirth Church hired you to kill Hyperion, Hyperion wouldn’t stand a chance."
Frey leaned back on the couch and laughed, finding Lanci’s behavior very amusing.
However, Frey quickly became serious again.
This time, not only did they need to protect Hyperion and capture the church follower, they also had to create the illusion that they happened to catch them "by luck". That’s where the challenge lies.
Although Hyperion and the Great Love Poet are safe together for a short time, if any problems arise, Frey and Lanci could rush there immediately.
But the problem was that if they stayed too close to Hyperion, they might scare away the big fish.
They had just returned from the Shadow World today, and it was reasonable for Lanci and Frey to stay here in the Sage Academy Dormitory for convenience.
If they stayed at the Sage Academy every day, the assassins planning to kill would likely abandon their plans entirely.
However, if they were too far from Hyperion, Hyperion’s situation could become dangerous.
They would rather not catch the big fish than put Hyperion in real danger as bait.
So, the two of them were now deciding where they should hide to fish most effectively.
"It seems I’ll have to pull a disappearing act."
Frey suggested.
As long as he disappeared from the map, everything would be better.
"There’s actually another solution..."
Lanci murmured,
"I’ll give it a try. If it works out, it would be perfect."
But Lanci didn’t seem very confident.
If they could convince Hyperion to stay with Talia, he and Frey could stay far away from Hyperion.
Then, when the time comes, they could just wait for the assassin to dig his own grave.
Unfortunately, Talia is not in need of money now.
It would be difficult to sway Talia simply with money.
Lanci didn’t possess any valuable goods to trade with her either, for now.
The main issue is that Talia strongly dislikes being with others and will not allow any strangers to be in her private space.
Housing Hyperion in Talia’s home would almost certainly cross her lines.
"I hope she’s in a good mood today."
Lanci leaned on the couch, looking up and murmuring.
Regardless, he decided to take Hyperion to the Boss Cat Restaurant to meet Talia, after dealing with the student council affairs this afternoon.
Although, according to Lanci’s understanding of Talia, there is a 90% chance that she would coldly reject them, causing Talia to dislike Hyperion and himself.
But sometimes, Talia would inexplicably show her gentle side, her temper is unpredictable like the weather, he simply couldn’t guess what she would be like tomorrow.
