NOVPUBI’m unsure of how much time has passed.
Inside the second floor warehouse of the Boss Cat Restaurant, it seemed fairly dim. A few faint rays of light at the window barely penetrated the thick rain curtain and window curtains, casting scattered spots of light on the ground.
It did not resemble a traditional storage room, but rather a covert room. The room depended only on a few dimly-lit chandeliers for light, with every sturdy wooden floorboard seeming heavy and time-tested.
In the middle of the room, a man was tied up in a metal chair. His body leaning forward, he hangs his head slightly, his eyes tightly closed, his cheeks pale. His hands and feet were firmly bound with thick ropes. His dark clothes, under the dim light, were dusted with a clear layer of dust, as though he had been dragged over the ground.
When the door was closed again, the entire warehouse plunged into a deep silence. Only the faint sound of rain patting against the window filled the room, like a consistent lullaby.
In this way, the warehouse maintained its unchanging state.
"..."
Until Phoenix’s brows began to furrow, his eyelashes trembling slightly, signs of him regaining consciousness.
His mouth twisted, and a low growl emanated from his throat as if he was tormented by some kind of pain.
He tried to recall, but his brain only held foggy, vague memories, making him feel utterly exhausted.
Then, Phoenix’s previously tightly closed eyes slowly opened, revealing a cold, sharp gaze.
He felt the hard wooden chair’s support against his back, his hands tightly locked on the chair’s armrests by cold handcuffs, as he tried to make sense of the situation he was in. But more than that, what he felt was anger and resentment.
The curse on him was slow to disappear, unequivocally a horrifying curse far exceeding his class, making him as weak and frail as a critically ill person.
The pain left behind by the severe mental trauma that had made him pass out earlier still made his brain feel like it was trembling.
He barely managed to lift his head and look forward. A dark table occupied the center of his vision, with a few documents and two teacups placed on it.
And on the other side of the table sat two figures he was all too familiar with.
Lanci was leaning comfortably against his chair, strands of steam rose from the tea cup in his hand. He gently blew on it, relishing the moment of tranquility.
Hyperion sat by his side, his pen hovering over the paper, ready to record every detail of what was to come.
In addition to them, someone adjusted the angle of the light in front of the table. The light shone directly on Phoenix’s face. He involuntarily squinted and shied away, his facial muscles tensed from resisting this sudden stimulation.
"Do you know why we brought you in?"
After setting down his tea cup, Lanci observed Phoenix and asked casually.
"Lanci! You should not detain me, I want to see the professors from our academy!"
Phoenix maintained his demeanor and quickly defended himself in a righteous tone.
Even if he made a mistake.
These guys could not confirm his identity, let alone accuse him of any crime.
Back in the restaurant, the civilians were all under [Great Puppet Theater]’s control. They can’t even find eyewitness evidence of his attempted assassination on Miss Duchess.
Lanci saw Phoenix’s attitude but remained silent.
"Phoenix, male, 19 years old, born on May 11th 1778 Solar Calendar, a citizen of Arolan Kingdom, unmarried, currently studying at the Royal Arolan Academy, no criminal record, no loans, both parents deceased, has a sister."
Lanci picked up the file on the table and read, glancing up at Phoenix at the same time.
These were the personal information, social status, family background, and the like of each student and teacher from the Academic Visitation Team of Arolan Kingdom, which he had asked Frey to investigate before he arrived.
"You’ve hidden yourself pretty well, Resurrection Believer."
Lanci put down the file and looked at Phoenix, sighing.
"You’re defaming, slandering, and violating my personal freedom!"
Phoenix, outraged, screamed at Lanci.
Phoenix was confident that Lanci wouldn’t be able to do anything to him as long as he vehemently denies it. Lanci wouldn’t have evidence that he was a Resurrection Believer.
Now, here in the Capital City Ekrite of Hutton, they couldn’t hold him for long or take the liberty to torture him!
If Ichrite Academy found out that a student from the Arolan Kingdom’s academic visitation team had gone missing, they’d surely launch a thorough investigation. If the investigation led back to Lanci, Frey would still find a way to turn the tables.
"Frey, my friend..."
Lanci’s voice was gentle yet authoritative, his pace slow, every word clearly and powerfully pronounced.
"You know, in all my years in this field, I’ve seen all kinds of troubled students - some regret their actions, some never change. But they all eventually get corrected. How long do you think this process would take if it was you?"
Lanci sat patiently across the table, his hands interlaced beneath his chin, watching Frey with a smiling gaze.
This made Frey slightly uneasy for a moment.
He wanted to argue, but Lanci simply wouldn’t listen.
As the saying goes, the soft fear the tough, the tough fear the twisted, the twisted fear the fearless, and the fearless fear the madmen.
Lanci was clearly the latter.
Frey lowered his head, teeth clenched in thought.
Upon careful reflection, Frey still didn’t understand why his perfect plan had abruptly plummeted just as it was progressing smoothly, ultimately falling into Lanci’s hands.
It felt like the moment he arrived at the Hutton Kingdom, he had become the true prey.
Everything was very wrong.
After all, it was Lanci who was in the limelight while he lurked in the shadows!
Frey was now filled with a strange fear and regret.
Why did he have to provoke this guy? From the first time he saw him at the Purgatory Corridor Academy, he instinctively felt that he was not good news.
Back then, Frey couldn’t recognize that the Radiant Demon Principal was the challenger, let alone knowing about a character like Lanci, until he returned to the real world and obtained the information from the Rebirth Church-
The Radiant Demon was incarnated by a The Ichrite Academy student named Lanci.
"Frey, my friend, whether you admit it or not and whether we can force you to admit you are a believer of the Rebirth Church or not, to me it does not matter because it is the truth."
Lanci picked up the cup of tea on the table, took a sip, and then looked at the figure standing next to him,
"Teacher Lan Fu, could you please do some thought education work?"
The Great Love Poet, who just before had been shining a light onto Frey’s eyes, nodded and released the light, moving over to Frey’s side to observe him. n𝚘vp𝚞𝚋.com
"Who the hell are you?!"
When Frey saw the figure of this gray-haired female demon again, he couldn’t help trembling and asking, as if responding to an instinctive fear.
He was quite sure that it was this woman who had treated him like an ant.
At this moment, she was like she had taken off her disguise and returned to her true form, no longer hiding her evil with a cold face.
But before she made a move, she did not look anything more than a first-order!
"I am the Great Love Poet."
Dressed in a black jacket with the hem of her dress swaying in the wind, the Great Love Poet wore a hat that looked like a warden’s. She had recently started asking Lanci to buy her new clothes, but her tastes were odd.
"It’s a pity the ’god trio’ isn’t here, otherwise there would be no need to bother me."
The Great Love Poet sighed heavily.
Under her and Lanci’s guidance, those three clergies should be able to pry Frey’s mouth open within an hour.
"..."
Hyperion’s eye twitched at their mention, she of course remembered what the "god trio" referred to.
Hopefully, by the time she and Lanci take a vacation to the Northern Continent, the three of them wouldn’t garner too much attention.
