NOVPUB"Who’s spreading this? I want Monasite to conduct a thorough investigation!"
"Yes."
Asina nodded without revealing her inner perturbation.
She knew that the source of the matter was probably a careless conversation Monasite, the chairman, had with them in the student council room about Dean Loren’s past. Then the news was leaked by either Lanci, Hyperion, or Frey.
And most likely it fell into the hands of an awful person.
Oh, she now understood the gist of it.
But Asina did not reveal it.
The morning sun shone in from the side window, maybe due to a clear sky after the rain, it seemed particularly dazzling at the moment.
The ray of light hit right on Loren’s profile, making his gaze appear even more profound and stern.
"..."
His eyelids twitched slightly, his face transitioning from calm to serious, his lips tightly pursed into a thin line.
Asina also sensed this change, her hands resting on the folder, remaining silent.
In the office, only the ticking sound of the wall clock could be heard. The steam rising from the coffee cup on the desk slowed down. In this atmosphere, time seemed to stretch, each moment extraordinarily prolonged.
"No wonder our school’s reputation has been declining in recent years."
Loren calmed his mood after a while.
He always felt that the school’s ethos had worsened recently.
Although the school’s ethos was originally problematic, even the Dean of the Alchemy College had been sent in.
"By the way, did Lanci agree to duel with Adams? How is it going?"
Loren knew that good times are often followed by bad ones, especially now, and he was extremely concerned that Lanci would bring him more surprises.
"..."
Asina fell silent again for a moment.
Frey was secretly exerting pressure, and on this side, Lanci had directly cast his net.
While Asina was hesitating, she pondered on how to articulate the details of the matter to Loren.
In this brief silence, suddenly, a melodious, loud bell sound pierced the enclosed space —
The communication terminal on Dean Loren’s desk was ringing.
It was a magically sophisticated communication device with a historical sense. Its base was made of heavy black lacquer metal, with thick, winding cables. It was connected to the main communication hub of Ichrite Academy and could be transferred to Dean Loren’s office at any time.
Loren frowned slightly in confusion, slowly lifted his hand to remove the handset from the base, and gently placed it to his ear.
"Juliana? What do you need by calling me so early in the morning?"
He was unclear why Juliana would contact him so early.
"..."
There was silence from the other side initially. It was as if she was perplexed by Loren’s question.
"How did the duel between Lanci and Adams go?"
Juliana’s voice, still as cold and proud as ever, hid a slight expectation. She was especially concerned about the result.
Loren looked up at Asina.
He saw the hesitant expression on Asina’s face.
Loren felt a sense of dread.
He knew it, with Adams’ relentless pursuit to challenge Lanci, he was only asking for trouble!
But Loren never expected that Juliana would be even more concerned about this duel than he was.
"I just returned to the school and have not yet learned about the situation."
Loren hastily explained to Juliana.
"..."
Juliana hesitated again,
"Adams did not report the situation to me the whole day."
The voice of Juliana carried with it a hint of confusion.
Typically, Adams should contact her immediately, win or lose, in such high-stakes duels.
However, she hadn’t heard from him all day, as if he’d disappeared into thin air.
"..."
Sweat began to bead on Loren’s forehead,
"Juliana, don’t worry, I’ll go and find out what’s happening."
The information coming from the other end of the line was clearly not good news. As the conversation progressed, Loren’s complexion grew increasingly grave. His brow was furrowed, and his usually leisurely eyes were now filled with worry and confusion.
"Alright."
Juliana responded tersely.
But soon, she added a sentence at the end of her speech,
"No matter if we win or lose, I hope you keep your promise."
"What promise?"
Loren felt even more uneasy, asking twice into the receiver, but by the time he asked the question, Juliana had already hung up.
"Where is Adams?"
The first thing Loren did after hanging up was to ask Asina, a determination and deep fear in his voice.
Asina had been stuttering earlier, and he didn’t have time to hear her out now.
"The central courtyard of the seventh floor."
Without time to ask Asina for more details, Loren instantly disappeared from his office, leaving only the faint hum of the ancient magic equipment in the office and the shadows flickering on the desktop from the sunlight outside the window.
...
High above Ichrite Academy, the ordinarily blue sky often saw the shadows of birds darting by like sudden gusts of wind and rain.
But at this moment, the wind was swirling around Loren. His figure seemed to turn into a feather in the wind, becoming one with the wind, soaring at high speed.
The academy’s complex swiftly receded in Loren’s view. He flew over the red-brick, green-tiled buildings, the ancient oaks and lakes, and in an instant, saw the Learning and Education Building.
Loren’s black coat fluttered in the wind, the edge of the coat dancing like a ghost in the dark night.
His face was resolute, his eyes shone with light, as if he could see through everything in the world.
The wind in high-speed flight rubbed against Loren’s cheek, generating a slight heat, but he didn’t mind. His heart was set on one goal, and that was to go to the seventh floor of the central courtyard as quickly as possible to assess the situation.
The current situation wasn’t too bad.
If one’s behavior is upstanding, one need not fear rumors.
Although there was a bit of gossip.
But he wouldn’t go to the Arolan Kingdom specifically to meet Juliana.
There was no business that required him to make a personal trip, and a date was even more absurd.
Even if he did meet Juliana, it was absolutely impossible for them to date.
Such rumors would certainly disprove themselves.
What he needed to understand at the moment was what kind of mess Lanci had gotten into again.
As Loren was about to land directly on the rooftop of the Learning and Education Building, his gaze suddenly caught two familiar figures.
Lanci and Hyperion were talking confidently with a young student he didn’t know too well, walking on the broad stone path leading to Sage Academy.
Loren’s heart beat a little faster, and he decided to stop the wind magic, gradually weakening its power, allowing himself to descend gently.
As his feet touched the ground, the storm that had erupted from beneath his feet slowly contracted and finally dissipated.
He landed lightly from mid-air, then directly faced the three students in front of him.
Lanci was as relaxed as usual, always at ease.
On seeing Dean Loren, a hint of vigilance flashed in Hyperion’s eyes, as if he were a little guilty.
Next to them was a student Loren did not know, looking quite nervous. It seemed that he was not from their school and was probably a student from the Arolan Royal Academy Academic Visiting Team. He definitely had the look of an honest person.
