NOVPUBIn the busy downtown area in the morning, amidst the ubiquitous, similar high-rise scenery of Herram, two figures can be seen smoothly shuttling in the wind, running past one street after another.
They surpassed the slow and lukewarm traffic, darted through the crossroads right when the traffic light changed—
"Why again am I rushing for the train with you?"
Sikder turned her head speechlessly, but still didn’t slow down.
The Underground Magical Railway Train in Herram took several minutes to arrive at the location she could normally reach by leaping in the air for a few seconds.
"Isn’t all this due to Mr. Bishop suddenly whisking me away?"
Upon hearing her grumbling complaints, Lanci politely met her gaze and retorted.
They were both about to be late.
There was still hope, though, that they could make it.
It wouldn’t be a big problem if they were a little late. As long as they didn’t delay for too long, they would likely be given a pass due to their excellent final assessment scores.
But the problem was Lanci didn’t like being late. He never had a record of breaking the attendance rules or being late at Ichrite Academy.
A good student and role model should never be late.
Not to mention, the fact of them both being late would inevitably arouse some unnecessary suspicion from the Knights of Nirvana.
"No talking back to your supervisor."
Sikder coldly muttered and withdrew her gaze.
"..."
Lanci stopped talking.
He had suggested that the Bishop of Hegemony could give him another cool roller coaster ride back to where he was abducted. But she regretfully stated that she was a person of principles. From now on, she would no longer revert to being an Eighth-order, unless Lanci’s life were in danger. She was Sikder, a Fourth-order like Lanci, without that much power.
Meanwhile, the cat boss cradled in Lanci’s arms was utterly stunned and scared.
It didn’t understand why things had suddenly chalked up this way.
Just yesterday, it was enjoying its leisurely life in Herram.
And now, a cardinal bishop from the legendary Rebirth Church was by its side, rushing to school like a student about to be late. This youthful scene didn’t seem to make much sense.
By the side of the crossroads in the downtown area, they already saw the entrance of the Underground Magical Rail Station. They could even hear the humming noise of the machines and the chatters of the passengers.
The two of them rushed to the platform entrance via the downward stairways without slowing down.
While maintaining his pace, Lanci glanced at the time on the signboard.
"We must get on this one."
Lanci affirmatively said. If they missed this train departing in a minute, considering the time to sprint to the Knights of Nirvana after getting off, they would definitely be late if they took the next train.
Then, he thought of a serious problem.
"By the way, Sikder, do you have a monthly pass?"
If she didn’t have a monthly pass, lining up to buy a ticket and then passing the gate would definitely take more than a minute.
"Of course."
The Bishop of Hegemony took out a small card holder from her jacket pocket.
Then, after only a few seconds in the queue, she swiped the card and was allowed through the gate.
But the machine on Sikder’s side made a slightly different sound.
"?"
This wasn’t the sound made by regular tickets like Lanci’s, but the one made by student tickets that only students like Zestira could obtain.
"Why is yours a student ticket?"
Lanci asked in confusion.
He now found Sikder’s identity was not just a temporary improvisation, it seemed like she was a habitual offender of pretentious youthfulness.
"…"
Sikder chose to respond with silence.
Before they had any more time to question, the two seemed to silently agree to drop the awkward topic. They ran down and then up the stairs to the opposing platform just in time to burst through the doors of the Magic Power Rail Train right before they were about to close.
"Excellent, we made it just in time."
Sikder laughed cheerfully against the door, while Lanci nodded slightly.
"So why do you have a student ticket?"
Lanci resumed their previous discussion.
"... Didn’t I tell you before I met you that I wanted to find a talented young person? The Protoss Royal Magic Academy is a good place for that, so I pop in from time to time. Sadly, I haven’t found anyone satisfactory yet."
Sikder realized that Lanci did not intend to change the topic and gave a sigh, explaining her situation to him.
There was no shame in it, just pretending to be a few years younger to carry out some duties at the academy.
"So it’s no problem if you don’t attend school usually?"
Lanci remembered that the written tests and re-tests for the Nirvana Branch were on weekdays, yet Sikder stayed unfazed outside of the school.
"No problem, just lose some credits."
Sikder casually raised her right hand, indicating that she didn’t care about academic things which she thought child’s play. She was indifferent about scores and future prospects; graduation was trivial.
"Good timing, if you are going to stay inside the Protoss Royal Academy next week, I would return to school to observe your performance. Don’t make me bored or disappointed."
Sikder spoke to Lanci as if she was giving work instructions.
Even though her Saint Heir was very competent in official responsibilities, he might find himself restricted inside a school full of rules and regulations, affecting his performance.
However, she was also interested to see what kind of servant her Saint Heir could be rated as inside the Protoss Royal Magic Academy.
"Phew, knowing that you’d be watching, I will have to be really serious."
Lanci fell silent for a while before speaking.
He felt that if he didn’t know Sikder’s identity now, he probably wouldn’t have recognized her as the Bishop of Hegemony even if he met her in school.
And it seemed that according to the current development, regardless of whether he participated in the Nirvana Branch’s assessment, he would be targeted by Sigrid and then persuaded, even in Protoss Royal Magic Academy.
He was destined to be unable to avoid this elder.
"You aren’t always running away, right?"
Sikder scrutinized Lanci. After precisely suppressing her strength back to Fourth-Order, she found out although this young man was a supporting spellcaster type, he could run quite fast through the town, not even panting after several streets.
"My teacher once told me that I should practice running more, or I could easily die."
Lanci paused for a moment before answering.
"Forget what she said, now I am your teacher, you don’t need to waste time on such things. Concentrate more on what you want to do."
Sikder’s emotions were indecipherable, but she seemed slightly displeased when Lanci mentioned someone else’s teachings.
"What if I encounter unruly and unreasonable thugs chasing me?"
Lanci knew that being mobile in a town was important from the incident in the Ichrite Academy. The illegal constructions constructed by the Soul of Fighters’ Club Team were fresh in his memory. If he was any slower, he would probably be sent to the Ichrite Medical Service Center.
"What are you scared of, when I am here."
Sikder naturally answered.
After hearing her words, Lanci pondered for a long while.
Why hadn’t he ever felt the service of an Eighth-order guard when he was in the South Continent originally?
Yes, with an Eighth-order guard, one should be unscrupulous and domineering.
"Miss Sikder, you must be quite popular, right?"
Finally, Lanci asked.
"Why would you ask that? I am indeed adored by my subordinates."
Sikder responded somewhat puzzled.
Lanci nodded his head.
Indeed, the difference between a popular woman and an unpopular one was apparent at first glance.
