NOVPUBThe two walked out from the flower-filled garden of the Alchemy College, and soon caught sight of the Magic Engineering College buildings.
Only a few students were coming out from under the main building with books in their hands, seemingly after having just sought answers from their mentors at the end of the term.
Side by side, Lanci and Hyperion stepped into the main building of the Magic Engineering College.
"Let’s head back to the Boss Cat Restaurant for lunch later."
He turned his head and said to Hyperion.
They had agreed to challenge the Shadow World in the next couple of days, but having just traveled back to the Royal Capital today, it was natural to rest for a day and adjust their state.
"...Thank you for bringing me home."
Hyperion said in gratitude.
Since the middle of last semester, even for the few streets between Ichrite Academy and the Boss Cat Restaurant, he wouldn’t let her walk alone.
If Tata wasn’t there to pick up Hyperion after school, he would take her to the Boss Cat Restaurant himself.
"By the way, do you think you’ll be okay when you see Tata later?"
Hyperion climbed the stairs with Lanci and asked after thinking for a moment.
"It’s fine, I might feel a bit awkward being alone with her in the next couple of days, but if the three of us are together at the Boss Cat Restaurant, it’ll be no problem," Lanci replied, waving his hand.
Actually, if you look on the bright side, the incredibly awkward thing that happened between him and Tata today could fully overshadow the very awkward incident that happened previously in the Nanwantina territory with the three of them.
It’s finally time to turn a new page on their tangled predicament.
Oftentimes, by finding the benefits of a sudden accident, it could appear to be acceptable, even well thought out, and not so much a mistake, allowing the awkwardness to be resolved naturally.
This was Lanci’s Defense.
"Um, okay then," Hyperion replied.
She thought Lanci really had a good attitude.
Having just experienced a painfully embarrassing social death early in the morning, he now walked around the academy with her and had already come to terms with it.
That sentence "Tata, you are so cute today... so cute I really want to gobble you up in place of breakfast," coupled with Lanci’s voice, made Hyperion cringe even now when she thought about it.
She believed that recently, whenever Antanas and the others saw Lanci and Tata together, they would unconsciously recall that sentence in their minds and have to try their best to conceal their expressions to prevent Lanci and Tata from noticing.
Luckily, Tata couldn’t read minds; otherwise, if she heard everyone around her mentally repeating that sentence, she would probably go crazy.
...
The fifth floor of the Main Building of the Magic Engineering College.
The Dean’s office.
Professor Bolao was sitting at his desk, surrounded by magic equipment component diagrams and measuring tools.
Having just arrived in the Dean’s office that morning, he was holding a mechanical pencil, drawing precisely on the translucent blue diagrams and occasionally pausing to inspect a uniquely shaped part next to his desk with his Magical Engineering Glasses.
His slightly lifted, pale hair quivered occasionally, and his gaze was completely immersed in the work on his desk.
Just then.
A cautious and faint knocking came from the door, trying as much as possible not to disturb Professor Bolao’s work.
"Come in."
Without lifting his head, Bolao’s deep voice still seemed focused, obviously accustomed to being sought for help by various possibilities during the interludes of his work.
The door was slowly pushed open, letting in a beam of light from the crack, and soon two young men and women stepped in, gently closing the door behind them, then greeting Bolao:
"Good morning, Professor Bolao. We’re back. How have you been?"
Lanci’s uninhibited voice echoed in this spacious room filled with innovative diagrams and magic equipment, as if he’d missed Professor Bolao for a long time.
The first time he came here was because of his Platinum Level Card Maker review, and the incident with the Artificial Shadow World startup terminal being damaged upon admission that brought him here with Dean Loren.
Dean Loren got an earful, and Lanci thought it over and offered to have the Welfort family compensate, and it was a simple handshake with Professor Bolao that mended their relations, after which they became more and more acquainted.
Later on, since the first floor of the old literature building of the Magic Engineering College housed the Public Magic Work Technology Service Center, the second floor was the New Magic Work Technology Creative Workshop led by Professor Bolao, and the third floor was for the Student Management Committee, Lanci and Hyperion could occasionally bump into Professor Bolao on the way down and would greet him.
"Hmm? Lanci, Hyperion?"
Old man Bolao looked up, removed the silver-framed glasses from his nose and placed them on the desk, looking at the two people he had not seen in a long time.
"I haven’t seen you two for a while. I was thinking if I didn’t see you soon, I was going to ask Loren about you."
He put down his work and showed a rare smile.
"Did you need something from me?"
Lanci heard this and probably had a guess in his mind.
Professor Bolao nodded, took out two candies from the drawer, and pushed them to the far end of the desk, gesturing for Lanci and Hyperion to sit across him at his office desk, with no need for reserve.
"Your Platinum Level Card Maker certification is nearly complete; you may need to visit the Poseen Kingdom next semester for a final audit and certification, and then help them administer an examination as the chief invigilator,"
Bolao said, looking at Lanci.
"So smoothly? I thought there would be many troubles."
Lanci nodded in surprise and sat down, it had been a long time since he had received such good news.
Lanci had almost forgotten that he was still a prospective Platinum Level Card Maker.
Having stayed in the Northern Continent for too long, he had somewhat lost touch with the Association system in the Southern Continent.
"Although the Southern Continent Card Maker Association also has its own issues of vested interest, fortunately, your reputation is not that big in the South, and those in power who care about appearances won’t make things difficult for a newcomer with a clean slate like you,"
Professor Bolao remembered that Migaya’s certification as a Platinum Level Card Maker was quite arduous, and by comparison, Lanci was a child who knew how to keep a low profile.
There were also circumstances at play; the Southern Continent Card Maker Association equally hoped that Lanci would rapidly become an official Platinum Level Card Maker and subsequently take over Migaya’s work.
The Hutton Kingdom is located on the easternmost part of the central region of the Southern Continent, while the Yarolan Kingdom, which previously visited their school for an academic visit, is in the very center leaning toward the east.
The Poseen Kingdom lies between the two, also a part of the eastern region. Although its land area is not large, its humanistic construction and magical engineering technology are exceedingly advanced. 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝒄𝙤𝙢
The Platinum Level Card Maker examinations in the eastern region have long suffered from a lack of invigilators, and with the recent movements of the Cerryti Empire remaining a mystery, everyone is reluctant to leave their own countries, making it difficult for other regions to borrow examiners.
Besides, it’s highly unlikely that countries from other regions would permit their Platinum Level Card Makers to travel far at this time, with the security risks being very difficult to assess.
"I see. If I’m needed to serve as the examiner, then naturally I will fulfill my responsibilities,"
Lanci declared in the manner of a studious student.
Hyperion glanced at Lanci but said nothing.
Rocky McCarthy made a name for himself on the Northern Continent, indeed, it has nothing to do with you, Lanci Welfort.
"Hyperion, let’s go to the Poseen Kingdom together next semester,"
Lanci turned to Hyperion beside him and asked.
"Am I also going?"
Hyperion pointed to herself, speaking with confusion.
"Of course, we’re definitely going together,"
Lanci had no intention of going to a foreign land alone.
"The assistant’s travel and accommodation expenses incurred by the examiner’s duties are all reimbursed by the Association; you don’t need to worry about that,"
Professor Bolao told them abruptly from behind the desk, looking at the two young people with a sigh and impatience in his eyes,
"Furthermore, the assistant doesn’t have to be a Card Maker. Sometimes they’re just a bodyguard or a tacit friend. As long as the examiner likes them, it’s fine."
"Oh, okay then,"
Hyperion agreed, feeling that her schedule for the latter half of the year was shaping up to be quite full.
Seeing that this matter was settled, Professor Bolao, with satisfaction, took out a registration document from the Card Maker’s Association and handed it to them. Before Lanci and Hyperion could bring up the matter of unlocking authority in the Shadow World, Professor Bolao spoke up again.
"By the way, why did Dimension Bishop Toriyado send our school twenty thousand pounds?"
Professor Bolao looked at a bill on his office desk, feeling conflicted.
"Ah?"
Lanci and Hyperion exchanged glances.
Twenty thousand pounds could repair a building in the school.
Although the Saint of Destruction had died,
it wasn’t clear who could be credited with the kill; they had assumed the Dimensional Bishop wouldn’t make the payment.
As for the multiple-choice question of "Who is the prime culprit causing the death of the Saint of Destruction," they still couldn’t come up with an answer.
"Should we send him a banner in return?"
Lanci asked.
Professor Bolao was rendered silent by Lanci’s suggestion.
"Good idea,"
finally, Professor Bolao nodded in agreement.
Hyperion’s eyes twitched slightly; aren’t you afraid of enraging Bishop Ivanos into a blood fury, prompting him to seek Dean Loren for a desperate fight?
