NOVPUBInside the car, Lanci leaned back into the soft leather seat, waiting for the journey to the Saint Kray Monastery.
"If possible, Professor Landry, during your tenure at Saint Kray Monastery, please try to minimize contact with the military. You are a talent meticulously selected by the principal, and getting involved with the military police would be bad for both you and the school," Nyla’s Secretary murmured, glancing at him through the rearview mirror.
Headmaster Violet in the capital was already too busy to duplicate herself. Should she have to negotiate with the military because of a subordinate problem, especially with War God Hesintos, it would be a significant trouble indeed.
"Rest assured, Captain Nikola just had some misunderstandings about me at the start. I believe once he investigates the cause of the incident, he will quickly clear up any misconceptions about me."
Lanci nodded as if it were nothing out of the ordinary and pulled a thick volume of "History of the Cerryti Empire" from his briefcase, spreading it on his lap.
"But Miss Nyla, why do you dislike the secret service so much? I can tell it’s not just business; on a personal level, too, you seem to detest them," he probed after a moment’s thought.
He would likely be dealing with the principal’s secretary a lot during his time at Saint Kray Monastery, handling many affairs when unable to meet with Headmaster Violet.
"Do you like the dogs raised by those capitalists in the capital?" Nyla snorted, retorting.
"Cough, cough, is it really okay for Miss Nyla to speak like that?"
Lanci coughed lightly, surprised that the dignified and courteous secretary to the principal would be so blunt in her speech.
"There’s no problem. It’s perfectly fine to speak freely at Saint Kray Monastery; it has always been a sacred place since ancient times," Nyla said with an enigmatic smile.
"As for me, an animal is just an animal, no matter whether it’s wild, owned by someone, or who it’s owned by," Lanci finally replied to Nyla’s earlier question.
"It seems Professor Landry is of the Neutral Faction," Nyla concluded, looking ahead at the road.
"Isn’t that what should be considered normal?"
Where Lanci came from, the distinction between nobles and commoners wasn’t so significant. Aside from having more money, nobles didn’t enjoy many privileges, and even Miss Duchess faced discrimination on a daily basis.
In his current role, Landry, coming from a remote noble family, might not fully understand the Capital Bulerida, considering it was his first time traveling from the border to the capital. Therefore, playing the role naturally seemed appropriate.
"Once Professor Landry arrives at Saint Kray Monastery, he will understand the clear divisions of factions. And most of those who seem neutral on the surface actually have their own thoughts, but do not readily show them," Nyla lightly tapped her fingertips on the steering wheel as she spoke.
"I truly detest those in power in the capital, and even more so those who act as their dogs. Of course, Professor Landry, you are not included because you don’t seem to carry that common air about you," she said, her clarity of speech contributing to the efficiency of her work.
As Landry, who was from a declining noble family in a remote area of the Empire, he had the right to join any side, depending on where he identified himself.
Lanci smiled and turned another page of the book on his lap, remaining silent.
Nyla, as the Headmaster’s Secretary, should have been part of the Neutral Faction, but because she expressed her thoughts rather bluntly, it somehow made the principal even more assured, keeping her close at hand.
Outside the window, the ancient capital, gleaming with a thousand years of history, shimmered in the slowly slanting sunlight.
"Lanci, why is the conflict between the nobles and the commoners so intense in the Empire on this side?" asked the Queen Card, Talia, who seemed to have snapped out of a doze, questioning in Lanci’s mind.
Since arriving in the Cerryti Empire, she didn’t need to show herself or have an identity, spending most of her time as Lanci’s Magic Card and Summon. As such, she didn’t have many lessons to learn. Previously, when Lanci had been studying materials every day in the Poseen Kingdom, she would lie on the couch snacking and occasionally dozing off.
But once in the Cerryti Empire, upon hearing about the internal situation of the country, her curiosity was piqued again.
Lanci wouldn’t have delved into the issue of the conflict between the commoners and the nobles in the capital so quickly; originally, his identity as Lovia was that of a Northern Border commoner with no clear stance.
However, the identity of Landry was quite delicate.
After he arrived at the Saint Kray Monastery, it seemed he would inevitably confront the issue.
To help Hyperion rescue Migaya, he would have to find, as Lanci had mentioned, the underground city beneath the Capital Bulerida, Blood Moon City, hidden by the Blood Clan.
And to obtain the exact coordinates of Blood Moon City, he would first have to start with investigating the people within the Empire who were connected to the Blood Clan. In this process, socializing with important Empire figures was inevitable, among whom there might be members of both the Nobility Faction and the People’s Faction.
"Years ago, the power of the Cerryti Imperial Nobles was too vast; they could even act unilaterally, amassing most of the power, wealth, and even control of media resources," Lanci explained to Talia in his mind while flipping through the book in his hands.
"Apart from oppressing and exploiting the commoners, some nobles even stopped considering them human. They would kill or plunder as they wished."
Lanci didn’t yet know why a copy of "History of the Cerryti Empire" was in Landry’s luggage, but its contents did overlap somewhat with what he was currently discussing. However, the history book had appropriately beautified those parts.
