Lanchi Just Couldn't Forget His Legal Awareness

As the first rays of dawn gradually drove away the chill of night, they spilled across the streets, buildings, and benches along the roadside.

The light gradually stretched longer.

The city called Ikelite seemed to awaken as well, roused by the gods' benevolent love.

Before long.

The shops lining both sides of the street opened one after another, their enthusiastic owners greeting their neighbors.

Beneath the cafés' outdoor awnings, wisps of light coffee fragrance drifted through the air, accompanied by lively jazz that spread across the bustling streets.

More and more early commuters appeared, hurrying through the crowds in central Ikelite.

Amid the morning breeze, which still carried the fresh scents of fruit and flowers.

Lanchi walked along the streets of Ikelite with Talia, a faint smile on his face.

Bathing in the morning sunlight, his peaceful expression and entire being radiated a sunny air.

Lanchi seemed to be in a very good mood.

He now found both the school exams and the Shadow World quite interesting.

Talia, on the other hand, looked as if she were going to a funeral rather than to work.

She was extremely unwilling to accompany Lanchi to Ikelite Academy again.

The last time she had followed Lanchi out of the academy, she had been watched several times, making her scalp tingle.

Fortunately, the Third Round Exam would not be broadcast publicly.

It would only be viewed by the academy teachers backstage.

Otherwise, Talia would rather take sick leave today than come with Lanchi again.

"Tata, are you in a bad mood?"

Lanchi felt that Talia had been speaking much less over the past two days.

Today, her resistance to staying with him was especially obvious.

"..."

Talia ignored him.

She merely looked ahead.

And continued walking straight forward.

So Lanchi quickened his pace slightly, broke into a jog, and turned around to sneak a glance at Talia's face.

Her expression was cold, and she still refused to acknowledge Lanchi.

But just now, Lanchi had inadvertently caught her gaze.

It made him feel as if Talia really hated him...

He could not help stopping in his tracks. Standing there in bewilderment, he scratched his head.

He had clearly felt that their relationship had improved a tiny bit during this period.

So why did it feel as though her attitude had suddenly taken a sharp turn for the worse again?

A demon's thoughts were truly difficult to understand.

Especially when it was a single old woman who had lived for over a century.

Lanchi thought to himself.

"..."

Talia happened to reach Lanchi's side.

She turned her face and stared at him.

For some unknown reason, she felt an inexplicable urge to kill Lanchi.

But he had not even opened his mouth just now, and his expression looked perfectly normal...

"What's wrong, Tata?"

Lanchi asked gently.

There was absolutely no sign of the impolite thoughts in his heart.

"Nothing."

After saying that, Talia stopped paying attention to Lanchi and walked on ahead.

"Chasing the cloud away~"

In high spirits, Lanchi hummed a little tune as he stepped forward and followed her.

Half an hour later.

Ikelite Academy, Learning and Education Building, Seventh Floor Central Courtyard.

Sunlight passed through the enormous glass dome and refracted indoors, transforming into gentle arcs of light that brought a trace of tranquility to the entire courtyard.

As the light and shadows danced across the floor, Lanchi could see faculty members coming and going along the surrounding corridors.

Following the exam schedule, he entered this examination venue once again, still unable to hold back his admiration for the architect's craftsmanship.

From a distance.

The enormous magic apparatus—the artificial Shadow World activation terminal—seemed to have been repaired.

However, an eye-catching sign reading STRICTLY PROHIBIT FORCED RESTART had been added to it.

From the lettering, it was obvious that the person who had added the warning was extremely angry.

Unlike the Second Round Exam.

There were not many students or staff waiting here today.

The Third Round Exam was being coordinated by teachers from the Sage Institute, and the chief examiner for each session would appear directly inside the Shadow World.

Dean Loren was not here either.

It was said that he still had duties with the Goddess of Fate Church and often had to leave the Royal Capital Ikelite.

After slightly going around the marble doorway, Lanchi entered the waiting area and saw two figures looking toward him.

One was Teacher Theresa, who held a tablet-like magic device and was responsible for guiding examinees at the venue.

She and Lanchi had met before, during the attribute test at his entrance examination.

Teacher Theresa was very gentle, and she showed Lanchi a faint smile as soon as they met.

The other person was also wearing the same examinee wristband as Lanchi, clearly his teammate for the Third Round Exam.

In the examination notice he had received yesterday, Lanchi had seen the explanation—

The theme of the Third Round Exam was "Combat and Survival."

In this type of examination, healing mages and support mages often found it difficult to fight alone.

Therefore, the academy had adopted a team-based examination format, pairing offensive mages with healers and support mages.

Most teams consisted of three people.

At the same time, this could test the students' ability to coordinate as a team.

After all, in a real Shadow World, the whole team usually prospered or perished together.

When an accident occurred, it would most likely mean a total party wipe. There were no "what ifs."

However.

When Lanchi saw his teammate clearly—the extraordinary noble young lady—both sides seemed somewhat surprised.

At the end of the Second Round Exam two days ago, she had asked Lanchi how long he had taken to clear it.

And Lanchi had answered very conservatively: less than fifty minutes.

"Less than fifty minutes?"

Hughberlian seemed somewhat amused. There was an absurd undertone in her words as she asked Lanchi.

After leaving the examination venue the day before yesterday, she had heard about it.

Someone with black hair and green eyes had cleared it in only ten minutes.

At the time, she had wondered whether that person could possibly be the same fellow beside her who had told her his clear time was "less than fifty minutes."

Now, she was certain.

It was this old schemer.

Lanchi awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

He had not expected the Third Round Exam to use this kind of team assignment method either.

"Do you know each other?"

Seeing the two people's subtle reactions, Teacher Theresa could not help asking curiously.

Both of them shook their heads.

Then.

"My name is Lanchi Wilford. I'm a White Mage, but compared to healing, my abilities are more focused on utility."

Lanchi was the first to introduce himself frankly.

Honesty was important between teammates. There was nothing to hide.

After a brief silence.

"...Hughberlian Aransal."

The duchess hesitated slightly before giving her name.

"You can treat me as having an assassin-type role."

Her words stopped there, making her introduction extremely brief.

Clearly, she did not trust Lanchi very much.

Lanchi nodded.

He did not intend to ask anything further.

He looked toward the entrance to the examination venue, seemingly waiting for their third teammate.

"There's no need to wait. He probably won't come."

Hughberlian said this out of the blue.

Her sudden words immediately drew puzzled looks from Lanchi and Theresa.

"Why?"

"Unless something unexpected happens, we'll receive a message when the exam begins saying that this fellow is unable to participate in this exam for some reason. As for the specific reason, that depends on whether they threatened or bribed him."

Hughberlian spread her hands and spoke with a cold gaze.

Although her voice held more helplessness than anything else, the furious violence in her pupils was difficult to conceal.

She knew all too well what those aristocratic lords who enjoyed manipulating the situation would do.

"Uh... Student Hughberlian, this is only your speculation, right?"

Hughberlian's presence was completely opposite to Lanchi's, making even Theresa feel a faint chill down her spine.

If Lanchi was like a pure, flawless warm sun in spring, then Hughberlian was like an ominous object deep in a cold, filthy pool of blood, unable to receive redemption.

Theresa glanced at Lanchi.

Lanchi remained unmoved, looking calm and indifferent as usual, without the slightest change in emotion.

Since Lanchi had not spoken, it would not be appropriate for her to offer any further opinion as a teacher.

Before long.

As the exam drew near.

The magic device in Teacher Theresa's hand rang out with a notification, just as expected—

Their teammate had decided to transfer to another academy and had voluntarily withdrawn from the exam.

"This..."

Teacher Theresa also became somewhat troubled.

She likely understood that this situation, which appeared accidental, might not be accidental at all.

After all, even Hughberlian had predicted it beforehand.

"Should I report this to the dean or vice dean?"

Theresa asked hesitantly.

She knew that the combat examination overseen by Ferrat would absolutely not be easy.

What was more, Ferrat himself belonged to the group of people who "did not want Hughberlian to enroll."

With only Hughberlian and Lanchi, a White Mage with barely any magic power, the two of them had no chance of clearing the exam whatsoever...

Hughberlian shook her head.

When her cold eyes turned toward Theresa, they softened by half.

Although she had never been very good at sensing goodwill, having grown up amid mutual malice.

Still, she could more or less distinguish between the good and bad intentions of others.

"These noble lords just love creating flawless coincidences. They won't leave anyone the slightest opportunity to catch them by the handle."

Hughberlian sneered.

"Even though today's exam won't be broadcast publicly, there must still be quite a few pairs of eyes watching this stage from the shadows."

They could have gone even further by having Hughberlian's final teammate participate normally at first, then act as an accomplice—or even betray Hughberlian outright.

But if they made things too obvious and Dean Loren discovered even the slightest clue, he might investigate the fairness of the examination.

So the people pulling the strings preferred to create an "accident."

"Then why didn't those people come after me?"

Lanchi rested his chin in his hand and furrowed his brow, seemingly deep in thought.

Hughberlian fell silent for a moment.

She did not know whether Lanchi truly did not understand or was pretending not to.

"Those people also like to preserve a little dignity. If they directly bribed two examinees, it would look far too unlike an accident."

Hughberlian explained simply.

Of course, she believed that someone as clever as Lanchi would easily understand the real reason—

Those big shots did not think Lanchi had much practical combat ability.

Not only that, Lanchi could also allow the exam to proceed normally, becoming a useful tool for dragging Hughberlian down.

If Hughberlian truly became the only remaining examinee, the academy would not be cruel enough to make her continue challenging the chief examiner alone. More likely, it would put her on another team and slightly raise the overall difficulty of the exam.

"So that's how it is. What a pity..."

Lanchi gave a slight nod and sighed.

His expression looked exactly like he had just missed out on a chance to make a fortune.

"Do you really want them to bribe you?"

Hughberlian stared at Lanchi's undisguisedly regretful face, finding it utterly ridiculous.

What had I done to make him disrespect me this much? He isn't even pretending anymore?

Even if this fellow possessed some unusual talents, in the end, he was no different from those bastards harboring wicked intentions.

"Of course."

Lanchi let out a cold laugh and nodded firmly.

"Heh, if they dare interfere with my exam, I guarantee I'll collect evidence on the spot, then donate the bribe money to the Goddess of Fate Church. I'll report these people for bribery and disrupting the proper order of the national examination, while simultaneously applying for the clerical intervention provisions on page 675 of the 'Hutton Codex.' I'll request that the temple use divine magic to trace the source of this erroneous account and conduct a thorough investigation. The Goddess of Fate's priests will determine that I had no subjective intention of extortion or blackmail, and was merely collecting evidence. Afterward, I'll receive the Church's commendation and protection. I might even become an apprentice priest in one fell swoop..."

He looked so righteous that, if he had been holding a codex, he probably would have opened it on the spot and begun explaining it to Hughberlian.

Hughberlian: "..."

Theresa, who was standing nearby, also heard what Lanchi said. Her lips parted slightly, but for a long while, she could not get a single opening word out.

Hughberlian realized that she had misunderstood him.

She decided to withdraw her earlier statement.

Compared with that bunch of unscrupulous people, this Lanchi was the true Sword Mound!