The courtyard examination hall, which had been thick with tension, had now fallen into an eerie silence.
Hughberlian and Vivian both looked aside at the floor, unwilling to say another bad word about each other.
"..."
Just as the courtyard had fallen utterly silent,
Lanchi's statement also stunned the two other candidates waiting nearby.
Although Lanchi himself might not even have realized it,
they felt that he seemed to possess a unique talent for handling a Shura Field!
Even though this was not a Shura Field in the strictest sense, since Lanchi could have stayed out of it from the start, he had taken the initiative to step in and mediate!
This even gave them the sudden urge to take him as their teacher and learn his ways.
Wasn't this far more practical than magic?
Their expressions were quickly noticed by Lanchi across from them.
Lanchi looked at the two candidates gazing at him with admiration and returned their looks with a smile and a nod.
Sure enough, doing good deeds like mediating disputes made people hold him in awe.
Being respected made Lanchi very happy.
More importantly, this scene of the students in the examination hall getting along harmoniously was what Lanchi wished for.
With a little more respect and understanding, and a little less conflict and strife, the world would become a better place.
Everyone remained quietly in the courtyard for several dozen seconds.
Then, accompanied by hurried, scurrying footsteps,
Teacher Theresa returned to the examination hall carrying her small magical device.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone. I'm back..."
She had finally seen Examiner Ferrat from the previous examination off. Ever since she had left, she had been worried that Duke Miss Hughberlian and Vivian, whose relationship was so poor, might get into a conflict.
However, before Teacher Theresa's voice had completely faded, she froze slightly in surprise.
The atmosphere in the examination hall was exceptionally harmonious.
Could she have been worrying for nothing?
Confused, Theresa shook her head, reminding herself to focus on the matter at hand first.
She hurried over to Hughberlian and Lanchi and said,
"Congratulations on passing the examination."
Teacher Theresa smiled at Hughberlian and Lanchi.
"On the day school begins, just go directly to the main building of the Sage Institute, and someone will guide you. Also, the school dormitories will be available three days before the start of term, and you should be able to collect your Student Bracelets from the Magic Engineering Institute around the same time."
She pointed at their Examination Bracelets, meaning that they could use them to exchange for their official enrollment credentials at the Magic Engineering Institute when the time came.
"Thank you."
"Thank you, Teacher Theresa."
After receiving Hughberlian and Lanchi's thanks, Theresa waved goodbye to them warmly.
Then, as quickly as a server rushing between tables during the lunch hour, she ran over to Vivian and the others in the second examination group.
"Sorry to keep you waiting! You can get ready to begin the examination now..."
Vivian listened absentmindedly to Teacher Theresa, her gaze still following Hughberlian's departing figure.
Although Hughberlian had happened to encounter someone who had given her a hand this time,
that was merely a brief stroke of luck, and it would soon burst like a bubble.
The reason Lanchi currently had no wariness toward Hughberlian
was simply that this young man from the borderlands did not know Hughberlian's secret--
Hughberlian possessed half demon blood. She was the illegitimate daughter born to the Duke of Aransal and a demon.
Vivian was certain that if Lanchi ever learned of Hughberlian's demonic identity in the future, his friendly attitude would undergo a complete reversal. He might even join those who persecuted Hughberlian.
Because in the Hutton Kingdom, which had been ravaged by demon wars many years ago, there was no one who did not hate and fear demons!
Iketerite Academy, Learning and Education Building.
Several-meter-wide stairways descended in layers from top to bottom. Their design was unique and advanced, with beige stone and crystal railings complementing each other, as if a ray of light were threading through the floors.
Each level of the stairs served a different function. Some broad wooden steps could directly serve as resting areas for students, while others displayed the academy's latest works. At the bottom, the stairs even connected to the building's spacious terrace.
Two young figures walked along the building's stairs, their steps unhurried and composed as they moved through an art space free of pressure.
After enduring today's difficult examination, Lanchi's smiling face made no attempt to hide his good mood.
Hughberlian, meanwhile, still wore her usual expressionless face and revealed none of her thoughts, but the hostility in her eyes had unknowingly dissipated by then.
"By the way, Hughberlian."
As he walked, Lanchi chatted with his newly acquainted comrade-in-arms, Hughberlian.
"You're familiar with this part of the royal capital and have seen more of the world. How do you think I can make money quickly in the royal capital? Of course, it has to be something the criminal code doesn't forbid."
After asking the question, he added another sentence.
The criminal code itself was a treasure trove of ways to make money, but he absolutely could not do that.
As they walked, their figures occasionally passed by the decorations beside the stairs: plants newly cultivated by the Alchemy Institute, new academic achievements, and the Magic Engineering Institute's latest inventions and strange works of art.
"..."
Hughberlian fell silent hesitantly for a while.
She had originally intended to part ways with Lanchi then and there.
She was grateful for Lanchi's help and friendly attitude, but she also knew perfectly well that she could not become friends with him.
The secret that "she was a half-demon" would not remain hidden from Lanchi for long.
Although she had never deliberately concealed or deceived Lanchi,
even if Lanchi did not investigate her on his own and continued treating her with such friendliness, once those who wanted to target her sensed that Lanchi was obstructing them, they would reveal her secret to him, sending her plunging straight into the abyss at the most fatal moment.
What she least wanted to accept was for a former friend to suddenly become a stranger, cold and distant, or even an irreconcilable enemy...
But she would treat it as repaying this brief and insubstantial friendship between her and Lanchi.
"If my father hadn't gone missing, the Duke of Aransal Family would have been happy to invest in a talent like you, given your abilities. Unfortunately, I have no authority to use the family's funds now."
Hughberlian answered helplessly. At least for this moment, she would treat Lanchi with the same sincerity he had shown her.
"If you don't have a crafting-related profession, the fastest way to make money is to challenge the Shadow World."
They continued forward, descending the stairs at an unhurried pace. The enormous glass curtain walls between the floors reflected the sunlight, brightening the entire space before the light was blocked by marble walls and dimmed again.
"Hmm..."
Lanchi nodded thoughtfully.
Although he had already learned the basics of crafting Magic Cards,
he could only make low-tier cards for now.
Moreover, his skills were still quite unpolished, and his success rate at card making was very low. He often blew up cards until Talia could only shake her head.
He did not even yet have the confidence to take the Registered Card Maker Examination of the Southern Continent Card Maker Association.
By the looks of it, his combat profession, White Mage, was actually ahead of his crafting profession, Card Maker.
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