North of Protos Royal Magic Academy.
Moonlight seeped through the heavy clouds, casting a faint glow over Gloria's detached residence by the street. The mansion occupied the entire area and was surrounded by a carefully planned garden. Under the moonlight, the vegetation appeared a lush, dripping green, while the water in the fountain pool made a fine, tinkling sound beneath the raindrops.
The first-floor windows of the mansion were covered by curtains. Only the faint light filtering through the gaps revealed that the people inside had not yet gone to sleep.
"You've had a hard journey."
Holding an umbrella, Lanchi walked with Hughberlian along the school's late-night roads. Gloria's residence, where the troops directly under her command lived, lay ahead.
After escorting Mishura back to the lodgings Earl Milford had reserved for them at Protos Royal Magic Academy, Lanchi and Hughberlian continued north. They reached the vicinity of Gloria's House within a few minutes.
"Fortunately, everything went smoothly."
Hughberlian shook her head. She did not want Lanchi to know about the dangers she had encountered in Box Mountain Province. She was afraid he would help her take revenge on the Nirvana Branch.
Thinking back carefully, whenever she had been bullied in Ikelite, Lanchi had always helped her get revenge. She did not know whether he did it intentionally or not. In any case, his motives always seemed grand, glorious, and righteous.
Even though Lanchi now held a lofty position in the Protos Empire—one she still could not accept—she knew full well how terrifying the Nirvana Bishop was. He was an absolute powerhouse whom even her teacher, the Ice Witch, would have difficulty opposing.
Lanchi smiled and nodded, as if he believed what she had said. He pushed open the courtyard's fence gate with one hand, held the umbrella over Hughberlian's