Recaps

Lanchi spent a quiet afternoon at Protos Royal Magic Academy finishing work before a planned absence. Duke Miss Chloris visited to ask why he doubted the existence of the Demon King Army’s northern Special Killing Unit, and Lanchi stood by his suspicion that the supposed demons were not demons at all.

• Lanchi reviewed his remaining documents and prepared to leave the academy temporarily the next day.
• Associate Professor Sid visited Lanchi, praised the students’ unanimous approval of him, and introduced Duke Miss Chloris.
• Chloris asked Lanchi to explain why he did not believe the Demon King Army’s Special Killing Unit in the north was real.
• Lanchi admitted his doubts, and Chloris noted that he seemed more certain than others that the troublemakers were not demons.

Duke Miss Chloris asked Principal Lanchi for his views on the Protos Empire and the conflict on the Northern Continent. Lanchi argued that hidden forces were manipulating events and insisted the empire could not unify the continent because he was anti-war, leaving Chloris to consider how unpredictable he was.

• Lanchi explained that his experience among demons in a Shadow World had shaped his understanding of their culture.
• Chloris asked Lanchi to assess the Protos Empire’s position and its enemies on the Northern Continent.
• Lanchi identified the neutral northern theocracy and unseen manipulators as greater threats than the Aetherland Kingdom and Northern Nations.
• Lanchi argued that the empire’s plans to conquer the Northern Continent were misguided and suggested that it should have targeted the theocracy instead.
• Chloris asked whether the empire could unify the Northern Continent, and Lanchi said it could not because he would not allow it as an anti-war person.
• Chloris reflected that Lanchi himself was as unpredictable as the ancient heroes hidden across the world.

Chloris revealed that her father, Duke Morodian, had disappeared and that she had secretly taken control of the Duke's Family to oppose the coming war. She asked Lanchi to investigate the north for evidence that could expose the truth, and Lanchi agreed, saying he already had a pass and official business there.

• Chloris told Lanchi she wanted to ally with him and stop the war in the Empire.
• Chloris revealed that her father had vanished and that the public Duke Morodian was a drug-controlled puppet under her command.
• Chloris explained that she had concealed the disappearance and believed the war could begin in about a month once the Rebirth Church and Empire completed their cooperation.
• Chloris asked Lanchi to investigate the north for evidence and offered the Duke's Family as his support in return.
• Lanchi said he already had a pass to the northern front and official business there, then accepted Chloris's request.

Lanchi and Sid boarded a train from Helrom to travel north to the Nirvana Branch, while negotiating the terms of their partnership. Lanchi ended the chapter plotting to seek out a nearly fatal fight in hopes of making Sid use a bishop-level attack.

• Lanchi met Sid at Helrom’s Magic Rail Station, where Cat Boss hid from her in his shadow.
• Lanchi and Sid boarded the Magic Energy Rail Train and found their adjacent seats.
• Lanchi asked Sid to protect him, but Sid said she would not stop him from risking his life and might abandon him if danger became too great.
• Sid told Lanchi he also had to consider her feelings and protect her from leaving the party.
• Lanchi accepted Sid’s conditions, then resolved to pursue a fight with a nine-in-ten chance of death to try to make her act.

Lanchi and Sid traveled north to Rock Box Mountain, where they discussed the empire’s regional factions and the war. The chapter ended with Sid hinting that eastern nobles might seek Lanchi’s favor as principal of Protos Royal Magic Academy, while Lanchi insisted on keeping his public and private affairs separate.

• Lanchi and Sid arrived at Rock Box Mountain, a northern transportation hub where travelers underwent identity checks before heading toward the front line or the Northwest Province.
• Sid explained that she had chosen the south over the east because she did not want to bargain with powerful eastern nobles and risk damaging her bid to represent the Rebirth Church.
• Lanchi asked Sid about eastern nobles’ attitudes toward the war, and she said that most prioritized their own interests and effectively belonged to the Anti-War faction.
• Sid suggested that eastern nobles might seek out Luo Qi McCarthy because many wanted their children admitted to Protos Royal Magic Academy, where he was principal.
• Lanchi refused to use his authority at the academy for Ba Tian Branch business, and Sid jokingly said that Sid’s favorability toward him had dropped.

Lanchi and Sid arrived at Rock Junction Station and learned that a damaged railway, blizzards, and disappearances had made travel farther north dangerous. Despite the captain’s warnings, Lanchi decided that the disorderly north needed him, leaving their destination unsettled.

• Lanchi and Sid passed the station inspection after Lanchi identified them as priests from the imperial capital’s Nirvana Branch.
• The captain told Lanchi and Sid that blizzards had delayed trains and a damaged railway had cut off travel farther north.
• The captain warned Lanchi and Sid about disappearances and unrest in the north, and said an imperial investigator and a provincial unit were investigating the region.
• Sid teased Lanchi about the dangers of heading north, but Lanchi said that disorderly places needed him.
• Cat Boss recalled Lanchi’s threatening behavior in the Shadow World and found his righteous-sounding remark frightening.

Xia Ya, the debt-ridden eldest son of the southern Earl Candice family, fled bandits across the snowy plains on his way to Qinsidun City to marry into the Kinston Family. As the pursuers closed in, he struggled onward toward a distant forest, with his fate unresolved.

• Xia Ya abandoned his suitcase and ran across the snow while four or five bandits pursued him.
• The bandits taunted Xia Ya and attacked with arrows and blades, but their shots failed to hit him or were deflected by an unseen barrier.
• Xia Ya recalled that his family had sent him north to marry into the prosperous Kinston Family, whose daughter was set to attend Protos Royal Academy.
• Xia Ya had hoped to enter the academy as his fiancée's attendant, despite having failed the Preparatory Student examination and knowing little about her.
• After the railway broke down, Xia Ya crossed the wilderness on foot to reach Qinsidun City on time, where he encountered the bandits.

Xia Ya was trapped by bandits on a snowy plain after his protective spell began to fail. Sid and a woman arrived while traveling through the area, and Sid confronted the bandits.

• Xia Ya’s barrier held off the bandits as they mocked him and threatened to capture him.
• Xia Ya’s fear weakened his spell, and he cried out for the Goddess to save him.
• Sid and a woman emerged from the forest while consulting a map and discussing their route to Qinsidun City.
• Sid spotted the bandits surrounding Xia Ya and accused them of robbery, kidnapping, and other crimes.

Lanchi and Sid rescued Xia Ya from bandits on the snowy road and introduced themselves as students of the Protos Royal Magic Academy. After Xia Ya gave them directions to Qinsidun City, Lanchi asked him to travel with them.

• Sid questioned Lanchi about his past, and Lanchi showed her his Protos Empire no-criminal-record certificate.
• The bandits insulted Lanchi and Sid from across the snowfield, prompting Sid to attack them alone.
• After Sid defeated the bandits, Lanchi helped Xia Ya to his feet and introduced himself and Sid.
• Lanchi and Sid showed Xia Ya their academy documents but concealed their ties to the Nirvana Branch.
• Xia Ya told them how to reach Qinsidun City, and Lanchi invited him to travel with them.

Lanchi and Sid helped Xia Ya retrieve his luggage in Snowfield Province and learned about the worsening unrest in the north and his plans to marry into the Kinston Family. Lanchi then arranged for them to accompany Xia Ya to the Lord's Mansion as bodyguards, while Cat Boss worried that Lanchi would interfere with the young couple's romance.

• Lanchi, Sid, and Xia Ya recovered Xia Ya's suitcase in Snowfield Province.
• Xia Ya warned Lanchi and Sid about rising crime, refugees, political feuds, and the Ghost Party in the northern city-states.
• Xia Ya explained that he was traveling north to marry his fiancée, Lilis Kinston, and recalled meeting a red-haired northern noble girl as a child.
• Lanchi guessed that Lilis was the girl Xia Ya remembered and offered to help bring the couple together.
• Lanchi persuaded Xia Ya to hire him and Sid as Tier 4 bodyguards on credit so they could accompany him to the Lord's Mansion.
• Cat Boss, watching from the shadows, feared that Lanchi would ruin Xia Ya and Lilis's romance.

Lanchi, Sid, and Xia Ya reached Qinsidun City, where Viscount Levin Kinston’s steward received them and escorted them to the Lord’s Mansion. On the way, Lanchi and Cat Boss gave Xia Ya conflicting advice about romance with Lilith Kinston, leaving him unsure whom to trust.

• Lanchi praised Xia Ya for finding Qinsidun City, and the group presented their identification at its gates.
• The Knight Captain welcomed Xia Ya and contacted the Lord’s Mansion after checking the group’s documents.
• The steward arrived with a carriage, explained that Viscount Levin Kinston and Miss Kinston were occupied with other guests, and escorted the three toward the mansion.
• Lanchi encouraged Xia Ya to act assertively around Lilith Kinston, while Cat Boss urged him to let their relationship develop naturally.
• Sid supported Lanchi’s advice, and Xia Ya questioned Cat Boss about whether Lanchi’s own relationship with Sid was going well.

Lanchi, Xia Ya, and Sid arrived at the Kinston Lord's Mansion, where Xia Ya hoped to reconnect with Lilith and Lanchi sought information about an Imperial investigation team in the north. They learned that Viscount Blake Boen was pressuring Viscount Levin Kinston to send Lilith to Boen City for Professor Meiqi's instruction.

• Lanchi considered asking Viscount Levin Kinston about the Imperial investigation team that had traveled north ahead of them.
• The butler welcomed Lanchi, Xia Ya, and Sid to the Kinston Lord's Mansion and seated them in the reception hall.
• Viscount Levin Kinston, Viscount Blake Boen, Professor Meiqi, and Lilith came downstairs to meet with them.
• Lilith briefly looked at Xia Ya before turning away, seemingly not recognizing him from their childhood encounter.
• Viscount Blake Boen urged Viscount Levin Kinston to send Lilith to Boen City for Professor Meiqi's instruction, citing the benefits to her future at Protos Royal Academy.
• Sid and Lanchi overheard the conversation, and Sid gave Lanchi a disdainful look.

Lanchi and Sid were questioned about their identities at the Boen reception, where Professor Meiqi dismissed them as poor students after checking their IDs. Viscount Blake Boen used the incident to criticize Xia Ya and push his son Dean as a better match for Lilith.

• Xia Ya asked Lanchi and Sid about changes at Protos Royal Magic Academy, and Viscount Blake Boen rebuked him for speaking carelessly.
• Viscount Blake Boen urged Professor Meiqi to investigate Lanchi and Sid, but Viscount Levin Kinston defended their verified academy IDs.
• Professor Meiqi checked Lanchi and Sid's student IDs and asked about their credits; Sid and Lanchi revealed they had only a hundred credits between them.
• Professor Meiqi called Lanchi and Sid poor students, returned their IDs, and walked away.
• Viscount Blake Boen mocked Viscount Levin Kinston's judgment and promoted his son Dean as a better match for Lilith.

Lilith declared that she would marry no one weaker than her, and Dean Born arranged a duel with Xia Ya to decide the matter. Lanchi remembered Hughberlian's warning not to meddle in others' romantic affairs, leaving Cat Boss relieved that he had not intervened.

• Viscount Levin Kinston resisted Viscount Blake Boen's attempt to secure Lilith's engagement to Dean Born through Professor Meiqi.
• Lilith said she would not marry someone weaker than herself, and Dean challenged Xia Ya to a duel.
• Lilith declared that the loser must never come see her again, and Dean agreed to fight Xia Ya in three days.
• Viscount Blake Boen said he would invite nobles to witness the duel, while Lilith left after giving Xia Ya an unreadable look.
• Sid described the moment as young love, and Lanchi recalled Hughberlian's advice to stay out of other people's romantic affairs.

Lanchi mistook Sid’s romance advice for a call to train Xia Ya to win Lilith back through hardship and combat. Xia Ya agreed to become his student, while Sid and Cat Boss realized Lanchi had turned their romantic comedy into something far more literal.

• Lanchi asked Sid what kind of romance she liked, and she described a young man overcoming hardship to reclaim his true love.
• Lanchi concluded that Xia Ya needed encouragement and went to find him, despite Cat Boss’s alarm.
• Lanchi asked Xia Ya whether he wanted to reclaim Lilith, and Xia Ya said he would pay any price to protect her.
• Lanchi declared that romance was war and offered to train Xia Ya to survive deadly trials.
• Xia Ya accepted Lanchi as his instructor, while Sid questioned whether this was still a romantic comedy.

At the Snowfield Arena, Lanchi questioned Viscount Levin Kinston about Snowfield Province’s political deadlock and Professor Meiqi’s rise as Viscount Blake Boen’s candidate for governor. As the duel began, Xia Ya emerged looking like a blood-soaked, merciless warrior, leaving Levin stunned.

• Nobles and citizens gathered at the Snowfield Arena to watch Xia Ya duel Dean, while Viscount Blake Boen mocked Xia Ya’s chances and anticipated becoming governor.
• Viscount Levin Kinston apologized to Lanchi and Sid for their unpleasant arrival and explained that the Ghost Party’s growing influence had intensified the need for a governor.
• Levin told Lanchi that Professor Meiqi had used his academy credentials and connections to help Blake Boen build support among the province’s lords.
• Lanchi asked whether the lords had questioned Meiqi’s identity, and Levin said visitors from the imperial capital had confirmed parts of Meiqi’s story, making the lords afraid to oppose him.
• When the bells summoned the contestants, Xia Ya entered the arena in bloodstained armor, and Levin froze at the sight of his nephew.

Xia Ya appeared at the arena with a terrifying, battle-hardened aura, alarming Viscount Levin Kinston and the spectators. When his match against Dean Born began, Xia Ya abandoned an assassin’s hit-and-run tactics and charged straight into a savage fight, leaving the crowd to wonder whether he embodied the Demon King Army’s legendary ferocity.

• Xia Ya entered the arena in bloodstained armor, and Viscount Levin Kinston recognized that his murderous aura came from real battles rather than training.
• Dean Born mocked Xia Ya and expected his orthodox training and superior strength to ensure victory.
• As the match began, Xia Ya charged Dean directly instead of fighting like an assassin.
• Xia Ya fought as if he felt no pain and wanted only to kill Dean, while Dean became shaken and enraged by his opponent’s ferocity.
• The bloody battle stirred memories of the Demon King Army and the Holy War among spectators in the stands.

Viscount Levin Kinston watched Xia Ya fight Dean and learned that Lanchi’s brutal training had transformed Xia Ya without changing his heart or Mind Image. As Xia Ya healed behind his Barrier Umbrella, Dean lost control and threatened Lanchi from the arena.

• Viscount Levin Kinston asked Lanchi and Sid what had happened to Xia Ya, and Lanchi said he had trained him to protect the person he loved.
• Lanchi told the Viscount that Xia Ya could leave the academy and offered to recommend him to Helrom if he wanted to go with Lilith.
• Dean pressed his advantage and brought his sword down, but Xia Ya blocked it with the transparent Barrier Umbrella.
• Xia Ya used Purple Rare Erroneous Slow Heal Magic Cards to heal himself behind the barrier, alarming Dean.
• Dean spotted Lanchi in the stands, and Lanchi gave him an encouraging thumbs-up.
• Dean shouted that he would kill Lanchi too, even if he could not kill Xia Ya.

Xia Ya turned the tide against Dean in their arena duel, then defeated him with a series of punishing fist techniques after Dean threatened Lilith. The fight ended with Lilith recognizing Xia Ya, while Sid and Cat Boss reacted to the unexpectedly successful romance.

• Lanchi and Sid discussed Dean’s frustration with the battle as Xia Ya continued their second round in the arena.
• Xia Ya used his mobility and endurance to overwhelm Dean, while Viscount Blake Boen demanded that he fight head-on and Viscount Levin Kinston urged him to ignore the provocation.
• Dean threatened Xia Ya and Lilith, so Xia Ya dropped his blade and umbrella before countering Dean’s charge with a punch to the throat.
• Xia Ya used several named fist techniques to incapacitate Dean, ending with a kick that sent him tumbling through the air.
• Cat Boss worried that Lanchi had a card called Family Reunion, while Sid realized Xia Ya’s brutal training might frighten Lilith.
• Lilith blushed and recognized Xia Ya, leaving Sid and Cat Boss astonished that the romance had worked.

Lanchi exposed Professor Meiqi as an impostor and revealed Viscount Blake Boen’s collusion with the Ghost Party, then won the nobles’ support to become governor of Snowfield Province. As Lanchi departed with the nobles, Sid reassured Cat Boss that she had no romantic feelings for him.

• Viscount Blake Boen threatened Viscount Levin Kinston and demanded his support for Boen’s bid to become governor, while Lanchi began questioning Professor Meiqi’s identity.
• Lanchi showed the nobles a genuine Protos Royal Magic Academy admission brochure, and they found no mention of Meiqi.
• The nobles saw the name on the brochure’s last page, and Levin’s knights arrested Boen, Meiqi, and their guards using Lanchi’s evidence of Boen’s collusion with the Ghost Party.
• Lanchi gained the nobles’ support for his appointment as governor, and Levin and the others addressed him as Governor Luo Qi McCarthy.
• Sid told Cat Boss that she regarded Lanchi as a son rather than a romantic interest.

The Ice Witch gave Hughberlian a protective Pink Divine Card and advice before Hughberlian departed for the Protos Empire. When Hughberlian summoned Poet of Great Love, the two immediately quarreled, and the Ice Witch realized the card’s effect involved Rhythm Magic.

• The Ice Witch gave Hughberlian a Pink Divine Card and urged her to prioritize her safety in the Protos Empire.
• Hughberlian explained that Lanchi had lent her the Orange Epic card Poet of Great Love, which could summon itself.
• Poet of Great Love initially refused to appear, then materialized while hiding her face from the Ice Witch.
• Poet of Great Love and the Ice Witch traded insults until Hughberlian stepped between them and calmed them down.
• Poet of Great Love returned to her card, and the Ice Witch recognized that she had been affected by its Rhythm Magic.

Hughberlian prepared to infiltrate the Protos Empire and travel to Helrom to learn what had happened to Lanchi, now called Luo Qi. After saying farewell to the Ice Witch, she left the temple determined to face the dangers ahead and stay calm when she saw him.

• The Ice Witch told Hughberlian to watch the summoned creature and warned her that the Nirvana Branch, especially the Nirvana Holy Son, threatened her journey from the Northwest Province to Box Mountain Province.
• Hughberlian reassured the Ice Witch that she would run if danger arose and explained that a local city-state lord had helped provide her with an identity and protection.
• The Ice Witch noticed Hughberlian was worrying about Lanchi, encouraged her, and gave her a historical romance novel for the journey.
• The Ice Witch promised to arrange Hughberlian's return to the Southern Continent in a month or more, and Hughberlian thanked her and said goodbye.
• Hughberlian left the temple, resolved to enter the dangerous Protos Empire and remain calm when she met Lanchi.

Lanchi inspected Qinsidun City and urged Snowfield Province’s lords to coordinate ecological development and eliminate the Ghost Party. When they worried about handling the criminals after he left, he proposed using supervised prisoners for public work to make suppression more profitable.

• Lanchi met with Snowfield Province’s lords in Qinsidun City and laid out plans for development, ecological protection, and eliminating the Ghost Party.
• Lanchi told the lords he would soon leave for Northern Border Province before returning to Helrom for the Bishop Election.
• The lords asked Lanchi how they could deal with the Ghost Party after his departure, and he said their failure to act stemmed from disagreements over costs and benefits.
• Lanchi ordered the lords to issue a notice allowing supervised prisoners to work on public undertakings beyond prison walls.
• The lords realized that prisoner labor could generate substantial income for the province.

Lanchi convinced the lords of Snowfield Province to turn the crackdown on the Ghost Party into a prisoner labor and bounty system, with powerful criminals transferred to Helrom’s Underground Prison. The lords embraced the plan, while Lanchi reflected on his new governorship and an upcoming Helrom Broadcasting Company interview.

• Lanchi proposed using prisoners as laborers and offering bounties to motivate adventurers and mercenaries to pursue the Ghost Party.
• The lords asked about legal and operational risks, and Lanchi explained how the Upper House could delay objections and how powerful prisoners could be transferred to the Imperial Capital.
• Lanchi revealed that Warden Bakas would visit the school next month to discuss cooperation with Helrom’s Underground Prison, prompting the lords to eagerly support the scheme.
• Lanchi said he saw himself as a manager or merchant rather than a politician and mentioned that Helrom Broadcasting Company had invited him for an interview.
• The lords learned that Chloris Duke Berenhard was Lanchi’s student and grew even more reverent toward him.

Lanchi questioned Snowfield Province’s lords about the imperial investigation team and the mysterious refugees who had triggered fears of a disaster in the north. After hearing that Northern Border Province had supposedly been massacred, he resolved to investigate Askesang and uncover what was happening there.

• Lanchi asked the city-state lords what the imperial investigation team had told them after Professor Meiqi nearly infiltrated Snowfield Province’s leadership.
• Viscount Levin Kinston explained that an unidentified refugee in Boen City had warned of a terrible event in the north, then died by suicide after being hospitalized.
• The lords said similar refugees had appeared in other northern city-states, prompting an investigation led by Major General Fan Leiku, while northern travel and communications remained disrupted.
• Viscount Levin Kinston told Lanchi that the refugee had claimed Northern Border Province was massacred and turned into a Scarlet Land.
• Lanchi considered the danger ahead, suspected Nirvana Bishop Askesang was responsible, and vowed to expose the truth in Helrom.