Hah...
The academy was bustling with activity, yet the laboratory near noon was almost eerily quiet.
"Professor Lisha and Kalaodola don't look alike."
Faced with Fu Qian's abrupt question, Cas seemed momentarily unable to follow his train of thought. After a faintly amused pause, he pointed out the flaw in Fu Qian's question.
"They really don't."
Taking his superior's comment in stride, Professor Fu showed no sign of awkwardness.
"I once had a brief conversation with that respected senior in an unreal place, much like a dream. I have to say, when it came to academic temperament, Professor Lisha fell far short."
Under Cas's gaze, Fu Qian looked up at the ceiling, as if lost in a distant memory.
"A wise and serious lady, whose temperament didn't really suit the Apocalypse... At the end of our conversation, she asked me what she was like in the future.
"And I told her she was still in the Apocalypse, and that she'd helped everyone a great deal."
Ignoring Cas's reaction, Fu Qian simply recalled that moment in the underwater prison, along with the words he'd spoken back then.
"Professor Kalaodola didn't ask anything further. She seemed satisfied to remain in the Apocalypse in any form. But the moment I answered, I couldn't help wondering: in what state had she remained in the Apocalypse?
"The answer seemed obvious, of course. The place was hidden, the security was tight, and a professional instructor was keeping watch—though that instructor was a little different from the others... And so, at the time, a strange thought crossed my mind."
At last, his recollection complete, Fu Qian looked at Cas's unchanged expression.
"Judging by your reaction just now, it seems their relationship really isn't that simple.
"Has Lisha never taken the thing around her neck off?"
"What