Care

Evening.

Lianyi, Bailing, Shatuo, Reilo, and Jiahei sat on either side of the dining table, waiting for Gubo to return from work. The rich aroma of the sumptuous meal filled the air.

Shatuo looked at his junior disciple, who had just woken up.

On one hand, he felt guilty. His junior disciple had just completed his introductory studies under him, only to suffer such a severe injury. On the other hand, he was overjoyed that his junior disciple had fully recovered.

"Junior disciple, it's good that you're alright! Ever since news of a hidden wizard in the academy spread, the academy has been on lockdown these past few days. The arbiters sent by the Church have practically turned the academy upside down. The entire Grand Duchy is in a state of tension, and a large number of wanted criminals have been apprehended! The academy is in a panic now, and the instructors have been incredibly busy these days!"

Reilo had expected this, but upon hearing the word "arbiters," he couldn't help but stiffen.

"I've made senior brother worry."

Reilo replied softly.

"What are you saying! It's not just me; everyone was worried sick seeing you unconscious these past few days."

Shatuo flashed his signature honest smile, his white teeth contrasting sharply with his dark skin.

Remembering something, Reilo looked at his senior sister Bailing and said sheepishly, "Thank you for taking care of me these past few days, senior sister. I…"

"Hee hee!"

Bailing stuck out her tongue and giggled, "Junior disciple, it was Father who took care of you all these days. I wanted to look after you, but Father wouldn't entrust you to me, saying I'm clumsy and careless."

"Yes, your mentor, Gubo, doesn't seem like much usually, but he really cares about his disciples when it matters," Lianyi, the mistress of the house, said gently at the right moment. "You have no idea how worried he was when he brought you back. He spent a lot of effort on you until he was sure you wouldn't have any lingering issues before he started dealing with academy affairs."

Hearing that his usually stern mentor, Gubo, had cared for him so deeply while he was unconscious, Reilo's heart warmed instantly.

Jiahei rolled its eyes.

"Don't forget! It was me who spent the most time by your side while you were unconscious! It was me! I was the first person you saw when you opened your eyes! It was me, me, and me!"

"Ah! Thank you, Mr. Jiahei!"

Reilo quickly apologized.

The room fell silent for a moment, but Reilo couldn't stop his mind from racing about the Star Core that had fused with him.

If everything he saw while he was unconscious was true, did that mean that the humans in this world actually came from a world called Aurora?

Aurora!

The name of the Holy City of the Church was Aurora. This couldn't be a mere coincidence!

After the ancestors of this world accidentally fell into this world, they fought continuously with the Gulan Civilization. During this process, they annihilated some small tribal civilizations and liberated others, which also caused divisions within humanity.

The golden-armored warriors were the predecessors of the Church, wanting to spread the belief in becoming gods in this world. The six-pointed star warriors were the predecessors of the wizards, opposing the plan to spread the belief in becoming gods and were busily collecting resources, attempting to return to the world of Aurora?

The Star Core was the central device of that metal fortress. It recorded information about humanity's resource exploration on a corner of this world's continent in ancient times. At the same time, to return to the world of Aurora, one had to go through the Star Core and have the spaceship's communication device reach beyond the star curtain to contact the world of Aurora. Only then would it be possible?

In that case, were the wizards constantly slaughtering humans, even releasing the terrible Black Death, precisely because they opposed the Church's rule of faith, weakening the faith in the God of Light by killing believers?

"Senior brother, what is the Gulan Civilization?"

At the dinner table, Reilo suddenly asked.

Shatuo was taken aback. He seemed unable to recall any information about the Gulan Civilization for a moment. However, Lianyi, the mistress of the house, asked in surprise, "How do you know about this ancient civilization that disappeared ten thousand years ago?"

Ten thousand years ago!?

Just then, footsteps were heard from outside the door.

As if stimulated, Reilo and Shatuo instinctively sat up straight and looked towards the door.

The wooden door of the hall creaked open, and Gubo, looking haggard, entered. His black-rimmed glasses scanned the people at the table. Seeing Reilo's excited expression, he didn't react and walked over to the table to sit down.

"You're awake?"

"En."

Reilo replied softly.

Seeing Gubo's cold and calm demeanor, and recalling what Bailing and Lianyi had just said, Reilo knew that Gubo didn't want to express himself. He could only pretend not to know anything, as if the nine days he was unconscious were just a long sleep.

As expected, Gubo didn't mention Reilo's matter again and muttered to himself, "Those arbiters are getting more and more out of hand. They're demanding to search the Royal Scientific Laboratory for the academy's treasured hand scrolls. Hmph!"

Lianyi frowned slightly. "Did the academy agree?"

Shatuo, Bailing, and Reilo also showed concern upon hearing this. If the Church intended to oppress the academy, they could find ten thousand reasons.

"Of course not! The Royal Scientific Laboratory is one of the cornerstones of the Grand Duchy's royal authority, directly controlled by successive generations of royalty. Not even the Church can easily get their hands on it. The two sides are still in a stalemate. This is no longer something that can be resolved by me and those arbiters."

Lianyi, who was serving soup, was startled and murmured, "Could it even alarm the Pope?"

The Pope!

The pinnacle of human secular power, the direct representative of the God of Light on Earth. Even though in recent years, due to the rise of natural academies and mercenary associations supported by various Duchies, and several failed expeditions by the Church's crusades into the Night's Veil Land, the traditional forces had declined somewhat, no force dared to openly defy the Church's authority.

In the territories controlled by humans and surrounding alien races, any force that dared to openly resist the Church would be easily crushed and destroyed by this behemoth.

Gubo shook his head.

"That won't happen. After all, they are just remnants. Compared to the newly registered Pope forming a crusade to expedition the Night's Veil Land, this matter is neither big nor small. However, a Cardinal will inevitably come, and the royal authority will inevitably be suppressed to some extent. It depends on how those Royal Academician committee members choose to compromise."

"Sigh…"

Lianyi sighed.

Compared to the Church's influence, even though the major Duchy academies had developed in recent years, the scholars could only lower their heads and choose silence and compromise whenever they thought of the pioneer White Niven, who was burned to death by the Church for upholding the truth.

Half an hourglass later.

Dinner passed in silent, oppressive gloom.

From beginning to end, Gubo had not shown Reilo any concern.

However, compared to the past, Reilo had completely let go. Not only did he harbor no resentment, but he felt his mentor's inner feelings even more keenly. He vowed to work hard, to one day make his mentor as proud of him as he was of Wushuang!

"Mentor, Master's wife, junior sister, we'll be heading back then."

After dinner, Shatuo and Reilo stood up and bid farewell to Gubo, Lianyi, and Bailing.

Gubo, who had remained silent the entire time, suddenly looked up and glared at Reilo, saying, "Going back? Are you looking for death!"

Huh?

Reilo was bewildered. If not going back, then where?

Gubo snorted coldly, "I've already prepared a room for you on the second floor. You'll be staying here for the time being."

"Ah?"

Reilo exclaimed in disbelief and surprise, "Stay here?"

Bailing and Shatuo also looked astonished, unable to believe such words had come from their mentor, Gubo.