Chapter 34

Lu Mingfei dragged his bandage-wrapped body along like a walking mummy, inching his way back to his dormitory—Room 303 in District 1, the place Fingal called a "doghouse"—beneath the lazy afternoon sunlight of Cassel College.

The moment he pushed open the door, a "Fingal smell" hit him in the face: a mixture of day-old pizza, instant coffee powder, and some suspiciously fermented stench.

Lu Mingfei instinctively held his breath. This smell was even worse than the Demi-Human Cave, for crying out loud!

Out of habit, he tensed his muscles and loosely clenched his right hand.

Only then did he realize there were no Godrick Soldiers here, no Beastmen of Farum Azula—just a useless senior brother who was probably still lost in a sweet dream.

"Damn it..."

he muttered under his breath.

He had spent too long in the Lands Between. It would take Lu Mingfei some time to readjust to this peaceful, harmonious life.

Yet the expected sight of Fingal sprawled across his bed, snoring like thunder, never appeared.

The dorm room was strangely... tidy?

Of course, that was by Fingal's standards. At least there were no scattered chip bags or empty beer cans on the floor, and the mountain of takeout containers on the desk had vanished, revealing the long-forgotten natural wood surface beneath. What made Lu Mingfei's pupils quake even more was that someone... who actually looked somewhat presentable was sitting upright on his tiny single dorm bed.

Mr. Fingal von Frings had shed his usual homeless-looking slovenliness. His greasy blond hair had clearly been washed and combed with brute force, and even had hair wax in it, barely maintaining a slicked-back "successful man" hairstyle.

He wore a brand-new shirt beneath a crisp suit vest, along with dress pants ironed so sharply their creases could have cut someone.

He had even shaved, a rare occurrence, revealing a face whose once-handsome contours could vaguely be seen beneath all that decay.

This newly refreshed Senior Brother Fingal sat elegantly on the edge of Lu Mingfei's bed in a posture that said "I've been expecting you," holding a steaming cup of... instant coffee?

A thick hardcover copy of Introduction to Dragon Genealogy lay open across his knees. He gazed "profoundly" out the window, like a philosopher contemplating humanity's future.

Lu Mingfei froze in the doorway, his two exposed eyes bulging beneath the bandages. He nearly thought he had opened the door wrong, or walked into the wrong dorm and barged straight into some aristocratic elite's private study.

He rubbed his eyes subconsciously, confirming that the creature before him really was Fingal.

"Uh..."

An incomprehensible sound came from Lu Mingfei's throat.

As though he had only just been startled awake by the door opening, Fingal slowly turned his head. A carefully rehearsed "delighted" smile appeared on his face, blending surprise, concern, and just the right amount of reserve.

"Ah! My dear Junior Brother Lu! You've finally returned in triumph!"

Fingal set down his coffee, rose dramatically, and spread his arms as if to embrace him.

"The college's rising star! The Secret Party's dragon-slaying hero! The most dazzling S-Rank in Cassel's history! Let me see—are you badly hurt? I heard you were peerlessly brave, charging alone into the dragon's den and fighting the Dragon King Norton for three hundred rounds before finally cutting him down... Oh no, beneath the river!

"You're the modern-day Beowulf, Siegfried!"

Lu Mingfei's mouth twitched, and even his bandages trembled along with it.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Tch! Junior Brother, what kind of thing is that to say?"

Fingal pursed his lips in displeasure, trying hard to maintain his elegant bearing as he reached up to adjust the collar button that was squeezing the breath out of him.

"As your roommate, fellow disciple under the same mentor, and senior brother as close to you as flesh and blood, shouldn't I welcome you back from serious injury with the fullest enthusiasm, the neatest appearance, and the most... uh, academic attitude?"

Lu Mingfei rolled his eyes.

"You even unwrapped that third edition of Introduction to Dragon Genealogy that you hadn't even taken out of its plastic seal just for this? Senior Brother, do you think I don't know you?

"Spit it out already!"

The "elegant" mask on Fingal's face instantly collapsed halfway. He flopped back onto the bed in defeat, the movement so forceful that his crisp dress pants let out a strained groan.

He irritably tugged at his collar.

"Fuck! This is suffocating me! Junior Brother, you have no idea! This time, you really blew the roof off!"

Fingal leaned closer to Lu Mingfei and lowered his voice mysteriously.

"While you were in the hospital these past few days, the whole college went insane! The forum post titled 'S-Rank freshman Lu Mingfei solo-kills First-Generation Species Dragon King Norton!' has been pinned for seven days and seven nights straight!"

Lu Mingfei looked up at the ceiling.

He could figure out who had made that post without even using his brain.

As head of the News Department, Fingal had informants all over the college.

No, with so many Student Union members aboard the Moniach, it would have been stranger if he had no informants.

So this was what you called sealing off the news? This was what you called protecting me?

Your Board of Trustees and Secret Party couldn't even stop a single Fingal! The news must already be flying all over the world, printed in every Mixed-Blood gossip tabloid out there!

But what did that have to do with Fingal...

Then Lu Mingfei suddenly came to his senses.

"What are you selling this time? Photos? Autographs? Or something even more outrageous?"

Fingal awkwardly turned his head away, his eyes darting back and forth between the dormitory ceiling and floor.

"You haven't already..."

Lu Mingfei narrowed his eyes, danger creeping into his voice.

"Sold them, have you?"

"One hundred photo books, five hundred signed photos..."

Fingal paused, lowering his head somewhat sheepishly.

"And twenty pieces of intimate clothing worn by an S-Rank."

The air in the dorm instantly froze.

Lu Mingfei's expression was like someone who had opened a Mimic chest. It took only 0.1 seconds for shock to turn into fury.

"I. WILL. KILL. YOU!"

Lu Mingfei lunged at him like an enraged lion, both hands clamping tightly around Fingal's neck as though he would not rest until Fingal was dead.

"No! No!"

Fingal's face turned red like a boiled crab.

"Preorders! They're preorders, Junior Brother!"

Lu Mingfei loosened his grip slightly, but his hands remained clamped around Fingal's neck like iron pincers.

"How much did you take?"

Fingal answered,

"Five hundred dollars per photo book, seventy dollars per signed photo, and... two thousand dollars per piece of clothing. So far, I've collected twenty percent deposits."

"What?!!"

Lu Mingfei's voice suddenly rose, making the window glass tremble.

"You profiteering bastard! No..."

He suddenly realized an even more terrifying problem.

"People actually bought them at those ridiculous prices?!"

Fingal shook his head, an expression of heartfelt sorrow appearing on his face.

"Junior Brother, you still underestimate your own market value."

He counted on his fingers.

"I was worried the prices were too high, so I deliberately made them limited editions. But everything sold out in less than ten seconds after going up. Now, your signed photos are being scalped for three thousand dollars each on the forum."

A strange atmosphere filled the dorm room.