Zheng Qing had originally thought Old Yao's "stay behind" meant staying in the classroom. Instead, the professor on the podium spread his wide sleeves and gathered the two young wizards within them. After the world spun around them, Zheng Qing came back to his senses to find that the three of them had returned to the Dean's Office.
Inside the redwood bookcase, the row of tiny, shriveled demon heads were whispering into one another's ears. Noticing the boy's dazed gaze, they all bared their fangs and put on vicious expressions.
That ferocity quickly woke Zheng Qing up.
"Professor—"
The witch's pleasant complaint sounded by his ear. "If you were taking him back to the office, why did you hand it to me... making me waste a trip for nothing?"
As she spoke, she returned a notebook-shaped object wrapped in kraft paper to Old Yao's desk. At the same time, she turned back to glance at Zheng Qing, her eyes curved in a smile. "Forgot to tell you... congratulations, congratulations~"
Zheng Qing looked utterly bewildered.
The office's owner, biting down on his pipe, chuckled. "Ah, sorry, sorry... I'd originally planned to announce this at the Professor Joint Conference, but it seems I overestimated everyone's capacity for surprises, so I changed my mind at the last minute... After all, calmness is the essence of life. Too much drama is bad for the heart..."
As he rambled on with pointless nonsense, he picked up the notebook, tore away its kraft-paper wrapping, and revealed the dark-red matte leather beneath. From its appearance alone, it looked remarkably like the honorary certificates Zheng Qing had received in high school.
A commendation certificate for the Merlin Gold Medal?
That was the first thought that surfaced in his mind.
Then Old Yao stuffed the certificate into Zheng Qing's