Although Veronica, the current Saintess of the Church of Light, had hurried toward the Magic Tower where the exchange meeting was being held, her exalted status meant that a squad of knights had to clear every road ahead of her and confirm it was safe before she could pass.
Thus, by the time she finally arrived at the Magic Tower, the preliminary debate had already officially ended.
"We deeply apologize for failing to get you here in time!"
Bernard, the white-robed bishop, and Reinhardt, the Tribunal's deputy director, bowed in apology together, fine beads of sweat forming on their foreheads.
Veronica stood at the entrance to the Magic Tower. Afternoon sunlight streamed through the high windows onto her platinum-blond hair, bathing it in a soft halo.
She still wore her trademark smile, her eyes narrowed:
"Please do not blame yourselves too much. This must all be Lady Seraphina's arrangement. Had I appeared in the examination room during the preliminary debate, I would only have caused a commotion and affected the students' performance. That would have defeated the purpose."
She paused, then continued:
"But ultimately, I came here to learn, so I intend to visit the grading room now and join the professors responsible for the preliminary debate in seeing whether any students are outstanding enough for me to learn from."
Bernard and Reinhardt exchanged a glance, then bowed their heads in assent.
Without any further delay, Veronica entered the Magic Tower with light steps, accompanied by her two sister bodyguards.
Only after her figure disappeared through the doorway did Bernard slowly straighten and ask Reinhardt quietly:
"Do you think... there really could be a student outstanding enough for Her Highness the Saintess to learn from?"
Reinhardt fell silent for a moment, then shook his head:
"Although students from over a