The white bone china cup held tea shimmering with a golden halo, while the little bone china plate beside it held a scone sprinkled with a little rosewater.
In the Principal's Office at Cassell College, Lu Mingfei and Principal Angers drank afternoon tea across a broad desk.
Even if this is only our second meeting, this principal barely has any presence, Lu Mingfei silently grumbled.
And you're never around at the crucial moments. In a novel or anime, you'd definitely be the main villain.
Or a schemer who faked his death to escape.
"Like my office?" Seeing Lu Mingfei sitting in silence, the principal assumed he was admiring his taste, and a smug look spread across his face.
"Corruption." Lu Mingfei shook his head.
The smugness instantly vanished from Angers's face, replaced by embarrassment. "You can't say that. You have considerable influence now. An offhand remark from you could cause me a great deal of trouble..."
"Exempt me from exams," Lu Mingfei said flatly.
"Deal!"
"Speaking of which," Lu Mingfei voiced a question that had long been on his mind, "if the Four Great Monarchs die and the Twilight of the Gods is dealt with, what happens to our degrees? Once we've completed our greatest mission, will these organizations disband, or keep existing?"
"Before you, Cassell had another S-Rank, a fellow countryman of yours." The principal propped both elbows on the desk and leaned forward, looking at Lu Mingfei. "He researched precisely that question and wrote a research report over a million words long."
"I've never heard of him or seen that report," Lu Mingfei said in puzzlement. There were only so many S-Ranks, and a research report that fellow S-Rank countryman had poured his heart and soul into had to be highly valuable.
"He developed depression, and revised the