The afternoon sunlight streamed through the tea room’s floor-to-ceiling windows, casting warm patches of light on the wooden floorboards.
The air carried the aroma of red tea, mingling with the faint floral scent drifting in from the garden outside. The entire space was immersed in a tranquil and comfortable atmosphere.
“Hm? Lele, what’s wrong?”
Akira Landon snapped back to reality and saw Luofulei staring intently at her teacup.
“…Nothing.”
“By the way, why does Miss Li An think you abandoned her?”
Akira Landon’s face held a faint smile.
“Like I said, I don’t need those people to understand me.”
Luofulei finally came back to her senses, setting down the teacup she was holding. Her fingertips traced slowly across the cup’s rim before she withdrew them. Her eyes returned to their usual calm, indifferent expression.
“But she seems really worried about you.”
Akira Landon nodded.
“Worried?”
The corner of Luofulei’s mouth lifted slightly, and her blue hair swayed with the movement.
“She’s probably been deceived by those people from the Lei-yadon Family again.”
“Huh?”
Akira Landon raised his gaze, curiosity flickering in his eyes.
This was the first time he’d heard such a claim.
He only knew from the original story that Luofulei had been expelled from the Lei-yadon Family because her magic talent was too poor.
He’d never really looked into the reasons behind it.
After all, the game story only focused on the world after Luofulei’s many reincarnations.
Her first life wasn’t given much detail, and players were too busy having fun later on to care. So he had no way of knowing.
‘Now this is interesting.’
‘Lele… is she just too disappointed in Li An?’
“Then why don’t you just explain it to her directly? If there’s a misunderstanding, you two can work it out.”
Akira Landon said with a light smile.
Luofulei fell silent.
The light in the tea room shifted slowly, landing on her blue hair and giving it a cold, metallic sheen.
“Some things can never be resolved.”
Luofulei bit her lip and gently shook her head.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t tried. But her foolish sister had disappointed her time and time again.
Too many disappointments.
Naturally… she no longer held any expectations.
Akira Landon stared straight at Luofulei.
Thinking about the relationship between the two sisters, a brilliant idea suddenly sprouted in his mind.
‘Maybe trying to repair their relationship… would be a very good approach.’
For that, they needed a common enemy.
Clearly, Li An had been brainwashed by the Lei-yadon Family, and that was where the rift in their relationship began.
“Speaking of which, school starts tomorrow. Lele, would you like to form a team with me?”
Akira Landon abruptly changed the subject, smiling.
“Challenge a secret realm?”
Luofulei looked up lightly.
“Yeah.”
Akira Landon nodded.
The secret realms in this world were formed from extraordinary tales scattered across the land. Adventurers had to register to challenge them.
These secret realms generally had their own stories—myths, historical legends, fairy tales that had become mysteries, or events transformed from the experiences of legendary figures, or ancient tales passed down through the ages.
Challenging these secret realms allowed challengers to extract power from the corresponding events, which was the main method for rank advancement.
Though it sounded absurd, it wasn’t actually that complicated. As long as the challenger fulfilled the corresponding conditions, it counted as a clear.
The secret realm during the entrance examination was a good example. It was merely a simulated dungeon—a replica of a secret realm’s appearance. Like the second exam, which simulated the Kingdom of Bei Long’s infamous cultist kidnapping of the Holy Maiden, meant to ensure people remembered the Holy Maiden’s achievements.
The academy had many such magical devices installed in various locations, like steel beasts. Once authorized, students could control and operate these magic instruments to conjure whatever secret realm they desired.
The purpose was to give them a preliminary experience of what a real secret realm was like, so they wouldn’t get weak-kneed when actually challenging one.
These secret realms were like Demon Kings, inviting people to provoke and conquer them.
And with Demon Kings to conquer, challengers kept coming endlessly.
That’s why senior students often formed their own teams to challenge secret realms outside the academy.
Every year, top-scoring students in the exams became prime targets for these seniors, so recruiting outstanding new students was an annual tradition that couldn’t be missed.
Among these teams, some were newly established in recent years, while others had been around for ages.
Although most of these teams had their own rules and special regulations, and were led by those noble fourth-year students, they generally relaxed requirements for new students.
“Sigh, those teams probably have high standards. I don’t know if I can get in.”
Akira Landon let out a soft sigh.
“Didn’t you score very high on the entrance exam?”
Luofulei asked without changing her expression.
Based on Akira Landon’s entrance exam results, he shouldn’t be in danger of being teamless.
“That’s true, but this world is too unfriendly to Magic Engineers.”
Akira Landon shook his head.
‘This world is too unkind to good people like me.’
‘When will people change their stereotypes about Magic Engineers?’
“Is that so?”
Seeing Akira Landon’s troubled expression, she hesitated for a moment.
A Magic Engineer with only support abilities really wouldn’t be highly valued by those teams. The more a team cared about promotion and future prospects, the more true this was.
For support, there were the Sage Institute’s healing mages as substitutes. For control and damage, the Sage Institute’s Holy Knights could handle that.
As for all sorts of clever gadgets, there were the various potions crafted by those from the Alchemy Council.
So a Magic Engineer’s position within a team was actually quite awkward. Outside of a team, however, their role was undeniably the strongest.
Crafting various magic instruments, simulating secret realms… there were too many places where Magic Engineers left their mark.
Magic Engineers were like masters of miracles, leaving many conveniences in this world.
Of course…
She looked up at Akira Landon.
He was propping his chin up with a worried look, as if he genuinely feared he wouldn’t find a team.
To be honest, she didn’t think Akira Landon would have trouble finding a team.
At least… his ability to annoy people was still quite strong.
After thinking it over, she finally spoke slowly:
“If you want to form a team, then come find me.”
“…That’s great. Thank you, Lele.”
Akira Landon’s smile was as warm as sunlight.
“‘That’s great’… huh?”
Luofulei lowered her head, lost in thought again.
“Oh, right. Like you said last time, let’s go to that Southern Restaurant again…”
Akira Landon suddenly remembered something and said with a smile.
“Yeah…”
Hearing this, Luofulei looked at the teacup in her hand, and ripples once again stirred in her blue eyes.
—
By the time Akira Landon said goodbye to Luofulei and returned from the stone path outside the restaurant to the dormitory, the sunlight had dyed the entire academy a warm orange. The dappled tree shadows fell upon him like some kind of silent blessing.