“Hey! I remember you, little one.”
The moment Luther saw the small head peeking through the door of the News Club office, he recognized her instantly.
“Your name is Lan Fengling, right?”
“Eek!”
The girl who had been hiding at the door shuddered at the sound of her name.
Her tiny head vanished in a flash.
A moment later, it peeked out again, her vivid pink hair bobbing in and out of Luther’s line of sight.
Amused, Luther propped both feet up on the desk, slouched into his chair, and waited to see when the girl would finally work up the courage to step inside.
He was familiar with this pink-haired girl.
Lan Fengling, a first-year student newly admitted this year, from the School of Magic Arts.
Though “familiar” might be too strong a word—it was more accurate to say he had learned about her through Sheffil.
Lately, while wandering around campus… collecting material, as he liked to call it, Luther often saw Sheffil taking this little girl around with him.
Curious, he brought it up while drinking with Sheffil one night, asking if Sheffil had developed a newfound interest in metallurgy or minerals.
The answer, unsurprisingly, was that it was all for that childhood friend of his.
Luther still didn’t quite understand why Sheffil went to such lengths for her, but as a responsible journalist, he had done his due diligence and gathered some basic information on the girl.
You never knew when it might come in handy.
Thinking this, Luther lazily lifted his gaze to the door, watching the timid figure with interest.
She reminded him of how Lise had looked when she first joined the News Club—shy, hesitant, unsure of herself.
Just as Sheffil had said, she really was a girl with little confidence.
Then, as if she’d finally mustered enough courage, the girl visibly trembled and stepped fully into view.
The uniform hugged her petite figure, hinting at beauty just beginning to blossom.
Her long pink hair framed a delicate face, and her crimson eyes shimmered with uncertainty.
Though still immature, the shape of her brows and eyes suggested that she would one day grow into a stunning beauty.
But to Luther, she was still just a little girl—completely outside his range of interest.
“Um…”
Clutching her wrist, Lan Fengling slowly stepped forward and spoke in a small, hesitant voice.
If Luther didn’t have such sharp hearing, he might’ve missed it—even with her standing right in front of his desk.
“I came to see Lise Glass. Have you… seen her?”
“Little Lise?”
Luther put his feet down, unfazed by the mention of her name.
He didn’t know what relationship Lise had with Lan Fengling, but as fellow first-years, it wasn’t surprising they might know each other.
And for such a shy girl to come all the way to the News Club office?
The most plausible reason was to look for a friend—something he’d already expected.
“Yeah, I just sent her out for some club activities. She’s probably out gathering material now.”
Luther rested his elbow on the desk, cheek in hand, and asked lazily, “Why are you looking for one of our members?”
“You sent her out, so that means… ah, you’re the Luther-senpai Lise mentioned?”
Lan Fengling blinked in surprise, then suddenly cried out dramatically.
Her expression shifted, her eyes filling with complicated emotion as she looked at him.
“My, my! Who would’ve thought little Lise would talk about me in private? Hmph! I knew it—she always acts so rude, but that’s just classic tsundere behavior. Deep down, she must care about me—”
The previously bored Luther sprang to life, his eyes sparkling like some ultimate light-based spell.
He began pacing the small clubroom, muttering to himself with a giddy energy that made him look more like a doting father scorned by his daughter than a senior in a school club.
As for Lan Fengling, who stood there awkwardly—she really couldn’t bear it anymore.
The truth was, Lise had only mentioned her mentor once, and that too while angrily complaining that he made her pay for a drink while out gathering material.
There was no way she could say that now.
“Hmph, I’ll definitely have a good talk with little Lise later!”
Luther finally calmed down, smiling broadly as he addressed the nervous girl still standing there.
“So, why are you looking for her? If it’s something I can help with, I’d be happy to.”
“Really?!”
Lan Fengling beamed in delight—far beyond what Luther had expected.
In truth, she hadn’t come just to see Lise.
She’d come for him—the notoriously infamous vice president of the News Club.
“Then… please take a look at this.”
The petite girl hurried forward, pulling two small, precisely folded slips of paper from her pocket.
She unfolded them one layer at a time, revealing the past two issues of the academy newspaper.
“About Sheffil-ge… I mean, Sheffil-senpai and Jianle-senpai—is what the paper said really true?”
“And that other one, Miss Tianxia or whatever—does that story involving her and Sheffil-senpai actually have any proof behind it?”
Her voice quickened as she spoke, gaining momentum with every word.
It was almost as if a tangible darkness was swirling around her, steadily closing in on the now-frozen Luther.
An inexplicable chill shot up from the soles of his feet and slammed into his face.
Under the pink-haired girl’s intense stare, goosebumps exploded across his skin.
“If it’s false—or even if it’s not completely certain—then please—”
Her smile widened unnaturally as she slowly opened her coat.
Danger!
Luther’s eyes went wide.
A terrifying instinct screamed at him—this girl was more dangerous than a horde of abyssal beasts ten thousand strong.
As her uniform shifted, Luther saw them—blood-red rune scrolls strapped around her slender waist.
Her graceful form had become the deadliest of weapons.
He knew what those were: Bloodburst Rune Scrolls.
Each one held destructive power equivalent to at least a sixth-tier explosive spell.
“Could you kindly help clarify the truth… about Sheffil-ge?”
The pink-haired girl curved her lips into a dangerously sweet smile.
Her gaze—now half-hidden by her long bangs—glinted with a pressure that pierced like a blade.
“Luther-senpai?” she asked softly.
The chapter 23 is missing
Fixed~