“Students.”
After she finished speaking, the sound of her footsteps gradually faded away.
Lynn breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as though he had just returned from the brink of death.
He stayed in the restroom for a long time, only dragging his feet out when the bell for class finally rang.
He did not want to go back to the classroom.
The mere thought of facing those two powerhouses at the same time made his scalp tingle.
But he had nowhere else to go.
Lynn walked back to the classroom door dejectedly.
When he peeked inside, he was nearly scared out of his wits.
Alicia had not left.
She was actually standing on the podium, having replaced Mentor Borg.
With a standard, saintly smile on her face, she addressed all the students below.
“…Therefore, to celebrate the Son of God’s return to the Academy, and to better ensure his safety and purity, from this day forward, I will be staying at the Academy temporarily as a ‘Special Guest Instructor’ to oversee your studies and conduct.”
The classroom was deathly silent.
Every student kept their head down, not daring to look at her.
Vivian was sitting right next to Lynn’s spot.
She had somehow dragged another chair over from somewhere else.
With her arms crossed and her legs hooked over each other, she stared coldly at Alicia on the podium.
The gazes of the two women met in midair, sparking invisible flames.
The center of their battlefield was Lynn’s desk, which had been split in two.
Standing at the doorway, Lynn found himself unable to move forward or retreat.
He was like the filling in a sandwich, liable to be crushed into paste at any moment.
“Student Lynn, why are you standing at the door?”
Alicia noticed him from the podium and asked gently.
In an instant, everyone’s eyes were fixed on Lynn.
Steeling himself, Lynn walked inside.
He stopped in front of his ruined desk, unsure of what to do.
“Sit.”
Vivian patted the chair beside her, her words short and to the point.
Lynn glanced at her, then up at Alicia on the podium.
His neck seemed to throb with a faint ache again.
He did not dare to sit down.
“My Ritual requires silence,” Lynn said, once again resorting to his mystical nonsense.
He pointed at the split desk with a look of deep sorrow.
“The ‘energy’ here has been defiled by violence. It is no longer suitable for my meditation.”
He needed to change seats—to a spot as far away from Vivian and Alicia as possible.
“I failed to consider that.”
Alicia nodded immediately.
She pointed to an empty seat in the very last row of the classroom.
“That corner is the quietest and cleanest. No one will disturb you there; it is the most suitable place for you.”
Vivian let out a cold snort but did not object.
Lynn let out a breath and quickly grabbed his bag, scurrying over to sit in that corner.
This position was excellent; he was well beyond the blast radius of both nuclear sources.
He could finally catch his breath.
However, before he could even get comfortable, Vivian suddenly stood up.
Carrying her greatsword over one shoulder, she strode toward the back of the classroom under the watchful eyes of everyone present.
Then, she plopped down into the empty seat right next to Lynn.
“It really is quiet here.”
She turned her head and grinned at Lynn.
“Perfect for whispering.”
Lynn’s body stiffened instantly.
The cross around his neck began to emit a dangerous heat once more.
On the podium, the smile on Alicia’s face vanished.
“Student Vivian.”
Her voice turned cold.
“Please return to your seat. Do not disturb Student Lynn’s Ritual.”
“Ritual?”
Vivian sneered.
“I think he’s just too cowardly. I’m staying here to protect him, just in case he gets haunted by some foul ‘ghost’.”
The “ghost” she was referring to was clearly Alicia.
Sitting between the two of them, Lynn felt as if his left side was the Antarctic and his right was the equator.
He felt like he was being torn apart by the opposing atmospheres of ice and fire.
Survival in the cracks was truly too difficult.
Lynn felt like a piece of scrap metal caught between two magnets, unable to move an inch.
On his left was Vivian’s unabashed, burning gaze, and on his right was Alicia’s look—radiating holy light, yet piercingly cold.
The cross on his neck began to heat up again.
**[Alicia’s Blackening Value: 87%]**
**[Vivian’s Blackening Value: 85%]**
The values hadn’t skyrocketed, but they were staying at a high level, keeping Lynn’s heart hanging in his throat.
“Cough, cough!”
Mentor Borg could finally watch no longer.
He coughed heavily, attempting to pull everyone’s attention back to the lesson.
“Class is starting! Today, we will discuss the weaknesses of magical beasts and…”
Under the invisible pressure of the two powerhouses, his voice sounded somewhat lacking in confidence.
Vivian ignored him completely.
She simply watched Lynn with great interest, her fingers tapping rhythmically on the desk.
Her greatsword leaned against her leg, the gemstone on the hilt shimmering.
Alicia sat quietly in a temporary chair beside the podium, flipping through a thick Holy Scripture.
Her lips moved as she recited something, but Lynn could feel that more than half of her attention was focused on his side.
How was he supposed to learn anything?
Lynn sat on pins and needles.
He didn’t hear a single word Mentor Borg said.
He only hoped the bell would ring soon.
Every minute and every second felt incredibly long.
After finally enduring until the end of class, Mentor Borg announced the end of the session as if he were fleeing and was the first to rush out of the classroom.
Lynn was about to slip away too, but Vivian grabbed his wrist.
“Let’s go eat.”
Her tone left no room for argument.
Before Lynn could speak, Alicia’s voice floated over as well.
“Lord Lynn, I have already prepared a pure lunch for you. I will be waiting for you in the holy prayer room.”
Here we go again.
Lynn looked at Vivian’s tight grip on his hand, then at Alicia blocking the door.
His head began to throb.
“Actually… I don’t have much of an appetite today. I want to go back to the dormitory and rest,” he tried to break free.
Vivian gripped even tighter, her strength astonishing.
“You have to eat even if you don’t have an appetite. You’re too thin.”
Alicia also walked over.
“You need to replenish your holy energy. Ordinary food cannot satisfy your needs.”
Just as Lynn was falling into despair, a person wearing the Academy uniform—looking like a Student Union Officer—ran over, panting for breath.
“Student Lynn! There’s… there’s a letter for you! It was sent urgently from outside the Royal Capital!”
“A letter?”
“Lynn paused.”
Although this world had magical communications, traditional letters were still in use, especially for long distances or content that required confidentiality.
“Who would write to him? “
“And so urgently?”
Vivian and Alicia both paused their movements.
“Give me the letter.”
Vivian reached out.
“I’ll take it.”
Alicia also extended her hand.
“I will check it for any foul curses for Lord Lynn.”
“It’s my letter; I’ll take it myself.”
Lynn quickly snatched the envelope from the officer’s hand and gripped it tightly.
It was a very thin envelope.
There was no sender’s name or address on it, only a strange wax seal that looked like both a floral pattern and a rune.
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