Chapter 154 The "Smooth Sailing"

The ancient oak trees along the boulevard of the Y克力忒 (Yi Ke Li Te) Academy spread their thick canopies, and the light shining through the leaves cast shimmering patterns on the stone pavement.

Not far away, the towering Learning and Education Building stood, one of the academy's landmarks, always bustling with activity.

Ranchi, Hyperion, and their new companion were walking along such a path when they saw Loren suddenly appear.

Dean Loren's leather shoes made a slight scraping sound against the ground as he approached the three of them. All that could be heard was the students' laughter and the rustling of leaves in the breeze.

"Ranchi, Hyperion."

Dean Loren spoke, his eyes fixed on the two of them.

"Ranchi, what's going on with your competition with Adams?"

He didn't have time to worry about why Ranchi and Hyperion were mingling with a student from the Yarolan Kingdom.

It wasn't a big deal, as long as the two of them didn't throw someone else's student into jail, Loren didn't think it was a problem.

Ranchi and Hyperion exchanged glances, clearly not expecting to encounter the dean here.

"Dean Loren!"

Ranchi seemed as if he had been looking for him all along, quite happy to see Dean Loren suddenly appear out of nowhere.

"My friendly match with Adams is over. He chose the 'Despairing Bone-Chilling Cage' artificial shadow world, and I agreed."

Ranchi answered Loren's question first.

"It's over?"

Loren said in confusion, "It's over? Why is Adams still in the Seventh Courtyard?"

"...And why hasn't he been able to contact Juliana all day?"

"Adams is still in the shadow world..."

"Huh? You didn't win?"

"I lost."

Loren felt a chill down his spine.

He never expected Ranchi to lose.

There was only one possibility for this guy to lose so easily—

He never intended to win in the first place.

For a moment, Loren couldn't figure out what Ranchi was up to.

Loren quickly looked at Hyperion.

Hyperion was a rare normal person, she at least spoke more sensibly than Ranchi.

"Hyperion, tell me what's going on."

"..."

Hyperion glanced at Ranchi, then mumbled with pursed lips,

"Ranchi and Adams made a bet that if Ranchi won, Knight Commander Juliana would come and have a date with you."

"...A date?"

Loren was quite shocked when he heard this bet, but then breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, Ranchi didn't win!

But then he thought.

To get Juliana to agree to such a bizarre condition, what kind of price would there be if Ranchi lost?

Loren then looked at Hyperion again, waiting for her to finish speaking.

Hyperion fidgeted, tugging at the corner of her clothes for a long time without saying a word.

Loren began to feel nervous, feeling like he might be struck by lightning at any moment.

At this moment, Ranchi sensed Hyperion's embarrassment, took a slight step forward, and said,

"It's like this, if Adams wins, you don't have to pay any extra price, you just need to go with the flow. Then you can prepare for a date with Knight Commander Juliana."

"?"

Loren didn't understand what Ranchi meant.

How could there be such an unequal treaty?

And why would Juliana be dating him no matter what? What was going on?!

"Knight Commander Juliana agreed that as long as you apologize to her and gain her forgiveness, she will go on a date with you..."

Ranchi explained to Dean Loren.

As they were talking on the academy road, a commotion appeared at the entrance of a distant building, drawing their attention, followed by hurried footsteps.

A medical team wearing white uniforms with the Alchemist Institute's emblem walked quickly out of the Learning and Education Building, looking very professional.

They had been dispatched several times in recent days, this time was a hat trick.

What was even more shocking was the person they were carrying on a stretcher—Adams.

His once confident and cheerful face now looked extremely pale, having just experienced a great ordeal and was near death, his face covered with frost, as if he had been taken out of a freezer.

Loren's gaze was drawn to Adams, unable to shift.

"This..."

A mixture of disbelief and shock appeared on Loren's face, his eyes wide and his mouth open, unable to speak.

His head tilted back slightly, trying to find answers from the incredible scene in the distance.

As the stretcher passed by Loren and Ranchi,

Adams, who was still trembling on the stretcher, noticed Loren's horrified expression at this moment.

He quickly revealed a slight victorious smile as if he were having a moment of glory before death.

He had won a great victory!

He just wanted to see Loren's expression, this academic visit to the Hutton Kingdom was worth it!

However.

As the angle of the stretcher changed, Adams noticed Ranchi next to Loren, and Adams' eyes gradually froze again.

Ranchi's expression was full of vigor at this moment.

Completely different from Adams.

While Adams was suffering in prison, Ranchi must have had a wonderful day yesterday, eating well, drinking well, and getting a good night's sleep.

Adams' brain began to spin violently.

"Ran...Ranchi...could you be..."

His lips trembled, and he uttered a weak voice as the stretcher passed by Ranchi.

"..."

Ranchi pursed his lips, his expression of pity tinged with regret and complaint.

As if asking Adams why he didn't trust him, this was clearly a friendly match.

"Ranchi, you are..."

Finally, Adams tilted his head and turned away.

"..."

The road was silent.

Watching Adams being carried away.

Loren felt a lump in his throat.

Some things were beyond words, and he now understood what Ranchi meant by "smooth sailing."

He had no choice but to apologize to Juliana.

"Dean Loren, go happily on a date with Knight Commander Juliana. If you need help with matchmaking in the future, just come to me, I guarantee to help you settle your life's affairs!"

Ranchi put his hands in his pockets, sighed, and when he looked at Loren again, his smiling expression was like a little angel holding an arrow of love.

"..."

Looking at Ranchi, Loren's expression changed several times.

Being able to date Juliana.

It should be a dreamlike thing.

Loren had never thought he would have such an opportunity.

But why did he feel so sorrowful now?

His already rugged emotional road was likely to become a heavenly road after being personally operated on by Ranchi.

Finally.

Loren smiled.

It was a smile of tearful despair.

"I'm so stupid, really..."

Loren raised his dull eyes, shook his head, and couldn't say a coherent sentence.

The sunset has burned out...

(End of chapter)