Chapter 1 Landri

As Landri followed Secretary Naira along the paths of the Sankt Krita Monastery, staff and students in academy uniforms streamed past him.

The plaza they walked through was always populated, with monastic pilgrims devoutly kneeling in prayer.

Groups of two or three students either sparred with swords or engaged in spirited discussions, youthful vigor shining on their faces.

Whenever Landri passed by, he could hear whispers behind him, seemingly speculating about his identity.

A young man who could be personally escorted by Secretary Naira must be someone special.

"It seems Mr. Landri is quite charming," Secretary Naira remarked to herself.

"Aren't these students curious about my identity?" Landri asked her.

Unlike her appearance, Naira, the headmaster's secretary, was a rather outgoing person. They had chatted quite a bit along the way and had become somewhat acquainted.

"Perhaps, but among the students who cast glances at you, only forty percent are male, while sixty percent are female. This suggests that some students are interested in you simply because you are a member of the opposite sex." Naira stated her analysis.

"...Come on, they just don't understand me yet." Landri shook his head.

He was no playboy. If Loren had a passive ability to attract women, then he must have a passive ability to repel them.

"Don't you get a lot of attention from women back home?" Secretary Naira asked.

"Most women keep a respectful distance from me, and even my colleagues maintain a polite distance. Perhaps after the students get to know me, they will see me in a more appropriate light." Landri replied seriously.

"Are there no women who are close to you?" Naira asked, suddenly understanding the professor's intangible aura of distance, though she couldn't quite pinpoint the reason for it.

"Well, there are a few, but aside from one normal one, the other two are the type who can't get married off." Landri said helplessly.

"..."

Talia wanted to speak, but held back.

Why did Landri think Hube wouldn't be able to get married? She didn't agree.

And besides her and Hube, who was the other one?

She had a feeling there was a mysterious woman she had never met.

As Talia pondered, Landri and Naira were approaching the vast area where the Main Chancery was located.

The lush lawn was like a soft velvet carpet, and the fallen red maple leaves transformed into patches of colorful gems, adorning the scene.

"These students will become the pillars of the Krita Empire in the future. I believe that with your careful guidance, they will be able to grow even better." Secretary Naira said, glancing back slightly. "It seems that Professor, you're quite popular with women. It just takes a girl with enough fate and destiny to approach you. Such people are often said to have the Mandate of Heaven."

Naira continued the previous topic as she led Landri through the quaint and elegant archway outside the Main Chancery's garden, revealing a wide-open view.

The garden was part of the Main Chancery's grounds, off-limits to non-faculty. In the center was a fountain, clear spring water ceaselessly gushing forth, creating a pleasant babbling sound. The water refracted colorful rays of light in the setting sun, occasionally revealing giant crystal flowers. The surrounding dense bushes resembled fire and glowing clouds.

"Miss Naira, do you understand divination?" Landri asked.

As far as Landri knew, Aptitude holders of the [Divination] attribute were the rarest among the thirty-one attributes, and these esoteric topics were usually only discussed by them.

"I have a bit of aptitude, but I can't become a diviner. True geniuses who can become diviners rarely do mundane clerical work, unless their personalities are too eccentric." Secretary Naira shook her head.

She was merely the headmaster's secretary who enjoyed reading. Fortunately, the Sankt Krita Monastery had countless ancient books, and her position allowed her to read them freely.

"But shouldn't someone with the Mandate of Heaven be more popular?" Landri thought for a moment and asked, puzzled.

Like Loren, for example.

"That's called a Fortunate Mandate of Heaven, but there's also a Calamitous Mandate of Heaven. In times of chaos, they would be a benevolent ruler and a tyrant, respectively." Secretary Naira explained.

"I see. But I don't want to be an emperor at all. I just want to sprint towards a life of leisure and freedom." Landri jokingly replied.

He didn't quite believe in these things.

"Perhaps the Krita Empire really needs a benevolent ruler now." Naira muttered almost inaudibly, then shook her head slightly, deciding not to continue the topic.

She led Landri through the garden to a quiet brown brick corridor.

Through the continuous colonnade, they could still see the garden until the scenery disappeared, and they gradually walked into the interior of the Main Chancery.

After a long while, Naira stopped in front of a sandalwood carved door.

She gently knocked on the door, the crisp sound echoing in the silent corridor.

"Headmaster Violet, the new Professor Landri has arrived."

Before she could finish knocking—

"Please come in."

A dignified yet gentle voice slowly drifted out.

Naira pushed open the heavy sandalwood door and gestured for Landri to enter.

"Thank you." Landri thanked Naira and stepped into the magnificent hall.

A faint fragrance filled the air, and bright light shone through the rose windows, casting shadows on the marble floor, forming a beautiful oil painting.

Sitting in front of the rose window, the woman behind the desk looked at Landri.

The setting sun streamed through the window lattice, casting a hazy halo on her fair cheeks.

"Welcome from afar. Thank you for taking on the important task of educating our children." The woman slowly rose and looked at the young man who had entered, smiling. "From now on, Sankt Krita Monastery will be your workplace."

Every movement she made was elegant and composed, surpassing any trained noblewoman, and exuded a natural dignity and dominance.

Landri noticed that Secretary Naira had not entered and was waiting outside the door, which was now closed.

Compared to Landri, Talia was even more nervous.

At first, she hadn't expected to meet such a high-ranking figure in the empire so soon after arriving in the Krita Empire.

Anyone who could sit in that position, besides their noble status, also possessed strength at the pinnacle of the empire, even among the Eighth Order experts, they were considered the best, comparable to a general in their demon realm.

Moreover, this woman, who looked to be around thirty years old, was exceptionally beautiful. She had a cascade of deep indigo hair that shimmered with a dark luster in the light. She was tall and graceful, wearing a well-tailored dark礼袍.

"I am Landri Washington, it is a pleasure to meet Your Excellency Violet." Landri gave her a slight bow.

"Professor Landri, truly a promising young talent. I was thinking that if you ran into trouble, I might need to contact the military. It seems you handled it yourself." Headmaster Violet's face bloomed with a brilliant smile as she returned Landri's greeting.

Her face was almost a work of art sculpted by the Creator, and her purple eyes were clear yet held a hint of storm, like the eyes of a predator.

"Thanks to Secretary Naira for her help." Landri replied modestly, not avoiding Violet's gaze.

"Hehe, that Nicholas of the Red Falcons isn't someone you can deal with just with Naira's help. But if the Empire's Special Operations Division doesn't give me face, I won't let those guys off easy either." Violet laughed, seemingly prepared to make trouble for the military.

"It's not necessary, there's no need for you to stand up for me." Landri felt that this headmaster was more assertive than he had imagined, with a domineering personality beneath her smiling face.

Violet looked at Landri again, as if her thoughts had returned from the military to Landri, and then smiled peacefully.

"Originally, based on what your sister said, I thought you would be more straightforward. I didn't expect you to be so skilled at handling things smoothly, which is a pleasant surprise." She sized up the young man with black hair and blue eyes in the office.

Upon hearing this—

"After all, people change." Landri immediately started sweating.

Although Landri still appeared calm on the surface, he was constantly questioning himself inside.

How did Landri have a sister?

And it sounded like she was studying at Sankt Krita Monastery.

What Landri had said on the train was that his parents were dead back home, and he didn't have any acquaintances in Brilda.

Could it be that Landri himself had a bad relationship with this sister? And didn't even want to acknowledge her existence?

"She's telling the truth." Talia reminded Landri in his mind.

The last time, Nicholas's words were all questions, not statements, so she couldn't judge their truthfulness. But Violet's words were declarative statements that could be judged as true or false, meeting the definition of a proposition.

This put Landri at ease.

He felt that Violet's statement did indicate that she was suspicious of him.

But not seriously, and not to the point of doing what Nicholas did for a moment of testing.

"But it's been several years since you siblings have seen each other, it's understandable that you'd be a bit estranged." Violet said, seeing Landri's expression, and gave a smile of understanding.

"It's been a long time indeed." Landri sighed, secretly breathing a sigh of relief in his heart.

With Talia's assistance, he was able to judge the truthfulness of Violet's words, and naturally answered accordingly.

It was just that this Landri guy seemed to have concealed a lot. Landri felt that he had to thoroughly investigate this person's past after returning today.

Previously, when he quickly transformed into Landri in the carriage, he had only briefly checked his luggage and confirmed his information, without enough time to delve deeper.

"Don't worry, even if she really tests you on the name of Landri's sister, I will do my best to read her mind for you, there will definitely be answers in there." Talia added in Landri's ear.

"..." Landri felt for the first time that Talia was actually so useful.

Talia: "..."

Forget it, she wouldn't argue with him for now, she would wait until later to have a good voice chat with him.

In Violet's office in the Main Chancery, Landri was still chatting with Violet.

Fortunately, Landri had not yet revealed any flaws, and Violet's suspicion did not seem to be directed at Landri, but rather she held a sense of suspicion required by her duties towards everyone.

"Why don't you take a day off tomorrow to familiarize yourself with the environment of Sankt Krita Monastery. Correspondingly, you may need to officially take office the day after tomorrow. Do you have any questions about our employment matters?" Violet looked at the clock and the sunset outside the window, seemingly feeling that it was getting late, and she had other official duties to attend to. Today's meeting was something she had made time for.

"No problem, I'll try not to cause Headmaster any trouble." Landri sighed, very understanding of the headmaster's busy official duties, especially since she also held other important positions in the empire.

"Very good, I look forward to you becoming a formal employee of our school. It's quite reassuring to deal with you." Violet nodded in satisfaction. Compared to those who liked to cause her trouble when they saw her, she preferred capable people who could help her solve problems. "In any case, the first month will be the probationary period. Only if you meet the assessment indicators can you become a formal professor at Sankt Krita Monastery."

"I'll do my best." Landri replied.

"You need to pay attention to the fact that there may be some difficult students in the school. You are only a few years older than them, and some guys won't easily be convinced by you. When I'm not in school, some noble students may be particularly arrogant, but you can ask your sister in advance. It may be easier to understand the students from a student's perspective." Violet reminded him.

"Please rest assured." Landri nodded.

He had extensive teaching experience.

Although the school rules did not allow teachers to easily touch students, Landri had already carried out the Youth Campus Prison project in the pilot scientific research in the North Continent.

After the students went to prison for a period of correction, their mental state clearly improved greatly when they returned to school, and their praise for him also greatly increased. It could be seen that the students were sincerely convinced.

"In addition, you should be aware that recently, as the empire's war against the Allied Forces has begun, religious groups within the empire have found an opportunity to start moving frequently. Their especially active location is the capital, Brilda, which has caused the capital's garrison headquarters a great headache. Once you discover any information about illegal religious groups in the school, please report it to the headmaster's office immediately." Violet stood by her desk, gently tapping the surface, her expression also becoming more solemn, with a hint of coldness.

The sky outside the rose window gradually darkened, and in the dim room, her purple eyes became brighter.

"Is it the Rebirth Church?" Landri felt the atmosphere change, and even the temperature in the headmaster's office, which had become somewhat dark at some point, was gradually decreasing. He could feel the coolness of the Brilda night.

Speaking of cults, the first thing Landri thought of was the Rebirth Church.

But it seemed that his answer caused Violet to be silent for a moment.

"...For now, we don't need to worry about the Rebirth Church for the time being. The emerging religious group I'm referring to is called the Silver Moon Restoration Society, which is more targeted at the empire's internal affairs and has a great potential for harm to the empire." She had just tested Landri slightly, but the other party subconsciously thought of the Rebirth Church, so it seemed that the new professor's suspicion was temporarily reduced a bit. "Of course, if you can grasp any information about the secret operations of the Rebirth Church, or any unspeakable information, you can also report it to me."

She said.

The bishops of the Rebirth Church in the South Continent were only temporarily in a cooperative relationship with the empire. In essence, their extreme threat could not be changed. No one knew when which branch of the Rebirth Church would suddenly tear up the cooperation agreement with the empire.

"The Silver Moon Restoration Society..." Landri had already heard this name today.

Nicholas of the Red Falcons seemed to be investigating them.

"They are trying to provoke public opinion, collect evidence of the wrongdoings of nobles, wealthy merchants, and politicians through unconventional means, and try to change the way the Krita Empire society operates through 'assassination,' a low-cost, high-return, and highly effective method." Violet said, looking at Professor Landri's gaze, which was normal for a borderlander just arriving in the capital.

Therefore, the empire could turn a blind eye to the strife between the noble faction and the civilian faction to a certain extent, but it absolutely could not tolerate the Silver Moon Restoration Society taking advantage of the full-scale war in the South Continent to continue to grow within the Krita Empire.

"Do you mean that there may be believers of the Silver Moon Restoration Society disguised as students who have infiltrated this school?" Landri asked, meeting Violet's gaze, speculating whether she had noticed anything.

"I'm afraid there are quite a few, and even many students have actively and secretly become members of the Silver Moon Restoration Society. This church is too good at bewitching people." Violet answered without concealment.

"I have extensive anti-cult experience. These cult members who bewitch the masses are really too much." Landri immediately pointed to the ground and said, his voice forceful and full of confidence.

"Then I'll wait and see." Violet hesitated for half a second and said, "As long as there are members of the Silver Moon Restoration Society, you can immediately hand them over to me for disposal."

At present, this black-haired, blue-eyed young man who had just arrived in the capital was not completely trustworthy, but there was not much to suspect him in the current exchange.

"Even if they are nobles, it's okay?" Landri asked.

He already knew about the unusual status of nobles in the Krita Empire.

"I will not condone anyone who tries to harm the empire." Violet's slightly raised lips revealed a hint of pride and coldness as she stared at the new professor.

"Me neither." Landri replied.

"?"

Talia originally thought that Landri would say something like "I understand," but she didn't expect him to say this.

Wasn't he really ashamed, Lan Lan?

What right did he have to say that?