"It really is in Milt, huh... Got it."

"What do you mean, 'got it'?" Johannes sat cross-legged on the bed, his hands clasping the communication spell, his face full of despair. "Can you at least pretend to be surprised? With the way things are going, are you planning to take on an Angel, a Silver War Maiden, and a Holy Rank headmaster all at once? Your Excellency, are you intending to fight three against one?"

Karina, standing against the wall, had a similarly serious expression. Ignoring how the Angel was subdued was no longer their biggest problem; the difficulty level of the mission was off the charts.

Heinrich's plan was to weaken Tyrant as much as possible, even going so far as to kill him if necessary—but the task itself was already difficult enough.

Looking at the data on paper, the Church side had a high-ranking knight, a high-ranking Theurg, and a judge whose strength was temporarily unclear but had a record of killing a level nine knight. At first glance, they seemed formidable, but unfortunately, their opponents were even more astonishing.

It's not like the country's army is incompetent against the communist army because the latter has mobile suits!

In a face-to-face battle, they would probably end up being overwhelmed by the enemy three to one.

However, Vela's voice remained cheerful, seemingly unaffected by Johannes's anxiety.

"Don't you think this is interesting?"

"Not really." Johannes was not sympathetic.

"Hey... As expected of the Pope's disciple, your answer is just as boring." Vela deliberately dragged out her words to express her sigh, then her tone became cunning. "Anyway, you don't have to worry. I am the executive in charge, and you just have to follow my orders."

"Fine... But let me ask, you're not planning to use us as cannon fodder, are you?"

"Rest assured, it's a normal mission. Next... We should have a few more days to investigate the outskirts of the academy city, mark down locations that can accommodate a certain number... about twenty to thirty people. I mean real hiding places that are difficult for the academy city officials to find, not inns and the like that would easily be discovered."

"That's no problem." Johannes nodded. Although he had never done this kind of scouting work before, the outskirts of the academy city were not as large as the capital or provincial capitals, and there would not be too many hiding places that could accommodate a group of twenty or thirty people.

"But why do we need to find these places? Are there reinforcements?"

"Hehe, you'll find out when the time comes." Vela's voice gradually became quieter. "By the way, there's one more thing. Do you have the Divine Punishment Scriptures with you?"

"Yes." Theurg answered subconsciously, feeling a little puzzled. Before they set off, the Archbishop specially gave him one of the Church's sacred treasures, the forbidden spellbook of divine magic. It was rare even to touch it.

"That's good."

...

The night passed quickly, at least for Aya.

—Of course, it was pointless to say that. She stayed awake until past three in the morning, waiting for Kohaku to come back. She yawned after finishing her morning routine, and Tiran pushed her from behind as they walked down the street towards the castle on the island in the middle of the lake, where the academy was located.

She had been living according to human sleep patterns for too long. Even if her body didn't feel tired at all, her subconscious would tell her that she was still sleepy.

If she continued like this, would she have to spend extra time readjusting herself after a few months of regaining her freedom?

As Aya stumbled along, her mind was also in a mess.

"Seriously... Why do I have to wake up so early? I'm so tired... By the way, you promised me that I would be free to move around the city, but now you're going back on your word!" she complained.

It seemed that Aya wasn't the only one lacking energy. Little Angel beside her was also dejected, but when the topic of being forcefully recalled came up, she became even more depressed.

The princess's face turned dark as she leaned out from behind Aya and stared at Little Angel, saying in a cold tone, "I don't know who can boldly take my money and play outside all the time. Besides, haven't you always thought of me as some great demon lord? It's only natural for a demon lord to be unreasonable, isn't it?"

"Um..." Little Angel was at a loss for words. She wanted to retort but couldn't find a way to do so, so she stomped her foot in frustration and continued to follow along.

"Of course, there are reasons for it." After taking a few steps, Tiran pointed to the surroundings.

"Huh?" Aya was surprised and followed Tiran's gaze with her eyes.

His finger pointed to the other end of the street. Although it was early morning, the school maintenance team had already started working. Several large trucks were parked on one side of the street, and more than ten workers were busy unloading the goods from the trucks. At the same time, they began to repair and renovate the facilities such as flower beds and street lamps.

On the other side, a team of people was decorating the houses along the street with ribbons and other decorations. At this rate, if a few more teams were working simultaneously, the entire outer city would be fully decorated within three to four days.

"Hmm... Could it be?" Aya was puzzled.

"The martial arts festival is about to start," Tiran said with a yawn. "I've been thinking that even though they kept the news secret, they won't be able to hide it if my old brother plans something against me. So if he's dispatched people, they should have arrived early."

"So they plan to cause trouble during the martial arts festival?"

"I don't know the exact motive, but it's the only big event happening right now, so it's just a guess, right?"

"So that's why they called Feizi back? Ha, it seems he's still afraid after all."

"Tsk, believe what you want." Tiran hummed a few times but unusually didn't counterattack. Instead, his stomach suddenly made rumbling noises.

"...How about having breakfast first?" Aya asked with a suppressed smile.

"Tch..." Though his expression appeared somewhat displeased, the princess slightly nodded while biting her lip.

"For breakfast, we should have enough time now. Um, I know a good place. Would you like to go?" Little Angel suddenly raised her hand and said, her eyes shining with anticipation.

The "good place" Little Angel mentioned was just fifty steps away from the central square in front of the bridge connecting to the Heart Island. It was still early, but there were already more than ten customers waiting in front of the shop, most of them students wearing Milt uniforms.

"Phew, finally made it this time."

Seeing two students carrying paper bags passing by in front of her, Little Angel's face relaxed. Aya and Tiran were also drawn to the delicious scent carried on the breeze.

"It does smell really good," Aya licked her lips instinctively. Although breakfast at the academy cafeteria was not bad, the completely different aroma made one's mouth water.

Little Angel had discovered the shop yesterday. The pineapple pastries on the sign were quite famous in the academy city. Limited to a thousand pieces per day, they would not make any more once they were sold out, no matter the price. Often, they would sell out during breakfast time—yesterday, Little Angel missed out on the opportunity to indulge.

Today is a good time to come. Even the shop has just opened and it seems like we can definitely get some today.

In order to avoid being recognized, the three of us waited until more than ten people in line had left before we walked up.

"Boss, boss, we don't want these ones, just start a new batch baking. We want them fresh out of the oven."

Little Angel couldn't wait, gesturing while speaking to the middle-aged man with a pained expression on his face... Hey, hey, can you consider the feelings of the middle-aged man? There are still eleven out of the twelve in this batch that haven't been sold! And why are you so skilled at this! Wasn't your character setting that Little Angel doesn't know much about the world?!

It seemed that Little Angel suddenly realized that his request was a bit excessive. He guiltily tugged at the hem of his clothes and timidly looked up at the middle-aged man, with a hint of plea in his eyes, "Um... is that not possible?"

"..."

...

"The scene at the time was very tragic. Even if I and a certain princess just stood in the back, we were almost affected by the sound waves. It's hard to imagine what the middle-aged man, who bore the brunt of that terrible attack, experienced. What impressed me even more was that the middle-aged man actually managed to persevere and bake a whole box of fresh pineapple pies." - A certain Golden Dragon at the scene of the incident.

"I used to think that the so-called 'moe-kill' would only appear in anime, but now I find it totally absurd." - A certain princess.

...

"Hey, that middle-aged man... is he okay? Shouldn't we call an ambulance?" Tiran held the warm paper bag in her arms, gripping the golden pineapple pie wrapped in oil paper with her right hand. With a sympathetic look, she looked towards the shop that had already disappeared on the other side of the bridge.

The middle-aged man covered his chest with one hand and placed the greased iron tray into the oven with the other. Finally, he gasped for breath and handed the two bulging paper bags, with a trace of bloodstains still hanging on the corners of his mouth, to them. It really reminded her of the heroic characters in movies and anime who would sacrifice themselves to press a crucial button despite being heavily injured...

"Probably not a problem. By the way, what's an ambulance?" Aya also felt a bit compassionate. It was too scary. Now she somewhat understood why the Goddess Empress favored Xiao Feizi. That sound just now... it could probably kill most voice enthusiasts.

Although they felt sorry for him, the pineapple pies really lived up to expectations. The golden crust was baked to perfection, and it was filled with sweet pineapple jam and golden fruit meat. Since they were fresh out of the oven, the aroma instantly spread throughout their mouths. They just had to be careful while eating, or the filling might overflow and get on their hands.

"By the way, I remember you don't have any classes today. Why did you still come to the academy?"

Standing in front of the tall gate that was three to four stories high, Aya suddenly remembered, "If Xie Ella is back, then you don't need to fill in as the academy director, right?"

"Well... about that..."

Tiran chuckled twice, "That guy seems to be locked up by Lusius. He's probably being punished by copying the academy director's handbook. So it seems I have to fill in as the academy director again."

For a moment, Aya didn't know what expression to use to express her current feelings. Wasn't copying punishments like this used to discipline elementary school students?

"'He has no sense of rules, not even as good as an elementary school student!' That's what the dean of discipline said at the time." The princess showed a gloating smile, "I heard she has to copy it thirty times."

Thinking of that thick book that was heavier than a dictionary, Aya already felt sorry for her.

"But this is also good for you. If she's locked up, she won't recognize you for a while. But you have stood out in front of the students, so if she asks the students, it'll be easy for her to find out that you used Magic to change your appearance at that time."

"Can't you let me escape reality for a while?!"