"You shouldn't have kept quiet... Don't even think about escaping this time!"

Ciella pressed her hand on the table, leaning slightly towards Aya. Her chest, under the force of gravity, took on a rounded water droplet shape, almost catching Aya off guard.

Good... how exciting. She's definitely on a different level than a certain flat princess in every aspect.

"...What about the important matter we agreed on? How dare you be so careless! Did you not think of asking if I didn't remind you?" Aya finally managed to divert her gaze from somewhere and covered her nose, speaking.

In a sense, she was also surprised, and somewhat regretful. If she had known that this person had such a bad memory, she wouldn't have brought up this annoying matter. But then again, facing her again didn't seem as terrifying as she had imagined. Was it because she had already been hardened by someone else?

"Anyway, I remember now-" Ciella straightened up again, crossed her arms, and stared at Aya.

"Well, I don't intend to keep this useless thing forever. It has no purpose and only invites trouble. If I can give it back, I'm willing to do so. So, do you have a way to get it out?" They spoke at the same time.

"..."

"..."

The atmosphere became awkward for a moment.

"What? Of course, I have no way! Then why do you expect me to give it back?" They spoke at the same time again.

"Weren't you the one who said you would definitely return it? It's your responsibility to come up with a method to extract it! Why should I be the one to do it?" Ciella rolled her eyes and justified herself.

"But it's your academy's thing! And besides, you, a great magitech scholar, didn't research it and left it for me, who relies on racial talents, to figure it out? Have you lost your mind, Amiya?" Aya retorted without hesitation. "By the way, when I met you before, you said you were researching, so you didn't have time to solve the immediate problem. Why did you have time to focus on other research?"

"That was just an excuse to fool Lucius, wasn't it? I've been rushing to finish my manuscripts and raise funds for printing these past few weeks. Who has time to deal with that nonsense?" Ciella, getting anxious, stomped her foot and pouted.

"Huh? Master Leng, don't you need to pay for the publication of your masterpiece? Many publishers are willing to pay a large sum for the copyright!" Coco exclaimed.

"Well, that's because this time my work has already signed a long-term contract with the publishing house. But recently, the publishing house has had some financial difficulties, and the amount of copies we need to print at once is too large, so it's been a bit difficult. Fortunately, I have a good relationship with the boss, so I agreed to help him temporarily during this time..." Ciella explained.

"Oh, I see... wait a minute, why are we talking about this? We were discussing how to retrieve that lantern of yours!" Aya widened her eyes and suddenly realized. "And by the way, isn't rushing to finish manuscripts even more absurd? How can you confidently say such things?"

"Enough with the nonsense. If there's no solution, then leave it until we come up with one." Ciella harrumphed twice.

"Hey, with your research efficiency, not having any results in decades, am I supposed to spend my whole life here being your teaching aid..." Aya's expression was slightly disappointed.

"That's right."

"You really think that, you bastard! Do you believe that I'll break through the Holy Rank and kill you one day? Do you underestimate the Golden Dragon?"

It's unfair. Why should a golden Dragon be continuously suppressed since its debut? After all, I am one of the most powerful races in the world. Can't I be shown a little respect?

"Calm down. Even if you break through the Holy Rank, you still won't be able to beat us with just a few moves. It's better to be patient...Hmm?" Ciella raised an eyebrow, seemingly unconcerned, and burst into laughter.

But in the next moment, Ciella's smile disappeared.

A slight buzzing sound echoed in her mind. It was the perception that she had spread around the outskirts of the academy city when performing her duties as the headmistress. This warning spell, activated through the medium of the laws, was almost imperceptible to ordinary people. The last warning had been this morning when she sensed the arrival of a star, but because she confirmed that no dangerous aura was emitted, Ciella didn't intervene directly.

However, in this perception, she could clearly sense a cold and viscous hostility, coming from various directions and in significant numbers. It seemed that the intruder closest to her had already arrived...

Roar!

Outside the lounge, a furious roar pierced through the thin walls, causing the entire room to tremble. The marketplace outside the door descended into chaos as a result.

Aya, the closest to the door, rushed forward and opened it, narrowly avoiding being knocked down by the panicked crowd. When the crowd dispersed, she saw a towering tiger-like beast, nearly six meters in length, emitting low growls.

Five or six people had gathered in front of it, two of them wearing Milte's school uniforms. The others seemed to be tourists, but the shimmering Chi light surrounding them displayed their formidable strength. They should be martial artists who came to watch the Martial Arts Festival and stood up for justice.

Thanks to them, ordinary tourists had the opportunity to escape. However, apart from two students who had trained in coordinated combat, the rest fought individually, and they seemed to be overmatched against the ferocious beast. Each time it pounced, one person would be severely injured and fall to the ground.

Seeing the beast preparing to pounce again on a Milte student who had just regained their footing, Aya immediately unleashed her aura scales, using the high-pressure air to propel her body like a bullet. She rammed into the beast in mid-air, kicking it aside, causing the massive creature to crash into a nearby half-collapsed building.

"Just in time." Aya flexed her wrists and ankles, hopped a couple of times in place, and turned to the stunned individuals. "You should retreat. Leave this to me."

"Oh, okay." The tourists and students who had barely escaped being wiped out by the beast a moment ago looked somewhat dazed.

"Excuse me... Are you Tiran's Highness's secretary? The one who defeated Feilin, the assistant teacher known as 'Ten Consecutive Victories, One Battle Transcendent'?" One student seemed to recognize Aya and asked tentatively.

"Ugh... Can we not talk about that?" Aya couldn't hide the embarrassment on her face. "Who came up with that stupid nickname anyway?! I should apologize to the entire nation for that!"

"It's true!" The two students exchanged a surprised glance and bowed to Aya. "Then, we'll leave it to you, sir. We'll go first." They quickly turned and vanished.

"Hold on, explain that nickname to me!"

...Damn, why weren't you this fast during the fight earlier?

Aya tugged at the corner of her mouth, then released a burst of flaming explosion, hitting the already severely wounded beast beside her with a hand and creating a soaring fire. The ferocious beast, which had been acting violently just half a minute ago, let out a piercing scream before turning into a cloud of black smoke in the flames and disappeared without a trace.

"Huh? This thing is an elemental creature?"

Aya was well aware of the power of the explosive flame she set off. It was enough to take the life of that beast, but not enough to incinerate it completely. Moreover, with the Golden Dragon's control over elements, the scent of the dark element emitted when the tiger-like savage beast's body disintegrated couldn't be concealed.

"It's the 'Ghost Tiger', the signature summoned beast of the Black Elf summoner," Coco recognized the dissipating savage beast at a glance, a speechless expression on her face. "They really are a bunch of persistent fellows."

"Oh... those guys," Aya slapped her palm, suddenly realizing. These guys really had no presence at all, except for the fact that they showed up at crucial moments to drive the plot forward.

"They really have no regard for face. They dare to cause trouble knowing that we are here. Those Frost Forest mongrels have been too arrogant lately!"

Even though the true Headmistress still had a smile on her face, a sense of gloominess was palpable. She stepped onto the street in three swift steps, her blue mage robe billowing without wind. Her right hand somehow gained a **dark blue light orb, and with the assistance of the orb, she surveyed every detail within the Academy City with ease.

Magitech Device - World Overview Eye.

There were a total of 121 attacks throughout the city, with 84 of them being dark elemental creatures, and the rest being a group of individuals cloaked in black... However, this meager concealment was meaningless under Ciella's detection magic, and the identity of the Dark Elf had been fully exposed.

"Mark!"

With a command, the light orb ascended into the air and projected over a dozen beams of light, each of which targeted a chaotic Yuan.

This scene instantly attracted attention, and a few experienced students recognized the magitech device from Ciella and couldn't help but call out loudly.

"All students of Milt, listen up! I am your Headmistress. From now on, I will take over command. First and second-year students, immediately assist the nearby injured and evacuate and protect the civilians. Third-year students, cooperate with the official Watchers who remain in the city to defeat the invaders... Capturing one will reward you with twenty academic credits."

According to the Academy's system, it only took twenty-four credits to advance from the second to the third level. So, in the next second, the way all the Milt students looked at those attackers changed.

The instructions from the Holy Trinity spread throughout the entire city in an instant. The students, who had been slightly panicked amidst the chaos just a moment ago, found their backbone and quickly and efficiently carried out Ciella's orders.

"Hey hey, are your students treating those Black Elves as monsters to level up on? Isn't that a bit excessive?" Aya asked with some speechlessness. Just now, from the way you carried yourself with authority, she thought you would personally take action.

"Hmph, didn't they think they could come in brazenly because there was a Holy Rank presence? But when I used the 'World Overview Eye' to look, there wasn't even a single Holy Rank. These fellows really have lost their minds. When did Milt become so easy to bully? If it wasn't for... hmph, I'll smash their heads even without a Holy Rank."

Ciella snorted coldly, and the next moment, her expression thawed back into the previous cheery one. "By the way, Aya, when I was scanning just now, I saw a few guys who seemed to be heading towards Tiran's direction."

"Huh?"

Aya was stunned for a moment, then she sprang into action.

Oh dear! Something's going to happen! It would be fine normally, those Black Elves, even if they brought a group of elite-level monsters, Tiran could take care of them with ease. But now... even though she seemed to have recovered a bit, Princess Tiran still hadn't regained the ability to instantly kill someone with a Holy Rank sword strike!

"Coco, hurry up and come back with me! And where's little Fei?! Damn it, why does he always disappear at critical moments?! Tiran, you better not cause any trouble for me!"