NOVEL NEXT Chapter 162: Who Sent the Spy?
"What's your opinion?" Headmaster Morrison asked, leaning against the railing.
"For the junior division, I think that black-haired girl would be good," Professor Pence pointed to several students in succession. "And those ones with golden and silver hair, also that boy with light blonde hair over there looks promising..."
"What do you think, Headmaster?" Professor Pence asked after finishing his suggestions.
Headmaster Morrison spoke slowly: "I'm afraid none of those children you mentioned will do. Are there any others?"
"Others..." Professor Pence shook his head. "The rest of the students don't have magic power as high as theirs. Headmaster, do you have some concerns?"
Headmaster Morrison's expression turned grave. "Except for the golden-haired one, all their names are still on the disciplinary wall. Having them represent our academy would be rather inappropriate."
Professor Pence: ...
What was wrong with this year's class? Why were all the talented students so rebellious?
"Then we only have the golden-haired one left. Her name is Axina, right? How about letting her lead the team?"
Headmaster Morrison nodded. "That would work. You can decide on the remaining team members."
Professor Pence sighed inwardly. Thank goodness they at least had Axina, otherwise the junior division wouldn't even have a strong team leader for the defense matches this year. They would be laughed at by other academies.
As the only independent academy on the continent, Siria Magic Academy was neither affiliated with any royal family nor governed by the Church. Moreover, they admitted many commoner students each year, which disrupted the nobles' interests and faced indirect opposition from many aristocratic forces.
Every May, renowned magic academies from various countries would send students to Siria for "friendly exchanges" to test their magical abilities against each other.
As the host, Siria Magic Academy needed to defend their arena.
The junior, intermediate, and senior divisions would each select their most outstanding students to form three magic teams. These three teams would compete against teams of the same level from other academies.
Over twenty magic academies would draw lots to determine the match order. For Siria Magic Academy to successfully defend their position, all three teams had to rank in the top five of their respective divisions.
If they failed to defend, Siria Magic Academy would lose their right to operate as an institution.
In last year's magic competition, Siria's junior, intermediate, and senior division teams achieved second, third, and first place respectively.
The team that won first place had already graduated, the third-place team had moved up to the senior division, and as for the second-place team... well, that was rather embarrassing, better left unsaid.
This year in the junior division, the most promising students he picked were all rejected by the headmaster. Professor Pence was worried about their ranking this year, fearing the junior team might fall out of the top five.
Actually, Professor Pence was somewhat puzzled.
In the past, there had been students with powerful magic who frequently made mistakes, but as long as they weren't inherently bad, the headmaster had never minded. Why was he suddenly being so particular now?
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How could students who received disciplinary action be barred from representing the academy? They had only violated school rules, not committed capital crimes.
Wasn't the outcome of the defense matches more important than saving face?
After the opening tests finished, the junior division students returned to the castle dejectedly.
Those who failed would need to retake the test, while even those who passed were scolded. Godmother Moses said they were selfish and lacked awareness of the bigger picture.
"Waaah, those people were so fierce, how could we stop them!"
"Godmother Moses even called us swine, how could she say that to a lady!"
"Waaah, pigs eat filth, and we don't..."
Jane clung to Luo Wei's arm crying, their skirts getting tangled together. Luo Wei held her breath, her germaphobia finally giving in to reality.
Bear with it, just bear with it. It's just horse manure - horse manure can even be used as fuel to bake flatbread, it's not dirty at all.
Compared to the pigs wallowing in the castle's cesspool, horse droppings were infinitely cleaner.
Horse manure was just digested grass - natural, green, pollution-free, and trustworthy.
After enduring the whole way, when Luo Wei finally parted from Jane in the castle corridor, she couldn't hold back anymore. Retching, she stripped off her clothes, entering her dormitory in just her undergarments.
She left the dirty dress at the doorway, unable to accept bringing a manure-dripping dress into her bedroom to contaminate her carpet.
On the first day of school, the academy's washroom nearly burned through their cauldrons' bottoms.
All those students who usually avoided bathing took baths today. Hot water was carried upstairs bucket after bucket, and the dirty water was dumped out the windows until the lawn below was submerged under an inch of bathwater.
By evening, the academy gates finally opened wide.
After bathing and changing into clean clothes, Luo Wei left school and went to the Escore Dessert Shop.
The lunch had traumatized her; she needed some desserts to comfort herself.
Entering the shop, she saw Laura carrying a tray of food upstairs. Her hands were steady, and though she walked quickly, the drinks on her tray barely rippled.
As expected of an agile ginger cat.
She glanced into the kitchen where Theodore had changed into a cream-colored chef's uniform and was vigorously stirring cream with a large iron rod, his arms moving so fast they left afterimages.
Shop manager Teresa told Luo Wei that they'd had an unusually high demand for cream cakes these past few days. Thanks to Theodore's hard work, they'd been able to maintain a steady supply of cream.
Hiring them had proven to be the right decision.
"Give them double pay this month," Luo Wei told Teresa. "Outstanding employees deserve proper recognition."
"Yes, master." Teresa replied with a bow.
Luo Wei ordered a few small cakes and a drink, then lifted her skirts and went upstairs.
The second floor was crowded, with all tables and private rooms occupied.
Since the opening tests were in the afternoon, many students hadn't had time for afternoon tea and were only now coming from school for dinner.
Luo Wei scanned the room but found no empty seats, so she stood by the window, holding the frame while admiring the street view below.
The weather was gradually warming up, and more people were out shopping. Some who had escorted students to school were still lingering, planning to rest and recuperate for a few days before leaving.
The street vendors' calls were louder than usual. Vendors selling gingerbread and salt and pepper crackers carried their wooden boxes from one end of the street to the other, quickly selling half their goods.
But one vendor selling almond candy was acting strangely - he neither called out his wares nor walked up and down the streets, just pacing back and forth in this area.
In the few minutes Luo Wei had been observing, he had passed under the dessert shop three times, his eyes constantly darting toward her store.
Something wasn't right about this person - he seemed like someone's spy.
Had someone targeted her dessert shop?
Luo Wei studied him carefully but couldn't quite remember his features.
The man's appearance was too ordinary - brown hair, average build, impossible to pick out in a crowd.
After some thought, Luo Wei turned and went downstairs, leaving the dessert shop.
The man was still lingering outside her shop. Luo Wei quickly walked into an alley around the corner and looked up at the rooftops: "Troy?"
The black-robed swordsman jumped down from above: "Here."
"There's a suspicious almond candy vendor outside. His behavior is odd - I suspect he's someone's spy. Follow him quietly and see who he meets with and what he's planning."
"Understood." Troy acknowledged, then with a light step jumped back onto the roof, disappearing from Luo Wei's sight in just a few moves.
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