Chapter 176: Fortunately, Lance is not an Assassin from the Church of Resurrection

Ikerite University was still wrapped in a hazy, tranquil silence. The first light of dawn was just beginning to illuminate this peaceful world. The colors shifted gradually from the blue-gray of the distant sky to a soft pink near the ground, blending seamlessly like pigment diffusing in water.

It was an early Tuesday morning, six o'clock to be exact. After having breakfast together, Lance, Hyperion, and Frey walked along the broad paths to the Sages' College dormitory building.

The lights in the ground floor lobby were dim yet warm. The dormitory manager sat behind the reception desk, leaning against a soft cushion with a book in hand to shake off the morning drowsiness. At this hour, most students were still deep in slumber with only a few early risers quietly emerging from their rooms.

As they reached a fork in the path, Lance said to Hyperion, "Let's get some rest for a bit, then head to the Student Management Council together this afternoon."

"Alright." Hyperion nodded and parted ways with Lance and Frey.

Lance then led Frey toward his own dormitory room. The two walked leisurely along the carpeted corridor on the ground floor.

Their hushed chatter echoed through the empty hallway. The dormitory doors on either side were firmly shut, quiet and peaceful. Behind each door lay a tiny world, harboring countless stories and sweet dreams.

The male dormitory was in the front building and the female dormitory in the rear, though they were not far apart.

Lance had already lent the Poet of Boundless Love to Hyperion. Once she arrived at her room and called out to her, the Poet would actually emerge on her own.

The Poet had an extraordinary understanding of enchanted cards. Provided Lance lifted the restriction on allowing the Poet to summon herself, which was the only limit he could impose, the Poet could summon and dismiss herself at will. Most summoned entities could not achieve such a feat.

As for Frey, he would accompany Lance to his room for the time being. They would take turns keeping watch and sleeping, resting for three hours each.

The Student Management Council headquarters wouldn't open until later in the morning, so they had nothing else to do. The Banquet of Sanctuary Villains wasn't a Shadow Realm dungeon like Purgatory Corridor Academy. The latter had only lasted twelve hours in a single night, whereas this one lasted five full days. Despite that difference in length, they had still risen very early on this final morning to soak their last moments in.

Having just returned from a long trip, they were truly exhausted and longed for nothing more than a good, solid sleep. They stopped in front of a door. Lance took out his key, inserted it into the lock, gave it a gentle turn, and opened the door, ushering Frey into his dormitory.

The lighting in the living area was warmer than in the hallway. A soft sofa and a minimalist coffee table were arranged quietly together, holding a few books and a set of glass tableware.

Frey sat on the sofa with his arms crossed, his brow furrowed. "That mole is going to be hard to catch."

His hunter's instincts had remained on alert the entire time. Throughout their journey, the three of them had appeared completely unguarded. Unfortunately, Frey hadn't detected the slightest sign that they were being followed or even watched.

As the two "catchers," they shielded Hyperion, who was acting as the bait, from any pressure. This allowed her to rest with peace of mind. Many matters were discussed only when the two of them were alone.

Lance poured two glasses of iced lemon-honey water, handed one to Frey, and sat down on the sofa beside him. "It looks like the other party will only strike at Hyperion if they are absolutely certain of success. If we try to lure them out or conduct a screening, we might just put them on guard."

If they took the initiative, for instance, by subjecting the Kingdom of Yaloran's academic delegation to mandatory anti-cult re-education, their motives would be far too obvious. It would look as though they already knew there was a member of the Church of Resurrection within the group. The cultist would immediately realize that Sticella, an elite member who had been captured in the Shadow Realm, had leaked intelligence. Then she would face the cult's furious retaliation, even while imprisoned.

Sticella had risked her life to provide that information to Lance, so naturally, he was determined to protect her at all costs.

"So, you still intend to use Hyperion as bait?" Frey took a sip of lemon-honey water. The refreshing chill of the beverage soothed his throat, and it was exactly to his liking. ⅇ

The addition of honey took the sharp edge off the lemon, while the lemon's acidity perfectly tempered the honey's cloying sweetness. They were the ideal partners.

Lance nodded. "Using a sting operation is the safest bet. We have so few details from the intelligence this time. Just think about it."

He then set down his mug and began ticking off points on his fingers for Frey. "Suppose the assassin has already undergone preemptive self-hypnosis. Until they trigger a specific self-activation mechanism, they will appear to be a perfectly normal student. In that scenario, no matter how proactive we are in the real world, we'd never catch them. We'd only end up tipping them off."

This highlighted the difference between the real world and the Shadow Realm. In the Shadow Realm, using deep self-hypnosis posed a massive risk. If the person in question could not break the trance when facing imminent danger, the consequences could be fatal. In the real world, however, the assassin had already infiltrated the safe Kingdom of Hutton disguised as an ordinary person. Even without breaking the self-hypnosis, there was no immediate threat to them not doing so.

Lance then added, "Or, in the event that the enemy possesses some particularly troublesome unknown magic, they could devise some truly inconceivable traps. To take the simplest example: suppose the enemy is skilled in shapeshifting or disguise, using something like Blood Disguise, a spell that allows for mimicry.

He took a sip of his lemon-honey water and continued, "First, the assassin could use the mole inside Ikerite University to obtain information about the first year female student living in the dorm room next to Hyperion. They would then target that innocent girl, luring her away and locking her up. Next, the assassin would disguise themselves as the victim and move into the room next to Hyperion, while their true self 'vanishes' without a trace.

"This creates the illusion that a member of the academic exchange team has disappeared into thin air, drawing the school's attention toward investigating the missing student from the Kingdom of Yaloran. Meanwhile, the actual assassin is already lying in wait, close enough to Hyperion to catch her completely off guard, for the perfect moment to strike.

"Alternatively, they could wait for a time when Hyperion lacks an alibi, disguise themselves as her, and commit a murder in her likeness. By framing her, they'd make her a suspect subject to police investigation and temporary detention, effectively isolating her from the school and from us. Then, while she's in custody awaiting trial, which is a time where she must strictly avoid any appearance of impropriety, it would be easy to kill her through covert maneuvers and underhanded schemes. And there's more..."

Frey hurriedly raised a hand to cut Lance off. "Enough, that's enough."

He then said with a serious expression, "At least I've confirmed one good thing now."

"What is it?" Lance asked, puzzled. He wondered what sort of realization Frey had just stumbled upon.

Frey looked straight at Lance and bluntly said, "Thank goodness the person coming to kill Hyperion isn't you."

Lance was momentarily stunned into silence before exclaiming, "Why on earth would I ever kill Hyperion?!"

He had been seriously considering all these scenarios, only for Frey to turn around and tease him.

Frey pointed out, "Based on all the 'what-ifs' you just came up with, if the Church of Resurrection was hiring you to assassinate Hyperion, even ten lives wouldn't be enough to save her."

Frey then leaned back against the sofa and burst out into laughter, finding the whole situation amusing. He soon quickly composed himself.

The challenge lay in the fact that they needed to do more than just protect Hyperion and capture the cultist. They also had to create the illusion that their feat was merely due to a stroke of luck.

If trouble arose, Hyperion would be safe for a short while in the company of the Poet as Frey and Lance rushed over. Unfortunately, the problem was that staying too close to her might scare off the "big fish."

It was reasonable for Lance and Frey to be nearby today, as they had just returned from the Shadow Realm and were staying in the Sages' College dormitory. However, if they stayed at the Sages' College every day, any assassin planning an attack might simply abandon the plot altogether.

On the flip side, if they stayed too far away, Hyperion's safety would be compromised. They would rather fail to catch the big fish than let her face genuine danger as bait. The two were now deliberating on the best location to lie in wait, the ideal spot to cast their line.

Frey suggested, "It looks like I need to find a way to disappear."

If he simply vanished from the map again, everything would be fine.

Lance murmured, "Actually, there is another solution... I'll give it a try; it would be perfect if I could pull it off."

But his tone betrayed a distinct lack of confidence. If he could get Hyperion to stay with Talia, then he and Frey could keep their distance from her.

In that scenario, they could simply wait for the assassins to make the mistake of messing with someone they shouldn't. Unfortunately, Talia wasn't short on money these days. It would be difficult to sway her with mere wealth.

Furthermore, Lance didn't have anything valuable on hand right now to use as a bargaining chip either. The main issue was Talia's aversion to interacting with others. She would never allow a stranger into her private space. Having Hyperion stay at Talia's home would essentially cross one of her absolute boundaries.

Lance leaned back against the sofa, looking upward as he murmured to himself, "Let's hope the old lady is in a better mood today."

Regardless, he decided that after finishing his student council duties this afternoon, he would take Hyperion to Cat Proprietor's Eatery to meet Talia. Based on what he knew of the demon princess, there was a ninety percent chance she would offer a cold refusal and that she would end up loathing him right along with Hyperion.

Yet sometimes she showed an inexplicable gentle side. Her temper was as unpredictable as the weather, so he couldn't even guess what she might be like at any point of time.