Chapter 77: Lances Stand-In

Chapter 77: Lance's Stand-In

At one end of the long stone bridge leading to Purgatory Corridor Academy, Baron Sanchez recalled that, according to the Inspectorate, the original headmaster had supposedly been transferred away.

The demon now standing before him was clearly capable of commanding the deputy headmaster and a host of senior instructors, so she must be the new interim headmaster. He could only wonder about her background, given that she commanded such respect from so many high-ranking demons of the academy.

Sanchez inquired, "How should I address you, Madam Headmaster?"

With a radiant smile, the Poet of Boundless Love replied, "You may call me Lana."

Lance had come up with this pseudonym on the spur of the moment, and it was a name she didn't have any objections to.

Her voice was like sweet, crisp red wine. It carried an indefinable, provocative edge, yet was utterly seductive, seemingly melting the minds of everyone present. Even the demons of the Inspectorate found themselves losing focus, their gazes drawn to her involuntarily.

Sanchez shook his head as he said, "Headmaster Lana, might I ask you to tone down your voice a little? It is... dangerously potent."

Although he could sense that this acting headmaster was at a low rank, he dared not underestimate her in the slightest. This female demon possessed a terrifying talent for sonic magic. Her enchanting voice was capable of plucking at a person's heartstrings at will and was something that could not be defined merely by low rank.

The Poet chuckled softly, covering her mouth with her fingertips, before glancing back at the deputy headmaster standing behind her.

He nodded, immediately understanding her intent, then stepped forward to address the vampire envoy with solemn formality.

"Baron Sanchez, to facilitate your inspection, we have ordered all students to gather in the academic zone. They are forbidden from leaving their classrooms until your inspection concludes. Furthermore, numerous instructors will be patrolling the corridors. Any student found leaving their classroom without authorization will be executed on the spot."

"Very good." Sanchez's expression remained unchanged, though inwardly he was surprised by how cooperative the school administration was proving to be. He then said, "Thank you for your cooperation. Next, I shall have the officers from the Inspectorate take over patrol duties from your teaching staff. You have no objections to this, I presume?"

The task of preventing students from sneaking out of the classrooms naturally had to be handled by the Inspectorate. They could not simply allow the school an opportunity for a switcheroo just because they were showing good faith.

The Poet nodded elegantly. "Of course."

***

Meanwhile, on the school's top floor, the distinctive high ceiling of a spacious office exuded a sense of history, and a chandelier cast a soft glow that shimmered across the dark brown wooden flooring. Opposite a marble fireplace was a comfortable armchair and a broad desk, upon which rested a grimoire. Its cover was weathered by time, and its edges were slightly curled.

This was the book delivered by an instructor from the Magic Department, and it contained the spell used to treat the fur of magical beasts. Lance was currently in the headmaster's office, lounging leisurely against the dark leather cushions of the chair.

The demon students who had been brought along remained quietly on the far side of the room. Since they were supervised by a group of Rank 5 demon instructors, not a single one dared to make a sound.

Lance closed his eyes and focused, communicating with his summon, with whom he shared a deep mental connection. "Poet, it's up to you now."

The Poet's cheerful thoughts resonated back through Lance's mind. "—You certainly know how to put me to work, but rest assured, leave it to me."

While it was absolutely impossible to get her to help with chores like laundry or cooking, she was far more enthusiastic than Lance himself when it came to a task that aligned so perfectly with her nature.

Lance silently wished, "I hope you can give the vampire envoy a truly healing experience."

He then stopped bothering the Poet. She would grow impatient if he nagged her too much. For a task that played to her specific strengths, all he had to do was outline the plan and wait for her to deliver an extraordinary performance.

Since the Poet was modeled off of a pure-blooded demon, she could act as his proxy without the slightest risk of the vampire envoy detecting any racial discrepancy. Back when the card was being crafted, Talia had secretly mixed in a drop of her own blood to break the seal on the Hymn of Compassion while Lance wasn't looking.

Of course, Talia had assumed that he was unaware, but in reality, he knew perfectly well that the Hymn of Compassion was sealed by an incredibly complex demonic spell. This ancient relic likely had originally been left behind by a powerful member of the demon race. Therefore, it was destined, through the passage of time and the guidance of fate, to find its way to Talia. Indeed, only she could unlock it.

This resulted in the creation of the Poet, who had ultimately obtained a drop of Talia's blood, which had an incredibly noble demonic lineage, just like Talia herself. Even the deputy headmaster had been surprised upon first seeing the Poet, and he was astonished that Lance had managed to form a summoning pact with a demon of such caliber.

However, considering that the individual in question was the special envoy, the deputy headmaster ultimately decided that it shouldn't be surprising after all.

Lance sat up and leafed through the school's official documents, occasionally jotting down notes or comments. After a moment, he looked up at the spacious antechamber of the headmaster's office as if something had just occurred to him.

The group of students were shifting uneasily on their feet, much like recruits undergoing military training. Lance said gently, "Students, just a little longer, and you'll be able to return to your classes."

He was certain that the remaining four challengers were among this group, even though he didn't know exactly which four they were. He had previously led a team of instructors to inspect the classrooms one by one, and the exploration progress had been rising rapidly.

Whenever they entered a classroom and the exploration progress on the Shadow Realm interface didn't change the moment they stepped inside, it implied only two possibilities. Either that classroom had already been cleared, or a challenger had already entered it and was currently in the middle of going through the exam!

Therefore, by rounding up all the students from such classrooms and bringing them to the headmaster's office, the vampire envoy would naturally be unable to locate the human challengers who were disguised as demons within the ordinary classrooms.

Of course, none of the students present dared to respond to Lance. It was their first time in the headmaster's office, and they were with the school's headmaster at such close quarters.

Lance felt he should be considerate of the feelings of the other four challengers. "Relax, everyone, just relax. If this sort of thing happens again, I won't leave you all so bored in the headmaster's office."

He glanced at a teacher standing guard nearby. "What do you think about installing a swimming pool in the headmaster's office? There's so much space here, so it's a waste to leave it empty. We could renovate it, and the students could even hold pool parties here later on."

The demon teacher stood there like a lowly henchman as beads of sweat formed on his forehead. Since he was unable to tell if the headmaster was serious or joking, he dared not reply. Even setting aside other objections and looking at it from the most extreme perspective, what kind of suicidal lunatic student would actually dare to come to the headmaster's office to go swimming?![1]

Lance smiled helplessly and returned to reviewing the documents before him. On the Shadow Realm interface, thanks to his school-wide inspection, the exploration progress had shifted.

[Mission Objective 1: Achieve over 60% exploration of the academy. (Current progress: 1200%)].

Over 1,100 of those percentage points had been racked up while he was making rounds in the guise of the headmaster. Lance couldn't help but feel satisfied. The rating and rewards for this Shadow Realm challenge were likely to be quite impressive.

1. Lance would. You know he would. ☜