Why Did You Summon Me?

Instead of a pretense of modesty, Attie let out a self-satisfied snicker as her eyes returned to the screen. “What else do you expect from someone who has always looked up to me? Not bad, huh?” She beamed smugly.

Attie made no attempt to hide how pleased she was with herself. She had personally groomed this little copy of her, after all, so now that the girl was one of the most outstanding of all students and being lavishly praised, the master herself could not but attribute some of it to her own guidance and teaching.

As Mia and Attie continued heaping compliments on the girl, the latter’s attention slowly fell to Eisenrose’s voluminous butt and breast. Suddenly struck with a pang of self-consciousness, she looked down at her own assets.

The cliff-like straightness that defined her chest stared back at her — a reminder that she was still stuck in the figure of a girl before her puberty simply because her Divine Energy had not recovered since the Inter-Realm War. Frowning, she grumbled under her breath, “Why isn’t she following my example in this department, though?”

Mia could not quite catch Attie’s words but she let it pass. Pressed for time, the two were only able to wrench in a few more chitchats before she had to depart for her invigilation, though the two managed to squeeze in a pinky-swear to hang out after the end of their respective exams.

She was just about to start towards the door when Attie asked, “So, what are your plans for the holiday, Mia? Going somewhere fun? Any plans at all?”

Since the only semester break would begin after the exam, it was fitting to start planning for it right now.

“Ohh… That,” Mia’s voice drooped apologetically. “I don’t know if everyone’s free for any plans, you know? As for myself, well… Mr. Hope has a lot of work planned out already.”

Back in the days — fresh off from graduation but before they were saddled with duties as lecturers and Vice Principals — the girls were spoilt with free time. The students’ semester break was also their break, and as it was long, it became an opportunity for the sisterhood to enjoy themselves over an extensive period. Since a certain Soul Armature was too married to his position as the Grand Principal to supervise them, the girls had been free to let themselves loose, indulging in as much fun as they could without being nagged about their miniskirts and whatnots.

Those carefree times were over about two years ago, though. The girls had their jobs and their responsibilities to carry out, and so even when Da Xue students were having holidays, the girls still had to continue with their respective duties. They were so busy they no longer had the luxury of a long vacation.

Among them, Attie was possibly the luckiest. With someone as responsible as the Hitman and Mr. Sorry as her superiors, she had a lot less on her shoulders. Still, with her sisters were all busy, she had no one to hang out with neither.

“Aww! Come on. You’re already a Legendary-level sorcerer, aren’t you? How powerful does Master want you to be, Mia?” Attie moaned in dismay.

“Maybe as strong as he is now.” Mia gave a helpless smile. “Anyway, I gotta’ go now. Catch you some other time!”

Her footsteps faded from the door and left Attie alone in her office, staring at the surveillance screens in boredom as she resumed awarding points for each of the students.

As the professors were busy making sure the exams were going smoothly, Grand Principal Bai himself was significantly less busy than he usually was. In fact, instead of sifting through paperwork in his office, he was watering and tending the garden with his two new lolis, Santa and Anna.

It seemed that if operations in Da Xue run normally, he would actually be less occupied.

Troubles caught up to a man of his position eventually. Before he could savor his free time, he received Tisdale’s message on his communication slab that he had a visitor from the Church waiting for him in his office.

“Oh? An envoy from the Church at this time? Why, finally issuing a formal challenge? I thought you people will stay down for your little Grace Day festivities,” Baiyi murmured under his breath, his interest piqued. He left the two little girls to tend to his garden on his stead and performed a short-distance teleportation spell, appearing right in his office and made the envoy jumped.

“Whooooaa- oh. I mean, long time no see,” The envoy commented weakly. “Apologies, you’re still really good at surprises as you were before.”

It was clear from his greetings that it was someone who had known Baiyi for a while.

“Ha, so they did send you. Probably the wisest move the Church had ever made lately, but then again… I doubt anyone else dared accept the job you’re asked to do,” Baiyi replied.

The envoy turned out to be the chaplain, Weslie, who had gone through an adventure with Baiyi many years ago.

When Da Xue was just founded, while Baiyi’s mission was ulterior, the two had worked together multiple times and forged an amicable relationship. Back then, the Church was still led by religious moderates who viewed the ties between Weslie and the Voidwalkers as an important asset; in time, such high regard extended to the humble chaplain himself. His ranks surged within the organization and he almost became the archbishop of Arfin City — had he succeeded, all churches within the city and towns around it would be directly under his control. It was a position that signified one as part of the Church’s upper echelons.

Unfortunately, the weasel-looking chaplain’s well of luck ran dried. He was just one step away from being an archbishop when the hardliners succeeded in wrestling control over the Church’s highest positions. His ties with Baiyi quickly turned him into a sore sight, and so he was demoted from a bishop back to a lowly chaplain. He was even almost demoted into an ascetic — the lowest hierarchy within the Church.

Finding himself face to face with Baiyi, he could sense a whirlpool of sentiments thrashing in his mind. Had it not been the Fifth Walker, he would have never gotten the chance to be promoted beyond the ranks of a chaplain; however, it was also because of this connection that he was almost turned into an ascetic. And now, here he was, a disposable messenger for an organization who could not care less if Baiyi might harm him at all.

Only fools would think life is predictable.

“Shall I take the sight of you as a sign of temporary truce?” Baiyi was clearly disinterested with whatever sentimental thoughts in Father Weslie’s head.

“The Church dare not fight you with brute force,” Father Weslie confirmed Baiyi’s suspicion with a noncommittal smile. “They are a lot more extreme and hawkish than they were in the past, I’ll give you that, but they are not dimwitted.”

“And?” Baiyi probed.

“They express willingness to have things remain as they are,” Father Weslie said tentatively. He used to be more relaxed when conversing with Baiyi, but now he was just as afraid to be reduced into a pile of ashes as the other unluckier messengers had been.

“They’re joking, right?” Baiyi snickered. “Or is this just a ploy to bid their time while they try to summon a little angel to help them? Should I give them space and time for that, hmm?”

“Uh, I can’t confirm the real reason behind the Church’s decision, since someone from my position has no right to high-level information. The only thing I’m allowed to know as a messenger is that they will not wage a physical war with you at the moment. The Church is merely against your stance, teachings, and… Um, your existence. Hence, if you refrain from fighting them, they’ll also return the favor.”

“Oh, is that so?” Baiyi thought about it for a while and understood the Church’s intention: they were telling him to stay down for the moment so that both sides could get ready for the showdown. In other words, the Church was saying, “Be a gentleman, and don’t throw me a punch before I’m ready!”

The intention of sending a convoy then became clear: the Church was unable to pour their resources into war preparations because Grace Day was around the corner. Moreover, if Baiyi suddenly delivers a strike of forbidden spell at the Holy City during the festival, an event of merriment would turn into a massacre.

It seemed naïve — even foolishly wistful — to make one’s enemy promise not to attack before they were ready, but this was the culture of this world. Be it a skirmish over a plot of land, a duel between feuding nobles, to an all-out war between conquest-thirsty thanes, the society in Isythre expected a fight like this to be open and fair.

Both sides may apply their cunningness in terms of battle strategies, but generally — and especially when it was a fight of differing ideologies — everyone would always try to seize the moral high ground. This was especially true for the Church, whose reputation and image compelled that they outwardly remained as noble and honorable as possible. The same was true for Da Xue as well, who needed its reputation to remain favorable to the public.

Truthfully, regardless of Father Weslie’s message, Baiyi had never wanted to commit genocide during Grace Day. He was just as busy with Da Xue’s upcoming graduation and the new student intake season.

Although their reasons differed, he agreed with the Church that they should hold off their fight for the moment.

“Sure, go ahead and tell your boss that I won’t fight them during Grace Day. However, I ask of the same during my student enrolment period. Oh, and also, tell the Church to shut up and stop spreading disgusting words about us,” Baiyi said finally. It was his way of expressing agreement to the Church’s terms.

“They also want you to leave normal devotees out of the fight, Master Hope. In return, they will not harm Da Xue’s uninvolving students, teachers and whoever else affiliated with Da Xue.”

“Ha. I have no problem leaving normal people out of our feud, but can the Church really deliver such a lofty promise, hmm?” Baiyi teased.

Father Weslie grimaced. As a relic from the Church’s moderate faction, he was not sure if he should rebut Baiyi or just agree to it.

“Alright, alright. I don’t enjoy causing grievance to an old friend, so I’ll stop here,” Baiyi said, confidence brimming in his voice. He was sure he would not lose in this war, even if the Church managed to summon some Angels as backups. Honestly, he was skeptical that those beings could actually harm him and the Voidwalkers.

As for the Church had their god, well, the Voidwalkers had their own patron god, too — the blabbermouth War God. Honestly, he may not seem very godly or majestic, but he was still an actual deity who stood on the side of Baiyi and the Voidwalkers. That was more than enough.

On top of that, Baiyi had just recently discovered one of the ways to fundamentally manipulate the Laws of this universe — the Ember of Hope. Just as the Archmage had said, there was nothing the Void feared!

“Tell me. What is my reward for being a gentleman who gives his enemy time to relax, enjoy their holiday, and then prep for the war, huh?” Baiyi asked. Although he was not planning to take advantage of Grace Day, he thought he would pretend otherwise just to get more out of the deal.

“Ah. They promise they will no longer attack you via means other than the upcoming fight,” Father Weslie answered readily; it was as if the Church had preempted Baiyi’s question and so fitted this answer into the chaplain’s script.

Baiyi mulled over the prospect and decided that it was not a bad exchange. As an influential organization with tremendous soft power over society and even the state government, they could have abused their position to cause endless petty troubles for him. A word that they would not deign to such tactics, therefore, showed a degree of sincerity.

Now that he passed the Church’s message, Father Weslie was finally able to speak on his own behalf. He hesitated for a while before finally asking, “Master Hope, are the Voidwalkers truly as benevolent as you have claimed?”

“I’m working on that,” Baiyi replied, his answer deliberately vague.

“I see. Then I sincerely pray that there is a better way to resolve everything.”

A helpless smile resurfaced on his weasel-looking face. Despite his allegiance, Father Weslie’s frequent contacts with the Voidwalkers had long shaken his faith in the Church’s doctrine. He only showed no danger of snapping under his value dissonance because he was never too committed to his religion, unlike Laeticia.

To Baiyi, it was devotees like Weslie who made him reluctant to drag the general mas into his feud with the Church.