On a clear morning in the Hutton capital, Lanqi woke up early and came to Icerite Academy by himself.

He passed through the bus stop at the school entrance, seeing golden light rising from the east, illuminating the entire campus, which made him feel a sense of freshness and vitality.

Three days had passed since the end of the entrance exam.

Today, Lanqi was about to begin his campus journey.

According to Teacher Teresa's instructions, he should first go to the Magic Engineering Department to exchange his student bracelet, then he could move into the academy.

During this time, Lanqi and Talia had been staying in a hotel not far from the academy, with Talia living next door to him. Every day when Lanqi went out, Talia would follow him.

Lanqi had already informed Talia that once he could move into the very safe Icerite Academy, Talia would no longer need to protect him like this.

The salary would remain the same.

She would only be bothered when Lanqi had questions to consult her about.

So now Talia had almost regained a newfound freedom.

She no longer had to be Lanqi's bodyguard every day.

And she had a fake identity from the Wilford family.

As long as she wasn't too flamboyant or went to register with large associations, she would hardly be discovered.

In just a few short months, Talia had said goodbye to her destitute wandering life, and could even enjoy a leisurely life in the capital Icerite with a generous pension every day.

This morning when Lanqi had breakfast with Talia, Talia seemed a bit dazed.

Just like she had retired.

But seeing that Talia's life had improved, Lanqi also felt very gratified.

Supporting an elderly mentor was his filial duty.

"Speaking of which... every time I think about her age issue, she seems to glance at me... is it an illusion..."

Lanqi muttered to himself as he walked along the main road of the campus.

Although the talent for lie detection could perhaps evolve towards mind reading if upgraded further,

Talia should be far from reaching the threshold of mind reading talent magic.

Because in the setting Lanqi knew, even in the main storyline two years later, Talia hadn't mastered any mind reading abilities.

"So, there's nothing to worry about, age isn't a big deal, she probably won't care much about it."

Lanqi smiled with relief and continued walking towards the old liberal arts building of the Magic Engineering Department.

The plants on both sides were bathed in morning mist and sunlight, emitting a fresh fragrance. There were many flowers along the road that Lanqi couldn't name, some bright, some elegant, some strange-shaped.

Accompanied by the singing of birds, the buzzing of bees, and the murmuring of water, he gradually walked from the end of the road into a soft grassy area full of flowers. According to the signposts, all the buildings in this area were built in the garden.

After several minutes of walking,

Lanqi finally found the typical Gothic Revival building located on the edge of the Magic Engineering Department. The ancient red brick exterior walls were inlaid with statues and reliefs, one of the landmarks of the campus - the old liberal arts building of the Magic Engineering Department.

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This historic building was once a workshop where magic engineers displayed their ingenious ideas. It was renovated and maintained decades ago and began to be used to provide technical services from the Magic Engineering Department to students from other departments who needed help.

Lanqi looked around and didn't see many students.

It seemed that basically only new first-year students would come here these few days.

It was very early now, and even the doors of the old liberal arts building were not yet open.

"Oh no, I came too early... I forgot that people here work from nine to five, not a minute early or a second late."

Lanqi said regretfully.

He remembered that the laid-back work habits of the Icerite people were very different from his.

Many shops close at five o'clock, even giving up on making money just to get off work, let alone the school's service department.

So Lanqi could only stand on the lawn, boredly folding his arms, waiting for the staff of the Magic Engineering Department to start work.

Just take it as experiencing the leisure that modern people should have, sometimes wasting time is also a kind of happiness.

"Actually, it's not bad to take it as field research..."

Lanqi looked up to admire the ancient building in front of him like a work of art, feeling the fragrance of flowers in the garden, the scent of grass, the smell of soil and the moist air seemingly surrounding him, quite comfortable.

The top of the old liberal arts building was a tall tower, inlaid with a carved Icerite Academy emblem.

The bottom of the emblem was a silver shield shape, representing the firmness and faith of the Hutton Kingdom. In the center of the shield was an image of the Goddess of Fate, holding a laurel wreath, surrounded by cross-shaped holy light, with the Southern Cross constellation in the background, symbolizing the geographical location of Icerite Academy on the Southern Continent.

On the white banner at the top of the emblem was inscribed powerful ancient magic text, meaning "We will grow in the respect of future generations".

Just looking at it, Lanqi felt his heart surging, as if the last trace of drowsiness remaining from waking up early in the morning had been completely dispelled.

He was unconsciously attracted to it, not knowing that the seconds had already turned several circles.

"This kind of carving, it must be an artistic masterpiece by a master sculptor of a generation..."

Lanqi stood motionless on the grass, his eyes fixed on this emblem as he murmured.

"Indeed it is, it was created by Jera Zelt, a magic engineer who graduated from Icerite Academy two hundred years ago. If you look carefully, you'll find quite a few of his works in the academy."

A familiar voice sounded from not far behind, interrupting Lanqi's thoughts.

Lanqi woke up as if from a dream, turned around and saw a light blonde-haired young lady standing gracefully in this garden.

Her appearance was familiar to Lanqi, it was none other than Princess Vivian, whom he had briefly encountered at the exam venue before and who didn't get along well with his teammate Huberrian.

Lanqi hadn't expected the princess to come so early, but looking more carefully, Lanqi found that with her arrival, staff from the Magic Engineering Department quickly came to open the doors of the old liberal arts building for business.

Indeed, such things as human relations and worldly wisdom exist everywhere.

"Princess Vivian, I'm sorry I was too engrossed in looking and didn't notice you had arrived."

Lanqi's face showed a slight smile as he greeted the princess who had also come to wait here at some point.

"..."

Vivian pondered slightly.

She actually hadn't planned to talk to Lanqi at first.

Because after last time, she found Lanqi's personality a bit difficult to deal with.

He was a bit too much of a nice guy, and a bit silly, but also very quick-witted.

"What do you think is different between this carved emblem and manufactured products?"

Vivian didn't engage in small talk first, but looked towards the carved emblem at the top of the old liberal arts building and asked Lanqi.

After two encounters, Vivian was very sure that this commoner youth called Lanqi Wilford had none of the sense of distance and awe that ordinary people should have towards nobles in his heart. He was more like a traveler visiting from a country without noble culture.

But Vivian didn't mind.

Lanqi was indeed a person full of potential in their country, and his background was also very clean.

She just wanted to chat with Lanqi about this ancient masterpiece on the tower now.

Lanqi always had a unique quality of poet, painter, and craftsman, which was natural and inimitable.

It was rare to meet a peer who might be able to discuss art with her.

Vivian took this opportunity to probe his true capabilities.