The Vigilant Laravina

Broken Gold Town, the parish office behind the church.

This was supposed to be a sacred place for listening to divine oracles and handling church affairs, where a solemn atmosphere lingered in the air year-round.

But at this moment, Bishop Lalavina, sitting behind the carved mahogany desk, presented a completely different picture from her usual noble and glamorous image as a war hero.

She was bouncing her leg.

And bouncing it with such rhythm that it made the entire solid wood desk emit faint creaking sounds.

"I'm doomed, I'm doomed... That jinx is coming..."

Lalavina chewed on her thumbnail. Her exquisite makeup looked a bit caked due to her anxiety, and she was muttering under her breath as if conducting some unknown cult prayer.

This whole nightmare stemmed from a letter three days ago.

That evening, just as she was about to enjoy a relaxing cup of afternoon tea, the office window was suddenly blown open by an eerie, chilling wind.

Immediately after, a petite girl with short fiery red hair and beast ears on her head appeared on her windowsill like a phantom.

Lalavina had almost spilled her black tea.

As a Sixth-Tier Cleric, her perception was incredibly sharp. Although the beast-eared girl did not exude a single trace of magical fluctuation, the shuddering sensation originating from the depths of her soul told her—this was absolutely a ferocious beast at the very top of the food chain!

That oppressive aura was even more terrifying than some of the Abyssal Lords she had encountered on the front lines!

However, that terrifying entity merely tilted her head, pulled out a letter carrying a faint herbal scent from her clothes, and tossed it onto the desk.

"Hey, you cowardly bishop, this is for you from Lynch."

With that, the girl dissolved into a cloud of black mist and vanished.

"Lynch... Lynch again..."

Lalavina opened the letter with trembling hands.

The contents of the letter were simple and politely worded. The gist was thanking the bishop for her previous material assistance, and it casually mentioned in passing: he heard that a great magician was coming to the town recently to recruit students, so he planned to come over on Wednesday (which was today) to join the fun and pay a visit to the Lord Bishop.

"A visit? This is a show of force, isn't it? This is absolutely a show of force!"

Lalavina clutched her head in agony.

"Someone of his caliber... an Abyssal titan who keeps a world-destroying witch at home and uses a high-ranking demon cadre as a mail carrier, needs to attend some apprentice recruitment?"

"This is clearly an excuse! He definitely wants to use this opportunity to intimidate me, or he wants to infiltrate the higher education system of humanity!"

The more Lalavina thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed.

She stood up and paced anxiously around the office.

"Just which blind great magician is coming to recruit students today? Why haven't I received any news about this?"

Actually, she couldn't be blamed for being out of the loop.

On this continent named Alfastia, although the Royal Nine Schools Alliance stood united, there were many internal factions, and their beliefs varied greatly.

Lalavina graduated from St. Lawrence Academy, which worshipped the Blazing Sun, one of the Three Radiances.

Most of the students there were clerics, priests, or paladins like her, who excelled in using light-element divine arts and prayers, advocating to "purify all impurities in the world with holy fire."

In contrast, located on the other side of the royal capital was the Lucalia Magic Academy.

Those folks worshipped the Starlight. They were a group of pure spellcasters who spent their days acting mysteriously and pursuing the truths of the world.

They looked down on the religious zealots of St. Lawrence, believing that prayer was inferior to calculation; St. Lawrence, in turn, looked down on the bookworms of Lucalia, feeling that magic was not as sacred as divine arts.

"Since they are here to recruit magic apprentices, it must be a professor from Lucalia,"

Lalavina analyzed. "I've never had much of a relationship with those Starlight believers, so it's normal for them to come to my territory to recruit without giving me a heads-up."

"But... this has totally screwed me over!"

"What if the person who comes is some reckless fool who angers that great Buddha, Lynch, and ends up getting the entirety of Broken Gold Town wiped off the map?"

"No, I must be fully prepared. Should I turn the church's defensive barrier to the maximum? No, that would make me look guilty... Should I transfer those few decent-looking paladins over to keep up appearances?"

Just as Lalavina was so conflicted she was about to pull her own hair out.

Knock, knock, knock.

A highly rhythmic knocking on the door sounded, exuding an air of elegance and composure.

Lalavina abruptly stopped pacing, took a deep breath, instantly adjusted her facial muscles, and reverted to her aloof and holy bishop persona.

"Please come in."

The door was pushed open.

A tall woman wearing a deep purple mage robe walked in.

She had a head of voluminous wavy hair, wore gold-rimmed glasses, and held a staff inlaid with a massive sapphire.

The overwhelming sense of intellect and arrogance radiating from her practically carved the words "Elite Mage from Lucalia" right onto her forehead.

Seeing the visitor, Lalavina froze for a moment before a look of surprise appeared on her face.

"Scarlett?"

"Long time no see, my old classmate."

The woman named Scarlett Stewart pushed up her glasses, an elegant smile curving her lips. "I heard you were exiled... oh, no, transferred to this remote little town to be a bishop? It seems the feng shui here is pretty good, it's nurtured you into being a bit... anxious?"

"Shut up, Scarlett."

Seeing an acquaintance, the dignified front Lalavina had just put up instantly collapsed by half.

This Scarlett was her best friend from her studying days in the royal capital. Although they attended different schools, they had met at several mixer parties.

One was the campus belle of St. Lawrence, and the other was the top scholar of Lucalia. They were the kind of close friends who traded insults the moment they met but actually had an ironclad bond.

"Why are you here?"

Lalavina walked over and poured Scarlett a cup of water. "Why aren't you in the capital studying your star charts? What are you doing running off to a rural place like this?"

"Official business."

Scarlett sat down elegantly and took a sip of water. "Recently, those old men in the academy have been ready to fight each other just to snatch up students. This time, I've taken on the task of 'Special Recruitment Officer,' coming specifically to remote areas like this to unearth overlooked geniuses."

"Recruitment?"

Lalavina's heart skipped a beat.

She suddenly had an extremely bad premonition.

"Wait... Scarlett, don't tell me that the 'great magician from the capital' who's been causing such an uproar in town today about taking on an apprentice is..."

"Yours truly."

Scarlett flipped her hair, a confident and charming smile appearing on her face. "What? Do I not look the part? I am now the youngest Sixth-Tier Magus in Lucalia, and also a candidate for the next 'Starlight Council'."

"..."

Looking at her best friend's high-spirited demeanor, ready to go all out, the expression on Lalavina's face instantly became incredibly colorful.

It was three parts shock, three parts sympathy, and four parts the sheer terror of "you are so doomed."

"What's wrong?"

Scarlett keenly sensed that something was wrong. "What is with that expression? Are you jealous of my achievements? Do not be like that, darling. Even though you are just a bishop stationed out in the countryside, I will not look down on you."

"No... I am not looking down on you..."

Lalavina swallowed hard. Looking at Scarlett as if she were a dying woman, she asked in a dry voice, "Scarlett, tell me honestly... how much psychological pressure can you handle?"

"Huh?"

"Also, if you encountered a... well, a villager who is absurdly strong, defies all logic, and could probably crush us to death with a single finger, what would you do?"

Scarlett frowned and reached out to feel Lalavina's forehead.

"What villager... Do you have a fever? Or did you fry your brain while praying?"

Scarlett scoffed and haughtily raised her chin. "In this remote backwater, how could there be any absurdly strong apprentice? If such a genius actually existed, I would be overjoyed! As a mentor, my duty is to tame geniuses and guide them onto the path of truth!"

"Tame..."

Lalavina felt her vision go dark.

It was over.

It was truly over now.

She could already picture the tragic scene: her best friend standing before that abyssal demon lord named Lynch, trying to "tame" him like a clown, only to be effortlessly pinned to the ground and utterly humiliated.

"Scarlett."

Lalavina grabbed her best friend's hand, her eyes sincere and filled with profound grief:

"Listen to my advice."

"No matter what happens today... absolutely, under no circumstances, should you try to act tough or show off."

"Staying alive is more important than anything else."