After paying their respects to the goddess and the Saintess, the students arrived at the banquet hall in the rear hall.
This was a venue reserved for high-ranking clergy and the imperial family of the ancient empire to host banquets.
Celebrating under the witness of the goddess and the saint was a symbol of honor and power.
However, after the fall of the ancient empire, the rules gradually changed.
From being a place where only saints, popes, and members of the ancient imperial family were allowed to enter, it became the venue for the annual Holy Healing Festival. As long as you were a student or teacher of Carrilian, you could enter.
Luxury and nobility were what every banquet hall should possess.
Only the Saint Selina Cathedral, in addition to these sensory experiences, gave Vinny a sense of holiness and religious depth.
In the corridor, paintings with the distinct artistic style of the ancient empire depicted the champion knights of the Church of Radiance and the nuns blessed by the goddess throughout the ages.
In the middle of the banquet, there was a fountain with a statue of a nun praying for mercy.
However, what spouted from it was not water, but nectar and jade-like liquid.
The students attending the banquet were all adults, so they could pick up the wine and drink it there.
Vinny never drank alcohol. If it were the old Vinny, he might have been unable to move at the sight of this expensive red wine, but he disliked the taste of alcohol, just like Aesphyra.
He guessed that Aesphyra would stay as far away from these fountains as possible during this banquet.
Moreover, tonight was not for drinking.
Although there were so many professional combat teachers watching in the shadows and nothing would happen, he still had to be careful, just in case.
He was not the protagonist, but an NPC busy trying to get promoted. If he accidentally died from an unknown AoE skill, what would happen?
Let the protagonist team deal with the Demon God Pillar cultists. With the blessing of fate, what danger could they face?
In addition, Aesphyra had been frequently warning him recently.
Vinny felt that he, the former villain who had not yet fully turned over, should get involved in the main plot as little as possible.
Who knows, maybe one day, protagonist suddenly gets divine inspiration and thinks he is a threat and wants to eliminate him.
After entering the banquet, the first thing Vinny did was to find a good seat.
As for the speech of the academic dean on the stage? It was just a breeze in his ear.
After the academic dean’s speech, it was the speech of the student council president, Mirexia.
Vinny finally saw Mirexia today.
Today, Mirexia was dressed very formally.
Although she was still wearing a student uniform, it was the black and navy blue short skirt uniform exclusive to the student council president.
On her chest and arms, there were the student council president’s badge and armband.
A pair of almond eyes were as cold as a lake without ripples, and her skin was as white as snow, like a bright moon in the sky.
A stunning beauty, combined with the image of a noble and high-ranking flower and a noble origin, was like a wonderful chemical reaction, making her the dream lover of countless boys.
The wrinkled old man was obviously not as popular as the glamorous golden-haired twin-tailed beauty.
As soon as Mirexia appeared, it was like a celebrity appearance in the past life, attracting the attention of many students, especially the male students.
Men, as long as they are boys, who is not a loyal fan of President Mirexia?
Although Mirexia’s speech and the Holy Healing Festival’s blessing were a bit rigid and too formulaic, the same words, let an old man say it compared to a beautiful girl, can the effect be the same?
Everyone was almost asleep listening to the speech of the academic dean, but when it came to Mirexia, after listening, everyone could probably summarize a feeling-rich reading experience, including how white and big the lines were.
“President’s eyes are so beautiful, like sapphires, ah, ah, I really want to be looked at by the president with cold eyes like looking at garbage.”
“Brother, your fetish is too strange... Well, although I don’t have that kind of hobby, if it’s Her Highness Mirexia, I’d rather endure it!”
“You are scolding me and you are thinking same, huh?”
Young boys who are young and ignorant can’t avoid dreaming, for example, next to Vinny, there were a few people, their voices were very soft, and it was obvious that they were also acquaintances, it’s normal to go crazy between acquaintances, as long as it’s not heard by outsiders.
But to be honest, with Mirexia’s character, the situation they fantasized about would never happen.
“As the most dazzling gem on the crown of Camella, if I could talk to Her Highness Mirexia in this life, oh no, just to be looked at by her, those eyes, even if only for a moment, only staring at me, I would be satisfied!”
Hearing the words of those male fans who admired Mirexia so much around him, Vinny was silent again.
Recalling the visit to Mirexia’s dormitory a few days ago, he felt that if this incident was exposed, not only would Mirexia be socially dead, he would probably be accidentally killed by a brick with a lock one day, even if he escaped, there would be all kinds of ‘accidents’.
Why does it feel like a celebrity in the past life?
Well, it seems that there is a tendency in that direction.
After the speech, Mirexia bowed to the goddess statue outside the courtyard, her hands in a prayer posture, said a ‘Bless the Holy Healing Festival goes smoothly’, and left under the watchful eyes of everyone.
As soon as the academic dean announced that everyone could sit down and didn’t have to stand still, Vinny immediately hurried to the seat he had already spotted and sat down.
He had observed that there were dishes he liked around this seat.
Shikondell, as usual, followed him like a little tail, sitting next to Vinny, as if afraid that someone would take her seat.
After sitting down, she held the shorts on her thighs with both hands, nervously looking around.
“Classmate Vinny, why does it feel like the atmosphere is a bit off?” Shikondell looked at Vinny who was putting food on his plate as soon as he sat down, looking quite nervous.
“How is it off? I think everything is fine, it’s just your illusion, hurry up and eat, or you’ll be left with only leftovers later.” Vinny thought that the intuition of this elf girl was always so accurate, but on the surface, he still looked careless, as if he didn’t know what was going to happen.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Mirexia who was walking down the stage in full dress.
During the dinner banquet, Mirexia would go to the Goddess of Radiance bedroom to pray until the banquet was over.
At this time, according to the rules, there should only be her alone.
This was the best time for the [Bronze Blood] to take action.
But if the [Bronze Blood] dared to reach out this time, there would be big trouble.
The spy Zoe should be cooperating with the academy to lure the [Bronze Blood] into the trap.
In other words, there might be a nail planted by the [Bronze Blood] hiding in the church.
However, they would not come to the banquet in the rear hall, because the academy deliberately arranged that only teachers and students could enter this banquet, and others were forbidden to enter.
So even if something happened, as long as he stayed in the rear hall with the group of students, he would be safe.
“Ah! Sorry, I bumped into you, sorry.”
“It’s okay, no harm done.”
The interaction next to Vinny caught his attention. It seemed that a male student was not paying attention and bumped into another male student.
Vinny instinctively looked over, then suddenly froze, his pupils contracted.
He quickly rubbed his eyes and continued to look at the male student’s shoulder.
Just now, the male student who accidentally bumped into someone, in order to stabilize himself and not fall, instinctively grabbed the clothes on the shoulder of the male student he bumped into, causing the shoulder of the male student who was bumped to be slightly pulled open.
Vinny, who happened to notice the interaction next to him, turned his gaze and saw a faint and blurry «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» dark red mark on the shoulder of the male student who was bumped.
But when he blinked and looked closely, he found that the male student who was bumped had smoothed out the clothes on his shoulder and calmly said it was okay, not caring at all.
The male student who bumped into someone didn’t seem to notice much, just said sorry a few times and left.
Vinny was silent. He looked around and found that everyone was doing their own thing, and no one noticed here.
Was he seeing things?
That mark was too faint, so faint that Vinny couldn’t be sure if it was really there.
If it was just his eyes, or if the person had suffered some skin injury recently and there was a red mark on the skin?
Or was it a tattoo?
Carillian Academy did not have strict rules that students could not get tattoos.
This kind of thing was entirely up to personal freedom, but it was almost impossible for anyone to get those things, though it couldn’t be ruled out that someone might have a hobby, so it was hard to say.
Vinny suddenly remembered something Mirexia mentioned when they were chatting.
No way? It’s impossible, right?
This—it should just be his illusion, right? It’s impossible that there are students who have it, right?
You know, Carillian Academy has very strict checks on students entering the academy, thoroughly investigating family background, investigating the family for three generations—anyone related to the Demon God Pillar would be screened out.
Anyway, it’s too far-fetched for Demon God Pillar cultists to enter Carillian Academy as students.
****
Holy Healing Festival, the front hall—a guard on duty quietly left the scene.
He went to the back garden, from the dense bushes in a corner of the garden, he found a small black leather bag, took out a small bottle of potion and a mask, applied the potion to the mask, put it on, and his figure slowly disappeared in the inconspicuous corner of the garden.
Without anyone noticing, he went to the high bridge connected to the building, to another floor.
At this time, it was the time when the guardian teachers of Carillian Academy were changing shifts—the weakest moment.
When he reached the rooftop, braving the howling wind, he passed the bridge connecting the rear hall and the central hall smoothly, arriving at the tightly closed magic floating hall.
Here, there was no one. The guard pondered for a moment, took out a bell that he had prepared in advance, and gently shook it.
Strangely, the bell did not make any sound when shaken. Except for the increasingly loud wind, there was no movement at all.
After a long time, a blurry outline gradually appeared in front of the Goddess of Radiance bedroom. She was wearing a black robe and a mask—judging by her figure, she looked like a girl.
The black-robed girl was supporting a golden-haired girl, who seemed to be unconscious.
The invisibility potion specially given by Erunes could only take effect when applied to a mask made of a specific material.
Otherwise, it was just an ordinary potion that could not be detected in testing.
Wearing such a mask could hide all traces and enter the invisible state.
After entering the invisible state, you could pull others and bring them into the invisible state.
Seeing the other party take the initiative to lift the invisibility, the guard didn’t rush to respond, but waited for a while. Only after confirming that there was no movement around did he lift his invisibility.
“I brought the person.” Seeing the person appear, the black-robed girl supported the golden-haired girl next to her and said. Her voice through the mask carried an illusory blur, making it impossible to determine if it was male or female—but from the tone, it was clear she was nervous, even though she was trying to appear calm.
“Yes, as agreed,” the man nodded indifferently.
“Are you the one who has been in contact with me?” Zoe asked inadvertently.
“What, you still want to trick me?” the man sneered.
“No, just, according to the agreement, my brother, he...”
“I have no right to answer you, but I will report your request to the priest.” The man did not give a clear answer.
Hearing the obvious prevarication from the other party, Zoe bit her lips under the mask.
As Vinny said, the [Bronze Blood] had been dragging her, not returning the hostages to her, but always giving her hope—so that she would continue working for the [Bronze Blood].
Moreover, the [Bronze Blood] didn’t have to worry about her betraying them and turning to the enemy.
Any human country, or even many non-human races, had a well-known attitude toward Demon God Pillar cultists and their associates—it’s a life-threatening situation once discovered.
Anyone related to Demon God Pillar cultists—this identity can never see the light again. Only Demon God Pillar cultists would tolerate such a traitor?
This kind of person has no room to survive in human countries. They can only serve the Demon God Pillar until death. And if the Demon God Pillar cultists reveal their information, they will become completely dead in both senses.
So this kind of person is easy to control and will never betray.
Those driven by desire are often the most afraid of death.
“But this is not the same as agreed. Didn’t you say that as long as I successfully controlled Mirexia, you would return my brother to me and keep the secret for me?” Zoe couldn’t control her emotions.
“Don’t ask me. I’m just a messenger. I can only do what I can to convey your question to the higher-ups and then wait for them to answer.” The man didn’t care about Zoe’s attitude. In the eyes of outsiders, the black-robed girl was already tied to them—whether she was willing or not.
Now it was even more so.
Participating in the kidnapping of the princess of the Kingdom of Camella—if she dares to turn around, the first one to be beheaded is herself.
“...”
“You have no choice. Now only we can help you and save you.” The man silently watched Zoe’s attitude, from being slightly agitated to increasingly silent.
Although they were the ones who pushed her into the pit, now that it had come to this, only they could pull her out.
Once her identity was revealed, she would become the target of public criticism.
Only now did Zoe realize that she had stepped into a dead end from the beginning.
“Okay, don’t waste time talking. Hand the princess over to me. The others are already ready.” As he spoke, the man beckoned to Zoe.