Mist Empire’s Rise: Fake Noble to Fog Queen

Chapter 369 Mist Empire’s Rise- 368: Extremely Vile Conduct

"These mischievous children you mentioned conspire to do bad things at the academy every day. If I don't punish them like this, how will they have opportunities to act? Clustering together for no reason will attract the academy's watchful eyes."

Professor Moses said coldly: "Speak plainly."

Headmaster Morrison sighed: "During this year's magic competition, an intermediate student was seriously injured in the first round and replaced by a substitute. Remember?"

Before Professor Moses could scold him, he continued: "That injured student was named Gordon, an intermediate swordsmanship apprentice. When Professor Rossetti treated his injuries, she discovered traces of deliberately worsened wounds."

"I asked Professor Pence. He also said this student's injury was suspicious—deliberately ran a step slower leaving the arena, letting the magical beast bite his leg."

Professor Moses sat up straight: "You mean he was instructed by the Church, wanting to sabotage the magic competition so we'd lose our operating license?"

Headmaster Morrison shook his head: "He probably doesn't know about our wager. Otherwise why wait until almost leaving the arena to get injured?"

Gordon's actions seemed more like creating an opportunity for the substitute to play. That substitute Winnie had connections with Luo Wei. Gordon perhaps wanted to get at Luo Wei through Winnie, monitoring her.

"Regardless, students who betray the academy can't stay," Professor Moses said. "You should find an excuse to expel him."

"What if he was coerced by the Church? He's also a victim."

"That's no reason to betray the academy. Keeping him here will harm everyone."

Headmaster Morrison explained: "The Church already doesn't trust Professor Tobias. Sooner or later they'll plant new spies. If not Gordon, it'll be someone else."

Professor Moses was irritated: "How do you know there aren't others besides him?"

Maybe the academy was already packed with Church spies.

"At least we discovered him. Perhaps through him we can find others," Headmaster Morrison pondered. "Moreover, I'm not sure if he's Alfried's man or the Pope's."

Professor Moses: "What's the difference?"

Headmaster Morrison: "Alfried's people can be moved against. The Pope's cannot. I suspect the Pope is deliberately showing weakness. He wants to eliminate not just us, but also Alfried."

Everyone said the Pope's days were numbered. Who knew when this rumor started? Last year the bishops all said the Pope was vigorous, personally handling Church affairs daily.

"That old lunatic Pope," Professor Moses cursed. "Why won't he just die? Though this is also good—let them tear each other apart!"

Headmaster Morrison laughed: "You're right. Alfried is no pushover. If the Pope dares feign illness, he might not hesitate to make that illness real."

Professor Moses hummed and lifted her crystal cup to sip flower tea.

The summer heat—this tea brought them a thread of coolness.

Outside the academy.

Because their secret base by Willow Lake was busted by the discipline master, the Death Penalty Squad had to relocate, forced to gather outside school.

Since Luo Wei was taking guinea pig senior to the mulberry orchard anyway, she simply packed up the remaining companions too, all riding the carriage together to the suburbs.

Getting off the carriage, Sebastian looked around, surveying his work environment for the next few months.

Luo Wei: "Let's go into the villa first. Pick a bedroom, put down your luggage, then we'll go out and tour."

Sebastian carried a burlap sack. Everything inside was his entire fortune—including one mage robe, one set of clothes, one pair of shoes, one thin bedding set, and one wooden bucket.

Luo Wei strongly suspected that bucket was the one he'd used to steal water before.

But such things weren't good to ask about. She led Sebastian and the other companions into the villa.

The mulberry orchard villa had three floors above ground. The first floor had the hall, kitchen, and servants' rooms. The second floor was the office area and employee lounge Luo Wei designed. The third floor was her bedroom.

The villa's second and third floors hadn't housed anyone yet. Bella and Luo Wei both lived at Star Luo Residence. Workers lived in dormitories at various district workshops. Only the first floor had two servants arranged.

Luo Wei had Sebastian pick a bedroom on the second floor. Sebastian wasn't polite, choosing the corner room with the most open view.

After he chose, Luo Wei instructed Bella to have people clean out this room immediately, add any missing furniture today, and prepare all daily necessities.

Sebastian listened from the side, thinking he'd really come to the right place. His junior was so generous—his prospects were truly limitless.

"Senior, if you still need anything, tell Bella. She's my housekeeper and will help you purchase things. Or you can go buy them yourself and report expenses when you return—she'll reimburse you."

Sebastian was in a good mood: "Thank you, junior. I don't need anything currently. If I do, I'll find Housekeeper Bella."

"Good," Luo Wei nodded. Turning around and seeing the five companions beside her, she first said to Laura: "Laura, you also pick a bedroom. Tell Bella whatever you need."

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Laura shook her head: "I have a lounge at the chicken coop district. I need to return to the academy at night. Don't need to give me—"

Luo Wei interrupted: "That place is too noisy. Listen to me. I'm the employer—you pick a room here!"

Laura couldn't argue with her and embarrassedly ran to choose a room.

Luo Wei watched her back, introducing to Sebastian: "Laura is the chicken coop district supervisor. She also manages the mulberry district saplings. If you need chicken coop data, you can find her."

Sebastian smiled: "I probably won't be able to find her for the next three months."

"True, we're all going out for training. Can wait until we return."

After Laura chose her room, Luo Wei instructed Bella: "Prepare four more guest rooms. Furnish them with wooden beds and wardrobes."

"Yes, Master." Bella acknowledged.

Luo Wei looked at Theodore, Hessel, Hol, and Gladys: "I'm keeping four rooms for you. From now on everyone can rest here. If we encounter any major issues, we can also discuss them here."

Everyone realized—those guest rooms were prepared for them.

"Okay!" Theodore agreed fastest. Looking at Laura then Sebastian, he squeezed beside Luo Wei in two or three steps. "Luo Wei, Luo Wei, can you also find me some work at the mulberry orchard? I want to work here!"

Want to work here?

More like want to accompany Laura here!

Luo Wei asked: "What about the dessert shop work? Not doing it anymore?"

Theodore chuckled twice, lowering his voice: "I know the dessert shop is also yours. Working here or there—isn't it all the same?"

"No," Luo Wei coldly refused. "The dessert shop is short-staffed. The mulberry orchard isn't."

During training, Academy Street business was slow. Theodore's absence didn't matter. But next semester when school opened and crowds returned, the shop's cream and butter definitely wouldn't be enough. How could they do without Theodore, the humanoid whipping machine?

But Luo Wei still gave Theodore a thread of hope: "How about this—I'll ask Senior Calansis if she can forge a cream churning machine. If she can, I'll transfer you here."

Theodore: "Alright, don't forget! If she can't forge it, I'll find someone. I guarantee I'll get that machine made for you!"

Luo Wei clicked her tongue: "Who will you find? Who else at the academy would help you? You're not going to threaten your professor by cutting off hands and feet again, are you?"

Theodore couldn't save face: "I just said that casually. Didn't actually cut them in the end, did I?"

He'd originally wanted to scare Professor Pence into transferring him to potions class so he could learn from Hol to save people and earn money. Result—Professor Pence pulled out a big knife saying he'd help him cut, scaring him into immediately fleeing.

Though his legs could grow back, cutting one off still hurt!

Later when he snuck into potions class, he genuinely wanted to learn potion brewing. But the potion materials on the table had lots of magical beast meat and magical plant fruits. He couldn't resist for a moment and ate two bites.

Just two bites and he was kicked out!

Hadn't even finished one bite of meat. So frustrating!

After arranging lodging, Luo Wei took everyone to tour the mulberry orchard.

Compared to noisy Siria City, this place was much quieter.

Hessel really liked the mulberry orchard. Mountains, water, and abundant food. Chickens raised on the river slope, ducks in the pond. If she'd lived here as a child, she definitely wouldn't have gone hungry.

Gladys fancied the mountaintop behind the villa. The moon seen from there must be big and round.

Hol was considering the possibility of brewing potions here. No one would report him anymore, right?

Theodore had already chosen his future workplace—the chicken coop! The duck coop closest to the chicken coop would also work!

Only Sebastian and Laura were seriously touring. Sebastian was memorizing the districts and industries here. Laura was observing the plants' growth conditions in the fields.

Tired from walking, everyone sat by the pond, watching ducks in the pond catch small fish and shrimp.

"Juniors, have you chosen your magic professions?" Sebastian stirred the pond water.

"Not yet," Luo Wei hesitated. "I originally wanted to choose spellchanting, but later felt it didn't suit me. I plan to choose between astrology and alchemy."

Though she'd barely passed the spellchanting assessment and could choose to become a spellchanting apprentice, with her terrible luck, what if next semester's exam drew earth spells again?

Same logic for magic runes. Any course that might expose her secrets was best not chosen.

Looking at it this way, alchemy wasn't quite suitable either. What if the weapons she forged had death bonuses? How could people use them?

"I'll choose astrology." Luo Wei made her decision.

If spellchanting apprentices were squishy mages, then astrology apprentices were squishies with no combat ability. Astrologers seemed both mysterious and fragile in everyone's eyes. This stereotype favored her playing pig to eat tiger, developing wretchedly.

As for spellchanting, she could audit classes. The academy encouraged students to audit—just don't mess around like Theodore.

For courses like magic runes, alchemy, and potions, you had to report to the professor before auditing. Professors would prepare classroom materials based on the number of attending students.

"I'm choosing potions." Hol said.

Gladys said firmly: "I, want to choose swordsmanship!"

"You're choosing swordsmanship?" Luo Wei looked at Gladys in surprise. "Didn't your brother send you to learn lightning magic?"

Gladys wrinkled her face: "Spellchants, getting longer and longer, hard to recite. I won't learn."

Longer chants meant greater power. Junior spells just controlled free-floating magic elements in the air—simple operation, relatively short chants.

Intermediate spells—one chant took over a minute to recite. When speed-chanting, the chant felt tongue-burning. People who didn't speak fluently easily mispronounced them.

Advanced spells were even more outrageous. Short ones took one or two minutes, long ones ten to twenty minutes. Not just the reciter—listeners got headaches too.

Unless a mage could recite chants backward and forward, flashing through all spell text the moment they opened their mouths, only then could they use a short chant to replace the entire spell. But the short chant's power wasn't even a third of the full spell's.

In short, none of the six magic courses were simple.

Luo Wei understood Gladys. She patted her shoulder: "It's fine. If you want to learn swordsmanship, learn it. As for spellchanting, when professors teach lightning spells, we'll audit together."

Gladys: "Yeah yeah!"

After sitting a while, everyone couldn't stand the outdoor heat and got up to return to the villa.

Luo Wei drew a large cooling magic rune on the hall floor. The indoor temperature cooled down. Heat-averse Gladys let out a small cheer.

Laura drew several wind runes nearby. A cool breeze blew through the hall.

The seven formed a circle around the runes, lying down, closing their eyes to enjoy the breeze. They'd never felt this relaxed before.

Luo Wei sighed: "This should be our Death Penalty Squad's first off-campus team building, right?"

"What squad?"

The companions were shocked and sat up, six pairs of eyes looking at her in unison, speaking together: "What did you just say—death penalty!"

Did they mishear?

When were they sentenced to death!!

Luo Wei opened her eyes, looking at everyone: "Ah, that—this is the name I gave our seven-person team. Death Penalty Squad, constantly reminding ourselves to be careful in all our actions outside."

"Phew, scared me to death," Theodore said, lying back down. "I thought I'd already been sentenced to death outside."

Laura also sighed in relief. She hadn't gotten revenge yet. She didn't want to die.

"Death Penalty Squad," Sebastian savored the name. "Quite fitting."

If their true identities were exposed, wouldn't it be a death sentence?

Though Luo Wei's identity had no problems, she'd helped them and would likely be implicated.

Sebastian thought—how could such a person exist in the world? She could clearly live freely and easily, yet risked death to save a group of people with no relation to her.

If he were her, he definitely wouldn't care about others' lives or deaths.

Hessel recited "Death Penalty Squad" once, her dark eyes dim: "We're the ones executing death sentences, not the ones being executed. Whoever dares sentence us to death, I'll kill them."

Gladys shouted excitedly: "Kill them! Kill them!"

Couldn't watch this. Luo Wei covered her eyes.

"A squad that executes death sentences on those who sentence us to death—this name is indeed good," Hol's face showed a pure smile. "Then our captain is Miss Luo Wei. Can I be vice-captain?"

Hearing this, Theodore immediately bounced up: "Vice-captain should obviously be me!"