The time shifted to the morning of the next day…
Lu Ming arrived alone at the Headquarters Building of the Academy.
He was here to meet an old friend.
It was a double rest day, so there were few staff moving about in the entire building.
Lu Ming hardly saw anyone along the way.
He took the elevator all the way to the top floor of the Headquarters Building, where the Principal’s Office was located.
As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, Lu Ming saw the principal busy at his desk, correcting documents.
But he had already expected this.
That’s right, the old friend he wanted to see was none other than the principal of the Magic Academy.
His surname was Tan, but Lu Ming usually called him Old Tan.
He looked to be over 60, an old man with a white beard.
How he came to know Lu Ming was a long story, but to put it simply, they met at an academic conference of the Empire.
Later, Principal Tan brought him over from the Imperial Academy of Science and Technology to continue working in the Research Institute.
After sending off Luna and the others yesterday, he had messaged Principal Tan, saying he would come over today.
However, he didn’t specify the reason in the message, insisting on meeting in person.
“Sit for a while, Lu Ming. I’ll talk once I’ve finished correcting these documents.”
Principal Tan spoke without even looking up.
He had known it was Lu Ming as soon as the elevator opened, but he was still busy with documents and couldn’t attend to him right away.
So he let him sit on the sofa for a bit.
He didn’t know how much time passed before Principal Tan finally tore himself away from the paperwork and walked over to sit opposite Lu Ming on the sofa.
He poured Lu Ming a cup of tea, then took out his pipe, lit it, and began to smoke.
“…Looks like you’re still as tired as ever, Old Tan.”
Lu Ming said, watching him take a puff.
He knew this was how Old Tan relieved his stress.
“Isn’t it? These documents never stop coming, which is why I wanted you to explain things over the phone last night.”
He took another puff, white smoke swirling around him like an immortal.
“Alright, if you have something to say, say it quickly. I’ll be too busy to listen soon.”
If not for their friendship, Principal Tan probably wouldn’t even have time to chat.
So he urged Lu Ming to get to the point.
After sipping his tea, Lu Ming got to the heart of the matter.
“You still remember my two children, right?”
“Of course. Luna and Lusina, wasn’t it? I met them at the opening ceremony. I didn’t expect both to grow up into such beauties.”
However, Principal Tan was puzzled about why the conversation suddenly shifted to his two children.
“What is it? Did something happen to your daughters?”
Principal Tan guessed it was likely something happened to Lu Ming’s daughters.
And he was right.
“Yes, last night they were attacked by Demons in Water City.”
At these words, Principal Tan choked on his smoke and broke into a violent coughing fit.
” Cough—cough— What did you say, Lu Ming!?”
Once he recovered, Principal Tan stared at Lu Ming in shock, doubting his own hearing.
“I knew you’d react like this…”
Then, Lu Ming explained the situation from last night in detail.
As he spoke, Principal Tan’s expression grew grave.
“Are you telling the truth!?”
“I would never joke about my daughters’ lives.”
Once he was sure it was real, Principal Tan fell into distress.
“This is troublesome… Water City isn’t safe anymore.”
Like Lu Ming, he felt deep concern about the current state of Water City.
He never imagined Demons would act so boldly.
“That’s why I had to speak to you in person. Only you can inform the upper ranks of the Hunter Association in Water City.”
It was impossible for Lu Ming to deal with the Hunter Association on his own.
Only through Principal Tan could he quickly get the attention of the higher-ups.
“Yeah, looks like I need to talk to that guy from the Hunter Association. Lu Ming, come with me.”
He called Lu Ming to go to the Hunter Association together.
Lu Ming agreed.
“Alright. So when do we go?”
“Right now!”
There was no time to lose.
The sooner, the better.
With that, Principal Tan stood up from the sofa and beckoned Lu Ming over.
“Are we using that move again…”
Seeing Principal Tan’s posture, Lu Ming had a bad feeling.
“We’re short on time. Let’s not take the car.”
As he spoke, Principal Tan took out his Staff from his Space Ring.
Lu Ming looked at him helplessly and moved to his side.
“…Every time I use your Teleportation Magic, I get a headache.”
Principal Tan was a master-level psychic adept at space and teleportation.
So this time, they would use the Teleportation Array to go directly to the President’s Office of the Hunter Association.
However, the Teleportation Array tended to cause various side effects for those being transported.
Lu Ming was one of them…
“I hope you brought some headache medicine.”
With those words, Principal Tan struck the floor with his Staff.
A magic array spread from beneath their feet.
“Closing your eyes helps, Lu Ming.”
“I don’t need you to tell me that.”
Then, the two vanished from the Office.
The next moment, they appeared in the President’s Office.
***
Inside the President’s Office of the Hunter Association…
“Phew… So comfortable…”
The President was sitting with his feet propped up on the desk, looking very relaxed.
With nothing to do, he sipped hot coffee, listened to music on the radio, and read the newspaper.
He appeared to be a man in his forties, in the prime of his life, wearing glasses that gave him an air of refinement.
“Looks like today is another peaceful day…”
He said, completely unaware of the magic array appearing on the floor.
“Eye of Heaven—!”
A sudden shout made the President’s hand tremble, spilling hot coffee all over himself.
“Hot, hot, hot, hot—!”
He jumped up in a panic, trying to wipe the coffee from his clothes.
But it was all in vain.
“Hahaha! See, coffee really does wake you up!”
Watching his flustered state, Principal Tan couldn’t help but laugh.
Beside him, Lu Ming was massaging his temples to ease the headache.
“What’s so funny!? It’s all your fault, Old Tan! My clothes are covered in coffee now!”
Seeing Principal Tan laughing, Eye of Heaven was furious.
Who caused all this and still has the nerve to laugh!?
“Sorry, sorry, I’ll pay for your dry cleaning this time, okay?”
“That’s more like it…”
The President tidied up the desk and turned to Principal Tan.
“So, what brings the principal of the Magic Academy to me personally?”
Eye of Heaven asked Principal Tan.
“Will you explain, or shall I, Old Lu?”
“You explain. I’ll add in the details if needed…”
Then, Principal Tan explained the situation to Eye of Heaven.
Lu Ming would fill in any missing details.
After hearing their story, Eye of Heaven reacted just as they had, three times over…