Chapter 203: Lawrence Says 'Huh?'

Ancient oak trees were spread out on both sides of a sidewalk at Ikerite University, creating dense canopies. The light from the gaps in the leaves shone on the stone pavement, forming streaks of brilliance. Nearby, the Learning and Education Hall stood majestically. It was one of the symbols of the college and was always bustling with activity.

Lance, Hyperion, and their new friend were walking on the path when they saw the dean suddenly appear. His leather shoes dragged slightly on the ground as he walked closer to the trio. The only sounds left in his ears were the laughter of other students and the rustle of the leaves in the breeze.

"Lance, Hyperion." Dean Lawrence stared at the two closely. "Lance, what's going on with the competition between you and Adam?"

He couldn't be bothered to wonder why Lance and Hyperion were hanging out with a student from the Yaloran Kingdom. Honestly, it wasn't a big deal. As long as the two didn't send a perfectly good Yaloran student to jail somehow, Lawrence really had no issue with them.

Lance and Hyperion looked at each other, obviously not expecting to meet the dean here.

Immediately after, Lance exclaimed, "Dean Lawrence!"

He was actually very happy to see the dean suddenly falling from the sky, as he had been looking for him. He answered Lawrence's question first, "The friendly competition between me and Adam is over. He chose the artificial Shadow Realm, The Bone-Chilling Cage of Despair, and I agreed."

Lawrence asked in confusion, "The competition is over?"

Why is Adam still in the seventh-floor atrium, then?

"Also, Adam hasn't contacted Juliana for a day," Lance explained, "because he’s still in the Shadow Realm..."

Lawrence blinked. "Huh? You didn't win?"

Lance nodded. "Yup, I lost."

Lawrence immediately felt a chill go down his back. He never expected Lance to lose. There was only one reason for this guy to lose so easily: he had no intention of winning.[1]

For a moment, Lawrence couldn't guess what Lance had done. He quickly looked at Hyperion, who was a rare, normal student. She at least spoke the human tongue better than Lance. "Hyperion, tell me what's going on."

Hyperion glanced at Lance, then she glanced at Dean Lawrence sheepishly. "Lance and Adam made a bet. If Lance won, Knight Commander Juliana would come to the Kingdom of Hutton to go on a date with you."

"... Date?" squeaked the dean.

Lawrence was quite shocked when he heard about the terms of the bet, but he breathed a sigh of relief after hearing it. Fortunately, Lance didn't win!

He then stopped to think about it. To get Juliana to agree to such incredible conditions, what would be the price if Lance loses?

Lawrence looked at Hyperion again, waiting for her to continue. She was now squirming and holding on to the corners of her clothes, unable to speak for a long time. Lawrence became nervous. He felt like he might be struck by lightning at any time.

Feeling Hyperion's inner turmoil, Lance took pity on her. He took a slight step forward and said, "It's like this. Basically, if Adam won, you wouldn’t have to go out of your way. You would just need to go with the flow. Then you could prepare to go on a nice date with Knight Commander Juliana."

Lawrence couldn't understand what Lance was saying. How could there be such a deranged bet? And why was Juliana going to go on a date with him? How did that get tangled up into all of this?!

Lance explained, "Knight Commander Juliana has agreed to it as long as you apologize to her and explain things properly to her..."

While they were talking on the pathway, a restless commotion appeared at the door of a building in the distance, attracting their attention. They then heard rapid footsteps.

Lawrence saw the medical team with the College of Alchemy's logo printed on their white uniforms. They were walking quickly out of the Learning and Education Hall in a very professional manner.

Having recently done this multiple times within a short period of time, they were all quite practiced at this. What was even more shocking was that it was Adam who was being carried on a stretcher.

His once cheerful and confident face now looked extremely pale and was covered with frost, as if he had just been taken out of the freezer. He had just experienced a calamity and was close to dying.

Lawrence spotted Adam and found himself unable to look away. His face showed a mixture of disbelief and shock. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. "This..."

He was utterly speechless. He tilted his head back slightly, trying to find the reason as to why Adam was on a medical stretcher.

When the stretcher passed Lawrence and Lance on the road, Adam, who was still shaking on the stretcher, noticed Lawrence's frightened and totally shocked expression. He soon revealed a brilliant victor's smile. He, Adam, was the one who won!

He had longed to see this kind of expression on Lawrence's face. This academic visit to the Kingdom of Hutton had been a totally worthwhile trip!

However, when the angle of the stretcher changed and Adam noticed Lance beside Lawrence, his eyes gradually froze again. Lance's expression was full of life—a sharp contrast to his own condition.

While he was suffering in the ice-cold prison, Lance must have had a good day yesterday, eating well, drinking well, and sleeping soundly. Adam's mind spun.

"L-Lance... could you..." With his lips and teeth trembling, he made a weak sound as the stretcher passed by Lance.

Lance pursed his lips, a bit of regret and complaint showing in his compassionate expression. It was obvious he was silently asking Adam why he didn't believe him earlier. This was supposed to be a friendly match.

"Lance, hello..." Finally, Adam tilted his head and fainted.

Silence permeated the path.

While watching Adam being carried away, Lawrence felt like something was stuck in his throat. Some things were just beyond words, and he now realized what Lance meant by "going with the flow."

I have to go to Juliana to apologize for all of... this.

Lance said cheerfully, "Dean Lawrence, just happily go on a date with Knight Commander Juliana later. If you need to build a bridge in the future, just come to me. I promise to help you get everything done in your life!"

He put his hands in his pockets and sighed. When he looked at Lawrence again, he smiled like a little angel holding an arrow of love.

Lawrence's face cycled through a multitude of expressions as he stared at the youth before him. Going on a date with Juliana was actually a dream come true. In fact, Lawrence had never thought he would have that kind of opportunity. Why did he feel particularly sad now, though?

His already bumpy emotional road could become smooth after Lance's personal guidance.

Finally. Lawrence smiled, but it was the type of smile that revealed that he wanted to cry. I'm so stupid, really...

He raised his dull eyes and shook his head, unable to form a sentence.

1. Bingo! ☜