The moment those words left her mouth, not only Seraphina froze, but nearly everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Saint Eustacia in unison.
The most shocked of all was the person herself.
She whipped her head around to stare at her teacher.
“Ah? What did you just say? This is too… absurd. I can’t leave here, especially at such a sensitive time. How could I possibly leave…”
From this, it was clear that Dekalorin’s proposal had not been discussed with Saint Eustacia at all.
It was entirely her own idea.
“You’ve always told me that my existence is crucial to the human side. Why are you suddenly asking me to leave now?”
“Wait a moment. Listen to my explanation first.” Facing this string of questions, Dekalorin remained completely calm.
“You are indeed important. But precisely because of that, you need a broader perspective and to learn new knowledge. Staying here all the time will always limit what you can see and hear. The Demon Realm is a completely different world. Understanding it is vital for your future growth.
“Besides, while you’re away, I’ll keep the situation stable. Moreover…” Dekalorin shifted her gaze to Seraphina and Movira, “the two leaders of the Demon Realm have come to the human world. So why can’t our leader go over to the Demon Realm in return?”
Dekalorin so openly stated the two women’s identities right in front of Astraea, which meant she was definitely aware that Astraea already knew.
Saint Eustacia still wanted to refute.
“But…”
“No buts!” Dekalorin cut her off.
“This isn’t asking for your opinion. It’s a notification!”
That forceful “notification” left Saint Eustacia completely speechless.
She looked toward the others again.
Seraphina felt there was nothing particularly wrong with Saint Eustacia going to the Demon Realm, because a few days ago she had already been thinking about “abducting” Saint Eustacia to the Demon Realm.
She never expected it would actually happen so soon.
Now she even suspected that Dekalorin might know mind-reading magic.
Astraea offered no comment.
After the initial slight surprise, Movira’s face immediately broke into a smile that was almost mocking.
She looked Saint Eustacia up and down and teased in an extremely punchable tone:
“Coming back with us? Dekalorin, are you serious? Our environment over there is harsh—chaotic and barren. It really can’t accommodate this young lady who grew up in the church. If she gets frightened, we won’t be able to take responsibility.”
This was pure, naked contempt and provocation.
In an instant, it ignited the pride in Saint Eustacia’s heart.
She could accept Dekalorin’s arrangement, but she absolutely could not tolerate being looked down on like this, especially by Movira!
“So what if it’s the Demon Realm? I’m not that delicate! Since Teacher thinks it’s necessary, then I’ll go!” She suddenly slammed the table and stood up, her tone turning cold.
Seeing this reaction, Seraphina couldn’t hold back her laughter.
Saint Eustacia had been completely fooled by the coordinated performance of Dekalorin and Movira.
By the time Saint Eustacia realized what had happened, it was already too late.
There was Seraphina secretly covering her laughter, Dekalorin who was happy to see it succeed, Movira who had achieved her scheme, and Astraea who remained detached from the affair.
Looking at this table of people each with their own hidden motives, she suddenly felt a wave of powerlessness.
“Hah…” She sat back down all at once, letting out a long sigh, her shoulders slumping a little.
“Fine. I’ll go.”
Hearing that, Dekalorin’s brows immediately lifted with joy.
She clapped her hands.
“That’s more like it! Alright, alright, now that the serious talk is done, hurry up and eat!”
The atmosphere at the table instantly became lively and relaxed again, as if that conversation about “exiling” the Saintess for a period of time had never happened.
After the meal came the final farewells and preparations for departure.
Saint Eustacia’s luggage seemed to have been prepared long ago.
Clearly, Dekalorin had come “fully prepared.”
This made Saint Eustacia’s expression even worse.
“Teacher, why did you prepare two carriages? I’ll just sit with them…”
Before she could finish, Dekalorin covered her mouth.
“Shh. Are you stupid? Don’t they need some private space?”
On the other side, Seraphina was also saying her final goodbyes to Astraea.
Astraea smiled and said:
“Looks like Saint Roland Magic Academy is going to lose its newly appointed professor for the next three months.”
Since she was teasing like that, she actually knew all the hidden details.
She just hadn’t pointed them out.
Seraphina’s face flushed red.
“Aiya, it’s all Dekalorin’s doing. She insisted on making me some kind of professor…”
“Alright, let’s not talk about that.” Astraea seemed to think of something else and said, “Then take care on the road. I hope that when we meet next time, you’ll be able to call me ‘Pathfinder’.”
“‘Pathfinder’? What does that mean?” She had never heard this term from the other party before, so of course she was completely confused.
But just as Seraphina wanted to continue asking, her body was pulled over to the carriage by Movira.
“I still haven’t finished asking!”
“Ahem… It’s not important. She was just talking nonsense.” Movira of course knew what it meant, but she definitely couldn’t let Seraphina know—at least not right now!
The roads on the first day of the new year were indeed as empty as expected.
The vast majority of people had chosen to stay home and reunite with their families.
Not a single other carriage could be seen on the broad road.
Only their convoy raced past.
The road was completely unobstructed, and with Saint Eustacia adding acceleration magic to the horses, the carriages moved extremely fast.
The scenery outside the window flew backward, almost merging into a blurred ribbon of color.
This extreme speed was truly no less than a form of torture for Seraphina.
Although she had just woken up not long ago and felt no sleepiness at all, at this moment she would rather pass out immediately!
Waves of nausea kept surging up.
Her head felt dizzy, and the entire world seemed to be spinning.
“Ugh…” She let out a miserable moan.
Her little face was deathly pale, and fine cold sweat beaded on her forehead.
She tightly closed her eyes and buried herself deeply against Movira’s chest, drawing a bit of that sense of security.
Movira steadily wrapped an arm around her waist.
With the other hand she gently patted her back.
In order to make her more comfortable, she had Seraphina sit almost completely sideways on her closed legs.
This posture made Seraphina sink entirely into Movira’s embrace.
Beneath her were Movira’s soft thighs.
Compared to the carriage seat, this really did ease both Seraphina’s pain and dizziness quite a bit.
“Are you alright? I’ll have Saint Eustacia slow down a little.” Movira comforted her in a low voice, gently nuzzling her cheek against Seraphina’s head.
Seraphina nodded weakly, almost lacking even the strength to speak.