“Professor Elsa, and esteemed mages, welcome to Asphodel.”
Fan Zhuo bowed slightly, ignoring the sarcasm in Elsa’s words. His face still wore that perfect smile of sanctity that had been welded there since his time as a candidate for the Holy Son.
“It is a pleasure to meet you all. I am truly honored that our prison can contribute to academic research.”
This was a long-standing habit; even if everyone knew the true motives, superficial pleasantries were indispensable.
A young male mage standing beside Elsa stepped forward.
His name was Kyle, Elsa’s most prized student. He was handsome, with his blonde hair meticulously groomed and his robes made of high-quality material—it was clear at a glance that he came from a prestigious background.
From his demeanor, it wasn’t hard to see that this favored son of heaven possessed a devotion toward Professor Elsa that transcended the typical student-teacher relationship… it was nearly fanatical.
Kyle sized up Fan Zhuo, his tone carrying a hint of undisguised contempt. “We are merely here on the academy’s orders to conduct a routine academic assessment of Asphodel Prison’s ‘Non-human Ecological Environment.'”
He scanned the surrounding forest, his eyes full of disdain, as if everything here was just a pile of worthless trash waiting to be categorized.
“After all, the Holy Papacy allocates a significant amount of funding to you every year. We need to see where that money is being spent…”
As soon as those words left his mouth, the weathered skin on Old John’s face, standing beside Fan Zhuo, couldn’t help but twitch violently.
Allocating so much funding every year?
The prison’s ledgers were practically empty! He actually had the nerve to mention funding?
Fan Zhuo sneered inwardly, but his face remained as calm as water. “I see… In that case, I wonder what the first stop of the inspection will be… Where would you like to go?”
Finally, they reached the main point.
Elsa’s sharp gaze bypassed him, pointing directly into the depths of the forest—the direction where the Mother Tree was located.
Fan Zhuo’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
As expected… these people had come prepared.
“We heard that Section B has experienced abnormal energy fluctuations recently, specifically in the Heart of the Forest area…” At this, Elsa’s gaze slowly fell back onto Fan Zhuo’s face, examining him closely.
It was unclear if she was observing his changing expressions or simply admiring him, but it certainly made Fan Zhuo feel uneasy.
Big brother… no, big sister… why are you staring at my face? Is there writing on it?
Or is it that my handsome features have caused a ripple in your academic-soaked heart?
Fan Zhuo’s mind was flooded with internal commentary, but on the surface, he maintained a composed “at your service” appearance.
The opponent’s target was clear, pointing straight to the place where the prison had recently encountered problems.
A surprise inspection… specifically targeting the site of the most serious “suspected heretical fluctuations.”
If this wasn’t intentional targeting, then what was?
Old John’s expression darkened even further.
These people were incredibly well-informed; they even knew about the “heretical fluctuations,” an internal secret that the prison’s upper management had deliberately suppressed.
But since the other party was acting under the banner of an “academic inspection,” he couldn’t refuse.
“Of course, you are most welcome,” Fan Zhuo said with a polite smile.
“Very well.” Elsa glanced at Old John, a smile in her eyes as if she were very satisfied with his powerless inability to stop her.
She waved her hand, signaling the inspection team to follow. “I hope your prison can withstand the most rigorous academic scrutiny of our Royal Magic Academy.”
“Of course, this isn’t targeted at you,” she said, pointing to a mage beside her who looked like a reporter, wearing a “Holy Light Gazette” badge on his chest.
The man immediately understood and pulled out a shiny Crystal Recorder, waving it around at the surroundings.
“If we find nothing wrong, we will certainly record the excellent management of Asphodel Prison…”
Old John broke into a cold sweat.
These academic types actually brought a reporter from the Holy Light Gazette?
If they caught even the slightest flaw, wouldn’t it be reported to death?
He sniffed the scent of alcohol on himself. Fortunately, everyone’s attention was drawn to Fan Zhuo, the handsome young priest, and he was standing further away. He probably hadn’t been noticed by the two reporters…
He found an opportunity to lean toward Fan Zhuo and lowered his voice. “Kid, something’s wrong. These people are here for ‘that incident’… and they have reporters…”
“Uh… a prisoner in Section C is feeling a bit unstable. I need to go back and keep an eye on things… I’ll leave this to you. Remember, say more pleasantries, do less actual work, just stall them.”
After speaking, Old John used the excuse of “unstable prisoner in Section C needing urgent handling” to grease his heels and slip away.
Fan Zhuo was speechless.
This old guy’s ability to shift blame and run away was top-tier.
Now, he had to face this pack of wolves in scholars’ clothing alone.
As the group moved deeper into the woods, the scenery became increasingly strange.
This wasn’t the first time Fan Zhuo had seen this view, but in the familiar forest, some things… seemed to have changed…
Some brave tree spirits and flower demons peeked out from behind massive trunks, curiously sizing up the uninvited guests with their flashy clothes and mixed auras.
But when their gazes landed on Fan Zhuo, that curiosity quickly transformed into an undisguised, almost instinctive closeness and longing.
Their eyes became hazy, and a few bold Vine Demons even quietly extended green vines, like a bashful girl reaching out a shy hand, wanting to touch the hem of Fan Zhuo’s pure white cleric uniform.
This bizarre scene naturally fell into everyone’s eyes.
The mages’ faces were filled with confusion… and disdain.
In their view, it was simply preposterous that these low-level plant-based monsters, who didn’t even possess full intelligence, would show signs similar to “being in heat” toward a cleric.
And this also served as side evidence of… the chaotic and degenerate management of this prison.
The reporter from the Holy Light Gazette quickly recorded this anomaly, but for the sake of rigor, they filled in “Temporarily Unknown” in the “Reason” column.
Kyle’s eyes instantly turned cold.
He stared jealously at Fan Zhuo’s handsome face. In his view, these lowly… monsters were also being deceived by Fan Zhuo’s pretty boy face.
Even Professor Elsa couldn’t help but look at Fan Zhuo for a few extra seconds, which made the fire of jealousy in Kyle’s heart burn even hotter.
Elsa herself frowned slightly; she keenly sensed that things were not as simple as they seemed.
What those monsters displayed didn’t look like simple desire, but rather… something similar to the phototropic instinct of plants.
As if there was something in this young priest that was attracting their very life essence.
This caused Elsa, who already had some favorable impression of Fan Zhuo, to become even more interested.
At this moment, Fan Zhuo had no idea that he had been targeted by the elemental professor from the Royal Magic Academy, who was most famous for being a “visuals-oriented” judge and only admitted handsome students…