High School of Demon Hunting
Chapter 841 - 189 Illusion

Chapter 841: Chapter 189 Illusion

The First University’s Protect Legal Formation was a nested Formation.

The campus walls, fences, and other boundaries constructed the Inner Formation, while the winding coastline of Buji Island defined the Outer Formation. In simple terms, the Inner Formation’s protection was more meticulous and heavily guarded, while the Outer Formation was relatively more relaxed—which is precisely why His Grace the Duke chose to "chat" with that public-cost student when he was leaving campus.

Although Duke Milton was getting on in years, he was far from confused and would definitely not make trouble for their students under the watchful eyes of a group of Elder Wizards.

After all, it’s best to enter the village quietly, without the sound of gunfire.

The reason the management of the Outer Formation was somewhat lax was that in addition to the many students studying at the First University, Buji Island was also home to a considerable number of merchants, adventurers, and even diplomats from different civilizations; they couldn’t possibly stay on the tiny campus year-round, heads buried in their books, like the students of the First University.

Therefore, for the students currently enrolled at the First University, there were only a few days during the winter and summer vacations when the Guardian Formation was wide open, giving them a chance to leave the island. As for the wizards outside the school, with an invitation from the First University or a pass, they could conditionally land on or leave one of the most mysterious islands in the Wizard World.

This was somewhat like a highly secure school, with the school gates locked during class time, only opening for a short period during dismissal to allow students to enter and leave. A side gate or what might be called a back door, on the other hand, was reserved for visitors to the school—following official procedures, every visitor entering and exiting the campus would inevitably be scrutinized and warned by the gatekeeper, with some strangers needing to register their personal information further.

To the "gatekeepers" of the First University, Duke Milton Karen was naturally not a stranger.

This young vampire of Karen’s family had once studied magic attentively at the First University a very long time ago. During that period, he even served as the president of the Blood Comrades and left behind many legends in the history of the club.

Additionally, in the Beta Town West District, there was the Karen Mansion with massive grounds owned by the Karen Family; in the Beta Town East Zone, the Karen family owned multiple shops and storefronts.

Not to mention, Duke Milton Karen was one of the five Upper House Members of the current Moon Council, and the Moon Council was a cornerstone of the Mage Alliance on par with the First University—in other words, the status of Duke Milton or the stunning Su Daxu was roughly equivalent to the deans of the First University.

Therefore, although Duke Milton’s visit to Buji Island slightly attracted the attention of the school’s Guardian Formation, it did not stir much of a ripple.

...

Number 97, Pedestrian Street, D&K shop.

The young shop owner was completely unaware of the imminent threat, as he was entirely focused on a new customer who had just arrived.

Just a few minutes earlier, a Gypsy witch appeared at the door of the shop.

At that moment, Zheng Qing was chasing after a shorthair cat that had stolen a mouse from the cage, running chaotically. He had just reached the shop door when suddenly, a figure in a red dress blocked his path, halting him. The cunning shorthair cat took this opportunity to slip past the red dress and disappeared in the blink of an eye with the mouse in its mouth.

’You better not let me find you in that group of cats again, or you’ll have to prepare to catch a hundred mice for me!’ the miserly shop owner muttered venomously to himself before raising his head to look at the figure standing at the door.

And then he was immediately dumbfounded.

"Eh?! You’re here?!" The young public-cost student stood awkwardly straight at the shop entrance, staring blankly at the Gypsy witch.

Elena’s arrival caught him by surprise. But after the surprise came an inexplicable irritation—acknowledge me when you feel like it, ignore me when you don’t; am I just some weed by the roadside?

This time, he absolutely couldn’t let it slide so easily, the warlock emphatically reminded himself in his heart.

"So, am I not welcome here?" the Gypsy witch seemed to have forgotten the small tiff from the past few days, asking with a beaming smile as she lifted her arm to twirl a lock of her wavy long hair that had fallen near her ear.

A rich fragrance wafted towards him as she moved.

Seeing her smiling face, Zheng Qingyuan’s building anger dissipated completely—for just a few seconds before, he had been ready to shout at her, demanding to know why she had treated him that way recently, while psyching himself up internally to stand his ground and show some backbone.

But just the sight of her smile made the young warlock feel as though, actually, perhaps nothing was that serious.

"Doesn’t every family have relatives that visit for a few days each month... Maybe she really has been busy lately,"

the young scholarship student comforted himself as he awkwardly stepped back to make room for one person to pass, and mumbled, "Welcome, welcome, a warm welcome... Come in, it’s quite cold outside."

The witch pursed her lips, lowered her head, and squeezed into the shop sideways.

Zheng Qing caught a glimpse of her fair neck, and inhaling the fragrance coming off her shoulder, he felt a bit dizzy and apologetically said, "I’m really sorry... our shop is a bit small. We can’t afford a bigger place for now, so we have to make do."

"It’s quite impressive," praised the Gypsy witch as she gracefully stepped over the threshold into the store, consoling him with, "As far as I know, you’re the only first-year student who manages to earn money and run a shop on your own... That’s the most impressive thing."

Zheng Qing scratched his head, smiling foolishly.

From afar, the depths of the shop seemed to echo with a few snickers and some whistles. The warlock felt his face heat up. He tried not to look at those comrades or customers in the store—he didn’t need to look to imagine those teasing faces.

"Ah, right, I didn’t interrupt your work just now, did I?" Just after entering, the witch seemed to remember something, turning her head back towards the small shop manager, looking somewhat uneasy, "That cat..."

"It’s alright, it’s alright, it was just being naughty," Zheng Qing dismissed with a grand wave of his hand as if it didn’t bother him at all while pointing inside the room with a smile, "Those cats are also customers of the shop, just different from you guys. Some cats are a bit mischievous... No worries."

Behind the counter, Jiang Yu coughed loudly twice.

Hearing that, Zheng Qing couldn’t help his old face turn a shade redder—he had just been bragging to Jiang Yu about capturing that cat and stuffing it into a cage, ’not a single mouse in the shop should go missing’.

He turned his head away, pretending not to see Jiang Yu’s mocking smile.

Then a Yellow Flowered Cat darted past the corner of his eye.

The warlock immediately turned his head, eyes wide, searching carefully.

Not finding that fleeting figure, all he saw in his vision was a ragdoll cat sitting dumbly on a chair, licking its paws.

It must have been an illusion, he thought, shaking his head to cast out the ludicrous idea from his mind.