Chapter 310
Chapter 310
Chapter 310
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 310 – Lan Qi Has Absolutely No Criminal Record
“Did you really ever do those things?”
Sid shook the snow off her boots as she asked casually.
Generally speaking, people’s first assumptions and suspicions often reflect their own experiences.
To her, those hulking men out on the snow didn’t seem like kidnappers, traffickers, or organ harvesters at all.
“Absolutely not.”
Lan Qi shook his head, but under Sid’s skeptical gaze, he reluctantly pulled something out of his pack: an official Certificate of No Criminal Record issued by the Protos Empire.
【Verified Subject: Rocky McCarthyNationality/Region: Protos Empire / Southwestern Province / Lilorom CityDocument Type: Citizen IDNo criminal record found.】
The document was stamped with the seal of the Helrom South Station Police Bureau in the Imperial Capital.
He proudly held it out for Sid to see, pointing at the text with smug satisfaction.
“I don’t think a normal person would ever go out of their way to get one of those,” Sid remarked flatly.
“This is called taking pride in being law-abiding,” Lan Qi sniffed, tucking the paper away, his expression smugger than ever.
—
On the far side of the snowy plain—
The bandits, who had been drawn to the rustling from the forest, now stared at the two new figures in the distance. The fact that those two were casually chatting and ignoring them entirely made their expressions twist strangely.
“Boss, are they… looking down on us?”
“Heh. Didn’t that southern young master react the same way at first, before he realized how bad his situation was?”
The bandits glanced at the noble boy still struggling weakly within his failing barrier, sneering as they turned their attention toward the newcomers.
Even through wind and snow, their scout invoked an eyesight-enhancing spell, letting them see clearly across the dozens of meters separating them.
“Not bad—a pretty boy, and the girl’s decent enough too.”
Their crude voices carried across the icy air toward the woods.
Upon hearing those comments—
“…”
Lan Qi shot Sid a sympathetic smile, the kind that said I’m prettier than you, apparently.
Sid, though a striking beauty even in disguise, had somehow only been rated “average” in these twisted bandits’ eyes.
“…”
Sid didn’t bother warning Lan Qi how that smile was affecting her “favorability score” toward him.
Instead, she tossed her luggage into his arms, rolled her wrists, and strode forward alone toward the bandits and the cornered boy.
What followed was a swift and brutal battle.
—
Soon, corpses lay sprawled across the snow.
Lan Qi stared at them in silence for a moment, then glanced sidelong at Sid.
“You’re about to say something, aren’t you?” Sid asked.
“…If I say it, my favorability score will probably drop again.”
“The moment you said that, it already dropped.”
The noble boy knelt trembling in the snow, staring at the two strangers who had just saved him. Standing against the sun, their figures were cast into shadow, dark yet dazzling all the same.
Never once had he felt tension or urgency from them.
It was as though they were truly just sightseeing in the snow, even while killing bandits.
Even after the fight, they chatted idly, lighthearted as ever.
They seemed like the type who could stand in court and say, “What’s the big deal? It was just a murder,” and then somehow win the case.
At last, the green-eyed youth noticed the boy still frozen on the ground, unable to rise.
He smiled warmly.“Can you stand?”
Lan Qi extended a gloved hand.
“Thank you,”
the boy whispered. Polite and bookish, Shaya still looked timid as he grasped Lan Qi’s hand and was pulled to his feet.
“I’m Rocky, this is Sid. Do you know the way to Kingston City?” Lan Qi asked, sneaking a glance at Sid.
Even Shaya could tell what that glance meant. Clearly, it had annoyed the aloof silver-haired girl with the map once again.
“We’re from the Protos Royal Academy of Magic. We’re headed to the northern front to complete some coursework.”
To ease the shaken boy’s fears, Lan Qi produced his student identification from the Imperial Capital, while Sid showed her student travel pass.
Neither mentioned their true status as clerics of the Annihilation Branch. If they revealed their ties to the Resurrection Church, people’s attitudes might change drastically.
Their cover identity was far better.
Academy students—neutral, respectable, and trustworthy.
“The Royal Academy of Magic… no wonder you’re both so strong!” Shaya said, bowing deeply to his saviors. “I know the way to Kingston. If you skirt the snow forest and walk a dozen kilometers, you’ll be there. I was on that same road when I was attacked by these outlaws.”
His respect was sincere. Skilled at recognizing forged documents, Shaya immediately saw that theirs were genuine. And even if they weren’t, they’d be caught at Kingston’s gates.
“That’s wonderful. Would you like to travel together?”
Lan Qi’s voice was gentle, almost coaxing. He was an expert at asking for directions—and never let his guides go unrewarded.
“Of course!”
Shaya nodded eagerly, like a drowning man clinging to a rope.
He had dreaded facing more dangers alone.
These two, radiating strength and confidence even in the northern wilds, must surely be among the Academy’s top second- or third-year students.
Though Shaya dared not pry too much, for fear of being rude, his mind whispered a bold guess—could they be among the fabled Ten Seats of the Academy?
But Lady Kingston, his betrothed, would know better. She had visited the capital last year and met several senior students.
Despite the North’s poor communications, if these two were famous at the Academy, she would surely have heard of them.
Then again, perhaps he was simply overthinking things.
The Ten Seats were often sixth-rank prodigies, the Empire’s most dazzling youth—rare even in the remotest provinces.