Control of chemical reactions

February 4, 2377, Glorious Era, one month before Class 9 traveled back to Earth

Irene squatted on the ground and used a small brush to carefully brush away the dirt on the corners of the wall.

Magic is useful, but for rookies like them whose magic skills are not yet perfect, it is safer to do delicate work by hand. Irene still remembers the consequences of being scolded by her instructor for a magic mistake a few days ago, and she doesn't want to be scolded by her serious bearded teacher again.

"I guess the old man is just making us do free labor."

A complaining voice rang out beside her ears. Her fellow senior brother Jack was sitting on the ground, pretending to sort out the cultural relics. From time to time, he looked around with his eyes as black as those of a South County rat. He was as sneaky as ever: "We are in the Department of Ancient Magic. We are studying the treasures of ancient civilization, not playing with dirt in a cave full of bugs and South County rats."

Damn, is he going to throw all the work to me again?

Irene, however, didn't appreciate Jack's complaints at all.

This man was always like this. No matter what happened, he would find all kinds of excuses to shirk responsibility, acting as if he felt his talent was not appreciated, complaining about the injustice, and then ruthlessly throwing all the work to her.

I thought that this time, I would be able to restrain this noble young master who complained a lot but did little by accompanying his mentor to excavate the ruins of Ariadne Augustine, the greatest astrologer in the history of Parnaki. In front of these bigwigs, his viscount status could not win him much face.

Unfortunately, Irene's expectations were ultimately dashed. Jack didn't expect Irene to respond to him at all. He just wanted to take this opportunity to show off his knowledge and connections, as well as his "talent" in "enjoyment".

"Alas, I didn't come to Nanjun Island to stay in a place like this. The sun, the beach, the ocean, and those wheat-skinned, young and beautiful girls holding beer are what I dream of. At the very least, we should wear wizard robes and step into the towering wizard tower under the admiring gazes of these country folk, study the changes in the starry sky, and comprehend the characters left by ancient civilizations, instead of... a place like this that will stain my newly bought white shirt and where I can't even see the sun."

Jack looked around with disgust in his eyes.

His eyes soon fell on Irene again. The girl was not listening to him attentively, but was busy with the tedious work assigned by the instructor. As she moved, the graceful figure wrapped in the wizard robe was looming.

Jack didn't care whether Irene heard him or not. He threw down the brush in his hand, changed into a posture that he thought was handsome, and winked at Irene: "But there are no other girls in South County Island who can compare to you, my dear junior. Do you know how our school calls you - the pearl from the Holy Roman Empire. A delicate flower like you deserves all the good things in life."

"There's just one thing, my dear Irene. You have to stay away from the men of South County Island. The men here smell like South County rats. They are fat and have big ears. They fill their bellies with cheap beer. They wear cheap flowered shirts and shorts. They don't look like gentlemen at all. Listen, Irene. Only the nobles of the Kingdom of Afran can be worthy of a good girl like you. You boys of the Holy Roman Empire have long lost your noble souls..."

"Dear senior Jack, please move to the side. You are blocking my work." Irene said in a slightly impatient voice.

Jack was not angry, but smiled more eagerly: "See what I said? The pearl from the empire, not only in appearance, but also in work. There is also a mural to be cleaned here. With your ability, I believe you can finish it quickly."

Irene sighed: "Senior, why do I remember that these are your jobs?"

"No, no, my dear Irene, we are so close, it's just a small matter, why do we have to distinguish it so clearly?" Jack said seriously: "Besides, I am your senior, isn't it your duty to handle some work for the senior?"

"But this is already..."

This is the fifth time you've thrown chores at me.

The second half of the sentence was interrupted by the sudden sound of footsteps. Jack, who had been desperately looking for an excuse, picked up the brush he had thrown on the ground and pretended to clean the mural. On the contrary, Irene, who was complaining about Jack, moved a little slower, and the instructor who walked into the cave saw her pause.

"Eileen!" The bearded mentor's expression was as serious as ever. When his beard trembled, Eileen knew that he was going to scold her again.

Damn it!

Irene cursed in her heart, wishing she could drag Jack out and beat him up, but this shameless villain pretended to be serious and said, "Teacher, don't be angry. Irene is just a little tired and wants to rest for a while. She is still young, so it's not surprising that she can't adapt to such high-intensity work. Don't worry, I will help her finish the rest of the work."

asshole!

Irene wanted to catch Jack and give him ten punches in her heart, but after hearing what Jack said, it seemed as if all the work was done by Jack alone.

However, regarding their work arrangements, the instructor always made casual remarks and didn't care how much each person had done. Jack relied on his family background, especially the large amount of research funds donated by his family to the college every year, and was very favored by the school and the instructor. Irene had little influence and was the youngest junior sister. Not only Jack, but many of the senior sisters and brothers bullied her.

Irene could only swallow her anger and tried to apologize humbly as usual, but suddenly a delicate female voice rang in her ears.

"You didn't do it, why are you apologizing?"

Irene was stunned, and subconsciously looked towards the source of the sound——

She was a very young woman, who looked no more than twenty years old, with three-dimensional and deep facial features, a typical look of the Kingdom of Afran, but she had a more gentle beauty that came from nowhere than this group of cold-skinned Afran people.

Due to the low temperature and the fact that the country is covered by snow and wind all year round, most men and women in the Kingdom of Afran are physically strong and taller than most people in Parnaki. However, the woman in front of him was not tall, and could even be described as "petite".

She has shoulder-length curly brown hair and purple eyes as deep as the starry sky. She wears a court magician's dress that is mainly white and dark purple, made of fine silk, embroidered with lace, and inlaid with large blue gems. A brown leather belt with a metal buckle outlines her graceful figure.

No matter how you look at it, this delicate and beautiful woman looks like a pampered noble girl who has walked out of a castle. But Irene, Jack, and their mentor all changed their expressions the moment they saw the woman, and the surrounding environment all bent their knees and gave her the most solemn salute.

"Meet Lady Ariadne!"

The other two were still able to remain calm, but Irene was already screaming in her heart.

The frame-up from Jack and the bias of her mentor were nothing to her at this moment. The person in front of her was Ariadne August, her idol!

The reason why Irene was willing to follow Jack, the annoying senior, here to participate in the archaeological work was to be able to see Ariadne from afar - she was the general person in charge of this archaeological work, and Irene's team was responsible for the restoration of the murals in the ruins.

Most of the history and texts recorded in Parnaqui today are concentrated after the Silver Age.

The 8,600-year-long war in the Silver Age caused irreparable damage to the civilization heritage of the earlier Ice Age, Chaos Age and Ancient Age.

For example, the "Ancient Magic" major that Irene is studying is based on the knowledge and history left over from three eras, centered around ancient magic.

Astrology is one of the oldest ancient magics of Parnaqui. Ariadne Auguste's contribution to history is also not to be underestimated. She has discovered a large number of relics of ancient civilizations, and the papers she published alone are enough to pile up into a small mountain.

The reason why Ariadne August was loved by most of the students of ancient magic, including Irene, was not only because of her outstanding talent, rich knowledge and professional qualities, but also because she was able to enter the Afralan Royal Academy of Advanced Magic as a commoner in the Afralan Kingdom, which attached the most importance to aristocratic culture (feudalism). She was awarded the "Royal Magician" medal issued by the kingdom before she was 30 years old, and ten years later, she surpassed her 430-year-old teacher to become the undisputed strongest astrologer in Parnaki.

It was also because of the appearance of Ariadne Auguste that not only the Kingdom of Afran, but all human countries relaxed restrictions on the enrollment of civilians, especially civilian girls.

They fantasized that a genius as outstanding as Ariadne August would emerge from among these commoners, but how could such a brilliant person appear so frequently? Fortunately, the move to relax the enrollment policy allowed these schools to discover a number of talented people every year, which barely comforted the principals' lost hearts.

But there is no denying it. Ariadne August has become the greatest and most admired existence in the hearts of all the civilian girls in Parnaki who want to become magicians, especially astrologers.

From the moment Irene's eyes suddenly changed, Shen Qiting couldn't help but say "Oops" in his heart.

She has never been good at dealing with interpersonal relationship issues, otherwise she wouldn't be accompanied by books all day and go in and out of various secret realms.

The reason she took the initiative to stop it this time was simply because she happened to witness the bullying that she hated the most, and she couldn't understand why Irene endured it in silence.

Chen Qiting frowned, pretending to be indifferent to outsiders, ignoring the compliments from others, and asked again: "They wronged you, why do you want to apologize?"

"Unfair?" The teacher's smile was a little awkward: "Sir Ariadne, is there any misunderstanding here? This student has been with me for a long time, and she often did this kind of thing in the past. Moreover, I just saw her..."

Chen Qiting directly interrupted his mentor's speech, and lightly tapped the air with his right hand. Without any chanting, and without even the slightest trace of magic power surging, a water mirror appeared out of thin air.

Jack swallowed quietly, and an emotion called "nervousness" flashed across his blue eyes.

Ripples appeared on the water mirror, and the next moment, the figures of Jack and Irene appeared in the water mirror.

"If you ask me, you old man..."

Jack's complaining voice echoed in the ruins, while Irene, who was described as "sly and cunning" by her mentor and Jack, squatted on the ground and worked seriously, never putting down the brush in her hand for a moment, until she was about to finish her work, but was half-forced by Jack to give up her work again.

After that, the mentor appeared and misled Jack with words. The mentor did not think at all and directly sided with Jack.

"Anything else to say?" Shen Qiting asked.

Jack and his mentor were pale and stood aside awkwardly. Their foreheads were already covered with sweat, but they didn't dare to wipe it off.

"Ai, Ailin, the teacher apologizes to you, please forgive the teacher..."

"Erin, I apologize to you too! I shouldn't have slandered you and thrown my work to you. Can you please forgive my mistake!"

But Shen Qiting did not give Irene a chance to speak: "From now on, please leave the secret realm."

After that, he pointed at Irene and said, "You stay."

As the person in charge of the secret realm, Shen Qiting has absolute authority, not to mention her status and reputation in Parnaki.

Jack and his mentor didn't dare to say a word, they lowered their heads and left the secret realm in shame.

It was only then that Irene woke up from her dream.

The matter was...solved? Her innocence was cleared just like that?

Shen Qiting's voice rang in my ears again: "Why apologize?"

"...because there is no evidence."

"You can find a way to prove yourself."

"Sir, I heard that the research on the secret realm has reached a critical moment. If I want to prove myself, it will waste a lot of work time, but I don't want to slow down your progress." Irene scratched her cheek with her fingertips and smiled shyly: "My innocence can be proven sooner or later, but this may be the only chance for me to work for you."

Shen Qiting looked at her deeply, his purple pupils seemed to be able to see through people's souls.

After a long while, Shen Qiting seemed to let out a faint sigh, then she retracted her gaze and walked towards the depths of the secret realm, leaving only a faint sentence: "Follow me."

Irene's eyes lit up and she looked excited: "Yes!"

...

Outside the secret realm, the dusty mentor and Jack walked through the layers of encirclement formed by guards and magicians. Only when no one noticed their presence did they completely put away the decadent expressions on their faces, revealing a depth that they had never shown in front of Irene.

A faint white mist appeared in the instructor's eyes. He leaned slightly towards Jack and said respectfully, "Your Highness, the magic has been activated. From now on, everything that Irene sees will be transmitted to the person in the palace."

"Will she notice?"

"Your Highness, you are joking. Irene is only an intermediate magician. This is magic cast by the great magician himself. How could she have discovered it?"

"I'm talking about Ariadne August!" Jack glared at his mentor. "Fool, can't you see how terrible her magic is?"

There was no surveillance magic set up around, but Ariadne was able to directly draw on the magic power from the surroundings and cast time and space magic at the same time to make the "image" retained in the magic power appear.

This can no longer be described as simply "powerful". He can easily complete the tedious operations that countless magicians cannot even dream of, and he is worthy of being the most powerful astrologer in Parnaki.

Even though the Great Magician had long been recognized as the strongest in Parnaki, Jack couldn't help but become deeply worried at this moment - could the magic cast by the Great Magician really be able to hide from Ariadne's sight?

But Irene was their only remaining chess piece. The previous chess pieces had allowed them to determine Shen Qiting's character and methods, which was why they brought Irene, whose personality they had repeatedly confirmed, here to ensure that Shen Qiting would see the side of Irene that was "targeted".

As expected, Irene's admiration for Ariadne successfully won her favor.

"...Forget it, as long as I can see the things in the secret realm." Jack sighed.

Jack no longer had much hope for Irene to be exposed. He could only pray silently in his heart, hoping that Irene could at least see the "secret" hidden deep inside by Ariadne and pass the secret back to the palace.

The legend about the secret realm has long been no secret among the nobles. It is said that there is something hidden here that can turn the world upside down - including overthrowing the Holy Roman Empire and the rule of the foolish empress, so that they who have true royal blood can return to the throne again.

...

"Nine classes of people who love each other"

『Chen Qiting』: @Ou Wenna, your cheap relative has placed someone here again. He is really annoying.

『Chen Qiting』: I will keep the little girl with me for the time being. She has been implanted with surveillance magic and knows nothing about it. How are you going to deal with her?

Ouwena: So quick? I remember you just dealt with a group of people last week, and you're already placing new ones?

『Chen Qiting』: When will you pull back the net you have set out? I really don’t want to deal with them anymore.

『Owena』: Don't worry, it will be done soon.

『Ouwena』: By the way, you should keep that girl by your side and let her see the things in the secret realm.

『Chen Qiting』:...Isn't the bait you use for fishing too big?

『Ouwena』: It will be discovered sooner or later, so it is better to let them know first. When the situation becomes chaotic, I can catch them all in one fell swoop.

『Su Mu』: What are you talking about here? @Ou Wei Na, which country are you going to destroy again?

"Ovenna": They are just some remnants of Saint Malo who fled abroad.

『Lin Yuan』: It's the 2377th year of the Glorious Era, and I can still see the name Saint Malo. It's been four hundred years, and they still haven't stopped?

『Owena』: Isn’t this the kind of thing that rats in the gutter love the most?

『Zhou Ru』: @Chen Qiting, speaking of which, haven't you been researching the secret realm in the Southern Islands recently? I remember it's been almost two years. From what you guys were talking about, did you discover something incredible?

『Zhao Yaya』: Move over, I'm a bit bored lately, could you please tell me some exciting stories?

『Chen Qiting』: It just so happens that I also want to tell you about the ruins.

『Chen Qiting』: @Rui Hang, Teacher Rui, please prepare to hold a new round of offline class meetings. Please come here for this class meeting.

『Chen Qiting』: [Nanjun Island Coordinates]

『Chen Qiting』: I found the passage to the earth.