The magic competition was ultimately held at the dueling arena. Because Harun relinquished power, the paladins were entirely under Maggie's command. Before the competition officially began, the city of Santa Fe was even calmer than usual.
Apart from the higher-than-usual foot traffic, everything else was surprisingly good.
Maggie breathed a sigh of relief and took advantage of the break to search for useful information in the temple library. She also compared the strange general history of the continent with the ordinary version of the general history of the continent.
The timeline is flawless, and aside from some gossip that resembles unofficial history, the rest of the content is frighteningly rigorous.
There was nothing unusual about the book itself, but Maggie just felt something was off and would often stare at it blankly for no apparent reason.
"Your Highness, the instructors from Lunita Academy are already waiting."
The maid's knocking brought Maggie back to her senses.
"Okay, I understand."
Maggie stood up, placed the 'misprinted' general history of the continent on the table for the time being, and turned to leave the room.
Unbeknownst to her, after she left, a red light suddenly appeared on the book, then disappeared, and the table returned to its calm state.
...
Maggie walked down the steps and pushed open the door to the reception room. Inside, the three team leaders were sitting opposite each other. Upon hearing Maggie open the door, they immediately stopped talking, stood up, and welcomed her.
Three gazes fell on Maggie, but she remained calm, maintaining a polite smile and nodding to the three mentors.
The Holy Maiden of Light only bows to those of higher status than herself, such as the emperor of the kingdom, or priests and archbishops.
In theory, the Paladin Commander's position in the temple is also below hers.
Of course, this is only in name; she has almost no real power. If Harlan wanted to oppose her, the preparation period for the competition would have made her extremely stressed.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
The academy's instructors are all very polite people, all of them are mages, and they are dedicated to studying the casting and use of magic, making them far more powerful in combat than ordinary mages.
If it weren't for her status, Maggie would even have the urge to ask these three for advice.
She was exhausted trying to figure out how to release magic by herself using ancient magical languages.
"There's no need for formalities, mentors. Today we're just discussing matters related to the competition."
Maggie politely gestured for them to sit down, and the rest of the time was spent discussing how to handle unexpected events, cheaters, the schedule, and other related situations.
Time flies when you're engrossed in your work.
By the time everything was resolved, Maggie looked up and the sun had already set.
It was still morning when Mingming walked into the reception room.
Maggie felt a throbbing pain in her temple. Ever since that dream, she would get a headache for no reason whenever she was slightly overworked.
The reason is unknown, so we can only endure it.
The three mentors finally showed expressions of satisfaction and were about to end the meeting when there was a knock on the door.
Maggie turned her head and was surprised to see two familiar faces enter the room.
"Teachers, how much longer? If you don't come out soon, we'll miss tonight's assembly."
"Yes, yes, teacher, hurry up and finish so we can leave quickly."
Two similar, even almost identical, voices rang out, causing the three people in the room to change their expressions drastically. They couldn't help but look at Maggie, their eyes filled with a hint of fear.
It is no small matter for a student to be impolite and offend Her Highness.
To everyone's surprise, the saintess was not angry at all; instead, she stared at the two students who had pushed open the door and were urging her on with a strange look.
A pair of twins with outstanding looks, handsome and flamboyant, and fiery red hair.
Strictly speaking, the twins weren't their students; they were just people they found along the way. Because of their exceptional talent, they took them in and brought them to Santa Fe City.
Even the student's registration was obtained on the way. Having a student registration means it doesn't count as hiring outside help. The main goal is to bring glory to the college.
The two colleges that were slightly weaker than Lunita Academy this year are chasing after us relentlessly. If we don't get first place this year, it will seriously damage the academy's image.
"Oh, Your Highness, we meet again!"
"Your Highness, we meet again."
The twins' expressions and movements were almost identical. The moment they saw Maggie, they both raised bright, mocking smiles, which made Maggie's heart sink.
Even in this moment, the two were indistinguishable; Maggie could even tell who was the older brother and who was the younger brother.
The first tone is for younger brother, and the second tone is for older brother.
"Yes, we meet again."
Maggie outwardly agreed calmly, but her mind was racing.
She never expected that the God of Fire would escape from the Royal Library without her help, and now he had transformed into a student, dancing in front of her with an unknown purpose.
This world has gone mad.
"Would Your Highness like to join us at the evening gathering? I've heard it's quite interesting."
The two spoke in unison, mirroring each other, extending their hands to Maggie and inviting her with smiles.
Maggie could clearly see the three mentors' faces growing greener and greener, but no one dared to interrupt, afraid of angering her. They could only keep throwing glances at the twins until their eyes were about to cramp up.
Unfortunately, neither of them showed any sign of restraint, and they didn't even retract their hands.
"No, I have other things to attend to, so I won't take up any more of your time. Have a great time in Santa Fe City."
Maggie politely shook her head, declining their invitation.
It's impossible to gauge the true strength of these two. They have lived for far longer than other deities in their human forms, and their power is unfathomable.
Even if she uses her status as the Holy Maiden of Light to intimidate others, it probably won't have any useful effect and may even backfire.
The best course of action is to adopt a magnanimous attitude as the host and ignore their offense.
"Ah! That's a real pity. I look forward to the next opportunity to be with Her Highness the Saintess."
Even after Maggie had walked ten meters away from the reception room, she could still faintly hear their slightly disappointed voices behind her.
"..."
Maggie pretended not to hear the noise behind her, didn't even change her pace, turned around the corner, and completely disappeared from their sight.
With two more ticking time bombs, Maggie's mood was like a rollercoaster, going up and down, absolutely terrible.
According to the comic book storyline, they are still a long way from being released. Could it be that the butterfly effect she caused has brought the story forward?
Maggie kept thinking on her way back, but she couldn't come up with a solution.
"Forget it, the competition officially starts tomorrow, there's no point in thinking about it now."
She shook her head, trying to dispel the jumbled thoughts in her mind, but she couldn't get rid of the face of the Twin Gods of Fire. Their bright, mocking, and provocative smile only intensified Maggie's ominous premonition.
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