In another world, Lu Mingfei is learning card making.

"Forget it, let's not look at these things anymore." Lu Mingfei tore up the documents in his hand and threw them aside.

Jing Shu didn't mind his actions; she simply hugged Lu Mingfei even tighter, almost as if she wanted to crush him and meld him into her body. Lu Mingfei now understood why she was behaving this way:

He only looked at the documents, or even just a small part of them—while Jing Shu had been in that world for who knows how long.

Lu Mingfei couldn't stand looking at the images and descriptions in the documents, but Jing Shu had seen the actual product!

"Then, Jing Shu, tell me..." Lu Mingfei took a deep breath and forcefully nudged Jing Shu's chin, "the so-called 'empire' from which they originated..."

"Did you destroy it?"

Jing Shu nodded silently.

"That's good—by the way, did you bring back all these documents?" Lu Mingfei rummaged through Jing Shu's large backpack, finding nothing else but stacks and stacks of white paper:

Written with words, drawn with pictures; printed copies, photocopies, handwritten copies, or even imitations or paintings made to preserve their "spirit"—

Lu Mingfei didn't even dare to examine the contents in detail, but even a fleeting glimpse was enough to make him almost vomit.

"Yes." Jing Shu finally calmed down, no longer clinging to Lu Mingfei in such a convulsive manner. "I spoke with the attendant sister, and she said that your progress requires more than just an improvement in your skills; it also includes the things you have 'seen'."

"You've lived and observed things on Earth for over a decade and can perfectly replicate them; in St. Marian, you also have access to a library, and you can steadily expand your horizons by studying step by step; but you've never come into contact with things from other worlds, no matter what kind of other world it is."

"So, she discussed it with us. If we were to travel to a different world from 'Earth' and 'Saint Marian,' we would need to collect information about its culture, history, entertainment, and so on, and bring it back to share and explain to you."

...So, right after I finished saying that, I just happened to stumble into this disgusting alternate world?

Lu Mingfei's face immediately twisted into a grimace.

"But things have come to this point, let's discuss what to do with the things you brought back..."

As for throwing it away? You definitely can't just throw it away randomly. The first question is whether or not to erase the writing on it: if you don't erase it, scattering these things will definitely cause a huge uproar, and some people might even think that the devil is preparing to launch another counterattack;

Deface it...

Putting aside the cost and time involved, isn't this behavior itself a classic case of "protesting too much"?

If it weren't defaced, perhaps no one would care and it would be thrown out of the school by the staff as trash. But if it is defaced, who could resist the urge to restore it and see what was written on it when they see such a big blob of scribbled words?

Lu Mingfei rubbed his forehead in pain, then quickly thought of a good idea:

"Then why don't we just throw the whole thing into the transmutation array and deliberately make it fail?"

"In this way, a whole bag of blank paper covered in writing will turn into a lump of mud that no one can restore to its original state!"

Thinking of this, Lu Mingfei immediately jumped down from Jing Shu's arms, intending to go to the Traveler's Street to buy new blank magic cards. But as he reached the door, he suddenly realized something, turned back, and reached out to Jing Shu:

"Hey, Jing Shu? You saw my cat, right? Want to get one too?"

……

Walking through the streets, Lu Mingfei led Jing Shu towards the center of District C.

Even though Jing Shu had never seen the surrounding scenery before, her gaze never left Lu Mingfei for a moment. She smiled and walked lightly, but only followed behind Lu Mingfei—until they stopped under the signboard with various animal claws hanging on it.

The college doesn't have strict requirements regarding pets. After all, each student here has a fairly large amount of free space, and as long as they don't bother others, basically no teacher would bother to cause trouble in this area.

However, since ordinary pets require scooping litter, feeding, and watering, and some even need to be taken out for walks, a considerable number of people choose to keep cat-like plants, such as those found in cat-themed taverns, as pets.

This eliminates the hassle of feeding and watering, as well as cleaning up after the litter box.

Of course, there are pros and cons. Without the hassles of raising a regular pet, many people no longer develop a deeper emotional bond with their pets—leading to many adorable cats being abandoned by their owners after graduation.

But Lu Mingfei felt that this was actually better.

If every magical elf under his command had to raise a regular pet, he might as well give up studying and just spend his days managing food and water while also switching to Druid to interact with animals.

Why not just use this kind of "improved pet"? Anyway, the elves didn't say they wanted to prepare the food and water themselves, so Lu Mingfei might as well take the easy way out.

Pushing open the door, you see a long, narrow passage lined with cages on both sides—but not all of them house cats.

Cats, dogs, snakes, monkeys, toads, birds...

Even within each major category, there are countless subcategories—just taking dogs as an example, Lu Mingfei can recognize several major categories, including Pekingese, Pomeranians, Tibetan Mastiffs, Dachshunds, and Teddy Bears, and there are even some he doesn't recognize...

"Hello, you two, what can I do for you?" The receptionist looked younger than Lu Mingfei, probably a second-year or first-year student, but she was very poised and confident in her service. "We have all the common pet breeds available on the market. If you don't find one that suits your taste, you can provide a photo or description, and we'll breed a suitable new pet for you..."

Seeing Jing Shu turn her head to look at Lu Mingfei, she knew who was in charge between the two, so she also turned her gaze to Lu Mingfei.

"...Um, Jing Shu, I'm buying you a pet today."

Lu Mingfei nudged Jing Shu with his elbow, and she bowed slightly to indicate that she had accepted the order. Then she began to look around the shop, occasionally shaking the cage gently.

After she left, the receptionist leaned over the table, gesturing for Lu Mingfei to come closer.

"What year is that senior in? Why does she respect you so much? Are you from the prestigious academy?"

Her voice was very low, but it didn't escape Jing Shu's ears—based on the Word of Power she displayed, "Kamaitachi," such whispers probably had no effect on concealment.

But Lu Mingfei also learned to lower his voice:

"Yes, she is my servant, and I am a freshman in the Academy of Noble Families—"

"You can ask around; you can find out my name from anyone."

Jing Shu glanced over, seemingly casually, a hint of helplessness in her eyes.