Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

He could feel the gazes of those around him focused on him, and he was only one step away from social death.

"Plague Healer, join the Order of Holy Light and return to the embrace of the Lord. Be with me, be with Sister Ariane, it is the highest honor."

So, it was Ariana who betrayed me. Lyle glanced at the Iron Maiden in the distance, who didn't seem to be someone he could take his anger out on.

Then he looked at the great deity in front of him.

Holy light is truly poisonous.

Agreeing was out of the question. He already knew he wouldn't be the darling of the Holy Light, and given the circumstances, judging from the gazes of those around him, if he said "yes," he probably wouldn't be able to live peacefully in Andrei.

But would you dare say no to a knife held to your throat?

The gentleman stood up.

“Mr. Raymond, the Plague Doctor is already a member of the Cup of Extravagance.”

The luxurious cup seemed to dim Raymond's mindless light a little.

It seems to have a miraculous effect.

"Joining the Cup of Extravagance shouldn't affect the Holy Light of Faith, right..."

“Raymond, the Plague Doctor’s condition is not stable; he needs to be fully committed.”

"...Then how about having the plague doctor fill out a membership application form with me first? Everything can be discussed."

"There's no room for negotiation."

Chapter Seventeen: Understanding Raymond's Strengths and Weaknesses

The gentleman's tough demeanor is really handsome, especially when he's facing Andre's ceiling, Raymond.

Raymond glanced at the gentleman, staring straight at him.

Seemingly having no intention of using force to persuade him, he reached out and patted Lyle on the shoulder.

"Holy Light will always wait for you." Mr. Raymond said with a regretful expression as he led Ariane's Iron Maiden to his booth.

Lyle rubbed his shoulder where he had been slapped; it hurt like a broken bone.

"Welcome to Andre, the Epidemic Doctor." The tall dean walked over with a kind expression.

"Anle, Dean." He had come into the sight of an important person.

"I hope you can find your way here."

"Thanks you."

After exchanging pleasantries, the dean looked at Death Star II.

"The maintenance costs for the Death Star and the castle will be deducted from your research resources. For electromagnetic research, the same amount of resources as the Death Star will be deducted from your research as a consequence of your inadequate oversight."

Mr. Electromagnetic shouted, "No! Dean, this is not reasonable. It's all the Death Star's fault. I didn't expect this so-called 'ray demonstration' to have such great power."

"No need to explain. I put you two in the same group. Don't you know the power of the Death Star? Don't you know your own nature? You're making excuses now that something went wrong. Where were you before?"

Having put the matter to rest, the dean, having vented his anger, left with a satisfied expression.

The trembling Mr. Electromagnetic immediately climbed onto the platform, tackled Death Star to the ground, and the two wrestled together.

"Death Star! Screw your ray demonstration, you're just trying to trick me!"

"So what if I'm sabotaging you? Have you forgotten about your projection experiment from last year? The tower that your electromagnetic cannon pierced was built brick by brick by your Death Star."

The two rolled around in each other's arms, inseparable. The onlookers did not disturb their love-hate entanglement. Those who were interested stayed to wait, while those who were not left to go to other exhibition halls.

"Sir, thank you for your help."

"It's our duty as seniors in the organization to protect the juniors. Fortunately, the Cup of Extravagance is a good organization for Mr. Raymond. If things escalate to a violent resolution, with my small frame, I really can't protect you."

"However, the doctor of the epidemic."

"Gaining Mr. Raymond's favor also means you will lose many opportunities."

“Look at the other club members around you.”

Lyle glanced around at the members of the recruitment club who were among the witnesses from earlier.

Although they have all restarted their recruitment activities, their eyes still occasionally glance at him.

“Mr. Raymond is a very eye-catching person. He is an exception. Whether it is his behavior or his abilities, Mr. Raymond is a symbol, marking a unique part of Andrei. For the ordinary members, this uniqueness seems very… strange. People always exclude those who are different. They cannot accept the powerful Mr. Raymond who can use holy light. Now they regard you as one of his kind.”

"So, my club activities are basically off?"

"There are gains and losses. Now we can head to the Cup of Extravagance ahead of schedule."

……

The two walked along the castle corridor, with only a few other companions. Unlike the lively atmosphere of the recruitment fair, the blood moon outside the window stained the corridor with a desolate hue.

"For the doctor of epidemics, gaining Mr. Raymond's favor is not necessarily a bad thing."

"But so far, I have only seen the negative impact."

"That's just Andrei's ordinary group. You have to understand that even a person can only know a maximum of 100,000 people in their lifetime, and among them, very few will have an impact on their life. The number of friends who are truly beneficial to you will not exceed ten, and the benefits they bring you depend on their personal abilities."

"Coincidentally, Mr. Raymond happens to be one of the top few in terms of ability."

"You mean, thanks to Mr. Raymond's network, I might be able to assemble a highly capable and qualified rival team?"

"Having strong competitors isn't necessarily a bad thing, and who says they have to be enemies?"

"One hundred and fifty-seven rival societies."

"There are 2,800 Andrei societies."

"So some of them are friendly to Mr. Raymond?"

"No, there are only a few neutral groups and most groups that can't afford to offend Raymond and have to remain neutral."

"...Sir, thank you for your explanation. I have gained a deeper understanding of my difficult circumstances."

"What I mean is that rival groups are not necessarily rivals. A group does not represent an individual. A group's ideology being hostile to Raymond does not mean that its subjective will is hostile to Raymond."

"A kind of 'no fight, no friendship' kind of recognition as rivals?"

“There will definitely be some. Take the literary society, for example. After being beaten for so long, we all know Raymond well and know how to get close to him so he will go easy on us... There will be some respect for him.”

"..."

"The reason these 157 societies initially contacted Raymond was because their ideologies were incompatible with the Holy Light. However, there is more than one path to the truth. It is necessary to refute the Holy Light to maintain the legitimacy of their own ideologies. Debates like this, where each side has its own reasons, will always eventually escalate to a violent resolution. Roll up your sleeves and fight it out; whoever has the bigger fist is the boss."

"Is the enmity solely due to armed conflict?"

"No, the fundamental reason is... it involves a tradition of Andrei, which is off-field assistance in club debates."

"If your debating skills are not as good as others, it does not mean that your research direction is wrong. It may be that you have not accumulated enough knowledge. At this time, we encourage senior members of the club to provide you with assistance."

"Got it. After beating the little one, the big one came; after beating the big one, the old one came."

"This is the main theme of the debate between the two sides. Usually, these kinds of inter-organizational conflicts will result in wins and losses for both sides, and in the end, it will be impossible to argue who is better and the matter will be left unresolved."

“But Mr. Raymond only has one.”

“That’s right. Your gang has dozens or even hundreds of people, and you lost to one person in a series of battles. You were beaten up from top to bottom. How could you not hate them? So, openly declaring hostility became the last fig leaf to cover up your grievances.”

"But now that there are more rival gangs, people don't feel so ashamed of losing to them in the past, and everyone acknowledges Raymond's fighting prowess."

"Failure is not terrible. What's terrible is being unable to accept defeat."

"When you actually face Raymond, you'll realize that some people just can do whatever they want."

Perhaps this is a case of "a loss may turn out to be a blessing in disguise." After hearing the gentleman's analysis, Lyle realized that gaining Mr. Raymond's attention was indeed his good fortune.

"I've said all this because I know you're going to get a lesson from Raymond. Don't feel bad then; setbacks will still happen, and life goes on. I'm definitely not going to be your sideline support."

"..."

"We've arrived."

Chapter Eighteen: Earl Ariana's Black Tea

That was the innermost door on the east side of the fourth floor. A pink wine glass pattern was carved on the door, and two potted nightshade plants were placed on either side of the door. Potted plants are not common in Andreco.

The gentleman grasped the doorknob, tilted his head, leaned back slightly, and said with a hint of teasing, "Be prepared, Plague Doctor. You should know that what you're about to face might be a little bit exciting."

Lyle glanced at the pink wine glass on the door, unsure whether he should tell the gentleman that such a design and style would almost be synonymous with erotic bars in the 21st century. With this preconceived notion, Lyle didn't think there was anything inside that could shatter his reason.

“I am ready, sir.”

With the creaking sound of the wooden door opening.

Lyle saw it: a treasure.

This is not an adjective.

Instead, it was real gold and jewels, piled up like a small mountain not far behind the door. As the door moved and squeezed, several gold coins rolled down from the mountain.

A path, barely passable, emerged from the valley of several gold mountains. The gentleman kicked the gold coins with his feet, as if moving through a swamp, gesturing for Lyle to follow.

“I reminded Mr. Dragon not to leave personal belongings in public areas, especially near the entrance.”

The crisp sound of limbs scraping against the gemstone almost made Lyle lose his senses.

The journey was extremely difficult, and Lyle's attention was completely drawn to the treasure, making it difficult for him to notice the gentleman's position.

They possessed magic, greedily drawing Lyle's gaze. It was absolutely not his fault, absolutely not.

Only moral principles tormented Lyle, preventing him from polluting his conscience with filthy copper rust—these things already belonged to someone else.

Finally, we passed through the Baoxue area.

If what Lyle had just experienced was a direct shock, what he saw next was a subtle erosion.

In the very center of the so-called public area, a crystal chandelier, as wide as a person, brazenly displays its light.

The main lamp body is an exquisite polygonal gemstone facet, which makes the light bright enough. Several equally divided metal supports fix the supporting light spots. The lantern-shaped lampshade has the texture of soft jade. The dazzling and soft light interfere with each other, making the richly textured marble floor look even more valuable.

Several tables and chairs covered with lace scarves were placed in a corner of the hall, which was spacious enough to be used as a dance hall.