"Dekan, what you need is time. The Norton Kingdom will fully protect you. As long as you quickly advance your tier, regardless of your card-making style, within ten years, no one will dare to offend you." Ice Princess said earnestly.

"Hehe, ten years?" Dekan chuckled coldly. "Do I really have to endure this? The settlement will begin once I reach tier 4."

Hearing Dekan's words, Ice Princess's red lips slightly parted. She didnt know what to say. Whenever she thought of the scene when this young man saved her, she couldn't help but believe that he could do it.

"Watch me create a card that will make them happy morning, noon, and night. Hehe." Dekan intended to use all his recent gains and previous accumulations to create a masterpiece.

Originally, the new work planned after reaching tier 4 was intended to deal with the Cardinals. But now, besides those Cardinals, there were even more detestable targets. Even those Cardinals dared not provoke him in such a way! Those clueless nobles from the Northern Countries and the scoundrels from the Empire dared to trouble him without any reservations.

"Do you plan to make something mysterious again, meow?" Teacher Cat suddenly expressed its concern from the side.

"Hehehe, this will be my masterpiece." Dekan had a demeanor of someone clearly standing on the moral high ground. He was ready to completely unrestrain himself.

"What kind of weird thing are you planning, meow!"

"Hehehe, this will be my masterpiece."

Teacher Cat started to feel a bit panicked. It knew that Dekan's cards were mostly dark in nature. The cards he created with a lifetime of knowledge were indeed the most sinister works.

"What are you going to make, meow! Tell me quickly, meow!"

"Call me 'daddy,' and I'll tell you."

"Meow!"

Teacher Cat stood on the sofa, lifted its front paws, and scratched Cornelia's sleeve.

"Cornelia, Dekan is bullying me, meow."

Cornelia picked up Teacher Cat, looking pitiful, and then looked at Dekan with a helpless expression.

"You're playing dirty." Dekan scratched his head helplessly. Then, he gently pulled Teacher Cat's ear and whispered something.

"Meow."

After listening to Dekan's words, Teacher Cat raised its cat head, widened its eyes, seemingly pondering.

"Meow meow meow! I don't know you; don't drag me into this if you get caught!"

It had already guessed how many people Dekan would offend in the future. Once discovered, it wouldn't be as simple as being misunderstood as the Cardinal of Pain!

"It's too late. You've heard it. If one day I get locked up, you'll be the cat in the mugshot with the Cardinal of Pain."

"Meow meow meow! Why did you tell me!"

"You insisted on asking."

The man and the cat started quarreling again. Ice Princess had been listening on the side. A faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

After chatting with Ice Princess about recent events, Dekan realized that it was getting late. The three of them, along with Teacher Cat, got up from the sofa, thanked Ice Princess, and prepared to leave.

"Well then, after the New Year, we'll meet in the capital," Dekan waved casually to Ice Princess.

"..." Ice Princess naturally knew what she was going to do in the capital. She tried her best not to think about the strange contract she had signed. Thinking about it made her feel uncomfortable. When Dekan brought it up again, Ice Princess couldn't maintain her composure.

Nevertheless, she bit her lip. "Fine, I promise you."

A month later, the winter campus life at the Hevenlit Academy in the capital passed in a lively atmosphere. Dekan had returned early from Tristan City to the capital. He still remembered the weathered expression on his class teacher, Professor Arnold's face when they met again. For Professor Arnold, the emotions of wanting to see this student and never wanting to see him again were both extremely intense. At that time, Professor Arnold's countless words condensed into one sentence "Welcome back." However, Dekan could tell that Professor Arnold's face was filled with a complex emotional journey. Professor Arnold had originally thought that the airplane hijacking was the end of Dekan's mischief. Unexpectedly, it was just an appetizer.

Upon returning to the academy, Dekan's daily life seemed to have changed little. After all, he was already easily noticed and kept at a distance by others. As for the summoning from the king a few days ago, it wasn't as exaggerated as Dekan had imagined. Perhaps it was because Dekan had already seen many grand scenes and the king himself was unpretentious, Dekan simply accepted the king's rewards and left.

Dekan and Cornelia's first semester at the academy also came to a successful conclusion.

These days, campus life was dominated by the final exams. The atmosphere was very lively. The results of the final exams were announced today. They would determine the class assignment for the next year, an important matter for most students.

Everyone naturally exerted their efforts to prepare for the exams. This was true even in the Knight College where students with bloodshot eyes were a common sight. During these days, Dekan had been providing intensive tutoring to Cornelia.

Although Cornelia had the school's approval to go to Tristan City for practical activities and didn't count as absent from classes, she had accumulated a significant amount of assignments that felt like a huge debt after her seven-day trip to Tristan City.

Cornelia was very worried about failing and being assigned to a different class from Dekan in the second year. Thus, she relied heavily on Dekan for help during these last few days of review.

Today, the grades for the final exams, as well as the beginning of the one-month winter vacation, were announced. Although students could go home, most students who lived far from the capital chose to stay at the school during this break, preferring to return home during the three-month summer vacation. Students staying at the academy could still challenge the Shadow Worlds during the holiday as the "Shadow World Gate" in the capital was open not only to students but also to other certified challengers from the Norton Kingdom.

The exam results were posted in the morning. Dekan and Cornelia unsurprisingly occupied the first and second places in the Knight College.

Dekan still excelled in academic subjects, with full marks, along with high practical scores in the Shadow Worlds. Although Cornelia had some shortcomings in academic subjects, she managed to pass. With equally high practical scores as Dekan, she created a significant gap with other classmates overall.

Originally, Dekan had no intention of checking the results, planning to follow the same approach as the entrance exam. However, Cornelia was too nervous, and reluctantly, Dekan had to accompany her to take a look. Seeing Cornelia finally showing a relaxed and happy expression after a long time, Dekan felt it wasn't bad.

Cornelia's hometown was a southern kingdom. The journey back was too far for just a one-month vacation. Her mother had advised her not to come back casually, but Cornelia wasn't entirely clear about the reasons. Dekan and Croix, being from the Kuran Frontier, found it uneconomical to make a round trip during the short vacation. Therefore, they both stayed obediently at the academy.

Additionally, in three days, it would be February 1st, the day they might encounter Mauleon in the Shadow World. To find this crucial missionary, Dekan and Cornelia naturally had to stay at the academy to challenge the Shadow World. However, before that, they had an important thing to do.

...

In the capital, in a luxurious mansion.

Besides the homey atmosphere, the mansion was equipped with ample office facilities. This was a mansion purchased by Team Beautiful Heart as the base for the Rejoice Church using the king's reward. After being received by the king, the busy Ice Princess and the Holy Knight Judith finally had time to report to the company.

Ice Princess, dressed in a white dress with long flowing hair resting on her shoulders, had a pair of bright eyes filled with confusion. She seemed to rarely go on such distant trips. On the other hand, Judith, who had previously worn the silver armor of the Sun God Church, wore a chic casual outfit today and appeared quite stunning.

"Flora, these two are the partners I found for you," Dekan introduced the two new beauties to Flora, the class-skipping queen, the natural-born idol, and the sister of a shady merchant.

Before Dekan could finish speaking, Flora had already rushed forward and hugged Ice Princess and Judith.

"Wow, you two are so cute, I really like you."

Ice Princess and Judith were both stunned. It seemed that this cheerful girl genuinely didn't realize their identities. Dekan also covered his face.

"Hey, hey, listen to the agent properly!"

Dekan tapped on the table, resembling an elementary school teacher maintaining classroom discipline. He noticed that the most challenging one to manage at this moment was the free-spirited Flora.

"Dekan, when you said you would find reliable partners for me at the beginning, I thought you were deceiving me! I didn't expect you could really find two such lovely girls!"

Upon hearing Flora's words, both the Ice Princess and Judith lowered their heads in embarrassment. The phrase "lovely girls" was too heavy for them.

However, Flora noticed their expressions, looked at Dekan, and asked disdainfully, "You didn't deceive them, did you?"

"How could I? Legitimate and legal, they willingly agreed," Dekan replied earnestly. Upon hearing Dekan's words, both the Ice Princess and Judith averted their gaze. Indeed, they "willingly agreed."

"If Dekan bullies you, tell me, and I will protect you!" Flora, holding hands with the two pretty girls, said sincerely.

"Pfft." Dekan couldn't hold back his laughter. With a total level of twenty tiers, guess who's the weakest among the three of you? However, Dekan had no intention of revealing the truth to Flora. He looked forward to the day Flora would discover it herself and face the consequences.

"Next, I don't ask for much from you. Just practice this song preliminarily."

Two days later, in the dance studio, the music was played at a lower volume, seemingly to allow the three girls to hear the beats more clearly.

"Dong dong cha dong." Dekan shouted while clapping his hands, directing the dance of the three. As the beats varied, the originally lively dance gradually took on a tumultuous and captivating atmosphere without feeling abrupt. Instead, it made the presence of these three girls more mysterious and unpredictable.

When they reached the peak of their captivating charm, they smoothly returned to the cheerful atmosphere, attempting to push the audience's enthusiasm to the highest point. And they succeeded in showcasing it.

"Alright, good job," Dekan, the producer, sat at a distance and addressed the three.

Assistant Cornelia quickly ran over to hand water bottles to the girls, who seemed to radiate heat.

Dekan leaned back in his chair, frowning. He noted the mistakes they made and the issues exposed during repeated practice.

Despite having completed the recording of the song and mastering the dance completely, Dekan remained unsatisfied.

Ice Princess's movements were extremely stiff, and when she danced, her expression always revealed shyness.

On the other hand, Judith's actions were smooth, but her face lacked expression, as if she were just completing a task. Perhaps it was because she had been accustomed to being a Paladin Captain. So, when she got serious, she didn't know how to make any expression other than seriousness.

Only Flora performed with full dedication, and Dekan actually found her to be the easiest to deal with.

"It's not quite there, but time is running out," Dekan said, dragging his chin in thought. He clapped his hands, signaling the three girls to come closer; he had something to say.

"I'll modify the choreography. Artemis, I'll minimize the amplitude of your dance, so just follow your current state and try to portray the shy and bashful appearance of a teenage girl in love," Dekan instructed Ice Princess first. Since they couldn't change Ice Princess's performance state in a short time, Dekan decided to present it as a unique style.

"Oh," Ice Princess nodded and quickly moved away, seemingly not wanting anyone to smell the sweat on her. Although, as a half-elf, she almost always carried a pleasant fragrance.

Then, Dekan turned to Judith. "Judith, I'll also make some adjustments to your choreography to highlight your charm even more." Dekan intended to make Judith's dance a bit more sensual.

He continued to guide her, "But pay attention to your expression. When facing the camera, you can lift your chin slightly, gently bite your lips, and let your gaze become a bit seductive. Even if you don't put much emotion into it, it's okay; just follow what I say."

Since there was no way to make Judith figure out what expression to use in a short time in front of her fans, Dekan decided to use a foolproof teaching method to make her learn a bit of a facial expression that could be lethal to males.

Judith nodded with a slight doubt, then tried Dekan's instructions. In her misty gaze, there was a hint of confusion.

"Like this?"

After a brief attempt, Judith returned to her normal demeanor, looking at Dekan and Croix.

"Perfect."

"That's it."

Both Dekan and Croix gave her a thumbs up.

"What about me, what about me?" When Dekan finished guiding the Ice Princess and Judith, Flora, with an expression of "it's finally my turn," looked at Dekan and asked.

"You, on the other hand, don't have any issues," Dekan replied.

"Aww..." Disappointed not to receive a sharp critique, Flora's expression turned into one of disappointment.

Dekan felt that as a manager and producer, he had really put a lot of effort into it. The singing skills of the Ice Princess and Judith were only mediocre, and stunning everyone at the moment was out of the question.

However, in the early MVs, there was no need to make them sing too much; it was mainly enough to coordinate with Flora.

Finally, under Dekan's guidance, the three pretty girls completed the recording of their first single sample. The results were surprisingly good, although there were a few minor issues just now.

After Croix's childhood friend, Claire, learned that Croix was starting a business and, besides being with Dekan and Cornelia, was also with three pretty girls, she claimed that she had a relatively free holiday and wanted to come and see Croix's work. Gradually, it turned into a kind of supervision.

However, during the last recording of the performance, Croix was too engrossed in watching Judith. This led to Claire coldly humming and then walking away. With Teacher Cat's urging, Croix ran out to chase after Claire.

"Sigh." Dekan sighed. He didn't blame Croix. It was just that Judith's potential was somewhat terrifying. Croix would probably become Judith's avid fan in the future. Thinking about witnessing a thrilling scene in the future, Dekan felt very happy.

Although Dekan couldn't guarantee that the three girls would be one hundred percent popular, he would soon find out with this upcoming Shadow World live broadcast.

With this, the preparation for the Shadow World was complete.