Academic gathering with a lich

The firm manner of the gentleman was truly impressive, especially when facing Andrey's ceiling and Raymond.

Raymond glanced at the gentleman and gazed directly at him.

Apparently not intending to persuade with force, he stretched his arm out and patted Lyle's shoulder.

"Holy Light will always wait for you," Mr. Raymond said with a face full of regret as he took Eliane's Iron Maiden to his own exhibition booth.

Lyle rubbed his patted shoulder, which hurt as if the bone was cracked.

"Welcome to Andrey, Plague Doctor," the tall dean said with a benevolent face as he approached.

"Peace, Dean," he entered the sight of the adults.

"Blessings on finding your own path here."

"Thank you."

After the pleasantries, the dean glanced at Death Star II.

"Death Star, the castle's maintenance fees will be deducted from your research resources. Electromagnetic, your research will face the same amount of resource deductions, as a consequence of your poor oversight," he said.

Mr. Electromagnetic exclaimed, "No! Dean, this is unfair; all this was Death Star's fault. I had not anticipated that this so-called 'ray demonstration' would have such immense power."

"No need for excuses. I put the two of you in one group; you didn't know about Death Star's power, and don't you know your own true colors? When mishaps occur, you look for excuses here—what were you doing earlier?"

With a verdict that finalized the punishment and having vented his frustration, the dean left with a look of relief.

Mr. Electromagnetic, shaking all over, immediately climbed onto the podium and tackled Death Star to the ground, and they scuffled together in a tangle.

"Death Star! To hell with your ray demonstration; you deliberately screwed me over!"

"Screwed you over? Have you forgotten about your own experiment last year? That tower pierced by your railgun was built brick by brick by your dear Death Star."

The two, inseparable as glue, rolled into a single mass, while the onlooking crowd did not interfere with their entangled love and hatred. Those interested remained to watch, while those who were indifferent left for other exhibition halls.

"Mr. Gentleman, thank you for your help."

"It's part of the duty. As a senior member of the society, it's my role to protect the juniors. Fortunately, the Cup of Luxury is a society favored by Mr. Raymond. If it came down to resolving things with force, with my slight build, I truly couldn't protect you completely."

"However, Plague Doctor."

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

"Just look at the members of those societies around you."

Lyle swept his gaze over the society members at the recruitment event—they were one of the witnesses earlier.

Although they had resumed their recruitment activities, their gazes still drifted towards him from time to time.

"Mr. Raymond is a very conspicuous man. He is an exception. Whether in conduct or in abilities, Mr. Raymond is a symbol, marking a unique part of Andrey. For the average member, this uniqueness seems very... odd. Society always excludes those who are different; they cannot accept the powerful Mr. Raymond who can wield Holy Light, and now they view you as one of his kind."

"So you're saying, my society activities are essentially doomed?"

"You win some, you lose some. Now we can head to the Cup of Luxury ahead of time."

...

The two walked along the castle corridor, with only a few companions on the road. Unlike the bustling atmosphere of the recruitment event, the Blood Moon outside the window dyed the loneliness of the hallway red.

"Plague Doctor, actually receiving Mr. Raymond's favor might not be such a bad thing."

"But so far, I've only seen negative influences."

"That's just one of Andrey's ordinary social groups. You have to know that even for a person, the number of people one can meet in a lifetime won't exceed one hundred thousand, and among them, those who have an impact on one's life are even fewer. The truly beneficial friends won't exceed the number of one's fingers, and the benefits they bring you depend on their personal abilities."

"Fortunately, Mr. Raymond happens to be one of that small handful with top abilities."

"Are you saying, thanks to Mr. Raymond's network of contacts, I might be able to put together an opposing team with strong abilities and high quality?"

"Having strong opponents isn't necessarily a bad thing, and who said it has to be oppositional?"

"One hundred and fifty-seven opposing clubs."

"Two thousand eight hundred in the Andrey clubs."

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

"No, there are only a few neutral clubs and the majority are clubs that do not dare to provoke Raymond and have to stay neutral."

"...Sir, thank you for the explanation, I now have a deeper understanding of my difficult environment."

"What I mean is, opposing clubs don't necessarily mean opposition. A club does not represent an individual, and a club's philosophy being opposed to Raymond doesn't mean its subjective wishes oppose him either."

"Like the saying, 'No discord, no concord,' that kind of recognition as counterparts?"

"Definitely. Take the Literary Club, for instance, we've been beaten for so long, each of us is familiar with Raymond and even knows how to cozy up in order to make him go easier on us... There's certainly some reverence mixed in."

"..."

"These one hundred and fifty-seven clubs, when they first came into contact with Raymond, it was precisely because their philosophies were repulsive to Holy Light. But the paths to the truth are numerous, and in order to maintain the legitimacy of their own philosophies, they need to refute Holy Light. In debates like this, where everyone thinks they're right, it usually ends up being resolved by force. Roll up your sleeves and give it your all, the one with the bigger fist is the boss."

"Is it the feud caused by physical conflicts that makes them oppositional?"

"No, the fundamental reason is... it involves an Andrey tradition, which is assistance outside of club debates."

"If your debating skills can't match someone else's, that doesn't mean your line of research is wrong; it could be that you just haven't amassed enough knowledge. That's when we encourage the club seniors to offer you assistance."

"Got it, beat the young and the older ones will come, beat the old and the elders will come."

"That's the main theme of Andrey debates. Normally, these kinds of club confrontations would have mutual victories and defeats, ending inconclusively and without being able to argue who holds the upper hand."

"But Mr. Raymond is the only one on his side."

"Exactly. Your club, with its dozens or hundreds of members, loses in a protracted fight to one person, and from top to bottom, everyone gets beaten up. How could they not hold a grudge? So openly declaring opposition becomes the last fig leaf."

"But now there are more opposing clubs, and those who lost before don't feel as ashamed, and they've come to recognize Raymond's Combat Power."

"Failure is not scary. It's the fear of not being able to accept defeat."

"When you truly face Mr. Raymond, you'll realize that some people just can do whatever they wish."

Perhaps this was a case of a blessing in disguise. Hearing Sir's analysis, Lyle realized that being valued by Mr. Raymond was indeed a stroke of luck.

"After all this talk, it's because I see that you will definitely be educated by Raymond in the future. Don't feel wronged when the time comes. Setbacks will still be there, life goes on, and I definitely won't be your off-stage support."

"..."

"We've arrived."