High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2186: Chapter 407: Perhaps a Misunderstanding

A pale blue spell light swept across.

It was as if a few invisible scissors appeared in the void, and even before Zheng Qing’s academy robe hit the ground, it was transformed into uneven pieces of cloth amidst a series of crisp, dense snapping sounds. Subsequently, dozens of slender beams of light shuttled back and forth, and in an instant, wizard hats of various sizes were sewn together.

Xiao Xiao waved his hand, and those little red hats all fell into the hands of the companions.

Zheng Qing examined the finished product in his hand, seeing the stitching crookedly zigzagging across it, resembling trails left by ants. This contrasted starkly with the dazzling magic effect seen earlier.

Evidently, magic is idealistic, and knowing a spell does not ensure perfect execution.

”If we throw these to the ’Little Red Hat Elves,’ it should be enough to send away those unexpected guests.”

The Atonement Diviner adjusted his glasses, once more lowering his head to look at the rows of divination tokens in the snow, his brow furrowed as if he observed some incomprehensible changes.

Zheng Qing weighed a little red hat, hesitated briefly, and instead of casually tossing it like the fat wizard, he summoned a vine, carefully hanging it from a low tree branch not far away.

”Hee hee hee~”

Accompanied by rapid laughter, a gray silhouette darted out from the woods and swiftly swayed onto the tree branch in a few quick movements. It looked at the young cost student, grabbed the little red hat, made a ceremonious chest salute, and with a lift of its hand, it placed the red hat on its head. The Little Red Hat Elf then disappeared into the boundless snowstorm in the blink of an eye.

”Amazing... it actually turns invisible once the hat is worn.” Zheng Qing marveled at the sight.

...

...

”Is this the Absolution Hunting Team?”

”To be officially registered after forming for just over a year, that’s indeed impressive!”

”Not surprising for a hunting team that participated in the Black Prison battle; just look at the insight of the team diviner, it’s already surpassing over ninety percent of the hunters participating in the Winter Hunting.”

”Ninety percent? That’s way too low, I think ninety-nine percent is not an exaggeration... Those other hunting teams we saw with fourth-year veterans have methods for dealing with ’Red Hats’ that are as crude as ogre tribes in the woods.”

”Tsk, you see how comparisons can be damaging... Andrew Taylor from Alpha Academy is the complete opposite. Those Shan Xiaos only laughed a couple of times before getting attacked by large-scale explosion charms... downright unlucky!”

”Poor Little Red Riding Hood, Amen.”

Outside the hunting grounds, in the off-field observation room for the Winter Hunting activity, more than a dozen young wizards gathered around a large screen, whispering to each other, softly discussing the performance of the Absolution Hunting Team on the field.

No other hunting team has such treatment.

However, after watching for a long while without seeing the desired scenes, the observers became slightly restless.

”Is that information accurate?”

A short white-robed witch finally couldn’t hold back and tugged the robe of a white-robed warlock next to her, asking softly: ”Is Su Councilor really serving as the Absolution’s mentor this time?”

Although it’s almost impossible for a mentor to appear in the hunting grounds, ’is’ and ’isn’t’ are two entirely different concepts—the former still has a faint yet firm hope, while the latter offers none at all.

In this world, who doesn’t live their life striving for that tiny sliver of hope?

Just like the young wizards under the screen.

Even the slightest possibility of a glimpse can provide them with enough motivation to stay under the screen, with eyes wide open, not daring to miss every frame of dull images.

”Absolutely true!” the white-robed warlock assured, ”My roommate’s girlfriend’s best friend’s ex-boyfriend works in the Hunting Committee’s archival department and confirmed that the Absolution Hunting Team’s mentor is indeed in that kind of relationship with someone on the team!”

”What kind of relationship?”

”Between a man and a woman, what else?”

”Did you hear this personally, or did your roommate’s girlfriend... or some other person hear it from someone who ’personally’ confirmed it?” The short witch still seemed unsure, continuing to inquire.

Her companion’s face fell, just about to utter a defense.

The red-robed person beside them sneered: ”Hah... even without such rumors, what’s strange about Su Councilor being the mentor for Absolution? You need to know that Brother Qing is the captain of Absolution!”

At First University, there are undoubtedly a majority of young wizards who detest Zheng Qing. Yet at Jiuyou Academy, after some time, although there are still many who despise him, admiration and respect are beginning to grow.

After all, not everyone has the skill to win over the number one beauty in the wizard world.

Especially now, in the face of the baseless gossip from the white-robes, being part of Jiuyou Academy somehow brings a sense of pride, enough to speak confidently. As such, when addressing Zheng Qing, the red-robed warlock very generously chose ’Brother Qing,’ rather than the ’scum’ he would often use in private chats with friends.

Upon hearing his last sentence, including the short witch, all the white-robes had their faces change yet were speechless.

Observers from other academies also seemed uneasy, and a brief silence fell over the large screen.

Just then, a chubby red-robed on the outskirts lightly exclaimed.

”What?” his companion asked.

The chubby wizard frowned, squeezed forward next to the short witch, and looked at her companion: ”Are you sure that the information you heard was ’the Absolution mentor is in that kind of relationship with someone on the team’?”

”Absolutely true!” The white-robed warlock finally saw a chance to regain some ground, answering decisively, eager to swear two oaths to prove it.

This time, not just one but several red-robes had a sudden shift in expression.

The young wizards from other academies keenly sensed this change.

”What’s going on?” A blue-robed warlock tugged at a red-robed one’s sleeve next to him, discontented: ”Are you hiding something from us?”

Jiuyou Academy and Starry Sky Academy share a close relationship, and the young wizards from both academies always have good relations.

The red-robed, whose sleeve was tugged, showed a hint of awkwardness. After failing to shrug off twice, he coughed lightly and softly explained, carefully maintaining the right volume:

”Well, aside from Brother Qing and Su Councilor, Absolution Hunting Team has another, um, rather special pair... that is Dr. Xiao and the professor of History of Magic, Mister Sima. Uh, quite a few people in the academy are aware of this... theoretically, Mister Sima should also qualify as a mentor.”

Upon these words, everyone seemed to have taken a big mouthful of mustard, their expressions twisted as they looked toward the screen.

”Perhaps it’s just a misunderstanding.”

Someone in the crowd awkwardly chuckled, but it lacked conviction, leaving it unclear if they misunderstood the informant’s words or something else.