High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2450: Chapter 671: Coordinating Schedules

If it weren’t for the ring jumping a few times in the grey cloth bag this morning, Zheng Qing would have almost forgotten he was part of a secret underground student organization.

On one hand, it’s certainly because he’s recently been going through a lot of things, whether it’s the long chase after the Raven, the battle against the Black Wizard in the Silent Forest, or the brief stay at Greenhill Mansion and the founding of the Edge Academy. Each event has left him scratching his head, causing him to often think of Du Shaoling’s line, ’as the white hair grows shorter, I can hardly manage the hairpin.’

On the other hand, it’s also because the Seven Sins is too ’laid-back.’

Due to its founding intentions, the structure of this society is extremely loose, with each member having a great degree of freedom, much like what the previous Sin Bearer described to him—rather than calling it a society, it’s more like a tea break club, where everyone is a guest in a strange café, enjoying absolute freedom under strict constraint.

In summary, as the current ’Sin Bearer,’ Zheng Qing, though holding the ’judge’ role in this secret society, doesn’t have much enforcement power, his most frequent role being acting as a ’broker’ between the Seven Sins and other organizations.

Like today.

When an organization external to the school attempting to delegate a task using the Seven Sins’ contact method, the only one they can find is him, the ’Sin Bearer,’ and his first job is to communicate with the other seven members to coordinate a meeting time.

”Can you refuse this task?”

This was Xiao Xiao’s immediate reaction after hearing Zheng Qing’s brief description of the task: ”Didn’t you say a couple of days ago that your monthly salary is seven or eight hundred jade coins? You shouldn’t need the mere hundred or so jade coins of this reward.”

Zheng Qing gave a dry cough, glanced out of the corner of his eye at Tuan Tuan who had perked up his ears and Xin Fat Man who seemed about to wake up, and hurriedly pulled Xiao Xiao to walk outside the dormitory.

”Let’s talk while we walk, talk while we walk.” As they exited, the young teaching assistant skillfully slapped two invisibility talismans on himself, habitually lowering his voice: ”...Don’t delay your morning class.”

Xiao Xiao snorted, flicked his sleeves, and walked forward.

The clouds from last night hadn’t completely dissipated, the sky was gray and dreary, as if it might rain or snow at any moment. The morning breeze blew briskly, contrasting sharply with the gentleness of the past few days, reclaiming the chill of winter, making it feel almost like early winter instead of early spring.

Walking invisibly, Zheng Qing couldn’t help but tighten his robe.

On the third day of school, he wasn’t sure about the other academies, but Jiuyou Academy had already swiftly returned to the normal learning rhythm, and students hurrying around early in the morning were everywhere. Some were heading to morning classes, but more were rushing to secure a good seat when the Book Mountain Library opened.

”You can certainly refuse it.”

Halfway towards the Flying Garden, Zheng Qing finally deliberated and expressed his thoughts: ”But I think, for this kind of commission, even if I refuse, they will look for other organizations to do it... Rather than constantly living in fear of being hit by a surprise attack from somewhere unknown, it’s better to hold that stick yourself—so that even if you accidentally run into it in the future, you’re at least mentally prepared.”

Xiao Xiao nodded slightly, clearly accepting Zheng Qing’s viewpoint.

”Can you confirm the identity of the contact?” He then shifted his angle: ”Can you identify which organization or which wizard is commissioning you?”

”Impossible.”

Zheng Qing’s voice suddenly added a touch of frustration: ”The Seven Sins has been around for over four hundred years, and the rings we’ve sent out probably number at least two hundred to three hundred... I wouldn’t dare say we’re linked with every wizard organization large or small in the Alliance, but connecting with the vast majority of them shouldn’t be a problem. This is also why, after I took over this position last year, I initially wanted to understand other organizations’ information but gradually gave up on that idea. It’s just too confusing, completely confusing.”

”Then follow the procedure slowly.”

After entering the Flying Garden, Xiao Xiao began to slowly stretch his muscles, his voice carrying a few more growl-like undertones: ”Anyway, the initiative in this matter is in your hands... As long as you don’t defect yourself, it’s very likely there’s no real danger... I checked the old almanac this morning, today is unsuitable for, traveling, prayers, meetings; suitable for cleaning and paving roads. So, just don’t schedule your meeting today, and there shouldn’t be any problems.”

This final commentary and suggestion carrying a few professional insights gave the young teaching assistant a great deal of psychological comfort.

Due to the mutual lack of awareness regarding each other’s true identities, the Seven Sins members cannot contact each other through paper cranes or green birds, but rather each member’s identity ring facilitates communication.

By the end of the morning class, Zheng Qing had consulted all seven members on their available times.

Then, taking advantage of the brief moment before the first History of Magic class when teacher Sima Yangyun hadn’t yet arrived in the classroom, he listed the responses from the other seven members on a blank piece of parchment—Lucifer, Leviathan, and Belfinger were straightforward, offering any time on Saturday or Sunday; Samael and Mammon excluded Sunday night from the two-day offer; Beelzebub and Asmodeus stated they had no restrictions.

A bunch of cunning old foxes.

This was Zheng Qing’s sole comment on the situation.

Indeed, he harbored a slight intention to use this communication opportunity to guess the real identities of the demons based on the time they provided — at least to narrow down the suspicious range — but their responses were too vague. The slightly less ambiguous ones, like Samael and Mammon, seemed to have left time on Sunday night, suggesting they might need to attend class meetings (a distinctive arrangement at Jiuyou Academy), but Zheng Qing distinctly remembered that Samael’s aggressive nature most suggested he belonged to Starry Sky Academy among all members.

With this thought, he shook his head, casually crumpled the parchment into a ball, and stuffed it into the grey cloth bag.

”...Mr. Zha finally isn’t on the front page today.”

The sound of Xin Fat Man folding the newspaper reached Zheng Qing’s ears, instantly lifting his spirits: ”As long as you’re orderly these days and don’t stir things up again, I think by next week you can remove the invisibility talisman.”

A stack of folded newspapers silently slid towards Zheng Qing between the gaps of chairs and tables and disappeared soundlessly into the air.

”I’ve always been well-behaved...” The young teaching assistant muttered with little confidence, quickly flipping through several newspaper pages on his knees, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

News about him had indeed significantly decreased.

In contrast, the editors of Beta Town Post seemed more interested in the parade celebrations initiated by ’Please Give Me a Frog’ during the weekend at the Lakeside of Bell Lake, even providing a large frog illustration.

However, the corner of the picture revealed the dark yellow eyes of a fishman beneath the water surface, adding a few strokes of tension to the whole image.