"Don't rush off just yet."
Just as Hilia was about to go receive her prize, Rose suddenly spoke up.
"What's the matter?" Hilia paused.
"That contestant earlier seemed a bit off. Go find a leaf, write something on it, and put it in the box before you leave."
Hilia froze for a moment, then realized what Rose meant.
"Alright."
She flew down below, grabbed a leaf, pulled out a strand from the Flying Broom, infused it with Magic Power, and wrote on the leaf:
"Congratulations on claiming first place, but there's no prize for you ^_^"
She placed the leaf in the box, closed it, confirmed with the wooden tag that it could be reopened, and then happily left.
A few minutes later, Nosen flew to the top of the Tower of Diligence, feeling somewhat uneasy along the way, uncertain about what that gust of wind earlier meant and whether it was a contestant.
If it was indeed a contestant, he might as well give up.
Yet, he felt a bit unwilling.
The students participating in the contest were mostly Tier Two Mages, and older students who were Tier Three Mages looked down upon these Gold Coins and were not inclined to participate—even if they wanted to, the organizers probably wouldn't agree.
But even the strongest Tier Three Mage couldn't achieve such speed...
That would require an instructor or even a professor-level skill, right?
With a bit of a gambling mindset, he avoided various dangerous Holy Beasts and Forest Rangers along the way, enduring great hardship to get here.
Thinking, Nosen landed on the tower top. Seeing the box still quietly sitting there made him smile immediately.
"Good thing I didn't leave halfway; otherwise, I would've missed out."
Approaching the box, he eagerly took out the wooden tag, opened the box, and picked up the leaf inside.
Seeing the words, he was stunned.
His face visibly reddened.
"Damn Fred, he dares to trick me!"
…
Holy Beast Forbidden Forest Lake.
When Hilia arrived, she saw someone waiting for her at the shore, wearing an eyepatch that revealed only their eyes and lower face.
Upon seeing her arrival, the person stepped forward and handed Hilia a package.
"Congratulations, my friend, you've won the championship. Here's your reward: a total of 30 Gold Coins."
"Thank you."
"There was an unexpected turn of events in this competition, yet you still finished outstandingly. You really are something."
The person gave Hilia a thumbs-up.
Hilia felt that the comment didn't quite sound like praise, but considering the Gold Coins, she didn't mind.
After giving her the money, the person didn't say much more and hurriedly left.
Even though she only saw their eyes, Hilia noticed the person seemed burdened with heavy thoughts. There was no need to guess; it was clear the issue of many contestants being arrested was weighing heavily on him.
However, this had nothing to do with Hilia.
Opening the package and confirming it was filled with the glittering Gold Coins, each engraved with Magic patterns, genuinely felt like a dream to Hilia.
"So, I earned 30 Gold Coins just like that?"
She felt it was a bit unreal.
Before coming to the Divine Magic Academy, the High Priest from the Divine Hall had painstakingly saved for a long time just to gather one Gold Coin for her, which could sustain her for a year. But now, by merely participating in a competition, she could sustain herself for thirty years.
"It's 29 Gold Coins," Rose corrected. "Though this isn't a gamble, the concept of money generated here is similar; money comes too easily, making it less valuable. However, such competitions are often games for the wealthy, and they don't quite care much about these Gold Coins."
"In such contests..." Hilia hesitated for a long time before reluctantly saying, "I won't participate anymore in the future."
"Oh? Why?"
Having tasted the money brought by the whirlwind, it's intriguing that she didn't consider participating next time but rather decided not to partake anymore.
"This isn't a regular way to make money; it's essentially robbing classmates of their money, and their money isn't just blown in by the wind. Besides..."
Hilia sat on the Flying Broom, heading out of the Holy Beast Forbidden Forest.
"Once I make Magic Puppets, I can take on the commissions from the school and the Holy Court. I could also take up commissions outside at the Mercenary Guild. Though it won't earn as much, it'll be more reassuring."
"You're too kind-hearted."
"Being kind is a necessary trait for becoming a Holy Daughter."
Even though she decided not to participate next time, the 30 Gold Coins made Hilia quite pleased, lifting her spirits such that she wasn't as afraid of flying, even daring to push the speed limit to 40 mph.
But soon she encountered a setback.
Out of nowhere, Hilia noticed the Flying Broom was out of control, slowly descending to the front of a small cabin.
Outside the cabin, an elderly man with a white beard stood with his hands behind his back, sternly looking at her.
"Where's your permit?"
"Permit?"
"Child, without a permit and without a mentor guiding you, you cannot enter or exit the Holy Beast Forbidden Forest. Did you not know?"
The bracelet moved slightly, revealing the name and identity of this white-bearded old man, Professor Oston, a Guardian of the Holy Beast Forbidden Forest.
She immediately admitted her mistake. "I'm sorry, Mr. Oston, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have trespassed into the Forbidden Forest."
The "grandpa" address was quite gratifying to Oston, and his face softened right away, nodding slightly, "Don't be reckless next time. I see you came from the Forbidden Forest Lake area. If you wish to fish, apply for a permit from me beforehand. Many places in the Holy Beast Forbidden Forest are off-limits. Otherwise, you wouldn't even know if you're being toyed with by the Holy Beasts inside."
"Alright, thank you, Mr. Oston!"
Oston didn't make things difficult for Hilia. He glanced at her briefly and thought that the person who knocked over his Word Spirit Brew probably wasn't her.
After all, she was so pretty, adorable, innocent, kind, and polite; how could she have knocked over an old man's Word Spirit Brew?
Watching Hilia walk away, Oston stroked his beard, preparing to return to the cabin when suddenly his expression changed, sensing someone flying toward here from the opposite direction of the mysterious perpetrator!
He immediately exercised his authority to have the person's Flying Broom descend toward him.
Oston's expression was stern: "Which year are you? You don't look like a freshman. Don't you know entering the Holy Beast Forbidden Forest without a permit is prohibited?"
"Professor Oston, I have a permit." Forced to land, Nosen quickly took out his previously applied-for permit to enter the Forbidden Forest.
Oston didn't take it. "If you know how to apply for a permit, you should know that before entering the Forbidden Forest, you need to hand it over to me to install the Activity Area Star Instrument for you, right?"
"What?"
Nosen was dumbfounded.
Professor Oston usually didn't care as long as you had the permit, right?
Why is he acting like he's off his meds today?
"Third-year aristocrat class... Nosen? I've already informed your instructor. You'll have to wait here until your instructor comes to take you away."
Informing the instructor means facing school penalties. Unauthorized entry into the Forbidden Forest isn't too big of a deal overall, nor too small—it mainly depends on whether trouble was caused and how Oston decides.
An official notice is inevitable.
Nosen's face turned green.