## Chapter 6: Harpist Academy (16)
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What’s the deal with that foreign woman hiding half her face?
Didn’t she claim to be Trissa’s friend earlier?
Why was she sneakily stuffing two daggers into the wall while making it look like Edith was picking a flying gadget, but in the end, it was still her predetermined trap?
Is this a setup for a deliberate m*rder?
As the crowd eyed Edith with suspicion—because let’s be real, she definitely had motives—the foreigner casually confessed that the daggers were all her doing.
What kind of crazy potion is she brewing in that gourd of hers?
Konglif could no longer handle the rollercoaster of emotions; just seconds ago, as the daggers swung into action, his back was drenched in cold sweat. If only he weren’t so far away, he would have transformed into a berserker right then and there and jumped in front of Trissa to shield her from the daggers.
But just as he lunged toward the edge of the scene, Trissa successfully swatted the daggers away.
At that moment, he let out a massive sigh of relief and collapsed onto the ground in sheer disbelief.
Not even glancing at the now suspicious Edith, he exclaimed, “Lin Nan, what the heck did you mean by that? Clear yourself up!
Isn’t Trissa your friend? Why would you try to put her in danger?”
Even if Trissa looked completely unharmed, Lin Nan’s sneaky ambush had to be punished.
Konglif approached Lin Nan with a frosty glare, sending the message that if she tried to escape, he would snatch her up without a second thought, without any chance for mercy.
His question piqued the audience’s interest.
Even Blake and Betty, who had been chattering endlessly, paused to wait for Lin Nan’s answer.
Of course, if her answer didn’t satisfy everyone, the Imperial Capital would surely provide a satisfactory conclusion.
“Because Trissa is my friend, that’s why I’m helping her,” Lin Nan replied coolly.
“Helping? Are you kidding? Do you think we’re all fools?”
Konglif clenched his teeth, his nails digging into his palm.
Lin Nan shrugged. “Konglif, let me ask you something: How can a soldier grow quickly?”
Konglif sneered, “That’s a simple question. I’m from the southern battlefield, where my soldiers and I fight against monstrous threats to the Empire every day.
On the brutal battlefield, even the newly enlisted soldiers grow fast.
In just a couple of months, the tests of life and d*ath will mature them quickly.
During that time, many new recruits bite the dust due to their foolishness; only the survivors can be called veterans.”
“Exactly! That’s why I placed daggers for the test.”
“Absurd! Absolutely absurd!”
Konglif could not fathom Lin Nan’s comparison of the noble harpists to soldiers.
“The bloodlines of harpists flow from the Four Warriors. Their nobility, their training, is in no way comparable to that of a mere soldier!
If something were to happen to Trissa, could you handle the responsibility?”
The crowd began buzzing immediately.
“Exactly! It’s said there are hardly six or seven hundred harpists left in the entire Empire.
This year’s graduates number around fifty, and each harpist is a beautiful, noble lady,
While a hundred stinky common soldier’s worth can’t measure up to a single harpist!”
“Right! Harpists have always been our objects of admiration, and Trissa is a prior genius. If she were to d*e here, it would be a great loss for the Empire.”
“I think that foreign woman has lost her mind! Comparing soldiers to harpists is a joke. They’re fundamentally different!”
But Trissa, standing behind Lin Nan, caught Konglif off guard.
“Konglif, you can zip it. No matter what Lin… Classmate does, I’ll accept the consequences.”
The guy stood there, utterly dumbfounded.
He had thought he was defending her, but Trissa was not only dismissive of his concern but seemed to enjoy the idea of being on the same side as that foreign woman.
Lin Nan’s icy gaze swept the room.
For some reason, those who had been the loudest suddenly looked down, as if they couldn’t even dare to meet her eyes.
Silence returned to the testing grounds.
“The original intention behind establishing the Harpist Academy was to cultivate talent for the Empire and supply suitable harpists for the battlefield.
Back in the day, they played crucial roles in various battles and laid the foundation for the harpist academy’s roots in the Empire.
But over a thousand years later, everything seems to have soured.
What once served the purpose of guarding the nation has morphed into a finishing school for noble ladies.
It seems that once a woman has the title of harpist, her status in society skyrockets, helping her snag a high-status husband.
Now the Harpist Academy resembles a giant marriage agency.
Every graduation assessment season, powerful nobles swarm into the academy like locusts, selecting suitable women for themselves or their families.
And the graduates are all too happy to showcase their charms in front of everyone— the higher their harpist level, the more their status climbs.
In all this, it seems everyone forgets one crucial point: what kind of profession a harpist truly is?
The traditions left over from millennia simply exist to gratify noble preferences, giving birth to a bunch of pretty faces with zero practical use?
They’re not even allowed on the battlefield, and the noble patrons they seek approval from would first refuse to let them go!
And for nobles, there are plenty of soldiers to guard the borders—there’s no need for noble harpists to be present themselves!
So year after year, people grow accustomed to associating harpists exclusively with highborn women.
Meanwhile, they’ve forgotten how one of the Four Warriors, Casey, when facing an army of undead all alone, fought her way through to help the Four Warriors earn the favor of the Goddess of Destiny.
As for the present-day harpists? Ha! Beyond the most basic skills, how many of them have actual combat experience?
How many could survive in an enemy ambush?
The Empire has enjoyed peace for so long, and right now is a critical time for impending changes.
Once invincible harpists have fallen this far, even as a foreign woman, witnessing this scene pains me deeply.
Thus, with today’s opportunity, I want to show everyone what a true harpist really is!
Trissa, being a rare gem who has been sharpened in real battles, I believe she can handle any emergency with composure.
Of course, if she happens to d*e, it would only indicate her unworthiness.
If even Trissa cannot handle the spontaneous situations of real combat, it goes to show how utterly our harpist education has decayed into mere mechanical repetition and a breeding ground for noble brides.”
Konglif, “…”
Edith, “…”
The entire place fell silent. It had been ages since they’d heard something so thought-provoking.
