Magical Cat

West District of Falling Star City, Tongxin Church.

A handsome, tall young man stood before the dragon statue, praying devoutly.

He was dressed in a pristine white suit, adorned with exquisite and luxurious accessories, and carrying a gentleman's cane; he was clearly a nobleman from an distinguished family.

"Welcome to Luoxing City, guests from afar."

The moment the tall young man finished his prayer, Father Sam emerged from behind to welcome his guest.

"Godfather Sam, I'll be inconveniencing you for a while this time." The young man lightly touched his chest and bowed gracefully.

"Mr. Joey, you are too kind. Ms. Melina is already waiting in the back. I will take you there now."

Father Sam led him to the back of the church, then down the steps into the underground space.

After turning a few more corners inside, Father Sam led the man behind a wooden door.

He gestured for the guests to go inside, and then left the place.

Joey entered the room and saw Melina sitting elegantly there.

The room was simply furnished with only the most basic furniture.

On a dining table with two chairs facing each other, two cups of hot tea and a plate of simple snacks are prepared.

"Melina, it's been a long time."

Joey put on a warm smile, sat down, moistened his throat with tea, and then popped a pastry into his mouth.

He raised his eyebrows happily, clearly satisfied with the taste of the dessert.

Compared to Godfather Sam, Joey was clearly more at ease in Melina's presence.

"Joey, did they send you down this time?"

Compared to Joey's enthusiastic smile, Melina frowned directly.

"Melina, what kind of attitude is this? Aren't you happy to see an old friend?" Joey said, displeased.

"Fine, just focus on doing your own thing." Melina sighed and rubbed her forehead.

At this moment, Joey's actions suddenly changed. He put down the snacks and teacup in his hand, and his expression became serious.

"Melina, I hope our personal relationship won't make you forget who we are."

The tone of his voice was noticeably colder, and his expression instantly shifted from sunny to cloudy.

This sudden change is enough to leave most people completely baffled.

But Melina wasn't too surprised.

She looked across and noticed that Joey had a cute little white mouse perched on his shoulder.

The white mouse had a dazzling gem on its forehead that kept changing color.

A pair of pink eyes were staring straight at Melina.

Luna seemed to sense something and a slithering motion appeared on Melina's neck.

This time, Melina put aside her disrespect and stood up properly to bow.

"Please forgive my rudeness, Your Excellency."

Melina and Luna both lowered their heads.

Joey then nodded coldly: "That's more like it, Bishop Melina."

Melina remained in the bowing position, not daring to stand up on her own.

Joey is like someone with a split personality; in front of Godfather Sam, he is a polite young nobleman.

Once inside the room, he acted like an approachable old friend.

But at this moment, Joey's authority and indifference were almost unbearable for Melina.

"Let's get down to business. Sit down."

Upon hearing this, Melina breathed a sigh of relief, finished her bow, and sat down again: "Thank you, Apostle."

After they sat back down, their attitudes changed drastically.

Melina only dared to sit on half of her buttocks, keeping her back ramrod straight.

"I discovered a target who is suspected to be an apostle, so I applied to the headquarters to send someone to verify it," Melina explained her request.

"Tell me the specifics of the target." Joey raised his teacup again, but compared to his previous casualness, his movements were now elegant and dignified, displaying aristocratic bearing.

"It's like this, I have a student named Elaine, she's a student on the academy's scholarship program..."

Melina gave a general account of Elaine and Lee's situations.

She recounted everything, from Elaine's family background to her performance after enrolling in school, and all the details of her subsequent adoption of Li En.

"Oh, it's also an abandoned magical beast?" Joey said, glancing at Luna on Melina's neck.

Luna snorted coldly, turned her head away, and closed her eyes.

"That's right, his talent, aptitude, and growth rate will definitely shatter your expectations."

Joey just scoffed at Melina's words, completely ignoring them.

"Then bring him here. I will determine for you whether he truly deserves to be an apostle," Joey replied proudly.

Judging from his reaction, it seems that this kind of investigation is not particularly rare. He showed no excitement, only doubt about the facts.

But Melina shook her head.

"He can't come here, at least not in the near future."

A hint of sarcasm flashed across Joey's face.

He had seen far too many opportunists like Melina in the Tongxin Society.

They all dreamed of making a great contribution by finding the Apostle, but they didn't realize how rare the existence of an Apostle was.

Because of these speculators, the Tongxin Association receives a constant stream of inspection applications every year.

If it weren't for Bishop Melina's personal application, the Concord Society would never have sent a real apostle to conduct the assessment.

"So you mean you want me to wait here until you're ready?" Joey asked, though her tone was unfriendly.

Melina frowned and glanced at the gem rat on Joey's shoulder.

But the other party was of a higher rank than her, and Melina could do nothing about it.

Moreover, Melina had a clear conscience, having acted entirely for the sake of the Unity Society, and was even more convinced that Li En absolutely had the qualifications to become an apostle.

"His presence at the academy has been quite noticeable lately, and bringing him here for an inspection would only cause unnecessary trouble."

"But he's been practicing with me recently, so you can come and observe when you have the chance."

"If you are unwilling to set foot in the Royal Magic Academy, I can apply for someone else to come."

After speaking, Melina paused for a moment, then added, "When you apply again, you can put all the blame on me."

Upon hearing this, Joey exclaimed in surprise, crossed his legs, and leaned back in his chair.

"Wow, it seems you're quite confident."

Melina pretended not to hear the teasing.

She had said everything she wanted to say, and she couldn't interfere with Joey's decision.

"Hmph, do you think I'm too scared to go to your academy?"

"Since I've never been there before, I'll make the trip."

"You arrange the time and place; I will definitely keep my promise!"

After saying that, Joey got up, pushed open the door, and left, leaving Melina alone in the room.

Melina shook her head slightly, preparing to finish her tea before leaving.

Just then, Luna quietly emerged again, flicking her tongue and whispering in Melina's ear, "That guy is so annoying!"

Melina gave a wry smile and said nothing.

Luna continued, "But I have to say, that rat has become even more formidable; its aura is truly terrifying."

Melina put down her teacup, her tone resolute:

"She's deliberately showing off to us."