Chapter 241: There Are Some Things That Even I Don’t Know About
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
It was almost lunchtime when the Voidwalkers finished discussing the newly enrolled students. When Baiyi went downstairs and pa.s.sed by the kitchen, he was surprised at the lack of commotion in there. ‘Where in the world is Attie? As a Kitty-cat maid, has she been eaten by that kitsune?’
Only when Baiyi reached the hall did he found his dark-skinned little maidservant laying on top of the kitsune, along with Mia, savoring the feel of its furry, snow-white coat. The kitsune was also exceptionally fond of them, using its tail to caress them gently, causing the both of them to burst out in cute giggles from time to time.
“Aren’t you girls hungry?” asked Baiyi flatly. He then waved at the owl, who was hanging upside down at a corner of the room, and said, “There is a restaurant down south. Can you please go there and order some food? Mm, just mention the Aegis mansion, and they’ll know what to do…”
The owl remained in its suspended position and raised its left wing to the side of its round head as if to give a salute. However, as it prepared to take flight, Vidomina, who had witnessed the entire conversation from a corner of the room, quickly interrupted. “Ah, there is no need to disturb senior Potter… I already have a little something prepared.”
The moment her voice faltered, there was a knock on the door. The knock that was not too soft or too loud, and instead, it echoed in appropriately-timed intervals. This was the knock of dignitaries. Baiyi opened the door, nursing the suspense that filled his heart, and found an energetic middle-aged man standing before him. The middle-aged man was dressed like a n.o.ble butler, wearing a monocle on one side of his face. The left side of his chest bore the insignia of the Wrights.
“It is a true pleasure to meet you, Sir Hope!” The butler bowed towards Baiyi as a form of respect. “A feast from Gouve is prepared for today. It is the finest dishes of the land, and it boasts the latest trends!”
He skipped to the side in one step, revealing a long line of maidservants behind him. Each maidservant held a silver dish on their arm. The dishes were covered with a dome lid polished so speckless – one could see one’s reflection clearly on it.
‘Pfft, I nearly forgot that the household became slightly more crowded recently. The duke’s daughter is a princess, right? Furthermore, this Duke is a stereotypically arrogant one.’Vidomina had been very low-profile all this time. She treated the people and the world decently without a hint of haughtiness; it almost made people forget that she had an insolent Duke for a father for a moment.
“Sir Hope? Are the choices of the dishes to your liking?” The perfect butler opened the cover on the dish that one maidservant was holding, revealing the main course of golden chops. A mouthwatering fragrance filled the air instantly.
Baiyi knew that even if he disagreed, this fellow would take these dishes back without any complaint and procure another set of dishes on the spot. Hence, he relented and allowed them to enter the house.
Under the service of maidservants, everybody dined happily and comfortably during this meal. The kitsune gracefully squatted on a chair, eating delicately from a bowl that had already been refilled a couple of times by the attentive maidservant beside it, and at that moment, the kitsune did not embody the image of a ferocious beast at all. The owl, which was beside the Kitsune, also ate in a similarly nimble manner. It was obvious that this was not their first time dining with humans, for their manners were really graceful and refined.
At that moment, Tisdale seemed to remember something. She suddenly asked, “Umm… Sunny is still outside, I think? I’m so sorry; we seem to have completely forgotten about him…”
The butler suddenly broke out of his statue-like demeanor and said, “Please do not worry, Miss Aegis. We have also prepared food for Mr. Sunny.”
Vidomina pressed on further. “But…senior Sunny prefers something…raw. He doesn’t usually eat with us…”
“Oh? Baiyi pondered for a moment, and then he extended a bit of his consciousness towards the courtyard to monitor the situation out there. He instantly understood what Vidomina meant. The scene of a chicken being shredded to pieces savagely by the snake-like branches was an incredibly b.l.o.o.d.y one. A common man would not be able to stomach his dinner after witnessing such a scene.
‘Why can’t that…thing… learn some manners from the kitsune or the owl?’ A maidservant had carried out the extra task of setting up a tent for Sunny to dine in peace, preventing any cases of distraught onlookers.
The atmosphere became slightly awkward. Searching for a topic of conversation, Vidomina proudly introduced her band of maidservants to everyone. They had been sent by her father the moment the Duke learned of her return to the land, and they have served her for countless years; thus, her mannerisms from this professional upbringing was certainly on point.
“She really is a princess! Vidomina, do you always get this sort of treatment? I-I’m so jealous…” lamented Mia at a corner.
“It is me who envies you, Mia,” said Vidomina in a humble manner. “These are merely just fancy people and fancy possessions, but compared to the care and attention you could get from the master anytime you want, what I have is nothing.”
“Eh? What’s this? Vidomina also fancies Sir Hope…” murmured Mia. She then placed her little head next to Vidomina’s and said softly, almost in a secretive, whispering manner, “Actually, Sir Hope can get quite scary occasionally. He’ll make you stand for long hours as punishment, or whack your b.u.t.t with the feather duster; it really hurts, I’m telling you! What’s more, his cooking is horrible; the meals we eat are usually prepared by Attie.”
‘ I heard that! I heard all of that! You ungrateful little bunny; how could you reveal all these private details? Watch how I’ll finish you off later!’ Baiyi’s thought dismally.
However, when Vidomina heard Mia’s childish opinion, she laughed, and after lowering her voice, she asked, “Hey, Mia, how about this… you can have this butler of mine, including all these maidservants — in exchange for Sir Hope! Deal?”
“No way!” Mia replied almost impulsively, vigorously shaking her head sideways. “I want to be with Sir Hope forever!”
Despite all those complaints earlier… when asked to leave Baiyi, Mia was quick to voice her displeasure!
“Eh? But Mia, you’ll have to get married ultimately, right? You’re so pretty and talented. I’m sure you’re fancied by many boys! Hence, what would happen when you get married in the future?” Vidomina asked in a joking manner.
However, the little girl took the question so seriously that she wrinkled her brows and pondered for a long time before answering, “I don’t know! I’m still young, so it’s still not the right time to think about all these!”
“But Mia…you’re almost sixteen! Lots of girls your age are already mothers, with kids…”
“So what? Whatever it is…I-I want to be with Sir Hope! If it’s really not possible…” Mia said stubbornly. She then sent a complicated glance at Baiyi, who was sitting at a corner; ‘he does not look like he heard anything, right?’
Baiyi, who had been eavesdropping on the whole conversation, felt his heart almost melting with fondness. At the moment, he felt like standing up to declare to Mia joyously, “It’s alright, my dear Mia! If you cannot be strong enough to win over my body — or be excellent enough to win over the boy that every Walker approves of — it’s totally alright! I will always nurture you! And, take care of you!
Too bad, this was something he could ever profess. Therefore, instead of that declaration, two shallow coughs escaped Baiyi’s throat, replacing the words that would have expressed the joy in his heart.
The two girls seemed to be afraid that their conversation would be overheard by Baiyi, so they quickly finished their meal; not a sound was uttered anymore.
After the meal, the maidservants cleaned up the scene swiftly, while the butler sought Baiyi and asked if he should prepare some daily amenities for the students, but Baiyi declined profusely. Baiyi informed the butler that they would already be helping plenty by providing three daily meals in a day. He did not want his students to be spoiled and pampered, after all.
The band of maidservants then left the mansion in a flourish, but they did not forget to bring the pot containing the sunflower, Sunny, back into the mansion before their departure.
“There will be no lessons for today and tomorrow, but for this afternoon, I’d like to gauge a little of your abilities. Therefore, allow Mia and the girls to take your around Aspen City for a tour tomorrow,” Baiyi said to the five new students. He was then handed a piece of paper by Tisdale, which contained the results of a vote by the new students on what lessons they would like to have. He read through it quickly and continued, “I’ll tabulate the votes later, and I will try my best to accommodate everyone’s needs, but…”
He glanced towards the sunflower. “You wanted lessons on martial arts?”
Sunny the sunflower happily wriggled its body in acknowledgment.
‘A potted sunflower like you… martial arts?!’
Next, he s.h.i.+fted his attention to Nota the fairy. “You wanted culinary lessons? A-and lessons on crafts like…scarf-making…?”
The little fairy nodded her head seriously, gazing at Baiyi with eyes full of hope.
Baiyi truly wanted to reject this idea straightaway. He was afraid this girl would forget where she placed the pepper, or forget whom she was making the scarf for. This certainly was a cause for concern…
As for Zak.u.m, the kitsune, and Potter, the owl, their only wish was to study Druid magic. ‘Hmm… this request was not too bizarre, but it was an uncommon one.’ Druid magic was not a popular choice in reality; It was not exceptionally powerful, neither was it useful per se. The world lacked the existence of Jade Golems 1 , after all!
“Druid magic is possible, you could learn a thing or two from that, but I don’t know how much exactly there is to learn,” muttered Baiyi. There was a Druid amongst the Walkers themselves, but a special one; not many truly understood her true nature, even till this day.
“And Potter, you’re interested in theology?” Baiyi asked the owl, with incredulity. ‘Is he…out of his mind? Owls are already seen as an omen of bad luck, and his whole original self is practically darkness itself. One glance at him, and he looks like he’s up to no good, yet he plans on studying theology?! ‘
Besides these, every one of the new students was interested in Ancient Rohserlese magic, so there could be a cla.s.s held together for that. Regarding general studies, the students hoped to have additional cla.s.ses of language and biology.
‘Well-chosen! No problem!’
“Woah! Master is so impressive, he looks like he knows everything!” exclaimed Vidomina. “But, allow me to ask this off the record. Is there anything in the world that Master does not know?”
‘Perhaps…it is better to ask Mia to call me daddy, instead?’ Baiyi thought in private.