In the end, the kids still managed to check out the opulent interior of an estate mansion. As one of the most luxurious suites in the entire realm, there was really no need to reiterate how magnificent the interior of this mansion was.
All Baiyi could say was how generous the emperor must be to gift a place like this to the dragon pair. Could it be that he had his eyes on the dragon-lady?
Well, the emperor certainly had his eyes on her, but probably not the way Baiyi imagined.
“Wow, I didn’t know you took in so many new students afterward!” Aya remarked after listening to Baiyi’s tale. “And aren’t they quite intriguing! It’s just… well, are they always like this?”
She pointed at the new students who had all curled into shuddering balls of terror, at the corner of a wall. The owl had already been found; as it turned out, it had transformed into the embellishment currently on Nota’s hat.
Dragons would always be the apex predators; therefore, as evolutionary memory goes, the fear for dragons would always be in the genes of other species, including the students’.
“I actually wanted you to stay a little longer, but I suppose that can’t be done right now, yea?” Aya said in a low voice, with a forlorn look. She looked just like a mistress in hiding.
Baiyi had to change the subject before “Hmph.mp3” played on a loop within the Void, so he asked, “If you’re here caring for the child, what about your duty with the dragon knights?”
“Father’s on it,” she replied, stretching her body, and her curvy waist was laid bare before the Soul Armature. “The higher-ups don’t trust me that much, compared to my more seasoned father, especially in matters like forming an aerial assault team or whatever. I kinda got kicked aside, and now I’m bored with nothing to do!”
‘This isn’t surprising, at all, to be frank.’
When some women got too much time on their hands, they might start thinking too much, and might end up wanting a child, which would be quite dangerous 1 .
Baiyi watched Aya stretch her body lazily, then after thinking something through, he said, “Hey, why don’t you help me out with my teaching?”
“Aye?” Aya suddenly perked up. “You mean… Taking care of the kids? Is that a very roundabout way of asking for my hand in marr— owww!”
Baiyi withdrew his finger after flicking her forehead. “I have a little too many students with me now, and all of them have different interests in their studies. I would like to satisfy them as much as possible, but that would mean that I alone am not enough.”
“Me, teach them?” Aya rubbed her forehead and eyed the new students, who were still curled in that corner. “You sure it’s a good idea? I think they are terrified of me.”
“Meh. It will pass.”
“But your students are already very capable in their own right, you know? Compared to them, I’ve got nothing to offer,” Aya protested, having no confidence in herself.
“Nah, you’re an exemplary tutor; come on! Look at Mordred! She’s well-taught… what are you two troublemakers doing there?!”
Baiyi’s train of thought changed course when he saw two people playing close-by. As it turned out, while the two adults were talking, Mordred had invited Little Mia to play a very traditional game of ‘Guess What’. It is the classic game wherein one closes their eyes and lets their other senses inform them of what the target item was.
Of course, in the beginning, they played with normal objects, hardly anything that would come from a particularly scandalous erotica. Nevertheless, the items that they played this game with did not sound too innocent to a perverted mind; they chuckled loudly and sweetly called out names such as “Cucumber!’, “Banana!”, “Bringer!” and all sort of objects that were mysteriously elongated by nature
When they had run out of items to guess, there was almost no reason to play anymore. Hence, when it was Mia’s turn to guess, Mordred suddenly had the very quirky idea to stick out her tongue and lick Mia’s face; after doing that, Modred eagerly asked Mia to guess what that was.
Mia’s head tilted to a side, and she pondered for a while. Then, she answered, “I can’t really tell from one touch, you know. Can I taste it?”
It was at that moment that Baiyi’s gaze shifted to the two, and what his eyes clearly showed his brain was a yuri-like scene; both parents had to quickly pull the girls apart. It was as if they were forcefully separating two kittens 2 .
After delegating the important duty of making sure the kids were playing within the confines of a Rated E (for Everybody) game — especially in front of the two elder children who had been enjoying the scenery from the yard — Baiyi and Aya finally got back to talking about their teaching prospects.
“You were a training instructor within the dragon knights, after all; that’s already a very solid qualification right there. Plus, I’ll do the more theory themed classes like magical techniques, while you can teach them history, world culture, cooking, domestic skills and such; and most importantly, efficient team-ups. Aren’t these what you’re good at?”
“Yes, I’m a bit more confident in these areas, ” Aya replied warmly, with a smile.
If one were to pour through the credentials of Aya and Baiyi, they would argue that Aya was more qualified as an educator than Baiyi was. She was the training instructor of the dragon knights, and she had long since honed her abilities in training both humans and dragons, so one could easily foresee that training the fox and the sunflower would not be too hard. Plus, she would look great in shot pencil skirts and black silky socks; she would surely make a stellar teacher if she agreed to join.
Her specialty — which had been honed during her time with the dragon knights — lay in building effective team-ups, and this would become more valuable as the students’ strengths and weaknesses become more apparent. Each student was very unique in their own contributions, so Baiyi wanted to group them into teams while grooming their abilities further. With Aya’s help, the process would be smooth.
The question, however, was: would Aya agree to it?
Of course, no one would expect a ‘no’. Baiyi had not even talked about the pay yet, but Aya was already nodding earnestly.
“Being able to help Mr. Hope would be my greatest honor. I hope this would leave us a lot of great memories!”
Although her words sounded quite meaningful, her eyes seemed to brim with something else. As Aya was talking, her stare contained an expression of longing.
“Hmph!” Then, just as Baiyi had expected, the snort of doom chillingly resounded in the Void.
‘Cough. This isn’t anything like what you people are imagining. I’m just hiring a suitable candidate. She’s free, and I’m busy; it’s a fair deal that everyone benefits from. Yep, just a deal,’ Baiyi hurriedly explained to the crowd in the Void.
“You have no idea what she really wants?” the Warrior retorted.
“Cough! My apologies. I can only say… I’m not sure? Nevertheless, I’m not the type to play with the hearts of girls. I really need her help, and this has something to do with the long-term goal we all want to achieve.”
There were two major roadblocks in the Voidwalkers’ escape plan: the technical part, where Baiyi was to explore and employ; and the consensus, where Baiyi had to work towards creating an understanding amongst people, then stop all prejudices that the world had towards those who dwelt in the Void.
And the best way to do that would be through education.
Just as he had started giving classes to the little students, he had already started thinking of establishing his own school. He would slowly but surely change the perception that his students had towards the Void, and he would let his graduates help propagate the knowledge to others in society.
Establishing his own school would not just help re-educate the opinion of students, it would also help Baiyi weave an extensive social network that he could use to his advantage.
Besides, his plans — which included establishing a school, training Little Mia, and following his original plan to get the Voidwalkers out of their prison — were not at odds with each other.
He only paused his plan temporarily because of the burden of establishing an educational institution; these troubles were not something he could use a well-timed fist to resolve quickly. However, when the Doors of Conundrum sent their students over, the idea took seed in his heart once more.
And after successfully hiring his first teacher, his school seemed to have grown even stronger.
‘Why not? You’ve got the money. Land? You could buy that with money. Reputation? You mean the Church hasn’t done enough? The opinions of the nobles? You’ve got a Duke behind you. Knowledge? Ha, ha ha!’
It seemed that he had met the few requirements for establishing a school. The only thing he needed now was manpower; with Aya joining his crew, his dream had finally ventured into reality, even if only a bit.
He told the Void about his decision, and the Voidwalkers immediately became very positive about it.
“Not a bad idea at all! I used to have this idea, but establishing a school seemed too troublesome, so I didn’t really want to do it 3 . But, hey; in retrospect, they were all pretty minor troubles… I am with you,” the Archmage said.
“We should have done this a looong time ago!” the Apprentice was ecstatic 4 , and perhaps excited, that Baiyi’s specialty was finally being put to use.
“I cannot fathom the fact that you only just proposed this! Have I been operating under my own assumption that this is exactly what we are striving toward?” the Scholar replied jovially.
“Schools are good! Very good idea! I love schools! Sir Hope, please lemme design their uniform; before I took up the job of the Astrologer, I was a tailor for a few years; you must believe in my professiona—” A certain commenter was muted again.