Chapter 38: Of Course I'll Forgive You!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After Baiyi had successfully hid the cloak in the tree and was hurrying towards the girls dormitory with a box of pastry bought from Southern City Pastry Shop, the sky had completely darkened and the dim lights from the street lights elongated his shadow. Along the way, a few of the students lingering by the road were staring at him strangely.
When he reached the junction of a forked road, he saw a small figure with an anxious face standing in the middle of the intersection stopping students and teachers that were passing by. With a voice close to tears, the small figure asked: "P-P-Please… H-H-Have you seen my Mr. Hope? Sniff. .. He’s the one wearing a p-p-plain militia’s armour... H-H-He had just gotten summoned not too long ago, so I-I-I’m afraid that he would get lost in the academy compound. .. Sniff "
At every negative answer that she got, the small figure shook her head with disappointment. Yet, she still refused to give up and continued to stop another student that was passing by and repeated her question, "Excuse me… H-Have you seen my Mr. Hope? It’s already so late and he still has not return... Please... I-I-I am worried about him..."
Judging from her forehead that was beaded with sweat and her hoarse voice, it seemed like she might have been wandering around the area for some time now...
Perhaps due to exhaustion, she stood by the magic lamp post and hung her head low. Her beautiful eyes were already filled with tears and she was trying her best to blink the tears away. It was only with all her might that she was able to prevent herself from crying on the spot. Reaching out a hand to rub her eyes, she quickly brushed away the tears that she was unable to hold in before blowing her nose and continued to walk towards the next passerby.
In this realm of reality, only Mia alone would be so concerned about Baiyi, to be worried sick when he came back late or to cry for him when he disappeared.
When Baiyi saw this scene, he immediately felt as if the softest part of his heart was stabbed with thousands of knives. With a distinctively harsh and cold tone, he hissed at the similarly speechless Voidwalkers, Who was the one who told me to get the desserts first? If I had not wasted so much time there, I could have made it back in time!
"Erm... You can't just blame everything on us! Well, it’s just that we’ve earned quite a lot of money today, not to mention the fact that we’ve also succeeded in robbing the storage pouch of that female knight! Don’t you think it’s a good idea to at least buy a gift for Mia-chan? We just did not expect that there would be so many people in the shop..." Another Voidwalker trembled as he came up with an excuse.
Sigh... Fine then! Forget about it... This is my fault... Baiyi shook his head helplessly and reproached himself, I shouldn't have bothered with those two little imbeciles for so long... I was being too careless!
"This isn’t entirely your fault!" The Archmage quickly consoled his only student, "All of those things that you did is for her anyway. She's very concerned about you as well. Isn't this a good thing for the two of you? Well, it's just that this situation happened so suddenly but I think now there's nothing else that would make her feel better than you appearing in front of her. Enough of this, go on, hurry to her now!"
Baiyi was stunned for a moment before he hurriedly took a huge stride forward. Before Mia was able to stop another passerby, he put a hand on her thin shoulders and pulled her soft body into his embrace. Gently, he whispered, "I’m sorry Mia. I was late."
"Eh?" Mia's body suddenly went stiff and then she quickly turned around. Once again seeing the Mr. Hope that she had been searching for so long appearing in front of her, a look of surprise appeared on the little girl's face. The look quickly turned into a face filled with joy that gradually turned into a relaxed smile. Clinging on tightly onto Baiyi’s waist, she rubbed her small face gently on his rattan armor and sobbed.
"Huhu... Mr Hope, I-I-I thought you have left me... sniff... I will pay more a-a-attention to your class from now on! I-I-I promise I will never play truant as well! Sniff … So please.. D-D-Don’t leave me without a word, okay?"
Those words immediately piled onto Baiyi's guilt. He quickly raised his coarse leather-gloved hand to touch Mia's small head and whispered: "Don't worry Mia, I will never, ever leave you again..."
It was not until Mia had made her way back to the dormitory while holding Baiyi's hand tightly that the slightly embarrassed Baiyi took out the box of dessert and placed it in front of her. Trying very hard to act natural, he said, "I bought this from that Southern City Pastry Shop. Tonight's class is cancelled, you have a good rest, alright?"
"Eh?" Mia was slightly surprised at the sight of the intricately packaged dessert box. She reached out to untie the ribbons, opened the box and saw the pieces of cat paws-shaped pastries arranged neatly in the box. A nice flavorful aroma could be smelled from the box.
"I remembered that these pastries are quite expensive, isn't it?" Puzzled, Mia looked at Baiyi. "How did you get these, Mr. Hope?" Although she could barely resist the sweet temptation, the girl was curious about the source of the gift.
"Well, after you went to class, I went to the library again. Along the way, I met a few female students who asked me for some indicators on how to unlock the wooden door to the second floor. So, I gave them some pointers and in order to express their gratitude, they gave me these... But, it was just that the shop was too crowded so I got held up instead." Baiyi clumsily made up a lie.
Fortunately, that lie that was filled with loopholes was able to temporarily fool the naive Mia. Or maybe, it was because of her absolute trust in Baiyi that she never thought to doubt his words at all. Patting her chest and with a sigh of relief, she said, "Ah is that so? I-I-I guess I've been worried for nothing then. For a moment, I-I-I thought Mr. Hope had went out to earn money behind my back..."
Erm... This girl had actually guessed it correctly. What a sharp instinct she has... Bai Yi suddenly felt a little embarrassed. He quickly turned his head away as he asked, "Can't a Soul Armature earn money?"
"Well, that is the responsibility of the practitioner not the Soul Armature!" Mia replied sternly, "Especially for the likes of Mr. Hope, you shouldn't even be worrying about monetary issues, just leave everything to me... In fact, there're many places in the academy that I can earn money from. For instance, handcopying handouts for lecturers or helping with kitchen chores these kind of things. Even I could do these simple chores."
This girl would rather work these odd jobs than allow me to go earn money? Bai Yi gave an inward sigh for the kindness of sweet, naive and young Mia. Sternly, he said to her, "Mia, you don't have to do these sorts of things as well ok? Haven't the academy given you the subsidies already?"
"B-B-But... I still would like to change Mr. Hope's body..." Mia's lips curled up as she pouted, showing her dissatisfaction. One could say that she looked even cuter like this.
"Alright alright! Let's talk about these things later, okay?" Baiyi briskly broke off this unpleasant topic and point to the cat paws pastry inside the box and said, "Hurry, go on and try it!"
"Sure!" Mia gave a nod and quickly grabbed a piece of the cute looking cat paw pastry. Just when she was about to take a bite, she thought of something and quickly raised her head before she handed the pastry towards Bai Yi. Her movement came to a halt as she realized that Baiyi was unable to eat. For a time, she seemed a little embarrassed by the action.
Baiyi looked at her clumsy awkwardness yet cute antics and could not help but smile in his heart before he said to her, "Don't mind me, Mia. Just eat it."
"O-Oh okay..." Mia answered in a small voice. And just when she was about to take a bite, she suddenly thought of another thing again and returned the pastry back into the box as she quickly brought out a handkerchief from the pocket of her skirt to wipe her greasy hands. Puzzled, Baiyi looked at her while she walked to the side of the closet and retrieved a navy blue cloth from it.
Mia carried the voluminous bundle of seemingly ordinary cloth back to Baiyi and opened it in front of him. It turned out that it was a very simply made cloak...
"Tee hee! The dormitory's supervisor aunt bought these to make the new curtains for the dormitory but it ended up slightly longer than was needed. So, I asked for the excess and sew a cloak for Mr. Hope. I-I think you will look more refreshing with these, don't you think so? Come on, I'll help you put it on." With small smug look, Mia brought that simple cloak and walked behind Baiyi before she fastened the two buttons on top of the cloak.
"M-My skill is not that good. P-Please don't laugh at me." Young Mia continued talking at the back, carefully arranging the cloak around Baiyi. After she was done, she clapped her hands in satisfaction and exclaimed happily, "With this cloak, you will look more dazzling, Mr. Hope! Everyone will be able to recognize you with just one glance."
Baiyi used his Psychic Energy to take a look at the cloak's slightly messy look. At the same time, he was mindful of the girl's stitches that were filled with good intentions. Quietly, he turned around to look at Mia's small hands. Unsurprisingly, there were several needle prick injuries and it was especially prominent on her delicate fingertips.
Mia, who suddenly noticed Baiyi's line of sight, quickly withdrew her hands and placed it behind her, not wanting to let him have a second look. Her face suddenly gave a smile and she chuckled, "I-I-It's alright, it doesn't hurt anymore."
Baiyi became silent, at loss for words.
Noticing Baiyi's silence, Mia got worried and asked: "W-W-What is it, Mr. Hope? Was it too shabby, you don't like it? Erm... T-T-Then I'll go get some help from the aunt..." Having said that, she reached out her hand wanting to remove the cloak and send it for some modification.
But then, Baiyi held her shoulders and said in a very serious and stern tone, "There’s no need for that Mia. I really like this cloak. This is the best gift I have ever received. I will always wear it. Thank you, Mia."
His words were sincere. Compared to the valuable storage pouch that he had seized from Undine, the cloak was his most prized possession today.
"Initially I'd thought that after experiencing such a long imprisonment, we, Voidwalkers would no longer be touched by anything and our hearts would turn as cold as this endless icy void. But until today I realized that we have been wrong." Within his inner conscience, the Archmage said in a very serious tone, "In addition to power, there are many more beautiful things out there that are worthy of our pursuit and for us to cherish."