What was it like to be with her daughter and a former teammate?
In the past, Vyea might have felt a bit awkward, but now she was used to it. She even felt a playful sense of amusement.
“Jasmine, call me Auntie.”
Vyea teased the girl by pinching her cheek, a smile on her face as she looked at Lilian, who was currently picking up a vegetable dumpling and preparing to stuff it into her mouth.
“Let Auntie Vyea give you a dumpling to taste, okay?”
Jasmine was helpless. She looked at Vyea and then at Lilian, her eyes brimming with tears. With her cheeks pinched red, she looked like a little bullying victim.
“Nanny…” Jasmine looked at Vyea piteously.
“Don’t force the child.”
Lilian pushed the plate of vegetable dumplings toward Vyea and placed a serving of dipping sauce there as well.
“That’s right. As a parent, you shouldn’t always treat the child as a toy. It will affect the relationship between child and parent,” the Old Dean said.
“Old Man, I just saw that Jasmine was expressionless and wanted to liven up the atmosphere.” Vyea used one hand to hold her chin and the other to feed a dumpling to Jasmine, who was sitting in her lap. “It’s rare to have a moment to relax, so don’t be so serious.”
The Old Dean looked at Vyea taking care of the child with a thoughtful expression. He sighed with emotion.
“The last time I saw you, Miss Vyea, you were just a little girl yourself. Now you’ve already started raising a child… Time really flies in the blink of an eye.”
‘What do you mean “time flies”? It hasn’t even been half a month!’
Vyea popped the dumpling she was about to feed Jasmine into her own mouth instead. Ignoring the girl’s disappointed gaze, she chewed and said, “There is a Secret Technique in this world that allows me to enter an Energy-Saving Mode when my power is severely depleted.
The price is that I regress from my current appearance to that of a ten-year-old… I won’t mention what happened in the past; it wasn’t very pleasant anyway. You can just assume I was forced into Energy-Saving Mode back then.”
‘So that’s how it is.’
Lilian thought of the monstergirls she had seen before. A very small number of High-Level Species among them could master Secret Techniques passed down through their bloodlines.
It seemed Vyea was also a High-Level Species monstergirl. But that made sense. How could a monstergirl with such powerful strength be ordinary?
Having reached an understanding in her heart, Lilian returned her attention to the food in front of her. She picked up a piece of dried tofu and placed it in her mouth to savor it slowly.
***
A Priest came running in a hurry, his face filled with anxiety as if a Ghost were chasing him.
‘Don’t tell me this is related to me again?’
Vyea felt like the dumpling in her mouth had lost its flavor. Fortunately, the Priest did not come for her but stopped in front of the Old Dean.
The Priest spoke while panting heavily:
“Dean, the Commissioner from the City Lord’s Mansion is here and specifically asked for you. What should we…”
“A Commissioner?” The Old Dean was stunned for a moment, then asked without changing his expression, “Which Commissioner from the City Lord’s Mansion?”
The Priest’s face was frantic. “It’s… it’s the City Lord’s eldest son!”
“That little brat is back?” The Old Dean’s brow furrowed, and his expression darkened. “Tell them to wait outside. I don’t have time to deal with him right now.”
“But, but…”
Before the anxious Priest could finish, a cold, hard voice drifted in from the dining hall entrance.
“Priest Reich, are you so busy now that you don’t even have time to come out and see me?”
The Old Dean looked up unhappily.
A crowd of people filed in through the main entrance.
Leading them was a young officer wearing a black cashmere trench coat, his expression cold and stern.
The Nuns along the way retreated one after another, actively making a path for the group.
The black military boots stepped on the floor, making a crisp sound against the ground.
*Clack… Clack…*
The sound approached from afar and then stopped three meters in front of the Old Dean.
“Priest Reich, the Church’s good days over these years have come to an end. In my capacity as a Commissioner of the Lecaria Magic Academy’s Academic Affairs Department, I hereby announce: You have violated the [Unowned Monsters and Monster Girls Containment and Management Decree]. The following actions will now be taken against the personnel involved—”
“We only recognize the laws within the jurisdiction of the Holy St. Caron!” the Priest shouted angrily. “The rules of your Academy have no authority here!”
“Heh.”
The young officer let out two cold laughs. He stood chest-to-chest with the Priest, but he didn’t even look at the man’s flushed face. He spat out mockingly, “Get out of my way!”
“You! You!”
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the Priest had never been barked at like that. His eyes went wide with rage, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
“Can’t you understand human speech?” the young officer said softly. “Or do I need to repeat myself?”
The entire dining hall was dead silent. Everyone was waiting for the Old Dean’s reaction, and the atmosphere dropped to the freezing point.
“Enough.”
The Old Dean stood up. He was like the brief calm on the surface of the sea before a thunderstorm arrived.
“This is not Lecaria’s territory. Don’t even think about taking a single person from here…”
“And what if they aren’t human?” The young officer arched an eyebrow.
“You won’t take anyone.” The Old Dean sighed. “Even if your father and the Headmaster came themselves, it would be the same. If you don’t want to make a scene, then leave now.”
The Old Dean’s voice was calm, but it carried a Heavy weight that left no room for doubt.