Chapter 437: Merfolk? |
“Luna, you're in trouble…”
“What?”
Luna still looked confused at this point. Even with Jessica's warning, she didn't catch on to what was happening.
“With the relationship you two have, is there anything Master Mentor wouldn't let you see? He even taught Paqina those incredibly important lessons right in front of you without hiding anything. But now he's making you leave. What do you think Master Mentor is up to?”
“Hmm… to keep us from knowing the lesson content in advance?”
“You… Ugh…
“What's there to hide about something like that? You've been with Master Mentor for so long, this one time shouldn't matter. They're definitely doing something very private… just like you and him.”
“!”
With Jessica spelling it out so clearly this time, Luna finally understood what was going on. But it was already too late.
“Sigh. Do you know where the problem lies?”
Since there was no changing what had already happened, Jessica could only help Luna analyze the situation.
“Is it because Seraphina is cuter than me?”
“Maybe that's part of it… but not entirely.
“Let me ask you something. What are you wearing right now?”
Luna couldn't understand Jessica's train of thought at the moment, so she just answered along:
“Just normal pants and a short-sleeved shirt. Is there a problem?”
“And what's underneath those pants?”
“What else could be underneath? It's not even cold enough for long underwear yet, is it?”
Luna's answer gave Jessica a headache. Even now, she was still so naive.
So Jessica had no choice but to explain it carefully to Luna. She even went so far as to analyze every single glance Loren had made.
By the time Loren walked out of the office, Jessica had just finished her analysis for Luna.
Paqina, standing off to the side, furrowed her brow. She had been eavesdropping the whole time, but she hadn't understood much—only that Luna had feelings for Loren.
“It's time for class. Let's go.”
Loren adjusted his clothes, pretending nothing had happened.
“Then I'll wait here for you to finish your lesson.”
Seraphina followed Loren out, though her steps were noticeably stiff, and there was a strange sound with each movement.
“Alright. We shouldn't need much time today.”
Normally, Loren came home late because he stayed after class to tutor Paqina. Now that he didn't need to keep her in the office after class, he could just take her straight home.
Urged on by Jessica, Luna stepped forward to talk to Loren. But the first thing she asked about was still academics:
“Master Mentor, what are you planning to teach today? Is it another new spell?”
“No. I'm planning to talk about supernatural creatures this lesson.”
After handing out so many optimized spells, Loren had done more than his fair share. He had no intention of continuing to teach such valuable things.
In fact, after today, Loren probably wouldn't be coming to the academy much anymore. His purpose here was just to have fun and, at most, to string Casper along.
Now that Casper had left, and Loren had had his fill of amusement, there was no reason to stick around. At best, he might come back to check on Paqina.
What Loren taught didn't have much impact on Luna anyway. She had already learned plenty at home, so coming to school was basically just review.
If she really needed to know something urgently, asking Loren at home was far more reliable than waiting for class.
“Alright.”
Luna went along with Loren. Since she already knew this material, she seemed very casual about it. Paqina, on the other hand, looked incredibly excited. Loren had never taught her anything about supernatural creatures before.
There were plenty of books in the library on the subject, but none of them were worth even a single finger of Loren's knowledge.
“What are you planning to talk about?”
Paqina eagerly crowded next to Loren and asked.
“I don't know.”
Loren was being honest. His lesson content was always spur-of-the-moment:
“At worst, I'll just answer whatever questions the students have.”
Only Loren had that kind of confidence. No question could stump him.
Hearing Loren's answer, Paqina looked forward to class even more.
When Loren arrived at the classroom, it was already packed. The students placed unusual importance on him—they absolutely refused to make him wait for them.
In fact, they had even prepared a chair for him on the podium this time, and it looked quite high-end.
By the time Loren took his seat, Luna and the others had returned to their own places.
“I can't be bothered to teach you spells anymore. Today's lesson is on supernatural creatures. Ask whatever questions you have. Don't feel bound by the textbook.”
“Master Mentor, I'd like to know about the merfolk.”
The speaker was a noble sitting in the middle row. Loren had done a little background check on his classmates before, so he knew this one was an aristocrat.
“Oh? What specifically do you want to know?”
Back when Loren taught at the Gedlan Royal Magic Academy, students had asked about merfolk too. It seemed no matter where you went, young people were always interested in that sort of thing.
“I want to know why the merfolk attacked the God of Bountiful Harvest's territory. Logically, we have nothing to do with each other. But they came out of nowhere and attacked us.”
“What did you say? The merfolk attacked the God of Bountiful Harvest's territory?”
The God of Bountiful Harvest's territory was along the coast, but it didn't have much connection to the ocean. Even for shipping goods, they used land routes. They barely touched the sea, let alone had any conflict with the merfolk.
Although the merfolk gathered in the deep sea, they had a general territory. Their habitat was the ocean between the two continents, and they rarely appeared in other waters.
Even the Kingdom of Anselm, which actually had a grudge against the merfolk, had never been attacked by them. So when Loren heard this, his first reaction was disbelief.
“This sounds ridiculous, but it's true.
“The Church felt that you've been dealing with too many things lately. They didn't want to bother you with everything. It was time to let you rest, so they didn't tell you.”
“This is indeed suspicious. Logically speaking, given the merfolk's situation and temperament, they wouldn't actively attack humans. Let alone travel thousands of miles to attack the God of Bountiful Harvest's territory.”
Loren didn't have much of a reaction to being the last to know. The nobles and the Church just didn't want to add to his troubles—they meant well. They just hadn't expected Loren to be interested in this matter.
With his mind occupied by thoughts of the merfolk, Loren lost the desire to teach. After giving the students a general overview of the merfolk, he decided to leave:
“Alright, let's end class early today. I have a feeling this isn't as simple as it seems. I'm going to look into it.”
After class, Loren called Seraphina and planned to hurry home, pack up, and leave immediately. But Seraphina didn't follow Loren right away. Her expression was troubled:
“Master, can I take off the stockings? They're sticking to me… it's a bit uncomfortable…”