Vol 4. Chapter 116: Knowing When to Back Down

—"If you keep messing around, I'll smack your butt!"—

The instant she saw the large, viciously written line Miss Yumo had scribbled beneath the document, the silver-haired girl's entire body shuddered.

The moment the words "smack your butt" entered her eyes, the scene from that day inside the Black Rose Family's tent—when Sister Yumo had pinned her down on the sofa and spanked her—began replaying over and over in Mengxi's mind like a slideshow.

Remembering how she had screamed continuously back then, the overwhelming pressure of that feather duster seemed to reappear right before her eyes.

Even though the injuries on her butt had long since healed, Mengxi still felt a faint phantom ache.

Her snow-white, round, perky backside involuntarily trembled.

The teasing words she had been about to continue saying were forcibly swallowed back down.

A bead of cold sweat slowly slid down Mengxi's forehead.

"Sister Yumo, you're going too far! You can't take a joke!!"

Miss Mengxi couldn't help complaining inwardly.

To tell the truth,

after coming to this world, Miss Mengxi, the Child of Destiny, had never really been afraid of anything.

Even when she had once faced Welt, the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church and a High Eighth-Tier powerhouse, all by herself, Mengxi had still dared to clash with him head-on with the enhancement of 'Miracle.'

Even when facing Pope Kaelrode, who was always surrounded by a bone-chilling atmosphere, Mengxi had only remained cautious. She had never truly felt fear.

And now,

this Miss Child of Destiny who 'feared neither Heaven nor Earth' had finally found something she was afraid of.

That was the seemingly ordinary feather duster in Sister Yumo's hand—a thing that looked completely harmless, yet possessed terrifying destructive power...

After being struck by Yumo that one time, the pain had been even more soul-rending than the backlash from 'Miracle,' leaving Mengxi with an unforgettable memory for the rest of her life.

Whenever she had nightmares and saw that feather duster glowing red inside her dreams, the girl would immediately jolt awake, drenched in cold sweat.

Mengxi would rather die than experience the feeling of having her butt beaten like that a second time.

Therefore,

the moment Yumo mentioned 'spanking,' Mengxi instinctively began trembling all over.

Her fear of the feather duster seemed to have already rooted itself deeply inside her heart.

"N-No... no! Calm down!!"

After recovering slightly and dragging herself free from that psychological shadow, Mengxi hurriedly shouted inwardly.

Right now, she had to control her emotions, her expression, and her movements.

She absolutely could not let Sister Yumo discover that she was afraid of 'getting her butt smacked!'

Miss Mengxi knew very well that Sister Yumo, who was constantly being teased by her, had definitely been searching for a suitable way to deal with her.

If Sister Yumo learned that she feared the feather duster, then her sister would definitely use this trick to threaten her over and over again in the future.

If that happened, not only would Mengxi be unable to properly enjoy teasing Sister Yumo in the short term, but from a long-term perspective, it would definitely affect her future standing in the household as well.

Therefore,

in order to continue firmly keeping the initiative in her own hands in the future, Mengxi had to conceal the fear inside her heart.

Even though right now,

she already had the urge to curl up and tremble.

And so,

Miss Mengxi decided to go all the way.

She decisively pinched the flesh of her thigh between her index finger and thumb, then viciously twisted it a full three hundred and sixty degrees.

The intense pain made Mengxi tremble again, but at the same time, it successfully dragged the silver-haired girl out of the swamp of fear.

Once she had escaped it, Mengxi immediately brought out acting skills worthy of an Oscar-winning actress.

Pretending not to care in the slightest, she rested one hand against her chin and helplessly raised her brows.

Her pink lips parted as she continued speaking through lip movements:

"All right, all right. It's still class time, so I'll stop playing around for now. Teach properly, Sister Yumo~"

The expression and movements of Miss Child of Destiny were filled with complete nonchalance, as though Yumo's 'threat' had not affected her in the slightest.

"Hmph~"

In response, Miss Yumo could only puff out her cheeks slightly.

Then, with a complicated expression on her face, she watched the silver-haired girl help distribute the documents she had prepared to one student after another.

At the same time, Yumo took several deep breaths, trying hard to calm the restless emotions Mengxi had stirred up inside her.

She couldn't help grumbling inwardly a few more times:

"Rotten girl... she really doesn't know how to read the room..."

...

And just after Miss Yumo finished complaining,

Miss Mengxi, having distributed all the documents, returned to the black-haired girl's side.

While the students were all focused on reading the teaching outline Yumo had prepared, Mengxi carefully lowered her voice and asked:

"By the way, Sister Yumo... oh no, Teacher Yu... how did you suddenly become a teacher at Yexinlian?"

"Hm?"

Faced with this question, Miss Yumo somewhat awkwardly raised a finger and twirled a strand of her glossy black hair.

"This... I'm not really sure either..."

Since Yumo herself wasn't familiar with the Vice Headmaster, everything related to her appointment had been left to Saiboke and A'San.

But,

they had managed to obtain the appointment letter so smoothly, and she had even started working immediately.

The relationship between Xiaona and that Vice Headmaster of the academy must be pretty good, right?

...

...

--

Meanwhile,

inside the administration building of Yexinlian Royal Academy,

a muscular man with a purple mohawk, dragon tattoos covering his entire body, and an unmistakably 'philosophical' aura was stomping down the corridor with clenched fists.

The moment the other administrative personnel and security staff saw the fury burning in the man's eyes and felt the visibly surging battle aura around him, mixed with intense anger, they very sensibly stepped aside and cleared a path for him.

Only after arriving in front of an extremely ornate door did the man slowly stop.

After taking several deep breaths and suppressing his agitated emotions, he finally knocked.

"Come in."

After receiving permission from the person inside, the man pushed open the door and entered.

However,

once he stepped into this office, which possessed an information-blocking barrier and had no outsiders present, the mohawked man could no longer suppress his anger.

He stormed toward the desk and slammed both hands down onto its surface.

"Vice Headmaster! What the hell is going on with that old bastard Sakala?! Why did he suddenly get suspended and go on leave?! He hasn't even finished his bet with me yet! How could he run away halfway through?!"

"Calm down, Teacher Berkard."

Sitting in the main seat, a short old man who looked well over a hundred years old and wore an old-fashioned pair of decorative spectacles slowly put down the documents in his hands and helplessly looked toward the furious man before him.

This unimpressive-looking short old man was none other than Moses, Vice Headmaster of Yexinlian Royal Academy.

Although the powerful battle aura surrounding Berkard was already crashing toward him head-on, Moses, as a Peak Sixth-Tier powerhouse, merely waved one hand and effortlessly dispersed the pressure.

"Don't be so impatient. Sit down first and listen to me explain. Teacher Sakala wasn't suspended for no reason."

"Then what was the reason?"

"Maternity leave."

"Hm?"

Hearing that answer, the veins on Berkard's forehead bulged even more violently.

"Wasn't that bullshit excuse just something the students were spreading around?!"

"It wasn't just a rumor. It really happened."

"What?"

"Hmm, roughly speaking, this is what happened. Yesterday, an elven friend invited Teacher Sakala to go hunting. Since the invitation came from a beautiful elf woman, Teacher Sakala happily agreed and went with her to hunt in the Lost Jungle in the south. Then... apparently, through a small accident, he fell into an insect nest... and some strange insects laid eggs inside his body and parasitized him... and then... well... hmmm, anyway, from both a physiological and psychological standpoint, Teacher Sakala isn't really in any condition to come teach anymore... so he took leave. Considering his current physical condition, calling it maternity leave... isn't exactly wrong."

"Hah... this..."

After hearing that absurd series of events, Berkard's brows began twitching violently.

However,

he couldn't be bothered to care right now about such irrelevant details as why an elf had invited Sakala in the first place, or why Sakala alone had somehow fallen into the insect nest.

He had come here with a much more important question.

"Fine, let's say he really did have a reason to be suspended. But his Star Source Comprehensive Class should've been handed over to me, shouldn't it?! Why was it suddenly given to some random noble girl instead?! And one with absolutely no experience at that?! ...More importantly, that kind of noble girl is even from the Black Rose Family? Aren't you worried the imperial family will cause trouble over this? Vice Headmaster, what were you thinking?! Letting her into the academy as a teacher?!"

As he spoke,

a suspicious expression gradually appeared on Berkard's face.

"Come to think of it, the Black Rose Family... I heard they're extremely rich..."

"Vice Headmaster? Don't tell me you accepted some kind of benefit from them?"

"Benefit?"

At those words, Moses immediately revealed an offended expression.

With an utterly righteous and serious face, he pointed straight at the mohawked man's forehead.

"Teacher Berkard, I'm warning you, don't say things without thinking! Do I look like someone who can be bribed?! If you're going to accuse me, you'd better have evidence!"

"Evidence?... Fine!"

As he spoke, Berkard angrily pointed toward the pile of antiques sitting in front of Moses.

"Then tell me! Where did all these obviously expensive things come from? They weren't here before, were they?! And... what are all those boxes behind you?! Don't tell me you seriously thought throwing a piece of cloth over them would stop me from seeing them?! I'm not blind! Those boxes have the Black Rose Family crest on them! They're filled with Origin Stone Coins, aren't they?!"

"Uh... well..."

At that moment, the Vice Headmaster's gaze suddenly began wandering.

"So that's it, Vice Headmaster. You accepted a bribe and then started handing out appointment letters however you pleased! You're letting a completely inexperienced noble girl become the class advisor of the Star Source Class! Are you trying to ruin those kids?! Are you trying to destroy our academy's reputation?!"

"No, no, no. You can't put it that way."

"Then how should I put it?"

"Everything I did... was for the good of Yexinlian Academy."

"For the good of the academy? Are you serious?"

"Yes."

Moses nodded with an extremely solemn expression.

"That Teacher Yu can absolutely provide enormous help to our academy's educational work. That's why I agreed to make an exception and allow her to join the academy..."

"It absolutely wasn't because of that teeny-tiny 'billion' bit of sponsorship from the Black Rose Family..."

"Teacher Berkard, you have to believe me~"

...

...

Besides,

if I didn't let her into the academy,

I'd be the one getting buried, damn it!!!!

...

And anyway,

they really did give way too much.

How could I resist~