Vol 4. Chapter 141: Explosion??

Meanwhile, in the forbidden grounds of Yexinlian Academy...

While Melilov sat helplessly on the ground with her legs folded to the side, completely at a loss, little Yuan'er had become extraordinarily excited. She had begun enthusiastically examining her motionless new toy... Ah, no... Her new friend...

"Hehe, little Meli, you're so cute~"

Yuan'er couldn't help exclaiming in admiration.

Although playing with her older brothers and sisters in the Great Winter Forest was quite fun, Yuan'er still wanted a companion around her own age whom she could call her friend. She already had her mother and her older brothers and sisters, and now she wanted friends too. Perhaps that was a little greedy.

But that was genuinely how Yuan'er felt.

Unfortunately, when she had previously told her mother and sisters about this wish, they had all opposed it. Apparently, because the power contained within her body was far too great, and her physical constitution was anything but ordinary, normal children her age simply couldn't play with her. The slightest carelessness might cause them to drop dead on the spot... Just like those unfortunate magical beast "friends" who had died tragically in the Great Winter Forest...

Yuan'er had been depressed about that for quite some time.

Nevertheless, deep down, she had never stopped wishing for a playmate her own age.

And today, it seemed she had finally found someone who suited her perfectly.

The little dragon girl right before her~

As she continued kneading and squeezing Melilov's cheeks, the smile on Yuan'er's little face grew increasingly radiant. In the little girl's eyes, little Meli was adorably silly, amusing, and innocent—exactly the kind of playmate she had always wanted. More importantly, little Meli was pretty strong! She was the type who wouldn't break easily!

She was exactly the kind of child Sister Karina had said could become her playmate!

And she's about the same age as me, hehe~

...

Hmm...

Although I can't be sure we're the same age, little Meli seems so adorably silly, and she's even a little shorter than me~ So let's just assume we're the same age~

No need to worry about those little details~

Since this little dragon girl was such a rare opportunity to gain a proper playmate, Yuan'er intended to treasure her. That was precisely why she had suppressed the guilt in her heart and lied in front of Mother Yumo to protect little Meli. Well, although she had a feeling that even if she hadn't said anything, Mother wouldn't have done much to little Meli anyway...

At most, she would have used the Great Memory-Erasing Technique.

Besides,

After everything that had happened, Yuan'er had made a rather interesting discovery.

Little Meli seemed to be terribly afraid of her mother~

Earlier, she had been making such a tremendous fuss about attacking Mother. Yet the moment she actually saw Mother, she instantly deflated like a punctured balloon, with the word "coward" practically written across her face. Although Yuan'er didn't know the reason, there was absolutely no doubt that little Meli was frightened of Mother.

As long as she made good use of that...

Little Meli, from now on, you'll be completely at my mercy~

—"You must learn to seize upon other people's weaknesses and make good use of them."—

Recalling the lessons Saiboke and Xiao had taught her back in the Great Winter Forest, the smile on Yuan'er's face grew even brighter. Her mismatched red-and-blue eyes sparkled with eager excitement.

Hehehe~

After chuckling wickedly to herself, Yuan'er, who could hardly wait to play with her new friend, stretched out both hands and began repeatedly squeezing little Meli's marshmallow-soft cheeks.

"Little Meli, what's wrong? Why are you ignoring me~?"

"Little Meli, say something~"

"Is it because you wet yourself and you're too embarrassed? It's okay! We're friends, so I won't tell anyone."

"It's still so early! Let's go outside and play~"

...

...

Faced with Yuan'er's overwhelming enthusiasm, Melilov, who knew perfectly well that she couldn't afford to offend this little tyrant, could only sigh helplessly. Resigning herself to her fate, she raised her head and met Yuan'er's excited, mismatched red-and-blue eyes.

If she didn't properly appease this little ancestor, she probably wouldn't have a moment's peace.

And so, under Yuan'er's expectant gaze, the little dragon girl's mouth, which had remained tightly shut for so long, finally opened.

"G-Go... play?"

"Mhm, mhm! That's right!"

Seeing Melilov finally respond, Yuan'er was so delighted that she practically danced with joy. She even grabbed Melilov's little hand directly, pulled the dragon girl up from the ground, and eagerly started dragging her toward the exit of the great hall.

"W-Wait!!"

"Hm? What's wrong?"

"I... My clothes... I haven't put them on yet... And I haven't... cleaned up the pee..."

The little dragon girl, wrapped in a blanket, spoke with her cheeks burning red.

When facing another little girl, Melilov didn't particularly mind showing off her flawless body. But... As the mighty Holy Dragon King, she still found the idea of running around completely naked rather difficult to accept.

Especially since there were still traces of "holy water" left on her legs...

If someone else noticed or sensed it...

Then she, who had only just been granted a new lease on life, would probably suffer an immediate social death.

Hearing this, Yuan'er scratched her little head as though she had suddenly realized something and nodded in complete agreement.

"Ohhh, that's right!"

"Also..."

"What's up?"

"Yuan'er, why are you in such a hurry to go outside...? What exactly are you planning to do?"

"Hehehe, of course we're going to do... something really interesting~"

At those words, Yuan'er covered her little mouth and revealed a mischievous smile.

"Huh? Something interesting? Like what?"

"Hehehe... That would be..."

"Would be?"

"Blow up the school!!"

"Oh, that... Hm?! ...WAIT?! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!!"

...

...

--

Time passed, minute by minute, and night arrived before anyone knew it.

After finishing all her classes for the day, the slightly exhausted Mengxi leisurely strolled along a green, tree-lined path toward her dormitory.

"What a... fascinating day."

Holding a stack of books and a large amount of "study materials" borrowed from the library, Mengxi wore a rare, deeply satisfied smile.

For Mengxi, who had basically mastered her coursework through self-study, attending classes was little more than finding somewhere to kill time. The lessons themselves were tedious and dull in her eyes. Consequently, Mengxi had always harbored a certain reluctance toward attending classes every day.

If it weren't for the attendance requirements, she would already have decided to skip them.

However,

Starting today, Mengxi had completely abandoned that idea.

Because classes were no longer as dull and boring as they used to be.

Not only were Sister Yumo's lessons lively and interesting, but simply gazing at her beautiful Sister Yumo was enough to make Mengxi happy. Even if she did absolutely nothing else, being able to watch the black-haired girl she longed for day and night, taking in every smile, every frown, and every subtle expression on her face, filled Mengxi's heart with an overwhelming sense of happiness.

...

Furthermore, there was another extremely important reason why Mengxi had decided to abandon her original plan to skip classes.

She had realized that an important mission had suddenly fallen into her hands—

Protecting her beloved Sister Yumo from harassment by other students, teachers, and even officials of the Crimson Leaf Empire!

Not only was Sister Yumo noble and wealthy, but she was also simply too beautiful, too adorable, and too attractive! In particular, the wicked allure that naturally surrounded her always caused those with insufficient self-control to entertain inappropriate thoughts about her.

Even though Sister Yumo had listened to Mengxi and started wearing a veil, it still couldn't prevent those people from harboring filthy intentions.

In short,

It made Mengxi extremely unhappy.

She certainly didn't want other people constantly fantasizing about her beloved sister.

If possible, [N O V E L I G H T] Mengxi genuinely felt an urge to lock Sister Yumo away in a room. That way, only she would be able to look at Sister Yumo, and only she would be able to snuggle up against her~

Of course, Mengxi quickly threw that unrealistic and somewhat insane idea out of her head.

But there was one thing she could be certain of.

To prevent those disgusting pests from harassing Sister Yumo, it was necessary for her to make use of her position as class monitor. She could frequently approach Sister Yumo under the pretext of official class business, using her status and imposing presence to frighten away anyone harboring improper intentions.

For that reason, attending classes was absolutely essential!

"From now on, my goal is perfect attendance!"

Mengxi clenched her fist and declared softly.

Upon hearing this, the adorable little creature sitting on her shoulder couldn't resist making a sarcastic remark.

"Miss Mengxi... Weren't you looking for excuses to skip class just a little while ago...? And now you suddenly want perfect attendance... Don't tell me... it's because of that woman again?"

"How could that be, Sister Sakura?"

Faced with the little creature's somewhat "disdainful" gaze, Mengxi smiled innocently.

"I simply want to study hard and be a good student~"

"Tch~"

Sakura shot the silver-haired girl an utterly unconcealed look of "suspicion."

"But, Miss Mengxi... Since you're so worried about Teacher Rain being harassed by other students and teachers... why don't you just move straight into Teacher Rain's apartment? Wouldn't that... make it convenient to drive away those pests anytime, anywhere?"

"I think I'll pass on that."

Mengxi smiled gently and slowly shook her head.

"After Sister Yumo returns to her apartment, those people from the Black Rose Family will be guarding her. They won't let anyone else get close to Sister Yumo, so there's no need for me to worry. I just have to 'protect' Sister Yumo during our regular classes. Besides..."

"Besides?"

"Besides, wouldn't it be inappropriate for me to keep running over to Sister Yumo's apartment so eagerly? According to Sister Bai's books, I mustn't be too proactive~ I need to learn to 'play hard to get.' Only then will I be able to wrap Sister Yumo around my little finger in the future, hehehe~"

"..."

"And another thing... The dormitories have curfew regulations. I can't just violate the school rules and stay at Sister Yumo's place without a proper reason, can I?"

"Uh... I suppose that's true..."

"So, for now, I'll just obediently return to my own dormitory."

Patting Sakura on her little head, Mengxi spoke with a soft chuckle.

...

...

However,

Just as Mengxi and Sakura were chatting leisurely, something unexpected suddenly happened.

"BOOM~~"

Accompanied by a deafening explosion, a towering burst of flames erupted in the distance, illuminating the darkening night sky.

"Eh??"

The sudden explosion made Mengxi frown. She stopped interacting with Sakura and turned her curious gaze toward the commotion not far away.

As she stared at the billowing clouds of thick smoke and the ominous flames, her brows immediately knitted tightly together...

Hm?

An explosion?

There was... actually an explosion at the academy?

And what's more...

That direction...

I-Isn't... Isn't... Isn't that my dormitory???!!