Chapter 337: Shopping with Jasmine

Solomon waited patiently for the girls to finish. Once they finally emerged from the store carrying dozens of heavy shopping bags, Solomon tapped his academy card to pay the exorbitant bill without batting an eye.

Jasmine immediately declared she was hungry, so he took them to the bustling food court.

While Solomon and Jasmine were searching the crowded area for an empty table, Iris wandered off. Solomon turned around just in time to see Iris aggressively asking a terrified janitor for the directions to the kitchen so she could prepare their meal herself.

Solomon had to physically drag her away from the staff doors and force her to sit down at a table.

They ordered a spread of fast food and ate together. Once they were finished, Solomon took them to a premium theater to watch an action movie. By the time they finally left the mall, the sun had already set, and it was late evening.

Solomon drove the electric scooter back to their suburban neighborhood, with the girls following closely in a requested taxi carrying all the shopping bags.

When they walked into the house, Johan and Elara were already back from the diner. They were shocked to see the strange girl walking in with their children.

"Solomon, who is this?" Elara asked, looking at Iris. She turned to Jasmine. "Is she a friend from your school?"

"She will be staying here with us for a while due to some complicated reasons," Solomon explained vaguely. "She is my friend."

Just then, the front door clicked open. Balzac strolled casually into the hallway, dusting off his trench coat. "That sounds highly inappropriate for a teenager to say," the professor commented lazily.

Solomon spun around. He immediately grabbed Balzac’s hand and dragged the professor back out the front door, slamming it shut behind them.

Solomon stopped against the porch railing. "How did you kill all of them and make it look like perfectly natural accidents?"

Balzac adjusted his sleeping mask and played completely dumb. "What on earth are you talking about, Solomon?"

Solomon grew annoyed and frustrated. "There is no point in lying to me! I know for a fact it was you! How did you do it?!"

Balzac dropped the lazy act as his expression turned deadly serious. He looked deep into Solomon’s silver eyes.

"Why are you so angry and furious right now?" Balzac asked, his voice dropping to a low, commanding register. "Should you not be feeling happy? Should you not be celebrating the fact that all those corrupt bastards are finally dead, and that justice has been served to all the innocent victims of the dungeon tragedy?"

Solomon didn’t say a word. He continued glaring at the professor, his jaw clenched tight.

"What is it, Solomon?" Balzac pressed, stepping closer. "Could it be that you wanted to kill them with your own two hands, and now you are upset that you were denied that satisfaction? Because if that is the case, then you were never actually looking for justice. You were just looking for petty revenge and the thrill of killing."

Solomon let out a long sigh. He dropped his gaze to the wooden porch and nodded slowly. "You are right. I should be happy that they are gone."

He looked back up at the professor, a dark glint returning to his eyes. "I just wished they would have gotten much more pathetic, agonizing deaths."

Before Balzac could respond to the morbid comment, the front door opened. Elara poked her head out. "Solomon! Professor! Dinner is ready, please come inside!"

Solomon and Balzac dropped the tense standoff instantly, returning to their casual personas as they walked back into the house to join the family for dinner.

When Solomon and Balzac walked back inside, they saw Iris actively helping Elara and Jasmine carry the serving platters from the kitchen to the dining table.

’It is a good thing Mom was already home and the dinner was fully prepared when we walked in,’ Solomon thought to himself, taking his seat. ’If the kitchen had been empty, Iris probably would have aggressively taken over and cooked an entire feast herself before anyone could stop her.’

Iris sat down directly beside Solomon. Balzac took the chair on Solomon’s other side, while Johan, Elara, and Jasmine occupied the seats on the opposite side of the table.

Balzac eagerly dug into the meal, showering Elara with enthusiastic praise for her cooking. He politely apologized for overstaying his welcome and constantly eating their food, but Johan and Elara quickly waved off his concerns, insisting it was no issue to host a respected professor.

Solomon threw a sideways glance at Balzac as the man chewed a piece of roasted chicken. He recalled how incredibly lazy, sarcastic, and unprofessional Balzac usually acted back at the academy. Yet here, sitting at a family dinner table, the professor was acting perfectly polite, charming, and thoroughly professional.

It was incredibly jarring. He wished he could record this and tease him later.

After finishing the meal and helping clean up the kitchen, the household prepared for bed. Since the guest room was currently being used as a storage space, Solomon and Balzac shared Solomon’s bedroom, while Jasmine happily agreed to share her room with Iris.

Solomon lay comfortably on his mattress, while Balzac stretched out on a thick futon laid across the floorboards.

The room was quiet for a long while.

Suddenly, Balzac broke the silence.

"Where did Iris come from?" Balzac asked, his voice lacking its usual sleepy drawl. "She is not what she looks like. Her physical density and latent energy signature are completely unnatural for a normal human."

"A dungeon recently manifested here in District Six," Solomon answered, staring up at the dark ceiling. "I went inside to clear it, and things happened. It turned out to be an trial dungeon. I brought her out as my reward in order to save her from being trapped in a collapsing dimensional fragment for eternity."

Balzac lay perfectly still on the futon. His eyes widened slightly in the dark, genuinely surprised by the casual revelation. However, he didn’t say a single word of protest. It was as if he had already mentally prepared himself to simply accept any ridiculous, world-breaking event that happened to involve Solomon.

Balzac reached up and pulled his silk sleeping mask down over his eyes. "We will be leaving for the academy tomorrow at noon. You should finish whatever unfinished business you have left in the city before then."

"Can I take Iris with me to the academy?" Solomon asked curiously.

"Absolutely not," Balzac responded firmly. "Only individuals who officially receive the invitation can physically enter the academy grounds. It is an restriction placed upon the institution by the Founder himself. It is a sovereign barrier that no one, regardless of their strength or origin, can cross without authorization."

Solomon frowned. "What about Corvus? He is operating as Princess Elizabeth’s personal bodyguard right now."

"You probably will not believe it," Balzac muttered through a yawn, "but Corvus actually received a legitimate invitation to the academy too. He is officially enrolled."

Solomon fell into deep thought. He wondered if leaving Iris here at the house with his family was a viable option.

’Honestly, that might be the best scenario for her,’ Solomon reasoned inwardly. ’She has spent thousands of years trapped in a desolate temple. She has never seen, experienced, or even understood what a real family is, or what genuine familial love feels like. Staying here with my parents and Jasmine will help her grow emotionally. She can learn about normal human relationships and experience a peaceful life.’

Furthermore, there was a advantage to the arrangement. ’If she stays here, I will never have to worry about my family’s safety again while I am away at the academy,’ Solomon realized, a comforting sense of relief washing over him. ’With her superhuman strength guarding this house, no corrupt guild or rogue monster will ever be able to harm them.’