High School of Demon Hunting

At the approach of noon.

The black gem cat, having dawdled on the road for quite some time, finally arrived at the entrance of the Jiuyou Academy Dean’s Office.

The deep red wooden door was slightly ajar, just wide enough for the black gem cat to squeeze through. It instantly realized the door must have been left open by Old Yao for it, and couldn’t help but make a sound of annoyance, lowering its head to squeeze in.

"Did something just slip in?"

"—Seems like something did, but the Peach Charm didn’t react... Could it be mice?"

"What mice would dare enter this office!"

"Tell Xiao Bai to stay alert!"

"It’s a tiger, not a cat; it won’t catch mice..."

Behind the wooden door came the confused whispers of the two Door Gods, mixed with the low whimper of the Golden-eyed White Tiger, making the black gem cat secretly chuckle.

Bang!

The heavy wooden door closed automatically behind it. At the same time, from behind the ’huge’ desk in the distance came the cheerful voice of the Jiuyou Academy Dean: "—You’re a bit late, you know, Su Councilor has already dozed off once."

The black gem cat looked towards the voice.

On the sofa, a large blue fox was staring at it with wide, round eyes, not looking the least bit drowsy. Noticing the kitten’s gaze, the big fox leisurely yawned, one of its four tails wagging casually as if in greeting, though the few sharp little white teeth revealed during the yawn made the ’greeting’ seem rather threatening.

Two phrases instantly flashed across the black gem cat’s mind:

—Apologize promptly!

—Apologize sincerely!

"I’m very, very sorry!"

The black gem cat’s front legs gave way, and it quickly lowered its head, flattening its ears and slapping its head onto the floor, shouting at the top of its lungs: "...It was rude of me to run away when I saw you two last night!"

This action not only startled the big fox into instinctively propping up its upper body, but even the owner of the office couldn’t help but leave his chair, craning his head to look over.

Anyway, I’m not the one embarrassed, the black gem cat comforted itself, sticking its butt up even higher.

...

...

"No, I haven’t seen your cat."

Meeting Zheng Qing’s curious gaze, Jiang Yu felt a bit annoyed inwardly. She knew the difference between a main body and a clone but was still a bit hung up on where that cat had gone. Thinking back, her previous words were indeed a bit out of line. She paused, then spoke again, her attitude losing its previous sharpness: "—I just think that since it’s Saturday, Old Yao shouldn’t be in the office, so your cat might be making the trip for nothing."

As she spoke, she placed a shrimp from her plate onto the boy’s plate.

The boy was pleasantly surprised.

"I thought of that issue last night, so I sent a paper crane to him while sending you a message!" He scooped up the shrimp, stopping it near his mouth, sounding quite proud: "He’s a legend; he can definitely receive that message, so..."

He popped the shrimp into his mouth, chewing with satisfaction.

At this moment, Jiang Yu’s mind drifted again.

"You sent a message to Old Yao too?" She lowered her eyes, poking at the fried egg on her rice with her chopsticks, seeming a bit absent-minded: "—So how many paper cranes did you send out last night?"

"Four, no, three!" The boy corrected himself belatedly, but it was already too late.

The witch raised her head, calmly stroking the red woven string on her wrist while looking at the fox-head-shaped Haha Beads hanging from Zheng Qing’s left wrist: "—Who else did you send to?"

This meal seemed.

To be causing indigestion.

Zheng Qing took a sharp breath, but refrained from lying, explaining honestly: "Besides you and Professor Yao, there was also Team Leader Zhang Yu of the teaching assistant group... and the Greenhill Mansion. You know, I wrote to you yesterday as well; someone intends to harm those Great Elves, and they are staying at the Greenhill Mansion now, so I had to notify them."

He still retained some rationality, making his explanation both vague and clear.

The witch nodded slightly.

But suddenly reached into her pocket and took out three red strings, handing them to the boy. Zheng Qing noticed that the red strings were adorned with tiny rolling runes, each threaded with a jade bead the size of a soybean.

"These are the amulets you wanted."

She spoke in a light-hearted tone, completely devoid of the previous oppressive feeling, and upon sensing the boy’s slightly emotional gaze, she smiled and added: "—You said not to search deliberately, so I didn’t. These amulets were all Li Meng’s from when she was little. She can’t use them now and I have commandeered them. She knows they’re for Zheng Su 123 and is quite happy, so don’t mind."

Though she said she didn’t search deliberately.

Zheng Qing knew that such childhood items, if not deliberately looked for, who would carry them around?

The cold breath he had initially taken in now came out as warm air.

...

...

"—So, what you mean is, someone intends to harm those three Great Elves you are raising, so you want the school to step in and protect their safety?"

In the Jiuyou Academy Dean’s Office, Old Yao, sitting behind the desk, listened to the black gem cat’s nagging explanation, rotating the pipe in his hand, and only responded with apparent surprise after the little cat finished: "This matter still requires my intervention?"

He is, after all, a Legendary Wizard, why would he be concerned with such trivial matters?

Especially concerning student safety issues, which are almost entirely the responsibility of the School Works Committee. Given the current subtly intricate authority dynamics within the First University, if Old Yao casually encroached on Vice Principal Ruoyu’s duties, it could provoke new changes.

The black gem cat hadn’t thought that far.

Hearing the professor’s retort, it became even more curious, straightening up and shouting: "—You are our counselor, shouldn’t I be seeking you for this kind of matter?"

The first word was "you", but turned to "you" by the end, indicating a shift to a more respectful form.

"What identity are those three Great Elves using to seek protection?" Old Yao still didn’t want to take on this mess. Besides worrying about irritating another vice-principal, he also didn’t want to provoke those Alchemists with deep roots, given his special status and lack of allies within the Alliance.

"School students?" This was the black gem cat’s first reaction.

"They’re students of the Edge Academy; you should find Small Colma or Professor Montreya for this issue." The professor cleanly denied the first identification.

"... My little Sprites?" The black gem cat tentatively offered a second answer.

The professor shook his head again.

But this time, before he could speak, the big fox on the sofa sounded somewhat annoyed: "Pushing this way and that at the slightest problem is not straightforward at all... Don’t ask him anymore; we will protect our own children!"