Chapter 23: Stakeout
“The 17th educational district, the 17th educational district,” Neruko said, looking at the map they had just bought from the roadside. The group gathered around, feeling perplexed.
Avalon may be called a college, but it’s huge, probably comparable in size to some small countries. Without transportation such as flying trains, pegasi, and rail trains, students at the Avalon Academy would probably waste their time just walking around.
“Speaking of which, the buildings at the Avalon Academy are really tall, like mountains. You can’t even see the tops without looking up. Wouldn’t the students living there get neck problems?”
“I must say, Neruko is usually very chatty, and her thought process is somewhat different from others.” At this point, Damiyala grabbed Neruko’s head and turned it back, saying irritably, “The path is under your feet. Why bother looking up at something you can’t reach?”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Neruko, showing some humility, quickly acknowledged her mistake. This was a trait not commonly found among nobles.
“Angel, Yuehai, where do you think we should start from?”
Yuehai shook her head. Truth be told, while she could carefully think and figure out the correct route, with so many people around, it was better to leave this daunting task to them.
Angel didn’t back down at times like this. After studying the map for a while, she pointed to the east and said, “Let’s start from here. Afterwards, we can take the flying train to pass through the 17th District.”
“Is it that simple?” Neruko couldn’t help but find it hard to accept. After all, she had been searching for a while and couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
Angel, however, looked at Neruko expressionlessly, then managed to force out a smile. While everyone knew Angel was trying to comfort Neruko with a smile, on the surface, it seemed more like a sneer than anything else. This made Neruko, who was already feeling a bit off, even more distressed.
“Mia~ am I really dumb?” Neruko couldn’t help but sob as she hugged Damiyala. Her affected demeanor made Yuehai want to clap her hands and shout, “Let me handle this!”
Just kidding, how could such a great opportunity to tease arise? Without Master Claude, without Leia, without Noah, without Master Laogeri, without Duke Falexis, without a bunch of servants. With all these conditions removed, Yuehai was practically free! To her, this place should be paradise!
While Yuehai was lost in contemplation, Damiyala gently responded by patting Neruko’s head and saying, “It’s okay, you’re just naive, not dumb.”
In fact, in a sense, the two were similar.
“Hmm?” Suddenly, a confused voice from an old man reached their ears. Yuehai felt a sense of familiarity and turned around first, immediately spotting a disheveled old man in a mentor’s robe approaching.
Several attendants recognized the newcomer’s identity and didn’t become vigilant; instead, they bowed deeply.
As for Yuehai, he found the arrival of this gentleman strange. He couldn’t help but bow first before asking, “Lord Leilindor, what brings you here…”
Leilindor, often jokingly called the “Lolicon Emperor”, scratched his head awkwardly with a deadpan expression. “Can’t you tell what I’m here for? Anyway, I’ve just arrived at Avalon and got lost. If you could, please tell me how to get to the 17th district.”
“The 17th district? Perfect, Lord Leilindor, we’re also heading there.” Yuehai was the most familiar with Leilindor, having exchanged a few words with him in the courtyard on occasion. This realization dawned on her, explaining why Leilindor wasn’t present at the Duke’s birthday banquet; he had come to Avalon.
But it’s been over a month since the Duke’s banquet. How could he still get lost… Could he be the legendary directionally challenged person?
Leilindor sighed in relief.
“That’s good. I’ll just follow you then.”
“Yes.”
“And you guys.” Damiyala turned back to Zhang Ling, Karaoke, and the others.
“While it’s nice to have you accompany us, your dormitories aren’t in the 17th district, right? Just like Yuehai mentioned earlier, you have freedom here. You don’t need to worry about us. If you still can’t let go, you can always come find us, but you can’t keep following us, understand?”
Neruko nodded repeatedly. Her appearance made Zamasia, who had been following her all along, feel very heartbroken. But after all, his young miss wasn’t young anymore. The clan chief had also instructed that if the young miss wanted to be independent in the academy, it might be better to let her experience it alone.
Karaoke remained silent, while Angel would agree without hesitation, even if it meant immediate death. As for Zhang Ling, he just shrugged. He had full confidence in Damiyala’s ability to handle things and wasn’t as worried as Zamasia.
Overall, the servants all agreed. After a brief farewell, they each left.
Before leaving, Yuehai could still hear Zhang Ling’s voice from afar.
“Hey, today the three of us have also gained a brief freedom. How about grabbing a drink?”
“Sure.”
“Yeah, although I’m still worried about Miss, I also agree with this proposal.”
Unaware that they had forgotten about their own master and were now heading off to drink, the three servants left. Meanwhile, the girls behind them had faces full of exasperation.
These servants, who had always been efficient and silent when by their side, immediately changed their demeanor ten seconds after leaving. Yuehai, who had witnessed the whole process, couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the three girls.
Luckily, Noah was surrounded by those seniors early on, otherwise his expression might have been as awkward as Damiyala and the others.
At this moment, the uncle Leilindor, who had been yawning on the side, chimed in.
“Isn’t it time to finish explaining things? Hurry up and take me to the 17th district; there’s an urgent matter.”
“Ah, alright.” Although Leilindor was often joked about, he was still an elder of the Duke’s household and one of the few Grand Masters. Yuehai naturally didn’t dare to neglect him, so she led Leilindor towards the direction of the flying train. The others, looking disheartened, exchanged glances and followed along.
After a journey full of twists and turns, Yuehai and her group finally arrived at the 17th district.
Then, Leilindor suddenly ran to a school gate and squatted down.
Perplexed, the others exchanged glances and followed him. Upon seeing inside the gate filled with twelve or thirteen-year-old children, they couldn’t help but feel baffled.
“Lord Leilindor, what are you doing?” Although Yuehai knew the outcome, she still chose to inquire first. Leilindor didn’t turn back and replied quietly, “Keep your voice down, I’m observing.”
Everyone suddenly realized… The urgent matter was actually waiting for them to finish school.
As expected of the Lolicon Emperor, despite his high status as a Grand Master, the expressions of Damiyala and the others turned extremely cold. Yuehai could only say, “Well, if there’s nothing else, we’ll be on our way.”
“Alright, let’s go.” Leilindor waved his hand casually, his demeanor appearing quite sleazy.
