Chapter 244: A Kind of Happiness Worth Fighting For
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After sending Nota off, the last person to visit Baiyi was Vidomina.
Baiyi pondered for a while, and then he cut straight to the chase, "How's your father?"
It was unlike the sort of greetings that acquaintances made with each other after a long separation. More specifically, there could only be one reason why this princess would come to him, and it would not be lame like — she came because of how knowledgeable he was, how disciplined he was, how high-achieving his academic level was, or how popular he was with young girls.
So Baiyi decided to address the reason she came straight away.
"I see… My mentor has already guessed my intentions," Vidomina sighed quietly.
She took the seat opposite of him, and then suddenly, as if she had lost all her strength, she stopped supporting her upper body with the confident front she had been putting and slumped onto the table.
She wanted to use her arms to cushion her forehead, but her body was slightly taller than the table, so it was not very comfortable.
"My apologies, Mentor. You're seeing me at my worst," Vidomina mumbled.
"You seem tired, Vidomina."
Baiyi examined the girl closely. She was objectively beautiful, with stunning facial features and a mop of a very rare pink hair. She belonged to one of the most elite of all aristocrats, so she should be spending her youth in the comfortable life of money and fame and luxury.
Not wearing a white robe sitting in a room talking to some old geezer.
"I am tired! My shoulders hurt. And, I feel like I can't even breathe…"
'Look at the burden on your shoulders; they are right there — attached to your chest. Also, look at the sitting position you are assuming now! How do you expect yourself to breathe normally like this?'
However, in truth, Baiyi felt a surge of sympathy towards the girl. He used his mana to weave a simple hammock, and Vidomina cried out in surprise as he lifted her up with his mana and let her lay on it.
"Ohhh! This is so much better! I thought you were gonna do something else to me, hee hee!" She stuck out her pink tongue playfully, displaying the perkiness and mischievousness of a girl her age.
'Excuse you. I'm a certified professional, and an excellent student with a flawless track record in upholding responsibility. Do I look like the kind who would do something like that to my students?' Baiyi thought helplessly.
"Let's get back to talking about your father."
"Mentor, you could tell, right? Dad got inflicted with a very rare Blood Curse." Vidomina turned her body side-way to face Baiyi's cloth-covered face. However, her laying position accentuated certain body parts, making these parts look even more perky, almost causing the robe to burst open.
Baiyi turned his face away and nodded. He did guess it was something troublesome like a Blood Curse and guessed that Vidomina would come to him for help. He just did not expect it to be this soon.
Seeing Baiyi nod made Vidomina feel somewhat relieved. She smiled and remarked, "I knew it! Uncle Kris said you would be one of those who will correctly guess what was really happening! I didn't believe him that much."
'Kris? That baldy? I always knew that there was a thinking head behind everything Vidomina does, but I just didn't expect the head to also be — hairless.'
"When Uncle Kris was younger, he used to be just a normal registrar. When father discovered his hidden aptitude in academic research, Father supported him for years throughout his academic pursuits until, finally, he was introduced into the Door of Conundrums," Vidomina said, telling Baiyi about her relationship with Baldy.
"I see. So, he's repaying the debt of being given the opportunity."
'No wonder Baldy had been a bit more polite to Vidomina.'
However, even until this point, Vidomina had still not mentioned the actual problem her father was facing. Was she waiting for Baiyi to ask her directly? Or was she scared of going there, scared of dwelling in the possibilities? To be honest, Baiyi really had no liking for the way aristocrats carry their conversations — he would rather be straight to the point.
As gratitude for the Saint Quartz staff and the land contract that she had gifted him, Baiyi decided against being more forceful in his questioning. "From what I know, a Blood Curse starts slowly, corroding the victim bit by bit over time. So, now that you're here…"
"Y-yes. D-d-dad… He's, um…" Vidomina's tears began to drip down, and soon afterward, she was sobbing. "A-and it's not just him. My brothers too… I don't have much t-time left…"
This explained why the Wright family had not been present during the banquet, even when every other elite was present. The situation in their home had gotten worse. If all of the male kins of the family were suffering from the curse, the only one left would be Vidomina. As a woman, she would be married into some other family, and the Wright family would be lost forever.
Baiyi felt a twinge of sorrow for the girl. She was too young to suffer the pain of losing her father. Poor girl.
He carefully thought again. "Are you sure that I'm the one who can cure it?"
Vidomina shook her head helplessly. "I'm not sure, no. But… You defeated Thaas, the Abyss Lord, and you're friends with Saint Noel who brought back the legendary theurgical technique lost to the Church 1 . If you can't do it, then no one else in this world could."
"How much time is left?"
He did not affirm or deny her claim.
Vidomina leaped up from her hammock and ran to his side before grabbing his arm and hugging it tightly against her breasts. Her voice was hopeful, "Mentor! You have… You know a cure?"
"There is a time constraint, and I need to see the specifics," Baiyi replied.
He was still a force for good and compassion who, at this moment, could not bear to see a girl being forcefully separated from her father.
"Instruct your men to accompany the others on a tour in Arfin City, while you and I go to your home to check out on Lord Wright."
"Okay! That's great! I'm gonna make my butler and servants serve them as well as they serve me!" Vidomina nodded her head hard. Then, as if she remembered something, she asked, "Isn't Mia your Soul Armature Practitioner? Does she not need to come?"
Baiyi took out the Soul Booster from his inner pocket. "Didn't you leave me with this?"
A wide grin of relief and joy blossomed on the girl's face. "Ah! The amount of money I spent on this investment — so totally worth it!"
Maybe it was in the same feeling of jubilance that the girl wrapped her arms around Baiyi's neck and planted a quick kiss on his mask. She then happily skipped out of his room and started making plans for the next day.
'Hmph. That's the sort of boldness you'll only get from a spoiled lady of a rich aristocratic family.'
He rubbed on the spot where the kiss was planted and shook his head.
The tests were over. Baiyi had compiled data on all of his new students, so he should not have any problem for their future studies. The only thing he needed to discuss with the Voidwalkers was Vidomina's problem.
In truth, before his talk with the girl, Baiyi had already asked the Voidwalkers on the subject of Blood Curses, fearing that it might be the reason she wanted to see him. The Walkers had all obliged and were engaged in the productive discussion when the Sorcerer made that sarcastic remark above the ding.
After the troublemaker was muted, the Void returned to its normal quietness.
Baiyi didn't sit with the students for dinner that night. Instead, he returned to his lab; on his way there, discussions about the curse were held in the Void.
Then as night fell, just as he was about to conduct some experiments, someone was knocking on his door.
It was Little Mia.
She was standing bashfully by the door, and her body slightly rocked back and forth slightly, probably out of a sort of timidity. It was obvious that the girl had something she wanted to say.
"What's the matter?" Baiyi pinched her cheek gently as he asked.
"Mr. Hope, I'm going to bed." She smiled softly.
Baiyi looked at the hourglass on his table. "Hmm. Well, it really is time for bed. Big Sister Dale and the rest must have been sleeping already."
"You... You're not coming to my room?" Mia asked suddenly, out of nowhere.
"Huh?"
"If I want to go to bed, I'll have to change," Mia lowered her voice, and her face turned a crimson red. "I heard about what happened from Big Sister Dale. Do you want to see what's underneath my skirt, Mr. Hope? I'll only show you..."
She held onto her skirt, at the verge of lifting it up — an action that would have elicited much anticipation…
Baiyi, feeling unimpressed, flicked her forehead hard enough to send the girl in brace position with her arms around her head.
"What's with kids nowadays!" He sighed helplessly. He did not understand why a girl this young would be so full of weird sentiments like these 2 .
Then, he bent down and crouched close to Mia, who was still rubbing the sore spot on her forehead and rubbed his mask on her face. "Don't listen to Big Sister Dale. That was just a misunderstanding. Alright, go to sleep."
However, Mia clasped her arms around his neck and whispered in his ears, "Attie had turned off all of the lights. It's so dark. I'm so scared…"
Her words elicited a chuckle from the Soul Armature. "You're almost 16! Must you still act coquettish like this?"
He poked her cheeks, and then carried her to her room.
"Good night, sleep tight. Tomorrow's gonna be fun!" Baiyi placed the girl down and rubbed her head.
"Good night, Mr. Hope." Mia nodded obediently and closed her eyes. Then, straining her toes, she raised her head towards Baiyi.
She was asking for a peck.
"Good night, Mia." Baiyi gently granted her wish and closed the door.
He returned to his lab and said to himself, "How happy is life when a girl enjoys the warmth of her father's affection…"