Daily life at the college (Part 2)
The kitten was very nice to rub after being washed and blown dry. Now it was stuffed into the big pocket of Rin's training clothes and went to work in the library with her.
There was no way, it was too small and Linyin was worried about leaving it alone in the dormitory.
She strode briskly across the central square and overheard a few students from the Mythical Beast Department chatting by the fountain.
"Have you read the forums? It's said that the egg that crazy woman from the fighting department picked up from the street stall actually hatched into a pet cat!"
"Picked it up from a street stall? I thought it was some poor family's heirloom."
"Inherited from ancestors? Where does she get the word 'ancestor' from? She is an orphan from an orphanage."
"Those poor bastards from the Fighting Department can't even afford a proper mythical beast egg, so they can only pick it up at the stalls." The girl with the Fire Skylark perched on her shoulder sneered and teased her mythical beast. "Luckily, it hatched a pet cat this time. If it was a real mythical beast, could she afford to keep it?"
"That's right, but don't let the time come when you can't even afford the cheapest mythical beast nutrients and can only feed the cat leftovers."
"Even if she could afford it, she can't." The boy with the Jade Wind Fox lying at his feet looked very proud of his knowledge. "The 'Phantom Beast Safety Law' stipulates that people with a mental stability index below 50 are prohibited from signing contracts with phantom beasts."
"I think the school shouldn't offer the Eudemons course to civilians. What a waste of resources."
"Who says it's not? It's just a waste of time to let them dream about something that doesn't belong to them."
"Ah, what is that!" The beautiful bird, whose tail was like a ball of fire, was jumping around on its owner and several other students who had joined the conversation, while excreting excrement like a jet.
"What happened to your bird!" The owner of the Green Wind Fox squatted down in embarrassment to avoid the grenade bombing from mid-air.
"How should I know! Do you have an umbrella? Open it, idiot!"
"Why are you still holding an umbrella? Run quickly." Several other students tried to leave the central square.
During the quarrel, the boy opened his mouth and unfortunately caught a huge gift from heaven, and swallowed it subconsciously before he could react...
Amidst the sounds of exclamations and retching, the kitten slowly poked its furry head out of the pocket of its training suit, its glassy eyes narrowing into slits in the sunlight. It looked at the two people's bewildered appearances and shook its whiskers with a look of satisfaction.
The fire lark, which was still chasing the crowd in the air and spraying, seemed to have finally finished spraying all its stock. It flapped its wings and landed steadily next to its master who was vomiting uncontrollably.
The heavy rain attracted a lot of onlookers holding umbrellas. Linyin, who had already walked to the edge of the square, squeezed through the crowd sideways, thought for a moment, and stopped again.
"Excuse me," Linyin turned around and tapped her head. "You know that the 'Phantom Beast Safety Law' prohibits me from raising a phantom beast, but you don't know that according to the 'Mental Health Law' and the 'Criminal Law', if a mentally ill person causes damage while unable to control themselves, they don't bear the corresponding criminal responsibility."
She grinned and lowered her voice, "In other words—as long as I'm having an attack right now, I can kill you."
The kitten poked its head out from over her shoulder and opened its mouth threateningly at them.
"I'm—" she deliberately dragged out her words, her smile widening, "I seem to be losing control of myself."
The Green Wind Fox let out a mournful cry.
As soon as Linyin left, the professor shouted angrily, "Whose phantom beast is pooping and peeing in the hallway? Come and clean it up!"
……………………
Area C, 3rd floor of the library.
"Hello, classmate. I'd like to find some information about ancient Chinese civilization."
Hearing the voice, Linyin had to break free from the "Encyclopedia of Human Meridians" - she was so engrossed in reading that she realized she was still at work.
She sighed and looked up.
The man before me had silver hair and mint eyes. Standing in the patch of light filtering through the library's dome, he looked like a frozen statue from some ancient legend, radiating a sense of distance that kept strangers away.
His eyes moved downwards, glancing at his meticulously tied belt.
Whistling in her heart, Linyin adjusted her expression and said, "Follow me."
From the boy's perspective, the girl walked quickly, her steps light and decisive. The terminal bracelet on her wrist was the same model as his, a basic model issued to part-time workers at the academy. He'd had it for almost four years, while she'd only been enrolled for a year, yet it was far more worn than his, as if it had been through countless battles.
Something alive moved in her coat pocket. Judging by the outline of its head, it looked like... a cat.
This doesn't make sense... It would be fine if it hatched out to be a cat... but why is it so small...
"Right here." She stopped abruptly, the rubber soles of her boots squeaking on the smooth floor.
He was forced to come back to his senses, and the tip of his nose stopped less than ten centimeters away from the back of her neck.
Before my eyes, an antique wooden sign was hung on an alloy bracket with a hemp rope. The lacquer characters of "Guihai 003" had peeled off and turned into "Tianwang" with three upper arcs.
"You're specifically looking for information on ancient Chinese civilization. Do you have a topic you want to research?"
She effortlessly climbed up to the third shelf on one leg. As she climbed, she condescendingly stated a startling fact, "I've read almost all the books on this shelf."
Because their academy had a long history, it had a rich collection of books. Linyin took advantage of her position to access a lot of valuable information.
"If you need any reading recommendations, I'm sitting right over there." She pointed to a small, sunny corner not far away. "One gold per question... Never mind, I'll give you a discount, 80 silver coins. It's a good deal."
Admiring his face from this angle, it was even more magnificent. Linyin was a little reluctant to jump down, so she just hung on the bookshelf and sniffed, "You have good taste in perfume."
The boy took a half step back, resting his lower back on the edge of the bookshelf, and nodded politely, "Thank you."
Linyin smelled the tangy scent of pine, warm and distant. To be honest, it didn't smell like perfume.
She tried to analyze the source of the fragrance on his body, and her eyes almost crawled all over his body, but she could not find any clues.
Perhaps he was not used to being stared at, but the mere touch of her burning gaze on his body made him tremble.
He subconsciously stepped back again.
However, this time, his back was pressed against the heavy bookshelf, and he had no way to retreat.
………………
The neon lights of the diner flickered.
In the night, several young people were drinking and chatting happily.
Linyin handed the last grilled fish on her plate to the kitten. The kitten rubbed its head against her palm and gently pushed the plate away with its little paws.
A lame gray sheep was rummaging through a trash can. Its horns violently tore through the trash bag, and a few moldy green oranges rolled to Rin's feet.
Gray Sheep, a relatively common yellow-level esper beast. Its commonness means it's cheap, which means many people will keep one as a temporary fix when they don't have the wherewithal. It also means they might carefully consider choosing a esper beast companion and eventually abandon it.
The grilled fish rejected by the kitten drew a parabola and landed in front of the gray sheep.
"Meh." After receiving the grilled fish thrown by Linyin, the gray sheep started to eat it without any hesitation.
Today is payday for part-time jobs at school, and it is also their usual dinner day.
At the dinner table, Crystal was waving her chopsticks as she recounted how her family's small supermarket was forced to be demolished by the Fantasy Beast Company. The scattered freckles under the light made her anger seem particularly vivid.
"These bastards! All the nobles in the world are the same!" Kaiya slammed his hand on the table, turning himself into an emoji in pain, but that didn't stop him from continuing to talk excitedly. "Remember the first time we met the boss? Damian's grandson was trying to bully Yuzhu, and the boss rushed over and shoved his head into the wall!"
It started again, the familiar reminiscing session. Rin yawned and decided to quietly leave her seat to pay the bill.
Yuzhu, the weak girl in the story who was frozen with tears in her eyes and unable to move, shaved her head after that incident, followed Linyin and learned fighting skills from her. Now she is a recognized outstanding student in the fighting department - and naturally fell in love with the buzz cut, after all, it is really convenient.
"Do you know, the eldest sister was recruited into the college by the principal himself, and many precedents were broken for her." Crystal put down her chopsticks and gulped down a few mouthfuls of Leiden dark beer.
The principal of their Thorn Flower Academy was notoriously powerful, picky, and aloof.
"I only know that the boss is a special recruit," Kaiya heard the news that he didn't know. He picked up half a roasted corn with both hands and handed it to Shuijing respectfully: "I would like to hear more details."
Crystal took the corn, took a bite, and began to describe it vividly. "It is said that the eldest brother was performing on the street, doing a fire ring trick. He did eighteen fire rings in a row with somersaults, which amazed the principal who was passing by. The principal brought the eldest brother to the school for a physical test. Hey, you know the results, he got S in all physical fitness, agility and strength."
"What a shame," Crystal lowered her voice. "The boss's mental stability index is too low. All the admissions officers disagreed. They said that we are a fantasy beast academy after all, and combat students must sign a contract with a fantasy beast even if they have the conditions. With such a low mental stability index, we can't use the fantasy beast even if we admit him."
"That's true. If your spirit index is below the baseline, contracting a phantom beast is illegal." Kaia grilled the meat while placing it on the four people's plates. "Eat it quickly, or it's going to burn."
"What happened next? Did the principal stand up and speak?" Yuzhu asked hurriedly.
Crystal gave her a look that said, "A teachable child." "The principal said that the martial arts department has become almost like an amateur martial arts training class at the Children's Palace these days. She finally found such a good student. If the eldest child can't get in, there's no point in her being the principal."
"You are worthy of being the boss!" Yuzhu blinked her eyes and blushed.
The kitten tilted its head, its furry ears twitching as if it was listening attentively. Because it was so cute, Yuzhu hugged it and gave it a good smack on the mouth.
"Then again, that amateur martial arts training class at the Children's Palace isn't wrong," Kaia said sullenly. "My fitness is a B, my agility is a C, and my strength is a B. If I hadn't been in the combat department, I definitely wouldn't have been able to come to our academy."
The atmosphere at the dinner table was a little stagnant for a moment.
Crystal crumpled the napkin into a ball and pressed it hard into the hot pot ingredients box.
Ever since humans discovered that they could become powerful warriors by forging phantom beasts, martial arts gradually declined. The fact that the Phantom Beast Academy now offers a martial arts department seems more like a way to protect human cultural heritage, and the social consensus has gradually evolved into "martial arts are useless, and only phantom beasts are truly effective."
However, owning a Eudemons is very expensive.
The price of esper beast eggs is already very high. As the esper beast grows, high-quality esper beast food and training costs are necessary expenses. After signing the esper beast contract and registering at the esper beast hall, you will also be required to purchase "mental backlash insurance." The annual premium is inversely proportional to the mental stability index.
Each and every one of these things is not affordable for an ordinary family.
Therefore, students from ordinary families can only enter the fighting department, which has few mandatory additional expenses and usually offers scholarships; the fantasy beast department is just the opposite, with nobles gathering in large numbers and almost no commoners to be seen.
The shop wasn't big. Standing at the cashier, carrying a takeout box, Rinyin overheard most of the conversation. She cupped her hands into a megaphone and called out to the three people, who had fallen silent. "The dorm's door is about to lock. We have to leave."
Yuzhu came over, holding the kitten, her mood was particularly gloomy. Linyin rubbed her head, "Are you discouraged already? Aren't mythical beasts just armor? They just have an extra layer of turtle shell. Practice with me, and sooner or later you'll be able to shatter their armor with just your fists."
We are not you...
The three of them complained silently in their hearts, feeling that their boss was a little too optimistic.
The boss pushed back the terminal that Linyin was holding out. "There's a new kid helping out in the kitchen. He said you've been a huge help to him and he doesn't know how to repay you. So from now on, all your meals here will be his."
Linyin said nothing, but reached out again.
The people she helps are usually ordinary students who have been bullied. She currently works part-time at the library and earns a good income, so she doesn't need their hard-earned money.
The boss accepted the payment reluctantly and said, "Why don't you say hello to him? He's in the kitchen right now."
Linyin shook her head.
Helping others is a piece of cake for her, but saying hello afterwards is a hassle.
However, as she passed the kitchen, she suddenly became curious. After all, she had stood up for justice so many times, but this was the first time she had received any response.
She flicked the glass window with her finger, and the boy who was washing dishes in the kitchen hurriedly stood at attention and waved at her somewhat stiffly, bringing out a few scattered bubbles.
His mythical beast, a glittering miniature mammoth, saw bubbles floating in the air and began to spin excitedly on the kitchen floor.
A ground-level mythical beast, the Dream Mammoth. This mythical beast has a special characteristic: it is extremely gluttonous.
For the common people in the mythical beast department, life must be hard if they encounter such a big-eating mythical beast.
Rinyin silently lit wax for the boss's ingredients and the boy's wallet.
As I waved goodbye to the boy, the night breeze brought the scent of pine wood.
Linyin turned her head and saw that there was no one at the end of the alley.
………………
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