Extra 4. Back to school (1)
That day, after dinner, Alex asked Ed Yingli to stay up. He said gently, "Yingli, we want to discuss something with you."
Ed Yingli saw that Inger was also staring at him, which was rare, and thought it was something important, so he nodded and said, "Well, you guys talk, I'm listening."
Alex said slowly: "We are going to send you to college. Are you willing to go?"
Ed Yingli opened his mouth. Although he was surprised, he didn't think it was a big deal. But he still asked the question in his mind: "I can study and exercise well at home. You can teach me everything. Why should I go to college?"
Inger looked him in the eyes and said, "In the past, when you were in the palace, your teachers taught you. The teachers who taught you in various subjects were all the best. Now that you are at home, Alex will teach you too, but there are some things we cannot teach you."
Ed Yingli lowered his head a little aggrieved: "I don't understand."
Alex continued, "What you learn in college is actually similar to what we teach you, but you need to learn how to get along with others and how to live independently."
Ad Yingli immediately responded: "I have many friends! For example..."
Seeing that he was at a loss for words, Inger spoke for him, "The maids, guards, knights, and teachers who took care of you were all your elders. Christine, your aunt, is much older than she looks. Because of your special status and our decision to protect you, you didn't have the opportunity to get close to children of your age, but it wasn't your fault."
Ed Yingli clenched his fists: "I don't need it either."
Alex knew why he said that. Ed Yingli wanted friends, and he had sneaked out before, but his tail and horns made others avoid him. Those who knew him were afraid of hurting or offending him and kept their distance from him, while those who didn't were terrified by his difference.
When he was taken back to the palace, he cried bitterly, and never wanted to leave the palace without permission again. If he did go out, he was accompanied by people around him.
Because everyone in the palace watched him grow up, and his closest people would not look at him differently. His home was his comfortable and warm harbor.
Alex touched his forehead and said, "You are already twelve years old. We have laid a solid foundation for your knowledge and physical development. You like the warmth and comfort of home and like to be with us. We are the same. But you are an independent person after all. You need to slowly learn to go out on your own."
Ed Yingli did not refute. He was sensible enough and knew what he meant. However, he resisted from the bottom of his heart. He entangled his fingers together and turned his head away, unwilling to look at the two of them.
Inger looked at him silently for a while, then suddenly said, "You are afraid."
Ed Yingli said angrily: "No!"
Inger: "It's okay to admit you're scared, but you don't dare to admit it."
Ed Yingli banged his fist on the table: "I said I didn't!"
Alex: "Yingli."
Ed Yingli glanced at him, took his hand back, and whispered, "...I'm sorry."
Inger said slowly, "I don't know why going out makes you so scared. You don't need to care about those who have always been prejudiced against you. As for other people, after you have been in contact with them for a long time, they will know what kind of person you are. As for whether they like you or not, it is their business and has nothing to do with you. You just need to talk to people normally and make friends with those you like. If you can't make friends for a while, it doesn't matter. Just do what you should do. What's the difficulty for you?"
Ad Yingli muttered: "It's so easy for you to say..."
Alex smiled and said, "When I first brought you to the military camp, many people fell in love with you the moment they saw you. Even though they knew you were a demon, their expressions didn't change much."
"That's because...my ability..." Ed Yingli bit his lower lip.
"That's your ability. Why should you care about it?" Alex's tone was gentle, and he continued to tell the facts. "Not long after you arrived at the palace, you made almost all the maids, guards, teachers, and knights like you. They didn't know your value. They just treated you as a child. You were motivated when you studied, lively when you played, and sensible at critical moments. You have too many advantages. Most people will like you after getting in touch with you, so why should you be afraid?"
Ed Yingli finally raised his head, his eyes were a little red.
Inger said, "I don't remember Alex raising you to be someone who would act according to other people's wishes. You are who you are. Why do you need to be liked by everyone? Even Alex is not liked by everyone. There are a lot of people who dislike him. Is that his fault?"
Ad Yingli blurted out: "That's because they are blind!"
Inger smiled faintly: "As a human being, you will have flaws. You will not be perfect, and you will not be liked by everyone. What's more, those things in you are not flaws in the first place. Go out and you will still be yourself. You just need to be yourself, try new things, do things you have never done before, and try to communicate with children of the same age. You must have your own judgment. Not all people outside are prejudiced against you. Even if they are prejudiced at the beginning, they may not be so after knowing you. If you regard yourself as shameful, others will also regard you as such. But if you are upright and be yourself, you will find that it is not a big deal at all. These are things we cannot teach you."
Ed Yingli was very smart. He thought quietly for a while and said, "I understand what you mean."
But he still insisted: "I wasn't afraid in the first place! I just didn't know the necessity of going to the academy!"
Alex didn't expose the fact that he had never even been to the market in the nearby village since he came to this place.
Inger continued to tell him, "When I treated some people, some of them had scars and birthmarks on their bodies, some of which were even unsightly. But you see, I discovered one thing. In fact, if you cover up the scars and are afraid of being seen, people will pay more attention to the scars and become curious about them. If you avoid talking about them, others will make unwarranted guesses and rumors will spread. People with scars will be more and more afraid to go out and see people because of fear. There is another type of people who show their scars to others openly and tell others tirelessly how these things are formed, or directly scold them for meddling in other people's business. Others will not care about them after hearing and seeing them many times, and will no longer pay attention to them."
Alex went on to say, "In fact, exploring other people's scars and birthmarks is extremely disrespectful and impolite to others, but that is not the person's fault, but the impoliteness of those people. They are not the person himself and do not know the other person's past and fate. A person can choose to speak or not, to expose or not, this is a private matter. But scars, birthmarks, and disabilities are all part of one's body, not a point that needs to be Inferior. Some people discriminate against those who are unhealthy, disabled, strange-looking, and different. That is their narrow-mindedness, and we don't have to be the same. We must first be more tolerant of ourselves, acknowledge our differences, and accept our differences, until one day, we no longer care about these, and the eyes of others are not important. You should be proud of yourself. No matter what, you deserve to be loved. Don't forget that there is a large group of people who will always love you."
"...I understand." Ed Yingli's tension loosened a lot, and he pursed his lips and said, "You always say such disgusting words without blushing."
Alex pinched his face and said, "Why are you not as frank as Ying? I remember you were very direct when you were little. You kissed the faces of maids and guards everywhere, and called them dad, mom, brother, and sister. Oh, I remember you also called Ying randomly..."
"Ahhhhhhhhh stop saying that!!!!" Ed Yingli quickly covered his mouth.
Inger held his forehead in silence.
They quarreled for a while, and Inger continued, "I originally wanted to let you travel by yourself, but Alex said it was too dangerous and he didn't dare to let you go out, so we chose to let you enter the academy. The academy will also have field exercises, actual combat training, and various activities. It is safe and the social relationships are not that complicated. You can go to the academy to study for a while, and then go out to gain experience when you are older. It is best to find what you want to do in the process of learning. It doesn't matter if you take it slowly. Although there may be some new shocks waiting for you, you will definitely learn a lot."
Ed Yingli raised his chin proudly: "You have seen my learning ability. I will definitely make a lot of friends! And then become even more powerful! Just wait! In a few years! When I come back to practice with my father, he will not be able to beat me!"
Inger laughed and shook his head: "That's impossible. You will never be able to defeat Alex in terms of ability."
Alex quickly pulled Inger.
Ed Yingli said angrily: "Then I will become the most powerful wizard! I want to beat you! Even if you are the strongest now, you can't always be the strongest."
Inger ignored Alex: "Eddie, you can't be a wizard."
Ed Yingli thought that Inger had a strong sense of magic, and maybe he had known for a long time that he had no talent for learning magic. He was a little sad, but he changed his mind and said, "Then I will become the strongest knight! A knight can still defeat a wizard!"
Alex opened his mouth but was unable to stop Inger from speaking.
"Eddie, you can't become a knight because you don't have magic circuits in your body. You can't use magic without magic."
Ed Yingli was stunned by this fact.
He was just struggling with whether to go to the knight class or the magic class in the academy, but Uncle Ying told him that he couldn't go to either class.
Ed Yingli stood there in astonishment.
Alex and Inger, he grew up with them and naturally heard their stories, the strongest wizard and the strongest knight in the world. He always thought that he would become a wizard or a knight in the future, and his future was destined to be extraordinary. No one told him that he could not become either of them, just because he was born that way.
Alex pressed Ed Yingli's shoulder and said, "Calm down and listen to us."
Ed Yingli was stunned for a long time.
Then he stood up suddenly and ran out.
He leaped all the way onto Finne's back, and the two of them disappeared into the sky.
If Alex wanted to catch someone, he could have done so, but he didn't want Ed Yingli to resist too much, so he didn't do anything.
He turned his head and looked at Inger helplessly.
Inger shrugged and threw his hands up.
"I'll go get him back."
"I'll bring him back after dinner."
"Do you know where he is?"
"Every time he wants to cry, he has to hide somewhere and cry alone. If you go there now, he will escape to another place. And he can't cry properly when you go there."
"When he was little, he could cry loudly in my arms."
"He's not a child anymore. He needs some time to vent his feelings. When he's tired of crying, he'll listen."
"...Can't you tell him in a more tactful way?"
"You know, I always say this. You are too soft-hearted. Besides, he is not the kind of person who is so fragile that he cannot withstand a blow. It will be a bigger blow for him to find out in the academy later."
Ed Yingli cried and shouted for a while in front of the small waterfall, then lay listlessly on Finie's back.
As the sky gradually darkened, the water vapor from the waterfall became icy and chilly.
The body temperature beneath the feathers brought him some comfort, which was better than nothing.
He was still at an age where he loved fantasy. Many teachers praised him for his extraordinary talent. He was also born with exceptional physical strength, so he believed that even if he could not become a wizard, he could definitely become a powerful knight.
But no one ever told him that he would never be a knight in his life, let alone a top knight like Alex.
Just like the natural height of many people, this is something he cannot change through hard work.
For the first time in his life, he felt hopeless.
He almost shouted until his voice was hoarse, but Uncle Ying's calm face kept appearing in his mind.
"Uncle Ying!!!! You're the most annoying!!!!"
As soon as he jumped down and said this, a flash of light appeared under his feet. He was very familiar with this light.
He fell from mid-air and sat directly on Inger's legs.
Inger held his back and said, "...How come you have become so heavy?"
Ed Yingli's eyes were already red, and when he heard that, his nose felt sore and he was about to cry again, but when he saw him, he stopped crying.
Inger smiled and wiped away his tears with his fingers: "Now that you're done crying, what next?"
Ed Yingli shook off his hand and stood up. "What then? I didn't cry. I was wet by the water from the waterfall."
Inger smiled but said nothing.
"Wait! How did you know I was there?"
The accuracy with which he was teleported here shows that he knew his coordinates.
"You go there every time you cry, either to the trees or to the fish in the water. What do you think?"
Ed Yingli's mouth twitched.
Inger said, "How much of what I just said did you hear?"
Hearing this, Ed Yingli couldn't help but think of what he had just said.
Inger said, "There are people in this world who are born without magic power, and people with weak magic power. You are not the only one, and they are still living their wonderful lives. There are people in this world who are born with disabilities, and even my magic can't cure them. What about them? Most of them are also working hard to survive. Because of our relationship, you are expected by others, and you also have too high expectations of yourself. This is inevitable, but Eddie, Alex only hopes that you can grow up healthy, safe and happy like an ordinary child. Even if you are not that powerful, you are his most cherished child, and this will never change."
Ed Yingli couldn't help but shed tears. He choked for a long time and couldn't deny what he said.
"I just can't accept it."
But he is not one to dwell for too long on things that cannot be changed.
"I don't care. Even if I don't have magic power, I can still beat a level 5 knight to a pulp! I don't believe that I won't be able to beat a high-level knight after I become an adult!"
He gritted his teeth.
Inger laughed and said, "You really don't admit defeat. It's not a bad thing to be competitive, but you have to do it within your ability."
After a while, Ed Yingli knelt down, came over, put his little horn against his palm, and said aggrievedly: "Have you never treated me as your child?"
Inger looked at him in surprise and touched his head. "Why do you ask?"
Alex leaned over the table and watched them.
Ed Yingli just said: "Uncle Ying, we are also family, you will always love me, right?"
Inger relaxed his gaze and said softly, "Yes, always."
He laughed again and said, "How old are you and you're still acting like a spoiled brat?"
Ed Yingli said: "Because sometimes I feel that if I don't ask clearly, you won't tell me directly, and if I don't keep you, you will go somewhere else."
The smile on Alex's face faded a little.
Inger raised his head and looked at Alex.
He thought Alex's emotions affected the child.
"I won't."
Inger looked at him and said affirmatively.
He lowered his head and held up Ed Yingli's face: "Eddie, I won't. When you return to this house, you will definitely see me."
Ed Yingli yelled, "Nonsense!!! You sent me to college just to travel!!! I come back a few times a year, it's a wonder I get to see you!!!"
Inger and Alex were both stunned.
"ha."
Then they both burst out laughing.
"We do have such a plan." Inger chuckled, knowing that he might be discovered flipping through a travel magazine.
"You guys went out to play without me!!!" Ed Yingli jumped up, "And you left me in the academy! And you told me the cruel truth in advance!!! You guys! I'm angry!!! I want to have the cold war with you!!!"
Ed Yingli ran out several times and was sent back by Inger several times.
"Ahhhhhh! You're cheating!!!" As a result, he cried even louder.
But Inger and Alex were both laughing.
"What are you laughing at? Stop laughing!"
"Are you hungry? We'll start eating after you stop crying." Alex brought the food.
After looking at the table for a while, Ed Yingli was defeated by his stomach.
He bit the steak like he was biting two people.
After finishing his meal, he asked again, "Uncle Ying, you really won't sneak away alone?"
"......So where did you get this idea?" Inger glanced at Alex.
Alex looked innocent.
"I'm going out with Alex. I'll let you know when I'm back. I can fly everywhere now, and I can teleport too. I'll be back soon."
"It's just a hunch..."
"Your intuition is never right."
Ed Yingli seemed finally convinced: "Then will you send me to the college?"
Alex asked, "Can we go?"
"I look like this anyway, I can't hide it, they'll know it as soon as they see me, isn't it the same whether you go or not? You might as well let me show off."
"You kid."
"What's the matter? I have such a father and uncle, so I can't show off?"
"Okay, but you have to abide by the agreement between us at the academy."
"Yes, yes, I won't bully the weak. But if someone bullies me, you also told me to fight back. What if they are all weaker than me?"
"Protecting is more difficult than bullying."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you've told me many times that I will protect myself. As long as I'm strong enough that no one can beat me, no one will dare to touch me."
"Why do you remember Elena's words so well?"
"Master, she is so handsome!"
"If I go to Levitra, I will have a serious talk with her about this."
"Hehe, she won't change, and neither will I." Ed Yingli suddenly thought of something and asked, "Since I can't go to the knight class or the magic class, where should I go? Which major in the ordinary class? I'm good at everything, and I can't split myself?"
Inger glanced at him and took a sip of tea: "Have I ever told you that you are too proud?"
"No, I'm just being realistic. People without abilities are arrogant. I have abilities and I'm confident." Ed Yingli blinked and said, "My ability is purification. Should I study medicine or environmental protection? Medicine doesn't interest me, and environmental protection is too unpopular. What kind of job should I find in the future? Plant flowers all over the world like Sister Nineveh?"
Alex and Inger looked at each other, and he said to Ed Yingli, "We thought about it and decided to send you to the knight class."
"Ah?!" Ed Yingli slammed the table and stood up.
"In fact, we do have this right." Inger said nonchalantly, "It's too unfair for other children for you to be in the regular class. With your current ability, you should go to the knight class."
Alex said: "Besides, if you, a person without magic power, defeated those knights with magic power, wouldn't it be a very satisfying thing?"
Ed Yingli's eyes widened, shining with golden light, "I can do it! I will definitely do it!"
"But we must compete fairly and not hurt others easily."
"Oh, I know. I won't do that. And there's no need! I will become stronger!"
Ed Yingli went to play in the mountains excitedly. Watching him disappear into the door frame with his tail wagging, Inger asked Alex, "Don't you want him to be competitive? After all, great strength is not for this."
"It's okay. He won't live in a life-and-death environment anymore. Just consider it as satisfying his ambition. He will soon find that simply becoming stronger is actually a very boring thing. It would be great if he could meet a rival of equal strength."
"...That's because you are already the strongest. Did I tell you that the child is essentially the same as you?"
"Hmm? Is there?"
"Let's not talk about this anymore. Where is our first stop?"
"After all, it's the same wherever you go, right?"
"You've been choosing magazines for so long and still can't decide. Let me help you choose."
"...You should have told me earlier."
"Hahahahahaha, then I'm not so happy to see you make such a choice...Okay, I won't laugh anymore. After sending Yingli to the academy, we will set off immediately. We have waited too long."
"I feel a little tired before I even set out..."
"You made your own decision, so keep your word."
"......trouble."
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