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!"

艾利克斯張了張嘴，但沒能阻止英格爾開口。

“艾迪，你也沒辦法成為騎士，因為你的身體裏沒有魔力回路，你沒有魔力也用不了魔力。”

艾德英利被這樣的事實一下子砸懵了。

他剛剛還在糾結去學院應該去騎士班還是魔法班，結果應叔告訴他，他哪個都去不了。

艾德英利瞠目結舌地呆在了原地。

艾利克斯和英格爾，他從小是在兩人身邊長大，自然也聽說了兩人的故事，世界上最強的巫師和最強的騎士，他也一直以為，自己未來會成為巫師或者騎士，他的未來注定不會平凡，沒有人告訴過他，他不能成為其中任何一個，只因為他生來如此。

艾利克斯按着艾德英利的肩膀，“你先冷靜，聽我們說。”

艾德英利愣了好久。

然後他猛地站起來，狂奔了出去。

他一路躍上了菲涅的背，他們倆消失在天空中。

艾利克斯如果想抓住人，還是可以的抓住的，但他不想讓艾德英利太抗拒，就沒動手。

他轉過頭無奈的看着英格爾。

英格爾聳了聳肩，攤手。

“我去把他找回來。”

“等到吃完飯的時候我再帶他回來。”

“你知道他在哪？”

“他每次想哭的時候都得躲到一個地方一個人哭，你現在去，他還會逃到別的地方，而且你過去他哭都不能好好哭。”

“明明他小的時候在我懷裏可以大聲哭出來的。”

“他現在已經不小了，他需要一個自己發洩的時間，等哭累了，他會聽的。”

“.......你就不能稍微婉轉一點告訴他。”

“你知道，我說話向來這樣，是你太心軟了，而且他不是那種脆弱到一擊不起的人，等他之後在學院裏自己發現才是更大的打擊。”

艾德英利在小瀑布前大哭大喊了一會兒，恹恹地趴在了菲涅背上。

天色漸晚，瀑布的水汽也帶着冰冷刺骨的寒意。

羽毛底下的體溫給他帶來了些許聊勝于無的安慰。

他還是熱愛幻想的年紀，他被很多老師誇過天賦異禀，他天生的身體力量也格外強悍，所以他認為，哪怕不能成為巫師，他也一定可以成為一名強大的騎士。

可是從來沒有人告訴過他，他這輩子都不可能成為騎士了，更別說艾利克斯那樣頂級的騎士。

就像很多人天生的身高一樣，這是他沒辦法通過努力改變的。

他生來第一次感受到了心如死灰。

他喊得嗓子都快嘶啞了，腦子裏還頻頻浮現應叔那張平靜無波的臉。

“應叔！！！！最讨厭了！！！！！”

他跳下來剛說完這句話，腳下就亮起了一陣光，這光他再熟悉不過了。

他從半空中落下，直接一屁股坐在了英格爾的腿上。

英格爾托了他的背一把：“......你怎麽變得這麽重了。”

艾德英利眼睛本來就是紅的，聞言，鼻子一酸，又要哭，可是看到他硬生生止住了淚水。

英格爾笑着用手指給他抹去淚水：“哭完了，然後呢？”

艾德英利甩開他的手站起來，“什麽然後？我沒有哭，這是被瀑布的水濺濕的。”

英格爾笑而不語。

“等下！你怎麽知道我在那裏？”

精準将他傳送過來，說明他知道他的坐标。

“你每次哭都去那裏，要麽為難那些樹，要麽為難水裏的魚，你覺得呢？”

艾德英利嘴巴一癟。

英格爾道：“我剛剛說了這麽多，你聽進去了多少？”

艾德英利聞言不由自主想起他剛剛說的。

英格爾道：“這個世界上有天生沒有魔力的人，魔力低微的人，不止你一個，他們照樣在過自己的精彩人生。這個世界上有天生殘疾的人，哪怕是我的魔法也治不好，他們呢？大多數也都為了活下去而努力。你因為我們倆的關系，被他人寄予厚望，也對自己擁有過高的期待，這不可避免，可是艾迪，艾利克斯只希望你像一個普通孩子那樣，健康平安快樂的成長起來，哪怕你不那麽厲害，你也是他最珍愛的孩子，這一點永遠不會變。”

艾德英利淚珠子忍不住往下掉，他哽咽了半天，也沒辦法否認他說的話。

“我只是不甘心。”

但他不是一個糾結于無法改變的事情太久的人。

“我才不稀罕呢，我就算沒有魔力，現在照樣能把五級的騎士打得滿地找牙！我就不信，我成年了之後，打不過高階騎士！”

他咬牙切齒道。

英格爾笑道：“你可真不服輸，争強并不是壞事，只是要量力而行。”

過了半天，艾德英利跪下來，湊過去，幼角抵着他的掌心，委屈道：“你是不是從來沒把我當你的孩子？”

英格爾驚訝地看着他，摸了摸他的頭，“怎麽這麽問？”

艾利克斯倚在桌邊看他們。

艾德英利只是說：“應叔，我們也是家人，你也會一直愛我的，對不對？”

英格爾舒展了目光，溫柔地說：“是的，一直都是。”

他又笑道：“你都幾歲了還撒嬌。”

艾德英利道：“因為我有時候感覺，如果我不問清楚，你就不會直說，我不挽留下你，你就會跑哪裏去了。”

艾利克斯臉上的笑容一點點淡下去。

英格爾擡起頭看向艾利克斯。

他認為是艾利克斯的情緒影響到了孩子。

“我不會的。”

英格爾看着他，肯定地說。

他又低頭捧起艾德英利的臉：“艾迪，我不會的，你回到這個家，就一定能看到我。”

艾德英利大叫起來：“胡說！！！你們把我送學院去，就是想去旅游！！！！一年我回來幾次，能見到你們才怪！！！！”

英格爾和艾利克斯不約而同地愣在那裏。

“哈。”

然後雙雙失笑。

“我們的确有這樣的計劃。”英格爾知道自己翻看旅游雜志可能被發現了，輕笑道。

“你們去玩不帶上我！！！”艾德英利跳起來，“還要把我丢在學院裏！還提前告訴我這樣殘酷的真相！！！你們！我生氣了！！！我要和你們冷戰！！！！”

艾德英利跑出去幾次就被英格爾送回來幾次。

“啊啊啊啊啊！你耍賴！！！”結果就是他哭得更大聲了。

然而英格爾和艾利克斯都在笑。

“你們笑什麽？別笑了！”

“你是不是餓了？等你哭完我們就開始吃飯。”艾利克斯把飯菜都端上來。

看了桌子一會兒，艾德英利被自己的肚子打敗了。

他咬牛排的樣子像在咬兩人。

吃完後，他又問了一次，“應叔，你真的不會一個人偷偷跑掉？”

“......所以說你這個想法到底哪裏來的？”英格爾瞄了艾利克斯一眼。

艾利克斯一臉無辜。

“我和艾利克斯一起出去，回來的時候會提前通知你的，現在能夠乘坐飛機到處飛，而且我也能傳送，很快就回來。”

“我只是一種直覺......”

“你的直覺一向不準。”

艾德英利似乎終于被說服了：“那你們會不會送我去學院？”

艾利克斯問：“我們去可以嗎？”

“反正我長這樣，遮又遮不住，他們一看到我就知道了，你們去和不去不都是一樣的嗎？還不如讓我風光一把。”

“你小子。”

“怎麽啦？我有這樣的爸爸和叔叔，我還不能炫耀了？”

“好吧，但是你在學院要遵守我和你的約定。”

“是是是，不恃強淩弱，可是要是有人欺負我，你也說要我還擊啊，假如他們都比我弱怎麽辦？”

“保護是比欺淩更困難的事情。”

“嗯嗯嗯，你說了很多遍了，我會保護好我自己的，只要我強得誰都打不過，就沒人敢動我。”

“你把艾列娜的話記得這麽牢幹什麽？”

“師父她帥爆了好嗎！”

“我要是去黎微爾一定要和她好好講講這件事。”

“嘻嘻，她不會改的，我也不會。”艾德英利突然想到了什麽，問：“我既然不能去騎士班也不能去魔法班，我該去哪裏？普通班的哪個專業？我什麽都擅長啊，我又不能分身？”

英格爾瞟他一眼，喝了口茶：“我有沒有跟你說過，你太驕傲了？”

“沒有，我只是實事求是說了，沒本事的人才是驕傲，我有本事，我自信。”艾德英利眨了眨眼睛說道，“我的能力是淨化，那我難道去讀醫學或者環保？醫學我又不感興趣，環保也太冷門了吧，以後我找什麽工作啊？像妮妮芙姐姐那樣全世界種花嗎？”

艾利克斯和英格爾對視一眼，他對艾德英利道：“我們想了想，決定将你送入騎士班。”

“啊？！”艾德英利拍桌而起。

“實際上我們這點權利還是有的。”英格爾漫不經心道：“你進入普通班對于其他孩子來說太不公平了，以你現在的能力應該去騎士班。”

艾利克斯道：“而且，如果你一個沒有魔力的，戰勝了那些有魔力的騎士們，不是一件很痛快的事情嗎？”

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."