Chapter 12: Hello, Teacher Mianbao

Now it was her turn to teach Hu Qingyu.
To make herself look more like a proper teacher, Mianbao specifically found a girl and asked to borrow a pair of non-prescription black-framed glasses.
She also grabbed a tree branch from the ground.

With a serious face, Mianbao rapped the blackboard with the branch, making a clattering sound.
It was unclear whether it was the black-framed glasses or Mianbao’s acting, but in any case, she now really looked like a young and beautiful female teacher.

Teacher Little Mianbao’s class has begun!

“First, let me state my classroom rules. First… um… raise your hand to ask a question! Second…” Mianbao pondered for a moment, then said, “That’s it for now.”

Hu Qingyu nodded in cooperation, and his posture was like that of a good student ready to learn.

“Now, let’s begin the class.” Mianbao pursed her lips and adjusted the glasses she was wearing, starting to decide in her mind what to teach first.

Watching Mianbao’s serious demeanor, Hu Qingyu felt an inexplicable urge to laugh.
Well, it felt quite nice to be a student again like this.
Hu Qingyu thought to himself.

“Teacher.” Student Hu Qingyu raised his hand.

“Speak.”

“Teacher, what is your name?” Hu Qingyu asked.
After all, the person who had saved him from the forest was this young girl who seemed younger than him, but it seemed a bit rude that he still didn’t know her name.

“Mianbao,” Mianbao replied.
“Ka Slan Mianbao.”

“Pfft!” This time, Hu Qingyu really couldn’t hold it in.
He placed a finger on his lips, letting only a single syllable of his impolite laughter escape.

“What a strange name,” Hu Qingyu commented.

Mianbao adjusted her glasses, a dangerous glint reflecting off the lenses.
“Yes~ that’s~ right~, so let’s continue with the class~”

Hu Qingyu coughed and made a “please” gesture.
“Teacher Mianbao, please continue.”

“In the air of this world, there exist two magical mediums: one is mana elements, and the other is battle aura.
And based on some people’s affinity for elements and battle aura, two professions have formed: magicians and swordsmen.”

“Magicians are people who manipulate various elements of different attributes in the air through a specific medium (like a magic staff) to fight.”

“Swordsmen are people who use battle aura and various weapons to fight.”

“Based on the amount of power magicians and swordsmen possess, they are also classified into levels, from one to nine, from low to high. After level nine, it’s B-rank to S-rank.”

“Wait.” Student Hu Qingyu raised his hand again.
“‘B-rank’, ‘S-rank’, what are those? And what’s in between?”

Mianbao brought out the blackboard Zero had left behind and began to write the English letters B, A, S on it.

“Ingwynn is a script passed down from a long time ago…”

“Exhausting.” Mianbao sat backwards on the chair, her arms resting on the backrest, looking completely overworked.
In one afternoon, she had taught Hu Qingyu about the two major professions, Magi-Knight Armor, magical beasts, Ingwynn, and some other strange races.

“You’ve worked hard, Teacher Mianbao~” Xixi appeared in a flash, massaging Mianbao’s back and shoulders as she lay slumped from exhaustion.

Mianbao squinted her eyes in comfort and asked, “Hey, Xixi, why are you so nice to me?”

‘Could the little lass be interested in me? Meow hehehehehe.’

Xixi’s hands, which were massaging Mianbao’s shoulders, slowed down a beat.
“Because, Big Sister Mianbao really reminds me of my older sister.”

…Looks like I was overthinking it.
How could anyone be interested in me in this state.

Mianbao sighed in her heart.
“Then where is your sister now?”

“…” Xixi’s movements stopped completely.
She smiled gently.
“My sister, she’s in a very, very far away place. I believe she must be living very happily.”

Mianbao fell silent.
“I know that place.”

“Your sister is truly living very happily.”

Hu Qingyu lay on the bed, his hands clasped behind his head, slowly digesting the information Zero and Mianbao had given him.

‘I won’t be able to go back for a while. I’ll settle down here for now.’

‘That bastard Ye Cheng is probably helpless here too. After some time, I’ll see if I can find him.’

‘This world is very magical, but if Ye Cheng also receives help, and even learns magic and battle aura, then he would be a scourge upon this world too.’

‘I wonder if Father Emperor will miss me if I don’t go back. But if I’m gone, it might be a good thing. At least Father Emperor won’t have to suffer criticism because of me anymore.’

‘Perhaps this world is more suitable for me.’

The sun was weakly pushed aside by the night.
The twin moons rose, and the night was clear with sparse stars.

Hu Qingyu gazed at the purple moon in the sky.
“【Dead Moon】’Lan’ernaduo’… was it the one that brought me here…”

“One, two, three, four—”

After several days of training, Mianbao had also managed to learn a few moves of “Heaven’s Wing.” Now, she was practicing and making a fool of herself with the other girls, which was also something she was forced to do.

Hu Qingyu had now taken Mianbao’s place, standing with Kunta, Zero, and the others to watch.
The dance of the group of girls reminded Hu Qingyu of the dances of those alluring women at the grand banquets in the imperial palace.
With all due respect, the girls’ pure and graceful dance was like heaven and earth compared to that.

Among the girls, the one who attracted him the most was the girl with outstanding beauty, who was also one of his “teachers,” Miss Mianbao.
The current Mianbao no longer had the seriousness she had when she was teaching him.
She danced with a helpless look on her face, appearing clumsy and endearing in a way that was quite萌 (moe).

“Hu Qingyu.” Kunta walked over, leaning on her cane.

Hu Qingyu politely cupped his fist.
“What is it, elder?”

“Are you planning to stay here for the next few days?” Kunta asked.

“Indeed,” Hu Qingyu replied.
“Could it be that you are unwilling, elder?”

“No, no, no.” Kunta shook her head.
“You can stay here, but I will have to charge you for it.”

Hu Qingyu frowned.
“You mean…”

“Don’t worry, I don’t want money. I also know you don’t have any.”

“I just want you to sign a contract with me. As long as you stay here for a day, you must obey my commands.
And when you want to leave, I won’t stop you.” Kunta took out a rolled-up contract.

Hu Qingyu thought for a moment and took the contract from Kunta’s hand.
“I agree.” After all, there was no harm in it for him.

Looking at the contents of the contract, compared to the utterly scammed Mianbao, Hu Qingyu’s treatment was simply too good.