Chapter 11: Lulu’s Peculiar Apprentice

“Is this… Miss Lulu’s little boyfriend?”

Faced with Nia’s knowing smile, Lulu’s cheeks immediately flushed crimson.

Of course, this slight blush was swiftly suppressed by her mature composure, a testament to her mastery of emotional control. Nonetheless, a torrent of complaints inevitably welled up within her.

‘Who, who, who found a little boyfriend? What, what, what kind of talk is this? What kind of talk is this! What kind of look is that, Nia? She’s clearly just teasing me!’

‘I, I, I… How could my purpose in picking up the Little Demon King be to raise a little boyfriend? I just wanted to adopt a pet! Tsk tsk, who would have ideas about a fifteen-year-old boy? I’m not some perverted older sister.’

‘That Little Demon King, he probably hasn’t even fully matured yet. Hmph, what am I thinking? If anything, he might develop, ahem… some different feelings for me, his older, mature teacher, in the future.’

‘And he’s the Demon King! The Demon King!’

The Demon King, listening to these absurd thoughts, felt a dark cloud descend over his head.

Who’s the little boy who hasn’t even fully matured yet?!

What’s with all the narcissism over there? Just because you have a bit of looks, you think I’d actually be interested in you? Old hag!

Just you wait, I’ll make sure you don’t have a single hair left, except on your head.

Hmm… no, the more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

Patience!

Lulu shook her head, a hint of displeasure in her expression. Then, composing herself, she spoke to Nia in a cool, detached tone. “Oh, Nia, you always love to joke. This is the child I rescued from the forest yesterday, named Alexius. He was being hunted by enemies, and seeing his plight, I took him in as my apprentice.”

“Oh, I see~ A new little apprentice~” Nia nodded, her eyes sparkling with amusement. She then turned her gaze towards Alexius, who was still slightly displeased by Lulu’s earlier comment about his immaturity. His brows were tightly furrowed until he felt Nia’s eyes on him, at which point he quickly composed himself, feigning a docile posture.

“Heh heh, Xiu-chan, may I call you that? Our Lulu’s new apprentice, pfft, this is quite a novelty. When did Miss Lulu ever have the spare time to take on an apprentice? It must be because Xiu-chan is very special, and indeed, quite adorable~”

Nia smiled, gesturing towards Alexius. “Our Lulu has always lived alone, and I’ve actually been quite worried about her. Xiu-chan, since you’re a boy, you must make sure to protect your little teacher well from now on~”

“Mm… I will.”

Alexius nodded, playing along with Nia’s words. Of course, protecting Lulu wasn’t entirely out of the question.

At the very least, he would protect Miss Lulu until the day he settled his scores with her.

However, Lulu, standing beside them, watched their exchange and felt something… odd.

‘What kind of entrustment scene is this? Who needs the Little Demon King to protect me? Doing my laundry and cooking my meals would be more like it, tsk~’

‘What’s the Demon Army’s standard now? You, Alexius, and your ilk are all just Lulu’s dogs. Can he protect Miss Lulu? No! He doesn’t have that capability, you know?’

‘If this continues, Miss Lulu will train him into a good-for-nothing. Once he’s useless, he’ll just give up, then be kept as a male servant, a pet. Then the world will be at peace.’

Pfft~

Lulu barely managed to stifle her laughter. Why was this joke so universally applicable? It seemed to fit perfectly every time.

Alexius: ???

What strange things was this woman saying?

Was she telling a joke? Why couldn’t he understand it…

Of course… he did grasp the underlying mockery.

****

Patience!

“Stop talking nonsense. Xiu’er is still young; don’t burden him so heavily. He just needs to focus on his studies with me.” After stifling her laughter, Lulu resumed a serious conversation with Nia. Nia, intrigued, turned her gaze to Lulu, scrutinizing her from head to toe before clicking her tongue.

“Miss Lulu is so serious today, what’s going on? Oh~ could it be because her new little apprentice is present, and she wants to maintain a dignified image as an elder? Pfft, don’t be so stiff, it’s uncomfortable. There are no outsiders here; Xiu-chan will know how adorable you are sooner or later. Just relax a little~”

“Ha… ha… ha?! What are you talking about, Nia—?”

Lulu deliberately drew out the end of her sentence, a hint of murderous intent in her gaze towards Nia. The brown-haired older sister quickly waved her hands and said:

“Ahahaha, I-I was just joking! Miss Lulu has always been very aloof, only showing a little tenderness to those she trusts. Yes, yes, yes, I mean tender, tender, definitely not a comedic woman, hahaha…”

‘This woman… she’s practically exposing all my secrets in front of the Little Demon King!’

Alexius: …

Actually, there was no need for Nia to go to such trouble.

Damn it, as the Demon King, he was currently reduced to listening to two young women tease him!

****

Sigh, Lulu fell silent for a moment.

Speaking of her interactions with Nia, it was impossible not to discuss the matter of transmigration.

Evidently, although she had interacted with Nia for five years in her previous life, chronologically, this was only Lulu’s second day in this other world.

So, what about before?

Lulu initially believed she had undergone soul transmigration, but later discovered it wasn’t quite that. Her personality, mannerisms, and even life experiences were remarkably similar to the girl whose body she now inhabited. This led her to eventually come across the concept of a ‘spatiotemporal isomer’ recorded in some magic books of this other world.

In different timelines and different worlds, there exists another ‘you.’ While there might be some differences in identity, the core personality remains unified! Personality isn’t confined by gender; soul fragments from different worlds can even maintain a subtle connection in the ethereal realm.

Through magical calculations from the books, Lulu realized she was, in fact, her true self in this other world. She had merely gained memories from two timelines after her transmigration, which allowed her to smoothly accept becoming a beautiful, white-haired magic user.

Of course, she was still a man! An otaku clad in the shell of a beautiful girl! This would never change!

That was her personality!

Uh… though being an otaku didn’t seem like something particularly worth bragging about.

“Alright, alright, stop agonizing over there. Tell me, what brings you here, Lulu-chan?”

Nia finally steered the conversation to the main topic. Lulu nodded, then stated:

“I want to enroll Xiu’er in a magic academy. Do you have any good suggestions?”

“Uh… Lulu, aren’t you a teacher there yourself? And you’re asking me, a mere clerk?”

Nia looked slightly helpless. So… an insider was asking an outsider about school enrollment, was she?

“You’re more informed. I, I only care about teaching.”

Lulu replied nonchalantly, while the Little Demon King beside her felt a pang of helplessness.

‘You clearly only care about turning me into a good-for-nothing, don’t you?’

“Well, I do know a bit. But, Lulu, is sending Xiu-chan to a magic academy really a good idea?”

Nia tilted her head, then explained to Lulu, “You know… that place is practically the territory of noble children, right?”