Soon, Hilda returned, dressed in a set of exquisite light armor. Her golden hair, naturally cascading down, was once again tied into a high golden ponytail, giving her a heroic and lively appearance.
"Let's go!" Hilda said, appearing somewhat eager.
Caius nodded and activated the teleportation array. In the blink of an eye, the two of them, along with a meow, disappeared from the office and appeared at the academy’s teleportation plaza.
The plaza was a central point from which one could teleport to a wilderness spot just ten kilometers away from Nofalark Forest. Since the academy’s teleportation arrays were free of charge, Caius was naturally going to take advantage of it.
At this moment, Caius noticed students beginning to move around.
"Is class over?" Caius asked.
"Yeah, it just ended." Hilda nodded.
Caius glanced at the students walking out of the academic building, seemingly searching for someone.
However, after waiting for a while, he said, "Let’s go."
"Mm." Hilda nodded.
The teleportation array lit up again, and the two of them, along with a meow, vanished in a flash of light.
Just then, a tall, flaxen-haired figure walked out of the teaching building.
Unlike the other students who were in groups, she appeared quite solitary.
But she had already grown accustomed to it. With her book bag in hand, she walked slowly toward the direction of the female dormitory.
Before long, she returned to her dorm.
The researcher’s dorm was quite nice—one bedroom, one living room, one bathroom, and even a small kitchen. The furnishings inside were simple yet tidy.
She entered, changed into slippers, and carefully placed her cloth shoes into the shoe cabinet, almost as if she were afraid of dirtying the floor.
However, she soon noticed a beautiful pair of women’s shoes on the floor.
Seeing them, she immediately knew who had come. She quickly stood up, passed through the foyer, and entered the living room, where she saw Holan lounging on the sofa, casually sipping tea.
"You're back," Holan smiled.
"Holan Instructor," Bai quietly greeted, then stretched out a finger from her sleeve, pointing to the kitchen. "I'll go cut some fruit..."
"No need," Holan said with a smile. "Those fruits are for you. You need to replenish your nutrients. Otherwise, with such a tall frame, you’re too light. The wind could blow you away."
"Come, sit here. I have something to talk to you about," Holan patted the seat next to her.
Bai obediently nodded and sat beside her.
Her posture was perfectly upright, resembling a well-behaved schoolchild.
Holan chuckled and teasingly asked, "Am I that scary?"
"No... No..." Bai quickly waved her hands, as if afraid Holan would misunderstand.
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"Alright, alright, I know you're a good kid." Holan lightly patted Bai’s head, then glanced at a sweater draped over a chair.
"Did you knit this for him?" Holan asked.
"Mm." Bai nodded.
"It looks good." Holan picked up the sweater, which was nearly finished, and pouted. "Why didn’t you knit one for me too?"
Upon hearing this, Bai stood up and walked toward the bedroom. Holan looked on, puzzled.
Soon, Bai emerged from the bedroom, carefully holding a sweater, and handed it to Holan.
Holan's face lit up with surprise. "For me?"
"Mm." Bai nodded.
"Thank you~" Holan happily took the sweater.
The sweater was white, made from pure wool. It felt soft and warm to the touch, with cute blue snowflake patterns on it.
It was slightly long, designed like a dress. Holan, who stood at about 1.7 meters, would find it to be knee-length, just perfect.
Holan loved it and asked, her voice filled with joy, "Did you knit this for me first?"
To her surprise, Bai shook her head and pointed at Caius’s sweater.
Holan: "?"
Bai: "The sixth one."
Holan: "......"
"You knitted six sweaters for him?!" Holan exclaimed.
Bai nodded.
"How biased!" Holan feigned jealousy.
"Well, I’ll knit a few more for you..." Bai hurriedly said.
Holan sighed, then gently ruffled Bai’s hair.
Perhaps due to malnutrition, Bai’s hair was thin, but it was smooth to the touch.
"You’re just too good. This could easily get you bullied."
"Look at Caius—such a bad guy. Who would dare bully him?"
Bai remained silent, then shook her head softly.
"He’s not... a bad guy."
Holan: "..."
Looking at this obedient girl, Holan couldn’t help but reach out and push aside her hair, revealing her angelic face.
"No wonder he calls you Silly Mushroom. How can you be this good?" Holan gently cupped Bai’s face and rubbed it lovingly.
Bai became a little shy, her face turning slightly red.
This kind of intimate interaction between girls was something Bai had never experienced, so she didn’t quite know how to react.
After rubbing her face, Holan affectionately put her arm around Bai’s shoulders and said, "Alright, back to business. The reason I came to see you is to discuss what we’re going to do next."
"There are three things."
"First, we need to refine and strengthen the Bloody Potion to make it more effective against Bloody Creatures."
"Second, you need to pass the intermediate mage researcher exam. That way, you'll be able to participate in more projects and receive more subsidies."
"And the third..." At this point, Holan paused and then smiled. "Is to help Big Guy find a way to learn magic."
Bai looked at Holan and softly asked, "He... can’t learn magic?"
Holan: "..."
So the third point is the most important to you, huh?
"Yeah, I don’t know why," Holan replied slowly. "His magic power can’t be retained or resonated with—it's almost inert, not active at all."
"But Big Guy works so hard."
Upon hearing this, Bai lowered her head and fell silent, as though lost in thought.
Noticing this, Holan asked, "Are you listening?"
Bai quickly nodded. "Mm."
Holan pursed her lips and, mimicking Caius's tone, said, "Don’t just nod. Say you’re listening."
Bai: "I’m listening."
Holan: "Good girl~"
Ruffling her head, Holan continued, "I don’t have a clear idea yet... Hmm... I think I’ll start by looking through the ancient texts at the library, see if there are any similar cases or records."
Just then, Bai suddenly spoke up, "We could... first ask him for a magic power sample. Whether it's magic or anything else, it's all magic power interacting. We could take a sample and use magic to experiment, troubleshoot, and try to find out why his magic power won’t resonate... the... cause..."
Her voice grew softer as she realized Holan was staring at her.
Finally, Bai stopped talking, feeling a bit nervous.
Holan stood up, her face full of surprise. "Right! How did I forget that!"
"I should have asked him for a magic sample right away!"
Bai tilted her head slightly, looking confused.
Holan then realized and gave an awkward smile. "He came by earlier. We talked about you, and I told him you're doing well."
"Mm." Bai nodded, lowering her head again.
Holan looked at the quiet mushroom girl and, for some reason, felt a sense of emotion.
She propped her elbow on her knee and rested her chin in her hand, watching her. "So, you can talk that much all at once, Silly Mushroom."
Bai fiddled with her little hands, whispering, "I’m not a mushroom..."
Holan laughed, "I thought you were going to say you’re not silly."
Bai remained silent, her fingers nervously intertwining.
Seeing this, Holan gently said, "Girl, you really should be more confident."
"You’re not silly at all. You pointed out something I completely missed."
"If anyone dares to call you Silly Mushroom, I’ll beat them up!"
Upon hearing this, Bai quickly waved her little hands. "Don’t beat him..."
"I haven’t said anything about him, and yet you're so concerned?" Holan said, feigning jealousy.
Bai stammered, lowering her head, her ears turning red under her hair. Holan could almost picture her beautiful face hidden beneath, flushed like a red apple.
Holan suddenly understood why Caius liked to "bully" her.
She was just too cute.
