Positive little sun, magical girl, I am awesome

Lilith's jaw dislocated, bit by bit.

She stiffly turned her head to look down, and saw that the mouths of all the young faces on the dance floor were shaped much like hers.

"Me...what kind of love?"

Turning her head, Lilith repeated incredulously, her drowsiness vanishing at Rebecca's absurd accusations.

Ms. Rebecca, however, was absolutely certain of her judgment. She sighed and continued in a tolerant tone that conveyed, "I understand my child, I understand everything."

"There's no need to deny it, Lilith. We've been observing you for a long time. You have an unusual passion for knowledge about dragons. Lady Terra said that eight out of ten of your papers in 'Magical Creatures Class' were related to dragons, and you even took 'Dragon Ecology' as an elective."

"And he got a perfect score," Wolfe added sadly from the side.

Boom——! !

Lilith felt as if she had been struck by lightning, the wrinkles on her brain completely gone.

"Is it wrong for me to have good grades?!"

Back then, many people, including herself, believed she was a dragon hybrid. She wanted to learn more about the habits of dragons out of curiosity about her origins, which makes perfect sense, right?

"—Besides, there are plenty of people who are interested in dragons!" For example, Senior Sister Qiong was always thinking about finding a dragon and digging out a dragon scale to use as weapon material!

"But you also keep a spirit dragon, which is the most coveted pet among dragon enthusiasts. Apart from being smaller, they look similar to dragons," Rebecca said, delivering another blow.

Why is that fairy dragon still involved?! Lilith was dumbfounded: "That was just a gift from someone! Your guesses are completely unfounded!!"

“Yes, we reviewed your vacation activity report again and found that your vacation locations consistently overlapped with the places where dragons were spotted. Even Ruvasburg, where the earliest traces of dragons were discovered, you were there that year.” Wolf looked heartbroken at Lilith’s obsessive behavior of following her relentlessly: “Lilith, you really are…”

Boom——! ! !

Lilith felt as if she really heard thunder.

And when the topic turned to Roisburg, Rebecca added, "Since you were there, you should know even more about what else that dragon did; it abducted the young bride of Roisburg—"

"No!" Lilith thought hard for a moment before remembering the old story Rebecca had mentioned, and quickly explained, "That's fake, fake!"

Miss Margaret is perfectly fine in High Court now, probably sipping wine at some lavish dinner party!

"So, the abduction of you in front of everyone in Highgarden was a lie? Don't forget, if Ian hadn't found you in time, you would have been dead in the wilderness long ago. Simon actually called that kind of guy an ancient hero? Bah, I think he's just a lecherous dragon! A wicked dragon!"

Lilith struggled in confusion: "No... but you can't blame him. He's never taken care of anyone before. I was injured then, but it wasn't him who injured me."

Upon hearing this, the two teachers exchanged glances, their expressions becoming even more somber. Instructor Wolf, in particular, said, "Sigh... Colin is right. We still don't care enough about our students, especially during adolescence."

Wolf felt that, looking back now, everything was predictable. He had watched helplessly as his favorite student went astray. Now, Lilith was clearly siding with the dragon, defending him in every way, and the latter had reappeared around Gladys. How could he not be anxious?

Lilith was completely bewildered, utterly stunned by the wild ideas of the two people in front of her, but Rebecca had clearly misunderstood her silence again.

“Don’t be shy, Lilith. What haven’t mages seen?” Rebecca tried to soften her tone. “We understand this…unusual orientation, but as Wolf said, the path for hybrids is fraught with thorns. Even for dragons—”

"Teachers, you've really misunderstood! I didn't! I didn't! Please don't talk nonsense!"

Lilith desperately denied it three times in a row. Was her credibility score really that low? These two seemed unwilling to believe even a single punctuation mark from her. Help!!

That scoundrel Zephyr, she'll skin him alive! Where on earth is that bastard hiding?!

……

"Ah, so you've been here!"

On one side of the Mirror Lake Grand Library, there are pools of different sizes and heights connected by a never-ending flow of water. Lucas put down his bucket and bent over to observe the largest pool for a long time but couldn't find any trace of the principal. When he looked up, he found half a fish tail sticking out of a small, higher fountain pool.

"I thought you were asleep. You seem to be in good spirits today."

Lucas smiled and sat down by the pool. He saw Principal Grace lying on her back in the pool, gazing intently at the transparent dome above. The castle, illuminated by magic, was so dazzling that it was reflected in her eyes through the dark green lake water. This seemed to fascinate the mermaid, and she watched with great concentration.

The headmaster rarely responded to anyone anymore, spending most of his time either sleeping or sitting idly, but Lucas still chatted with her with a smile: "You heard the music, didn't you? That's right, there's a ball at the castle tonight, and Mr. Simon is attending as well."

The boy had taken care of her for a long time and was used to her talking to herself without any response, but today, when Gretia heard these words, she turned her head and smiled at the boy.

She's in a good mood right now—that's what Lucas judged.

"Let me brush your scales for you!" He took the bucket and brush and skillfully began to clean the elderly mermaid, who was indeed very cooperative today.

Aging is always a regrettable thing. The huge fish tail is still beautiful, but the scales have long lost their luster and become matte and smooth, like pebbles on a riverbank. They are no longer arranged tightly and neatly, and some parts have fallen off. Lucas carefully avoids the fallen parts and carefully washes off the sticky algae that would stick to her body every few days.

“Principal… I may have to leave the academy. If I am no longer a student here, I don’t know if Mr. Simon will still allow me to take care of you,” Lucas said softly, without stopping his work.

This time, however, Goredia didn't look at him; she was lost in thought again.

Lucas was already used to it. He rolled up his sleeves, adjusted his position, and continued chatting with the principal: "I want to leave the academy and do some small business in the city. Maybe I've been thinking about this for a while, but if Ian hadn't said anything, I probably wouldn't have had the courage."

He paused for a moment: "Since Sean passed away, no one has talked about what to do in the future. Going to Ozler together has become an unspoken understanding, but I... I..."

Does this make him a deserter? Lucas's face showed dejection and struggle. These past few days, he had been thinking about his conversation with Ian all the time.

"Perhaps human desires are a bottomless pit. When I lived like a rat, I felt that being able to eat my fill and have a house to shelter me from the wind and rain was the life I dreamed of. But when I no longer had to worry about filling my stomach, I wanted to fight for some dignity for myself and my family... Isn't it ridiculous? Haimin actually wants dignity too."

“I understand what Ian means. Ozler is a protracted war. As a common soldier with no background, even if I fight to the death, I don’t know how many years it will take to get ahead. But I don’t want my sister to live at the mercy of others anymore. I should be someone she can rely on.”

“If I stayed in Greta, I think I could become a businessman too, no, a big boss!” His tone revealed his defiance. “There’s no reason why Fred could do it but I can’t. Besides—”

The blue-haired boy smiled genuinely: "I also have the strongest external aid, Lilith, whom I told you about. Do you still remember her?"

"Crack-!"

The mermaid, who was lying flat, suddenly emerged from the water, her tail sliding into the pool, splashing water all over the unsuspecting Lucas.

"Oh my, you actually remember her?" Lucas was startled by her.

But Greta still ignored Lucas. The ethereal peace on her face was gone. The mermaid slowly straightened up from the water. The small pool was very shallow. Lucas looked down and saw that all the scales on her tail stood up like sharp blades.

The principal... seemed to have entered a tense state of defense, like a wild beast discovering a natural enemy invading its territory.

"Got you."

The voice came softly from behind Lucas.