Really? I'm fighting the Dark Emperor.

Why are we bringing up Dongmeng again?

He patiently replied with a "Mm".

"Coincidentally, there was a student at Ximeng whose pulse was so weak that it was almost undetectable, yet he was still very lively."

"That student has a connection with Osgeda?" He said casually, but what he was really thinking about was what secrets North Mong might have that Alueta knew that he didn't.

"Senior is so smart!"

Pa slipped and landed: ...

"Elder Oss found it while on a mission, which reportedly delayed his mission."

It's hard to associate Osgeida with the word "delay" when Pálski lands.

Which kid is so hard to find that it could delay Osgeid's mission?

"Why does he keep picking up kids and raising them all the time..." He realized he had said the wrong thing.

"He's still as kind-hearted as ever." That's a bit of a lie, and it doesn't seem to have salvaged much of the situation.

"You mean, that student from Simeon has a way to cure the Drought Exhaustion Syndrome?" He awkwardly brushed aside his mistake, but fortunately, Alueta didn't seem to notice.

"Yes, but Elder Os does not agree to that student's involvement."

"Why?" This is great news for the entire Quark race. "Is there some danger?"

“Of course not.” Her tone remained calm and unhurried. “It’s related to that student’s experience. Her strength wasn’t inherently weak.”

"Man-made?"

"Yes."

"Who would do such a despicable thing?"

"In order to study solutions for the exhaustion caused by excessive driving."

Pa slipped and fell to the ground, momentarily unable to find her own voice.

I'm afraid no one would agree to that.

"You know the reason, how could you still come up with such an idea?" His disdain was palpable.

When Alueta looked over, he quickly suppressed his disdain.

"Yes, that's right, this is Bei Meng's secret. Please keep it a secret, Senior Pa." He stood up, stretched, and knew he'd have to go back to Bei Meng after a nap.

“Wait a minute,” he said, a little confused, but quickly pressed the person back into their seat, “one of them is a student of Dongmeng, and the other is from Ximeng. What is their connection to Beimeng?”

It shouldn't be hard to find out about this, so how did it become a secret of Beimeng?

"Oh, because although the student from Ximeng can jump around, he still has a lot of problems and needs to come to Beimeng for treatment frequently. The student from Dongmeng has to go to the infirmary after jumping around a bit, and also needs to come to Beimeng frequently to relieve his symptoms."

She stood up again and patted Pa's shoulder, which had slipped to the ground:

"Treating difficult and complicated diseases is Beimeng's specialty. Now that two students come to Beimeng often but have not been able to solve their problems, of course we can't let that get out."

"Hey--"

She seemed deeply ashamed of the incident.

She's not from Beimeng, so why is she feeling ashamed?

Pa slipped and landed before she could even speak.

"Director Pa, I shouldn't have told you so much. Please keep this matter confidential."

Ha, it must be kept secret?

Make a big deal out of a molehill.

He thought it was some kind of secret related to the Moe Academy...

After Alueta left, he was the only one left grading papers in the teachers' office.

"Wait, isn't that right?"

Their conversation seemed to jump around, mentioning two students with problems, but the whole thing never went around Osgeda.

First, he brought up what happened that day to make him feel guilty towards Osgeda, and then he aroused his sympathy.

After this ordeal, even if Osgeda just liked to keep a straight face, or even if someone scolded him to his face, he wouldn't care at all, and would even think about whether it was his own fault.

"What is she trying to achieve by going through all this trouble?"

Or is Osgeda planning something else?

"Is Elder Os planning something against me, or something against Moe Academy, or am I just overthinking it?"

What can Osgeida do to him or Moe Academy?

I don't understand.

He glanced at the pile of uncorrected exam papers: "You can't just use this as an excuse to make me correct these things, can you?"

"and many more!"

He was unsure what Alueta or Osgeda wanted to do.

But he is now certain of one thing—

He hasn't replied to Taug's message yet!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

(Some readers requested a slice-of-life version, so I've included a short draft about a small part of Chapter 40 that was omitted—a summary of the magic of fake gold coins.)

Throughout the entire lesson, Mi Yaxing remained quiet, listening attentively and taking notes diligently.

If he hadn't still been holding the Rubik's Cube, Rui Busi would have almost thought she was hallucinating from thinking too much about money.

While the old lady turned around to continue writing on the blackboard, I quickly poked her twice with the carrot-shaped pen.

no response.

Tap it twice more.

no response.

Find the next opportunity, and poke twice more when you're sure.

Finally, Miya Xing turned his head to look at her, made a shushing gesture, and slowly wrote something on a small piece of paper.

Rui Bu Si felt deeply that the quill pen wasn't writing on a piece of paper, but on her heart.

Oh dear, it's just a gold coin, she wouldn't be greedy for anything, she just borrowed it to touch it a couple of times—

Can you please write faster, Mystery Star?!

With her patience dwindling, Rui Bu Si, having pinpointed the Rubik's Cube's location and predicted the old woman's movements, was about to make her move when a small note was tossed onto her table from Mi Ya Xing's position.

Wait until get out of class is over.

I looked at it over and over again several times to make sure there was nothing else besides those few words.

It takes this long to write just three words plus a punctuation mark?

Suspicious glances turned in that direction, but the Rubik's Cube had already been put away by Miya Xing, not to mention the shadow of the gold coins.