053 Mia’s Side Job
“Dekan?”
Mia asked, her demeanor resembling someone bracing for a great peril.
Though she didn’t rashly jump into action, her nerves were clearly taut, as if she had already prepared herself for a life-or-death battle with Dekan in the next second. This was her final probe.
“Hmm!”
As though he had heard her words, Dekan bent his head and covered his eyes at that moment. Soon after, his pupils reverted to a deep blue, and his appearance transformed back to that of a regular human form.
“……”
He then raised his head and swept his gaze around the surroundings. Finally, his gaze settled on Mia and Alice, who had fainted on the sofa. His expression gradually shifted from confusion to relief, with a thread of anger also appearing.
He had a rough understanding of what had happened. Earlier, he had fallen asleep, and subsequently, his Master had awakened.
“You sneakily used my body again while I was sleeping!”
Dekan shouted in his mind, clearly upset.
“……Tsk.”
The Master had a disadvantage this time. Without much response, she slipped back into slumber.
Dekan looked at Mia with a face full of helplessness. It seemed he had no choice but to accept the mess that the Master had left behind.
“Thank goodness you didn’t attack immediately.”
Dekan raised both hands, expressing a hint of relief. If Mia had attacked earlier, the Master would undoubtedly have retaliated to protect Dekan’s body. It would surely have ended up with mutual destruction.
“… Dekan, would you mind explaining?”
Mia still hadn’t relaxed her guard. She wasn’t sure whether Dekan had truly returned to normal or was merely pretending.
“I’ve recovered, and I’m human, so please don’t worry. Even if I were a demon, there’d be no need to expose myself so foolishly.”
“Then, what about your earlier appearance and that terrifying aura?”
“That was a side effect of my ace card. Powerful cards often come with risks, sometimes I can’t help but demonize uncontrollably.”
Dekan didn’t plan to disclose the matter about his Master and neither did he plan to lie.
Mia thought for a moment and continued asking:
“… Are there any potions in the Academy that allow humans to disguise as demons? Could there be technology in the world that enables demons to continuously disguise as humans?”
She was still guarding Alice like a mother bird protecting her chicks. She herself might not fear Dekan but, to protect Alice, she had to be cautious.
Dekan sighed, took out a card and threw it to Mia.
Mia silently caught the card flying over from Dekan’s hand and pondered as she inspected it.
It was the “Purification of Blood.”
An epic card capable of purifying the blood of other races.
“Use it on me, it’ll clearly prove my race. If I’m human like you, nothing will happen; if I’m truly a demon, my blood will vaporize.”
“…”
Mia was silent for a moment and then sheathed her dagger. She approached Dekan and returned the “Purification of Blood” to him.
“Hey, why not verify? Isn’t that necessary?”
Dekan asked with a laugh.
“Honestly, there’s nothing to verify. You’re already dangerous enough compared to a demon; race is trivial.”
Mia said.
“Whoa, whoa, I’m truly grateful you trust me so much. It’s worth believing in you too.”
Mia: “So we have a lot to talk about.”
Both knew the other had their secrets, and neither would delve too deep. It was a tacit understanding between them.
“But what do we do now?”
Seeing Alice unconscious on the sofa, Dekan suddenly felt a bit uneasy again. He couldn’t help but rub his temples. The real trouble had yet to be resolved. The Master had certainly stirred up some significant issues this time. He would definitely need her to compensate him well in the future.
Mia sighed deeply.
“Alice has truly been scared unconscious this time. Frankly speaking, from her perspective, it was indeed terrifying…”
It felt like being trapped in the gap between a nightmare and reality. Her reality had turned into an inescapable nightmare. The more she convinced herself that she was free from the dream and felt at ease, the more unexpectedly she encountered surreal horror.
“… Is there any way to make her forget?”
Dekan hesitantly asked. As a psychiatrist, this was his first instinct.
Mia: “Clearly, we can’t do it. Moreover, altering the memory and soul of royalty, if discovered, would mean death for both of us.”
Dekan: “…”
Mia: “Don’t worry, I have a plan. Let’s move her to the bedroom first, we can’t let her keep lying on the sofa like this.”
Dekan nodded. Mia was indeed reliable.
So Mia supported Alice under her armpits while Dekan held her feet, together they lifted her into Mia’s bedroom.
Subsequently, Mia carefully covered Alice with a blanket and looked pityingly at the sleeping Alice.
Dekan: “This time I really feel a bit guilty towards her…”
Mia: “Why don’t you feel guilty towards me? You scared me too!”
Dekan: “You didn’t look scared at all before. I felt my neck go cold, as if my head would fall off at any moment.”
Mia: “Impossible, I’m just a frail woman.”
Dekan: “A frail woman with A-grade strength and speed, right?”
Mia: “What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing.”
Dekan was certain that compared to himself, who studied card-making in the Knight Academy, Mia was the opposite—she was a poisonous assassin who studied at the Alchemy Institute. Everyone was a dream-chaser in their own way.
Mia touched Alice’s forehead and said:
“I will use a potion to make Alice sleep a little longer, then hypnotize her, making her believe what just happened was also a dream.”
“Are you… running any side jobs?”
Dekan asked suspiciously.
Mia: “Please, if we inform the security officers of the Capital, your problems would be far more serious than mine. You know that, right?”
Dekan: “…”
Soon, Mia returned from the lab with a toolbox, took out a needle from it, and administered it to Alice. She then started a series of hypnosis methods. They were rather proficient.
“Alice won’t wake up for a while, but I’m afraid you won’t be able to visit my lab during this time. If you were to meet Alice again, she might begin questioning the authenticity between dreams and reality.”
Mia closed the box.
“… It’s reasonable.”
Dekan’s expression couldn’t hide his disappointment. The exchange of toxins had just begun, and it needed to be put on pause. He could only continue next Monday in the school’s lab.
“How is your storage room utilized?”
Mia suddenly asked.
“Converted into a card-making workshop.”
Dekan answered.
Mia: “Let’s move some tools to your place. We’ll research these next two days how to load the exchange toxins onto Poisonous Ground Spike.”
Dekan: “Perfect.”
Mia: “I’ll come find you after comforting Alice.”
Dekan: “Rain or shine, I’ll be waiting for you at 404.”
