212 Dekan Becomes an Otaku
Half a month later.
The morning in the capital city of the Norton Kingdom.
The door of the Happy Group mansion was pushed open by a triumphant group.
They all appeared a little weary.
After a long journey, all they wanted to do now upon returning was to rest.
Because they had already done everything worth experiencing on their way from the Norton Kingdom to the Randir Kingdom.
Even when they chose another route on their return journey, they didn’t find it as exciting.
After all, they spent two weeks in the capital city of Randir.
An intense one-and-a-half-month-long trip would naturally lead to some fatigue, regardless of the circumstances.
Such is the nature of travel.
After an excessively intense trip, one only wishes to return home to enjoy a period of tranquility and leisure, to reset their mindset.
Everyone except Dekan and Tarta collapsed onto the sofa as soon as they entered the mansion.
It wasn’t because they were tired.
They just wanted to relax on the familiar sofa for a bit, to feel the sensation of being home.
Dekan wanted to relax on the sofa too.
But he knew that, if he were to sit down, it would be hard to leave it anytime soon.
He needed to give Tarta a tour of her new home before he could rest.
“Mia, how about you consider permanently joining our team? You see our pharmaceutical enterprise is right here.”
Currently, the Benevolent Axis Pharmacy launched by Dekan and Mia has become a subsidiary of the Happy Group.
There is also a dedicated potion laboratory established within the company.
“Ah, no thanks, I can’t handle the challenges of the Shadow World.”
Mia leaned back on the sofa, tilting her head back and closing her eyes as she spoke.
“Ah, I was counting on you to boost us…”
Dekan sighed helplessly.
“Too much respect, too much respect.”
Mia shook her head, lazily saying,
“But, I could consider being your supporting staff occasionally.”
Mia slightly opened one eye, a smile curving her lips.
Upon hearing Mia’s words, Dekan happily slapped his palms together.
“Great! I think we could kick Morion out.”
Chloix: “I agree.”
Cornelia: “Uh… How about we directly liquidate him next time?”
Teacher Cat: “I suspect Morion will turn around and run the moment he sees you…”
It began to worry about its good friend Morion.
“Ah, Mia! After we’re back at school, can we still play together?”
Cornelia asked Mia, who was seated beside her.
After all, they both had their respective social circles at school.
Cornelia remembered that Mia was always with Princess Alice.
She was concerned that approaching Mia at school might feel awkward.
“Of course, I enjoy spending time with you.”
Mia turned her head with a smile, looking at Cornelia and saying.
After over a month together, they had formed a deep friendship.
“I’ll take Tarta on a tour of the mansion first; you don’t have to wait for me if you want to go back to school.”
Dekan said to the group on the sofa.
Cornelia: “I… I will wait for you!”
Mia: “I’m not in a rush to go back either, Chloix, what about you?”
Chloix: “I… I’d actually like to stay here.”
Teacher Cat: “Chloix, are you troubled about something? By the way, what’s in your pocket?”
Chloix: “Nothing!”
Teacher Cat: “Meow! I’ve guessed! It’s a gift! You want to give it to your childhood friend Claire! She’ll surely come here when she hears you’ve returned to the capital!”
Chloix: “Teacher Cat, stop talking nonsense!”
…
Dekan shook his head at them.
Tarta seemed to have grown accustomed to this atmosphere long ago.
“Tarta, from now on, you’ll be living here.”
After Dekan and the group returned to the capital city of the Norton Kingdom, the first thing they did was bring Tarta to the headquarters of the Happy Group mansion.
Though they could also take Tarta around the capital and to Hewenlit Academy, it wasn’t the right time now because too much attention wouldn’t be good for Tarta.
This time, Dekan created too much of a stir.
When he first returned to the capital early in the morning, he felt a little surprised.
But Dekan didn’t mind.
What he liked most about the Norton Kingdom was that:
People don’t hide their disdain for him.
Their kindness towards him is also quite clear.
Belief and disbelief are evident.
Some people willingly trust him, and he has a few close friends, which is enough.
“Alright.”
Tarta observed the interior of the mansion.
It looked nothing like the sinister workshop she initially imagined when Dekan first “convinced” her to come.
It wasn’t even inferior to the residence the king of Randir Kingdom had once bestowed upon them.
Long ago, she had completely stopped doubting Dekan. She was fully certain that Dekan would offer her ample treatment.
After being with Dekan and the group for some time, Tarta also felt that being with them was truly joyful.
Every day felt like a dream.
Next, Dekan took Tarta on a tour of various areas within the Happy Group premises.
“This workshop originally belonged to me, but from now on, it’s yours.”
Dekan led Tarta into an expansive room.
Inside lay all the highest-grade card-making equipment sent by the Card Maker’s Association.
“Really? Is it okay?”
Tarta’s eyes couldn’t tear away from the tools.
She had always been limited to using the cheapest card-making tools and had never seen such excellent quality before.
“Yes, I have another set at my house, so this one is yours. However, I’ll sometimes use it too, and when that happens, it will be like a class, so study well.”
“Got it!”
Tarta seemed eager to use this room.
However, she had to continue the tour with Dekan.
She obediently followed Dekan.
They soon reached the top floor.
“Regarding the bedroom…you can stay in this one.”
Dekan pointed to a door near the end of the corridor.
There were empty rooms beside the bedrooms of Princess Ice Snow and Flora.
Originally, there were five bedrooms in the mansion. Judith and Flora occupied room numbers 1 and 2, while the socially anxious Ice Snow Princess surprisingly chose room number 5.
So now, only rooms 3 and 4 are vacant.
Dekan thought for a moment, and decided to let Tarta stay in room number 4, next to the Ice Snow Princess.
Dekan didn’t want Tarta to get too influenced by Flora’s energetic but slightly clueless personality.
Seemingly sensitive to the commotion, the Ice Snow Princess slightly opened her door from nearby.
“!!!”
She heard Dekan’s voice, thinking it might have been Dekan.
But when she saw Tarta, she instantly froze.
“Eh, Artemis, you’re here.”
“Um-hm.”
Ice Snow Princess avoided eye contact, appearing somewhat at a loss.
However, she quickly calmed down.
After a quick analysis, she concluded—
This must be Dekan’s long-lost sister.
Though.
The presence of two gray-haired blue-eyed figures, one big and one small, seemed to make Ice Snow Princess even more nervous.
When she became flustered, she exhibited an extremely aloof demeanor, a natural protective instinct.
Seeing the Ice Snow Princess’s expressionless reaction, Tarta started to worry that her future neighbor might not be easy to get along with.
“Tarta, don’t worry, she’s just nervous, not that she dislikes you.”
“Um.”
Tarta looked at the Ice Snow Princess with a slight hesitation, quickly averting her eyes.
“When I’m not around, if you have any card-making issues, you can ask Miss Artemis. Although her style is a bit different from ours, many basic principles are the same. Asking her will be right.”
“Okay.”
Tarta nodded seriously, once again drumming up the courage to look at the Ice Snow Princess.
Though she didn’t know the skill level of the silver-haired white-eyed girl before her.
Since Dekan said so, she must be quite skilled.
“By the way, where are Judith and Flora?”
Dekan asked Ice Snow Princess.
Ice Snow Princess first looked a bit shocked and then quickly recovered, answering:
“Judith has probably gone to pray this morning, Flora should still be asleep.”
“Will she always sleep through training time?”
Dekan decided to check his employees’ punctuality.
Judith and Ice Snow Princess seemed to be top-notch employees not worth worrying about.
But with Flora, he couldn’t be sure.
Since encountering Krey, Dekan had clearly realized an issue:
One must pay special attention to overly free employees.
Otherwise, one day, there might be a situation serious enough to cause a cerebral hemorrhage.
He didn’t want to be as mentally tormented by Krey as the Illusory Bishop had been.
“…Flora’s best talent is that even if she sleeps at 7:55, she can still show up at the dance studio promptly at 8.”
Ice Snow Princess’s tone was a bit helpless.
“What a talented person… I don’t know whether to praise her or warn her.”
Dekan couldn’t help but be grateful that he wasn’t Flora’s homeroom teacher.
Suddenly, it seemed that their conversation awakened Flora.
“Who… is it… so early in the morning…”
Flora pushed the door open, sleepily glancing at the three people conversing in the corridor, lacking the bearing of a countess’ daughter.
Dekan could already picture Flora lying in bed with poor sleeping posture, drooling with her mouth open.
“Oh… Deking has returned already, huh. After a few days, he gets a daughter already… Wait?!!!”
Flora’s eyes widened in shock.
“Her! Why isn’t her hair red? No, how long have you been out of town?”
Flora quickly began to blurt out nonsense.
“She’s my long-lost sister, Tarta.”
Dekan was quite exasperated.
However, to avoid unnecessary trouble, he claimed Tarta as his sister when introducing her externally.
“Oh! That’s what I thought, it takes ten months for a pregnancy, haha!”
Flora scratched the back of her head and chuckled awkwardly.
“Take some time occasionally to read more books, Flora. If you had one-tenth of Moreon’s knowledge, you wouldn’t have been so exhausted right before the semester finals.”
Dekan recalled teaching Flora to read last semester near the finals, and his scalp started to tingle.
“I don’t want to be as smart as my brother anyway; he eventually ended up as a wanted criminal…”
Flora muttered.
“Pfft.”
Dekan laughed.
It was the first time he chuckled at what Flora said.
“This sentence, if Moreon hears it, his expression must be spectacular. No, you should say it again soon, let me record it.”
“You’re really fixated on my brother… By the way, I always feel like if either of you were a girl, things might have been locked down already…”
Flora couldn’t help but throw some shade.
“Ho ho, what a ridiculous thing.”
Dekan chuckled, shaking his head.
“Moreon…”
Tarta asked curiously.
She occasionally heard the big brothers and sisters in the team mention this person.
But even after coming back to the Norton Kingdom, she hadn’t seen him yet.
“Ah, I forgot to tell you, Moreon is this big sister Flora’s brother. If you meet Moreon one day, don’t believe a single word he says.”
Dekan bent down, resting his hands on his knees, seriously looking at Tarta as he said.
“Okay, I’ll remember.”
Tarta answered attentively.
Dekan nodded in satisfaction.
Having a smart sister was indeed a relief.
Even the younger sister is smarter than Moreon, Dekan feels exceptionally good.
“Let’s give you a day off today and have more fun with Tarta.”
“Yay!”
Flora immediately perked up, raising both arms and exclaiming.
But before they could continue the conversation,
They heard an exclamation from downstairs.
It seemed to be Cornelia and Mia’s voice.
But it wasn’t a sound of fright, just a common exclamation.
“What’s going on?”
“Let’s go check.”
Dekan, with three parts concern and seven parts curiosity to join the commotion, rushed downstairs.
Before reaching the bottom of the stairs,
The four of them were still just in the stairwell when they saw the situation in the first-floor living room.
Cornelia and Mia were both seated on the sofa, covering their mouths with their hands, their eyes wide with surprise, both staring towards the door.
And not far from the door,
Judith stood there, dazed.
It seemed she had just returned home.
Chloix stood in front of Judith, presenting her with a small gift box.
Inside the small gift box, a broken silver pocket watch lay.
Judith’s hand rested on her chest as if just snapping out of her trance.
She stared intently at the watch, somewhat disbelievingly lifting her eyes to look at Chloix, asking:
“Is, is this?”
“This is Fahim’s watch. It was retrieved from him as a trophy after Dekan and I defeated Fahim.”
Chloix answered calmly yet firmly.
After spending more time with Dekan, the biggest change in Chloix was that he was less depressed.
“!!!”
Judith took the gift box, slightly dazed.
She seemed to find it hard to believe, questioning:
“Are, are you giving this to me?”
Fahim was the mortal enemy of the Sun God Religion and also the sworn enemy of Knight Commander Judith.
If there was one biggest regret about Judith’s rise to idol status, it must have surely been missing the chance to punish Fahim.
When she heard recently that Dekan and Chloix had killed Fahim, she initially doubted whether it was even real.
She was so excited and touched by the news.
She was even thinking about giving them a thorough thank-you once they returned.
She didn’t expect that upon coming back, Chloix would walk right up to her and present this gift.
Could this have other meanings?
“Yeah, it’s for you.”
Chloix clearly affirmed.
Looking straight into Chloix’s certain gaze,
In an instant, Judith felt her heart beat uncontrollably.
In her eyes, this young man, younger than her by more than a decade, seemed not just handsome, but exceptionally so.
“Oh…m…”
Seeing this scene from the sofa, Cornelia, Mia, and Teacher Cat couldn’t help but exclaim once again.
They never thought Chloix would be so courageous!!
Even Dekan paused on the stairs, watching the scene downstairs.
At that time, Dekan had defeated Fahim, and before the shadow realm was undone, he searched Fahim and took away Krey’s purple card, money, and the Bishop’s Certificate.
The astrologers’ divination only recognized people, not certification, so it didn’t matter Dekan held two certificates.
As for Fahim’s purple card and the Bishop’s Certificate, they were unnecessary for Dekan.
Fahim’s purple cards, excluding the orange cards, weren’t particularly useful for Dekan.
These cards, after he took them, still needed to be reported, adding unnecessary trouble.
If he directly surrendered them with Fahim’s body, the Kingdom Union would include these cards in the bounty, awarding him a bonus much higher than market value. It was just a blood profit.
As for the Bishop’s Certificate, it had turned gray and lost its effectiveness.
Dekan remembered finding a pocket watch while searching Fahim’s body.
Dekan initially intended to ignore it.
But Chloix asked Dekan if there was any souvenir with sentimental value on Fahim.
So, Dekan handed the pocket watch over to Chloix.
Dekan hadn’t expected Chloix to be so bold!!
Giving this pocket watch which symbolized the downfall of the “corrupt bishop” to Judith would instantly skyrocket her affection!
The idol dating game seemed to make sense to Chloix!
However, Dekan’s expression soon turned cheerful.
Dekan noticed from the stairway that the mansion’s door was slightly pushed open!
Through the gap, Dekan could see that Chloix’s childhood friend Claire was standing near the door, looking almost disbelievingly at Chloix and Judith.
Claire bit her lips tightly, her eyes seemingly gradually reddening.
She sniffed, then wiped her eyes, and without staying long, turned and ran away.
“Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!”
Dekan couldn’t help but cover his mouth.
“Meow!!”
Teacher Cat had noticed Dekan’s reaction just now and followed his gaze to see Claire outside the door.
It jumped off the sofa and rushed to leap into Dekan’s arms, asking:
“Meow! Why are you laughing, Dekan! Isn’t Claire looking so pitiful?!”
“What’s there to pity? It’s all about timing!”
Dekan almost wanted to grab a pen and sketchbook to draw this world-renowned painting from just now.
“Could you be more into the pairing of Chloix and Claire or are you leaning towards Chloix and Judith?”
Teacher Cat thought for a while and asked.
“No.”
“Then why are you laughing?!”
“I merely find it amusing. Which one will win: the confident childhood friend or the sensuous older sister type? Watching others fall in love is so interesting.”
“You, you dirty bastard apparently likes this kind of love story! I, Dami, am against you forever, Meow!”
