Meeting The Headmaster At Last

Step, step, step- step, step. Walking out of the car and with Milyy behind Heian Ciemnosc, the latter locked eyes with a blondie wearing a brown, star-twinkling tunic-ish type of dress. She looked at Heian Ciemnosc, who had grown taller enough to be slightly taller than her. She had to lift her eyes a little bit as he came to stand before her. As they stood facing each other, the crowd seemed to have grown silent as Heian Ciemnosc's peerless teeth showed before her eyes, "Did you miss me a lot these months?"

She had also grown, but Heian Ciemnosc’s growth was more advanced, leaving her so helpless that she narrowed her eyes before he spoke. When she heard his words, she almost rolled her eyes. With her typical headstrong behavior, she punched Heian Ciemnosc, leaving her left-handed knuckles on his right chest while saying, “Bah! I was too busy killing and occupying places I couldn’t even remember someone owed me a good husband if I wanted to.”

“Really?” Heian Ciemnosc’s eyebrows rose, and their competitive spirit came to light. He took half a step closer, her left arm folding further and their bodies closer. He calmly asked, “How many people were under your command?”

“Me? Oh, 30,000, I was just a sub-commander, why?” Elena innocently responded, not expecting to see Heian Ciemnosc suddenly become speechless. Inside his head, he thought, ‘Sigh, that Lionel really did something to me, huh?’

“Err, nothing. Is it inside?” Heian Ciemnosc changed the subject and asked, looking past Elena. She kept looking into his darkest eyes and swiftly nodded, “Mn. Let’s go in, then.”

“Ah, right! Let’s gooo~,” right then, a little kitty got in between them just as Elena turned around and was about to guide him inside the Central Building. Milyy was insanely cute as she then shoved Heian Ciemnosc before her and to the left, taking his right arm into her torso. Elena only hooked her right arm with his left one. But Heian Ciemnosc became imprisoned by a young beauty and a magnificent warrioress.

“Eh, girls?” Heian Ciemnosc was left somewhat startled. He didn’t mind their closeness to him. Nobody, even a straight girl, would dislike such adoration. But why now, of all times and events? However, Elena looked at him and responded in kind after Milyy retorted first, “What?! Are you not content with having 2 beauties beside you and showing off to everyone? Would you rather us go on our own and leave you alone? Fine! But we won’t do it. Shut it and keep quiet, hmph!” - “That’s right. Do you not want us?”

Milyy’s dumb but cute face as she spoke angrily but wore a playful expression was unmistakable to Heian Ciemnosc. But Elena’s words and solemn nod left him speechless yet again. Heian Ciemnosc smiled wryly, pushing their bodies so that their heads leaned before his chest before lowering his head and muttering into their respective ears. “It’s not bad, nor something I would refute. But I haven’t even shown the world who my wife is. It is a bit disrespectful.”

His voice became hoarse, which made the girls’ legs wobble for a single instant. Afterwards, they became more decent and let go of their playfulness, if Elena could be said to have shown any, but still hooked and hugged his arms intimately. As they received eyes, the other commanders and the rest remained behind, including Cari, who was still a second-in-command without a commander seemingly in his group.

Cari had given Heian Ciemnosc a nod and a little smile before departing his eyes decently. On the other hand, Heian Ciemnosc only knew his Concealed Ornament Team would be inside. He just didn’t know the exact place. As he noticed only he and his girls went inside the building, thousands and thousands of pairs of eyes looking at them with admiration and/or praise, Heian Ciemnosc asked Elena as the kitty looked around nonstop.

“Is it okay to enter before everyone else?”

Behind him were the leaders of the First and Second Step’s Academy armies. Inside the building were many teachers and Supervisors. He even saw a couple Vice deans and a Dean. He asked Elena. He didn’t know if they should enter it, just like this from the get-go. Especially if they were to face more flashes and streakers, it would be better to have others shouldering such harassment. They were so annoying.

“Of course,” Elena replied without hesitation. Right after, she seemed to think of something and looked up at him. Her left hand rose to slightly caress his cheek. An action that softened and hazed Heian Ciemnosc’s eyes. “If you don’t enter it, then who will dare to? This is your party, celebration, and gala. Even if it is supposed to be for the Academy, a few guests are here to see you: the Academy’s new Genius. There’s also a very influential guest here who wants to see you personally. But the Headmaster has been lucid to tell everyone you will only be allowed to contact others in this press conference for as long as it lasts.”

“...” Heian Ciemnosc’s eyebrows rose as he heard Elena speak. Milyy turned silent and looked at his right profile face, letting her face fall on his strong arm, somewhat intentionally. Heian Ciemnosc, on the other hand, felt apprehensive about this event and became pensive. Elena continued guiding them through the crowd of teachers and higher-ups of the Academy. When they were just a minute before entering the Central Building’s main hall, Heian Ciemnosc found a couple of impressive fellows…

“Nephew~!!” Sharina’s voice rang out as Elena’s steps halted and looked in the voice’s direction before walking over there. Heian Ciemnosc’s eyes shone, and his eyebrows jolted before heading there. Milyy seemed to have noticed something. Quickly turning her face to see the immensely beautiful, tall female Demon, she became damn serious and walked with Heian Ciemnosc but no longer latched to him, simply grabbing his right hand with her left hand.

Sharina dragged Teacher Puru behind her and hurried to shove Heian Ciemnosc in the middle of her open cleavage. Heian Ciemnosc’s cheek against her torso, she hugged his head with tremendous effort, letting him feel her worries about not seeing nor knowing about his well-being all this long. She let go of his body after hearing a muffled growl from her left and smiled at him, her face looking down as she teased Heian Ciemnosc.

“Already so fast, huh? So, we don’t see you for more than half a year, but you’ve already gotten new girlfriends? What about me~?” Sharina made Heian Ciemnosc lower his head, embarrassed. She patted his head and then brought her fiance to the frontlines. “You see, I had your Uncle delay our wedding until we knew you could attend it. So, just say a date, and we’ll get married for you.”

“Puchi…” - “Hee~,” Elena almost laughed out loud while the kitty had a wide teasing grin on her lips looking at this agreeable female Demon. Without waiting any other second, Milyy took out something from her Covert Space bag and stepped in front of Sharina with a dutiful expression, effectively saving Heian Ciemnosc from oblivion. Heian Ciemnosc gave her reaction and acting skills a ‘perfect’ out of perfect.

“Auntie, here, I have this for you. I often thought what you would like in our first meeting with Heian Ciemnosc. He likes to speak a lot about you. Sister Elena helped me pick this one up for you. I hope you like it,” Milyy said, presenting Sharina with a small box that wasn’t a box. Sharina was pleasantly surprised and was ready to give this unknown, magnificent young beauty a polite ‘thank you’ but became absolutely stunned when the ‘box’ was placed on her palms.

“A Relic?!”

“!” Heian Ciemnosc was surprised as well. He looked to the right only to see a bashful Milyy with her hands behind her back, swaying her shoulders left and right and back and forth. With the small knowledge Heian Ciemnosc held about Second Step Cratfsmaking, he could tell it was a defensive relic. A Relic like this could have the best incredible qualities for self-preservation. Heian Ciemnosc’s eyes gleamed as he looked at this little, considerate kitty. He didn’t need to ask Elena to know Milyy was doing this to increase the favorability points for herself and Elena.

“My, you’re the sweetest girlfriends of my nephew up to now, hehe.” Without hiding any of her expectations, Sharina pinched Milyy and Elena’s cheeks before letting go. They were thankful. Otherwise, how could they hide their blush after those words? Furthermore, they didn’t even attempt to hide it. Heian Ciemnosc smiled tenderly for a fraction of an instant before relaxing his expression. “Auntie, How about next year? I need to breakthrough to the Spirit Formation realm before the end of the year, or that’ll become a girlfriend.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

‘Bwaaaah! Can you all stop calling me that? I’m a woman too, boohoo…’ Although silent, Milyy pulled her imaginary hair inside her head as she roared to the heavens or ceiling.

Heian Ciemnosc and Sharina ignored her and chatted a little more before parting ways. Milyy and Elena did most of the talking while the Uncle and Nephew were nodding and making small inquiries about one’s study, rehealing, and cultivation. While the other asked about his relationship with Sharina, when will babies pop-out, and all of that.

… After bidding farewell to his Auntie and being promised a few surprises to help him cultivate after being told Heian Ciemnosc had some sort of dual cultivation method for both parties’ benefit, Heian Ciemnosc entered the main hall with a breathtaking girl to his sides.

Flash, flash, flash. Barely entering the main hall, he was greeted by dozens of sparkles that suddenly stopped after a couple rounds. His darkest eyes weren’t obstructed, and he could see everyone in the main hall surrounding him with cameras and devices that immediately moved out of the way after taking a second photo. These ‘flashes’ weren’t for better lighting but to capture the person or an object’s 3D outlined figure. It was too simple to write some pages about a 2D picture nowadays…

It couldn’t capture one’s bare body beneath the clothing. Only Spirit Sense would be able to do that, or an array formation and those were felt even by citizens, let alone cultivators. Besides, who would dare take such photos in a mighty place where the upper echelons of this organization were currently gathered? Even if there was to be a kamikaze-ish photo taken like that, it wouldn’t make it outside the main hall with the restrictive array formations.

Elena hugged his left arm with both forearms, her chest a bit heavy as she looked around. Milyy was slightly startled, but with Heian Ciemnosc’s right hand tightening his grasp on hers, she turned to face him and cutely smiled. Heian Ciemnosc took steps forward after the camerapeople made way, and he and his girls were greeted by a young man with fashionable but strange obscure gray clothes. They weren’t the Academy’s, and he wore a different emblem.

‘Heraxles Clan…’ Heian Ciemnosc’s eyes narrowed as he looked at this young man, who placed his hands behind his back and bowed to Heian Ciemnosc before speaking. “The Headmaster will join you at the table. Please step up as soon as possible so that the dining conference may start.”

With that, the young man stepped back several times and gestured for his group to walk ahead. Not daring to use his Spirit Sense in the main hall, Heian Ciemnosc only noticed his team members after he walked up the stage and looked at a table large enough to hold 1,000 people sitting on it. He looked at the farthest, other extreme of the table and saw his 8 COs, counting Gloria as CO 9, already chatting and alone around the table.

“...” - “...” They noticed him the moment he stepped up and waved their hands to hurry him over there. Heian Ciemnosc nodded at them from afar before walking with his hands holding soft and slender hands. Although Elena was a cultivator, her harsh and always challenging training had her hands slightly tougher than Milyy. Even then, he was more careful in thinking about the latter’s hands than Elena’s.

Claaank~ pu- thump! … … …Step, step, step, step, step, step.

Just as Heian Ciemnosc was moving towards his team members, a door on the same level as the stage opened to his left, several hundred meters behind the table, and a dozen figures came out before heading to the table. The Concealed Ornament Team’s COs quieted down and sat on their seats without making any more movements. While Heian Ciemnosc walked over as well and joined them without sitting down.

Just then, he and the new dozen coming out that door passed by together. Heian Ciemnosc saw some Wrath Nihility Academy emblems and… a few more Heraxles Clan emblems. With a slight frown on his brows, Heian Ciemnosc received glares of scrutiny, appreciation, encouragement, and praise. But when he was about to walk over to the other side where his team gathered, he felt 4 talons land on his right shoulder without harming him, but of incredible power.

“Huh?” Heian Ciemnosc looked back and instinctively backed away with a slight jolt of his upper body, but he then became stunned. “!!”

‘Short, dark gray hair… brown-yellow eyes glowing an azure glint… this… is that owl!!’ Heian Ciemnosc’s mind raced when he suddenly heard the man with his owl-ish right hand separate from his body speak. “Hohoho. So, you do remember me, after all? I’m glad, hohoh. Right! Before I forget, let me present you with a few of my colleagues. They were all beaten by me to become the Headmaster millions of years ago, so be careful of making friends with them. Or I’ll target you, hooh?”

The headmaster grinned and looked down. His face was creamy-brown, and he looked amicable or like the typical villain who would even sacrifice himself to save a random like you before the final scenes of a movie. He had a few wrinkles, but that didn’t seem noteworthy to him as his sharp eyes looked at Heian Ciemnosc like looking at a clever puppy learning commands. “Or… maybe they’ll target you instead, hooh hooh. It can really be fun to be young sometimes.”

“Hooh! Before that, are these your colleagues? Mn, mn. How nice. One might be the future Headmasteress, and the other a bigger monster than we know of in the world.” The Headmaster saw Heian Ciemnosc wide-mouthed but seemingly didn’t take notice and even closed in on Heian Ciemnosc to ‘whisper’ something in his left ear while covering the soundwaves from spreading with the back of his hand.

“Let me tell you. When I met this small little cat. I wasn’t as scared of Lil’ Milyy’s potential as when I met you, so don’t worry. You can deal with her in the future. Eh, eh?” The Headmaster blinked and clicked his mouth, leaving Heian Ciemnosc so speechless it began to work the other way, and he sobered up. With a vacant tone, he said as he looked at the 3-meter-tall humanoid owl looking down at him so calmly. “Are you… the Headmaster?”

“But of course!” The Headmaster seemed surprised and somewhat insulted. He added with a slightly loud tone, “Didn’t you spend months in that small library? Did you just ignore everything about your honorable and reputable Headmaster?!”

‘Well… I only read about how fearsome the Academy’s Headmaster was unforgiven and would even slaughter all upper echelons of other Second Step organizations on his own, not about his image. Other than the fact that the Headmaster was a Beast.’ Heian Ciemnosc thought in an instant as he gazed at the Headmaster. Shaking his head, he remembered his Master talking about the Academy’s Headmaster with praise but not feeling any appreciation. Thus, he clasped his hands and bowed, respectfully greeting this Beast Owl.

“My name’s Heian Ciemnosc. I just did my best in the war. Greetings to the Headmaster.” His voice was calm and slightly low, not attracting everyone’s attention even though they could perfectly hear his words, even if they were hundreds of kilometers away.

“...” The Headmaster was unusually silent as he looked down at Heian Ciemnosc’s bow and respectful attitude. The atmosphere turned stern, somewhat solemn, and heavy, but it was the kind of silence Heian Ciemnosc liked. It felt as if 2 introverts of a higher level were meeting each other, and besides their status, they were becoming known to each other like this. The Headmaster’s voice sounded after a slightly longer pause.

“It is indeed as they say. You are no small kid nor a clueless teenager. But definitely not an adult, as well. You have room to grow, Heian Ciemnosc.At last, I can feel safe that you’re part of my Academy. You can reach everywhere but nowhere farther than you are allowed to. An Assistant Teacher’s status will be the last you can step into this organization. I prohibit you from becoming shackled any further. It’s also not like I can do it if I wanted to, sigh.”

“Your war crimes may be forgotten because of your achievements in the overall war effort from beginning to the end. But the sole reason the Academy isn’t pursuing these matters, is because of your Master. She convinced us you were ‘just’ studying when not in war and didn’t harm any civilians. You can only be let go. Let that go by, and don’t speak about it more, alright? We don’t care what our students or higher-ups do in their daily lives as long as they are not in the wrong… or caught.”

“...!” The last word, spoken through a whisper, left Heian Ciemnosc speechless as he understood the Headmaster’s meaning. The latter no longer looked like a jokster and was unfiltered. Heian Ciemnosc felt apprehension and respect for this Headmaster who knew how to talk, when, and to whom to speak with. “I understand, Headmaster.”

The Headmaster shook his head and waved his hand to interrupt any other words Heian Ciemnosc wanted to add. He glanced towards the Heraxles Clan’s smallish group, looking back at them, before saying to Heian Ciemnosc as he faced the pale teenager again. “There’s still a showdown left for the evening. Now come. Let me introduce you to some of the Academy’s Deans and notorious Supervisors and Teachers. Your adoptive family will be seated on your side later on. Don’t worry about them.”

“Mn,” Heian Ciemnosc nodded as the Headmaster placed his long, right arm over his right shoulder and forced him to skip steps in order to keep up with the Beast Owl’s 3-meter-tall humanoid figure. On the other hand, Elena brought her Younger Sister, Milyy, to Sakura and sat to her left. When she met face to face with this slightly blushing blondie, their blonde heads connected and exchanged secrets with their minds.

…