I dug up the magical girl's corpse.

Chapter 48 That Child

"nailed it?"

When he greeted him, Chen Mu still had that gentle smile, as if the strange atmosphere from just now had never happened.

Seeing his expression, Lin Yongxi finally breathed a sigh of relief, and felt a sense of peace from somewhere.

"Yes, I got it."

She grinned, showing off the badge pinned to her chest.

"Well done." Chen Mu nodded in praise, not even glancing at Chao Xi, and said, "Then we're leaving."

"Chen Mu".

Tide frowned, displeased by the abrupt interruption of the conversation: "You should understand my good intentions. You can't continue investigating. You are the only person in this era with monster blood, the only 'weirdo.' Although you have made contributions, they don't even need an excuse to kill you."

"Excuses? I'd love for people with guilty consciences to come knocking on my door so I don't have to eliminate the wrong options one by one."

Chen Mu laughed, seemingly ignoring the warning in those words, and suddenly uttered a strange name:

"Zhang Xiaoye".

"...?!"

"Even though you're my wife's teacher, don't try to be my mother-in-law too much."

Lin Yongxi's body trembled.

While pretending to plug her ears and saying "I didn't hear it, I didn't hear it," she couldn't help but exclaim "Damn it!" and then quickly ran away with her brother-in-law.

"..."

Fortunately, Tide was a very cultured person. Even after hearing those words, she didn't react much and didn't watch the two leave. She simply closed her right eye and then opened her left. It was still a pure white pupil, as if she was simply switching eyes, without any special meaning.

He muttered to himself:

"I never intended to be your mother-in-law."

The air was silent for two seconds.

"Tourmaline".

"..."

"Come out, so what if you heard it?" Tide stared blankly at the air not far away.

Then, a figure slowly appeared in the air. It was a petite magical girl with long, dark green hair, the dean of the Magic Academy.

I don't know when she got here; perhaps she just arrived and came at a bad time.

"Would you like to come to my room for a cup of tea, Lord [Tide]?"

The dean smiled wryly, feeling helpless.

She calls herself "Camellia" in front of Lin Yongxi, but her true magical girl codename is [Tourmaline]. She is the supreme ruler of the Deep Moon City Magic Academy, currently at the [Rain] level. Of course, in front of these truly important figures, she considers herself just a helpless working person with no special privileges.

Tide didn't respond to the suggestion of "having tea," but instead stared intently at her:

"If I hadn't shown up, would you have just stood by and watched that magical girl named Kapok kill Chen Mu?"

As that pure white pupil gazed upon her, Bixi suddenly felt an unprecedented pressure.

She bit her lip tightly as she was forced to fall from the sky to the ground, her heels sinking deep into the floor tiles...

But I still tried my best to remain calm when answering:

"He won't die. I've taken away Kapok's badge. She can't transform successfully here because she's being controlled by the magic circle."

This explanation did not convince the tides.

She coldly questioned, "If it were a punch without him transforming, would he have taken it? There's still a possibility of a fatal injury, isn't there?"

"...!"

Bixi felt even more pressured, but her expression remained innocent as she quickly explained, "I'm innocent! You know Chen Mu possesses the power of the 'Strange Man,' how could he be easily killed? At most, he'd only be injured. Besides, if Chen Mu is injured and recuperating at home, he won't continue the investigation, isn't that what you wanted?"

"Um--"

The tide paused for a moment, then released its pressure.

Bixi breathed a sigh of relief and immediately knelt on the ground. She felt cold sweat all over her body and a feeling of lingering fear welled up in her heart.

The magic of clearing the air—what a terrifying feeling! What kind of magic is this? I haven't felt this threat of death for so many years!

The pressure at the [Flower] level is indeed completely different. While both are flowers, [Dawn] feels much more approachable and endearing...

The dean kept muttering to himself, but dared not show it on his face. He maintained a respectful demeanor and dared not float away again.

"..."

The tide is silent at this moment, and it is also thinking.

She felt a little confused for a moment.

Yes… she knew. Chen Mu possessed the power of a [monster], and in terms of pure physical strength, a magical girl who didn't transform was at a disadvantage. Therefore, Chen Mu shouldn't be in any danger, and she didn't need to intervene at all. Even [Tourmaline] knew this; there was no reason for her to act so rashly.

Why was she so worried back then, even disregarding her own status and forcibly intervening?

Is it because they are worried about the threat that Kapok will pose after it transforms, or is it because of something else?

Not right.

The tide seemed to have caught a glimpse of the contradiction, but the feeling was fleeting and elusive, as if something crucial had been missed and couldn't be recalled.

"never mind."

Finally, she shook her head.

Since she couldn't figure it out in a short time, she decided to put it aside for now and think about it later. After all, she was a reasonable person, which was due to [Tide]'s personality. She and Bixi shared the same opinion on this matter and didn't want Chen Mu to continue investigating, so she shouldn't continue to blame him.

"Let's leave it at that. Chen Mu is a descendant of [Dawn], and I don't want him to be threatened or treated unfairly on the land of Deep Moon City."

"I understand, Lord Tide."

Without a second's hesitation, Bixi immediately bowed in respect.

It seems we can't resort to any tricks in the upcoming matches. It's a pity about that interesting magical girl prospect; we'll just have to "turn a blind eye."

She suddenly realized she had told a brilliant, lame joke and almost couldn't help but laugh.

Tourmaline.

"...Ahem! Yes!" She quickly stood up straight, putting on her most perfect smile: "Are you leaving? Won't you rest here for the night? I've prepared a dinner."

Bixi thought to herself, "It's best not to stay. Get rid of this big shot as soon as possible, or who knows what other trouble might arise."

However, things rarely go as planned.

Tide looked at her and said, "I didn't come to Deep Moon City just to stroll around; I have some important business to attend to."

"What?"

"Take me to see [that child]."

You mean—

Bixi's smile froze on her face.

The child, though without a name or code, understood what it meant the instant he heard it.

Because there is no other possibility, it is both a treasure and a bomb, a once-in-a-million star and an unsolvable problem.

"I see."

The moment she thought of this, Bixi immediately decided to let go.

A future flower can only be nurtured by another flower. If it follows a plant, how can it know the correct way to grow?

"Her only remaining student, a genius admired by all."

Tide walked forward, heading deeper into the Demon Academy: "I will take her away and nurture her into the next [Dawn]."