Chapter Ninety-Seven: The Dragon King Behind Cassel Academy (4K)

Nightfall

“Fufu, are you going to deal with Lin Ni?” Lu Mingfei asked as he lay on the bed.

“Better not. I don’t think he poses much of a threat to me, and his personality is different from the servant’s. If others notice something strange, it could get complicated,” Funingna replied.

“Oh.” Lu Mingfei responded briefly, saying no more.

But he sensed that this wasn’t a big issue at all. It was just that Funingna was kind-hearted and beloved by the people, and since Lin Ni was from Fontaine, she didn’t want Lu Mingfei to make a move against him.

Sigh, Funingna was still too gentle. To protect her, I must sharpen the blade within and defend her beautiful soul with all my might.

No Lin Ni tonight then. Let’s just watch the stars together~

Two days passed. During this time, there were no problems on Funingna’s side, making it relatively safe. However, when Violette sent people to routinely inspect the Hearth Home, she found something odd: there were no benches inside, only small stools or ordinary chairs.

They used to have benches—so why not now?

Under Caroline’s questioning, the children in the Hearth Home gave a unified account: their father had recently developed an allergy to benches, so they removed them all and replaced them with stools, small chairs, and sofas, which didn’t really affect daily life.

Caroline was skeptical. She didn’t believe anyone could be allergic to benches and suspected that the Hearth Home was trying to send some kind of message by removing them. Was there something hidden inside the benches? Or were benches a secret code?

Benches, benches... long-term support?

The Hearth Home without benches meant no long-term support, and their support was the servant.

In other words, the servant was in trouble and was seeking aid from Winter’s Kingdom? Was that the meaning?

Quite possible!

Though Caroline had her suspicions, since the servant was found innocent, she assumed the Water Deity of Fontaine must have deeper reasons. Her role was simply to report her observations and thoughts, leaving the rest to the higher-ups.

In response, Fontaine’s Water Deity Funingna stated that the children in the Hearth Home lived in hardship, lacking even benches at home. She was willing to represent Fontaine in donating standard benches to the Hearth Home.

The servant refused. She believed the children should persist in diligent study and uphold the great spirit of unyielding dignity despite poverty. She deeply analyzed Funingna’s gesture, pondering whether there was a deeper, more subtle intention behind it.

In the end, she concluded that Funingna was hinting to her not to be too obvious in her actions; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to ignore it.

Has my contact with the Queen of Winter been exposed?

At this point, it no longer mattered. Having conveyed the critical information, she had done her duty.

Meanwhile, Fucarlos had also begun entering the dreamscape more often. Her reasoning was simple: she supported Lu Mingfei and Funingna’s relationship and wasn’t trying to be a third wheel. She just wished to walk around Fontaine City in a physical form within the dream, with no other special intentions.

Funingna believed her, for Fucarlos was the spiritual entity of the oracular adjudication core, usually unable to go anywhere, so feeling lonely and cold was natural.

She fully understood.

Moreover, Fucarlos was very well-mannered. Every time she visited, she would quietly sit alone in some hotel in Fontaine City, never approaching Lu Mingfei and Funingna directly, showing great courtesy.

Lu Mingfei appreciated this attitude. After all, who wants a third wheel while stargazing with their girlfriend? It was good that she went on her own. Fontaine City was vast in dreams; there was no need for all four of them to crowd together. Reasonable space allocation was best.

“Hey, Lu Mingze, why do you look so listless? Didn’t you sleep last night?” Lu Mingfei asked, noticing Lu Mingze yawning beside him.

“Raising pigs,” Lu Mingze replied casually.

“. . . Six.” Lu Mingfei was at a loss for words. Raising pigs in the middle of the night wasn’t something ordinary people did. Most likely, it was a code or a spontaneous excuse.

“I’m hungry~”

Lu Mingze stretched vigorously, still feeling somewhat drowsy.

In the dream, the “pig” he was raising was Fucarlos, who eagerly visited the hotel he managed every night. She happily freeloaded various drinks and snacks. Being able to eat and drink freely in the dream was her greatest joy.

Oh, and the indispensable cat-and-mouse antics!

Fucarlos would always grin as she perched on the hotel counter, watching Lu Mingze prepare all kinds of drinks and dishes. Seeing the little devil cook and serve, then savoring it contentedly, and finally lounging to watch cartoons—that was her entire day’s happiness.

Her thoughts were simple—no romantic feelings involved—just a desire to enjoy life fully before death, to live once more.

She had hesitated before, fearing that if life was too good in the dream, she might be reluctant to die in reality.

So she tried to restrain her desires, but her cursed mouth was uncontrollable. Every night in dreams, she would scamper over to the hotel like a pitiful, adorable child, looking helplessly at little Lu.

“Hehe~” (‘▽‘｀) Dinner time!

Faced with that familiar smile, Lu Mingze always felt helpless and speechless. He had sneaked in and needed to avoid detection. If she blew his cover, things would get complicated.

What else could he do?

Just cook!

Making a few dishes was easy for him and harmless.

Besides, it made things more interesting!

He could tamper with the food a bit!

Where did the dream food come from? It was constructed from Lu Mingze’s spirit. If he altered the nature of the food slightly, making it possible for Fucarlos to bring it back to the world of Teyvat with him, even carrying his spirit along, that would be something.

However, for now, the difficulty of achieving this was very high. Despite the convenience of raising this “pig,” and feeding Fucarlos plenty of things, the results were negligible—no success.

This was also the root of his mental fatigue. If it were just feeding Fucarlos, how could the little devil be so drained?

“Anyway, Norton’s side is safe, right? Although the academy suspects him, they’re probably just monitoring him secretly, not taking direct action,” Lu Mingfei said, stretching.

“If Castle Academy is still monitoring him, then he’s safe,” Lu Mingze replied casually.

After saying that, he quickly covered his mouth, eyes wide with surprise, looking at Lu Mingfei. It was unclear if he had slipped or was playing coy.

“Monitoring equals safety?”

Lu Mingfei immediately sensed something.

Norton might be a Dragon King. How could it be safe for him to be monitored by Castle Academy? If monitoring meant safety, what dangers would arise if he lost that surveillance?

For Norton, the academy’s monitoring wasn’t a threat but a protection? Was someone inside protecting him? Castle Academy had insiders shielding him? Were they connected to the little devil?

It seemed both likely and unlikely.

If the little devil’s people protected him, why would he face unknown dangers upon losing monitoring? Monitoring equals safety, monitoring... safety.

Lu Mingfei couldn’t make sense of it and shared the current situation with Funingna, seeking her opinion.

“Hmm, I roughly understand,” Funingna said, deep in thought. She gazed silently into the void nearby, then after a brief pause asked, “So, is there a possibility—just a possibility, mind you—”

“Possibility?”

“Since you, Lu Mingze, and Xiayi have managed to obtain human identities and integrate into human society, and hybrids can enter the human upper echelons, could other Dragon Kings also blend in, even reach high ranks?” Funingna inquired.

“Definitely possible, and I feel it’s quite likely. After all, the little devil’s powers are absurd. His ability to manipulate accounts feels less like magic words and more like possessing some real-world advanced permissions, only appearing as magic words,” Lu Mingfei answered.

“If so, I’ll share my speculation as well.”

Funingna exhaled slightly and, with utmost seriousness, looked at Lu Mingfei in the other world. “Among Castle Academy’s senior ranks, there are four sovereign-level Dragon Kings. One of them is the main protector of Norton and also the mastermind behind the attempt on his life.”

“???” Lu Mingfei was shocked. He couldn’t help but ask, “How did you come up with that? How did I never think of this possibility?”

“Simple. Although Norton has just awakened, he is the King of Bronze and Fire. Few in your world can seriously threaten him. Apart from the lunatics in Castle Academy, only Dragon Kings pose a real danger.”

Funingna paused briefly and continued, “Given this, I boldly guess that those protecting and trying to kill him are all Dragon Kings.”

“You mentioned before that Dragon Kings can devour each other’s dragon bones without much restriction, gaining power by doing so, right?”

“Yes, the little devil told me that,” Lu Mingfei nodded gently.

“So, what benefit do non-Dragon Kings have in killing a Dragon King? Can they gain power by taking the dragon bones? Are they capable of killing a Dragon King? It doesn’t seem realistic,” Funingna shook her head slightly.

“That’s because you haven’t seen technological weapons,” Lu Mingfei wanted to joke but restrained himself. Compared to this minor detail, he was more eager to hear Funingna’s next thoughts, as her reasoning was crucial. Though there were slight logical gaps, it was worth considering.

“If the opponent is a Dragon King coveting Norton’s dragon bone and also a high-ranking academy official, that perfectly explains the situation.”

“Norton and Chu Zihang’s chat logs were discovered by Castle Academy and closely monitored. The academy’s group of dragon-slaying fanatics would rather kill wrongly than let him go. But if a senior official can suppress those rumors and provide reasonable explanations, then Norton and your group would naturally be safe.”

“As a high-ranking official of Castle Academy and a sovereign of dragons, he must have access to extensive intelligence. Even if academy surveillance is lifted, he can still find Norton through other means, ambush him, and devour his dragon bone to grow stronger.”

“Academy monitoring is essentially control, but that Dragon King must act covertly to hide his identity, avoiding academy surveillance and minimizing attention. So Norton is relatively safe for now. As long as he’s not instantly killed, he’s in a safer state.”

“Makes sense,” Lu Mingfei nodded, then added thoughtfully:

“I think there’s more than one Dragon King among Castle Academy’s senior ranks. Perhaps there are others who are traitors or suspicious of him, forming a balance of power. Because only such a balance explains why he dares not strike openly. Otherwise, attacking directly in dragon form might be more effective.”

“You’re right, that’s a real possibility.”

The two from different worlds discussed and speculated on Castle Academy’s internal affairs. The more they guessed, the more the academy seemed like a joke.

Why?

Because the gap between humans and Dragon Kings was enormous. Take Lu Mingfei himself: just reaching sub-adult stage, he could easily destroy a city. If a Dragon King truly hid inside Castle Academy, the academy would be extremely dangerous.

Oh my, a sovereign among the senior board members of the Dragon Slayer Academy! That’s straight out of a horror story!

To reach such a high rank, that Dragon King must be relatively familiar with the human world, able to see through its rules and find paths to climb up. The academy wouldn’t appoint strangers as senior officials.

This suggests a huge power lurking behind that Dragon King. Castle Academy might have already been infiltrated by dragon forces.

Allowing a Dragon King to hold a senior post is inevitable!

Lu Mingfei and Funingna’s conversation grew increasingly wild. By the end, they even speculated the entire Castle Academy might be a dragon clan school, with only a few high-ranking humans, which explained why they admitted Lu Mingfei and why the little devil could so easily uncover internal secrets.

Although far-fetched, it seemed to have a grain of truth.

Just a bit magical, that’s all.

After finishing their discussion, Lu Mingfei thoughtfully stroked his chin and looked seriously at Lu Mingze. “Hey, little brother, let me ask you something. Is there a Dragon King among Castle Academy’s senior officials? I think it’s very likely.”

Lu Mingze was startled inwardly, wondering if he should reassess the intelligence of his brother and sister-in-law.

(End of chapter)