Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 314 The Monster's Fur

"After destroying my home like that, you still dare to use that cursed power against me!"

In the training field, Charlotte sternly reprimanded Little Ritas.

Because of their somewhat secluded position, Millie and the Bathing Goddess couldn't see Little Ritas's expression. They only saw him with his head slightly lowered, frozen in place.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Charlotte raised her longsword and quickly stabbed at Little Ritas.

Even in actual combat drills, the swords used by both sides are not sharp. However, being stabbed by a blunt sword when defenseless can still result in a very dangerous outcome.

Millie was shocked to see this and instinctively dropped the scoreboard in her hand, flipped over and jumped into the arena to try to stop this completely distorted duel.

But everything happened so fast that Millie's response was clearly too late.

Just then, Charlotte's sword was about to pierce Little Ritas.
Little Ritas calmly raised his sword, aiming it at Charlotte. Then, in an instant, a torrent of water shot out as if from the tip of the sword, striking Charlotte who was charging towards him.

"." "."

The merciless water elemental magic easily halted Xia Luoluo's advance, and the power of the water flow grew stronger and stronger, forcing Xia Luoluo to retreat repeatedly.

At first, Xia Luoluo was still letting out beast-like roars, but as she roared, her voice became clearer and then gradually turned into sobbing and wailing.

It wasn't until Charlotte, completely soaked, ran to a corner of the training field and turned into a puddle, utterly devoid of any "fighting spirit," that Little Ritas chose to stop.

Did I win?

Turning his head to look at Millie running into the training field, Little Ritas, with a calm expression, simply asked this question.

It wasn't until the afternoon that Millie and the Goddess of Bath finally met Little Ritas, who had been severely reprimanded by Master Engu in the Cross Hall.

As it turned out, the use of magic was indeed not allowed in the combat drills at the Cross Hall.

"Welcome back, Xiao Li. Hmm, it seems a bit abrupt. Xia Luoluo, is it something like a split personality?"

Although Little Ritas looked exhausted and seemed to want to rest, the Goddess of Bath and Millie had no intention of giving him any leeway.

"I can't say for sure. But it's probably not. Rather, Millie has spent more time with her during this period than I have, hasn't she?"

Knowing that he couldn't avoid it today, Little Ritas sighed and replied.

Millie, whom Little Ritas mentioned, simply shrugged and then gestured to the Goddess of Bath not to let Little Ritas naturally change the subject.

If, back in the little garden, when the Goddess of Bath and Millie first overheard Little Ritas and Charlotte arguing, they simply felt heavy-hearted and depressed.

But this time, they felt more strange and inexplicable.

Although Xia Luoluo wasn't exactly normal on a daily basis, her behavior on the training field could only be described as frenzied. Furthermore, the way things were unfolding revealed her unease. One moment, the siblings were tacitly agreeing to throw the match; the next, Xia Luoluo suddenly identified Little Ritas as her enemy.

"What exactly happened to Xia Luoluo before? No, before that... were you hiding something from us?"

The goddess of the bath carefully examined little Ritas.

"I've been finding this strange all this time! How come I told you so many things, and so much time has passed, yet you haven't noticed anything? You're not unaware; you're hiding it and covering it up!"

"."

Although Little Ritas wanted to say that the goddess of bathing was too superstitious about his mind.

But now, he really couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Let's go back to the initial question. Xia Luoluo's behavior on the training field is clearly off. Do you have any clues about it?"

It seemed that the topic of the goddess of bathing would veer off course on its own without any prompting. Millie then took over the conversation and asked again.

"There might be some connection."

Facing Millie, who had been diligently and responsibly teaching him magic, and realizing he couldn't be easily fooled, Little Ritas hesitated for a moment before answering.
"A few years ago, Xia Luoluo was seriously ill. At that time, perhaps the high fever damaged her brain. That's why she looks like this now. Or, I hope that it's because of that high fever that she's like this now."

Ritas said sincerely.

If Xia Luoluo's silly behavior has no cause or excuse and is truly just innate, then she's really too much.
"Such a thing actually happened? Then... then could she suddenly become a different person like today?"

The goddess of bathing pressed for an answer.

Ritas slowly shook his head.

"As I said before, I didn't have many opportunities to spend time with Xia Luoluo. So, I don't know the specifics. But, as far as I know, Xia Luoluo was very ill at the time. So ill that for a period of time, she seemed to have lost her soul and was unable to react to any external stimuli."

"Wow"

That's really quite serious.

"So, you believe that her illness has not yet been cured. Therefore, you didn't pay attention to her unusual condition when we were in the small garden before?"

Millie pressed for an answer.

"Um"

This time, Ritas nodded.
“Even after recovering from her soulless state, Xia Luoluo had a severe episode in front of me. So, in my opinion, it's not surprising that she would do anything during an episode. And since she will recover soon, there's nothing to worry about. We should be patient with people who have suffered mental trauma.”

As Ritas spoke, he ran his fingers around his temples, as if to indicate that Charlotte was mentally unstable and that he shouldn't bother with her.

As Ritas reluctantly revealed Charlotte's unusual situation, the atmosphere in the room seemed to ease. It was at this moment that Millie asked a question in a casual tone...
"What have you discovered about the pet that Charlotte brought today, Professor?"

"Discovery? It looks, like it's very healthy or something?"

Little Ritas responded indifferently.

Millie, who was already somewhat skeptical, was now basically certain.

The strange sight of Gugu staring intently at Little Ritas should be most easily noticed by the person in question.

Others, like the goddess of the bath, might overlook such things. But since this person's name is "Ritas."
"By the way. In the small garden, when we were attacked by the monster, it was always surrounded by a layer of black mist in my and Yu-jie's eyes, so we couldn't see it clearly. Or rather, we mistook the night outside and the black mist itself for its true color. But Professor, if I remember correctly, you should be able to see the monster's shape to some extent. So, may I ask... were the monster's feathers really black?"

"." Faced with Millie's question, Little Ritas fell silent again.

In this almost tacitly agreed-upon state, Little Ritas slowly spoke and asked,
"You believe that the monster was 'Xin Xin' in disguise? A little girl who was even smaller than average, turning into that enormous creature. Is it really possible for something like that to happen?"

"Of course it's possible. Now that the young professor has accepted our identities and background, he should know that it's not surprising for anything incredible to happen in this world."

While answering, Millie was a little curious about how little Ritas could say the name "Heart" so seriously.

The goddess of bathing, standing to the side, was somewhat bewildered. She had never connected the two things before.

However, if Little Ritas is deliberately concealing the monster's color, could it be...?
"Indeed. So, let's assume that Charlotte's pet really does turn into a monster and try to kill me. Have you thought about how you would deal with that? And how you would prove it?"

In an instant, the goddess of bathing sensed a change in the atmosphere of Little Ritas, or rather, in the atmosphere of the entire room.

"It truly is a monster, and your response is essentially one of two things. One is to try to kill it. The other is to try to kill it through external force. And now that you've done this, the outcome is quite predictable. First, it won't reveal its true form until its death. So, you're simply claiming that Charlotte's carefully nurtured pet of many years is a monster attempting to attack me. This will drive Charlotte, whose mental state is already unstable, into a state of collapse and despair. At that point, you will not only have no room for repentance, but your situation in this mansion, and even in this world, will be dire."

"And if the monster reveals its true form when faced with the threat of death, how can you, in your current state, possibly defeat it? In the end, it will only lead to a tragedy that you cannot resist. If the monster possesses a certain level of intelligence, then it is unlikely to be a coincidence that it only flew back to the mansion when Roland was not around."

Hearing Little Ritas's words, the Goddess of Bath and Millie were taken aback.

"So, the bad outcome is predictable, so we just do nothing?"

Millie questioned Little Ritas.

“Millie, what you are facing now is not a crossword puzzle. You just need to find the answer, write it in the answer box, and everything will be over. So, if you haven't thought about what to do next, doing nothing is the right choice. Anyway, its target will only be me. And you, at least, can have one more cycle.”

Little Ritas's words fell smoothly, without the slightest ripple.

A short while later.

"Well, if you want to shout, then shout it out, Millie."

"Damn it! What kind of attitude does that brat have?! Who does he think we're worried about?! He has this 'So what if I kept it from you? What can you do about it now? I need to study, don't bother me'!!!"

It can only be said that Little Ritas's attitude was indeed quite rude before. As a result, Millie, who always greeted all the difficult senior girls in the academy with a cheerful smile, lost her temper that day, yelled a few words, and even pounded the bed a few times.

From the relatively neutral perspective of the goddess of bathing, today's conversation did indeed have a strange flavor.

Millie felt like she had finally found some useful information, not only identifying the suspect but also uncovering something Little Ritas had been hiding.

Little Ritas, on the other hand, seemed to be inexplicably on the same side as the suspect. When Millie questioned him, he shrugged and retorted with an air of nonchalance, "So what if I did hide it? I knew about the culprit a long time ago but just didn't tell you. What's the problem? Now that you know about the culprit, what can you do about it?"

No wonder Millie was angry.

"Sister Yu, aren't you angry!?"

After venting her anger, Millie then turned her gaze, which she thought might be directed at the Goddess of Bathing, towards her.

"Uh, I'm angry! Of course I'm angry! But..."

However, she knew Ritas far too well. So, even in this situation, she was able to grasp the root cause of Little Ritas's actions.

Regarding the possibility that the monster that attacked them might be Charlotte's pet, Little Ritas might have realized it from the beginning, but the monster and Gu Gu had already escaped. Therefore, he felt it was pointless to say it. No one would believe that an ordinary little animal could transform into an incredibly ferocious monster. Furthermore, within the family, there were very few people who sided with him over Charlotte. Besides, he was talking about something utterly absurd.

And after that.
The goddess of bathing believed it was because Ritas harbored a deep-seated obsession with a "stable life."

This obsession later manifested itself in a grand manner.

In short, in return for the goddess of bathing and Millie, Little Ritas did not offer "unconditional help," but rather "peace."

Even though this stability is not what the goddess of bathing and Millie need most at this stage.

In the future, what that tree witch desired was clearly not "stability." But Ritas still forcibly imposed that on her.

Furthermore, Millie seems quite content with her life during this period and is eager to learn swordsmanship at the Elson School. Meanwhile, the Goddess of Bath, though always grumbling, is also quite carefree and content in her idle existence.

These experiences likely reinforced Little Ritas's belief that his actions were correct.

Aside from that, the goddess of the bath didn't seem to feel threatened, and Little Ritas didn't take any countermeasures. She simply didn't tell them, and wouldn't tell them.

Looking back at Ritas's preparations for the future, his approach to others was less about seeking help or cooperation, and more about declaring, "You will become my pawn."

Since entering the magic academy and becoming a tutor in the Yewwood class, Ritas has softened somewhat, and both the Goddess of Bath and Millie are special to him, perhaps even the most special.

Therefore, there is something that is easily overlooked.

That is, Ritas Elson is a very difficult person to get along with.
Moreover, even if Ritas may never say it aloud, Charlotte is still a special person to him. In fact, at this stage, Charlotte's special status towards young Ritas far surpasses that of the Bathing Goddess and Millie.

"I'm still furious. How about we go beat up Xiao Li? I doubt he'll care much. Let's tie him to a pillar and whip him!"

"Forget it, let's just forget about it."

Whether it was because of her good temper or because the "professor" held too much authority in her mind, Millie shook her head after venting her frustrations and becoming much calmer.

"While I don't agree with Xiao Li, some of what he said makes sense upon closer examination. Also, he did point us in a direction. If we can prove that the bird Xia Luoluo is raising will turn into a monster, we'll have a way to deal with it. Even without Roland, the people in the Cross Hall combined should have a good chance of winning. And he might have even hinted at the method: make good use of our one remaining chance to reincarnate, and the fact that the monster's target is only him."

"So, he actually wanted to be bait? Why didn't he just say so? Why did he have to use this method? He's only ten years old, right? How come he's already acting so high and mighty, like he's going to give us a trial or a test!"

"Well, all I can say is that Xiaoli's future 'crooked' state is because she was crooked from a young age."

The goddess of the bath echoed her sentiments without any real substance, but what she was really thinking was something else entirely.

As Little Ritas said, what they faced was not a puzzle game. Therefore, many things are not over once the answer is found.

Similarly, their attention now seems focused on the black mist bird that Gu Gu might have transformed into. But even if they defeat or kill that monster, will it really help them escape their current situation?
Fearing that Millie, who was in a bad mood, would accuse her of "ineffective thinking," the Goddess of Bath refrained from expressing her concerns for the time being.

Turning her gaze to the window, the goddess of the bath realized that it was almost nightfall.

Recalling that the last time was right after Charlotte and Little Ritas argued and she transformed into a leopard, the black mist bird attacked Little Ritas that night.

So, the goddess of bathing suggested...
"Although Xiao Li is somewhat hateful, we can't really just leave him alone. So, how about we stake out his room tonight?"

(End of this chapter)