If you want to survive after transmigrating, become the male protagonist's new mother.

"Then tell me."

Pei Yuening shook their clasped hands and rested her chin on Luo Ren's shoulder: "I don't even know the rules. It would be so embarrassing if I went up there."

"Hmm." Luo Ren spoke up: "The preliminary selection will be held in the magical secret realm of the Holy Academy."

"Teams of four, freely formed. The dungeon has three levels and will simulate the magical illusions that may appear in the Three Schools Cup."

"One level each for the polar region, rainforest, and desert. The team that completes the level in the shortest time wins."

Pei Yuening listened attentively, nestled motionless beside Luo Ren.

"Oh..." He paused for a moment to process it, "So how long do you usually stay in the secret realm?"

"It can take anywhere from three to six hours."

Pei Yuening nodded, then casually asked, "How long did it take you to complete the game back then?"

"A quarter of an hour."

Pei Yuening: "………………"

Law!

That's unnecessary to ask.

The garden was quiet.

A gust of wind blew by, gently stirring the tangled hems of their clothes.

Pei Yuening hummed a song softly, then suddenly remembered something.

He lifted his head off Luo Ren's shoulder: "Wait, that's not right. Dean Qi told me to bring a familiar back then."

"Um."

Who do you think I should bring?

"Dragon." Luo Ren said almost without hesitation, "The preliminary selection doesn't matter, but the official Three Schools Cup is enough."

"Hmm?" Pei Yuening turned her head to look at him again: "What about Gao Gao? What if someone gets hurt..."

"Oli's lover is a healer," Luo Ren said. "He's quite talented."

Pei Yuening was stunned.

Yes, Ryan.

I almost forgot, I saw him use his swordsmanship in person last time.

Moreover, in the original work, he is portrayed as an all-around character who can fight and heal.

"That's true..." He nodded. "It does seem to be enough."

Luo Ren looked at him: "For the empty seats, you can think of something else to bring."

Pei Yuening gave a thoughtful "hmm".

Then, as he was thinking, he suddenly smiled.

"By the way, speaking of Ryan..." Pei Yuening turned to the side, linked her arm with his, and smiled mischievously, "Your Grace, did you know that Ryan is quite afraid of you?"

Luo Ren paused for a moment, his fingers holding the teacup, and said truthfully, "...I don't know."

"No way—" Pei Yuening drawled, her eyes crinkling into a smile, "He was so scared both times he saw you, and you didn't even notice?"

"No," Luo Ren said. "Oli didn't mention it to me either."

"Of course I won't say that," Pei Yuening said reproachfully. "Next time you see her, smile more. She's going to be your future daughter-in-law, why are you always keeping a straight face?"

Luo Ren remained silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "It shouldn't be a matter of keeping a straight face."

Pei Yuening didn't understand: "Huh?"

"There's a saying among the common people," Luo Ren said expressionlessly, "that 'the Emperor of War can stop a child from crying at night.'"

Pei Yuening: "…………"

He couldn't hold back anymore, laughing so hard he fell onto him: "Hahaha, what! So that's why! Hahahahahaha!"

Luo Ren's ears burned from his laughter, and she reached out to pull him closer to prevent him from sliding off the wicker chair.

Pei Yuening laughed for a while before slowly calming down.

He wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes, rested his head against his chest, and took a couple of muffled breaths.

The laughter stopped.

Pei Yuening leaned there without moving, staying quietly for a while. In the afternoon, the only sounds in the garden were the occasional birdsong from the distant pond.

Luo Ren pulled him close, her cheek pressed against his soft hair, her breath filled with his unique fragrance.

"Your Majesty the Duke."

"Um."

"What were you like before?" Pei Yuening suddenly asked.

Luo Ren lowered his head.

Pei Yuening's face was still buried in his chest, her fingers unconsciously stroking his palm.

"Everyone says you're a war god, the only SSS-rank in the entire empire. You've guarded the northern border for over a decade; that sounds incredibly impressive."

He paused. "But no one has ever told you what you were like before. When you were a child, at the Holy Academy, when you first went on your adventures..."

He looked up at me: "Tell me about it?"

Sunlight fell on his profile, and the shadow of his eyelashes partially obscured the light in his eyes.

Luo Ren patted his head, and his memories began to drift away.

"A Magic Test for Six-Year-Olds"

"Um."

"Awakened Nature-type, S-rank."

Luo Ren's gaze fell on the treetops in the distance, and he began to narrate unconsciously.

"I spent four years at the Holy Academy, before the reforms, and His Majesty was my classmate."

Pei Yuening asked instinctively, "My brother..."

Oh no, he's a year older than Luo Ren and the others.

Luo Ren smiled and continued, "Yes, except for me and His Majesty."

"And there's Prince Lin and his wife. We started becoming adventurers in our third year, traveling all over the continent."

"I've seen earth dragons, and I've hunted Leviathans and Beelzebub."

Pei Yuening gasped: "Leviathan?!"

That's a huge, huge soybean!!!

Luo Ren and the other two are one thing, but is Qin Shuxing, that gluttonous emperor, really this awesome?!

"Hmm," Luo Ren said without much change in expression, "Back then, merit was needed, and the family needed titles."

He spoke very briefly, without mentioning how much hardship he had endured or how many injuries he had suffered, but Pei Yuening knew that what he omitted was the most important thing.

A group of teenagers went to hunt down a legendary sea monster king alone, all for the sake of earning a duke title for their family.

Pei Yuening's fingers tightened in his palm.

"And then?" he asked softly.

"Then I went to the North," Luo Ren said. "That's where I met Philo."

"The North is very cold. Filo was just a little kid then, trapped in a blizzard in a mountain valley, and almost froze to death."

Luo Ren said, "I took it back and raised it for half a year before it was fully recovered. When it grew up, it became my familiar."

"And then he stayed in the North."

"It was there that I met Ollie's parents."

Pei Yuening listened quietly.

"They were all very good people. His father was the deputy commander of the border guards. He had a very cheerful personality. The first time we met, he took me to a tavern, and we drank until midnight before he wanted to drag me out to the snow to have a sword fight."

"His mother was a military doctor. She saved everyone in the entire border garrison. Even when she was exhausted and fainted, she refused to stop."

"Oli was just a little kid then, just learning to walk."

"In his mind, I should be the older brother."

Pei Yuening: "..."

Indeed, the average lifespan in this other world is 250 years, and powerful divine beings like Luo Ren would only live even longer.

If we really have to nitpick, the older brother is definitely more suitable than the adoptive father.

Perhaps it was the weathered air about Luo Ren that made him appear so mature.

Anyway, forget it.

At this point, Luo Ren paused for a moment.

"Not long after, they had an accident."

"I wasn't in the camp that day. The enemy country had taken control of a group of high-level magical beasts in the void rift, and the main force of the border defense was transferred to the east to provide support. Only a small team was left in the town."

"I blocked the void by myself, and it was there, between life and death, that I broke through to the SSS level."

"Oli's father led the men to defend the town, while his mother treated the wounded in the rear. They stayed on the front line until the very end."

"When I rushed back, they were both barely clinging to life."

Pei Yuening felt a tightness in her chest.

"His father could no longer speak; he just looked at me and held my hand tightly."

"I know what he means." Luo Ren lowered his eyes: "I promised him that I would bring Ollie back to the capital, give him the best life, and raise him to adulthood."

Then he closed his eyes.

The garden had been quiet for a long time, and the wind carried a cool, damp feeling.

Pei Yuening didn't know when her eyes started to feel hot.

He didn't speak, but buried his face back into Luo Ren's chest, his forehead against his shoulder, and remained motionless.

Luo Ren didn't move either.

He looked down at the fluffy head in his arms, and after a while, he raised his other hand and placed it on top of it, pressing it gently.

"It's all in the past." Luo Ren chuckled softly. "From now on, you are his mother in name only."

Pei Yuening: "…………"

He reflexively slapped Luo Ren on the chest with his backhand: "What are you saying!"

He's just speaking the truth!

Luo Ren was still smiling.

He took Pei Yuening's hand, brought it to his lips and gently kissed it, then pulled it back into his palm.

"real."