Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 253 - 187th Section: 7thMob.:20140517

Chapter 253: 187th Section: 7thMob.:20140517

Malin opened his eyes and saw the familiar ceiling. The last thing he remembered was making a carrot soup for the old Bunny Girl and cutting some venison for himself. After dinner, Malin felt tired, he lay down on the sofa, and then he found himself back... home.

Yes, home.

Even though the old Bunny Girl was crying into her soup like a tearful mess, Malin still felt that the Bunny Girl, his sister on the sofa, and Faye with her time-stopping spell formation, were not the familiar faces he knew.

What he knew, what he loved, was the fluffy Clovis before him.

With that thought, Malin buried himself in Clovis’s soft, white fur. Warm, breathable, and the comforting sound of heartbeats that soothed his soul. Startled by his movements, the Bunny Girl woke up, and upon realizing it was Malin, she smiled shyly, "Good morning, Mr. Malin."

Malin lifted his head and kissed the girl’s ear, "I just had a dream, a dream about you."

"Dreaming again?" Clovis seemed curious, almost unable to wait to hear about her new settings.

"Yes, in my dream, you had aged terribly, almost losing all your fur, and your voice became very hoarse, but in my eyes, you were still so cute," said Malin.

"Eh!" The Bunny Girl’s eyes widened, "Impossible, Mr. Malin likes me fluffy the most. If I’m not fluffy anymore, you would surely get tired of me!"

As she spoke, the Bunny Girl’s nose wrinkled and her brows drooped, looking very sad.

"But even then, you’re still my Clovis, my favorite fluff," Malin said, laughing and hugging the Bunny Girl’s body, "Even if time goes by, and you age, Clovis, I’ll have aged by then too. By that time, we’ll be an old man and an old lady together. Maybe by then I’ll have lost hair and teeth. You won’t get tired of me then, will you?"

Malin’s self-deprecation made Clovis laugh, the Bunny Girl gently touched his forehead with hers, "I would never get tired of Mr. Malin. It was Mr. Malin who rescued me from dire straits, so Mr. Malin is my favorite boy."

Malin pouted happily, then the Bunny Girl tossed him onto the bed. Clovis jumped off the bed, "Today Mr. Malin, you have to head to the Church. The new year’s apprentices are coming in, and as the third-year Chief Apprentice, you have to represent us."

Had Clovis not mentioned it, Malin would have nearly forgotten about this. So, he could only crawl out of bed, then got captivated by the cute Bunny tail behind Clovis.

Unlike Maya’s fluffiness, without Lillim’s softness, and not as stiff as Jessica’s, Clovis’s tail was round and swayed with her movements.

Oh, how adorable.

With this thought, Malin began to feel that he could no longer face the Thainan Bunny dishes.

I’m definitely not cut out to be a Sichuan cuisine chef.

With this sense of regret, Malin dressed up neatly, and with the help of Clovis, tied a ponytail that hung down—an all-time favorite hairstyle of young men across the human world, and girls were no exception. Besides, "Mr. Malin is looking very handsome today as well," Clovis said with a smile.

"You look very cute today," said Malin, kissing the back of the girl’s hand.

The Bunny Girl seemed exceedingly happy.

.........

"You went ahead and skipped a grade anyway." Upon arriving at the Church and seeing Malin, Logan, looking just like a resentful woman, grabbed Malin’s hand, "We had agreed to grow up together with everyone!"

"That’s because your growth cycle is too slow," said Malin’s new senior, one of Logan’s cousins, Miriam Sassher, showing disdain for her cousin’s theatrics.

"What are you saying, you stinky woman?" Logan tilted his head.

"What are you saying, you stinky brother?" Miriam’s eyes rounded, the hint of Orc blood within her giving her chilling, vertical pupils.

As a family drama seemed about to unfold, Malin quickly waved Faye over, "Dear, over here."

Faye, who had been playing the part of a little bird on the outside, snuggled up to Malin, declaring her territory while smiling at Logan, "Isn’t this Apprentice Logan? Why are you getting into conflict with Miriam?."

If you could see into Logan’s mind, Malin believed, it would be in total collapse.

Because his old friend turned around, disheartened, and went back to the third-year lineup.

This made Malin feel a little guilty—if the Spell Formation teachers hadn’t all assured they’d teach him new spells once he got to the fourth year, Malin wouldn’t have chosen to skip a grade.

Oh, how fun it was to massacre the upperclassmen in third grade. After advancing to fourth grade, the thrill of decimating them just didn’t feel the same.

Forget it, from now on during my collaborations with Logan, I’ll just give him an extra half a percent commission.

With that thought in mind, Malin saw Miriam, Logan’s girlfriend, walk over, hug Logan, give him a kiss, and then... return to the line for fourth graders.

Malin felt as if Logan had aged fifty years in an instant, the weight of the world visibly climbing onto his face with his outstretched hand trembling like Parkinson’s, yet in the end he turned around with a look of aggrieved resignation.

Silent, wallowing in self-pity.

"Is Logan really not playing a Sequence related to disguise?" Clovis asked curiously—as a Mage Apprentice, Clovis enjoyed a great deal of freedom, and since the whole Church of the Goddess of Harvest was aware of Malin’s relationship with Clovis, they naturally granted her the liberty to wander freely.

"No, he’s just looking a bit pitiful." Faye answered Clovis’s question with a smile and then turned to Malin: "What do you think, Malin?"

"Faye is right." While Malin indeed felt that Logan looked rather pitiful, after thinking it over, he reckoned that it was better to harm one’s friends than to charm the masses.

If it came down to it, another half a percent it would be. If Logan performed even better, throw in another half, but no more than that.

"Alright, enough, the new student representative is about to speak," announced the senior class big sister.

Thus, Malin turned his attention to the stage—last year’s newbie was ridiculously bold, standing nearly 6’3", the pure-blood giant youth from the Central Administrative Province boldly declared after the opening ceremony that he wished to challenge the most capable senior student to a fight, promising that if he won, he would be the Chief Apprentice.

A mighty dragon had crossed the river.

The savvy upperclassmen naturally pushed Malin forward; perhaps seeing how small, adorable, and seemingly harmless Malin was, the challenger even suggested fighting with one hand tied behind his back.

And then he was smashed into the wall by Malin’s stick.

The debate among the upperclassmen about whether Malin was of the Silver Folk or the Gold Folk then became more intense.

Malin really didn’t care—Silver or Gold, what did it matter?

Lost in these thoughts, Malin caught sight of a... little creature that appeared to be human, but was incredibly small and even more slender than he had been at that age.

It climbed onto the stage, and Colin, trailing behind, carried a box placing it under the lectern before helping the tiny one up onto it.

"What race is that?" Malin pointed at the little creature.

"Domestic Fairy Half-blood." Faye, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.

"In my opinion, there are always some fools who can’t control their lower halves," Jessica interjected abruptly.

What’s her name?

For some reason, Malin thought he had seen this child before.

He pondered a moment and finally remembered the underground chamber—right, before, he had thought it was himself in that chamber, but after verifying his own whereabouts, Malin had also realized that the tiny bones were far too small.

Could it be for this little one?

But that was impossible, right? Wouldn’t she grow taller?

With these doubts, Malin heard her voice.

"I am Rewo, Rewo Moka, a child of the Moka family. Today, as a representative of all the newcomers, I stand before you to say good morning."

"Much better than last year’s kid," someone remarked.

And as Malin watched the tiny thing hop off the box... fate really was mysterious.

It seemed if he had the chance, he really had to return to the underground chamber to discover what was going on.