Chapter 139: Pre-Exam Preparations
In a dream.
“It’s like this: Your Majesty the Queen has invited Lord Frostleaf to return, but I don’t know what your man did to Lord Frostleaf, and she has yet to agree to go back.”
“Stop, let me correct a small misunderstanding,” Jima said, lying back on the lounge chair. “He is not my man.”
The elf maid watched her warily and asked, “You are his woman.”
“Hmph, not really,” Jima replied. “He is my plaything.”
“Then take care of your plaything, succubus,” the elf maid said. “Lord Frostleaf insists on attending George’s birthday banquet.”
“Oh.”
“Tell me the location; I will follow Lord Frostleaf to prevent her from acting impulsively.” The elf maid’s tone carried a hint of threat: “Lord Frostleaf was born noble; her father dotes on her, and he is responsible for the defense of Osuan.”
Jima pretended not to understand her implication and asked back, “The gatekeeper of Itain City?”
The elf maid’s tone grew cold. “Osuan Guard.”
The high elves refer to themselves as Osul. Jima had naturally heard of the reputation of the Osuan Guard, known for their formidable strength; earning the title of Osuan Guard itself indicates considerable power.
According to the Demon King’s memory, he had also crossed swords with the Osuan Guard, and it was a fifty-fifty situation. After five exchanges, the Demon King Jima jumped into the sea holding a log, setting the record for the farthest distance swum solo.
As I expected, Eve Frostleaf is not ordinary; she could practically be considered a high elf princess. If George were to get her pregnant, he would be finished.
Jima quickly sat up and asked seriously, “I just want to have a meal together; it can’t be that serious, right?”
She was very curious about the real reason.
“It is serious.”
“Let’s put it this way, I am hosting the banquet, and the location is very secretive. We cannot let strangers wander in.” Jima said, “As the host, my authority is quite large.”
“Very good, that can prevent a tragedy from occurring.”
“I never said I wanted to chase Eve Frostleaf away,” Jima said. “After all, we are all comrades; how can we just kick people out?”
“Succubus, do you still not understand?”
“Is Your Majesty the Queen merely summoning Frostleaf back? Is that so serious?”
The elf maid thought for a moment and said, “Your Majesty has already given birth to the future queen, and she needs to invite Frostleaf back for the first birthday celebration.”
With the knowledge of three centuries that the Demon King possessed, Jima was well aware of the politics of high elves and quickly guessed the truth.
Is it possible that the silver-haired long-legged lady is the illegitimate daughter of the Osuan Guard and the elf queen, and now the elf queen has given birth to a legitimate child? Perhaps she is even the sister of the silver-haired long-legged lady from the same parents.
If the silver-haired long-legged lady hears this news, anyone would be infuriated.
Considering the time Eve Frostleaf left the Elf Island, the malicious thought arises that the elf queen might have sent her away to prevent the silver-haired long-legged lady from targeting her sister.
Tsk tsk tsk, the affairs of the high elves are truly interesting.
After deducing the answer, Jima pretended ignorance and asked, “Aside from that?”
The elf maid, mistakenly believing that Jima was completely clueless, could not directly state it. To make Jima understand the gravity of the situation, she said:
“Afterward, Lord Frostleaf went to find George.”
“Mm?”
“She cleaned herself up before going, dressed nicely, and headed to George’s room.”
Jima jumped up, her tail standing erect: “What!”
The elf maid was pleased with Jima’s reaction and said, “But they only talked for a while.”
“Alright, I understand.” Jima said, “As the saying goes, the best way to bring a couple together is to separate them. I won’t refuse her participation rudely. As the host, I have many ways to prevent… a tragedy from happening.”
The elf maid carefully observed the golden hue in Jima’s eyes, sensing a deep jealousy from her. She relaxed, feeling once again that allying with the succubus was an incredibly wise decision.
“I trust you; you wouldn’t want to see a bloodbath occur, right?”
She hinted at the threat from Frostleaf’s father; if he knew his daughter was sullied by a human, he would probably come with the Crimson Flame Sword seeking revenge.
“Of course, I guarantee that.”
“Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
Jima stretched out her wings from behind, clapped once, and vanished from the elf maid’s dream. Shortly after, she returned to the “Dream Palace.”
She slowly descended, the tips of her toes landing first. As soon as she touched the ground, she conjured a blackboard, lifted her finger, and wrote key information about Eve Frostleaf with chalk.
“Likes spicy food, enjoys scandalous literature, an icy beauty…”
“Filled with racial superiority, while also deeply influenced by the twisted politics of high elf courts…”
“Rebellious, resentful toward her parents.”
Finally, all the Chinese characters extended into an arrow pointing toward the three words: “Tsundere Receiver.”
“A very good summary.” Jima crossed her arms and stared at those three words, “She feels proud of her race and lineage but is also tormented by it. I guess the more others remind her of her noble status, the more rebellious she becomes, yearning to be tainted by a lowly race.”
“George has such a strong romantic fortune, running into such a special woman. It’s like a duck with Shandong scallions coming to the door, even bringing along a hot pot.”
“But he definitely doesn’t know that the seemingly cold Frostleaf secretly hopes for him to take charge; even if he did know, that good-natured boy wouldn’t really go through with it.”
“In that case…” Jima rested her chin on her hand, a wicked smile spreading across her face. She reached out, and a whip flew into her palm. Jima swung the whip hard, producing a loud crack.
“Perhaps I should take care of it; let George keep pursuing his pure camaraderie.”
Her tail wagged excitedly from side to side.
At that moment, a wisp of black smoke rose from the distant imaginary blue sky in the Dream Palace. Jenna had entered the dream.
Jima waved her hand, inviting her over.
A shooting star streaked across the sky, landing before Jima and transforming into Jenna, clad in loose pajamas. Barefoot, she stepped on the grass and asked:
“Jima, are you ready?”
“Of course, I’m ready. I have prepared this for you.”
Jima pulled out a large glass bottle filled with white liquid, with a label reading “Milk” stuck on it, and a brass bell from a cow tied around the neck of the bottle.
Jenna’s egg-shaped face flushed slightly as she asked, “Is it… is it time already? Aren’t we celebrating the birthday party tomorrow night?”
“Just in case, it wouldn’t be good if it doesn’t take effect by tomorrow night.”
“But that’s too much.”
“The more seeds sown in spring, the greater the harvest in autumn,” Jima said, “Drink half the bottle now, and half again tomorrow night; it will surely work.”
“Okay.” Jenna accepted the milk bottle, which jingled as she moved.
Jima looked at Jenna with a beaming smile, who shyly raised her arm to cover her face and said, “Don’t look at me.”
“You are still nervous.” Jima propped her chin and pretended to be serious, saying, “How about we have a mock exam to calm your nerves?”
“On second thought, I’ll just get familiar with the exam site.”
Jima did not press further, saying, “Alright, sleep well for tomorrow.”
With that, Jima used a somersault cloud to run back to her bedroom. She secretly plotted a new, undisclosed evil scheme, cackling mischievously as if envisioning her plots coming to fruition.
Meanwhile, Jenna was nervously wandering around the palace in preparation for her big exam the next day.
“George seems troubled; I hope he will be happy tomorrow.”
She muttered to herself as she passed a room with a sign that read “George’s Residence.”
Suddenly, she became aware of a problem. After undergoing Jima’s rigorous training, had she perhaps already distanced herself from George by a large margin?
If during the “exam” she pulled away from George too much, it wouldn’t be fun. Forget surprises; it would be more like a fright.
Jenna thought for a moment, quietly took out the “Nine Yin Manual” she always carried, filled with “knowledge points” painstakingly written by Jima. She twisted the door open, placed it on the table, then dashed out like a thief, closing the door behind her, leaving with her hand pressed against her racing heartbeat.
This way, in the “pre-exam” phase, George could study some of the exam points while avoiding any leaks that could ruin her surprise. Because the handwriting was obviously Jima’s, he would never suspect it was her.
…
The next day.
“Crack!”
At the final section of the landscape painting, the pencil tip broke again.
George’s expression was as cold as his sword, clutching a letter. The sender was a dwarf master, who wrote that he had heard that the ultra-gothic armor he personally crafted for George had been pawned away for money.
He simply wanted to ask what had happened. More importantly, he hoped that his armor would see battle rather than become a pawned item, gathering dust in some rich family’s cellar.
George remembered the name of the dwarf master; he had painstakingly saved money to have him craft armor. For that, he took an extended leave and traveled a long way to see the dwarf master, just to ensure that the armor was a perfect fit.
Who took his ultra-gothic armor from his storage and took it to the far-off Malin City to pawn it?
George’s mind ran a full circle, and Jima’s mischievous face sprang forth in his mind.
“Crack! Crack! Crack!”
The pencil splintered into four pieces in George’s palm.
Taking a deep breath, George slowly calmed down. He lifted his head and looked out the window.
The sun atop the mountain was especially large, resembling the yolk of a boiled egg.
Previously, Jima had already said she would host a birthday party for him, starting promptly at seven o’clock tonight.
Thinking of this, George relaxed his fist, and the four pieces of pencil and wood shavings fell to the ground.
Jima was quite good to him, organizing a birthday party; he felt it would be inappropriate to take it out on her.
George suppressed his anger and decided to let Jima off the hook for one night. Tonight everyone should enjoy themselves, and he would settle the score with her tomorrow.
Even George, with his mild temperament, felt that Jima was getting restless; not having punished her for a few days was uncomfortable.
This time, he decided to leave a deep impression on Jima, just not today. He looked in the mirror; although his face bore no smile, it also showed no anger, just the same as usual.
After taking off his shoes and socks, washing his feet, and tidying up, George lay down on the bed and closed his eyes.
