Baiyi had to spend a considerable amount of time to explain away the misunderstanding, attributing it completely to Mordred’s immature mouth. It was fortunate that his students were still innocent, so they accepted his explanation fully.
However, he had no way to convince those nosy folks in Cloud City.
By the time they got home, it was almost evening. Baiyi did not resume their class; instead, he asked the students to complete a write-up before bedtime; it required them to write a review about the day’s trip and what they had learned.
When the assignments were completed and submitted, Baiyi sat in his room, thumbing through them.
The first write-up he read was Nota’s. The fairy had been earnest with her write-up, reiterating every point Baiyi had made; she also added in a few sentences about her understanding and opinions, including her own responses if she was in his shoes. Near the end of her write-up was a genuine question, though: “I’m a shy girl. I don’t think I can even talk this loud… So, what should I do?”
Baiyi was very satisfied with her answer. He gleefully graded the assignment, adding “Cake” as a reward.
Nota really was a good child.
The second assignment was Mia’s, and as she was his priority, he read her write-up meticulously.
In the end, on the right top corner of the paper, Baiyi wrote the word “Pinch Cheek” because although Mia had used all sorts of idioms and impressive descriptions in her write-up, anyone else could still easily write the same essay using two lines:
“Wow! Mr. Hope is so cool!”
Or, “Wow! From now on, I’m gonna rely on Mr. Hope for every stuff like this!”
Fine; so maybe it was quite common for a soul armature practitioner to ask their soul armature for help when the going got tough, but that was definitely not the sort of lesson Baiyi had hoped to teach her today!
Honestly, what Baiyi really wanted to write on Mia’s paper was “Feather Duster”, but the girl, in her essay, had extolled his gallantry, his handsomeness, his strength, and even his gentleness so lavishly; thus, using her own words, the gallant, handsome, strong, and gentle Soul Armature decided to give her a little leeway.
The next assignment graded was Tisdale’s. She probably had some experience with legal issues and copyrights, and she had demonstrated remarkable attentiveness to his lesson, which was evident in her write-up. Her work was even better than Nota’s; hence maybe she would be the best out of the bunch today. For her effort, Baiyi wrote “Cake x3” on her paper.
The next paper was Laeticia’s. Baiyi had not read it for long before the urge to rip it apart flooded him; the girl had offered gems like:
“Yay! No class today! Best day ever!”
“Mr. Hope has such a loud voice! Louder than the muscular husky man at the Church who teaches us fighting. The poor receptionist was so terrified! But then… I remember them telling me that the husky man’s voice was loud because he used to be a butcher. I wonder what Mr. Hope’s career was when he was alive?”
“Wow! Fatty Branch Leader Guy sure have great desserts!”
“Gosh! The tea sets and cups moved on their own! It was a very cool magic trick!”
“Miss Aya is always beautiful. And gentle, too! Is she really a dragon? I find that hard to believe. Mordred is very good and polite; I think she’s a good child. But, why does she keep calling Mr. Hope ‘papa’?”
“Aww, the lunch we had at that eatery, which Mr. Hope brought us to, was so goooood! But will we ever visit it again?”
This content was instantly awarded the “Feather Duster” grade.
Then Baiyi moved on to read the write-ups written by the kitsune, the owl, and the sunflower.
All he could say was, “If I was not a Soul Armature, I would have probably from coughing up too much blood.”
The issue here was not that those three copied each other; they just shared similar opinions, making it seem as if they had unanimously decided on their content in a sort of meeting, which was held before the write-up commenced. What was more, none of them talked about laws and legality. A part of their identical write-ups discussed how to defend their legal rights as non-humans; another part of their write-up included making humans recognize the ingenuity of their inventions, and then the rest of their write-ups was all about how to defeat Mordred with their combined strength and Nota’s help.
On that last part about defeating Modred, the trio even wrote details of their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as the tools and traps that they would require; this was so that they could work together in their team-up by covering each other’s back.
The entire write-up was a strategy report on fighting Mordred…
‘Are you three here to learn or to fight for civil rights? In fact, are you here to learn how to slay dragons? What exactly do you guys want to do to the girl who called me her papa?!’
Baiyi initially wanted to give their write-ups his “Feather Duster” grade, but he decided against it after conceding that, despite veering way off topic, the animals had shown how much effort they put into their own analysis Perhaps he should be a little compassionate this time…
Thus, he gave their write-ups the “Stand in a Corner” grade.
The next paper was Attie’s. Naturally, no of the other students could rival the speechlessness and rage that Attie’s assignment caused Baiyi; however, right in the middle of her paper was the drawing of a cat, which was sticking out its tongue at him.
‘Are…. are you trying to melt my heart?’
The only thing Attie’s kitty drawing managed to melt was Baiyi’s reluctance to give harsh punishments; thus, he gave Attie a “Feather Duster x5” grade. When combined with the “Feather Duster x3” which was sue from her last assignment… ‘Haha, this trouble-making cat is done for tomorrow!’
Still filled with anger, Baiyi turned to Vidomina’s homework.
Surprisingly, hers was even more satisfactory than Tisdale’s and Nota’s. She did not even limit her view of Baiyi’s lessons to defending rights legally, but she also extending his philosophy to other subjects and aspects of life itself. Her ability to generalize his lessons displayed a true understanding of the essence of the problem-solving ability, rather than the forms and apparent methods Baiyi had used.
Judging from the assignment, Baiyi could tell that Vidomina had truly grasped the knowledge that Baiyi had sought to pass, which was as expected of a child from a noble Duke’s family. She managed to look at the questions from another, and even more mature, perspective. Although Vidomina may not be very exceptional in terms of academics or magical basics, the girl had surely inherited her father’s insights and beliefs.
Vidomina’s work was the only one Baiyi did not grade at all; he believed that none of his current rewards could do the girl’s work justice enough.
The next day, Baiyi returned the graded assignments back to his students. From their expressions, one could guess the grade they got. Some sighed, someone was very upset, and another shook her head helplessly… Nota was probably the one only who did not look saddled by her grade; but then again, she had been given the “Cake” grade for two straight days already.
“Laeticia! Attie! Up here to the dais, now.” Baiyi sat on the dais and gestured to the two.
“You two fools! It’s bad enough that you copied from each other; however, must you two even get the spelling of the same term wrong? Geez; to think that copying would at least require half a brain!”
After the scolding, came the action. As the feather duster struck them, the screams and sobs of both girls resonated loud enough for the neighbors to hear.
“Oww! Owwwww! Mr. Hope, I’m so sorry! I’m never doing it again!” Laeticia cried between sobs.
“Owww, I hate it! I hate you, Master! I’m never talking to you again! ” Attie tried her best to be threatening as tears burst out of her eyes and drenched her cheeks. The problem was, of course, that her threat never carried any substance; Baiyi had heard the same threat so many times that he had stopped caring about it. His Kitty Cat Maid had a very bad memory anyway; after a nap, her memory would somehow reset itself, and all Baiyi had to do was to wave at her, and she would come to rub her cheeks on him jovially.
“That’s all. Go and wash yourselves,” Baiyi said coldly to Laeticia and Attie while putting away his Executioner’s Feather Duster. Then, he turned his gaze to his flora-and fauna-themed students.
When Laeticia and Attie finally returned, they were treated with quite a scene; Baiyi was pinching Mia’s cheeks hard, and the animals were standing in a corner, balancing Baiyi’s favorite potted plants on their head. The animals knew that these plants were Baiyi’s favorite; if they broke even one of them, they knew he was probably gonna skin them alive. Thus, the fox had to use its hind legs to hold up its plants, while the owl had to lift its wings up high to hold its plants, making sure it does not lose its balance and falls.
Since Sunny itself was a flower with a pot underneath it, all the sunflower could do was to stand upside down, keeping Baiyi’s plants atop the bottom of its point, which was now facing upwards.
Nota and Tisdale, who were both comfortably and quietly enjoying cakes at a side, were targets of understandable jealousy.
Vidomina did not seem to be doing any of those. She was not rewarded, neither was she punished; she did not find that surprising, though. She had a pretty good guess of her own skill and knowledge level.
However, when Vidomina looked at Mia’s pouting face which Baiyi was currently pinching, there was a flash of jealousy in her eyes.
Baiyi returned Mia to her seat after her punishment and walked to Vidomina’s side. He took her workbook up and announced, “This is Vidomina’s work, and I believe it to be most exemplary work I have received. In fact, I’ll try to find some time to explain why and how I arrived at this conclusion as we read it together. But first, your reward…”
Baiyi looked down at Vidomina’s perplexed face. “I can fulfill any small request you make.”
“Any small request? Seriously?” Her eyes widened.
“Hey now; don’t get too overboard with it, though!” Baiyi replied. “If you want to be exempted from today’s assignments, that’s acceptable.”
“I…” Vidomina thought hard.
Then, suddenly, she stood up with a gush of bravery, moving to stand on top of the bench, and said, “I would like my Godfather to kiss me! Like how you kiss Mia normally…”
“Huh? That’s it?” Baiyi replied, feeling amused. He walked closer to her and gently pressed his mask on her forehead.
There was no sensual desire in their exchange. In its place, however, was the sort of love and care a parent would impart to their child. It was innocent and moving.
Vidomina smiled. She smiled so brightly that a keen observer would notice that this was the first real, happy smile she had made since her family’s mishap.
The other girls, however, stared at her with complicated expressions. It seemed that some cogs had turned within them…