But Tina's tolerance was beyond imagination. Not only did she not get worked up from being lectured, she even occasionally replied, happily interacting with Little Jeanne.
The atmosphere in the living room became somewhat subtle. If one did not listen carefully, one might get the mistaken impression that the two were good friends having a friendly chat.
It had been a long time since Tina had communicated with anyone like this. Little Jeanne's lecturing gave her the long-lost feeling of being cared for. She enjoyed that feeling and could not bear to ruin it.
She kept agreeing verbally, but the lazy expression on her face did not change in the slightest. This made Little Jeanne very dissatisfied. She felt that her lecture had achieved nothing and was a failure.
Just then, the phone in Tina's pocket started ringing.
She instantly sat upright, her expression becoming incomparably serious. No one knew her phone number except one person.
Arland. Without a doubt, this call was from Arland.
Looking at the caller ID on the screen, Tina was at a loss. Her mission had failed, and she was currently in Yuxian's home. She did not know how to explain this to Dr. Arland.
She had never encountered a situation like this before, and for a moment, she hesitated.
As she stared blankly at the phone in indecision, Yuxian stepped forward, snatched it from her hand, and put it to his ear.
"Dr. Arland, Tina Sprinter has been captured by us. You'd better explain the attempted assassination of Seitenshi."
Yuxian's tone was extremely grave as he questioned Arland about sending Tina to assassinate Seitenshi.
His attitude was unusually firm. His accusatory tone was so convincing that even Yuxian himself almost believed it.
Arland did not say a word. Before Yuxian could continue, he instantly hung up.
"Tch!"
Yuxian had nothing but disdain for people like Arland. He acted profound and worldly, but in reality, he had no sense of responsibility at all. He dared to do it but not admit it.
In Arland's eyes, Tina was merely a disposable tool, something he could abandon at any time. He would absolutely never be willing to bear the charge of attempting to assassinate Seitenshi for Tina's sake.
Yuxian tossed the phone back to Tina, shrugged, spread his hands, and said with a curl of his lip, "That's all there is to it. You're free now."
Tina's expression was somewhat ugly. She had done so many things for Dr. Arland, yet in the end, she had been abandoned so easily.
She had no particular feelings for Dr. Arland, but being treated as a discarded pawn still made her feel terrible. After all, she was only a child.
"Not happy?" Seeing Tina's expression, Yuxian guessed how she felt. "You should be happy. From now on, you can live the life you want."
The life she wanted? Tina lowered her head in confusion. What kind of life did she want? She did not know, and she had never thought about it.
Yuxian did not explain further. Instead, he turned to Little Jeanne and said, "I'm leaving her to you, Jeanne-chan. Tina has gotten lost on the road of life. It's time for you to shine. I believe in you! Good luck!"
Little Jeanne clenched her small hand into a fist and confidently declared that she would definitely do a good job.
Jeanne-chan was so cute. Was it really okay for me to do this? Seeing Little Jeanne's reaction, Yuxian felt a slight pang of guilt.
He soon realized that such feelings were completely unnecessary, because Little Jeanne was utterly immersed in the task and brimming with enthusiasm.
I'm helping Jeanne-chan find happiness.
Yuxian found himself an excuse.
Tina was very good at adjusting herself. Perhaps Little Jeanne's guidance had truly worked, because she soon pulled herself together. She curled up on the sofa like a lazy kitten again and chatted with Little Jeanne now and then.
It was already late, so Yuxian reminded them, "Time for bed."
Since all the little ones slept in Yuxian's room, there were still vacant rooms in the house. He prepared a bed for Tina in one of them, letting her stay for the night while he made other arrangements for her tomorrow.
When Tina saw all the children entering Yuxian's room, she stared at him with a strange look. Her expression clearly said, You perverted lolicon.
Yuxian instinctively took two steps toward her, intending to explain himself, but Tina jumped backward like a startled rabbit and assumed a guarded stance.
Seeing her exaggerated reaction, Yuxian rolled his eyes, ignored her, and went back to his room.
The moment he entered, he saw Little Jeanne carrying her bedding toward the door.
Yuxian blinked and asked in confusion, "Where are you going, Jeanne-chan?"
Little Jeanne replied, "I'm going to stay with Tina. She's too lonely by herself."
Yuxian stepped aside to let her pass, watching Little Jeanne leave with complicated feelings in his heart.
As expected of the future Saintess... or Witch? She was so considerate of others. Who wouldn't like a Jeanne-chan like this?
In the other room, Tina was also surprised to see Little Jeanne come in carrying bedding. She asked, "What are you doing?"
While meticulously making the bed, Little Jeanne said in a very serious tone, "I came to supervise your sleep. Children can't stay up at night!"
Tina rubbed her forehead, tilted her head back slightly, and wore an expression that said she had been completely defeated.
Lying in bed, Tina's eyes were wide open. Accustomed to being active at night, this was when she was at her most energetic. How could she possibly fall asleep?
She idly thought about all sorts of things. Every so often, she would turn over or scratch her head, without the slightest hint of sleepiness.
Turning to look at Little Jeanne beside her, she softly said, "Hey..."
"Sleep!" Little Jeanne closed her eyes and sternly interrupted Tina.
Tina had no choice but to close her eyes and force herself to sleep.
So much had happened today. Even after closing her eyes, everything continued circling through her mind.
A few hours ago, she had still been an assassin. Now, she was about to begin another kind of life.
The change was simply too sudden, leaving her unsure of what to do. No matter how adaptable she was, she could not change so easily.
She thought of Dr. Arland, who had ruthlessly abandoned her, and of the mission she had originally come to the Tokyo Area to complete. Everything had clearly been within reach, yet it now seemed so far away.
What would life be like from now on? It was an experience she had never had before. She imagined countless possibilities and could not help looking forward to them.
Her mind continued wandering aimlessly, and she did not know how much time passed before Tina finally drifted into sleep.
This was the earliest she had slept in quite some time.
P.S.
Today, this story got a recommendation slot in a small category, so I shamelessly ask everyone for recommendation votes!
I'll continue working hard and hope for everyone's support!
May luck be with you all!
Liking School and Disliking School
"Wake up!"
Most of the time, Little Jeanne was the one responsible for waking everyone up in this household.
She was extremely strict about managing her Master. Ever since Yuxian came to this world, he had not slept in late for a very long time.
Perhaps only Mash did not need to be called, as she got up on time by herself. In that regard, the junior was very disciplined.
Everyone else needed her supervision before they would slowly drag themselves out of bed.
Jack was especially attached to her blankets. Her favorite thing was curling up in bed, and if Yuxian was beside her, she could keep sleeping without getting up.
Illya was a fifth-grade elementary school student, at exactly the age when children loved sleeping in. Expecting her to get up on time was impossible.
There was no need to mention Gretel, who acted like a lady during the day but had terrible sleeping posture at night. She even had morning grumpiness.
In the living room, everyone sleepily ate the breakfast Mash had made. They all looked listless. For those who loved sleeping, getting up early was practically life's greatest enemy.
Tina was especially bad. She was still completely immersed in her dreams.
She had kept thinking about all sorts of things last night and had only truly fallen asleep very late. This was when she was sleeping most soundly, yet Little Jeanne had ruthlessly dragged her out of bed.
Her beautiful expectations for her new life had been shattered. A life where she could not sleep in was not beautiful at all!
She yawned and complained, "Why do we have to get up so early?"
"Because we have classes today. We need to go early, and we absolutely can't be late!" Little Jeanne declared righteously, looking extremely serious.
"Classes?"
Tina looked as if she had heard an unbelievable word. She was a Cursed Child, a modified mechanical soldier. She had never imagined that one day she would need to attend classes too.
"I think I'd rather go back to being an assassin..." Tina sprawled across the table, unwilling to move at all.
In the end, Little Jeanne still dragged Tina to the school in the Outer District.
After renovations, the school was completely different from before. It had become quite presentable and no longer looked as shabby as it had when Yuxian first arrived.
An entire building had been converted into a teaching building, and after being renovated, it no longer had the slightest dilapidated feel.
There were many classrooms in the building. They now had enough teachers, so Chiron no longer needed to personally handle everything.
He divided the children into different classes according to their ages and characteristics, allowing them to receive more suitable instruction.
The Great Sage, who had once taught countless heroes, naturally understood such a simple principle as teaching according to aptitude.
The bright windows made every classroom well-lit. Rows of desks and chairs were arranged neatly, creating an orderly appearance.
The children treasured this new school tremendously and cleaned it with painstaking care.
The blackboards at the front of the classrooms were wiped spotless, without even a trace left in the corners. The floors were also swept so clean that one almost could not bear to step inside and dirty them.
"Master, you came early!" Chiron greeted Yuxian when he saw him approach.
Yuxian shrugged helplessly. "You have no idea how strict Little Jeanne is when it comes to managing her Master."
"Ha ha!" Chiron laughed heartily. There were not many in all of Chaldea who could make Yuxian behave like this, and Little Jeanne was one of them.
"This is Tina Sprinter. Starting today, she'll be attending classes here as well. Tina, this is Teacher Chiron."
Yuxian introduced Tina to Chiron so they could get acquainted. This was the best place to settle Tina.
"Welcome, Tina!"
The moment Tina heard Yuxian's introduction, all her sleepiness vanished. Her nerves instantly tensed. Chiron was one of the targets of her mission.
Then she remembered that she was no longer an assassin. She had been forcibly dragged here to attend classes, so she immediately relaxed and lazily bowed in greeting. "Teacher Chiron!"
Chiron saw Tina's reaction, but he did not say much. He led her into the school and arranged her enrollment.
Jack and the others also bid Yuxian farewell one after another before entering the school to prepare for class.
Children from the Outer District gradually arrived at school, and laughter could be heard everywhere. This place finally had the feel of a real school.
The biggest difference from an ordinary school was probably the lack of a playground. There was a large open space outside the school, but it was enough for everyone to move around in.
"Rentaro, you idiot! You actually took the wrong road and almost made me late!"
Enju Aihara's voice came from the distance. She sat on the back seat of Rentaro's bicycle, loudly complaining at him.
Rentaro pedaled hard while retorting, "Isn't it because you slept in this morning? I called you several times, but you refused to get up!"
"I calculated the time! If Rentaro hadn't taken the wrong road, we would've made it in time. It's all your fault!"
Enju argued forcefully. When they neared the school entrance, she leaped off the back of the bicycle and ran over to greet everyone.
Ever since she had been ostracized by her former classmates because of her identity as a Cursed Child, Enju had always come here for classes. She had gradually come to like this new school and made many new friends here.
Unlike Enju, who could not wait to rush into the classroom, a figure in the distance slowly shuffled forward step by step. With the pace of a snail and the unhappy expression on her face, she was the very image of a child who hated school.
Hiruko Kagetane had ordered Kohina to attend school. She did not like school at all and strongly resisted coming here, but she could not turn back and hide. Kohina knew that Kagetane was surely watching her from somewhere. If she skipped school, she would be severely punished.
Looking up at the school not far away, she gritted her teeth as though she had made an enormous effort before reluctantly walking inside.
From a tall building in the distance, Hiruko Kagetane watched her enter the school. Only then did he nod in satisfaction and turn to leave.
Unlike ordinary schools, classes here only lasted half a day. Since Cursed Children possessed powerful abilities, Chiron arranged for the remaining half of the day to teach them how to control their own powers.
Since these children could not yet escape their identities as Cursed Children, they needed to learn how to make good use of their abilities.
Correctly understanding and applying their own abilities would be of great help to these children in the future.
To a certain extent, this was also a form of protection for them. Children with strength would not be bullied at will.
Chiron's philosophy was very open-minded. He did not mind training all these children into powerful warriors.
Possessing power and using power were two different concepts. Chiron carefully taught them how to view that power correctly.
Even children with timid personalities were required by him to learn at least the most basic self-defense.
This world was extremely dangerous. The threat of the Gastrea remained a blade hanging over humanity's head. Giving up strength was the most foolish choice.
As Heroic Spirits, Jack and the others naturally did not need practical combat instruction, so they did not attend afternoon classes.
Before you continue