"Really?" Gretel was somewhat tempted by what Yuxian had said, but she still felt like he was trying to fool her and couldn't find anything wrong with it.
Seizing her moment of hesitation, Yuxian immediately made the decision. "Then it's settled! I'll talk it over with Kobayashi. She knows more about this, so I'll have her help find a school nearby."
After saying that, Yuxian headed out. He had broken out in a cold sweat too. Gretel was smart and not easy to deal with. If he hadn't found her weak point, he really wouldn't have been confident he could persuade her.
After discussing it with Kobayashi, they ultimately settled on Longtomb Elementary School, the closest school to their home, for the children to attend.
Illya would go straight into sixth grade, while everyone else, including Kanna, would be placed in third grade.
With Little Jeanne watching over them, Yuxian felt fairly reassured. The children all knew their limits, and getting to experience the atmosphere of school would be good for them. Staying at home all the time would make them lose touch with ordinary people's lives, which would be bad for their growth. That was why Yuxian insisted on sending them to school.
Although Heroic Spirits supposedly couldn't grow, Yuxian thought that was wrong. At the very least, he had noticed clear changes in Jack.
If she hadn't changed at all, there was no way she could have adapted to ordinary life by now. She would still be that murderous little girl who pulled out a dagger and tried to slash people at the slightest provocation. Yuxian might have been disemboweled by her long ago.
But in reality, Jack had become very obedient. Although many of her ideas still differed from those of ordinary people, Yuxian had seen her behavior for himself. The fact that she had even played games with Fafnir during the gathering at Kobayashi's home was the best proof.
Yuxian had never regarded them as Heroic Spirits. When they weren't fighting, they were ordinary children. It didn't matter if their bodies wouldn't grow up. He didn't mind eternal little girls at all.
But in other respects, Yuxian still very much hoped they could become like ordinary children, learn more things, and do what they liked.
With the school matter settled, Yuxian waved a hand and took everyone shopping for school supplies.
Since they couldn't resist, the little ones could only obediently accept the arrangement and go to school.
They went with Yuxian to pick out the things they needed for school. Being able to buy things they liked wasn't so bad either.
P.S.:
Thanks to Countdown Three Two One for the blade!
Happy shopping time had arrived again.
Since they had come to the mall with Kobayashi, Kanna, and the others, Yuxian didn't let the little ones run around this time. They obediently followed behind him.
Still, they didn't buy any fewer things than usual. Yuxian spent money lavishly, making Kobayashi clutch her wallet tightly.
However, she didn't neglect Kanna either. As a programmer, she earned a pretty good salary, so this level of spending wasn't much of a problem for her.
After buying everything they needed for school, the group took the opportunity to find a small restaurant outside and have a meal together to celebrate the children starting school.
Yuxian understood the principle of giving a sweet date after swinging the stick. If they spent tonight happily, they would resist much less when he sent them to school tomorrow.
Sure enough, with delicious food in front of them, the little ones quickly became absorbed in the meal.
Everyone had a pleasant gathering. As usual, Kobayashi got completely drunk and staggered around without knowing which way was up. She had to rely entirely on Tohru to make it home safely.
After the four children went to school, Yuxian had even more free time. He bought a game console, and he and Mash sat together on the living room sofa playing games, living an utterly decadent life.
Finally, one day, Mash could no longer bear it. She couldn't keep watching Yuxian waste away like this.
Determined to change his state, she tossed aside the controller and said, "Senpai, if this keeps up, you'll become a second Osakabehime!"
Yuxian continued playing as he replied, "It's rare that I get a few days of leisure, Mash. Don't be so strict!"
"A few days?!" Mash suddenly raised her voice and said angrily, "It's clearly been half a month already!"
Yuxian casually brushed her off. "It's only been half a month. Next month, next month I'll definitely find something to do..."
"No!" Mash saw through Yuxian's utterly insincere promise at a glance. Such a stalling tactic wouldn't work on her, but she didn't have a better solution and didn't want to force him too harshly either.
Mash thought seriously for a while, then decided to gather everyone and discuss a way to get Yuxian moving again.
Without Yuxian's knowledge, the Salty Master Rescue Squad was officially established, with Mash as team leader, Siegfried and Little Jeanne as deputy leaders, and Illya, Gretel, and Jack as members.
The group's first meeting was held in Siegfried's little room. The purpose of the meeting was to get their Master back on his feet and stop him from being such a slacker.
Gretel spoke first. "Master is too crafty. He made us go to school while he hid at home playing games. This absolutely won't do!"
"Agreed!" Illya seconded.
"I think we should make a training plan for Master, like last time." Little Jeanne's suggestion was more constructive, and she offered a concrete plan.
"That won't work. Teacher Chiron was there last time, but none of us here have much we can teach him. Mr. Siegfried isn't good at teaching others either." Mash shook her head and rejected Little Jeanne's proposal.
They wouldn't simply put Yuxian through the wringer without anyone to teach him. Fundamentally, they all wanted him to become better.
"I'm sorry..." Siegfried apologized out of habit. Compared to Chiron, he truly wasn't a good teacher. He might not lose to Chiron when it came to fighting evil dragons, but in teaching disciples, he was streets behind Chiron.
"Jack, do you have any ideas?" Seeing Jack sitting off to the side, looking idle as though it had nothing to do with her, Mash asked her symbolically.
Jack was one of the group members after all. Though Mash didn't hold much hope that she could offer anything useful, Jack had an especially close relationship with Yuxian. Perhaps she might provide some key information that could inspire everyone.
Jack tilted her head, her face full of confusion. "Mommy is fine. Why does he need saving?"
"No!" everyone rejected in unison, declaring that Yuxian had to change his current slacker state and absolutely couldn't go on like this.
"Mm..." Seeing that everyone disagreed with her, Jack began thinking as well.
She tapped her chin with a finger, her big eyes blinking as she slowly mentioned something.
"Ah!" x5
Mash slapped her forehead in frustration. "How could I forget that? Good thing Jack reminded us."
"Then let's start making the plan!" Little Jeanne looked eager to give it a try, clearly tempted by the idea as well.
Next, the entire group began discussing the specific details of the plan. They carefully assigned their respective tasks, striving to make every step flawless.
After the plan was finalized, Mash said seriously, "Everyone must keep this secret. You can't leak the plan halfway through!"
"But is it really okay to deceive Mommy?" Jack asked hesitantly. She had always listened to Yuxian very closely and felt that this was wrong.
Gretel immediately retorted, "Master is always tricking children. What's wrong with tricking him a little? Besides, we're doing this for his own good. He definitely won't blame us."
Gretel reacted intensely. She grabbed Jack's hand and said to her sternly, "Jack, you absolutely can't tell Master about this, or I won't be friends with you anymore!"
Seeing that Gretel didn't seem to be joking, Jack thought about it and felt that this wouldn't bring Yuxian any bad consequences. She nodded and agreed with everyone's approach.
Little Jeanne also chimed in, "Though using this method is a little bad, as long as the result is good, everything will be fine."
She was an upright, rigid Santa Claus, but she also had the occasional reckless nature of a child, so she easily accepted such a plan.
"Since everyone agrees, then it's settled." Mash gave the final summary. "Mr. Siegfried, your task is the most important. You must make it look real. Don't let anything slip."
"I'm sorry, I'll do my best..."
"Not do your best. You must do it!" Mash said firmly.
"Sorry, I'll definitely do it..."
Mash knew this was just Siegfried's habit and stopped dwelling on it. She believed that as a legendary hero, such a small matter certainly wouldn't stump him.
"Shouldn't we change our group's name, then?" someone suggested.
"No! Salty Yuxian suits it perfectly!" Mash waved a hand. She had long been fed up with Yuxian's decadent state these past days.
The Salty Master Rescue Squad's first meeting came to a successful conclusion.
Everyone continued as usual—going home, eating, and sleeping—as though nothing had happened.
Yuxian noticed nothing unusual around him. It had to be said that once a person became lazy, they grew increasingly dull.
"Brother Fei, what is it?"
Yuxian looked at Siegfried standing before him in confusion. Seeing the troubled look on his face, Yuxian was quite puzzled. He didn't know what difficulty could stump a legendary hero.
"I'm sorry..." Siegfried looked troubled as he said softly, "A colleague got sick and took leave. The delivery packages have piled up, and I can't finish delivering them all by myself in time. I can't keep the customers waiting either, so I hope Master can help me. I'm truly sorry..."
"Huh?" Yuxian was dumbfounded when he heard that. So this was asking him to deliver packages too.
Though he was reluctant, he couldn't refuse such a sincere request from Siegfried. Besides, it would only take a day or two, so it wasn't completely unacceptable.
He nodded. "All right, I'll help you. It really hasn't been easy for you."
"Thank you! I'm troubling Master to help me. I'm truly sorry..."
Yuxian explained things to Mash. Since the next few days were the weekend, the children would be resting at home. Mash needed to look after them and couldn't come along to help.
"Don't worry, Senpai. I'll take good care of Jack and the others at home. Just focus on helping Mr. Siegfried!" Mash hurriedly patted her chest and promised.
Following Siegfried to the delivery company's warehouse, Yuxian was intimidated by the mountain of packages piled before him.
When would they ever finish delivering all this?
"Master, we need to pick out all the packages going in the same direction. That way, we can deliver them all in one trip." Siegfried moved into action with practiced ease, his skilled movements making people feel sorry for him.
Watching him, Yuxian felt somewhat guilty. They were both from Chaldea, yet Siegfried was living such a hard life.
Sorting was simple work. Yuxian got the hang of it after learning for a bit. Though he was somewhat slow, he was helping in the end.
As he carefully sorted the packages and categorized them by delivery address, he said to Siegfried, "Brother Fei, I actually still have quite a bit of money. It's enough for us to live on. Why don't you quit your job?"
Siegfried's hands moved swiftly as he replied without looking up, "I'm sorry, Master, but I hope to earn money and live by my own efforts."
"But you're working way too hard like this," Yuxian couldn't help saying.
Siegfried set down the package in his hand, shot Yuxian a surprised glance, then immediately continued working.
He said calmly, "Compared to fighting evil dragons, this job is no different from a vacation to me."
Thinking it over, Yuxian felt that seemed to be true. He could also hear that Siegfried was satisfied with his current life, so he said no more. Everyone pursued different things. Not everyone liked living a slacker's life as much as he did.
After the sorting was done, Siegfried took a delivery worker's uniform from an employee locker nearby and handed it to Yuxian. "This is my spare work uniform. Master, please make do with it for now. Customers will complain if you don't wear a uniform. I'll back the delivery truck in."
"Okay." Yuxian took the uniform and quickly put it on. It didn't fit very well, but he could manage. He didn't ask for much. He was only here to help, and it wouldn't be good if he caused more trouble instead.
By the time Yuxian had changed clothes, Siegfried had already backed the truck into the warehouse. His driving skills were excellent. The truck stopped in exactly the right spot, at the ideal distance for loading the packages.
After loading the sorted packages into the truck, Yuxian sat in the passenger seat while Siegfried drove, beginning the arduous mission of guaranteed delivery.
"Brother Fei, we can't possibly finish all these packages in one day, can we?" After getting into the passenger seat, Yuxian had free time again. He doubted whether they could deliver the entire truckload.
"This is actually work meant for two people. It would indeed be difficult for me alone, which is why I asked Master to help," Siegfried explained, keeping his attention on the road as he drove carefully.
"Then what do we do? Won't there be complaints?" Yuxian frowned.
"Mm..." After pondering for a moment, Siegfried suddenly said, "Master, please fasten your seat belt tightly!"
Whoosh!
Siegfried stepped on the gas, and the delivery truck's speed instantly jumped to a higher level. Yuxian was pressed hard against the back of his seat.
"Hey, hey! Be careful! This violates traffic regulations!" Yuxian hurriedly shouted at Siegfried, telling him to drive safely and not break the rules.
"I'm sorry. I'll keep the speed within the permitted range..."
Siegfried didn't slow down. Yuxian noticed that the speed shown on the dashboard wasn't above the legal limit, meaning they were still within the permitted speed.
So this was what they called an experienced driver.
At such incredible speed, the packages in the truck visibly dwindled. Yuxian felt like he hadn't helped much at all. It was all Brother Fei.
He moved like the wind, taking stairs three at a time on the way up and only needing seconds to get down. Every delivery was like a battle, completed in the shortest time possible.
At this rate, he would definitely become Delivery Hero...
From morning until evening, the two of them actually delivered every single package in just one day. Yuxian couldn't help clicking his tongue at such astonishing efficiency.
Siegfried was a delivery genius. The delivery company had truly struck gold!
On the return trip, Siegfried slowed down. There was no need to drive so fast when they weren't in a hurry. As they leisurely headed back, they chatted about everyday matters.
Siegfried was a quiet man who usually didn't like talking much. But when he was with Yuxian, he spoke more than usual, and at least the two never ran out of things to say.
Perhaps Yuxian's existence was special to him, or perhaps working as a deliveryman had made him better at expressing himself.
"Master, thank you."
Siegfried suddenly said this with great sincerity. Yuxian's trust had deeply moved him, and it made him feel very guilty about deceiving Yuxian.
Before you continue