Small Fry Uncle~

"Yo, our Sister Xiao Wu is getting clingy too? Come on, let Uncle give you a hug."

Du Bei reached out his claws toward Xiao Wu.

But before he could get close, Xiao Wu darted under his arm like a rabbit, ran behind him, and poked his waist with a finger.

"Ew, you shameless old man!"

"You actually wanted to hug such a cute little girl? What a pervert~ Small Fry Uncle~"

"Small fry~ Small fry~"

Watching Xiao Wu act like such a bratty little girl, Du Bei had no idea where things had gone wrong. Why had the lively little rabbit from back then turned out like this after spending so long with him?

Could it be... she likes me?

One of life's three great delusions quietly surfaced, but reason swiftly reclaimed control of his mind.

Thinking of the gap between them, never mind their species, Xiao Wu's age in human terms alone made this seriously illegal.

If the invisible hand ever came down on him, his life would be over.

"Small Fry Uncle~"

"Alright, give it a rest."

Du Bei snatched the lunchbox from Xiao Wu's hands, ignored the dust on the ground, and sat directly on the steps at the academy gate.

"Let's see what you got for me today. Carrot stew, cold shredded carrots, carrot soup... Why is it all carrots? Where's the rice?"

"Hehe~"

Only now realizing that she had forgotten to get rice, Xiao Wu lightly tapped her head and stuck out her tongue in a deliberately cute manner. "The carrot dishes were thirty percent off today, so I got excited and forgot..."

"You, honestly!"

Du Bei pointed his chopsticks at Xiao Wu. With an expression like he was terribly constipated, he did not even know what to say to her.

But at this point—

Anything he said would be too late. The cafeteria had probably closed already, and apart from the lunchbox in his hands, there was likely nothing else to eat.

"Sigh~"

He let out a helpless sigh.

Pursing his lips, he looked at the carrot feast in his lunchbox and could only make do with it...

Seeing that Du Bei had not scolded her, Xiao Wu obediently came over and sat beside him.

Propping up her chin, she watched the old man eat.

The academy gate was utterly quiet at night.

Yet Xiao Wu stared fixedly at the man beside her, as though her memories had returned to six years ago.

Back then... six years ago.

At the gates of Notting City, beside a tree not far away.

Xiao Wu, who had only recently taken human form, carefully hid in the shadows. She gazed longingly at the young man across from her, who was wolfing down his food.

I'm so hungry...

Rubbing her protesting stomach, Xiao Wu sniffed the fragrance in the air. Tears of humiliation unworthily trickled from the corners of her mouth.

She was Sister Xiao Wu, the tyrant of the forest. Who would have thought that she would one day be reduced to this?

I should have brought more food when I left.

Ever since getting lost in this city, she had not eaten a proper meal in a long time.

Am I going to have to eat Blue Silver Grass again?

While Xiao Wu was still pondering this—

A clear voice suddenly reached her.

"Hey, little girl, why are you staring at this handsome guy? Never seen a handsome guy eat before?"

At first, Xiao Wu thought he was calling someone else, so she continued fretting over what to eat that night.

Only when the voice drew closer did Xiao Wu suddenly snap back to her senses and realize that a tall figure had appeared before her.

"Hey, little girl, what are you doing squatting here alone? Aren't you afraid some creepy uncle will kidnap you?"

"This isn't exactly a nice area."

Following the voice, she saw the young man holding a huge bowl of ramen and slurping it down while curiously studying her.

That was right. This was Du Bei, who had just obtained his second spirit ring at sixteen and was eating lunch by the roadside...

Their paths crossed at that very moment.

Xiao Wu, who had just entered human society, instinctively shrank farther behind the tree upon hearing the sudden greeting. Then, in a tone of forced toughness, she said—

"N-None of your business!"

"You don't want me to mind? Fine... I thought you were a little girl who needed help. Looks like this handsome guy was being presumptuous. I was even thinking that if you were in trouble, I could treat you to some ramen..."

Thinking he had been overly sentimental, Du Bei shrugged and turned to head back toward the stall. He still had not returned the bowl to the noodle vendor.

Watching Du Bei walk away without looking back—

Xiao Wu, hidden in the shadows behind the tree, stared wistfully at his back, not knowing what she was thinking.

After hesitating for a long while, she seemed to finally make up her mind.

"W-Wait!"

"Hm? Is there something else, little girl?" Du Bei asked as he turned back in confusion, having just finished his last mouthful of noodles.

That single turn lasted a lifetime!

That was right. Xiao Wu, who had been starving by then, shamelessly latched onto the handsome older brother she had only just met.

The very same old man before her now.

"Why are you staring at me like that? Don't tell me you're still hungry and want another bite?"

Seeing Du Bei prepare to split his food with her, Xiao Wu hurriedly waved her hands. "Hey! Small Fry Uncle, who wants to eat your saliva? Eat it yourself."

"I already ate at the cafeteria. Don't use an excuse like that to deliberately take advantage of me..."

By the end, Xiao Wu had crossed her arms and shifted farther away from Du Bei with a wary expression, as if she had encountered something filthy.

"You little brat, can you stop thinking of me as such a sleaze? This uncle has principles! I would never touch an underage girl."

At that, Du Bei seemed incredibly proud. Holding up his lunchbox, he tilted his head at a perfect forty-five-degree angle toward the moon.

"Ew, disgusting..."

"You little rabbit brat, when we get back to the staff dormitory, don't come begging me to tell you a bedtime story..."

"Then don't! Sister Xiao Wu isn't afraid of you." Xiao Wu puffed out her chest, looking utterly unconcerned, as if she was not the one who pestered someone for bedtime stories every night.

The two bickered back and forth, and for a moment, the atmosphere was incredibly warm.

At the same time—

Spirit Hall, the Pope's chambers.

"Damn it, damn it!" Bibi Dong looked at the messages in the group, feeling incomparably irritated, as though everything in the world was working against her.

Fox Eyes: So what am I? Air?

"These damn bastards! Sooner or later, I'll find every last one of you and lock you all in the secret chamber, where you women will beg for death but be unable to die!"

After calming herself for a while—

Bibi Dong finally suppressed the intense killing intent caused by her emotional turmoil.

"Phew~"

Looking on the bright side, this item was not necessarily all bad. That storage space resembling a secret chamber could be used as a safe house.

To some extent, that space was far safer than anywhere else.

After thinking it through—

Bibi Dong finally relaxed, and even the tension on her face eased considerably...

Her gaze returned to the Secret Chamber Group.

[Big Radish: Bibi Dong! You're a lunatic! Just don't let me get the chance, or you'll be sorry...]

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