Chapter 94

The sun had just set, and it was the perfect time to end a day of hard work with a wonderful dinner, but Levi failed to catch up with Chachamaru’s freshly prepared meal.

In ancient times, there was a story about a man who did not enter his own gate. In the ancient era, a ruler who was devoted to his duties immersed himself in flood control work just four days after his wedding. As a result, over thirteen years, he passed by his home three times but never went in to visit. For thousands of years, people have passed down this story, using it to inspire themselves to work diligently.

Although Levi, after sending Rin and Kaguya home, didn’t even step into the house before continuing on his way, how could he compare to the sages? Not to mention thirteen years, even thirteen days without returning home would probably be enough to kill him. In Erzhong, even students who weren’t his knew about this lazy teacher. Levi hadn’t been fired or disciplined by the school, and he should really thank the nearly senile principal.

The principal of Erzhong was old and in poor health. There were already rumors that the higher-ups would soon allow him to retire and quickly send a successor. Although Levi had heard this news, which was certainly not good for him, the lazy teacher was preoccupied with mundane affairs and had no time to worry about it, so he simply pretended it didn’t exist to avoid trouble.

However, while Levi was indeed lazy, he was a bit wronged today. On his way home, he received a call from Chao Lingyin. The troublesome girl was calling about Eve.

Eve, who was delivered to the laboratory in the middle of the night yesterday, had completed her treatment after more than ten hours. Chao Lingyin called Levi to tell him the good news that Eve was intact and to ask him to come and pick her up.

Chao Lingyin was a student at Mahora and used a laboratory specially approved by the school. The laboratory was located within Mahora Academy, which was why she specifically asked Levi to come and pick Eve up. Although Mahora Academy didn’t have the high walls of Academy City, forming a solid fortress, the seemingly open campus was actually guarded by numerous magic teachers and students. Any intruder with ill intentions would immediately be met with fierce attacks. Yuffie, who lived in the forest at the edge of Mahora, was one of the most special guards, and Levi, who lived with her, also got this well-paid job.

The principal of Mahora Academy couldn’t possibly inform all the guards about Eve and Levi’s relationship, so it was better for him to pick her up just in case.

Chao Lingyin’s laboratory, due to frequent accidents, was located in a remote area, not far from the student dormitories but rarely visited by anyone. It was now dinnertime, and there was not a soul in sight except for Levi.

"Come in."

Click.

Before Levi could ring the doorbell, Chao Lingyin’s voice came through the intercom, and the door opened. There were cameras on the eaves, so she must have been watching the screen all along.

Pushing the door open, he found himself in a long corridor that looked like a hospital. As usual, Levi ignored the rooms on both sides and walked straight to the stairs at the end of the corridor.

Since it was a small bungalow, the stairs naturally led downward. Levi walked down the spiral stairs at a normal pace, taking more than a minute to reach the ground. This showed that he was in a laboratory buried deep underground due to frequent scientific accidents, not a basement for storage like Yuffie’s house.

The thick protective door at the bottom of the stairs was open, leading to the main hall of the laboratory. The hall was filled with various equipment and disorganized papers that looked like trash. Probably only the owner could find anything useful in this big mess. The hall was a simple square shape, with several doors on each wall leading to different functional rooms. Levi’s destination was the medium-sized room on the left, which was already open.

"Hey, where’s Eve? Is everything okay?"

Inside the room, only Chao Lingyin was present. Her partner, Yegase Tomomi, was probably eating. Levi walked up to her and looked around but didn’t see the girl he had come to pick up.

"Oh, men are so impatient, not even saying hello properly."

The girl with two small buns on her head stared intently at the machine in front of her. The screen was filled with messy characters and curves, which gave Levi a headache. He didn’t pay much attention to her words, thinking she was just joking. But soon, he would regret this oversight... maybe not so much...

"Here, your little beauty is right there."

Chao Lingyin lifted her head and indicated with her chin. Following her gesture, Levi saw a sealed metal container. It looked similar to the treatment pod he had slept in before, but the outer layer was opaque, making it impossible to see inside.

"Eve is in there?"

"Tsk, you deny being impatient. Alright, alright, I’ll satisfy you. Don’t blink, hehe."

The junior high school girl spoke like a perverted uncle, but Levi, eager to know Eve’s condition, didn’t have time to joke with Chao Lingyin. Although he trusted her skills, it was like a friend or family member being hospitalized. Even if the doctor assured them it was a minor issue, they couldn’t completely relax.

"Ta-da~"

Like a host revealing a curtain for the audience, Chao Lingyin raised her hand and pressed a button on the machine in front of her.

Levi, seemingly influenced by the atmosphere Chao Lingyin created, stared intently at the object that, though it might be inauspicious to say, looked like a coffin.

The dark outer shell flickered like a TV screen, then gradually faded from black to dark gray, and from dark gray to a murky white. Finally, the white became lighter, and the thick gauze covering the outer shell was peeled away, revealing Eve’s figure, which gradually became clearer.

The golden-haired spirit girl lay quietly in the crystal coffin, like a sleeping beauty in a fairy tale. Her long hair, touching the ground, looked like a luxurious bedsheet, accentuating Eve’s slender body. Levi saw a beauty in her that was different from her usual self.

Her flawless skin, unlike Yuffie’s vampire-like paleness, glowed with a radiant light under the bright lights. Her well-proportioned legs, freed from the usual bindings, looked even more graceful. Her slender waist was hard to believe she was the legendary strongest assassin. Looking up, her small, cute, yet full chest made her seem soft and gentle, not cold and ruthless.

Eve hadn’t fully awakened yet. Her unconscious state made her eyebrows relax, and her usually cold expression was gone. Her delicate features, paired with her golden hair, made her look like a cute little princess from a fairy tale. Seeing that she was fine, Levi could finally breathe a sigh of relief...

Wait!

Levi rubbed his eyes, confirming that the two small pink cherries he had glimpsed were not an illusion. Before he could react, the wake-up device that Chao Lingyin had secretly activated had already taken effect.

The girl’s eyelids fluttered, and then, like a princess awakened by a prince’s kiss, she slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the glaring white light of the laboratory. Her crimson eyes, adjusting to the light, met Levi’s stunned gaze.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh