Chapter 204: Chapter 153: Talking about Loyalty!
Finally shaking off the watching crowd, Long Yi had long since become immune to the murderous gazes burning with rage. The group headed straight for the exit of the academy, with Mosquito apprehending several batches of stalking followers along the way. At the cost of a great deal of annoyance, they at least managed to get rid of those who were openly stalking them.
Dinner was bountiful, a welcome feast that Long Yi had arranged for Mina. Mina, a genuine princess from an ancient oceanic empire, was impeccably behaved in speech and manners. Her conduct put those who prided themselves on their strict noble family upbringing to shame.
On the other hand, before meeting Little Zi, Long Yi had absolutely no knowledge of high society etiquette. Observing Mina, he felt nothing unusual; he simply found her adorable. Though polite, she did not display the arrogance typical of the nobles he was acquainted with.
However, this was just the beginning. As dinner drew to a close, Mina gradually began to relax, revealing her true self. She started joking with everyone and shared many interesting stories from the ocean. The crowd, having never seen the oceanic world before, listened attentively, completely intrigued.
Mina shared that the ocean teemed with dragons too, known as Sea Dragons, which were entirely different from their land counterparts in appearance. They were larger, but relatively gentle. For example, the Sea Dragon responsible for guarding the Imperial Palace was a massive eight-clawed Black Dragon. Each of its claws was five hundred meters long, and it would curl up like a hill when resting. But it would just go back to sleep even if it was occasionally disturbed. A young Mina would often run to the gigantic eye of the Black Dragon and shine a light into it, waking up the dragon and then quickly fleeing the scene.
Of course, she was sternly reprimanded by the Sea Emperor for such mischief. One time, the Sea Emperor took Mina with him to personally apologize to the Black Dragon. But the Black Dragon didn’t take it to heart; it forgave Mina on the spot.
"Five hundred meters!" exclaimed Wesley, glancing at the well-lit street outside.
"Don’t bother measuring, this street is only four hundred meters long," Mosquito added.
"So big!" Ai Lin exclaimed in surprise.
"Is everything in the ocean that big?"
"Are there beasts in the ocean?"
"Do you eat cooked food in the ocean?"
"What do you use to keep warm?"
Suddenly, countless questions were raised.
These questions had been puzzling everyone from the start, but they didn’t dare to ask due to their unfamiliarity. However, now that they were all well acquainted, the barrage of questions came rushing out.
All these were basic facts of life, so Mina did not hesitate to answer them one by one. She revealed that cooking in the ocean is done with freshwater, and high temperatures are used to heat food. Due to the close relationship between the Sea Clan and water elements, they could purify seawater into freshwater and increase the temperature of the freshwater to cook food.
Of course, due to the presence of water, the Sea Clan could not enjoy barbecued food, but they had no problem with fried dishes.
The little Mermaid Princess Mina effortlessly blended into Long Yi’s group and was welcomed by everyone. However, she couldn’t always be with Long Yi and the others. After dinner, it was after nine o’clock at night, and Long Yi had to go to the library for research. Mina had to return to her apartment outside the academy, a place specially adapted for mermaid students by the Emperor, equipped with a massive seawater swimming pool. Besides being a student, Mina was also a princess. The mermaid students coming with Mina were formally students, but in reality, they were her bodyguards. While Mina was dining here, the group of mermaids were next door. As soon as it was time to rest, the group of mermaids would appear and take Mina away.
Although Mina was reluctant to leave, she quickly brightened up as she realized that she was now a foreign student and that Long Yi wouldn’t just disappear the next day!
"See you tomorrow! Big brother!" Mina waved her hand energetically.
"See you tomorrow!" Long Yi waved back.
On the road back to the academy, Wesley and Chef Mosquito formed a small group, huddled together, whispering, engrossed in some research. Long Yi was used to their shenanigans, so he didn’t bother to ask. Ai Lin tried to inquire a few times but was stopped by Long Yi.
"Don’t ask. Wait until they can’t resist telling us," Long Yi said.
As expected, it was Wesley who couldn’t keep it to himself. He jumped out, "Brother Long! Don’t you want to know what we’re researching?"
"No, not at all," Long Yi replied.
"Haha, since you asked so sincerely... Wait, Brother Long! You’re really not leaving any room for us, are you?" Wesley was about to boast proudly when he was cut off by Long Yi.
"Hehe, trying to fool me? Keep your secret and have a good night’s sleep!" Long Yi chuckled as the nearby Ai Lin and Little Zi couldn’t help but join him. It turned out that Long Yi, who usually seemed simple, could also pull a prank from time to time.
"Brother Long, I apologize, can you please ask me what’s going on? If I keep it to myself, then I won’t be able to sleep tonight!" said Wesley, his face red with frustration, as he turned to Chef and Mosquito for help with pleading eyes.
