CHAPTER 413: LEAVING SLIME PARADISE [PART 2]

The baby slimes looked disappointed that they could no longer use the old man’s hair—which now lay limply on the ground—as swings.

However, just a word from Dim Dim and their faces brightened. A second later, they were playing tug of war with Luthor’s hair.

Due to Mary’s expertise, the trimming session finished quicker than expected.

Thanks to her careful trimming, Luthor’s beard was now only about four inches long and far more manageable than before. He also looked much younger than he had been just a day ago.

"You have my thanks, young lady," Luthor said after Mary had finished fixing his hair and beard. "May I ask for your name?"

"It’s Mary, Sir," the handmaiden replied as she examined her handiwork.

"Mary... whoever gave you that name must have loved you dearly," Luthor said softly. "Your name means beloved in the old tongue."

Mary was a little surprised, but soon broke out into a smile. Her mother had indeed told her that she loved her so much, which was why she had named her Mary.

"I will repay this favor someday, Miss Mary." Luthor smiled. "May the Arcanas Bless you."

Mary nodded and returned to Princess Xenia’s side.

"Well then, are you now going back to the academy, Alex?" Princess Xenia asked. "It’s about time that we leave."

Alex wanted to say that he still had things to do, but after inconveniencing everyone, he decided that he could just return to Slime Paradise during his next field mission.

"Yes, thank you for everything, Your Highness," Alex answered.

Suddenly, Dim Dim perked up when it saw Eiko moving in their direction.

"Eiko!" Dim Dim greeted its best friend, smiling happily.

Eiko patted Dim Dim’s head before casually unloading a few treasure chests beside her.

"Yours, Dim Dim," Eiko said.

"Mine?" Dim Dim blinked.

"Un!"

"Yay!"

The little bun then stored the treasure chests inside its dimensional storage while Chuck looked at it enviously.

Seeing the markings on the treasure chests, Alex recognised that they were the treasures that he was looking for.

In fact, there were more treasure chests than he expected, which meant that there were other treasures within Slime Paradise that he hadn’t been aware of.

’I’ll just ask Dim Dim later if it can share its treasures with me,’ Alex thought.

Now that the treasures he sought were safe with Dim Dim, he no longer had a reason to stay in Slime Paradise.

This trip had been more than fulfilling. Meeting Luthor at Slime Paradise was probably the greatest opportunity of his life because he had reunited with his idol.

The old man was a priceless treasure. With his support in the academy, Alex could be even more shameless and brazen than before.

After everyone boarded the ship, Dim Dim gave Eiko one last hug before bidding her goodbye.

"Visit me?" Dim Dim asked.

"Okay." Eiko nodded. "Soon."

Dim Dim beamed brightly. Eiko’s promise made it feel better about leaving Slime Paradise.

Once on board the ship, Dim Dim and Alex waved at the baby slimes—who were all waving eagerly back at them—until their arms were sore.

"Bye bye!"

"Bye!"

"Byeeee!"

The girls also waved at the cute slimes, who had made their stay quite fun and comfortable.

"Alex, the next time we meet, I hope you get stronger," Cairo said.

"I’ll do my best, Master," Alex replied. "Also, please do things in moderation!"

Alex looked at Elaine and gave her a wink, which made the Swordswoman chuckle.

Cairo pretended that he didn’t understand what Alex was talking about and simply waved his disciple and sister goodbye.

"Alex, I hope to see you again soon," Efa said with a smile.

"Yes." Alex smiled back at her. "Please be safe, Efa. Till we meet again."

Efa nodded before glancing at Lavinia, Latifa, and Lumi, who were all looking at her with guarded expressions.

This made the smile on her face widen a bit as the airship of the Clawford Tribe flew away to head back to their village.

Princess Xenia’s airship slowly rose towards the sky and headed towards Frieden Academy.

Alex was truly thankful that they had come to his help. Had it been only him, Lumi, Cairo, Elaine, and Efa, they might not have been able to defeat the Goblin High Shaman and his minions.

The journey was smooth sailing. Alex couldn’t help but compare it to the hardships he had encountered while making his way to Oak Village with an invisible Lumi.

Due to Princess Xenia’s identity, they were given the VIP Treatment by the cities and towns they passed by. They could even use the teleportation gates reserved for nobles.

This made their travel faster. Within half a day, they were back at Frieden Academy already.

Just as the airship was about to land, the air around them rippled. A second later, Professor Rowan appeared on the deck of the ship.

His eyes were locked on Luthor, whom he had sensed the moment the airship entered the academy’s air space.

Despite being blind, it was impossible for Luthor to not "see" Professor Rowan’s overwhelming aura.

"Headmaster, is something wrong?" Princess Xenia approached Professor Rowan, who was calmly looking at the old man that they had brought from Slime Paradise.

"Nothing is wrong, Your Highness," Professor Rowan replied. "I just detected the presence of someone not on the academy’s database and came here to investigate."

"Oh..." Princess Xenia nodded in understanding.

Recently, many things had happened in the academy. In response, security had been tightened considerably.

She had momentarily forgotten that the old man might not be allowed to enter the academy without some kind of identification or permit from the Headmaster.

Professor Rowan then walked towards Luthor, stopping when he was only two steps away from the old man.

"Would you like to have some tea?" Professor Rowan asked.

"I don’t like tea," Luthor replied. "Do you have coffee?"

"I do."

"Lead the way."

Their conversation was short and curt. Both men were calm and direct.

Professor Rowan then snapped his fingers. Before anyone could blink, the two old men vanished from the deck.

Alex wasn’t too worried because the Headmaster and Luthor were related. However, the knight had spent years away from other humans. He might give something away without meaning to, and very few things escaped Rowan’s notice.

The fewer people who knew about his secret, the safer he would be.

Although Alex didn’t mind the Headmaster entertaining the possibility that he might be his long-lost Godson, it would still be best to keep things under wraps, at least until he knew exactly why the Paragon of Ice had been mobilized to kill him.