"Just think how wonderful it would be if Little Yi found a girlfriend."

Mo Qing ignored their exasperated expressions and kept talking, sounding exactly like a mom desperate to marry off her son.

Like hell it is! Yan Yi screamed inwardly. That violent, clingy noble lady wants me dead! He could brush off others’ nonsense, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed it—he wasn’t a masochist, seriously!

"Auntie, stop joking. Nobles and commoners? The resistance between them is huge. I don’t want that hassle."

Some human nobles were reasonable—if two people truly loved each other, family heads wouldn’t necessarily break them up. After all, strength ensured survival, and politics only worked with power to back it. Noble status wasn’t hereditary either: children inherited it while their father lived, but lost it the moment he died. To secure their kids’ futures, nobles held frequent gatherings, bringing their children to build connections early and prevent them from being swayed by commoners. Yan Yi had his own take on this—ahem, childhood friends like that always ended up as losers…

So even if Yan Yi did snag a noble girl, few would object as long as he proved his strength to her family.

"Nonsense! My Little Yi is so capable—he’d win her over easily."

Mo Qing clearly wasn’t giving up, still bizarrely pushing this match.

Yan Yi’s head throbbed. Watching her about to launch into life stories, he shot Mo Ping a pleading glance—Can’t you control her?—but Mo Ping just turned away helplessly.

"Auntie, I’ll bring one back next time, okay?"

Yan Yi, cornered, offered this temporary fix to calm Mo Qing. He’d just play dumb later.

After dinner, Yan Yi kept them company briefly. Considering Mo Ping might work, he headed to bed.

Mo Qing cleared the dishes while Mo Ping stared at the gold coins, deep in thought.

"Tomorrow, I’ll discuss with everyone how to use this money."

Mo Ping was still stunned—Ink Village rarely saw silver coins, let alone gold. This was a solid ten thousand silvers.

"We must be careful not to attract attention. Isn’t Little Yi suffering by doing this?" Mo Qing worried aloud. Given Yan Yi’s lazy nature, he’d never take a job keeping him from home unless it was for the village.

"No need to worry about that," Mo Ping chuckled, glancing toward Yan Yi’s room. "That kid always complains about trouble but causes more than anyone. He claims he wants to laze around yet stays more curious than anyone else. Whether active or passive, as long as he keeps exploring the world, that’s enough." His expression shifted oddly, a faint smile forming. "Besides, with his slyness and underhanded tricks, do we really need to worry?"

"I feel like you’re not praising him at all!" Mo Qing retorted helplessly. Recalling Yan Yi’s antics, she chuckled and finally relaxed.

…

The next day, Yan Yi woke before his usual six—around five. For him, that was ample time to reach a place a hundred miles away…

"Then be careful—don’t rush too hard," they said, up early to see him off.

"Mm, got it. I’ll cover it in an hour."

Hearing this, they smiled bitterly. A hundred miles in an hour was still slow for him…

"Then I’m off."

Yan Yi didn’t let them follow, sprinting straight out of the village. Watching his back, they felt it deeply: their child had grown.

Yan Yi didn’t pause, not even for breakfast, reaching Aite City before six. As expected, no sign of Luris or the others! Weren’t they meeting early? It was nearly six—residents were already up. Even if Luris slept in, couldn’t Butler Bai pick him up?

Yan Yi sighed, found a spot to sit, rolled his eyes at the sky, and waited silently.

After five patrols questioned him, the old butler finally appeared. Rubbing his eyes at Yan Yi’s utterly dejected figure, he asked, "Yan Yi, what’s wrong?"

Yan Yi glanced at him, then the sun—eight o’clock…

"Damn it! Don’t you know morning from noon? It’s practically afternoon!" Yan Yi jumped up roaring. What torture—waiting with no set time!

"Ahem." The old butler cleared his throat, knowing he was in the wrong. "Easy to guess. Waiting for the young lady to wake, preparing her breakfast, and seeing her finish eating—these are a butler’s duties."

Yan Yi couldn’t argue. He recalled a certain indebted butler surviving on one hour of sleep. Butlers really had endless tasks! Gritting his teeth, he took a deep breath. "You win! Luris, you bastard!" He’d even dropped the "young lady" title. As he roared at the sky, a water ball splattered across his face…

…

This was Yan Yi’s first Teleportation Array. It glued two spaces together—step in, step out in Aite City. Arrays drained massive mana, making fees steep since stored mana came from human infusion. Something like this was utterly unaffordable for him.

Aite City was Luris’s family territory; her father was its lord. But with Royal City matters pending, he wasn’t home. Though closer to the western region, Luris had defied objections—citing hatred for noble etiquette—to attend Central Magic Academy instead of the Western one.

"The young lady’s back!"

"Greetings, young lady—you’ve been gone so long!"

"Young lady, no trouble at Central? If anyone bullied you, tell us—we’ll all beat him up!"

Warm words flowed from guards on duty and passersby alike. The Aite family clearly ruled well; residents adored them. Yan Yi tensed, fearing Luris might claim he bullied her—if a mob charged, he’d flee. Thankfully, she wasn’t that unhinged. After greetings, she called for the two to head home.

More residents waved along the way. Yan Yi felt the Aite family’s prestige—and even warmed to Luris’s father. Lords who truly cared for people were rare.

At the mansion, Yan Yi froze again. No wonder Central Magic Academy’s size meant nothing to nobles—their homes were colossal. Had he not seen Aite City’s prosperity, he’d suspect it was built on exploited wealth.

"Young lady, welcome back! Butler Bai, you’ve worked hard."

At the door, maids lined up, bowing politely. Yan Yi, seeing real maids for the first time, stared a little too long.

Luris caught his darting eyes, displeased, and cut his observation short. "This is a servant I caught at the academy. Assign him work."

"I’ll handle it, young lady. We’ll take our leave." Butler Bai interrupted the head maid, patting Yan Yi’s shoulder and steering him toward the servants’ quarters.

Once they left, the head maid remembered her duty. "Young lady, Master Juben arrived yesterday. Should you see him soon?"

"Juben? He’s here again?"

Hearing the name, Luris’s expression turned complex. Far off, Yan Yi sighed inwardly—What a name. A level-10 command post? Doesn’t it get tiring?

Luris paused, then spotted Yan Yi disappearing in the distance. A sly smile curved her lips.