412 What He Did The Night Before

After grooming Mia's hair, Baiyi carried her to bed, placing her underneath her blanket. 

For those wondering, only Mia was on the bed. As Baiyi had no R-rated thoughts in his head, no one else ought to. 

Baiyi had not done this in such a long time; finally doing it now made him feel warm inside. Jokingly, he asked, "Shall I tuck Sharkie in with you?"

Mia, who was now wrapped up like a burrito, shook her head sideways and smiled. She had long since outgrown going to bed with her plushie. She no longer needed the plushie to defend her in battle and help her sleep comfortably. The only reason why she had not gotten rid of Sharkie yet was because she could bear to let it go, so she left it on her bed as part of the room's decor. 1]

"This time, you should take it with you," Baiyi said before leaving her room. He was not worried about Mia's upcoming excursion; after all, she was now a Legendary-level Sorcerer. Furthermore, she would be going with Modred, who packed more physical power than she did, and other instructors. The students that they would be bringing on the trip were capable fighters as well. Baiyi did not think that they would encounter serious trouble on their trip; if they did, however, and the teachers could not take care of it, then Sharkie would be unable to do much to change that. 

'One could never be too careful' had always been Baiyi's motto, and it was for this reason, that Baiyi had advised Mia to take the Hammerhead Shark plushie with her; this was not lost on Mia, who needed obediently. She knew that Baiyi was only concerned about her wellbeing. "Don't worry, Mr. Hope; I always bring Sharkie with me wherever I go."

Her tiny fingers peeked out from underneath the blanket and ticked the plushie's soft, snow-white belly. 

"You had better! It's still a darn powerful magical tool, no?" Baiyi nodded in approval. "Alright; I better go talk to Vidomina for a while. Good night." 

With that, Baiyi went to the open window and made to jump out of it. 

A sudden question from Mia, which coincided with a thought on his mind, stopped Baiyi in his tracks. "Mr. Hope, it is something really important that will keep you away from your theses-review duty, right?"

Baiyi deliberately withheld information from the girls. The only girls who were more in the know about his past activities — Tisdale and Vidomina — had been asked not to spill too much information to the others. Nevertheless, Mia could tell that her Mr. Hope had something very important to deal with. She knew that he had been under a lot of stress, despite being famous.

Baiyi could not bring himself to tell her about his mission, so after a brief moment of silence, he told Mia that he had been tasked to 'investigate an intriguing mystery'. She was his favorite daughter, as well as his youngest one, so he could not help shielding her from the darker side of his activities. All he wanted for her was that she remained healthy and strong. 

Mia seemed to know what he was thinking, so she did not ask any more questions. Instead, she acted as any daughter worried about her father would. "Please, come home as soon as possible, Mr. Hope. Take care, okay?"

Baiyi nodded and left without another word. 

Mia watched him leap out of her window before sliding down into her blanket, mumbling to herself, "Ooof. Mr. Hope treats me so well… I don't know when its best to change what I call him. I mean, 'Dad' is a good name, but it'll be pretty bizarre to call Mr. Hope 'Dad'... What if I make it more explicit? Papa Hope? Urgh! That sounds weird, too. I don't think I will ever get used to that! Maybe I should just take a leaf from Vidomina's book and call him Godfather..." [2]

With these weird thoughts racing through her mind, Mia slowly fell asleep. 

Mr. Hope, on the other hand, had just woken Vidomina up, intent on giving her a long list of instructions for the coming days. 

The drowsy Vidomina — who was wearing a loose nightgown, which did almost nothing to hide her physics-defying bosom — stared at Bayi and mumbled, "Oh, Godfather, I knew that a day would come when you would be unable to control yourself anymore... Yes, this is definitely a breach in social norms, as well as being immoral, but if you really want to… then, well, I'm not going to ref—"

The water from a spell careened through the air and suddenly smacked Vidomina's face, causing her drowsiness to vanish. Now wide awake, Vidomina's words made an about-face. "Oh, hold on, I think I said something I totally did not mean just now! I'm so sorry, Godfather. I was on autopilot! Forget what I said... pretty please?"

"Sorry to wake you from your sweet dreams, but there's something important I'd like to discuss with you. Let's get inside," Baiyi replied.

"Something important? Oh, you mean my marriage?" Baiyi knew that Vidomina was being herself at the moment. She was fond of making jokes everywhere, and to anyone, including Baiyi. "Ha! He better be hot and handsome! Is he rich? I mean, how is his family?"

"Actually, this was on my mind earlier, for I was at a wine party for rich people. Many nobles introduced their kin to me, and every single one seemed interested in you only because of your position as the Vice Principal of Da Xue. Naturally, I rebuked them all," Baiyi answered somberly. 

After that, he walked past her and entered her house. Baiyi sat down on the couch before turning to Vidomina, whose satin nightgown was as thin and light as a cicada's wing, and said, "Put on some actual clothes before we talk."

'She really is the daughter of that woman. Just look at the nightgown she chose to wear; it must have been taken straight out of her mom's catalog!

Although Vidomina dared to joke with Baiyi, she knew better than to go against his words. She sauntered off and came back wearing an oversized shirt, hiding her alluring body. She walked over and sat beside Baiyi. 

Baiyi briefed her on the events that occurred earlier, placing emphasis on the military equipment he now had to prepare for the Empire. Vidomina's role was to contact the Blacksmith Walker and the others to begin making weapon samples. After these samples have been vetted, then Vidomina was to signal the factory lines under Da Xue to get ready for mass production.

"Aww, man! This business venture is a really big one. What a drag," Vidomina, who was already frowning, groaned.

"Don't worry; Tisdale, the Apprentice Walker, and several others will be helping you out," Baiyi said.

Vidomina had to take up the most tedious tasks because she was the daughter of a powerful duke. The tasks he gave her involved interaction with the government and other nobles, which her position as the daughter of the Northern Duke's Daughter would smoothen out. Although she had disowned her family, no one would dare to cross her, as that would be akin to crossing her father. 

Vidomina knew this to be part of the reasons why Baiyi had entrusted her with the largest tasks, and she agreed with his reasoning; hence, she did not say anything about it. 

"Alright, that's all for you. If you have any questions or problems, you can always talk to my teacher, or you await my return," Baiyi concluded.

"I'm sorry for troubling you with all these," Baiyi added, patting Vidomina's head affectionately. 

Vidomina closed her eyes enjoyed the pats. "These troubles? Manageable. Your troubles, however... I don't envy you one bit. I mean, you are going to face Godsfall cultists once again, aren't you, Godfather? If you see..."

She faltered, unable to continue. However, Baiyi nodded in understanding. "I know. If I see her again, I'll bring her back."

"That's all I ask for, Godfather," Vidomina said and wrapped her arms around him tightly. 

Vidomina's position as the Vice Principal of Da Xue granted her as much power and influence as her position as Duke of Wright's daughter did. Her power and skills, as well as her achievements and capabilities, had improved a lot; she had made more progress now than she would have if she remained a duchess. From the moment Vidomina met Baiyi, she had been living her best life. 

Not many would completely cut ties with their family, including Vidomina. In time, the animosity she had towards her family had lessened; after all, deep down, she still cared for her parents. Even though Vidomina had not returned home in years, she still maintained contact with her father and showed concern for her mother, who was unmasked as a cultist years before. 

Baiyi's focus had now shifted to Godsfall cult. He was focused on gathering as much intel as possible on the cult, yet he had found nothing on Duchess Harlotte. This did not surprise Vidomina, but in her heart, she still held onto hope. 

Baiyi knew this. 

"It would be great if I could get some news about her mother," Baiyi muttered under his breath, walking down the street alone. The night was incredibly chilly. 

Soon, Baiyi reached the residential area for the Voidwalkers. Just like the girls, every Voidwalker had their own chalet. As soon as Baiyi entered the residential area, he cast a large Silence barrier over it. He brought out a gong and began to beat it as hard as possible. 

Whaang! "Meeting!" Whaaaaang! "Time for a meeting, you guys! Meet me at my place!" Whaaang! Whaaang! Whaaang!

An uproar instantly erupted. 

"F**k you; I was about to sleep! I just want to sleep!"

"Bloody f**king d*** of an admin! Even the sh***** capitalist in the world would not go as low as to call for a meeting in the middle of the night, you son of a b****!"

The Voidwalkers cursed and screamed at the top of their lungs, but they could not defy Baiyi. The most powerful beings in the world would not coin someone a 'son of a b****' if that person was so easily defied. 

Baiyi knew they were just being dramatic. After all, Soul Armatures could not sleep!