Confluence

“Did I ever mention an 'egg'?” Bovin and Jamis had just returned to their tent from behind the trees. They sat facing each other, drinking, and remained unperturbed as Du Chen barged in, continuing their imbibement.

“You didn’t, really?” Du Chen knew these two possessed peculiar temperaments. Cradling his daughter in one arm, he placed the jar of wine he brought – a premium vintage worth ten silver coins – between them.

Jamis cheered, about to reach for it, when Bovin abruptly slapped his hand away. Squinting, his mouth stretching into a grin that revealed a mouthful of yellowed teeth, he spoke with the air of a seasoned charlatan: “Boy, what is the meaning of this? Just now, your daughter dared to doubt my astrology. I, an old man, tell you, this is an affront, an absolute disgrace! Hmph, don’t think I’ll forget it! You think one jar of wine is enough to settle this? How could it be so cheap!”

“Precisely! She even burned my most precious braid! That was a blatant insult!” Jamis nodded in agreement.

Du Chen glanced at Belmonde in his arms. The little darling wore an innocent, sweet smile, as if the recent events had nothing to do with her. If he hadn’t been a direct witness, he might truly not have believed his ‘innocent little darling’ capable of such acts!

“Heh heh, given your esteemed status, why bother getting angry with a mere child?” Du Chen tried to ease the tension. He chuckled, “You enjoy drinking, and these past few days, my servant Harry hasn’t provided you with any good wine. How about this: starting tomorrow, you can drink to your heart’s content at any inn on the docks, and I’ll foot the bill!” He added silently, *After all, feeding and housing these two also contributes to the cultivation of my Precious Scroll!*

Bovin scoffed, turned his head, spun around, and sat facing the tent’s fabric curtain, no longer deigning to acknowledge Du Chen.

Jamis wistfully eyed the wine jar, then lowered his head in dismay, a mournful smacking of his lips echoing through the tent.

*You two eccentric, scruffy scoundrels, how dare you put on such airs now!*

Du Chen chuckled again: “Mr. Bovin, would you mind taking a look at my daughter? She just ate…”

“Hmph!” Bovin coughed once. “If you want to know about that egg, have your daughter apologize to me! This little rascal dared to doubt an old man’s truth! Hmph!” He closed his eyes and tilted his head back.

“Daddy, he’s bullying me! The old hooligan!” Belmonde whimpered, lowering her head, her tiny shoulders trembling with suppressed sobs.

*What an adorable child!* Du Chen’s heart surged with anger. *I’ve been an orphan my entire life; it took this long to find family, and you, you old geezer, dare to call her a little rascal!? Even if you *are* some ‘great masters’! Can ‘great masters’ curse *my* daughter, goddammit!? Besides, your ‘great master’ status is merely a hypothesis…*

He had only known Belmonde for a day, but the little darling called him “Daddy!” She was his daughter in every sense of the word!

Du Chen’s voice turned frigid. “Sirs, let’s put aside the matter of Belmonde, my daughter, for now. You two have been living quite comfortably these past few days, haven’t you?” His unspoken meaning: *You two old scoundrels eat my food, live under my roof – surely you can do something for me in return!?*

“Hmph! I, I…” The Old Charlatan understood Du Chen’s implications. With a clenched jaw, he rose, stripped off his new clothes, and tossed them to the ground. “I will *never* aid those who dare to doubt my astrology, never! Can’t an old man simply refuse your handouts!?” With that, he stormed out of the tent.

Du Chen snorted, making no move to stop him. Jamis grew anxious and rushed to console the Old Charlatan, then called out, “Francis, just have your daughter apologize, alright?” He winked and gesticulated, hinting that an apology carried great benefits!

“Daddy, he’s bullying me! Hooligan! Bad man!” Belmonde buried her face in Du Chen’s chest, sobbing pitifully. The sight of her wronged expression softened Du Chen’s heart.

*Apologize for what? Besides you two, does this old man have no other recourse? Roland, Zigurd, the Battle God Academy’s library – are they so inferior to you? How could the daughter of Young Master Du develop such a poor habit as ‘apologizing’!?*

Seeing that Du Chen had no intention of apologizing, Bovin flung his arm out and stalked off in a huff. But before he had taken more than a few steps, Du Chen saw a small flame ignite right in the middle of his shorts. He looked back at his daughter, who was clapping her hand over her mouth, giggling mischievously.

“Damn it, you little Demoness, Francis! I’m not finished with you two!” Bovin sprinted a few steps, then, with a splash, plunged into the Water River.

Jamis also grew frantic, pointing at the little one in Du Chen’s arms and fuming, “You not only burned me, then you burned my brother, and now you’ve burned my brother’s ‘little brother’ too! Francis, if you don’t rein in your daughter, don’t even dream of passing this semester’s lessons!”

“Daddy, sorry, trouble, for you!” The little darling timidly snuggled closer, then planted a kiss on Du Chen’s chin.

“Don’t worry, darling!” Du Chen pouted. “Daddy isn’t afraid of a little thing like this!”

With that, Du Chen carried his child out of the tent.

Jamis was stunned, staring blankly at Du Chen’s retreating back. He suddenly spun around, caught up to the Old Charlatan who had just emerged from the river, draped his outer garment over him, and whispered, “Why did you quarrel with Francis? Weren’t you eager to witness his transformation yourself? It’s over! Our free, long-term meal ticket is gone!”

The Old Charlatan grumbled indignantly. “That lass slandered my astrology and refuses to apologize? How could such a good thing exist!? You needn’t worry about this ‘meal ticket’ being gone, he’ll be back begging for me soon…”

“But Francis could find out about that egg from other sources.”

“Ah, that’s not what I meant. Just you wait, before a few days pass, Francis will be begging me to return and eat his food, drink his wine! Heh heh!” The Old Charlatan cackled unscrupulously. “He will come begging me!”

*Would it truly be so…?*

Du Chen returned to the dormitory entrance, looking down at the little one who was cheerfully nestled on his chest. He wondered, *Does this little darling possess some enchanting, demonic charm? How is it that after only one day of adoption, I’m so unwilling to see her suffer any grievance?*

After a moment’s thought, Du Chen waited for Harry to return, handed his daughter over to his care, and then walked along the Water River bank to the nearby library.

“Someone’s here? I’m afraid the library will be closed to everyone for the next week!” The librarian, a woman in her forties, slender but with a kindly, benevolent demeanor. Dressed in a standard teacher’s robe, she was contentedly perusing books behind the reception desk. She looked up and spoke softly: “Vice Dean Philip encountered an accident, and Dean Zigurd ordered the academy closed for a week, with all buildings sealed. Today… oh? Aren’t you Francis?”

Du Chen was both surprised and feigned regret: “Poor Vice Dean… You recognize me? I’ve never set foot in the library before!”

“I’ve seen your portrait in the archives, and many have spoken highly of you, praising your noble character as a paragon for all students!”

*Well then,* Du Chen chuckled inwardly. *Not long ago, this ‘paragon of students’ had ‘disposed of’ the Vice Dean.* Just then, the auntie smiled kindly. “But even if no one mentioned you, I would still know! Have your family ever mentioned Auntie Sherine?”

Du Chen paused, then shook his head blankly. “No, my mother… passed away when I was three, and my father never much cared for me…”

“Alas, you poor child!” The auntie put down her book, stood up, and patted Du Chen’s shoulder. “Back then, Phil and I were sisters of the same dormitory!”

“Ah?” Du Chen was taken aback.

“What? You don’t believe me? After I graduated, I stayed at the academy to become an administrator, while your mother got engaged to Arges and moved to Einz. Heh heh, I still keep a portrait of myself with Phil. Otherwise, how could I have specifically looked up your portrait among so many archives?”

“No, it’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just so unexpected!” Du Chen cheered inwardly. *What an unexpected boon!* While the bizarre changes in the two children were important, Du Chen’s purpose in adopting them was precisely to uncover information about Phil through them. Now, with an auntie so close to his mother, naturally, he had to inquire in detail.

“You must be Auntie Sherine then? I truly apologize, I didn’t know about you. Otherwise, I would have visited you on the very first day of school!” Du Chen bowed politely.

“This child, far too polite!” Sherine helped Du Chen up and invited him to sit. “Since it’s you, I’ll make an exception for you. What books are you looking to borrow?”

“I’m looking for information on Aberrant Beast eggs.”

“Eggs? Those are on shelves seventeen to twenty-nine on the thirteenth floor.” Sherine quickly provided the location. “But there are thousands of books there; which kind of Aberrant Beast data are you seeking?”

Du Chen raised his thumb, describing the small black stone. Sherine pondered for a moment, then shook her head. “No need to look, you won’t find such information!” She saw Du Chen’s puzzled look and explained, “I’ve worked in this library for over twenty years; I’m intimately familiar with every nook and cranny. There’s no record of such an egg here. Wait, have you actually acquired such an egg?”

Du Chen’s eyes darted. He thought, *The less people know about the children’s ability to switch genders, the better. What if some mad scientists capture them for experimentation?*

He was about to fabricate a lie, but Sherine had already continued: “Oh, I almost forgot! An ancient tome mentioned it. An egg like the one you described, completely devoid of battle qi and resembling a stone, is usually either the lowest-grade creature, or a Divine Pet so exceptionally powerful it can mask its battle qi entirely – a super, or even ultimate Divine Pet. If it’s the latter, you must be extremely careful during hatching.”

“Be careful?”

“Yes, such Divine Pets are too powerful. Battle Gods generally find it difficult to subjugate them as adults. They can only be tamed in their infancy, while still an egg, by placing it within one’s body and slowly fusing it with one’s own battle qi. However, this is extremely dangerous. The slightest misstep, and that super Divine Pet will retaliate, either by devouring or seizing the host’s body!”

*Damn it, this old man understands now.*

Alex, that’s the stone-like egg!

His daughter, Belmonde, ‘ate’ his son, Alex, and then ‘hatched’ Alex within her own belly! However, Alex, in turn, tried to seize the little girl’s body, but neither of the two little ones could overpower the other, so they were forced to coexist peacefully, allowing Du Chen to have ‘both a son and a daughter.’

There must be some other wondrous transformations at play, but that wasn’t something he could investigate too deeply. If this was true, Alex must be a super, or even ultimate, Divine Pet of immeasurable potential. And the little girl, by extension, must also be extraordinary, to have avoided being devoured and having her body seized! Their powers must be evenly matched, and now, due to some wondrous transformation, they’ve merged. This is truly fascinating! What changes would occur with two powerful little ones merging together?

Thinking this, Du Chen chuckled, “Actually, I did acquire such an egg. But I imagine it couldn’t possibly be the egg of a super Divine Pet; such a treasure couldn’t possibly fall into my hands!”

Sherine also smiled. “True, high-grade Divine Pets are extremely protective of their eggs; it’s impossible for you to have acquired one! It must be a low-grade creature then. But you needn’t be too disappointed.” Sherine sensed Du Chen might be feeling disheartened and deftly changed the topic: “By the way, your mother met Arges right here. Would you like to visit the place where your parents first fell in love?”

Du Chen would have made a similar request anyway, so Sherine bringing it up herself was even better.

“Alas, how time flies!” Sherine sighed as she led Du Chen on a tour. “Back then, Phil was lively and cheerful, but her servant Glynn was quite eccentric. At the time, when Arges saw your mother, he approached to strike up a conversation, and Glynn…”

“Auntie Sherine, my mother had another servant?”