Porter

Beibei truly had a knack for "collecting people" – not long ago she found Alex, and now another living person!

It seemed with Beibei around, the population count of their household would definitely never be an issue!

Du Chen placed the little girl on Harry's head, instructing Harry to support the young lady and stand by. As he tidied his clothes, he asked, "Beibei, no threatening Harry. Harry, tell me exactly what happened!"

"My honored master, Harry went to the river to collect dew earlier, to prepare your milk tea. The young lady woke early and accompanied Harry," the Shieb explained, secretly glancing at Beibei's expression. Seeing no sign of disapproval, he spoke with newfound confidence: "As we were gathering dew by the river, a milk delivery boy arrived with fresh milk. The courtyard gate was closed at the time, but he brazenly entered without permission! And he looked quite flustered!"

Beibei nodded, proclaiming, "No one home, yet he entered. A thief!"

"The sagacious young lady speaks truth! Master, the delivery boy's actions were suspicious, so the young lady set a fire…"

Du Chen had finished tidying his clothes and nodded. "Beibei did well! What kind of delivery boy just wanders into someone's courtyard? He deserved to be burned!" Stunned, Du Chen thought: *Is this really how I should be raising my child?*

"But the story isn't over yet! That fire the young lady set somehow burned the delivery boy unconscious. He collapsed at the doorstep, and just as Harry was about to investigate, a dozen academy students rushed over, intent on apprehending him! The young lady wouldn't allow it, declaring the delivery boy her captive… Heh heh, that led to a bit of a skirmish, but…"

Harry grinned. "Those dozen students knew this was a high-end dormitory district; only the wealthy or influential could live here. So they didn't dare go too far and requested you come down to discuss it with them!"

Du Chen gave Beibei a knowing look. "Good daughter, you did well. This isn't causing trouble at all! You handled it perfectly; Papa supports you!" Du Chen was speechless again. What 'reasoning'!

Du Chen mused to himself as he walked into the courtyard.

A slender figure was sprawled across the doorstep, unconscious. Most of his hair was singed black, though he had no other visible injuries. Outside stood a dozen students, their attire indicating they weren't from wealthy families.

Du Chen frowned slightly. Were they trying to stage a scam?

Beibei's flames weren't particularly powerful; at most, they could roast meat or be used for pranks. This was a normal ability for a child with such high innate talent; individuals across the Three Continents blessed with an innate fire body could accomplish similar feats in childhood, so it wasn't surprising. But how had Beibei, only singeing this person's hair, managed to knock him unconscious? And why had those dozen students outside arrived so quickly?

Something fishy was going on. Could these people have set up a trap to extort him? In his previous life, he had witnessed many similar incidents!

At this thought, Du Chen's opinion of them plummeted. He spoke with displeasure, "What are you doing? Clustered around my dormitory door at this early hour? Are you trying to provoke me? I am Chief Francis of the Department of Supervision!"

The anger instantly melted from the students' faces, replaced by smiles, upon hearing he was a Chief from the Department of Supervision. One stepped forward and said, "So it is Chief Francis! I am George, a third-year student from Water Pavilion!"

He extended his hand to shake Du Chen's, but just as his hand extended, he realized his mistake and quickly bowed slightly. "Are you, Lord Francis, the Divine Scion of Sigurd from Lanning? I deeply admire your benevolent reputation. I, too, am from Lanning and have met the Divine Scion of Sigurd, Lord Francis!"

So this George was a commoner!

Du Chen smiled and shook his hand. "Now we are all fellow students; there's no need to bring up those noble titles!" Seeing George's courteous attitude, Du Chen's tone became amiable as well, and he chuckled, "So, what exactly is going on here?"

George hesitated, glancing at the delivery boy sprawled on the doorstep. He thought to himself, 'I'd heard that Francis's conduct was nearly flawless, a role model for students, and that he held the esteemed title, 'Glory of Saint John.' Now, it seems the rumors were true; he's as kind as legend describes, without an ounce of aristocratic pretense! Then, he surely wouldn't be unreasonable or abuse his power for personal gain?'

At this thought, he said, "Please, take a look at this person first!"

Before Du Chen could even give an order, the quick-witted Harry had already rushed over, flipped the delivery boy over, so his face was visible to Du Chen.

*Damn it, it's him!*

Beneath the charred, messy hair, the man's face was blackened, and a pair of black-framed crystal spectacles perched on his nose. He was thin, looking as if a gust of wind could blow him over.

Du Chen frowned deeply. Didn't his Department Chief have two subordinates? One was the plump Jason next door, and the other was this very delivery boy sprawled on the doorstep, named Porter!

Speaking of Porter, although Du Chen was his Chief, the two had exchanged no more than ten sentences since they met. This was partly because Du Chen, as Chief, didn't handle 'proper business' at all, legitimately skipping classes with Professor Mina's backing, let alone involving himself in Student Council matters. On the other hand, Porter himself was timid and poor at socializing. During the only Student Council gathering they both attended, his subordinate had merely nodded to him, managing only a few polite pleasantries.

Perhaps calling him timid was an understatement; in Du Chen's words, Porter was the type of person with incredibly low emotional intelligence, the kind who would blush and fidget awkwardly when talking to strangers.

The fact that such a person could join the Student Council was also Du Chen's 'doing.' When he first became Chief and needed to choose subordinates, he took a shortcut and delegated the task to Jason. It went without saying why the opportunistic Jason had chosen such a colleague...

Du Chen shook his head and asked, "George, I know this person. He's a member of our Department of Supervision – Porter. What happened to him?"

"Lord Francis, this Porter, as a member of the Department of Supervision, brazenly embezzled the money we paid for our milk…" George recounted angrily.

It turned out that Porter and these students were all of commoner origin, none of them wealthy. Porter's family, in particular, was utterly destitute, which was why he worked part-time to pay for his studies, doing odd jobs like delivering milk and packages. But recently, Porter had collected their milk money but then failed to deliver the milk. Who among these already struggling students could accept that?

So, that morning, the students whose milk money Porter had embezzled united to intercept him here. Porter, in a panic, ran into Du Chen's courtyard, likely because he was being pursued so relentlessly and remembered his Chief mentioning he lived in Dormitory Number Eighteen. Thus, he hastily dashed into Du Chen's courtyard.

"I see, I understand!" Du Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. However useless Porter might be, he was still his nominal subordinate; he might as well help him out. "Harry, go fetch fifty silver coins for these students!"

George was startled and quickly said, "Lord Francis, how could I possibly accept your money!"

Du Chen waved his hand, smiling. "Porter is a member of our Department of Supervision; at the very least, he is my nominal subordinate. If he makes a mistake, I naturally bear the responsibility for failing to guide him properly. Please accept it; consider it compensation for your milk money, on Porter's behalf."

"But… fifty silver coins is far too much! All of us combined lost less than one silver coin!"

Du Chen clapped his shoulder, smiling. "It's fine! Please accept it! If you wish, you can use the surplus to help other students in need, alright? Harry, quickly now, lift Porter into the house!"

George tried to decline again, but under Du Chen's stern command, the Shieb pressed the coins into his hand.

George bowed deeply and solemnly. "Thank you, Lord Francis! You are the kindest noble I have ever met!" He had heard rumors of Francis's charitable and benevolent reputation before and had been somewhat skeptical, but now, seeing it firsthand, the Glory of Saint John truly lived up to its name!

Du Chen wasn't interested in what George was thinking. After dismissing the students, Harry carried Porter into the main hall on the first floor.

Beibei, who had been hiding in the house, now emerged. She giggled, looking at Porter sprawled on the sofa. "Good job, Papa! You brought Beibei's captive back!"

"Beibei, good girl!" Du Chen picked up his daughter, laughing. "You did very well this time. Anyone who brazenly intrudes into our home deserves to be burned. However, this Porter isn't a thief!" Seeing his daughter pout, he added, "If you enjoy setting people on fire for fun, aren't there two peculiar fellows in the tent outside our home? Go burn them!"

"Okay! Burn the old Gambler and Old Charlatan!" The little girl clapped her hands and laughed.

Just then, attended to by Harry, Porter woke up. He looked around his surroundings in alarm, then lowered his head and said, "Ch-Chief…"

"Say nothing! George told me everything! What is wrong with you!? As a member of the Department of Supervision, you brazenly embezzled milk money from poor students!"

"No, I… I!" Porter meekly stammered, unable to explain.

"And also, my child only singed your hair, so why did you faint?" Du Chen asked curiously. Porter kept his head down, darting glances at the living room decor, unsure how to answer. Du Chen followed his gaze and felt a prickle of annoyance. "Speak up! Why are you staring at my harp?"

This time, Porter answered quickly, "That harp is very valuable!"

Du Chen thought to himself, *Of course it's valuable. A crystal frame, platinum bow adorned with diamonds, and unknown, iridescent strings. Put together, even a child could see its worth!*

The harp had been found in Rogliff's black oil tanker and was supposedly an antique. However, no one in Du Chen's family understood music, so they simply used it as a mere decoration because it looked pretty.

"Stop looking at the harp! Speak quickly!" Du Chen grew impatient. *Why was Porter so tight-lipped?*

Porter cast a lingering glance at the harp. His blackened face and wild hair, as he gazed at the harp, made him look strangely like an artist.

Just then, a thunderous roar echoed from outside, "Young Master!! Help! Master's gone mad and wants to kill me!!"

It was Aliza!

Du Chen was alarmed and rushed out, instructing, "Harry, take Beibei and hide! Porter, you go with them!"

Was Roland making trouble for Aliza?

By the Water River, Aliza sprinted with his large feet, running for his life at incredible speed. Seeing Du Chen emerge, he quickly rushed over, yelling, "Young Master, Master said Aliza was some… some worthy opponent, and he wants to duel him!" His body was covered in new wounds.

*Damn it, was Roland's madness worsening?* After Mount Tianshan, he had personally checked on Roland, confirming that while mad, he wasn't violent, which was why he'd confidently left Aliza in his care.

"Haha, are you fleeing? Why flee!? Keep fighting me!" A moment later, Roland descended from the sky. His eyes were fixed on Aliza. "Years ago, we hadn't decided a victor. Today, we must fight to the death!"

Roland held a wooden staff, his demeanor arrogant and utterly deranged. His sailor shirt was shredded, revealing a powerfully built physique. He advanced step by step towards Aliza.

"Young Master, what do we do?" Aliza frantically hid behind Du Chen.

Du Chen pulled Aliza back step by step, his mind racing. Roland claimed Aliza was a worthy opponent, and that they had fought years ago! Yet, he had adopted Aliza because Aliza was the child of a friend! *Damn it, Roland's muddled mind must have mistaken Aliza for his old friend!*

"Mister Roland, look closely, this is Aliza, not your friend!" Du Chen shouted.

Roland shook his head blankly, then stared at Aliza again. "I haven't mistaken you; it is you! Come on!"

He gripped the wooden staff with both hands, as if wielding a greatsword, and propelled himself forward, charging at Aliza and Du Chen.

Before he even reached them, a fierce gale of battle qi rushed towards them. Whipping wind blades stung Du Chen's face, making his limbs grow cold. He had witnessed Roland's power on Mount Tianshan, but then he was an observer; now, he faced Roland directly!

The former Emperor of Swords, who had once swept across the continents of Einz and Yakun, unrivaled – even though he was now unstable and his strength was far from what it once was, Du Chen was utterly incapable of resisting him.

Roland drew closer, his hands gripping the wooden staff held horizontally beside his ear, pointing menacingly at Aliza behind Du Chen. No one doubted that this 'strike' of his would cleave both Du Chen and Aliza in two!

Du Chen was about to pull Aliza away to dodge, but Roland's body suddenly shuddered, and then countless illusory figures dispersed from him, surrounding Du Chen and Aliza from all directions!

There was no escape! Du Chen was frantic. The protective shield of a Second-Star Battle Mage burst forth from his body, and the intangible Lotus Shield was also deployed.

Du Chen secretly prayed. He hoped Roland, like last time, would mistake the aura of the Lotus Shield for 'Water's Embrace Holy Radiance' and flee. Otherwise…

"Hmph!" When Roland was just two steps away, his true form, amidst the myriad illusions, thrust out the wooden staff.

Du Chen squeezed his eyes shut. This time, Roland didn't recall 'Water's Embrace Holy Radiance.' It was over. He could only hope in the Lotus Shield, but the shield only countered Undead Battle Qi!

In that split second between life and death, Roland suddenly froze. The swirling illusions vanished with him. He stood rigid, as if listening intently to something…