Chapter Sixty-Six: Porcelain Doll

A few Fox gentlemen were writhing in pain, their faces turning purple, unable even to cry out, but with so many people in the hall, no one noticed the oddity amid the crowd.

“Andrew, don’t be so rude.” Lilith flicked her hair, glanced at the leader among the Fox ruffians, then smiled softly at Louis. “Let Mr. Louis finish speaking first.”

Seeing the goddess speak, Andrew reluctantly vented his frustration by kicking the table.

With a rattling sound, the table wobbled. Two porcelain dolls at the edge toppled onto the surface and slowly rolled toward the rim, eventually falling to the floor one after the other.

“What a coincidence, Mr. Andrew, Mr. Daniel,” Louis nodded with a smile.

“Alright, alright, Andrew.” Daniel elegantly flicked his sleeve, patted Andrew’s chest, glanced with a smirk at the shoe by Lilith’s feet, and turned to Louis. “Mr. Louis has something to say to Miss Lilith... hmm?... hmm hmm? Ugh... hiss, whoa ah—”

In a sudden spasm of agony, Daniel seized Andrew’s arm, face ashen, turned his backside toward Andrew, and pouted.

Andrew, chewing gum and sneering, suddenly turned pale as well, facing Daniel and sticking out his backside.

The two found themselves face to face...

Lilith and the others frowned in confusion, then saw their two “knights,” their features twisted in pain, facing each other, both sticking out their backsides, their bodies trembling like sieves.

Then, to everyone’s shock, a tearing sound came from the seat of their trousers, and a monkey burst out from Daniel’s rear, chattering wildly.

Meanwhile, Andrew forcibly pulled out an enormous durian.

Just moments ago, Daniel was suave and Andrew domineering; now, both convulsed, shaking their heads, making guttural noises, rigidly facing each other and collapsing to the ground, fainting from pain.

The half-monkey leaped out, excitedly grabbed the durian, raised it high, squealing and running around the hall.

A stunned silence fell; the Foxes were dumbfounded. They turned mechanically, eyes wide, looking first at Louis, then at the porcelain dolls on the table, mouths agape as if seeing a ghost.

A burst of laughter and whistling shattered the stillness.

“Hahaha, that’s hilarious!” The little Yordle folk at the door applauded.

“I told you, boss is a wizard!”

The Yordle children standing in the hall wiped their tears, clenched their fists, and cried, “Give those villains what they deserve!”

“Just watch!”

The Yordles made a ruckus, and Louis smiled at the Foxes.

“You see, no one got the answer to the first question. It seems all the lessons from your professors have been swallowed whole—look, I told you, these things break easily.”

With that, Louis cheerfully lifted the table, which, though heavy, rose as easily as a sheet of paper and crashed back to the floor.

Six porcelain dolls rolled off and shattered, and six Foxes suddenly turned pale and stuck out their backsides.

No one knew what strange sorcery this was, nor how the wizard achieved it. But now everyone knew exactly what was happening.

Looking at the mass of porcelain dolls on the table, wobbling like roly-polies for ages, the Foxes’ scalps tingled, nearly fainting from fright.

Someone quickly drew a wand and cast a spell at the dolls, trying to pull them over, but as the spell neared, a doll exploded along with the spell.

Another person turned ashen, sticking out their backside.

“Don’t use magic!” Lilith suddenly shouted, her face pale. “All those dolls are cursed! If magic is sensed nearby, they’ll explode!”

Everyone was dumbstruck—weren’t these just bombs?

“Very good,” Louis applauded. “It seems someone answered the second question—Miss Lilith, there’ll be a reward later.”

Lilith forced a strained smile, discreetly signaling the Foxes.

Louis chuckled.

Just then, two strong Foxes who had crept up behind Louis during the chaos lunged to tackle him.

The first Fox crashed into Louis’s back. With a thud, it was like hitting a wall; his front teeth snapped off, stars spun in his head, and he collapsed.

This fellow was stronger than five dragon-men, mightier than a unicorn ogre. All that monstrous strength condensed into a human body, making him as tough as stone.

The first Fox fainted on the spot; the second, mid-pounce, was slapped aside by Louis, spinning 720 degrees in the air and landing right where he’d started.

The nearby Foxes stared, mouths wide enough for an apple, yet some still tried to rush in, hoping numbers would prevail.

Louis didn’t even look at them; he casually kicked the table, sending the massive stone slab flying at an angle into the air, crashing down, dolls tumbling and rolling to one side.

A few Foxes fainted from fright right then.

It was over—completely over—a total wipeout!

Everyone would end up birthing monkeys!

As the dolls were about to hit the floor, Louis’s sleeve blocked the edge, and the Foxes breathed a huge sigh of relief, wiping sweat from their faces. All forced a smile at Louis.

“Sir Louis,” the formidable Lilith spoke, biting her lip, voice trembling as she addressed him, “Let’s talk.”

Louis glanced at her, then withdrew his sleeve, letting the dolls tumble to the ground.

The Foxes stared wide-eyed at Louis as if he were a devil.

About ten dolls were about to fall; many Foxes passed out from terror. At the critical moment, a nimble boot caught every doll, saving them from breaking.

Not a single one shattered. Looking up, they saw Louis, smiling gently.

Whistles and applause erupted at the door; the Yordles cheered again.

“I said the boss is a Nightmare!”

“Just watch!”

The Foxes were utterly stunned.

A wizard?

With such skills, he was more formidable than the Nightmares and Nightingales of the Red Fox Den!

And that long table—made of stone! Yet he sent it flying with a light kick!

This man undoubtedly had dragon blood!

Under the tense gaze of the crowd, they watched Louis juggle the dolls on his leg, sending each one neatly back onto the table. Then, he smiled at everyone, casually lifting and shaking the table so the dolls rolled every which way.

The Foxes—ruffians and tough girls alike—goggled, their hearts trembling in sync with the swaying table. A few couldn’t handle the stress; their knees gave way and they knelt on the spot.

“Grandpa, we were wrong, we shouldn’t have cursed you today!”

Some Foxes, playing the fool, knelt and surrendered, others smacked their own faces, apologizing profusely.

“Why kneel to me? Go to the Yordles.” Louis dusted off his sleeves, setting the table down and glancing at the narrator.

The Yordles burst in, applauding enthusiastically. “Boss’s circus act is amazing—clap, clap!”

The Foxes looked at the dolls on the table, squeezed out ingratiating smiles, and joined in, clapping along with the Yordles they usually bullied.

[Principal Oliver’s favorability +MAX]

[Magic Cat Shopkeeper’s favorability +MAX]

[Yordle Academy’s new generation reputation: worship]

‘It seems the principal understood my magic,’ Louis thought, glancing at the sneaky ‘Resting Bird’ outside the window. ‘That bird-student of the principal is quite skilled, probably caught on—this is indeed academy knowledge. Not sure if Oxicris ever mentioned Granny Stia, but from now on, whatever I do should be reasonable.’

‘After chatting more with Sakura Bell, I won’t have to play games with these children. Time to use my true identity and meet the real wizards!’

‘Of course, if someone bullies others, I’ll bully them right back.’ Louis patted the head of a Yordle.

If the Yordles hadn’t come crying for help that afternoon, this “lesson” wouldn’t have been nearly so lively.

Thinking of this, Louis smiled at Sakura Bell’s younger sister.

...