A Core Ship From The Start
Chapter 1486 - 1004: Late Night Visitor

Chapter 1486: Chapter 1004: Late Night Visitor

Although the intel provided by Liliath suggested that the man named Ramses was the most likely culprit behind everything, Duanmu Huai, having been burned by shady missions countless times, had grown adept at recognizing that the apparent mastermind was often nothing more than a misdirection.

You could argue that Ramses deliberately reduced Naruse Mio’s guards, causing her to be constantly hunted down, aiming to kill her indirectly. But it was also possible that Ramses used this as a ploy to distract others—after all, too many guards could lead to a chaotic mix of allies and enemies, making comrades potentially more dangerous than enemies.

Similar situations were nothing new to Duanmu Huai. After taking down the boss, some NPC on his side would suddenly reveal they were the true mastermind all along while the so-called "boss" was just a scapegoat... and then promptly be killed off by the players.

Moreover, given that Liliath was part of the Jimongli Family, it was clear she wouldn’t be privy to detailed internal information from other families.

So, Duanmu Huai decided to shelve this matter temporarily and focus on Naruse Mio’s special training instead.

Since Naruse Mio’s powers had already awakened, the next step in her guidance was easy to determine. Duanmu showed no aptitude for spatial magic, but he did have some expertise in gravity manipulation.

The first lesson was, naturally, teaching her how to fly.

Generally speaking, members of the Demon Clan could fly instinctively. However, in Naruse Mio’s case, although her powers had awakened, she hadn’t yet transformed into the winged, tailed demon form like Liliath or Banriya—that was perfectly ordinary, according to Duanmu Huai. Typically, protagonists first awakened their powers and then underwent a secondary evolution during their showdown with the final boss. It was all pretty standard trope territory.

Naruse Mio was also putting in effort, realizing that her inability to fly was indeed a major issue. If she could fly, combat and escape alike would become much easier for her.

But—

"Lord Mio! Move faster! Be more nimble!"

"Even if you say that—!"

Under Banriya’s strict guidance, Naruse Mio wore an expression of utter embarrassment. Although she managed to hover, she appeared awkward and flustered in midair, resembling a drenched, struggling cat.

"Why must I dress like this to fly?!"

Yes, Naruse Mio’s awkwardness stemmed entirely from her outfit—she was currently wearing the Ryuo Academy uniform.

To clarify, let’s briefly examine the Ryuo Academy uniform style. It consists of an outer jacket layered over a sleeveless vest, followed by a white blouse and a short skirt.

As for the vest—the part Duanmu Huai wished most to ridicule—it wasn’t a normal sleeveless design. The vest at Ryuo Academy specifically had the chest area cut out, revealing the layer underneath. Combined with the red vest and white blouse, it drew extra attention to the chest area.

Duanmu Huai frequently observed girls undressing, simply reaching down to unhook the vest’s buttons from the abdomen area—because, well, the upper portion was entirely open and empty!

Whoever designed this uniform was undoubtedly a huge pervert, no question.

But Naruse Mio wasn’t troubled by the upper area; her issue lay down below—the Ryuo Academy uniform’s skirt was short enough to risk flashes even during slightly exaggerated movements. Now imagine taking flight—your rear would be entirely exposed!

As a result, while Naruse Mio did manage to fly, her hands were glued to her skirt to press it down tightly, leaving her looking like a writhing seal in midair.

"Why do I have to dress like this to fly?!"

During earlier training sessions, Naruse Mio had always worn athletic gear, which worked fine for her gravity-based flight practice. But as soon as she switched to the uniform, Naruse Mio became overwhelmingly uncomfortable—feeling a chill below, not to mention the anxiety over accidental exposure, she couldn’t fly naturally anymore.

"Because it’s essential!"

Banriya responded righteously to Naruse Mio’s complaints.

"Enemies don’t choose the time to strike. They might attack while I’m shopping with Lord Mio, or during Lord Mio’s commute to school, or even while Lord Mio is sleeping or bathing! Should Lord Mio carry a tracksuit everywhere and run to a phone booth to change at such moments?!"

Listening to Banriya’s absurdly logical-sounding nonsense, Duanmu Huai kept quiet. This Nightmare lolita was skilled at making ridiculous claims sound convincing. Naruse Mio had fallen for her reasoning more than once, but Duanmu Huai didn’t step in—after all, he got to enjoy the perks himself. Why stop her?

"I could wear safety shorts!"

"Wearing safety shorts all day? Lord Mio, that’s not just unladylike—it’s inhuman!"

Duanmu Huai felt like some short-haired vending machine-kicking character had just been roasted out of nowhere.

"Besides, Lady Liliath and the others act like this all the time too. They’re not embarrassed, see?"

"Ugh..."

Hearing this, Naruse Mio gritted her teeth and glared fiercely at Banriya before yelling out in defeat.

"Fine! I’ll do it, happy now?! I’ll fly up right now—if I fly high enough, nobody will see me, right?!"

Crying and shouting, Naruse Mio soared into the sky, prompting Banriya to nod in satisfaction as she watched Mio disappear into the clouds. Turning to Duanmu Huai, she said:

"Lord Duanmu, it seems Lord Mio’s training is proving effective. I suppose I should prepare some new underwear for her!"

"Don’t overdo it."

Duanmu Huai offered a lighthearted warning but refrained from saying much else. He knew that if Banriya had her way, the outfits she’d pick for Naruse Mio would undoubtedly be the kind of scandalous designs suitable only for the pages of an adults-only magazine... Not that Duanmu Huai objected, as long as Banriya didn’t go too far in tormenting Mio.

"Of course, Lord Duanmu. But you wouldn’t believe how troublesome shopping for Lord Mio’s clothes can be. Especially finding swimwear—it’s impossible to find anything in her size! Those are all designed for ordinary humans, completely unsuitable for Lord Mio’s sinful body!"

"That much trouble?"

Hearing Banriya grousing, Duanmu Huai became curious. He was aware of Naruse Mio’s impressive figure, practically on par with Liliath’s. Still, women’s intimate apparel was beyond his realm of familiarity. While Duanmu Huai’s own approach was layered simplicity—oversized beach shorts—as far as he was concerned, Mio’s physique seemed perfectly normal, with no apparent difficulty in buying clothes.

"Exactly. Lord Mio’s swimwear has to be adjusted with magic every time—it’s impossible to find her size in stores! To purchase anything, we’d have to contact the manufacturers and custom order it!"

"Then custom order it. You’re not lacking for money, are you?"

Glancing at the sky, Duanmu Huai saw Mio still circling higher—yellow ones, kind of childish, no wonder Banriya suggested an upgrade.

"But Lord Mio doesn’t want her body measurements shared with strangers. She insists it’s too embarrassing..."

Banriya spread her hands helplessly—apparently, there was some personal grudge mixed into her teasing of Mio.

As the saying goes, the start of every habit is hard, but you get desensitized over time.

The same applied to Naruse Mio. What had begun with her outright refusal to fly in the uniform soon evolved into her casual proposal to fly straight to school—all within a week. Naturally, she never truly flew to school; a large human soaring through the city skies would attract far too much attention. Their residence on a secluded mountainside was far safer, where even heinous crimes could go unnoticed.

Try flying in the city for a few minutes? You’d be photographed and posted online in no time.

Of course, Naruse Mio didn’t have the capability yet. Ever since fully awakening her demon powers, her physical attributes experienced notable shifts. According to Mio herself, she felt tired and weak during the day, while nights made her brimming with energy—strong enough to punch a cow, even. Banriya confirmed this was innate to the Demon Clan: the night belonged to demons, while the day belonged to angels.

This explained why Liliath and the others rarely acted during daylight, waiting until dusk or nightfall to carry out their demon duties. It also clarified why fallen angels dared strike during daylight. Despite being fallen, they retained the power of light, which made daytime their domain.

Conversely, for demons like Naruse Mio and Banriya, their powers were at a disadvantage during daylight hours.

Upon realizing this, Duanmu Huai decided he couldn’t rely solely on Liliath—he needed to step up himself! While Liliath had noble connections and intelligence networks as a Superior Demon Aristocrat, she wasn’t the Jimongli Family’s Clan Leader and had limitations. Thus, Duanmu Huai resolved... it was on him!

Starting today, the Tribunal would oversee this territory! Anyone daring to cause trouble here would face his wrath!

What a fool he’d been not to do this from the outset!

Duanmu Huai wasted no time acting. The only frustrating thing was the lack of progress with the main storyline... Even summoning someone didn’t work. So what’s this quest about?

If no clues showed up soon, he’d resort to cheating!

Thinking this, Duanmu Huai got up and jumped into action—it was already late at night, with Naruse Mio resting after a long day and Banriya fast asleep. But none of this mattered to Duanmu Huai. Their accommodations were spacious and quiet enough for him to work without disturbing anyone.

Very quickly, Duanmu Huai began tinkering away.

Unfortunately, trouble was just around the corner. As Duanmu Huai prepared his materials to start crafting, a bright red magic circle suddenly appeared on the floor of his bedroom.

"What the hell is this?"

Staring at the glowing symbol, Duanmu Huai froze in place for a moment before approaching it cautiously. Soon after, an intense burst of light erupted from the magic circle, followed by the emergence of a person.

It was...

"Liliath?"

Seeing the red-haired beauty standing there in her uniform, Duanmu Huai blinked in confusion.

"What are you doing here at this hour? Couldn’t you use the door?"

"..."

Liliath offered no response to Duanmu Huai’s questions. She simply tilted her head up, gazing silently at him before stepping forward. Moments later, she began shedding her outer layers—the jacket, the vest, and finally, the skirt...

By the time Liliath stood in front of Duanmu Huai, only the last barrier remained on her body.

"???"

Watching this unfold, Duanmu Huai was utterly bewildered—he couldn’t figure out what kind of play Liliath was putting on.

Still, he couldn’t deny that, compared to Naruse Mio’s childish outfit, Liliath’s more mature black lace attire had a certain allure...

While Duanmu Huai was studying Liliath, she raised her head to meet his gaze.

"Teacher, do you think I’m beautiful?"

"Well, I must say, you do look quite stunning."

"Then... please hold me."

"???"

What now?

Duanmu Huai blinked in shock at Liliath’s request, her sequence of words leaving him completely nonsensical.

But what surprised Duanmu Huai even more was Liliath’s next move. Reaching out, she grabbed his right hand and placed it firmly against her chest.

"Don’t be shy, Teacher. As fast as you like—the quicker, the better."