High School of Demon Hunting
Chapter 163 - 87: Octopus_1

Chapter 163: Chapter 87: Octopus_1

What could an octopus possibly do to you?

If anyone would have asked Zheng Qing this question before, he would have snorted in disbelief—could those spineless, floppy creatures really do anything to him?

To him, perhaps flipping the question might yield an interesting response.

Indeed, there were many things he could do to an octopus.

Like steaming, braising, stir-frying, or dry-frying;

Or smoking, stewing, braising, pan-frying, soupmaking, boiling, or simmering;

If he wanted more flavor, he could slice it raw, dip in a sauce—it would have its own unique taste.

If he had ample time, he could make small meatballs and boil a pot of rich soup; utterly satisfying.

If he didn’t want to eat it, he could put it in a fish tank, and watch the octopus waving its tiny legs around; a sight to behold.

When Zheng Qing was severely mistreated by the Octopus Manager of the Book Mountain Library, these thoughts filled his mind.

Just a few minutes ago, when Mr. Octopus, with his eight tentacles outstretched, floated in front of Zheng Qing, demanding him to leave, Zheng Qing still held out a sliver of hope—that perhaps the librarian wasn’t as grumpy as rumors suggested.

"Hold on a moment." He stood up politely and bowed to the Octopus Manager, " I’ll pack up these books and leave right away."

"A very polite lad." The Octopus librarian expelled a series of rounded bubbles, "So, I’ll go easy on you."

"Go easy on me..." As Zheng Qing was trying to understand his words, Mr. Octopus explained with his actions.

In fact, the way this librarian dealt with students who stayed late in the library due to their greed was rather straightforward.

Tip over, drag away.

Literally.

"Several books fell on the floor!" Zheng Qing yelled out, struggling with the bunch of books in his arms.

But apart from Mr. Octopus above his head, there wasn’t a soul in the deserted library.

"No problem. My companion will tidy it up later." The Octopus Manager had a firm grip on the back of the young student’s collar, dragging him on the floor toward the exit, while leisurely spraying out fancy font bubbles from behind.

"This is violent behavior!" Zheng Qing protested angrily, "A serious violation of the school regulations!"

"Go report me then." The Octopus Manager nonchalantly dutted out a string of bubbles.

"Help, I’m being assaulted!" Zheng Qing shouted, flailing his legs around. "I’m a student at this school! I’m the rose of the wizarding world! You can’t do this to me! I want to see the headmaster! I want to see the headmaster!"

The Octopus Manager’s usually translucent skin slowly turned red, even somewhat dark.

"Shut up!" Anger steam billowing from his head, Mr. Octopus, with his tentacle-made fist, gave Zheng Qing another hasty punch. "I’ve never seen a newbie as noisy as you!"

Discretion being the better part of valor, Zheng Qing immediately closed his mouth.

And soon, he realized that being dragged around was actually easier.

Moreover, all the books could be piled up in his arms, which meant there was no risk of losing any of them.

Thus, he obediently shrunk his neck back, letting the Octopus Manager use him as a floor mop.

"Can you slow down a bit?" Zheng Qing couldn’t help shouting as they rounded a corner. "I dropped another two books!"

"No." Mr. Octopus resolutely responded.

"Then, could we stop for a bit?" Zheng Qing paused then sincerely pleaded. "My robe is expensive. Can I switch into something more casual?"

"No!" The librarian added an enormous exclamation point after his response this time.

"Could you help me carry a few books?" Clutching all the books he had chosen, Zheng Qing ventured a request. "You have eight arms and you’re using just four... Shouldn’t you be able to carry a lot?"

The manager finally stopped, moving his head closer to the audacious newbie.

Zheng Qing laughed nervously.

The Octopus Manager widened its eyes, the bulbous, pitch-black pupils gleaming under the faint light.

This time, it didn’t spew any words.

Instead, it emitted a huge round of question marks and exclamation points from its body.

Zheng Qing seized the opportunity to hold the remaining books even tighter while cautiously evading the string of symbols to avoid ink stains on his robe.

Once he was thrown out of the library maze, the Octopus Librarian didn’t blow another bubble and dashed directly into the depths of the maze, leaving the incessantly complaining young wizard behind.

"Name, class," a stern voice resonated above Zheng Qing’s head, "How many times have you triggered the alarm?"

Zheng Qing stood up quickly.

In front of him stood an old wizard wearing a grey janitor’s uniform.

He was holding a clipboard in one hand and a pocket watch in the other.

On the clipboard, about four or five quill pens were happily performing a tap dance.

Around the old wizard, about four or five depressed students in red robes were lined up, waiting for their fate.

"Zheng Qing, Astronomy Class 08-1, first time in the library," Zheng Qing quickly gathered the books that had accidentally fallen onto the floor, and replied in a disciplined manner.

"A freshman," the old wizard’s stern face softened slightly, "Didn’t you hear the ’Book Mountain Library Regulations’ before entering? Why did you stay in there for so long?"

"I did," Zheng Qing answered honestly, "I just saw too many books I liked and couldn’t help but stay a little longer."

"The most important rule in the library is not to be greedy," the sombre-faced librarian warned the young wizards harshly, "I suggest you don’t stay too long in the depths of the library. This is not to limit your study but for better learning. Remember, a plethora of scatterbrained knowledge can easily lead one to lose themselves."

Everyone nodded in agreement, voicing their acknowledgment.

After their registrations were complete, the old wizard let the youngsters leave the entrance of the library maze with their books.

"Remember, if you are thrown out of the maze by Mr. Zhang three times in a row, you will be banned from entering the library for a month," the old wizard warned before they left, "After two consecutive bans, you will be banned from the library for a year. Do you understand?"

"Who is Mr. Zhang?" Zheng Qing turned his head quietly and asked a chubby boy next to him.

"That’s the octopus," the boy whispered back.

"Any more questions?" The old wizard glared at the two.

"Reporting!" After some hesitation, Zheng Qing finally raised his hand, "I have a question."

"Hmm?" The old wizard raised his eyebrows.

"That, uh...Mr. Zhang," Zheng Qing swallowed hard pulling the address back on track, "was violent towards me when he was escorting me out. I believe that behavior is inappropriate."

As he spoke, he pointed towards a red mark clearly visible on his forehead. It was the trace left by the octopus when it had hit him.

"First, Mr. Zhang is a traditional professor, during his era, it was customary for students to be educated with rulers and sticks," the old wizard glanced at the red mark on his forehead, folded his fingers and tapped on his clipboard.

The dancing quills on the board promptly shot back into the wizard’s chest pocket.

Zheng Qing pondered, this must mean he has no intention of noting down this conversation.

"Secondly, the library maze is enormous and complex, too much for an ordinary wizard to handle, and all the great wizards have their own obligations. Without Mr. Zhang, there might indeed have been incidents of students dying from starvation in the library. There was a time when the school had ghosts guarding the library and fact has it that they received even more complaints... mostly because the intense horror atmosphere they created in confined spaces seriously disturbed students’ reading. If you are interested, you can make a recommendation to the school. Perhaps you would like a library guarded by ghosts?"

Zheng Qing turned pale and involuntarily shook his head.

An octopus roaming around the library meant he would just get whacked a few times.

If it were a ghost, the thought itself was too wonderful. Perhaps the incidence of heart disease in the school would skyrocket.

"Finally, Mr. Zhang’s methods are primarily punitive and generally do not cause real harm to students," the old wizard concluded, "So if you disagree, you can pick up a form here to lodge a complaint. If there are no objections, please move away from the entrance. There’s a long queue of students waiting!"

Zheng Qing sighed, holding his pile of books, and walked away, feeling dejected.