NOVPUBMaya’s room was both chaotic and not chaotic.
Various items were scattered everywhere—bottles, barrels, and some leftover food. In short, it was filled with evidence of "frequent use in a short period."
But apart from that, the other items were very tidy. They were all orderly placed in their appropriate spots.
This gave Aiwass a curious illusion—
As if Maya was still a little girl, whose parents had just left on a business trip, so she retaliated by eating and drinking excessively.
"Miss Maya," Aiwass began, "do you live with your parents?"
"My parents are in the Red Queen District, but they don’t live with me."
Maya explained somewhat awkwardly.
As she spoke, she had already begun tidying up. She worked efficiently and had almost finished cleaning up in no time.
She complained, "I didn’t plan to invite you over today... Otherwise, I would have definitely cleaned up the place. It’s mainly because I didn’t expect you to get promoted suddenly, so I can’t delay anymore.
"I haven’t bought groceries these past few days, or I’d have let you try my cooking. But now I can only hurry to give you the items... I can’t delay your mealtime."
"It’s not urgent," Aiwass advised.
And Lily asked softly, "Shall I help as well?"
This was also part of Lily’s professional skills.
The exams were over at eleven in the morning, so there was still quite a bit of time.
"No need!"
Miss Maya responded energetically, "You are both my students and my guests. How can I ask students and guests to help clean?"
And just then, the sound of a key turning in the door.
"I’m back, Mommy."
A naive yet cool voice came through.
...Mommy?
Aiwass looked toward the source of the sound and saw a little girl with silver hair and silver eyes at the door, wearing a dark blue nun’s dress.
Although Maya could be considered a lively beauty, her appearance and temperament were completely different from the girl’s.
Maya had deep brown wavy hair, similar to Mathers’, tied in a ponytail on one side of her shoulder in a risky hairstyle. Her pupils were a gentle blue, and though her age was hard to guess—possibly already in her thirties or forties—she still looked like a full of energy young woman in her early twenties.
Despite being a university lecturer, she had the quality of someone in pre-school education.
And now, Aiwass finally realized where this quality came from—
The girl who entered the door had slightly pointed ears, clearly of Elvish descent. Her features were refined and elegant, like a statue, and her skin was a near-plaster pale color. Even without any adornment or jewelry, she commanded an air of aloofness.
After the girl entered and saw Aiwass and Lily, she didn’t react much.
The girl gently asked, "Do we have guests, Mommy?"
Miss Maya hurried over, hands on her knees, and asked in a tender voice like a fool, "Why are you suddenly back, Vivian? Aren’t you staying at school for lunch?"
"We already have holidays, Mommy."
The girl sighed in resignation and walked past Maya: "I finished my exams yesterday. I went to get my holiday assignments this morning."
"Oh, sorry Vivian, Mommy forgot again..."
"It’s okay, Mommy. I know you’re busy."
The girl spoke sensibly and calmly.
But as she walked, she suddenly noticed the trash Maya had cleared up.
The girl’s gaze suddenly sharpened!
"What’s this, Mommy? You’re eating these things again... And drinking alcohol? So much?"
"Ah, it’s just a bit..."
Maya chuckled awkwardly as she approached, giving Aiwass and Lily a shushing hand gesture, then followed behind the girl, explaining, "It’s because Department Head Meg came to drink with me, I couldn’t refuse, so I drank a little..."
...But hasn’t Meg turned into Ligeia already?
Aiwass tilted his head slightly.
But he kindly did not expose Maya’s lie.
Nonetheless, the reaction of Maya and her daughter surprised Aiwass—to the point of fascinated novelty.
It felt as if Vivian was the mother and Maya was her daughter...
"You need to control your sugar intake or else go exercise," Vivian said seriously. "If you get fat again, you’ll have to diet—the Fire Rite Skill isn’t omnipotent, as you have said yourself. I’ll cook in the next few days."
She inspected the room and then approached Aiwass.
After recognizing the two for a moment, she slightly bowed with a serious nun’s courtesy: "Mr. Aiwass Moriarty, and Miss Lily Drost, good afternoon. May the Silver-Crowned Dragon watch over you, may the Candle Master’s fire illuminate you."
...Wow, what a formal greeting. What’s with this girl?
Aiwass felt quite pressured.
Therefore, Aiwass promptly adopted an attitude befitting peers.
He placed his right hand over his heart and, with a perfect smile and bow, said warmly, "May the Candle Master’s fire also guard your Light, little miss. May I address you as Vivian?"
"Vivian Mathers. It’s an honor for you to call me by my name," said the girl, her cold voice and serious expression—more solemn than any teacher Aiwass had met.
However, because of her slightly chubby cheeks, this serious expression appeared rather adorable.
"Vivian..."
Aiwass murmured the name, his expression a bit peculiar as he looked at Maya: "Did you choose this name for her, or did her father?"
In Avalon, this wasn’t exactly a good name.
The story of the Lady of the Lake, Vivian, was well-known in Avalon. Naming a child Vivian was roughly akin to naming a girl "Golden Lotus." Putting aside the issue of symbolism... the main concern would be that the child might be teased with unpleasant nicknames at school.
```
For Maya, a seasoned bishop and also a university lecturer, it was unlikely for her to make such a novice mistake.
"I’m not married,"
Maya placed her hands on her hips, defiantly saying, "Although I’m not young, I am still a maiden."
"You mean, can’t get married," the girl added from the side.
"Vivian—"
"Of course, it’s mainly because of me," the girl added again, "with such a big daughter to take care of, I suppose no one would be willing."
"That’s... not necessarily true..."
Maya’s voice that had just risen faltered and lowered again, and she approached Vivian somewhat uneasily: "Don’t say that, Vivian. Mom is content just having you..."
"I know, I was just teasing."
Vivian’s lips curled into a slight smile.
"You little—"
Maya, annoyed, bit Vivian’s ear from behind.
Meanwhile, Aiwass had come to understand, "Little Vivian... is she the teacher’s adopted daughter?"
Just like himself.
"More or less. I found her by the lake. She looked even younger than she does now but was already like a little adult. With her elven blood, though, it makes sense for her intelligence to not match her appearance. Her Royal Highness is almost twenty this year, yet she still looks like she’s sixteen."
Maya seemed troubled, "I originally wanted to name her Annie or Anna, but she preferred the name Vivian. I had to go along with her wish."
...Could it really be the reincarnation of Vivian?
This thought crossed Aiwass’s mind.
Mainly because it wasn’t entirely impossible...
"By the way, mom." Read exclusive chapters at freewebnovel
"Yes, what is it?"
"Next week, our school is organizing a trip to Shepherd Bay County; can you accompany me there?" the girl asked lightly, "It’s a bit remote."
"That’s fine. It will be during the winter break then, I’ll tag along for protection," Maya considered for a moment before answering.
Aiwass was somewhat concerned.
He said, "Speaking of which, we’re planning to go to Shepherd Bay County... where are you headed?"
"We’re going to Flute Town," the girl looked at Aiwass and answered.
"We’re headed to Eagle Cape Village—it’s quite close. I’ll be able to look out for you," Aiwass said with a gentle smile.
"Eagle Cape Village?"
Maya was puzzled, "What are you going to such a remote place for?"
"I’m investigating my grandfather’s death," Aiwass explained gently, "Sherlock told me that my biological grandfather died in Eagle Cape Village under mysterious circumstances. Since Senior Hayna hails from there, we’re planning to return with her to take a look."
"It might just be on the way."
Upon hearing this, Maya clapped her hands, pleased, "That’s quite good, we can look out for each other if anything happens. After all, Vivian is so young, I’m not comfortable with her going too far..."
"By the way, how old is Vivian now?" Lily asked curiously.
"I’m eight this year, according to the school’s records," Vivian responded smoothly.
Hearing this, Aiwass and Lily were both taken aback.
—Is this kid really eight?
"When were you picked up by Mrs. Maya?"
"Seven years ago."
"...And how old were you when you were found?"
"I was about seven years old seven years ago," the girl answered with a cool voice.
...I feel like I’ve been insulted in a very sophisticated way.
Aiwass rubbed his chin.
This girl is intriguing...
"Speaking of which," Maya suddenly recalled something, "the book I lent you is also related to Vivian.
"It was while chasing after this book that I encountered Vivian," she said.
"...Chasing?" Aiwass was taken aback.
"Yes, the Morning Crow Scripture can fly."
As she spoke, Maya brought out an exquisitely crafted golden birdcage from inside the house.
This birdcage lacked amenities for eating or drinking but had a perch inside, though Aiwass, who had never kept birds, didn’t know what it was called.
The most bizarre aspect was that a book lay quietly at the bottom of the birdcage. On both sides of the cage, there were small windows that only allowed entry but no exit. You could push in from outside, but not pull out from inside.
This book was a few sizes smaller than a textbook, though its thickness was similar. It was about the size of the detective novels from Aiwass’s previous life.
It shone with a golden radiance, like sunlight reflecting off a lake surface. Its cover was embellished with relief that looked like fish scales or feathered wings.
The golden cover was inscribed with the Elvish Language title "Morning Crow Scripture."
"It turns into a crow and flies away. So, you’ll need to stretch your hands through these two windows to read it...but never try to take it out to read it, that would be cutting corners," Maya cautioned, "Also, remember to read it during the day. If it’s at night, the text inside changes to different words, and it loses its function as a Codex Book.
"As for its specific effect...you should take it back and see for yourself."
``` 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝔭𝔲𝔟.𝖈𝖔𝔪
