Chapter 197: The Mirror of Smell

Chapter 197: The Mirror of Smell

Lu Qingyuan went to fetch the food boxes, while the exorcists called for the demons to dine.

Wen Xinxin was witnessing demonic cuisine for the first time, and not only did it repel her appetite, but it also made her nauseous. She struggled to suppress her discomfort when she suddenly noticed that some demons had expressions resembling those of the students sitting beside them.

Wen Xinxin: "?"

She thought she might have been hallucinating due to her disgust, so she observed closely. Indeed, she found that quite a few demons had similar expressions and complexions as the human students who were feeling unwell.

All the demons present understood that regardless of whether any of them explained, they had to eat this meal.

This was more than just a simple meal; it was a human attempt to prepare "demonic cuisine" as a gesture of warmth and goodwill. If the demons refused to eat, it would negatively impact the humans' initial impression of them, potentially hindering future interactions.

What was crucial was that those exorcists were already sampling the dishes and praising their uniqueness!

Their facial control was impeccable, as if the dishes genuinely looked appealing to them.

Scarlet admired the exorcists' ability to speak nonsense with a straight face. Their compliments were so convincing that he almost believed them himself.

If not for their ulterior motives of gaining humans' favor, the demons wouldn't be so conflicted here. The prodigies of Class One were all used to being treated like royalty.

Lilith glanced at Lan Jiaying, signaling him to explain to the humans.

Lan Jiaying, as the first demon to take a dish, displayed a relaxed demeanor, swallowing a small rice ball shaped like an eyeball. He then said, "The taste and appearance resemble a specialty dish from a particular region in our Demon Realm."

Wen Ying sat quietly and obediently in his seat, his lips curved into the widest smile that could be concealed by his mask.

His silver-gray eyes fixated on Lan Jiaying, and the mischievous glint in them was only perceivable to the recipient of his gaze.

Lan Jiaying kept repeating to himself inwardly: Wait until no one is looking, wait until no one is looking...

Lu Qingyuan brought in the takeout boxes, and Wen Ying thanked him as he received them.

Shi Mo noticed Lan Jiaying's choice of words. He discreetly observed the demons' expressions. A few with less control over their faces mirrored the students sitting there.

In just a dozen seconds, Shi Mo's mind raced through various thoughts, his confusion on the surface well-calibrated. "A particular region? Isn't this a standardized dish in the Demon Realm?"

Wu Shaluo promptly responded, "Of course not."

Muershi secretly kicked him under the table, causing Wu Shaluo's expression to shift slightly. He endured the pain and pretended to casually help himself to the dishes. After a few bites, he said, "These are local specialty dishes from a particular region."

Damn Muershi, to think he would use such force to remind him to put on an act, settling a personal score in public.

"One of the dishes is actually a local specialty?" a Demon Hunter teacher expressed surprise.

Both the humans' expressions and their hearts were filled with astonishment. It was unexpected that these sanity-draining dishes were not something demons from the demon realm typically consumed. Instead, they found it surprising.

After all, in their imaginations, it seemed natural for the demon realm to be paired with such peculiar cuisine.

Everyone's attention focused on the sole demonic mirror who exuded a cheerful aura at the table. He was filling a disposable food container with food without any hesitation.

He was a stark contrast to the other demons sitting beside him.

As Wen Ying was picking up some food, he sensed the gazes around him. His chopsticks paused mid-air, and after a curious look around, he retracted them, asking bashfully, "Sorry, did I take too much?"

Felice, the butterfly-winged merman, looked at Wen Ying's fake, insincere facade and was tempted to scoff at him.

"How could that be? Eating more is better," a Demon Hunter said. "That way, we'll know you're not suffering from any digestive issues due to the change in environment."

The enchantress demon Koroy said, "Wen..."

Koroy was about to call out Wen Ying's name habitually but suddenly recalled Wen Ying's warning. The word "Ying" lingered on her lips before she forcibly changed it to "Jing."

"We in Mirror's domain often eat this kind of vegetable," Koroy said tactfully, "but we don't usually have it ourselves."

Everyone understood, and there wasn't any awkwardness since humans weren't familiar with the demon world's culinary culture. The only issue was that they were causing themselves discomfort.

They had no choice but to endure this sanity-diminishing meal. The teachers exchanged glances, and the students forced themselves to eat while uttering insincere words.

By the end of the meal, their stomachs and minds ached.

Wen Ying had his fill of observing both parties' painful attempts to appear unperturbed. His happiness index soared as he slowly packed the food. Only when both sides had nearly finished did he cover the disposable box with its lid.

Huang Yangsui's respect for the demonic mirror mage deepened. True to his wizard status, even his preferred food was terrifying.

Shivering, he continued to feed himself the Lovecraftian fare as he pondered.

After the meal, the dean said, "It's getting late, so let's take you all to your dormitories. We'll show you around the academy tomorrow."

Lan Jiaying nodded. "Alright."

A large group of people and demons left the cafeteria in a grand procession, heading towards the dormitory area. Many onlookers gathered along the way, with quite a number of them following at a distance, capturing photos with their phones.

Wen Ying cast a glance behind him, thinking that if he wasn't a demon, he would be one of those holding up his phone to snap pictures wildly as well.

"This is the dormitory building right ahead, specifically constructed for all of you. It has taken into account everyone's needs, with a floor height of six meters, and spacious rooms."

"There are both single and double rooms in this building. Students can choose freely."

Wen Ying looked up at the dormitory, appreciating the convenience of magic. A building could be constructed within a month. It seemed that it could accommodate more than thirty demons, implying that the exorcist academy might want to recruit more demons in the future.

The building was situated quite a distance away from the other dormitories.

"There's a large open space over here, so you don't have to worry about lacking space or damaging neighboring buildings when engaging in daily activities."

Indeed, it was an excellent location. A few demons shot subtle glances at Wen Ying.

Wen Ying's eyelids twitched. The exorcist academy didn't need to be so considerate. This spacious area suitable for fights exceeded his expectations.

Wen Ying shifted to stand beside Berlos, noticing the identical look in his eyes to Lan Jiaying's group. He pursed his lips and whispered, "Berlos, do you want to hit me?"

Indeed, he did. Wen Ying had given the magic card to a human, and it surely contained something of his.

"If you dare fight with them against me, you'll be living alone."

Berlos didn't care much about that.

"I'll share a room with Muershi then."

Berlos' eyes widened slightly as he hurriedly took two steps forward, grasping Wen Ying's arm. He reluctantly said, "I won't fight with them."

What was wrong with this guy? Wen Ying grumbled inwardly.

Lu Qingyuan's heart leaped when he saw the three-headed hellhound reaching for Wen Ying's arm. It pounded fiercely for a moment before realizing the hellhound wasn't doing anything harmful but rather seemed to be whispering something.

It appeared that Wen Ying held the upper hand in their relationship.

As Lu Qingyuan observed Berlos's golden hoop earrings, he suddenly recalled the dog that Wen Ying had been holding when he first summoned him – it wore a similar pair.

Lu Qingyuan's pupils constricted as he felt like he had stumbled upon a secret that could get him silenced if exposed.

Mo Yuanbai was astonished to see the Hellhound and the Mirror Demon standing close together, chatting like ordinary friends. The knowledge about demons taught in the academy didn't align with reality!

He cautiously asked his own contracted demon, "Wu Shaluo, are they friends?"

Following the human's gaze, Wu Shaluo looked over, his tone filled with disdain for Wen Ying, "That guy? He's Perseus' boyfriend."

Mo Yuanbai: "?!?"

With a stumble, Mo Yuanbai face-planted forward, his eyes going blank as if his mind had wandered elsewhere. Remaining motionless in that position, he appeared lifeless.

"Mo Yuanbai?" A surprised female voice called out, "What happened to you?"

Xi Liu hurried to Mo Yuanbai's side. Seeing his expression, her heart tightened and then pounded wildly. Could it be that one of the surrounding demons had used a mental attack spell on Mo Yuanbai?

Mo Yuanbai mumbled softly, and Xi Liu strained to listen. After catching what he said, the corner of her mouth twitched as she pulled him up.

"Boy... boyfriend..."

The dean approached, perplexed. "What's wrong with him?"

Those who had just witnessed Mo Yuanbai's conversation with Wu Shaluo watched the latter warily. Wu Shaluo, taken aback, controlled his temper and said, "I didn't do anything."

Essence strolled up behind Wu Shaluo, resting an arm on his shoulder with a languid, teasing tone. "That human just asked Wu Shaluo what their relationship was, and he answered him."

As Essence spoke, he nodded his chin in Wen Ying's and Poros's direction.

Innocently curious, Huang Yangsui asked, "What kind of relationship?"

Essence chuckled foolishly. "They're lovers."

All the humans present were startled, their expressions ranging from astonishment to disbelief.

Wu Shaluo lifted his arm to brush off the demoness behind him.

Wen Ying clicked his tongue. "Tsk."

Before Poros could feel his usual embarrassment, he jerked his head around at Wen Ying's disdainful tut. His eyes widened in surprise—before he could even feel ashamed, Wen Ying seemed to be disdainful that their relationship had been exposed to humans?!

Did this guy actually like him or not?

Boros's mind flashed with the image of Wen Ying leaning close and laughing with Muershi, as well as the expression on Wen Ying's face when he talked about his hobbies with Yun Lao. Suddenly, an uncomfortable feeling welled up inside him, accompanied by a sour and bitter sensation.

To prevent the conversation from revealing his true level of strength, Wen Ying said, "There's nothing much to discuss about emotional matters. Aren't we supposed to be choosing dorm rooms now?"

The others came back to their senses, and Shi Mo quickly added, "Ah, that's right. All the rooms in the dorms are open now. Students, just go to the teacher in charge if you find one you like."

His expression was the same as before he heard the shocking news, as if he hadn't been the one who had looked so astonished moments ago.

The demons went up to choose their rooms, while the students followed them, with several teachers staying behind.

One teacher whispered, "Deputy Dean Shi Mo, how could a Mirror Demon and a Hellhound be in a relationship?" Even though his voice was low, the surprise in it was palpable.

Shi Mo looked at the dean calmly, who gave a cryptic smile and gazed at the dormitory building. He said slowly, "We'll have to revise the textbooks."

It was like watching a billionaire propose to someone living in poverty.

Have the Demon Realm changed so much? The teachers were all quite perplexed.

"The matter... let's keep it under wraps for now," the Dean said. "Otherwise, people might question our teaching materials. Assign a few individuals to thoroughly investigate the current state of the Demon Realm, then revise the textbooks accordingly."

"Understood."

Beros followed Wen Ying closely, almost in lockstep, while Wen Xinxin trailed behind them. She couldn't help but marvel at the cold and gloomy demon tagging along with the Mirror Devil.

Wen Xinxin's gaze shifted to the silver-haired demon standing on the balcony, surveying his surroundings. A sense of familiarity washed over her, as if she had seen him somewhere before.