Chapter 33: The Baron

Before them stood a pitch-black wall at least ten meters high. Its material was indistinguishable, and it was engraved with intricate pine-needle patterns. Electronic eyes were mounted every five meters, reflecting a state of extremely tight security.

To the girls' front-left was a silver gate, as tall as the wall itself. Because of its height, it appeared remarkably narrow, resembling a mere crack.

Crossing that single wall, Wakaba discovered that while the sky on her side was a mild afternoon, the estate beyond was shrouded in a gray mist and a light, drizzling rain. This bizarre sight left her astonished. Unable to help herself, she looked up, only to see the sky seemingly sliced in two by some invisible force, creating a stark, distinct divide.

Wakaba withdrew her gaze and looked left and right. The wall flanking the estate gate stretched for hundreds of meters until it reached a corner, beyond which lay empty air. Strangely, she saw no path leading down the mountain.

"Is this estate built on a cliff?" Wakaba whispered to herself.

She also noted the address plate on the gate: "Tianzhu Rear Ward, No. 004."

With a creak, the ten-meter-tall gate swung open, and a man in a black tuxedo with an expressionless face stepped out. He stood so straight he looked like a spear driven into the ground. His aura was exceptionally strange, exuding a sense of utter coldness.

The group of breathtakingly beautiful girls observed the man in the tuxedo with curiosity. Although they had learned of the existence of men in their cultural and cinematic studies, this was the first time they had seen one in the flesh. For a moment, they were all filled with wonder.

Only Wakaba felt the hair on her body stand on end the moment she saw him, her heart pounding in her chest.

*Danger! This person is extremely dangerous!*

Even when facing mutated beasts, she had never felt such a sense of peril. Yet, one glance at this man sent alarm bells ringing in her mind.

"Greetings, my lord. I am Yuko..." Yuko stepped forward, bowing to state their purpose.

Hearing her, the nearly twenty students behind her immediately formed two neat rows, their movements synchronized. Their expressions shifted from flustered to elegant and composed, and their demeanor became solemn.

Wakaba followed suit. Despite her young age and petite frame, she stood at the edge and, following the academy's strict training, knelt and bowed with her hands placed before her. The elegant temperament cultivated in the girls since childhood instantly manifested—graceful, refined, and a delight to behold.

The man in the black tuxedo scanned the beautiful girls, nodded, and spoke in a cold, emotionless voice: "Follow me."

He turned and walked into the estate. Yuko led the girls inside one by one. However, upon passing through the gate, each had to swallow a translucent, deep-blue capsule.

"Everyone, just swallow it. The air in here is a bit different from the outside," Yuko said. She seemed to have been here before and swallowed her capsule with practiced ease.

The other girls naturally followed her lead. When it was Wakaba's turn, she looked at the capsule in her hand, hesitated for a moment, and then swallowed it. She figured that if they intended to poison them, there would be no need for such theatrics.

After swallowing the capsule, Wakaba felt a distinct chill in her lungs, as if they were being coated by a thin membrane. Upon entering the estate, her first sensation was the cold. Despite being only a step away, the temperature had dropped significantly. Looking up, she felt as if she had stepped into a separate, isolated world.

Dense, colossal plants of every variety met her eyes: yellow flowers over a meter tall, with single petals large enough to wrap around her; vines thicker than her entire body winding around a giant tree; and fern-like plants half a meter tall with multicolored leaves that fanned out like vibrant spiders. Most magical of all were the jellyfish-like plants floating in mid-air, which emitted a faint fluorescence whenever the raindrops struck them.

It was then that Wakaba realized she wasn't getting wet. It wasn't that the rain had stopped; it was that the rain was actively avoiding the area where they stood. Everywhere else, the downpour continued.

As Wakaba continued forward, they walked along an agate-green path with a texture like glass. It was four meters wide and stretched deep into the lush vegetation. As the girls moved, the rain-free zone shifted precisely with them, as if it had eyes.

Wakaba couldn't help but marvel at the feat. She knew this wasn't magic, but a product of highly advanced technology.

*This is the world of the future!* she thought to herself. She had previously assumed the high technology of this world was used solely for flashy advertisements.

The procession moved forward. The girls, strictly trained, walked with a delicate, swaying grace, their short kimono-style skirts fluttering like a painting. All the while, Wakaba remained on high alert. Her thrice-sublimated consciousness allowed her to vaguely sense a terrifying threat hidden within this seemingly peaceful garden—a power immense enough to destroy her in an instant.

*This place is too dangerous!* she thought.

After walking for nearly an hour, she still hadn't seen the main residence, only pavilions, tea rooms, and similar structures. *Aren't estates supposed to be straight from the gate to the house? Or does the owner simply not like that style?*

Just as she was pondering this, the group rounded a corner, and her eyes lit up. A dark, gloomy pond came into view. It was about the size of two basketball courts, but a small area in the center emitted a brilliant white light. The light was incredibly pure, yet not blinding—approaching the very concept of "absolute white." The drizzling rain falling there created glowing splashes, like tiny beads of light.

Wakaba focused her consciousness and peered closely, only to realize the radiant cluster was an otherworldly flower growing in the water. Its petals were crystal clear, flowing with a pure white luminous liquid that created a dazzling halo. Against the backdrop of the dark, deep pond, it looked utterly unearthly.

It was beautiful—or rather, miraculous.

After admiring the flower, Wakaba followed the pond to a massive lake, and beyond that, she saw a magnificent three-story mansion. It was opulent, mysterious, and built in a European style. She finally understood why the journey felt like walking through a garden; they had indeed been in a garden. A back garden. The gate she had entered through was not the main entrance, but a service gate.

*It makes sense,* she thought with a self-deprecating smile. *I'm just a student; why would a man of such stature welcome us through the front door?* She suddenly understood the address plate. *No wonder it said Tianzhu Rear Ward No. 004. It means the fourth house on the street behind Tianzhu.*

With this realization, she looked around the vast estate. *The front gate must be Tianzhu Ward No. 001, and 002 and 003 are likely other entrances.* Thinking this, she looked toward the front of the mansion and, sure enough, could vaguely see a wide, straight bridge extending into the gray horizon.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Suddenly, a warm, magnetic voice reached her ears. Only then did she notice a young man standing beside her. He wore a casual robe, his frame was somewhat slender, and his skin was fair and delicate. He did not look sickly, but rather possessed the warm luster of jade. His graceful, willow-like brows were sharp, giving him an air of refinement, and his well-defined features were softened by a faint smile on his thin lips. His dark eyes felt like a gentle spring breeze. He was undeniably a charismatic and handsome man.

"Greetings, Baron!" Yuko, seeing the man, paused for a moment before hurriedly dropping to her knees.

The beautiful girls around them, seeing their teacher do so, followed suit, kneeling and bowing. In their etiquette training, commoners were required to kneel before nobles and were forbidden from looking them directly in the eye. Wakaba followed the seniors' lead without resistance. In her view, she was just a girl, and there was no shame in kneeling; she would simply follow the local customs.

However, just as her knees began to bend, the man grabbed her arm and pulled her upright.

"Look up and let me see you," the Baron said, his voice warm and inviting.

Wakaba didn't know how to react. Logically, since Yuko was still kneeling, it felt wrong for her to stand alone. Perhaps sensing the struggle on the young beauty's face, the Baron waved his hand, and the black-suited butler led Yuko and the other girls away.

With a gentle lift of the Baron's finger, Wakaba slowly raised her head, revealing a breathtakingly beautiful face and eyes that shone like stars.

"Truly beautiful," the Baron remarked, releasing her chin.

Earlier, from the top floor of the mansion, he had caught a glimpse of the back garden and had been captivated by Wakaba among the group, unable to look away. Her skin glowed with a rosy hue, her movements were delicate, and in the light of day, she was peerlessly enchanting—standing out even among a crowd of beauties.

His heart, which rarely fluctuated, had begun to stir, igniting a desire to possess her. Given his status, women—beauties, goddesses, twins, and more—were as common and easily obtained as the air he breathed; he could go days without seeing the same face twice. Thus, for a beauty to genuinely leave him stunned, her allure had to be truly celestial.

Looking at her up close, he sighed inwardly, confirming his judgment. This girl's beauty was far too exceptional—even more striking than those who had undergone genetic modification. He knew the students of Miyagi Hyakka Academy were all natural-born humans who had undergone no genetic alterations. If mere physical beauty were all that mattered, the genetic technology of this era could manufacture anything. But those were meaningless. A beauty that wasn't purely natural always lacked that final, essential spark.