There was a reason why I told my family that I would only be leaving in a couple of days' time, as opposed to immediately or even the next day. I had to make preparations, and one of those was going to school to inform Teacher Jiao that I would be taking a leave of absence.
Fortunately, the missions that I took, such as going to Di Yu Mountain range, rushing to rescue my mom and her research team in the offshore marine lab, and even this one would count toward the cultivator's curriculum. They would classify it as outside experience or practical experience. Unfortunately, my little foray into Atlantis didn't count because it wasn't official, and the rescue mission officially ended in a few days, which was why Qin Ying was concerned about my attendance.
However, as long as I informed the school beforehand, we could turn it into part of the curriculum and count it toward my attendance score. So yeah, best to take a few days for preparation first instead of leaving immediately.
The next morning, though, Long Wang had news for me.
"My lord, if you have a bit of time."
"Sure." I glanced at my smartphone. I still had five minutes before I needed to leave my room and have breakfast with my family. Without wasting any time, I teleported into my dungeon and found my steward already waiting for me, his head bowed. "What's up?"
"You might want to see this." He smiled and led me to the gates. I stopped when I saw the hulking forms swimming idly in the moat.
"Colossal Crabs? When did I get Colossal Crabs? And five of them?"
"Several of your Construction Crabs evolved into Colossal Crabs," Long Wang explained with a grin. "I don't know if it has anything to do with both you attaining Mystic rank and upgrading your dungeon but they evolved during the night. I have taken the liberty to assign them to guard the gates. They are only Yellow Rank, but with Da Hai, Xiao Huo and Xiao Ke, as well as Hei Ba as an emergency backup, we should be fine with little vanguard strikes from other dungeon masters. But it still wouldn't be enough to hold off an entire army, so please do your best to recruit more guardians."
"Understood."
"I apologize for making decisions without your authorization…"
"No, not at all. You have the authority to do whatever you see fit. I told you that I'm leaving the dungeon to you when I'm not around, and I trust you to make the best decisions. Oh, right." I nodded. "You've been making sure the crabs have breaks and work in shifts, right?"
"Yeah. I organized them according to shifts in the schedule that you worked out."
"Excellent. Thanks. Do the same for the Colossal Crabs and let them serve as sentries in shifts and allow them to have breaks, unless they decide they want to make the moat their home."
"Understood." Long Wang smiled. He then bowed again. "That's all, my lord. I shall not disturb your preparations for your expedition to Yan Huo Valley."
"Thanks." With all that resolved, I teleported back to my room. Hurrying downstairs before my dad could check on me to see what was taking so long, I dropped onto my seat at the dining table and had breakfast with them.
The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. I had submitted the form to Teacher Jiao Shi and had my little expedition approved. At first, he was worried, but when he saw that I had attainted Mystic rank, he was both relieved and impressed.
"I didn't think you would improve this quickly! It has only been a week since the tournament and you've gotten stronger again!"
"No wonder the principal was fine with that student remaining in the regular class," one of the other teachers in the staff room muttered. We ignored her. Teacher Jiao nodded.
"All right then. Be careful, student Song Jun Wen. Don't be reckless, and make sure you return safely."
"Yes, Teacher Jiao."
After school, I went to buy several supplies before I returned home. However, I never expected to see a certain visitor the moment I stopped at the entrance of my house.
"Jun Wen? You're back. Um, someone says she's here to visit you."
Mom was home early because the offshore lab was still being restored. Normally, if there was work for her, she would be gone for a week or two, staying overnight in the offshore marine lab, so if she was home, she tended to stay there for days.
As such, she was prime to receive the visitor who showed up unexpected while I was at school.
"She says she knows you, so I let her in for now." Mom leaned in closer and smiled slyly. "I didn't know you were acquainted with someone so beautiful!"
I had a bad feeling about this…
Stepping into the living room, I spotted a flash of long, blue hair as beautiful as the clear sea. She was seated on the sofa, sipping some tea, but the moment she saw me entering, she jumped up immediately and almost jumped on me.
"Song Jun Wen!"
"Myria!? What are you doing here?!"
The princess of Atlantis was the last person I would imagine showing up, or at least that was what I thought. But the moment mom mentioned the beautiful thing, I had a premonition that it was her. There was no other girl as beautiful as Myria among our acquaintances, except maybe Long Fan Xue, but there was no reason why the latter would ever visit me. Especially when I just saw her in school this morning. Same goes for Qin Ying.
"I spent the last couple of months settling my affairs in Atlantis…and, um, well, bidding my farewells." Myria beamed, as if she hadn't said something so shocking. "I'm finally able to come to the surface to live with you!"
"Say what?" I gaped at her.
"I'm sure you heard me. I passed the right to succession to the throne to my brother. He was always better at politics, anyway. And with the undersea tribe eliminated and the unsealed Deep Sea King subjugated by you, there are no other major threats to Atlantis. They will do fine without me leading the armada."
"B…but your family…!" I protested. Myria shrugged.
"They did complain a lot, but I ignored them. I was never close to them to begin with, and my father always intended to marry me off to some Atlantean noble for…you know, political alliances. Like the abyss I'll let him do that. So I basically left him and mother a farewell note, telling them that I will decide who I wish to marry myself."
Then she grinned at me. "And so here I am."
"Um, so you came all the way here to get married to me?"
"That's right."
I tried not to groan, holding my head in dismay. "First of all, that's kind of…impossible. According to the law of Hua Xia, I'm underaged, and I believe you are too. The permissible ages of marriage are 22 for men and 20 for women."
"So I have to wait three years? How old are you?"
"17. So five years if you choose to marry me." That was surprising. I didn't think that Myria would be the same age as me.
"I can wait that long." Myria leaned back in the couch, not at all bothered. "We can just be engaged for now. I believe the surface customs are similar in that, so I'll just be your fiancée until you become 22."
"Wait, wait, wait!" I waved both hands. "Aren't you being too hasty?! First of all, you can't just decide on marriage on your own, you never asked for my opinion. Second, this is quite the major decision and I'm not sure you've thought it through. You didn't have to sever all ties with Atlantis!"
"Oh…I did think you will say that." Myria giggled. "Not to worry, I have no intention of pressuring you. In fact, I understand that you will first wish to start off as friends. I'll spend the next five years or so convincing you to fall in love with me. If I succeed, we'll probably get married as I planned, but if I fail, no hard feelings. We'll just move on with life, as most people do. Maybe I'll find someone else. But until then, I'll be devoted only to you."
"Um…even though I'm the one saying this about myself, there are much better guys out there."
"Nonsense. Maybe there are, but you are the one I fell for. You are the one who defended Atlantis, defeated the Deep Sea King and annihilated the undersea tribe. To me, there is no other person suitable for my heart."
"Uh, thank you." I wasn't sure how to respond to that. I wasn't coldblooded to the extent where I could brutally reject a girl sincerely expressing her affections for me. "I guess we'll see how it goes."
"But if you're fine with it, we can skip the friendship phase and go straight to dating," Myria said, measuring my response. I had no reason to refuse, so I nodded.
"Okay, I guess we'll give it a try, but you might have to wait. I'm about to leave tomorrow."
"Hmm? Where?"
"Huo Yan Valley." I briefly explained my plans to Myria, who listened intently and nodded. She then grinned excitedly.
"I'll come along!"
"What?! Are you sure? It's dangerous, you know?"
"Don't underestimate me." Myria scowled and wagged a finger at me. "We've fought alongside each other. I'm sure you know how strong I am. And besides, it's precisely because it's dangerous that I'm coming with you. The more, the better, isn't it? We'll work together to watch each other's backs."
"If you are sure about it." There was merit to Myria's words. I couldn't think of a counterargument, and before I could, I heard the door click open.
"Oh, we have a guest?" Dad must have seen Myria's shoes. Mom went to speak to him, and the both of them entered the living room. I saw Jun Hai poking his head out of his room curiously, but at dad's gesture, he came out to greet Myria.
"Um, sorry for imposing on you." Myria bowed politely, but as expected of a princess, there was no nervousness in her words at all. She looked up confidently and smiled. "I'm your son's girlfriend. I am Myria Poseidon. here to ask for your blessings. We are currently dating with the intention of getting married in the future, and I hope to win your approval."
"Oh, my!" Mom's hand flew to her mouth. Dad gawked, while Jun Hai blinked in disbelief. Mom was the first to snap out of her stupor, looking delighted. Moving in, she grabbed both of Myria's hands. "Of course, of course! That's wonderful! I'm so happy to meet you, Myria! You definitely have my blessings!"
"Uh, isn't it too early to be thinking about marriage?" Dad asked, glancing at me. I nodded wearily.
"Yeah, that's far in the future."
"Yeah, you should think about graduating from high school, then university, then getting a job before talking about marriage."
"We will." Myria promised. "I am not so reckless as to disregard the future in favor of passions. We will do our best to meet your expectations. For now, I am content with just dating your son."
"Right, right." Dad looked like he was going to cringe. So was I. Was this some weird Atlantean custom? Who the hell did that? I mean, sure, I had never brought home a girlfriend to meet my parents before, but I was pretty sure this wasn't how it normally went. I guess Atlantean culture was different. Dad glanced at me. "It's not like I can ask you guys to break up even if I disapprove, right? Just, uh, focus on graduating and doing well in school. As long as your academic and cultivation performances don't suffer, you can do whatever you want. No premarital pregnancy, though."
"Dad." I rolled my eyes. "We're not that far into the relationship yet."
"Just saying."
"What are you talking about? I want a grandchild!" Mom fumed. Dad sighed.
"You'll get one eventually, but wait until Jun Wen actually has a stable job. Otherwise, how is he going to support his family?! Don't let one reckless, uh, night of passion ruin your future."
"Relax, dad. I know." I wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
"Um, so…sis-in-law?" Jun Hai offered. It was later that I found out he had been listening in on our conversation earlier, so he had some understanding of my supposed fiancée's circumstances. For now, Myria beamed, pleased at being addressed in such a manner.
"Yes, little bro?"
"…are you going to be living with us from now on?"