I'm Not Your Husband, You Evil Dragon!-Chapter 27: "Morning Star Elite Academy" Headmaster

Without a word, Erza dropped her shopping bags and started scanning the area like she was in a tactical mission.

"She couldn't have gone far," she muttered. "She's small. Slow. Probably distracted. Check the balloon area. I'll cover the west wing."

I didn't ask how she knew mall directions like that—I was already running.

I weaved between shoppers, calling her name, asking staff, scanning the crowd for a panda bag or a tiny voice shouting "Froggy!"

But nothing.

My stomach twisted.

All the noise around me—music, announcements, people laughing—it all blurred into one loud, dizzy mess.

"Elena..." I muttered. "Where are you..."

Elena stood still in the middle of the mall, eyes darting around. No papa. No Mama. Just legs. Tall legs. Fast-moving legs.

But then she remembered.

Papa once said, "Elena, if you ever get lost, find an adult. Ask them for help and tell them my number, okay?"

So she puffed her cheeks, stood tall (well, as tall as a three-year-old could), and began her mission.

She spotted an old man sitting on a fancy bench near a book store. He had shiny round glasses and a white coat that made him look like a grandpa professor.

She marched right up to him.

"Mr. Old Man! I'm lost. Can you help me?"

The old man blinked, clearly caught off guard by the tiny human calling him 'Mr. Old Man.'

"Ah... you're lost?" he said gently. "Come, sit with me."

Elena plopped down beside him like she owned the bench.

"Do you know your papa's number?" he asked.

"Of course!" she chirped and rattled it off perfectly. "That's my papa's number. He says if I get lost, I gotta find someone with wrinkles who looks smart."

The old man chuckled, eyebrows lifting. "How old are you, little one?"

"I'm THREE!" she said proudly, holding up three fingers, then added, "but sometimes I feel four."

He stared at her, eyebrows climbing higher. "Incredible..."

He tapped his earpiece. "Assistant."

A voice crackled. "Yes, Headmaster?"

"Find the girl's father. First floor. Now. She's safe with me."

"Yes, Headmaster."

Elena, meanwhile, was licking a lollipop she found in her pocket (somehow not melted, a miracle), her legs swinging.

"So, do you know numbers?" the Headmaster asked curiously.

"I can count one to one hundred!"

"That's impressive."

She raised her chin. "I can count one to one hundred billion. But I get tired around sixty."

The Headmaster's glasses nearly fell off his face. "A-A hundred billion?"

"Yep! Big like space."

He decided to test her.

"Alright... can you tell me this number: 1,456,789?"

Elena grinned. "One million, four hundred fifty-six thousand, seven hundred eighty-nine. That's a big number, huh?"

He stared. Hard. This wasn't a normal child.

"...What else do you know?"

Elena thought for a moment, then said, "I know about the black sky!"

"You mean space?" he asked, adjusting his glasses.

"Yup! Stars, planets, and the sun that goes BOOM but not yet. Papa said they all do a dance."

"Dance?" he repeated.

"Yup! The planets run around the sun like tag. If they stop, they fall and go POOF!"

The Headmaster sat back, stunned. "...That's... orbital velocity. Gravitational balance. And explained with tag."

The Headmaster leaned forward, amused. "Tell me, little one—why do you think we throw something and it comes back, instead of flying away forever?"

Elena scrunched her nose, thinking hard. Then her eyes lit up.

"Because the Earth is like a big mommy! She hugs things back with invisible arms so they don't run away."

The Headmaster chuckled. "Invisible arms?"

She nodded proudly. "Yeah! Papa says it's called 'grabity'... or was it 'gravity'? Anyway, it's like the Earth saying, 'Nope! Come back here!'"

The Headmaster adjusted his glasses, half-laughing, half-stunned. "Remarkably accurate... and adorably explained."

He took a deep breath. Then he asked gently, "Tell me, little one... do you believe strength alone is enough to rule?"

Elena looked up at him with her big curious eyes, thinking deeply. Then she smiled—the kind of smile that held more truth than most adults could carry.

"No, old man," she said sweetly. "My mama is the strongest in the world. She can fight monsters and throw Papa into trees..."

The headmaster blinked.

"...But she doesn't know how to rule. Not really. She gets mad fast, and forgets to say sorry."

The headmaster chuckled softly, but before he could reply, Elena continued, her tone surprisingly thoughtful for someone so small.

"My papa isn't strong like her," she said, tapping her chin. "But he uses his brain. He's smart! He cooks, he makes plans, and he fixes things when Mama breaks them."

The headmaster's expression grew serious again, eyes narrowing as if trying to understand something far bigger than just a child's words.

"Strength," Elena said, repeating a word she'd clearly heard many times before, "doesn't mean only muscles or fighting. Papa says it's about doing what you're best at."

She held up a tiny finger. "My mama's strength is fighting. My papa's strength is cooking and thinking. My strength is... talking and remembering big numbers!"

The old man's lips trembled. He removed his glasses and wiped at his eyes.

"I... I was searching for a child like you," he said quietly, "a genius hidden in plain sight."

He leaned forward, lowering his voice. "Tell me, do you go to any academy?"

Elena shook her head cheerfully. "Nope! But soon! We're gonna go to one. Papa said maybe soon I'll wear a uniform!"

The headmaster paused. A storm of thoughts flickered behind his eyes.

I can't let her slip away, he thought. Not a mind like hers. She belongs in my academy. A mind like this... only comes once in a generation.

He smiled warmly, eyes still damp. "Elena... would you like to visit a very special place soon?"

Elena's eyes lit up. "Does it have snacks?"

He chuckled, heart swelling.

"Yes, little one. It has everything."

The Headmaster finally asked her name!.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" he asked, amused by her calm confidence and Intelligence.

She puffed her chest and said proudly, "My name is Elena Kounari. I am a half-dragon."

He let out a rich laugh. "A half-dragon, huh? That's a new one. I like your imagination."

Elena frowned, puffing her cheeks. "I'm not lying! My mama's a dragon, and I can breathe fire and ice... sometimes... if I sneeze too hard."

The Headmaster's smile deepened, but before he could reply, his assistant rushed over, slightly disheveled. "Headmaster! I've found them—the parents. They were frantically searching for her."

"Bring them," the old man said without missing a beat, eyes still on Elena. "This one... is special."

As the assistant hurried off, Elena raised one hand dramatically. "Told you they'd find me. I'm smart, remember?"

"ELENA!!"

I dropped the shopping bags without a thought and ran. I fell to one knee, breath ragged. "Are you okay?! Are you hurt?!"

Elena tilted her head. "Hi Papa. I found Mr. Old Man. He has glasses that make him look wise."

I blinked, trying to catch up. Then turned to the man and bowed as low as my spine would allow. "Thank you, sir. I can't tell you how grateful— I thought I lost her."

The Headmaster gave a light smile. "She found me first. Quite confidently, I might add."

Before I could speak again—

"YOU LITTLE DEMON!"

Erza stormed in like a goddess of wrath, bags in hand, and grabbed Elena's cheeks with both hands, squishing her face.

"Do you even KNOW what kind of panic you caused?! I was this close to turning that candy shop into a pile of ash!"

Elena blinked, cheeks squished. "But... Froggy."

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. "I'm sorry. She gets curious. Thank you again, sir."

The old man chuckled again, but this time with a glimmer of admiration in his eyes. "She's brilliant. Far beyond her age."

He looked off slightly, then raised his hand. "Assistant."

Like a shadow, a man in a black suit appeared at his side. "Yes, Headmaster?"

"Give them the invitation."

The assistant hesitated. "But sir, it's against—"

"Do it."

The assistant opened a leather satchel and pulled out a card embossed in gold.

I stared at the golden card in my hand, barely breathing.

"What the heaven is this...?" I muttered. "I must be dreaming."

The assistant stood silently, expression unreadable. But the weight of the card in my hand said otherwise. It was real.

Too real.

My eyes welled up. No... this has to be a prank.

Why would they—the most elite card in all of Lebius—hand me, just some nobody guy, this?

This couldn't be real. Could it?

To be continued...

[Challenge for Readers]

Wanna know what was written on that card?

Here's a little challenge for you:

Guess it.

Tell me in the comments what you think was written on that golden invitation. If even one of you gets it right...

The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on freёnovelkiss.com.

Next weekend, I'll drop two brand-new Chapters.

But hey—only if the guess is spot on.

So? Let's see who's smart enough to crack it.

Until then... bye for now.