High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2240: Chapter 461: Acceptance on the Alpha-Beta Level

Although in the library, facing the ’intimidation’ from his two companions, Zheng Qing could remain calm, witty, and self-assured, but when he was alone in private, he couldn’t help but worry.

The good news is, this wasn’t the first time he faced a death threat since entering the Wizard World. He could use his rich experience to greet the upcoming challenges, and with Su Shijun by his side, he didn’t really need to worry about anyone being foolish enough to directly hit him over the head at the ball.

According to Xiao Xiao’s words, ’the worst situation has already happened... things can’t get any worse’.

What the Doctor referred to was probably that period just after the article in the ”Daily Horn Newspaper” was released—frenzied Roaring Letters, Nightmare Dolls losing their heads in rows, the Halloween bonfire parade, and the smacking in the dead of night, among others—perhaps in Xiao Xiao’s view, that was the worst case.

Zheng Qing held a reserved attitude towards this statement.

Moreover, in this world, there are many ways to embarrass someone—from strong laxatives, to stepping in dog poop with every step, to a bunch of colorful children rushing out to hug his leg and call him dad.

Thinking about the ball scene, where a little horse-man with golden mane might trot to his side and tearfully call him ’dad’, the young cost student had the feeling of wanting to explode on the spot.

This intense anxiety didn’t get any relief even after turning into a Black Cat.

Su Shijun, who was tutoring him on the ’Under the Moon Ball Chattering Rules’ at night, easily caught this emotion from the Black Cat’s drooping swaying tail and occasionally twitching ears.

She put down the oil painting she had been explaining for half a day, raised an eyebrow, and looked a bit displeased:

”With only three nights left before the ball starts, if you think this half-hearted attitude can deal with those white-robed ones at the ball, then there’s no need to come to the Greenhill Mansion.”

The Black Cat’s tail tightened, and immediately adopted a proper attitude.

”It’s not... I didn’t...”

It mumbled two words without confidence, weighed the heavy burden in its heart, and gritted its teeth, spilling all the terrifying speculations in its mind to the witch in front of it.

Su Shijun listened intently, hugging her arms.

”So,” she concluded finally, ”You’re worried about stepping on dog poop while walking at the ball, or not wanting to be called dad by a foal in public? ... Do you have such thoughts because you really have a foal outside?”

The Black Cat first nodded, then its ears stood up, and it began shaking its head frantically.

”That’s just a feeling! An intuition! I mean, I feel someone is up to no good!” It shouted somewhat angrily, raising its voice: ”How could I possibly be with a Centaur... that something... completely impossible!”

In fact, the Black Cat wanted to emphasize that even Poseidon was an accident, and it is still a pure person to this day, but given the special identity of the witch in front of it, it wisely swallowed those nonsense.

Seeing the Black Cat’s flustered appearance, the owner of Greenhill Mansion laughed heartily.

”Just joking, just joking.”

The witch waved her hand, adjusted the crooked glasses on her face, then cleared her throat and reverted to the dignified Upper House Member of the Moon Council: ”Theoretically speaking, a Wizard’s intuition involves some ancient and powerful magical concepts, subtly connected to destiny, divination, causality, the future, etc. ... but conversely, the reason these connections are ’subtle’ is that they are not solidly reliable. Most of the time, intuition is nothing more than a derivative of ’what you think about in the day, you dream about at night’, bringing nothing but trouble.”

The brief reassurance—especially these words coming from a Big Wizard—instantly gave the young cost student great courage, stabilizing his emotions for a short while.

The witch’s lips curled slightly.

”So, rather than overthinking, focus more on the present,” she took out another piece of artwork and placed it in front of the Black Cat: ”You need to try to accept reality... Accepting the existence of the problem is the first step to solving any problem. And your biggest problem right now is your ’inadaptation’ to the Moon Rules.”

Sitting on the study desk, the Black Cat glanced at the famous artist’s work and squirmed a bit uncomfortably.

”I’ve already accepted reality!”

It tugged at its whiskers and defended roughly: ”Acceptance on all dimensions... physical, mental, shadow, emotional, magical, mysticism, and Alpha-Beta level...”

”Wait, the others I can barely understand,” the owner of Greenhill Mansion’s delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, raising her hands to her ears, joining her index and middle fingers in the air making two adorable quotes: ”But the last one... what do you mean by ’Alpha-Beta level’?”

”Acceptance that matches public expectations is called Beta-level acceptance; exceeding public expectations is called Alpha acceptance.” The Black Cat explained in an all-knowing manner: ”Alpha-Beta level means that I have reached the acceptance level you expected, and also exceeded it... In short, I have long accepted these damned facts that this world has arranged for me.”

”Damned facts?” The witch squinted her eyes.

Oops.

Spoke out of turn.

The Black Cat spread its ears to the sides, wriggling the few grooves in its brain, trying to come up with a better phrasing to cover for its slip of the tongue.

But the witch in front of it didn’t give it more time.

”No one is forcing you to accept things you don’t want to accept.”

She maintained a stern face, tapping the oil painting with her slender index finger: ”If you feel even the slightest sense of coercion, turn around now and leave. I still have time to find a new dance partner.”

The Black Cat’s ears drooped, its behind steady as a rock.

A flicker of amusement passed through the witch’s eyes.

”Since you don’t plan to leave, let’s get back on topic,”

Her fingertip slid over the oil painting in front of her, summarizing what had been taught before: ”... Discussing artworks is the most talked-about topic among Moonlight Nobles, offering the broadest participation. Someone once said, ’people are passionate about art because art is the only trace we leave in this world... It walks through the same history as us, telling the truest joys and sorrows’—write this down! If you find yourself with nothing to say at the ball, this kind of universal cliché is very handy!”

The Black Cat’s tail twitched, curling around a feather pen, swiftly recording Su Shijun’s words on a sheet of parchment laid out beside it.

The witch nodded in satisfaction: ”... I’ve just shown you how to analyze artworks, now, interpret this painting yourself. Remember, interaction is key; you should interact not only with the work and the artist but also engage emotionally with others.”