You’re Special

But listening to Grue’s words, Vivian smiled.

This child was naturally sensitive to numbers.

“Grue, are you interested in learning some more advanced mathematical knowledge with me privately, outside of regular classes?”

Vivian touched her chin, then looked at this rare talent before her and asked directly.

Grue suddenly raised his head, his eyes full of disbelief.

“Is that really okay, Lord Demon?”

“Of course.”

Vivian nodded.

“But first, I need to ask about your background. What about your parents?”

Grue’s expression darkened.

“I… I’m an orphan.

My mother was a beastman, my father a demon. They were exiled by both families for intermarrying, and later died while wandering. I’ve survived by doing odd jobs and begging until the Evernight Territory started accepting refugees. I followed the refugee group here to try my luck and find a way to make a living, and that’s how I finally found a stable place.”

Vivian was silent for a moment, then said.

“From today on, come to me every evening after dinner. I’ll teach you privately for a while.”

Upon hearing Vivian’s words, Grue’s eyes instantly reddened.

He knelt down, his voice choked with sobs.

“Thank you, Lord Demon! I… I will study hard and repay your kindness!”

“Stand up.”

Vivian helped him to his feet.

“I’m helping you not because I want repayment, but because you have talent that shouldn’t be buried—study well, and in the future, contributing to the Evernight Territory with your abilities will be the best repayment.”

After Grue left, Vivian continued reviewing lesson plans.

Now, she set aside some time each day to come to the academy—either to teach, review plans, or supervise learning progress and difficulty to make adjustments.

Just then, the door opened, and Lucia walked in slowly.

She carried a cup of hot tea and gently placed it in front of Vivian.

“You’ve been so busy; I made you some tea.”

Lucia said warmly.

“Thanks.”

Vivian took the cup and sipped.

“Why do you have time to come today? It’s not your teaching time yet, is it? Where’s Luna?”

“Aria is watching her.”

Lucia sat beside her and blinked.

“I overheard your conversation with that child named Grue outside the door just now.”

“Oh?”

She looked at her, waiting to see what Lucia wanted to say.

“Vivian,”

Lucia gazed at her, her eyes holding a complex emotion.

“You’re really… special.”

“Special?”

Vivian raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean your attitude toward knowledge, your emphasis on talent, and those… insights completely different from this world’s common sense.”

Lucia said slowly.

“Like today’s lesson—those calculation methods you’ve taught, I’ve never seen before.”

“The nobles and scholars of the human kingdoms don’t do arithmetic that way at all.”

“Where exactly did you learn these things?”

Vivian’s hand paused slightly.

This question… she had known it would come eventually.

But she hadn’t expected Lucia to be the first to ask.

She was silent for a moment, then said.

“Lucia, do you believe in the existence of other worlds?”

Lucia was taken aback.

“Other worlds?”

“Yes.”

Vivian set down her teacup and looked out the window.

“Sometimes I wonder if this world might not be the only one.”

“Perhaps in places we can’t see or touch, there exists another completely different world—without magic, without wars between demons and humans, but with far more advanced systems of knowledge and technology.”

“Your knowledge… comes from that world?”

Lucia asked tentatively, her eyes filled with curiosity.

Vivian smiled without answering.

She didn’t respond directly, but this attitude was already a kind of tacit acknowledgment.

Lucia was silent for a long time, then said softly.

“I won’t ask you more.”

“Everyone has their own secrets. I respect your choice, but Vivian, I want to tell you—no matter where you come from, no matter what your past is, right now, you are the Demon Lord of Evernight, Luna’s mother, and also…”

She paused, a bit embarrassed.

“My… family… right?”

Hearing Lucia’s words, Vivian was stunned for a moment, then turned to see the faint blush on Lucia’s face.

She would never have said something like this back when Lucia was dominant—back then, she was a prisoner, and Lucia was the radiant Hero.

Now their positions were almost completely reversed.

But regardless, a warmth still surged in her heart.

“Thank you.”

She said softly.

The two shared a smile, and the atmosphere in the room became warm and peaceful.

That evening, Grue arrived at Vivian’s room as promised.

Vivian had prepared some more advanced arithmetic problems for him, including operations with fractions and decimals, as well as simple algebraic equations. Grue learned extremely quickly, grasping concepts almost immediately.

Geniuses always need to follow the pace of the masses, so Vivian also planned to select the brightest students from the first batch of five hundred for accelerated courses—and Grue was her “test subject.”

“Grue, let me ask you,”

Vivian said suddenly during a break in teaching, looking at the hybrid boy before her.

“What do you think mathematics is?”

Grue was taken aback, then thought seriously.

“Mathematics… is a tool for calculation?”

He answered uncertainly.

“Not entirely.”

Vivian shook her head.

“Mathematics is indeed for calculation—but more importantly, mathematics”

“is a language.”

“Language?”

Grue was even more confused.

“Yes, language.”

Vivian explained.

“Just as we use demon tongue or human speech to communicate ideas, mathematics is the language used to describe the laws of this world—it can tell us why the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, why heavy objects fall, why magic has those effects.”

“Master mathematics, and you master the key to understanding the world.”

Grue nodded as if he understood but not quite.

Vivian knew these concepts were still too profound for him now, but it was fine—he would gradually come to understand.

“Alright, that’s it for today.”

Vivian closed the lesson plan.

“Go back and rest well; there are regular classes tomorrow.”

“Yes! Thank you, Lord Demon!”

Grue left excitedly, and Vivian watched his retreating figure, a sense of accomplishment welling up in her heart.

Nurturing a genius might be more meaningful than conquering a city—because the value a genius can create is immeasurable.

However, just when Vivian thought she could proceed with her plans smoothly, one afternoon a few days later, while handling government affairs, Luna rushed in.

“Lord Demon! Something happened!”

“What is it?”

Vivian frowned, sensing trouble.

“At the academy… some students got into a conflict.”

Luna said breathlessly.

“A noble-born student and several former s*ave students started fighting. Aria is holding the scene now, but the situation is a bit… complicated…”

After hearing the little succubus’s report, Vivian sighed helplessly.

She had known conflicts of ideology wouldn’t resolve so easily.

“Let’s go take a look.”