“Classmate Galatus, if there’s ever a chance in the future... perhaps we can exchange ideas sometime.”

As she was leaving, the black-haired girl said this lightly.

“Oh? Classmate Isatia, are you saying you’re interested in me?”

“I’m interested in everything about you.”

The black-haired girl glanced over her shoulder toward the silver-haired girl resting her chin in her hand at the table. Their similarly noble violet eyes locked across the distance. In each of their gazes, there was only the other’s mirrored pair of beautiful eyes.

“Is that so? I’m honored.”

Aesphyra replied with a sweet smile.

Tch. Look at her getting smug.

Vinny shot a sidelong glance at Aesphyra, unable to suppress a click of the tongue in his thoughts.

Soon, the black-haired girl’s figure faded into the distance.

As he watched her disappearing silhouette, Vinny remained silent. He glanced at Aesphyra beside him and barely stopped himself from blurting out, “Do all you Carillian-blooded people have some built-in riddler trait or what?”

Though Vinny didn’t quite catch the underlying implication of what Isatia had said earlier, Aesphyra certainly did.

She narrowed her beautiful, gemlike eyes and stared in the direction the black-haired girl had gone—like a cunning cat plotting something devious.

“Oh ho~ Even though the process was a little bumpy, it ended in total victory, didn’t it?”

Vinny crossed his arms and propped up one leg over the other, casting a disdainful glance at Aesphyra’s expression.

He already interpreted her reaction as that of a predator who had taken the bait. That wicked cat was already fantasizing about her next meal.

“Did I interrupt Classmate Vinny’s sweet little date?”

Aesphyra asked with a grin.

“Are you sure it’s not the other way around??”

Vinny raised an eyebrow.

“But hey, in the end, you still got your filthy, two-timing wish.”

Tch. You were just saying you already had someone in your heart. I really didn’t misjudge you—you really do love everyone you meet. The second you see a pretty girl, you practically want to glue yourself to her.

Vinny scoffed. “Tch tch, what a piece of work.”

“I wonder what Mirexia or that so-called Miss Vanessa would think if they saw this.”

“Classmate Vinny.”

“What? If you’ve got something to say, say it.”

Vinny glanced at Aesphyra, wondering why she called him but didn’t follow up.

“That night, after we parted ways... where did you go?”

Aesphyra asked with her usual dazzling smile.

“What, not done stalking me? Now you wanna trace where I went after we split?”

Vinny gave her a strange look.

“Classmate Aesphyra, what does that have to do with you? Don’t tell me you’re actually crushing on me? Why are you always poking around about where I’ve been? Do I have to report every conversation I have with someone to you?”

“I’m just curious,”

Aesphyra replied with an unreadable smile.

“The situation outside was so dangerous that night, and I wasn’t able to protect you. I was wondering how you made it to the shelter on your own.”

“Who told you I went to the shelter?”

Vinny shot her a sideways glance.

“I never went to the shelter.”

“Then where did you go?”

“A person as responsible as me—where else could I have gone? Naturally, I was out rescuing others. Mirexia can vouch for that. Why?”

“Oh, you were out ‘rescuing’ people and then just... happened to vanish?”

Aesphyra tilted her head, her tone heavy with implication.

Hsssss...

Hearing that, Vinny sucked in a breath through clenched teeth.

This white-haired pastry’s trying to bait me?!

This woman even went out of her way to investigate him afterward—dug up that he went missing for quite a while after the disaster.

If he really had been missing for that long, then it was obvious he couldn’t have been at the shelter that night.

So if Aesphyra already knew he likely never went there, why did she ask how he got to the shelter?

And it’s important to note: her wording wasn’t “Did you go to the shelter?”—it was “how did you get to the shelter?” which was clearly deliberate.

If Vinny had even the slightest intent to lie, he might’ve instinctively gone along with the question and made something up like “I was lucky” or some other excuse.

That would’ve exposed the fact that he intended to hide the truth—since the mere question prompted him to lie.

Caught off guard, huh...

Vinny subconsciously wiped sweat from his brow, relieved he gave the right answer.

As for how Aesphyra knew? She was a core member of the first-year student council. All she had to do was skim the list of missing students after the disaster.

Originally, he could’ve kept it under wraps. Not much time had passed anyway, and he could’ve just reported in later. But that damn Shikondell, frantic with worry, ran straight to the student council and filed him as missing. Totally screwed him.

Ah, Shikondell, you’ve really done me in this time...

Thankfully, he had a clever and quick-witted childhood friend.

Mirexia had anticipated a situation like this. Even though the Demon God Pillar incident had officially been declared a divine manifestation by the Goddess—so no one would realistically link his disappearance to that—Mirexia, ever cautious, made proper arrangements.

Wasn’t she out looking for him that night too? And hadn’t returned to report to the student council either?

Perfect.

In her report, Mirexia stated that Vinny had not gone missing at all. The two of them had reunited by chance that night and encountered some trouble, which forced them to hide in the abandoned school building—hence the delay.

Later, Mirexia even modified Vinny’s record from “temporarily missing” to “never missing,” noting that she had been with him the whole time and could personally vouch for it.

Aesphyra must’ve checked the records before Mirexia made the correction—hence the misunderstanding.

“Hmph! Missing? I was just afraid that if I told you ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) the truth, your petty, sour little ego would get jealous and go nuts.”

Vinny snorted with satisfaction, his acting flawless.

“I was off having a secret rendezvous with Classmate Mirexia, you know?”

He grinned proudly.

“...Rendezvous?”

Aesphyra arched an eyebrow.

“Yeah, you seem really curious, don’t you? Heh heh, but too bad—no matter how curious you are, I’m not telling you the details. Ask Mirexia yourself.”

Vinny practically oozed smugness.

“Jealous, aren’t you? You’re so jealous of me right now, huh? I just love that look on your face—so envious it’s hilarious. Oh-ho-ho-ho~”

“Classmate Aesphyra, if I recall, you even made a bet with me on the carriage ride to the academy, right? Said we’d see who could win Mirexia’s heart first. Tsk, tsk. From the looks of it now, seems like your chances of victory are slipping further and further away, hmm?”

“That night... were you and Mirexia alone together the whole time?”

Aesphyra tilted her head again.

“What, you don’t believe me? Then go ask Mirexia. She wouldn’t lie to you, right?”

Vinny curled his lip.

“You’ve seen the student council records too, haven’t you? It’s written crystal clear—I wasn’t missing. I was helping Mirexia with rescue efforts, and we just ran into a little trouble on the way.”

“......”

Aesphyra fell silent, wearing a contemplative look.

‘Virtue +50.’

‘Current Virtue: 6,744.’

Despite her calm exterior, she was clearly frustrated.

Vinny, meanwhile, was in high spirits. Today, he had completely outmaneuvered Aesphyra.

“Classmate Vinny, do you believe you’re the last surviving member of the Fasylis bloodline?”

Suddenly, Aesphyra asked out of nowhere.

“I believe I am.”

Vinny answered confidently with his arms crossed.

Hearing that, Aesphyra simply smiled without responding. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, closed her book, and stood—apparently ready to leave as well.

“Oh, right. Classmate Vinny, I bet you didn’t know yet.”

She paused before leaving.

“Know what?”

Vinny asked, confused.

“The Radiant Church will be sending a delegation to visit Carillian Academy soon.”

“...And?”

Vinny’s expression shifted.

“What does that have to do with me? Big shots like them have nothing to do with a nobody like me. All knowing this does is ruin my mood for the day. But even knowing that, you still told me.”

“I didn’t mean to ruin your mood,”

Aesphyra said sweetly.

“I just thought that since the delegation from the Radiant Church is coming, it’d be better if someone like you—who’s at least a little bit related—was mentally prepared in advance.”

“I wouldn’t dare. What relation? Who dares claim kinship with the oh-so-noble clerics of the Radiant Church? I’m just a nameless nobody.”

Vinny rolled his eyes. He couldn’t tell if she was mocking him or not.

“So... what are they even coming for? Aren’t they usually too busy to breathe?”

“Who knows?”

Aesphyra shrugged.

“But after such a major incident, the Radiant Church, as the leading force of the human nations, obviously needs to inspect the situation. They’ll probably bring official scribes too, to record everything in detail.”

“Talk about long arms.”

Vinny muttered.

“Fufu~”

Aesphyra chuckled lightly for some reason.

“Well then, Classmate Vinny, I’d say I helped you last time, wouldn’t you agree? And not just once—three times.”

“...What are you getting at?”

Vinny frowned.

“Oh, nothing~ Just reminding you that, as of now, you owe me quite a big favor~”

With that, the sly white-furred ragdoll cat smiled brightly and walked off.

Tch. That woman really is impossible to understand.

Vinny looked at the two now-empty seats, their lingering warmth the only sign that the two girls had been sitting there.

He suddenly realized—Isatia and Aesphyra approaching him probably wasn’t a coincidence.

They were both circling around him, probing, trying to extract some kind of information.

These female leads, huh...

Vinny wearily rubbed his temples. Glancing at the workbook in front of him, he felt completely burned out. There was no way he could keep studying. So he picked up the workbook and prepared to leave.

Hssss...

Yet the moment he stood up, the atmosphere of the once-quiet library suddenly grew faintly chilly.

Vinny raised an eyebrow and looked around—only to find that the students who’d normally think looking at him would sully their eyes were now frequently glancing his way. Some didn’t even bother hiding it.

Ah. He should’ve seen this coming.

Aesphyra and Isatia were both “campus idols” with swarms of obsessive fans. Sitting at the same table with them for so long—how could he not draw attention??

Especially with his reputation already being... complicated.

But this was Vinny. Someone like him didn’t care about a few stares. Even if the whole library stared daggers at him, he could walk out with his head held high.

And—yeah—someone was doing just that.

Several male students, in fact, were glaring daggers at him without reservation. Their gazes practically screamed death.

Most likely students from the Imperial faction.

Still, even with this intimidating air of schoolyard bullying, Vinny didn’t bat an eye.

What a joke. He was a delinquent from the capital. He’d never been the one getting bullied—he was always the one doing the bullying.

He wasn’t scared of bullies. Bullies should be scared of him.

With his head held high, Vinny ignored the odd stares and left the library.

****

The next day, while Vinny was busy working in the student council, a senior approached him.

“Vinny, based on the schedule, the delegation from the Radiant Church will arrive at Carillian Academy tomorrow. The academy asked me to pick a few representative students from each year to greet them. Are you available?”

Ordinarily, someone like Vinny—ranked 23rd—wouldn’t even be considered for this. But to the upperclassman, the fact that he was a descendant of the Fasylis line made him a more fitting choice than most.

Regardless of what others said, he was still a descendant of Fasylis, right?

The Church delegates would probably get all nostalgic upon seeing him.

At least, that’s what the senior believed.

“Senior, can I say I’m busy?”

Vinny’s expression soured.

“My poor little white rabbit at home gets lonely if no one plays with it. I have to go throw bones with it.”

That was his way of making it absolutely clear he wasn’t interested.

“Vinny, if you don’t want to go, just say so. Don’t make up weird excuses.”

The senior sighed.

“It’s not mandatory or anything. I only brought it up because of your status as a Fasylis descendant. Plenty of students are fighting for the chance—extra credits, stipend increase—you have no idea how many would kill for it. But if you really don’t want it, I’ll find someone else...”

“Sorry, Senior—I just remembered, I don’t even own a white rabbit. So I’m free tomorrow.”

Vinny changed his tune in an instant, flashing a cheeky grin.

“Greeting the Radiant Church delegation, huh? Sure, I’m in. Don’t bother looking for anyone else. I’m a proud descendant of Fasylis, after all. Who else could do it but me?”

He had been worrying about credits and stipends recently.

Sure, he didn’t want to see those sanctimonious bastards, but it was just a symbolic appearance. He wouldn’t have to say anything. And those arrogant snobs probably wouldn’t even recognize him.

So if it meant bonus credits and more money—why wouldn’t he be interested?

Honestly, it’s not that he didn’t want to do things. It’s just that most offers didn’t come with the right compensation.

Watching Vinny do a complete 180, the upperclassman couldn’t help twitching at the corners of her mouth.

“Alright then. Get ready. Tomorrow, you’ll join the other selected students and go with the deans to greet the delegation. Make sure you’re dressed properly. Look at you—your collar isn’t even straight. You can’t be that sloppy tomorrow. You’ll be meeting VIPs. Look sharp, understood?”

“Yes ma’am. I got it.”