Seeing Zervanie’s wide-eyed stare, Felyn couldn’t help but chuckle, “Alright, I’m done teasing you. Here—got this for you when I stepped out just now.”

Zervanie took the bottle of water he handed over with both hands.

In that moment, all her exhaustion seemed to vanish.

“Thank you… Thank you.”

She stared at the bottle in her hands.

This is the second gift Felyn’s ever given me.

Just being able to receive something from him made all the hard work worth it.

Without realizing it, Zervanie had already become a chosen worker of fate.

One classroom’s worth of cleaning cost just a single bottle of water from Felyn—not even a piece of bread required.

“You’ve really helped me out. Thanks for the hard work.”

Felyn looked around the freshly cleaned classroom, feeling genuinely satisfied.

To turn a cobweb-filled mess into something this tidy was no small feat. It gave him a sense of accomplishment.

If only this world had cameras—he definitely would’ve taken some pictures to remember it by.

He glanced at his watch. Still a bit of time left before lunch break ended.

Strands of Zervanie’s sweat-dampened silver hair clung to her flushed cheeks, trembling slightly with her soft breathing. She radiated a kind of dazzling vitality.

“Want me to walk with you around campus a bit longer? Maybe help you find some inspiration?”

“Really?” Her lips curled into a smile before she could stop herself, her blue eyes forming playful crescents.

Realizing she was a bit too happy, she cleared her throat twice.

“Ahem… I mean, yeah—sure, if you’ve got time.”

The two of them strolled past flowerbeds, across grassy lawns, over small bridges.

The wind had already set the stage for Zervanie. It piled up clouds high above like a crown of wreaths, letting the sun pour golden light beneath their feet.

Zervanie kept sneaking glances at Felyn beside her.

It all felt like a dream.

She couldn’t believe she was actually experiencing something like this.

They were just like any ordinary couple, leaving footprints throughout the school.

She covered her mouth and giggled quietly, savoring this fleeting happiness.

It made her completely forget why she’d come to the academy in the first place—she’d entirely forgotten her original goal.

She and Felyn chatted idly as time passed, until eventually, the end of lunch break approached.

“Zervanie, class is about to start. We should get going.”

Only then did she remember—there was something really important she’d meant to say!

She had originally prepared all kinds of lead-in stories, emotional setups, plans to gradually broach the topic of forming a dungeon party with him.

But now there was no time for that. She had to get straight to the point.

“Sigh…”

She leaned against the railing by the lake, gazing out over the water and letting out a long breath.

“Feeling envious of all the couples holding hands by the lake?” Felyn asked, following her gaze to a few students walking hand-in-hand in the distance.

“No, I was thinking about the royal capital entrance exams.”

“You get kicked out of the capital schools or something?”

“Of course not!” Zervanie puffed up her cheeks and swung a tiny pink fist at him, “I got accepted, but you know how they also evaluate affinity with the gods during the entrance test. The capital’s academic board assigns students to schools based on that. I’ve been so busy with performances lately that I haven’t had much time to train in the dungeon. I’m worried the results won’t be great, and I’ll get assigned to a school I really don’t want.”

Felyn scratched his cheek. He was facing that same issue… but her dilemma was clearly in another league.

He was worried no school would take him at all. Meanwhile, she was worried about not getting into her preferred school.

“Why not ask your guards to help? Have them escort you into the dungeon for some quick training.”

“But my father won’t allow it. He says you can only grow from facing real danger without guards watching your back. If I always rely on their presence, it’ll affect my efficiency.”

She recited her father’s words word-for-word.

That part wasn’t a lie. She really had planned to train in the dungeon without any guards.

Initially, she had a few friends in mind to form a party with. But now that Felyn was here, those friends could take a backseat.

“Hey, Felyn… Do you know anyone who’s planning to go into the dungeon soon? I’m still trying to pick a party.”

Zervanie was practically spelling it out: Pick me, Felyn! I want to go to the dungeon with you!

While she just needed to ask, Felyn found himself overthinking again.

Teaming up with a former client… Wouldn’t that be kind of inappropriate?

Wait… Could Zervanie be falling for me again?

The thought felt narcissistic—but still, it worried him.

That said, she really did seem like a completely different person now.

She hadn’t caused him any trouble. She didn’t act like she still had feelings for him.

Somehow, Zervanie had become… a good girl.

That was something Felyn never would’ve believed before.

“Hey, Felyn… Aren’t you trying to get into the Royal Academy too? Got any plans to enter the dungeon soon? If you do, why don’t we go together? We can watch each other’s backs.”

Zervanie couldn’t hold it in anymore.

She glanced at her watch—time was running out.

Might as well just say it directly.

“I actually am planning to go into the dungeon soon, but…”

Felyn still had some hesitation over everything that had happened in the past.

“That’s perfect, then! Let’s team up!” Zervanie cut in, “It takes time to sync up with strangers, and I don’t have much free time either. But with just the two of us, we won’t have to worry about that.”

She’d hit his weak spot.

Felyn really didn’t have time to spare. He still had to study for the written exam, which meant his dungeon hours were limited.

Teaming up with someone unfamiliar would definitely cost him precious time in coordination and trust-building.

After thinking it over, Zervanie honestly was the best candidate.

They knew each other. There were no longer any complicated emotional ties. And on top of that, Zervanie, like Viloti, had passed the Royal Academy’s early admission test—she was clearly talented.

“If you don’t mind carrying a noob like me,” Felyn finally said, “I’ll join you.”

“As if I would!”

Zervanie had to use every ounce of strength to hold back the joy welling up inside her.

At the final moment, she wasn’t about to let herself mess this up by getting too excited.

“Then I’ll set a time and message you later. We’ll just meet directly at the dungeon.”

Even though she tried to keep it together, her voice still kept climbing in pitch—she couldn’t hide her happiness.

“Alright.”

From that moment on, Zervanie couldn’t remember a thing that happened next.

She left the school in a daze, boarded her private car in a daze.

“Lady Zervanie, we’re headed to Dunk District next for a fan meet-and-greet.”

Her secretary went over the schedule, but Zervanie was just sitting there, hands on her cheeks, smiling like a lovestruck fool.

“Lady Zervanie?”

“Check which day this week has the fewest bookings. Cancel everything on that day.”

“B-but Lady Zervanie, that would—”

“It’s fine. If we lose money, we lose money. I have plenty of it.”

At that moment, her mind was filled with only one thing—

The dungeon.

Some things money just can’t buy… like a chance like this.

(End of Chapter)