Six years had passed, and Rhea’s appearance had shed some of its youthful innocence from his memory, replaced by a striking air of confidence.
She still sported that neat silver short hair, her posture tall and upright. Years of magical and martial training had given her body a graceful, powerful outline, utterly unlike the fragile figure typical of noble ladies.
There was barely any expression on her face, her aura cold and unapproachable, as if warning strangers to stay away.
Ize understood at once.
It seemed Rhea was still deliberately hiding her true gender. Even his teacher, Clare, seemed to be kept in the dark, still believing her to be the outstanding “male” heir of the Alsed family.
Recalling what Angelica had said six years ago about bloodlines and inheritance, Ize could more or less guess the helplessness behind it all—born into an old noble family that valued sons over daughters, possessing overwhelming talent as a woman, perhaps disguising herself as a man was the only way she could seize power and shoulder the family’s responsibilities.
To be fair, Rhea’s male disguise was indeed extremely convincing.
If Ize hadn’t known the truth, he would absolutely believe the person before him was a coldly handsome young nobleman.
But now, in his eyes, she was unmistakably a short-haired warrior woman whose aura blended coolness and grace, creating a unique presence that stood out even beside the dazzling brilliance of Sara.
Sara approached Ize’s group with her usual poise, lifting her chin slightly. Her emerald eyes bore the gentle, refreshing smile that always made others feel at ease as she looked at Rogge.
Ize had always known this senior was extremely popular; in Starlight Academy, she charmed both men and women alike and was undeniably the center of attention. Yet he never imagined Sara’s “social influence” would reach such heights—she went out merely to find her juniors, and yet a group of elite students from every academy followed her of their own accord.
Being the focus of so many eyes while handling a dispute would make Ize want to curl up in embarrassment just thinking about it, but Sara showed nothing but composure.
…Ize couldn’t help glancing at the crowd, trying to figure out which one was the male lead.
But his gaze quickly met Rhea’s.
Rhea’s expression froze for a moment, then she frowned, her face turning visibly unnatural.
Help! Ize nearly cracked. That look Rhea gave just now definitely meant she’d recognized him.
Although they hadn’t seen each other for six years, back then her older sister had even mistaken him for Rhea’s “rumored boyfriend,” and he’d ended up locked in a magic formation, tormented for over a month. Such a “deep” impression—she’d have a hard time forgetting it.
He quickly looked away, groaning inwardly.
He had absolutely no desire to get involved with such a “main heroine” figure—not just because of those traumatic memories, but also because he knew that entangling with main story characters would only bring endless trouble.
As someone determined to remain a background extra, he just wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into right now.
On the other side, Rogge caught sight of Sara and the obviously formidable group of academy elites behind her. A trace of seriousness flickered in his eyes, though his face remained calm.
He pushed up his glasses and spoke in an even tone: “Sara, I think there may be some misunderstandings between us. They aren’t wearing Starlight Academy uniforms, so I genuinely didn’t know these few were your students.”
As he spoke, he calmly took out a magic memory stone. “Why don’t we take a look at this first to understand what really happened? Afterwards, perhaps you could give me, and all of us from Lymond Academy, a reasonable explanation.”
The sight of that memory stone, glowing faintly, made Ize’s heart plummet.
Who could be so meticulous?
They’d actually recorded the entire incident earlier in the day from start to finish!
This was clearly meant to stir up conflict between Starlight Academy and Lymond Academy.
Luke also panicked—he’d been one of the “stars” in that recording.
He swallowed hard and leaned close to Ize’s ear. “S-Senior… they actually have a memory recording! What do we do?”
Ize was equally nervous inside, but he had to maintain his calm on the surface and replied in a low voice, “What can we do? We’ll deal with whatever comes our way. Don’t worry, with Senior Sara here—she’s the perfect, ultra-responsible senior—there’s no way she’ll just watch us get dragged off. We won’t die.”
Luke’s face scrunched up in misery. “Senior, I know we won’t die, but my arrogant act is all on record… It’s too humiliating!”
Ize patted his shoulder in comfort. “It’s fine. I don’t mind, and it’s not my reputation at stake anyway.”
Luke: “……” He did not feel comforted at all.
Their whispered conversation was so quiet that, nonetheless, Sara—standing right beside them—caught several key words with her sharp ears.
She shot a surprised glance at Ize. In her impression, this junior had almost never spoken to her voluntarily, always darting away like a startled rabbit at every encounter, making her wonder if she’d somehow offended him.
But now, hearing the natural trust and dependence in Ize’s tone, Sara felt a strange mixture of surprise, comfort, and a renewed sense of responsibility.
Thinking about it, she had heard about Ize’s past—when he was still a child, Angelica had locked him in a magic formation for a long period of torment, and even after joining Starlight Academy, he’d been found to have extremely low elemental affinity and poor talent. It was only natural he would grow sensitive and withdrawn.
As his senior, it was only right she look after him more.
With that thought, her gaze toward Ize softened considerably, tinged with both pity and a protective instinct.
Ize keenly sensed the change in Sara’s eyes—the kind of look an elder gives a younger relative who needs looking after?
He involuntarily shivered, goosebumps rising all over his skin.
That gaze made him nervous—more so than facing Rogge’s interrogation.
Just what was Senior Sara imagining?
Rogge had no time to bother with their subtle exchanges of looks. His first priority was to restore Lymond Academy’s reputation.
He activated the memory stone, and the recorded scene was projected clearly in midair.
At once, the events of that day at the Quiet Moon Commercial Street—Luke acting as the arrogant “Lymond student” causing trouble, Ize stirring up the crowd, the public magic test, and the subsequent buying frenzy—all played out like a drama before everyone.
As the scene played, suppressed exclamations and whispers rippled through the tavern.
Students from all the academies watched intently, their faces a mix of surprise, amusement, and contemplation.
At just the right moment, Rogge paused the scene and gestured to Elucy at his side. “Junior, would you please explain the details to everyone?”
Elucy, who had been stewing in anger, immediately pointed at Emma, her voice trembling with grievance and outrage. “It was her! She was blackmailed and got into debt, so she came to our Quiet Moon docks to sell potions! That would have been bad enough, but then she even had the nerve to boast that her potions far surpassed those from our Lymond Academy!”
Emma’s face flushed scarlet, and she bowed her head in shame.
Of course, her shame was all about her foolish mistake being exposed in public.
Elucy then swung her finger toward Luke, her hand shaking with agitation. “And that red-haired guy! He pretended to be a Lymond student in the footage, did everything he could to make us look bad and ruin our reputation—that’s him!”
So I really looked that awful… Luke hung his head in shame as well.
Finally, Elucy’s finger pointed directly at Ize, who had been trying to shrink into the background. Her voice rose in accusation, “And this one! He’s the most despicable of all! According to the information we’ve gathered, the mastermind behind this entire farce—from start to finish—was him!”
In an instant, every eye in the room turned toward Ize.
They were all curious what kind of person could come up with such a devious plan.
Ize felt his scalp tingle, cold sweat soaking his back.
He could clearly feel the weight of those gazes, as if they wanted to see straight through him.
The whole nature of the situation had changed.
What could have been a story of Lymond Academy bullying others had, in a flash, reversed—now Lymond Academy was the innocent victim, maliciously slandered and having its reputation damaged.
This utterly ordinary-looking Starlight Academy student was truly impressive.
……
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