“I can’t believe you actually agreed to his duel, are you out of your mind?”
Airella sat on a chair in the café, savoring the latest dessert from Mapel’s family.
“Weren’t you the one egging me on to accept in the first place?”
Lin Yue crossed his legs, looking at the person in front of him with a speechless expression.
“Mmm! Delicious, delicious, it’s as good as the ones Lin Yue makes!”
Off to the side, Mapel brought over coffee from the uncle, smiling as she spoke to Airella, “This cake is a new recipe, brought from the capital. It’s about to become a big hit.”
Watching the two of them chime in together, Lin Yue immediately felt the urge to leave.
“Let’s not get sidetracked. Weren’t we supposed to talk about something? If you don’t, I’m leaving…”
These two are acting all sneaky.
Lin Yue knew they were definitely planning some shady deal and wanted to drag him into it.
Airella’s storyline isn’t even finished, yet she keeps coming over and causing butterfly effects—he was worried the future might veer off course.
“Don’t go! Um… Mapel!”
Airella hurriedly grabbed Lin Yue’s hand and called Mapel over to say something.
“I want to run for Student Council President in the future. I might need support from the Elite Class students to have a better chance at being elected.”
“Lin Yue, you have a lot of friends in the Elite Class. You’re a noble but don’t fuss over the small stuff, and you’ve even worked here before. I think it’s definitely right to ask for your help!”
How does Mapel know how many people I know in the Elite Class? Could it be…
Lin Yue glanced at Airella, only to find her turning her head away with a sheepish, guilty look.
So that’s your game, Airella, always stabbing me in the back!
Good thing Airella handled the rescue during the exams pretty well.
Otherwise, Lin Yue wouldn’t have minded arranging a super-bullying incident to force her to finish the first act, then let Lia handle the mess.
“What do I get out of helping you?”
Lin Yue didn’t feel like wasting time and just wanted to refuse as soon as possible.
Anyway, according to the original script, you won’t become president.
It’s just because those two haven’t enrolled yet that you think you have a shot.
“First, you get a lifetime free pass at the café, and then…”
“I can introduce you to the manager of the Chris Chamber of Commerce, who will grant you a one-time service to find any material you need.”
The Chris Chamber of Commerce?
Lin Yue began to recall the details of the third act.
Come to think of it, the Chris Chamber of Commerce was one of the top powers on the whole continent.
Although they didn’t have any Sixth-Rank Archmages, the highest combat power on the continent, they made up for it with their large number of members, strong influence, and deep foundations.
Lin Yue also knew that, on the surface, they appeared to be a free chamber of commerce, but in fact, they were backed by the Empire, supported by imperial power.
According to Lin Yue’s guess from the original story, they might even have a mysterious, unclear relationship with the Nightingale Organization.
After the third act ended, the Nightingale Organization was wiped out, the president of the Chris Chamber died of illness, and the successor’s poor decisions led the chamber into a quagmire, eventually being devoured by the Empire and the Church within a year.
It looked like a string of bad decisions, but the game made it clear: no matter what decision you made at the time, if you couldn’t bear to cut your losses, then facing a combined scheme meant certain doom.
The whole game was played almost entirely from Allen’s perspective, so that’s all the information you could learn.
“To tell you the truth, my uncle and I were only able to open a shop in Avelina and do business in such a prosperous area because we have the chamber’s backing.”
No wonder she wanted to run for Student Council President later on—so this is the connection.
“The chamber saw that I’m a student at Avelina, and that I have a lot of friends, so they intend to groom me as the person in charge of the Avelina region. The condition is that I become president.”
Avelina had never had a commoner as president before—no matter how rich a commoner was, in the end, they were still a commoner.
Lin Yue took a sip of coffee, raising his eyebrows as he looked at Mapel.
“Why not go to Charles? I think he’d be pretty happy to help you with this.”
Mapel hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping.
“I don’t want to rely on others. If I cooperate with him, the terms will definitely…”
Mapel paused, then continued, “Although there are conditions for cooperating with you, Lin Yue, they’re all equal and mutually beneficial. There’s no question of who depends on whom.”
“If you don’t think that’s sincere enough, we can keep discussing. I think you, Lin Yue, have a vision that transcends personal status.”
I’m not a noble now either, so what’s the point of saying this to me…
Lin Yue scratched his head, but a different thought occurred to him.
Since the third act is connected to the Nightingale Organization, and Mapel in front of him was also suspected to be the Fox Mask, it couldn’t hurt to learn a bit more.
After all, in the game, the Nightingale Organization was basically a side-quest materials collection system, just like in Monster Hunter, and the only important thing was the forging materials.
Mapel wasn’t any sort of important character, so maybe…
Looking at Mapel’s sincere gaze, then glancing at Airella who looked like a matchmaker, Lin Yue sighed and walked over to Mapel’s side.
Time to open a blind box.
“Rather than that, I have an even better proposal…”
As Lin Yue drew closer, Mapel looked puzzled, but she didn’t guard against him.
She thought he wanted to propose another condition, so she smiled and said, “If you have any suggestions, Lin Yue, feel free to say them. As long as I can agree, I’ll—”
“How much longer are you going to pretend? I know your true identity.”
Lin Yue suddenly, in the calmest tone, whispered something in her ear that made cold sweat break out all over her body.
“L-Lin Yue, what are you saying? I don’t understand…”
Mapel immediately played dumb, trying to hide behind her good-girl persona.
“When you act with two faces, you always leave traces. Am I right…”
“……”
Watching the two whispering to each other, Airella tilted her head in confusion.
What are they talking about… why can’t they tell me?
Is he flirting again?
“A-Airella, Lin Yue and I have something important to discuss. Could you wait outside for a moment?”
With that, she forced a twisted expression and dragged Lin Yue upstairs to the library.
More hand-holding… what a lucky guy.
Remembering how Isabella had dragged Lin Yue away by the hand before, the little dissatisfaction in her heart grew even stronger.
Airella knew you couldn’t let a third party listen in when it came to business at a critical moment, but this was just too suspicious.
“Damn Lin Yue, next time I’ll have Ruier bite you!”
…
As the door creaked shut, the once lively commercial street instantly grew silent.
The room was left with only Mapel, head bowed so her expression was hidden, and Lin Yue looking around.
This place—was it her room?
Looking at the simple bedroom paired with the messy desk, Lin Yue felt a bit of a disconnect.
“When did you notice…”
Mapel’s face darkened, her voice devoid of any emotion.
“Mapel?”
Hearing Mapel speak in a completely different tone from before, Lin Yue couldn’t help but ask in surprise.
Suddenly, the hand she was holding was yanked hard by Mapel, and she pulled it straight to her chest.
Before he could react, Lin Yue’s hand was pressed against Mapel’s chest, the soft sensation spreading through his fingertips.
“You!”
“Ah!”
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