Ah!
Luke had lost a massive amount of blood because of Swan’s biting. Combined with the Sleep Potion Yize had stealthily mixed in, he remained soundly unconscious in bed for one day and one night.
Time passed until the evening of the second day.
Emma looked at the still-unconscious Luke, her face clouded with worry.
“Yize, do we really not need to treat Luke?” she asked. “He’s been unconscious for so long. Although the bleeding from his wounds has stopped, he hasn’t woken up. Could there be a problem?”
Yize calculated the time and felt that letting this noisy Junior stay quiet for this long was enough. He nodded and said, “Mm, then I’ll trouble Senior Emma to treat this kid.”
Emma immediately raised her staff, and a soft healing glow enveloped Luke.
About ten minutes later, Luke’s eyelids flickered. He let out a muffled groan and slowly woke up.
As soon as he regained consciousness, the terrifying memory of “Crazy Swan” grabbing his head and biting it right before he passed out came rushing back.
He bolted upright and immediately saw Swan standing on the other side of the room, her head lowered with a face full of guilt and unease.
Luke was terrified. Clutching his still-swollen and aching head, he scrambled and crawled to the farthest corner of the bed, his voice trembling with a sob. “S… Swan! D… Don’t come over! Don’t bite me again!”
By this time, Swan had already exhausted herself talking—mainly by “morally condemning” and “begging” Iguneel within her sea of consciousness.
She had finally managed to reclaim control of her body from the ancient Dragon Soul, who had simply been in a playful mood.
Seeing Luke’s terrified state, her fair cheeks instantly turned bright red. She waved her hands frantically, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz and filled with sincere apology. “Senior… Senior Luke, about yesterday morning… I’m… I’m truly, truly sorry!”
“I… I don’t know why I became like that back then… I completely lost control of myself…”
As she spoke, she sent a silent accusation to the culprit deep within her mind.
‘Iguneel! Look! This is all your doing! You scared Senior Luke so much, how can I ever face him again!’
Within the sea of consciousness, Iguneel gave a lazy snort, speaking with the arrogance and self-righteousness characteristic of the Dragon Race.
‘Hmph! I was merely helping you teach this loose-lipped redhead a lesson! If I didn’t let him suffer a bit and learn his lesson, he would continue to shamelessly poke at your sore spots in the future! I was simply nipping the problem in the bud!’
Emma also hurried forward to soothe the severely shaken Luke. “Luke, don’t be afraid. Swan has completely returned to normal! Look, she’s exactly the same as before. She won’t bite you again!”
Luke was skeptical, warily sizing Swan up.
Seeing that she had indeed returned to her usual delicate and melancholy self—the type who blushed and got shy easily—she looked like a completely different person from the “maniac” with the wild eyes who bit people yesterday. His tensed nerves finally relaxed a little.
However, the psychological shadow was far too large. He remained highly vigilant toward Swan, his back pressed tightly against the wall, not daring to get close.
“That… I… how long was I unconscious?” Luke asked while rubbing his aching head, trying to calm himself.
Emma replied, “More than a day. You were unconscious from yesterday morning until this evening.”
Luke was stunned for a moment, and then a look of disbelief and grievance appeared on his face. “More than a day? Why… why didn’t anyone save me sooner?”
“I told Senior Emma to wait a bit before treating you,” Yize’s voice rang out calmly.
Luke immediately looked at Yize with grievance, his large eyes filled with confusion. “Senior Yize? Why?”
He truly couldn’t understand why the Senior who took the best care of him would do such a thing.
Yize’s expression remained unchanged, his tone even carrying a hint of perfectly timed “concern.”
“I saw that you had just finished the journey to the Betty Territory and then immediately followed us into battle. It was far too exhausting,” Yize said. “I took this opportunity to let you get some extra rest. Look, now that you’ve woken up, don’t you feel much more refreshed?”
His words were airtight, as if he were entirely focused on Luke’s well-being.
The big-headed Luke was indeed fooled. He looked at Yize with touched eyes and said, “So that’s why! Senior, you’re so good to me… you even went out of your way to let me rest more…”
He didn’t realize at all that he had been “punished.”
After the wave of gratitude passed, Luke looked around and realized two people were missing. “By the way, where are Senior Dio and Senior Sara? Why don’t I see them?”
Emma explained, “Not long after you lost consciousness yesterday, the Empire’s Sword Saint, the ‘Azure Sword Maiden’ Laura, arrived. She is currently at the training ground guiding Senior Dio and Senior Sara in their cultivation.”
“The Sword Saint?! Lady Laura, the ‘Azure Sword Maiden’?!”
Upon hearing this, Luke was so excited he almost jumped off the bed.
As a child of the Wilson Family, he knew very well the transcendent status a Sword Saint held in the Empire.
In particular, Laura, who had guarded the Royal Family for years, was a legendary figure to noble children like them. They normally never had the chance to meet her.
He no longer cared about the pain in his head or his slight fear of Swan. He scrambled off the bed and shouted impatiently, “Quick! Quick, take me to see!”
The group arrived together at the training ground that had been temporarily cleared within the Betty Territory.
From a distance, they could see Laura’s silhouette, standing tall and straight as a pine tree. She was focused on watching Dio swing his sword in the arena, occasionally speaking up to give pointers.
Sara was also standing nearby, seriously observing and learning. What surprised Luke and Yize slightly was that Li En was also in the arena, likewise receiving guidance from Laura.
Luke immediately rushed forward excitedly. He respectfully performed a standard noble salute to Laura and spoke in a booming voice, “Greetings, noble Sword Saint! I am Luke of the Wilson Family. It is a great honor to meet you!”
He even added an extra sentence, trying to grab her attention. “I specialize in the highly powerful and rare Flame Magic!”
However, Laura had spent her life researching Martial Arts and had little interest in Magic. She merely gave him a fleeting glance and a slight nod as a response.
However, Luke’s exceptionally large head did leave a bit of an impression on Laura — after all, with such a prominent characteristic — it would be hard not to remember it.
At that moment, the second Luke and Yize appeared, Li En, who was practicing his sword, swept his gaze over them.
In particular, when his eyes landed on Yize, a flash of coldness and jealousy that was hard to hide flickered through them. Though it vanished in an instant, the malice was clearly discernable.
Luke, of course, saw Li En as well. He already disliked the guy, and seeing that he was actually receiving personal guidance from the Sword Saint made him even more dissatisfied.
He leaned toward Yize and whispered in an indignant tone, “Senior Yize, look at that Li En. He’s just a commoner. What right does he have to be guided by the Sword Saint?”
“This is so unfair to you! If you ask me, with Senior’s… well, wisdom and potential, the Sword Saint should be guiding you instead!”
In his heart, Senior Yize was omnipotent; he was simply low-key and didn’t like to show off.
Yize was quite open-minded about it. He waved his hand dismissively and said in a calm tone, “What’s unfair about it? Everyone has their strengths. I truly have no talent for practicing Martial Arts; I have that much self-awareness.”
“Even if the Sword Saint taught me personally, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to learn even half a move.”
His gaze fell on the arena. Watching Laura give pointers to Li En with obvious appreciation, he couldn’t help but sigh again in his heart.
‘As expected of the “Male Lead” favored by destiny. Out of so many people, aside from Dio, who had a master-disciple bond in my past life, Li En actually managed to catch the Sword Saint’s eye so quickly with his own extraordinary talent. This kind of luck is truly something one can’t help but envy.’
Just then, Luke seemed to suddenly remember something. He abruptly yanked on Yize’s sleeve, lowering his voice even further and speaking with a hint of wariness. “Senior Yize! I’m telling you, that kid Li En is really suspicious!”
“I noticed it yesterday before I passed out. The way he looks at you is very, very unfriendly! It’s full of hostility!”
“Senior, when did you ever offend this guy?”
Yize was taken aback.
Li En was looking at him unfriendlily?
He thought back carefully. He didn’t seem to have done anything to actively provoke Li En, did he?
‘If I have to say… could it be because of Riya?’
He remembered that silver-haired “Senior” from Liyue Academy. It seemed that ever since he first had some interactions with Riya, the way Li En looked at him had been subtly unpleasant.
Yize felt this was a strong possibility. After all, in the original plot, Riya was also one of Li En’s targets.
‘It couldn’t be…’
A more absurd thought flashed through his mind, and Yize found it funny himself.
‘It couldn’t be that this guy Li En can see the future and knows that I’ve invisibly dismantled three of his harem members and even snatched a massive Dragon Power opportunity from him, could it? That would be too ridiculous.’
[Ding! It has been detected that the Host’s behavior has substantially interfered with and altered key plot points and character relationships.]
The cold System notification rang out in his mind again without warning.
Again?
Yize wailed internally. What did he do now?
[Unlocking Key Character: Sara Ulysses’ Real-time Affection Level Monitoring function. Current Affection Level of Sara Ulysses toward the Host: 72 (Trust, Dependence, High Attention)]
Yize froze. He subconsciously turned his head to look at Sara, who was nearby, seriously observing Laura’s instruction. Her profile looked exceptionally soft and beautiful in the setting sun.
This high-status Imperial Princess Senior… her affection for him was actually as high as 72?
He had always thought that a normal affection level between fellow students would top out at around 20 to 40.
Where did this affection… come from?
His heart was filled with massive confusion.
‘I didn’t seem to do anything special, did I?’
‘I… I actually ended up swaying even Li En’s “Main Wife” without meaning to?’
[Due to the Host’s series of “excellent” and “prominent” performances, you have successfully attracted the continuous attention of Sara Ulysses. Furthermore, the Host has multiple times, at key moments, “replaced” the role of the original protagonist, Li En, in saving the day, accumulating a significant affection bonus. It is especially important to note that the trip to the Raymond Territory, where the Host resolved Sara’s internal conflict regarding humanity and responsibility, was the key turning point in the original plot for Li En and Sara’s feelings to establish a solid foundation and for their relationship to undergo a qualitative change.]
[Original Plot Summary: The warming of feelings between the male lead, Li En, and the female lead, Sara, was the most stable and natural process compared to other capturable female characters. It did not rely on the massive impact of a single event, but rather on the fact that in a subsequent series of adventures and crises, Li En could always appear at the right time to rescue Sara. Through consistently excellent performance, he shared her burdens and they grew together. Through this long-term, stable, and shared experience of trials, trust and appreciation were gradually accumulated, eventually reaching the perfect ending of 100 affection with Sara.]
[Reality Plot Deviation: Through the extraordinary attributes and abilities granted by this System, the Host has repeatedly demonstrated insight, unfathomable strength and talent, and a unique and interesting personality beyond common logic in front of Sara. These traits successfully overshadowed and replaced Li En’s “highlight moments” in the original plot, attracting the vast majority of Sara’s attention and curiosity. Additionally, because the Host played a key role in the Raymond Territory incident, substantially replacing the plot point of resolving Sara’s heart knot, Sara’s affection for the Host has been greatly increased. Under this ebb and flow, Sara has gradually lost interest in the original male lead, Li En, and has even developed a hint of aversion toward his certain deliberate attempts to get close. Current Affection Level of Sara toward Li En: -1.]
Yize: “…”
He listened in a daze, his mind screaming in protest.
Saving the day?
‘I clearly only did it that one time in the Raymond Territory, and that was an indirect save!’
‘Where did “multiple times” come from!’
‘Also, I’ll accept demonstrating high intelligence and an interesting personality, but what on earth is “unfathomable strength and talent”?’
‘Didn’t I just publicly reveal a massive amount of Mana and Rapid Casting?’
‘That’s far from “unfathomable,” right?’
‘System, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about the word “unfathomable”?’
‘Or is your data wrong?’
‘And how did I manage to turn Sara’s affection for Li En into a negative number?’
‘I didn’t do anything!’
[No comment. Does the Host not have any idea what he has done?]
The System’s mechanical voice seemed to carry a hint of exasperation.
Yize: “…” He was completely speechless.
[Supplementary Information: As of now, there are a total of seven major female characters who were supposed to have important interactions with the male lead, Li En, in the original plot. Due to the Host’s direct or indirect interference, Li En has missed the key opportunities to establish or form deep relationships with all of them.]
“Seven?”
A shocked “you’ve got to be kidding me” expression appeared on Yize’s face.
He counted on his fingers: Riya, Sara, the Elf Princess (unknown), Iguneel… even counting all of them, that was only four!
Where did seven come from?
[The situations for the other three are relatively special. Some of them currently have negative affection for the Host, but compared to the Host, they have even less interest in Li En,] the System added coldly.
Yize: “…” He no longer knew what kind of expression to make.
So, as a “Passerby A,” he didn’t just steal the male lead’s girls, but he also conveniently helped the male lead “clear out” potential harem obstacles?
What a mess!
While Yize was dazed.
Luke’s previous words had clearly been heard by Sara, who was listening intently.
She lowered her head and exchanged a few quiet words with Laura beside her.
Quickly, Laura’s sharp gaze pierced through half the training ground, accurately locking onto Yize. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it carried an unquestionable authority as it clearly reached him.
“You, the black-haired kid over there. Stop dazing off. You, come here for a moment!”
Yize snapped back to his senses, looking completely bewildered.
Wait, she wasn’t calling for him, was she?
It seemed he was the only one with black hair in the entire area…
Beside him, Luke gave him a forceful, excited shove, whispering urgently, “Senior! Senior! Look! The Sword Saint is calling you over!”
“Senior Sister Sara must have put in a good word for you! Your chance has come!”