Chapter 1: Are you crazy?

“Celes, will you be my girlfriend?”

During the lunch break, Aiding was casually twirling a blue ballpoint pen between his index and middle fingers.

The pen occasionally tapped the desk, producing a faint clicking sound.

Hearing it, he lazily turned his head and saw a handsome, tall blond guy standing in the aisle beside the neighboring desk.

The boy wore the senior uniform jacket, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing well-defined forearms. His left hand rested on the edge of Celes’s desk as he leaned slightly forward.

A streak of yellow-highlighted bangs hung down, and a confident smile curved his lips.

His deliberately lowered voice carried a hint of flirtation.

“Just give me a chance.”

The girl sitting next to him lifted her chin slightly.

Her cascading ice-blue hair flowed down to her waist, shimmering like silk in the sunlight.

Her bangs neatly framed her forehead, making her skin appear as pure and white as fresh snow.

She sat upright without stiffness, exuding a serene and elegant aura.

[How many times has this been since I transferred here?]

Aiding withdrew his gaze and looked down at his own desk.

As he lightly swayed his fingers, the pen traced a rhythmic arc between them.

Next to the long shadow cast by the pen, a tiny figure no larger than a palm was using the pen as a skipping rope, hopping in time with the rhythm.

Each time she jumped, four translucent wings on her back glowed faintly green, flickering with tiny light spots like a hologram.

The little figure wore the currently popular virtual idol-style JK uniform—a deep blue plaid skirt swaying gently with each jump, black thigh-high socks covering slender calves.

Her emerald-green eyes sparkled like jade, intently watching the swaying pen.

Whenever the pen swung to its lowest point, she nimbly leapt, her white hair drawing graceful arcs in the air as she hummed an off-key electronic melody.

Occasionally, when she missed the rhythm, her wings vibrated rapidly to maintain balance, enjoying herself immensely.

[According to Ruby’s records, this is the fourth time already.]

The little figure noticed Aiding’s gaze, flipped midair, and lightly landed on an illustration in the textbook.

Her voice was soft, like wind blowing through wind chimes.

[Celes won’t say yes this time either. After all, this guy’s pretty handsome.]

Aiding glanced at the blond boy again.

A typical campus prince straight out of a city romance novel—whether he was a pure love warrior or a central air-conditioning type, judging by that cocky expression, he was definitely the latter.

[Nope. Celes’s personality setting is extremely misandrist. Being handsome doesn’t make her like someone; it only makes her dislike them more.]

Ruby plopped down on the blank margin of the page, swinging her legs.

[Ah, I remember the scumbag father who abandoned Celes and her mother when she was little was an undeniably handsome man.]

Aiding recalled the character profile he had read before.

[Exactly. So looks that are handsome are a minus point for Celes.]

Ruby nodded, flapping her wings intermittently.

Just as Aiding and Ruby predicted, Celes politely but firmly rejected the senior’s confession.

“Sorry, I’m not interested in dating right now.”

“Do you know who I am?”

The senior’s expression twitched.

It was the first time he had ever been rejected by a girl.

He forced a smile, his mouth twitching awkwardly.

“Sorry, I don’t.”

Celes tucked the stray hair behind her ear and gently shook her head.

Her gaze briefly scanned the name tag on his chest but quickly looked away.

The senior’s face grew even more awkward.

Rufus was a wind figure of Messiah Academy, well-known by all.

Girls who wanted to date him could easily surround the training grounds.

“Hey bro, I heard Celes has been getting pretty close to that transfer student recently. Could it be she likes that type?”

At that moment, a boy standing in the back suddenly interrupted and even nodded toward Aiding.

Aiding’s expression darkened immediately, and the pen in his hand stopped twirling.

Hmm?

What does this have to do with me?

He glanced at the snitch from his class, who was smirking obsequiously at Rufus, revealing a row of uneven teeth.

This bootlicker was even more annoying than the playboy.

Catching Aiding’s gaze, the snitch smugly shook his head, looking forward to the drama.

“Aiding and I are just deskmates. Don’t assume anything about our relationship.”

Celes closed her textbook, replying expressionlessly.

“You like that obedient good student type? I really don’t see any merit in him.”

However, Rufus ignored Celes’s explanation.

He turned, leaned down close to Aiding’s face, tilted his head to size him up, then suddenly laughed and knocked on the desk.

“Kid, Celes is mine. If you know what’s good for you, keep your distance. Don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

Rufus’s voice was low but loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.

A blatant threat.

“Who the hell do you think you are? This ain’t got anything to do with me.”

Aiding slowly lifted his head, the corners of his mouth twitching downward.

He scanned Rufus up and down with a look that said he thought the guy was an idiot.

“How dare you speak to me like that?”

Rufus’s pupils shrank sharply, and his facial muscles twitched unnaturally.

He slapped Aiding’s pen away and raised his voice abruptly.

“Rufus, were you dropped by your dad seven times but only caught six when you were born?”

Aiding sighed and pushed his chair back a little.

“What do you mean?”

Rufus frowned deeply.

“Because what you’re doing now makes me wonder if you hit your head as a kid.”

Aiding deliberately put his textbook back in the drawer, just in case this guy got desperate and flipped the desk.

“Pft!”

Celes couldn’t help but laugh.

She quickly covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking lightly.

“Sorry, I couldn’t hold it in.”

The surrounding students were all trying hard not to laugh.

Some pretended to cough into their sleeves, others pinched their thighs, but no one dared laugh out loud.

“You bastard! How dare you insult me?”

Rufus’s face turned dark blue, veins bulging at his temples.

He slammed his hand down on Aiding’s desk, making a dull thud.

The desk shook violently, almost knocking Ruby, who was sitting on the dictionary, off.

She flapped her wings in a panic, flying into midair and crossing her arms, glaring at Rufus with a flushed little face.

Unfortunately, Rufus couldn’t see her.

“I’m just stating facts. Why do you have to drag me into your nonsense? Or do you feel accomplished belittling others in front of your crush?”

Aiding rested his chin on his left hand, looking Rufus in the eye, his tone calm and steady.

“Poor Rufus. As a wind figure, your superiority complex is so fragile you have to put others down to feel better. Are you really that insecure?”

The classroom fell silent.

Rufus was not only the campus prince but also a son of a magical family.

His family was reputed in the Empire; even the teachers and dean were polite to him.

And yet, this unknown transfer student openly challenged him?

Was he looking for trouble?

Or maybe ready to transfer again?

Rufus’s face instantly flushed bright red.

He suddenly reached out to grab Aiding’s collar, but Aiding was prepared and leaned back to dodge.

“Celes, move aside! I’m gonna teach this kid a lesson today!”

Rufus missed and stumbled, nearly crashing into the desk behind him.

Regaining his balance, he turned and yelled at Celes.

Before she could respond, the bell signaling the end of break rang suddenly.

“You’ve got guts, kid. Just wait. This isn’t over.”

Rufus’s fist hovered in midair before slamming heavily on Aiding’s desk.

He straightened his crooked tie, pointed a finger at Aiding’s nose, and said this before leaving the classroom with his followers.

On the way out, he deliberately kicked over a chair by the door.

After Rufus left, a wave of chatter broke out in the classroom.

Despite his handsome looks and prestigious background, Rufus was notoriously petty and vengeful.

Looks like the transfer student’s got a hard time ahead.

Aiding didn’t deny it.

He calmly prepared his books for the next class, acting as if nothing had happened.

“Sorry for dragging you into this.”

At that moment, Celes suddenly spoke.

Her face remained the usual icy, distant expression, and her voice was still cold, but a faint trace of apology could be detected.

“Why are you apologizing? He was the one who deliberately provoked me.”

Aiding was organizing his books, not even glancing at her.

“You were a bit reckless just now. Rufus won’t do anything to me, but he might to you.”

Celes lowered her head, hiding her expression, and paused halfway through.

“I think it’s wiser to hold back for now.”

“Hold back and you just get angrier. Retreat and you only lose more.”

Only then did Aiding turn to look at the famous icy beauty, shrugging.

“Those people just bully the weak. If I’d backed down earlier, they’d have kept picking on me.”

“Rufus will definitely retaliate against you later. Be careful.”

Celes opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say.

Finally, she whispered.

“Thanks for the warning.”

Aiding chuckled softly, twirling the pen once between his fingers.

His gaze swept across the classroom, noticing several students sneaking glances at him before quickly looking away when caught.

At that moment, the classroom door opened.

Helen, the homeroom teacher, entered holding a stack of test papers.

The room instantly quieted down, save for the sound of chairs scraping.

Aiding casually opened his Magic Theory textbook, placed his pen on the page, and put on a serious listening expression.

His eyes fixed on the blackboard, though he wasn’t really paying attention.

[Master was so manly just now. If I were Celes, I’d probably fall for you.]

Ruby quietly landed on his pencil case, her wings fluttering lightly.

[Stop flattering. Check Celes’s affection level.]

Aiding glanced sideways at her, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

He tapped twice lightly on the desk.

Ruby snapped her fingers, and a semi-transparent blue panel appeared in front of Aiding.

It displayed detailed information on Celes.

In the affection level section, the number jumped from -273.15 to -273.

Aiding stared at the number, his face twitching involuntarily.

Absolute Zero?

After that whole display, her affection level only rose by 0.15?

[Check worldline changes.]

At Aiding’s command, Ruby opened another panel, this one showing in red text:

365 days until World Collapse, total collapse probability 100%.

Aiding immediately deflated, his shoulders slumping.

He rested his hands on the desk, chin on the edge, looking like a deflated balloon.

No progress at all.

This mission to save the world is going to be a long, hard road.

Celes paused her note-taking.

She caught sight of Aiding’s defeated posture from the corner of her eye, a barely noticeable curve lifting the corner of her mouth.

Now you’re finally scared?