“XX, I like you.”
“XX, let’s stay together forever.”
“This world is scary, but with XX here, it’s not scary at all.”
“XX, let’s get married, go somewhere no one knows, and have lots and lots of children~”
“XX, please just die…”
Aiden suddenly shot up from bed, his bare chest drenched in cold sweat.
He gasped heavily, his chest heaving violently as he reached for the water cup on the bedside table and gulped down several mouthfuls.
The icy water gradually calmed him down.
[Master, what’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?]
Ruby anxiously circled around him, her wings scattering tiny specks of light.
[I’m fine.]
Aiden rubbed his temples, his voice still hoarse from just waking up.
Why did memories from the past suddenly appear in his dream?
Those deliberately forgotten promises and betrayals surged through his mind like a tidal wave.
He clenched his fists involuntarily, his nails digging deeply into his palms.
There were too many reasons why he had to return to his original world; that score had to be settled clearly.
No matter how difficult, he had to complete the mission entrusted by the Goddess.
Aiden got out of bed, took off his sweat-soaked pajamas, and walked straight into the bathroom.
“Ha…”
The icy water poured down from above, completely waking him up.
He wiped the fog off the mirror and stared at the refined young man staring back, clenching his fists tightly.
His determination to return to his original world grew even stronger.
By the time he came out of the bathroom, he had returned to his usual self.
He dressed, made a simple breakfast, and after finishing it, slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed out for the academy.
Outside the gates of Saint Dias Academy in the early morning, the members of the Disciplinary Committee were still on their routine patrol.
The senior boy who had caused trouble for Aiden yesterday was also there, but this time he didn’t speak up to stop him.
Instead, he just stared coldly at Aiden.
The Disciplinary Committee Captain, Akane Kurokami, stood beside the school gate.
“Good morning, senpai.”
Aiden nodded respectfully as he approached Akane Kurokami.
The previous morning, it was Akane who had come to his rescue when that senior boy was picking on him.
They had briefly met then.
“Good morning.”
Akane gave a slight nod with an expressionless face, betraying no hint of emotion.
Yet as Aiden walked past, she subtly observed his back from the corner of her eye.
This transfer student had defeated Rufus.
Though Akane had little affection for Rufus—the carefree playboy—she couldn’t deny his strength.
She never expected him to be defeated by an obscure transfer student.
It was truly unexpected.
Moreover, she had heard that this transfer student had scored full marks on the entrance exam, which made her pay even closer attention to Aiden.
Walking down the academy’s tree-lined path, Aiden also pondered Akane’s matter.
He knew her all too well—the Disciplinary Committee Captain, one of the Four Witches who would bring destruction to the future world, and also one of the targets he must accomplish.
[Query Akane Kurokami’s favorability level.]
Ruby opened the system panel, and the number displayed made Aiden suck in a sharp breath.
-520.
He couldn’t help rubbing his temples, feeling overwhelmed.
That favorability rating was absurd—even worse than Celes’s.
He wondered what deep hatred this long-haired, beautiful senpai harbored against men.
“Sigh.”
Aiden sighed.
It seemed more practical to focus on Celes for now; Akane’s situation would have to be dealt with later.
As he walked through the academy, many students secretly glanced at him, whispering amongst themselves.
The news of his shocking defeat of Rufus had already spread throughout the entire school.
If before it was only eyewitnesses talking, after a night of rumors, now everyone surely knew.
But Aiden didn’t care about those gazes; he was never one to concern himself with others’ opinions.
Justice judges itself; praise and blame are heard from others; gain and loss are left to fate.
That was his way of handling the world.
However, what did catch Aiden’s attention were a few unfriendly looks among those glances.
[Master, some people over there seem to harbor ill intentions toward you.]
Ruby flew beside Aiden, whispering a warning.
[Yeah, I noticed.]
Aiden casually glanced over and saw several senior students staring at him with hostile eyes, mirroring the same look as the troublemaker at the gate.
It seemed that because Rufus had been defeated, these guys’ hostility toward him had increased to a new level.
Aiden pretended not to notice and walked straight into the classroom building.
The moment he entered the classroom, the once noisy room instantly fell silent.
In terms of commanding quiet, Aiden was more effective than any teacher; whenever he appeared, the entire class fell into order.
The students’ eyes shifted subtly when looking at him.
A few girls even secretly admired him, seeing him as a hot-blooded youth unafraid of tyranny.
On closer inspection, Aiden was quite handsome—just with bangs a bit long, covering part of his face.
Of course, most students were still accustomed to Rufus’s influence and weren’t very friendly toward Aiden.
Especially the few boys loyal to Rufus in the class, who cast spiteful glances at him but dared not make a move.
After all, this kid had defeated Rufus, so naturally, they were no match.
Aiden walked to his seat where Celes was already prepared for class.
Upon seeing Aiden, she opened her mouth to say good morning but hesitated, awkwardly frozen in place.
“Good morning, Celes.”
Aiden smiled warmly first.
“Good morning.”
Celes softly replied.
Just as Aiden put away his backpack, the teacher walked in holding a stack of test papers.
“Today’s lesson will have a Makeup Exam. Please get ready.”
The classroom instantly erupted with groans.
After the tests were handed out, though students were complaining, they had no choice but to start answering seriously.
Aiden stared at the test paper in his hands.
Honestly, he couldn’t answer a single question.
The full marks he had gotten in the Transfer Exam were all thanks to Ruby secretly helping him.
As the Emissary of the Goddess, Ruby possessed knowledge of this entire world—even some unsolved mysteries were clear to her.
To Aiden, this was probably Ruby’s most practical function right now.
So he wasn’t worried at all, lazily twirling his pen and spacing out, showing no intention to write.
Rather than focusing on the test, he should be thinking about the next step.
This strange behavior caught Celes’s attention.
After yesterday’s incident, she paid extra attention to Aiden.
Seeing him not answer, she couldn’t help but glance over repeatedly.
At this moment, a girl who had long envied Celes for having Rufus’s favor suddenly raised her hand.
“Teacher! Celes is cheating by looking at Aiden’s test paper!”
Who didn’t know Aiden had scored full marks on the theoretical part of the Transfer Exam?
This accusation conveniently pinned cheating on Celes.
How dare you seduce my god!
In an instant, all eyes in the classroom focused on Celes.
She was clearly stunned, her face showing panic as she hurriedly defended herself.
“I’m not… I didn’t…”
At this point, the girl’s companion chimed in.
“I saw it too! Celes has been looking at Aiden’s test paper the whole time.”
The proctor frowned and walked over.
Celes was at a loss for words, her body trembling slightly.
Her worst nightmare was replaying.
“Does Aiden know about this—‘Celes looking at Aiden’s test paper’ incident?”
Just as Celes didn’t know what to do, Aiden propped his chin on his hand and lazily spoke up.
He waved his blank test paper in front of the proctor.
“Celes was just curious why I wasn’t answering.”
“Then why aren’t you answering?”
The proctor adjusted his glasses.
“I didn’t sleep well last night, so I thought I’d nap first…”
Aiden yawned, speaking carelessly.
“Celes, please call me only when there are ten minutes left before handing in the test. Thanks~”
Bro’s taking a break first.
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