Alicia smiled and shook her head gently.
“We just accidentally went a bit too deep and encountered some minor trouble. Fortunately, we had Lynn’s help.”
Her words caused everyone’s gaze to converge on Lynn.
Lynn’s body trembled. He felt Alicia’s gaze lingering on him. That look was like sharp claws hidden within soft fur.
Vivian did not speak; she simply sheathed her sword. She glanced at Su Xiaoxiao, who was in Lynn’s arms, and her eyes narrowed.
Su Xiaoxiao seemed to have been awakened by the noise.
She lifted her head from Lynn’s embrace, saw the surrounding stares, and immediately put on a timid expression.
“Senior…” she whispered, shrinking further into Lynn’s arms.
The surrounding students cast curious glances, and some of the girls looked at Lynn with unfriendly eyes.
Lynn felt nothing but exhaustion.
He just wanted to throw this hot potato away and find a corner to hide in.
“Su Xiaoxiao, you’re back!”
A high-year Senior sister rushed over and grabbed Su Xiaoxiao’s hand.
“Do you have any idea how worried we were?!”
Su Xiaoxiao pulled away from Lynn, threw herself into the girl’s arms, and began to cry.
“Waaa… I was so scared… Thank goodness Senior Lynn was there…”
Lynn stood there numbly, watching the scene. He felt like a mere prop.
The Academy soon returned to normal. The reports for the underground internship were submitted separately by Alicia and Vivian.
Lynn’s name was mentioned in the reports, where he was praised as an “Outstanding Student who remained calm in the face of danger and assisted the Saintess and the Knight Commander in completing their mission.”
This caused Lynn’s reputation in the Academy to rise significantly.
Some junior students began writing him love letters, while several senior students cast jealous looks his way.
Lynn was completely indifferent to all of this. He only wished he could become invisible.
However, things did not go as he hoped.
**[Danger Perception System]**
**[Alicia Blackening Value: 99%]**
**[Vivian Blackening Value: 99%]**
**[Su Xiaoxiao Blackening Value: 5%]**
These three values were like three hanging swords, making it difficult for him to breathe.
Especially Su Xiaoxiao—that 5% value only filled him with horror now. That number did not represent safety at all.
A few days later, news spread through the Academy—the Academy Festival was about to begin.
The Academy Festival was the biggest event of the year. There would be various performances, club activities, and food stalls.
The highlight, however, was the final ball.
“Lynn, did you hear? There’s a special legend about this year’s Academy Ball!”
In the dormitory, his roommate spoke to him excitedly.
Lynn gave a perfunctory response.
“It’s said that if you finish a dance with someone while holding hands, the two will be together forever!”
His roommate’s eyes glowed.
“This is Fate’s Guidance! So many couples are looking forward to this moment!”
Lynn’s hand shook. Fate’s Guidance? That sounded more like a curse.
“…Is that so,” he said, his tone flat.
His roommate didn’t notice his odd behavior.
“Yeah! Think about it, if you could dance with the goddess of your dreams… wouldn’t it be a done deal?”
Lynn thought of Alicia, Vivian, and that “innocent” Su Xiaoxiao.
If he actually danced with one of them, it likely wouldn’t be “together forever,” but rather “locked up forever.”
With this legend appearing at this specific time, he felt like there was a hand pushing things from behind. He had no doubt about it.
That afternoon, Lynn received an invitation to the ball.
The envelope was pure white, embossed with a sacred golden lily pattern. He opened it to find a handwritten invitation from Alicia.
The writing was soft and the phrasing sincere, inviting him to attend the opening ball as an “Outstanding Assistant during the internship.”
Lynn put the invitation down.
Before he could even think, a second invitation arrived.
This envelope was black, and the wax seal bore a pattern of crossed swords. Vivian’s invitation was concise.
It contained only one sentence:
The ball, come.
The two invitations in Lynn’s hand felt like two blocks of ice, making his fingertips turn cold.
Alicia and Vivian were the two women with the highest status and strongest power in the Academy. Lynn simply could not refuse their invitations.
To refuse meant to provoke them.
“Senior Lynn!”
A crisp voice came from the dormitory entrance. Lynn looked up and saw Su Xiaoxiao standing there, also holding an envelope.
She handed it over. The envelope had a cute, cartoonish little rabbit drawn on it.
“Senior, I made this invitation myself. For the Academy Ball, could I… invite Senior to go with me?”
Su Xiaoxiao’s cheeks were slightly flushed, and her voice was very low.
Lynn looked at the girl in front of him, then at the two “heavyweight” invitations on the table.
He took a deep breath.
This wasn’t a multiple-choice question. This was a life-or-death question.
He felt a wave of pressure squeezing him from all sides.
He had to find a perfect reason—one that they could all accept and that would not trigger a Cleaver Ending.
At dinner, Lynn went to the cafeteria on purpose. He wanted to find some ordinary students and ask for details about the Academy Ball.
Just as he sat down, two girls next to him began to gossip.
“Oh my god, I heard Saintess Alicia and Knight Commander Vivian are both attending the ball!”
“Yeah, they are the symbols of the Academy! I wonder who will have the honor of being invited by them?”
“Are you stupid? They definitely have someone they want to invite!” the other girl said, her eyes subconsciously drifting toward Lynn.
Lynn picked up his chopsticks, his fingers stiff. He could feel the gazes of the people around him, filled with gossip and speculation.
This legend of a “Fate’s Guidance” ball was practically tailor-made for yandere women like them.
He had to find a way.
A way that would prevent all three of them from dancing with him without causing their Blackening Values to skyrocket.
As Lynn ate his tasteless dinner, his mind raced at high speed.
What should he do? Pretend to be sick? That would only result in them rushing to his bedside with medicine. Pretend to have urgent business?
They would be the first to help him resolve it.
He looked up and saw Alicia and Vivian dining at the faculty table not far away.
The food on their table was exquisite, standing in stark contrast to the surrounding student meals.
They chatted occasionally, wearing appropriate smiles. But Lynn could feel the hidden blades beneath those smiles.
Their gazes met from time to time; there was no sound in the air, but there were invisible sparks.
**[Danger Perception System]**
**[Alicia Blackening Value: 99%]**
**[Vivian Blackening Value: 99%]**
The system flashed before his eyes.
The chopsticks in Lynn’s hand fell to the floor.
He leaned over to pick them up. As he stood back up, his eyes swept over a corner of the cafeteria.
He saw Su Xiaoxiao sitting there, laughing and talking with several newly met junior sisters.
Her gaze happened to turn toward Lynn at that moment.
She gave him a gentle smile.
Lynn saw a flicker of darkness flash through the depths of her originally clear eyes.
A chill ran down his spine.
The ball was no longer a normal social event. It had become the new arena for the Shura Field.
Lynn knew that this time, he could no longer take the hits passively.
He had to take the initiative and completely extinguish their thoughts before the ball began.
Otherwise, his small life would truly be forfeited here.
He put down his chopsticks, having no heart to eat anymore.
He needed a plan. A plan that would make everyone “back off.”