The soft chime that signaled noon rang through the academy.
Instructor Reinhardt immediately set aside his work and turned to the students, preparing to assign the day’s homework.
As one of Jadecrest Academy’s famously punctual instructors—never doing more than what he’s paid for, and never dragging out a class—Reinhardt was well-liked by nearly all his students.
“Hey, Sheffil, I’ve got Advanced Illusion Magic this afternoon. It starts kind of late. What about you?”
As soon as class ended, Dorothy Byrne zipped over to Sheffil’s desk.
He was still groggy from dozing off, and she wasted no time asking her questions.
At Jadecrest Academy, aside from a few mandatory morning culture classes, all magic and martial arts courses were offered as afternoon electives.
These were commonly referred to as “combat courses.”
A student in levels one through three could enroll in up to eight such classes per week, though most of them started with basic skills.
But Dorothy, being one of the top students of their generation, had long since graduated from the basics and now focused on advanced coursework.
“Me? I’ve got a Phase Three ‘Blazing Swordsmanship’ class,” Sheffil replied, scratching his head.
After shaking off a bit of his drowsiness, he added, “But I can be late.”
“Great, let’s have lunch with Jianle. Her class starts late too,” Dorothy said with a smile.
Then she leaned in close to Sheffil’s ear and whispered mysteriously, “We can also talk about that letter from yesterday…”
Sheffil fell silent.
Truth be told, he didn’t want to drag Dorothy and Jianle into this mess.
As for the sender of the letter—he had a pretty good guess.
It was probably that fraudster impersonating him.
The guy didn’t just track his movements—he even had the nerve to reach out to his real identity directly.
If that was the case, Sheffil had to seriously consider what the impostor’s true intentions were.
“What letter are you two talking about?”
A soft and gentle voice cut through their conversation.
The two turned their heads in surprise—Tianxia had appeared beside Sheffil’s desk, smiling faintly at both of them.
“Ah, Tianxia! Hahaha, y-you’re not going to lunch?”
Dorothy’s face contorted into a complicated expression.
Clearly, she didn’t want Tianxia to know about the letter, and quickly tried to steer the conversation away.
“Well, didn’t I come here just to have lunch with you, my dear tour guide Miss Dorothy?”
Tianxia replied with a playful grin and no interest whatsoever in the letter.
She casually strolled over to stand behind Sheffil.
He felt her hands gently rest on his shoulders, followed by a whiff of her perfume.
Then her face popped out from behind his back, eyes glinting with mischief as she teased, “Or is Mister Sheffil going to dump this job on me again?”
“Cut it out—Dorothy’s right here. Don’t drag me into your mess again.”
Even before Dorothy could speak, Sheffil was already covered in goosebumps from the hostile glares of the other guys in class.
He gently pushed Tianxia’s head away and grumbled, “The newspaper’s been full of rumors about you and me. Can’t you at least try to clear things up?”
“There’s nothing going on between us, so why should I bother? It’s all baseless gossip—it won’t come true just because people talk about it, right?”
Tianxia’s response was so casual it was maddening.
But then her expression shifted again—this time into a wicked smile—as she leaned in even closer and whispered into Sheffil’s ear, “Or could it be that you, Sheffil, want something to happen between us?”
“I’d sooner date Jianle—that combat maniac—before I’d ever consider you. You can rest easy.”
“Sheffi—”
“Eh? I don’t know this Jianle girl personally, nor do I know what she looks like, but isn’t it kind of rude to call a young lady a maniac?”
“Sheffi—”
“Heh, come on. She’s been reduced to the tragic heroine in my tabloid scandal! Obviously, it’s because she’s not cute or gentle at all—no one even sees her as a girl,” Sheffil declared proudly, crossing his arms and lifting his chin.
“Oh really? I don’t think girls have to be cute or gentle,” Tianxia said, voice light and breezy.
“For example, I just lied to you.”
“What?”
“I said I didn’t know what Jianle looks like. That’s not true.”
With a chuckle, Tianxia stepped away from Sheffil’s side, revealing the figure who had been hidden behind her the entire time.
It was Jianle.
Her face was as cold as ever—just like when she was eating with friends, or in class with her peers, or standing across from an opponent about to be sent to the infirmary.
An icy, flawless expression.
Only now did Sheffil notice that Dorothy had already slipped out of the classroom and was now peeking through the window with a crowd of students, all watching the scene like a drama.
He could even make out some of their whispers from outside:
“Looks like Jianle the goddess is here for revenge!”
“Finally! Someone’s going to beat that scumbag Sheffil into the ground!”
“With Jianle’s strength, should we call the school nurse in advance?”
Meanwhile, Tianxia had strolled to the classroom door, flashing Sheffil a wicked smile as she slowly, deliberately closed the only escape route.
Tianxia!
You set me up!
That’s so dirty!
Click.
The door shut.
Instantly, the classroom fell into a deathly silence.
“Uh… Jianle, I can explain.”
“Oh? I’m listening,” she said calmly.
As she spoke, glowing runes of reinforced strength flared to life across her fists.
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