The girl named Novie stood elegantly, hands folded before her waist. Like a pristine snow lotus blooming amidst the crowd, she appeared detached yet undeniably captivating.
Every movement, every word she spoke carried a carefully measured politeness—creating a sense of distance without outright rejection.
However, her intimate way of addressing Linen broke that refined distance, making no effort to hide her affection.
Elena's brows subtly furrowed, relaxing only when she noticed Linen's rigid, expressionless face.
What she didn't know was that Linen might look calm on the outside, but inwardly, his toes were curled so tightly they were carving a three-bedroom apartment into his shoes.
Privately, being sweetly called "Onii-chan" by a cool blonde maid was pure delight, but this was the crowded main hall. No joy here—just a public execution!
Do you hate me this much, Novie? Are you willing to drag both of us down in flames, right in front of everyone?!
Just then, Linen felt someone gently tugging his sleeve.
Turning around, he found Hysteria's soft pink lips whispering close to his ear:
"Hey, you worthless Norton. Did you offend this girl before? Why did she call you 'Onii-chan'? Is it an insult, like you're dirt or something...? Uwah—her gaze at me is so sharp, it feels like daggers!"
Listening to Hysteria's bewildered whispers, Linen suddenly realized his oversight.
The word "Onii-chan" as Novie used it was completely foreign to this world's language system—something Linen had deliberately introduced to indulge his personal tastes.
As a result, the only ones who understood its real meaning were Novie and Linen himself.
Just then, Novie spoke again, her voice still calm and composed:
"Oh my, it seems your academy life is even better than I imagined, Your Highness. Is she your new playmate, then?"
She paused meaningfully, then continued:
"What kind of games have you two tried already? Maid uniforms, cat ears, or perhaps something more exotic?"
Instantly, the way everyone looked at Linen changed.
Those unaware of their identities just felt inexplicably awed. But for students who recognized the pair's true backgrounds, the shock was immense.
After all, Hysteria was someone likely to become the Empress of the Flame Rose Empire in the future.
By implication, wasn't Linen committing an outright act of treason by fooling around with another empire's crown princess?
No matter how evenly matched their nations might be, surely the Zijinghua Empire was going to get labeled as morally bankrupt now!
"What nonsense are you spouting about things that never happened?!" Hysteria's face flushed red with embarrassment and fury.
Yet seeing Hysteria's exaggerated reaction, Elena's expression turned complicated as well.
Hysteria typically maintained a certain composure when angry at strangers. But now she looked genuinely flustered…
Did that mean what this woman said was actually true?
Surely not?!
Linen swiftly raised his arm, gently blocking Hysteria from stepping forward and confronting Novie himself.
"That's enough, Novie. What's your real reason for coming here?"
"My real reason?" Novie's eyes flickered briefly.
"Of course, it's you, Your Highness."
"All right. I get it." Linen nodded firmly.
"In that case, there's no point continuing this conversation. If you want to talk, save it for the official Spring Cup."
With that, he decisively turned his back, clearly unwilling to argue further.
Novie didn't pursue him, merely lifting her skirt slightly in a polite curtsy before gracefully returning to her carriage, this time departing for real.
"Hey, worthless Norton. Just who was that person, anyway? She's utterly obnoxious. Is she really going to join the Spring Cup?" Hysteria puffed her cheeks, practically spitting with annoyance.
She'd disliked Novie at first sight, though originally not enough to actively provoke her.
But now, she'd firmly decided to teach that hateful woman a lesson during the Spring Cup, punishing her severely for publicly humiliating Princess Hysteria!
That woman was terrifying—how could she say such shameless things without even batting an eyelid?
Even worse, everything she'd said had actually happened!
For one dreadful moment, Hysteria genuinely worried Novie had witnessed her private humiliation at Linen's hands.
If anyone else ever saw that, Hysteria might as well abandon the empire and start life over somewhere else.
Moreover... for some strange reason, she especially didn't want Elena to learn about her private dealings with Linen.
"Sorry about that," Linen finally spoke after things settled down. "She came specifically because of me. I'll handle Novie myself. I won't let her interfere with your participation in the Spring Cup."
Hysteria was startled. It was the first time she'd ever sensed genuine apology in Linen's voice. She immediately wondered if the worthless Norton was cooking up yet another scheme.
However, Elena quickly shook her head:
"Don't say that, Linen. We're all part of the same study group, aren't we? If there's a problem, the three of us should face it together."
"The same group?" Linen shook his head slightly.
"Sorry, Elena. You seem to have misunderstood something. If you form a team for the Spring Cup, there's a strict limit—only two people per group. This time, you two are teammates. I can't and won't join your group."
"What?!"
Without question, this revelation landed like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky.
Even Hysteria, who constantly mocked Linen as a worthless Norton, had never once imagined becoming his opponent someday.
They'd clearly sworn to become study-group comrades together!
"No helping it," Linen explained calmly. "Rules are rules, set by the academy. We can't avoid them. But more importantly—Hysteria, isn't your trial approaching its deadline?"
Hysteria, who'd been glaring at Linen, inhaled sharply. Frantically pulling out her trial card, she realized with horror that a ten-minute countdown had suddenly appeared.
"How come there's a deadline? Wasn't it enough to finish before the Spring Cup officially starts?"
Hysteria despaired. She'd planned on waiting until fewer people were around before answering her embarrassing question, but now there clearly wasn't enough time.
"Oh, Hysteria..." Elena sighed softly.
Elena sighed helplessly, inwardly marveling at how Linen seemed to perfectly understand Hysteria. Just a few casual words from him, and her attention was effortlessly diverted.
Yet strangely, when Linen interacted with Hysteria this way, Elena didn't feel the same unease she'd felt when he spoke with Novie.
Though it felt a bit rude to think this way, Elena couldn't help but feel that Linen's relationship with Hysteria was sometimes less like classmates, and more like master and pet…
Elena quickly shook her head, banishing those improper thoughts.
"You really didn't read the rules carefully, did you? There's no time limit once the trial officially begins, but if you don't start it within a certain timeframe, you'll fail automatically. It's to prevent everyone from waiting until the last moment, causing congestion," Elena explained patiently.
"But what exactly is your trial, anyway? Is it really that difficult?"
"N-No... wait, stop!"
When Elena reached curiously for her trial card, Hysteria immediately pulled back, frantically shaking her head. Elena was startled—she hadn't expected such a strong reaction from Hysteria just from trying to see the card.
But as she kept backing away, Hysteria suddenly yelped, stopping abruptly when her head hit something solid. The hardness of it felt like she'd crashed directly into a wall.
Turning around, she found herself face-to-face with Linen's chest.
Is this guy seriously an Arcana Mage? Why is he so damn solid?
Her curiosity was interrupted when Linen's hand gently rested on her shoulder, and he leaned slowly toward her ear, speaking softly, his voice like a devil's whisper:
"Hysteria, you wouldn't want to fail your trial, be denied entry to the Spring Cup, and end up eliminated right here, would you?"
"Wouldn't that truly make you worthless?"
"Ugh—!"
Linen's words struck straight into Hysteria's weak point.
The proud princess of Flame Rose might accept defeat, but she absolutely refused to be labeled incapable!
Even against a Tier-4 Mana Spirit, she'd bravely put up a fight.
But why did it have to be this kind of humiliating trial? Speaking those embarrassing words aloud—it'd be better to just kill her outright.
Maybe she should just lie…
"Don't even think about lying your way out," Linen whispered, seemingly reading her mind again. "The academy has lie detectors prepared specifically for this. If they catch you lying, you'll lose your qualification instantly."
He paused, then suddenly changed his tone:
"However, I happen to know the weakness of the lie detectors. If you're willing to make a small trade with me, I can tell you how to bypass it."
Gulp!
At this extremely tempting offer, Hysteria's first reaction wasn't relief, but to nervously swallow hard.
Although she considered herself sharp-minded, she'd suffered enough times at Linen's hands to grudgingly admit that this man before her was at least a hundred million times craftier.
No way she was going to trust his so-called "small trades" again. She'd sooner bargain with an evil god!
Suddenly, Linen turned toward Elena:
"Elena, it seems Hysteria won't be able to participate in the Spring Cup. If you don't mind, how about swapping out your teammate's name with mine?"
Elena hesitated, startled, before firmly replying:
"What? Well... of course—I mean, no. Sorry, Linen. I already promised Hysteria we'd participate together. Allow me to refuse."
"Elena!" Tears welled up in Hysteria's eyes.
Trading with Linen was practically selling her soul to a demon—but for Elena's sake, she could endure!
Linen remained silent.
Though Elena's firm rejection sounded moving, Linen himself received the smallest rejection reward he'd ever gotten since reincarnating:
[Congratulations, Host, on successful rejection. Total Mana increased by 0.0000000001%]
"Fine, no more dragging it out—I agree to your trade. Just hurry up and tell me what I need to do!"
Hysteria felt like a saintess sacrificing herself to satisfy a demon.
Linen shrugged inwardly. Doesn't matter, anyway. The real purpose isn't these tiny rewards.
In truth, though the Spring Cup boasted that all the academy's elite students would participate, Linen didn't even spare a glance for these so-called "elite" students still confined within the academy walls.
The only real threats were the unknown enemies from the Tower of Chronomancy—and Novie.
Unlike himself, Novie possessed exceptional talent in Arcana, nearly at the level of a main character herself.
But that wasn't even the scariest thing. The truly frightening part was that, because they'd grown up together, Novie was an Arcana Mage he'd personally shaped from childhood, inch by meticulous inch, fundamentally different from anyone else in this world.
Linen knew every detail about Novie—but precisely because of that, he fully understood just how powerful she could be.
Is she angry because I didn't bring her when leaving the palace?
Well, sorry about that, but it doesn't matter. After I beat you, I'll apologize properly.
Winning against Novie wouldn't be possible through sheer power alone. And Linen certainly didn't want to use something like a [Terminal Bullet] against the maid he'd raised from childhood.
Thus, other methods were necessary. He had to start preparations before the tournament even began.
"The way to deceive the lie detector is actually quite simple…" Linen whispered softly next to Hysteria's ear, explaining the method.
Hysteria's eyes widened slightly, shocked.
"It's... really that easy?"
"Yes, it's that easy. But you've received my help, so our deal is complete now. No going back on your word."
Linen smiled calmly.
This bastard tricked me again!
Hysteria clenched her teeth in resignation.
"Whatever. Princess Hysteria never lies anyway!"
"Good," Linen nodded. "In that case, I hope you'll wear this tomorrow during the Spring Cup event."
He handed her a small ring containing a dimensional storage, placing it into her palm.
Quickly scanning its contents, Hysteria found a neatly styled black-and-white short dress and a pair of matching thigh-high black stockings.
Upon closer inspection, the outfit seemed familiar. Wasn't it similar to what that Novie girl had worn, just swapping white stockings for black?
However, having recently worn similar outfits herself, Hysteria immediately recognized this was actually an altered version of a maid's dress—skillfully designed to be less cumbersome, with a shorter skirt that showed off one's figure without being overly revealing.
"Look, I understand you might resist a little, but please just try to—"
"Fine, I'll wear it."
"Hm?"
This time, it was Linen's turn to be surprised. He'd anticipated at least some fierce resistance.
If this had been the Hysteria from when she first arrived at the academy, she would've surely thrown a huge tantrum. But after numerous transactions with Linen, the princess's bottom line had gradually eroded away.
Instead of disgust, her first reaction upon seeing the dress was wondering how it would look on herself.
I'm starting to feel strange... but there's no going back, is there...?
The girl turned her head slightly, eyes blank, numb to her fate.
After completing their trade and trials, Linen bade the two goodbye. They weren't teammates this time, and he had his own preparations to make.
Yet just as Linen stepped outside the registration hall, his footsteps suddenly halted.
Instead of the familiar garden path, which he'd walked countless times, he found himself abruptly inside a massive office, filled with towering stacks of documents and scattered arcane instruments. An old clock hung above, with a small bird covered entirely in red feathers curiously peering down at him.
Linen wasn't surprised.
There was only one person in Eden Academy who could wield Spatial Arcana of this magnitude.
"Good afternoon, Headmaster Sorgana," Linen greeted politely, slightly bowing.
"Tch, discovered already? Pretty impressive, kid—I thought you'd be more frightened."
The mountains of documents shifted aside by themselves, revealing behind them a little girl of about six or seven, with twin braids of vibrant orange hair and oversized round glasses. Despite her appearance, this was the true Headmaster of Eden Academy—Sorgana herself.
"All right, Linen, let's be straightforward. You're participating in the Spring Cup primarily to save this academy, aren't you?"
Though appearing as a child, Headmaster Sorgana was a renowned Arcana Master, practically ancient in age, so after brief contemplation, Linen answered honestly:
"Nope."
He was primarily aiming to backstab Elena and Hysteria, stealing their assured victory from the original story. Saving the academy was merely incidental.
"Ah, I see," Sorgana sighed, dramatically spinning her large chair around, leaving only its broad back facing Linen.
"Hehehe. Exactly like his mother—a total tsundere. Just watch me handle him!" she snickered quietly.
...
Meanwhile, inside the carriage heading toward the imperial palace.
The usually flawless, perfect girl sat huddled in a corner, knees drawn to her chest. Her pure white-stockinged feet, now without shoes, pressed inelegantly against the seat cushions. Her face was flushed with an unhealthy glow.
"He was… so cold toward me…"
"It's because I didn't leave the palace with Onii-chan, isn't it? He's angry with me...?"
"No, impossible. Onii-chan would never abandon me. Novie will stay by Onii-chan's side forever and ever."
"This Spring Cup, I'll prove it to him!"
"With this…'holy sword'!"
Her delicate, stockinged foot pressed down hard, as though stepping onto Linen himself—or crushing something else that stood too close beside him.