At this moment, a beautiful young girl was looking at Ain with “affectionate” eyes.
After all, Ain had done something to her that she would never forget for the rest of her life.
Not only that, but this beautiful girl was also trying to engage in an intense exercise with Ain that wouldn't stop until the very last moment.
“Ain!!!”
Vanessa was absolutely furious.
“What's wrong?”
Seeing the clueless attitude of the person in front of her, Vanessa grew even angrier.
This guy toyed with girls' feelings! After Erylin saved him, personally cooked soup for him, and watched over him in the infirmary for nearly five hours!
This guy actually had the nerve to dump Erylin!
Honestly, even if he dumped her, what on earth did he say to make Erylin cry?
Vanessa really wanted to stab Ain to death.
She slapped Ain on the shoulder, blue veins popping on her forehead.
If she were Erylin, she would have beaten this guy to a pulp long ago!
With a fake smile, Vanessa said, “Student Ain, how is your injury from yesterday healing?”
“It's fine, I guess...”
“Then, would you like to practice magic with me?”
“You're a second-year, right? As a third-year senior, I can...”
Vanessa enunciated every word: “give... you... some... proper... guidance.”
Ain brushed her hand off his shoulder, looking rather annoyed as he replied, “No thanks.”
“What, are you scared?”
Ain nodded nonchalantly.
“Yeah, I'm scared.”
Instantly, Vanessa felt as if her punch had landed on a pile of cotton.
She really wanted to beat this guy up!
At noon, their shadows shrank into dark patches beneath their feet.
At this moment, they were standing near a temporary camp outside the city-state. Aside from some church nuns and armored swordsmen, a group of academy students had also gathered here.
They were about to set off.
“Ain!”
“Ah, Erylin, you're also...”
Hearing the familiar voice behind him, Ain instinctively started to reply, but stopped himself immediately.
His expression was filled with astonishment.
This was because he saw Erylin flashing a bright, radiant smile at him.
Ain was utterly baffled.
He had weighed countless explanations, wanting to soothe Erylin's feelings without making her too happy.
But now...
Who fixed my Erylin?
Seeing Erylin acting completely normal, Vanessa was also somewhat at a loss.
Did Erylin move on so quickly?
“Sorry, it took me a bit longer to get ready today.”
The girl's silver-white hair fluttered in the wind, and she giggled. “You two seem to have gotten a lot closer?”
“Huh? Who's close to him—”
Ignoring the babbling Vanessa beside him, Ain stared intently at Erylin.
Sensing Ain's gaze, Erylin looked back at him.
She asked in confusion, “What's wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Ain shrugged, brushing it off.
The ice crystal deep within Erylin's pupils had not disappeared.
In other words, Erylin was still in that state she had awakened yesterday...
Lament of the Frosty Breath.
Although Erylin's complexion had indeed improved a lot, as long as she remained in this state, it was proof enough that her negative emotions still dominated her heart.
That was enough.
The two of them tacitly avoided mentioning yesterday's events.
“Ah, right, Ain. Actually, there was something else I wanted to ask you yesterday...”
“What is it?”
Erylin's gaze turned a bit lonely, and she unconsciously lowered her head.
“About your wedding... what do you plan to do about...”
“Oh, that.”
Ain waved his hand.
Sevis had not yet notified him of the specific date, but it would probably be next month.
In a voice only Erylin could hear, Ain said, “I'll go check out the situation first, but I'll most likely reject it too.”
Was this a joke? There were still a bunch of main storyline bosses to fight. Where would he find the time to get married and live a happy life?
It was enough that he had Lillian to mess around with.
At the thought of Lillian, Ain felt his hands itch after not seeing her for a few days.
He really wanted to pull Lillian into his arms and “cherish” her properly...
“Huh? R-really?”
A glimmer of hope shone in Erylin's eyes.
Ain nodded casually.
On the other hand, Vanessa was quite shocked.
“Wait, a wedding? Ain, you're getting married? To whom?”
“Ah... it's the one from the Xavier family...”
“What! The invitation sent by the Xavier family the other day—the groom is actually you?!”
Vanessa's pupils dilated. She hadn't paid close attention to the invitation her parents had given her that day.
Who would have thought the groom written on it would be Ain?
Flirting with Erylin and Lillian wasn't enough; now there was another one?
And they were even getting married?
Then what about Lillian and Erylin!
When Vanessa snapped out of her shock, she noticed Ain staring at her.
She instinctively covered her body.
So many girls had already fallen victim to this guy's schemes...
That look...
Could he be planning to make a move on her too?!
In Vanessa's eyes, Ain's image morphed into a looming demon straight out of hell.
“What are you looking at! I will never like you in my life! Never!”
“...Huh?”
Ain couldn't quite follow her train of thought.
After ten minutes or so, Vanessa left to attend to some matters.
Ain and Erylin walked toward the academy's camp, sharing information along the way.
“Last night, the various factions were discussing the action plan for this operation. The results should be out by now.”
As Ain spoke, he recalled the specific details of this mission.
The auction's transport ships had crashed outside the city-state.
That area was a gathering ground for countless monsters, a place where even adventurers and mercenaries refused to tread unless there was a specific bounty from a guild.
Cassandra, the largest and most suffocating den of monsters on the imperial map.
The mission this time was to locate the crashed transport ships within it and help the chamber of commerce recover the auction items.
There were seven transport ships in total.
They had crashed in vastly different and extremely scattered locations.
Inside one of them was the Third Princess of the empire.
However, only the higher-ups of the various factions knew about this.
And the location of the compass happened to coincide with that of the princess.
In the original storyline, the princess had two possible endings:
Life or death.
And her survival would directly affect the plot of Act Five.
If the princess survived Act Three, she would hold a wedding with Sevis in Act Five. If she died, the person marrying Sevis in Act Five would be the empire's Second Princess.
But regardless of which princess it was, Sevis would reject them in the end.
Thinking of this, Ain couldn't help but complain,
“The Boss's taste is really picky...”
For this operation, Ain had also prepared the Twilight Forest's Whisper that he had used back at the academy when looking for Lillian.
Only this time, it was the official version.
【Tier 4 Potion: Twilight Forest's Whisper】
【Description: Legend has it that it is brewed by the Elven race at dusk, collecting the quietest fallen leaves and morning dew from the depths of the forest.】
【Effect: The user maintains a “Presence Concealment” effect for ten minutes. Creatures below Tier 3 will be unable to detect the user's presence and mana fluctuations. It significantly reduces the alertness of Tier 4 monsters, while creatures of Tier 5 and above will ignore this effect.】
As long as he didn't encounter any Tier 5 monsters, there would be no problem.
Erylin, who had been chatting with Vanessa, noticed the green potion in Ain's hand and asked in confusion, “What is this?”
“It's the one from last time at the academy...”
Ain explained the potion to Erylin.
“But I only managed to make ten bottles this time, and it's already nearly emptied my pockets...”
Ain stared at the green potion, feeling a pang of financial pain.
According to the schedule of the original game, ten bottles were far from enough.
This operation would last at least seven days.
If he wanted to withdraw safely after getting the compass, he would need at least twenty bottles!
Ain complained, “Adding the potions I used yesterday for that setup, I've already completely spent all the prize money from Dawn's Crown!”
“Damn it, I originally wanted to use that money to splurge a bit.”
Ain suddenly felt like crying.
Without money, life was impossible.
My precious money!
Although he possessed all the potion formulas in this game, some potions could not be made ahead of time at certain critical plot points!
To put it deeply, this concerned the storyline and pacing of the entire game.
Earning money through potions didn't seem to be a viable long-term solution.
Seeing Ain's troubled expression, Erylin's face flushed slightly. She grabbed Ain's sleeve with her small hand and whispered,
“Um, Ain, are you short on money...”
“If... you can promise me a few things...”
Erylin paused slightly as that thought flashed through her mind out of nowhere. In an instant, a crimson blush rapidly spread from the tips of her ears to her cheeks. She hurriedly lowered her eyes, no longer daring to look Ain in the eye.
Soon, she stammered shyly, “I can... give you a lot of money, you know?”
“...Eh?”
Ain was dumbfounded.
Wh-what was this about?
Miss Erylin...
You aren't trying to buy my body, are you?
Erylin instinctively wanted to bury her blushing face into her collar, looking incredibly bashful as her gaze kept darting around.
“It's, it's just... as long as you promise me a few things, you'll get lots and lots of money, okay?”
Erylin seemed to be intentionally tempting Ain, emphasizing it once more.
“A whole lot, okay?”
Ain bit his lower lip, hanging his head and clenching his fists.
Damn rich girl...
Is having money that amazing?!
Damn it! Did she really think I was the kind of person who could be bought with money?!
A moment later, Ain raised his head, displaying the most brilliant smile of his life.
“Miss Erylin, then it's a promise, okay? Let's have a good talk about this after we complete this mission.”
Ain decided to surrender to the wealthy lady.
Long live Erylin.
While thinking, Ain and Erylin arrived at the academy's main camp.
Erylin took the first step, entering the massive magic-constructed tent, her figure blending into the shadows inside.
Aside from students, several church nuns had also gathered here.
“Looks like the assignments have already been made...”
There were currently very few healers among the Typhon Chain members. To balance their combat strength, the Church had sent several nuns who mastered healing magic to the academy's side.
This situation had also occurred in the original game.
Just as Ain was about to follow Erylin into the tent, he suddenly overheard a few students nearby gossiping about something. Driven by curiosity, he stepped closer.
“Let me tell you, yesterday I saw Erylin walk out of the infirmary crying...”
“Ah? Erylin cried? Why...”
“I don't know...”
While these students were discussing, another student chimed in, seemingly loving this kind of gossip.
“Didn't Erylin stand up for that Ain guy yesterday? I heard she went to the infirmary specifically to look after him.”
“She even personally brewed soup for him, you know?”
One student, seemingly unwilling to believe the truth, stubbornly argued, “So what? Erylin has always been nice to injured people.”
“So, what are you trying to say?”
The newcomer student analyzed mysteriously, “Well, could it be that Erylin...”
“...was rejected by that guy?”
As soon as those words were spoken, everyone present froze for a moment before bursting into chuckles.
“What kind of joke is that...”
“Anyone who could reject Erylin must be an idiot.”
“Yeah, that kind of person is definitely a dumbass.”
Eavesdropping from the side, Ain's lips twitched slightly.
Why do I suddenly feel so annoyed?
Subsequently, Ain, along with the other students, walked into the large magic-constructed tent one after another.
As soon as he entered, Ain saw Erylin conversing with Finn.
There were about fifty students here, most of whom were around their fourth year.
This made Ain, a second-year, stand out like a sore thumb.
“Ah... that guy is the one from yesterday, right?”
“I didn't expect him to participate in the mission. With how much blood he lost, I thought he was a goner...”
“Shut up! Shut up! Look at Erylin's expression...”
The student quickly pinched the person beside him.
Erylin's protective behavior from yesterday had already spread among the students.
Now, the members of the Typhon Chain tacitly assumed that Ain and Erylin shared a deeply profound relationship.
“You didn't see Erylin yesterday... It was terrifying. She looked like she wanted to beat those two guys who bullied Ain to death...”
“It's like a she-wolf protecting her... well, you know what I mean, right?”
Just as the students were whispering, a booming voice instantly drowned them out.
“Alright, everyone is mostly here. First, I will announce our route for the upcoming journey!”
Finn clapped his hands, announcing their next course of action.
“The area we are responsible for in this mission is the outer perimeter of the entire marching column, ensuring at all times that our rear will not be ambushed by monsters.”
“In other words, we only need to provide rear support!”
“This journey will most likely last for a full seven days, so this mission is divided into three squads. The first squad will be led by Erylin, with members including Vanessa, Arcadia...”
Damn it...
Ain clicked his tongue.
At this moment, Finn's words seemed to whistle past his ears like the wind; he couldn't take in a single syllable.
The worst-case scenario had occurred.
In the original game, the factions involved in this incident included the academy's Typhon Chain, the empire's Titan Prosecution Office, the Church, the Obsidian Chamber of Commerce, and some mercenaries hired by the chamber.
Roles like scouting, main assault, transport, route planning, and rear support were all led and arranged by the chamber of commerce.
This was because the people currently involved had absolutely no idea where the compass actually was.
While they seemingly aimed to recover auction items in a dangerous monster gathering ground, in truth, the only thing that needed to be recovered was always that compass!
To ensure the speed of the search, what appeared to be a massive army organized by various factions was actually split into countless scattered small squads.
If the academy was in charge of rear support, then their route would be the furthest path from the compass.
As expected, Erylin's intervention yesterday completely disrupted the original plot...
What should I do now?
Even with Twilight Forest's Whisper, he couldn't escape the gaze of the other factions.
Running all the way to the compass's location would only make him look more suspicious.
If those Tier 6 guys noticed him, it would be troublesome.
Moreover, Harrison wasn't on his side!
They had just made an enemy of each other yesterday, and that guy was a boss that absolutely had to be killed!
He still needed the mana crystal embedded in that guy's greatsword to upgrade Mordred.
The plan was completely in shambles.
“Hey! Ain, are you even listening to me?”
“What?”
Without him realizing it, Vanessa had already run up to Ain's side.
“Look! Tier 3! I'm Tier 3!”
Vanessa waved the evaluation sheet in her hand, looking extremely proud.
“Ah, I see, I see...”
Hah, Tier 3?
Go play in the mud.
Ain impatiently shooed Vanessa away, but the latter said angrily, “What's with your attitude? Are you joining Squad One or not?”
“Huh?”
Dumbfounded, Ain looked at where Vanessa was pointing. Only then did he realize that there was a line of text following the “Tier 3” she mentioned.
【Tier 3 Mage】
【Evaluation: Squad One Vice Captain】
“What do you mean? Didn't the instructor assign the squads?”
“Yeah, but your name was the only one not called. That's why I'm asking you now, do you want to join Squad One?”
With that, Vanessa looked at Ain with a hint of disdain.
Only then did Ain notice that everyone else had an evaluation sheet that resembled a Magic Letter, while he had none.
“How do you not even have an evaluation sheet?”
“I heard you were late last time too...”
Suddenly, a booming voice called out.
“Ain!”
Finn waved at Ain, gesturing for him to come over.
As Ain approached, Finn pulled him by the shoulder and said, “How is it? Are you feeling any better?”
These words were meant for the surrounding students to hear.
“Yeah.”
Soon, Finn handed the last evaluation sheet to Ain, gesturing for him not to let others see it.
“Cough, although you came in through the back door and are younger than everyone else here...”
“But still, your instructor will definitely respect your character and integrity. I could also see yesterday that you aren't the kind of student who slacks off.”
Ain stood there blankly, completely unable to fathom what the other party was talking about.
Finn patted Ain heavily on the shoulder, wearing a look that said, I understand you.
“I know you don't want others to see this. Your instructor has also heard about some of your... uh, medical conditions.”
Following the direction Finn pointed, Ain looked over.
Below the line with Ain's name, there was a description that read:
【Tier 1 Mage】
【Evaluation: Logistics】
“...”
Ain was completely speechless.
So the instructor's concern for his physical condition just now actually had another layer of meaning.
This guy named Ain was heavily injured yesterday and is carrying out the mission while wounded today, so you all need to look out for him.
Considering he was only a Tier 1 Mage, Finn had also provided a key excuse for why he couldn't cast powerful magic—physical discomfort.
He was afraid Ain would be discriminated against or ostracized...
As expected of an academy instructor, he was truly a sly old fox.
However, why was his profile still listed as Tier 1? Hadn't he sent a letter back to the academy a few days ago?
As long as Loretta or Lola saw it, they should have discussed with the academy's lead instructor to hand over the operational authority of this mission to him, right?
Wait.
Ain suddenly thought of a possibility.
Could his profile have been intentionally left unchanged by that old woman?
While Ain was lost in thought, Finn announced from the side, “Ain does not belong to any squad. He will be with me—”
Before he could finish, a beautiful woman dressed in the uniform of the Titan Prosecution Office entered the tent.
“Instructor Finn.”
The girl draped her golden hair over her shoulder. Her striking eyes and exquisite features instantly drew the attention of everyone present.
“Look at that... She's from the Titan Prosecution Office, right? But why does she look more like a student to me?”
“Is that the main point?! Don't you think that girl is way too beautiful?”
“Indeed, she feels even more...”
“Shut up! Erylin's looks are unmatched in the entire world! Though... she does seem like she could actually rival Erylin...”
The girl who had suddenly arrived walked up to Finn, then turned to flash a sweet smile at Ain behind him.
“You're here too...”
“...Ain?”
Ain was completely dumbfounded, pointing his slightly trembling right hand at her.
“I-I—”
No, I don't know her yet in this timeline!
I can't call out her name!
The girl standing before Ain at this moment was none other than Imeve.
Boss, it's one thing for you to randomly throw a marriage contract at me, but how is it that she even comes with home delivery!
Soon, Ain realized that Imeve's gaze was no longer fixed on him. Instead, she was looking at Erylin, who was standing not far away.
Imeve looked at Erylin with a slight smile.
Erylin responded with a smile of her own.
Invisible sparks clashed in the air.
Even though the two had never officially met, at this moment, they seemed like sisters living under the same roof, understanding each other's hearts perfectly.
Only Ain had a terrible premonition.
Risking everything to complete the game was one thing, but this plot...
Could it drift any further off course?!
Rate on N.U.
