Lynn patted the little head of the small fox in his arms.
The little fellow let out a curious “ying ying” squeak, then rubbed comfortably against Lynn's palm.
The stunned Imperial Princess in front of him seemed to have finally come up with an excuse.
Panting slightly, Anna stopped in front of Lynn, her eyes fixed with a complex expression on the white fox resting peacefully in his embrace.
She paused for a moment, then put on a “natural” smile.
“Snowball, don't cause trouble for others. Come back quickly.”
However, the little fox named Snowball only looked up to glance at her before completely ignoring her feelings and burying its head back into the crook of Lynn's arm.
It even nudged itself further inside.
The girl's outstretched hand froze in midair.
“...”
“Ah, excuse me.”
She quickly adjusted her expression, pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose, and offered a slightly apologetic smile.
“Snowball rarely approaches strangers on its own. I don't know why it suddenly became so unusual today.”
“It didn't hurt you, did it?”
“...I'm fine. But remember to keep a close eye on this little fellow next time. If it suddenly bumps into a distracted student, it wouldn't be good if they reacted defensively and retaliated.”
Lynn patted the white fox in his arms again.
By the way, was it his imagination? Why did it feel like... Princess Anna—was secretly glaring at him this whole time?
【Emotion Points +20】【Emotion Points +20】...
Ever since they met just now, she had been wildly generating Emotion Points, without stopping for even a single second!
Especially when—Lynn tentatively stroked the white fox.
The white fox whimpered and rubbed against Lynn, then, under its original owner's hollow gaze, rolled over and exposed its belly.
【Emotion Points +100】
The smile on Anna's face almost cracked on the spot.
Traitor, traitor, traitor, traitor!
On normal days, if she wanted to touch its belly, she had to coax it with ice crystal fruits for ages. Yet, having just met Lynn, it actively rolled over to let him rub it.
Where was the aloof attitude it usually had around her?!
She took a soft breath and maintained her gentle expression once again.
“Snowball, come back.”
The white fox's ears twitched, and it rolled over as if it hadn't heard a thing.
“Snow! Ball!” Anna said, emphasizing each syllable.
Under that murderously “gentle” glare, the little fox finally rolled back over reluctantly and was handed back, supported by Lynn.
But the moment it left the youth's embrace, Snowball's tail, which had been held high, drooped at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It curled limply into the crook of Anna's arm, its light blue eyes turning dull once more, and its cry, which had been quite energetic just now, grew much weaker.
“Ying...”
“Snowball?”
She reached out to touch the little fox's forehead.
It was very cold. Clearly, seeing it in Lynn's arms earlier, she had thought Snowball's condition had improved, which was why it was so energetic.
Anna subconsciously looked up at Lynn.
The youth noticed this as well. After a moment of thought, he reached out and gently touched the white fox's back.
Snowball immediately perked up its ears with a shua as if its power had been restored, and even actively turned its head to rub against his fingertips.
“...”
Feeling the magic fluctuations inside its body, Lynn spoke thoughtfully, “The ice-cold magic within its body is highly turbulent.”
It was only when it leaned against his chest earlier that the fire element aura accumulated on him—due to the long-term influence of the 【Favor of the Sinfire Witch】—happened to neutralize that excessive chill, allowing Snowball to temporarily regain its energy.
Once it left, without the suppression of external fire elements, the cold aura would accumulate again.
“It seemed energetic earlier just because the fire element aura temporarily suppressed the cold aura while it was leaning against me.”
Anna's gaze shifted back and forth between the youth and the white fox.
“You mean... it's not because it particularly likes you?”
“...”
Why did she sound a bit pleasantly surprised?
“I don't think the two are mutually exclusive.”
【Emotion Points +100】
Anna's brow twitched slightly.
He really is a thick-skinned, annoying guy!
“...Perhaps I can try to heal it.”
Ignoring her surprised and complex expression, a pale gold healing glow slowly lit up from Lynn's palm.
Gentle life magic seeped into the white fox's body, repairing the tiny magic circuits damaged by the impact of the cold aura. At the same time, a wisp of crimson fire element was compressed by him to an extremely gentle degree, slowly circulating along its meridians.
The excessive ice-attribute magic was worn down bit by bit, and the originally chaotic flow gradually returned to stability.
“Ying...”
Snowball let out a soft, comfortable whimper, its fluffy tail unconsciously wrapping around Lynn's wrist.
Anna watched this scene in silence.
Operating healing magic and the fire element simultaneously without them interfering with each other—this level of precision far exceeded what an ordinary Tier 3 Mage could achieve.
Especially the expression on this guy's face... he was as calm as if he were doing a completely ordinary, trivial task.
After a moment, Lynn slowly withdrew his magic.
“All done.”
The little fox shook its ears, climbed up her arm onto her shoulder with high spirits, and let out a very loud “ying.”
Anna hurriedly checked its condition.
The originally turbulent ice-cold magic had returned to stability, and even the magic circuits, which had become fragile due to the prolonged imbalance, were mostly repaired.
“It should be fine now.”
“But it's still best to take it to the school infirmary for a complete checkup, just in case there are other issues.”
“I will,” Anna nodded gently.
Her gaze toward Lynn clearly held a bit more scrutiny than before.
This guy...
Was he really still that arrogant and rude playboy from the banquet?
Not only did he discover a cause of illness that even doctors couldn't immediately detect, but he could also simultaneously use healing and fire magic to harmonize elements for a magical beast.
Perhaps those rumors from the northern hunting competition weren't just a case of Veronica seeing him through rose-tinted glasses, nor were they fabricated by those nobles to build up Lynn's reputation.
But this single matter alone was not enough to change her judgment.
Maybe this guy just happened to be good at healing, or perhaps he wanted to take this opportunity to show off in front of a strange girl.
Yes, she had to keep observing.
After all... the one here was “Sasha”~
A hint of slyness flashed deep in Anna's eyes, and she quickly put back on that gentle, harmless smile.
“You've really been a huge help.”
“By the way, I haven't... I haven't asked for your name yet~”
...The Imperial Princess's acting was quite dedicated.
“Lynn.”
Lynn offered a polite smile. “Lynn von Reinhardt.”
“So you're that...” Anna acted as if she was hearing the name for the first time, surprise and admiration appearing in her amber eyes at just the right moment.
“The champion of the northern hunting competition!”
“I often see news about you in the newspapers lately!”
Her acting is really terrible.
Looking at the Second Princess, Anna, who was completely unaware and seriously playing the role of “Sasha,” Lynn curled his lips inwardly.
Compared to the ruthless and deeply calculating Imperial Empress from his memory of the game, the currently young, naive, and newly debuted Second Princess—was actually a bit adorably silly...
“Hmm...” She scrutinized Lynn seriously and sighed, “I feel like you're very different from the rumors outside...”
Lynn's lips twitched.
He knew well enough what his reputation was like in the outside world.
A spendthrift, useless young master; an uneducated, fallen genius; a tyrannical playboy who bullied men and harassed women...
Although the "Lynn" in the game hadn't actually done that many bad things, he couldn't help but take the blame for everything!
With that proud and arrogant personality of his, even when framed with completely fabricated accusations, he would only snort coldly:
“Hmph, so what if I did it?”
Over time, one scapegoat after another was welded so firmly to Lynn's head that they couldn't be pried off.
Even his like-minded, bad-influence friends would say in unison as their very first words after causing trouble: “Lynn ordered me to do it.”
That bizarre way of shifting blame had once become a path of dependency for the second-generation playboys.
Even though he had displayed great skill in the hunting competition earlier, those years of accumulated stereotypes were hard to erase. Instead, it only invited many doubts like “this guy must have used the back door.”
“The imperial tabloids always like to exaggerate.” Lynn paused. “What about you?”
He asked, pretending to be completely clueless, “How should I address you?”
“Sasha.”
The reply came without the slightest hesitation.
Her aqua-blue long hair was gently lifted by the breeze. The girl raised her hand to tuck a strand behind her ear, her smile calm and familiar.
“Sasha Roland.”
When the name was spoken, there was no hesitation of a temporarily fabricated lie, nor was there the awkwardness of using a fake identity for the first time.
It was as if she had said it many times before. So many times that even the pauses between syllables had turned into another instinct.
Lynn understood in his heart.
Sasha was not a toy fabricated by Anna on a whim; she had perhaps lived with this identity for a very long time.
Perhaps she had bought desserts in inconspicuous alleys of the imperial capital, listened to casual gossip in tea houses where no one knew her, or perhaps sat in a carriage of commoners and heard the driver complain about the road conditions.
In those brief moments, she was not the Second Princess of the Bauhinia imperial family.
She didn't have to be outstanding, nor did she have to be dignified. She also didn't have to make every choice conform to the expectations of others.
She was just Sasha.
An ordinary, cheerful, and free girl.
“Sasha Roland,” Lynn repeated softly.
“It's a very beautiful name.”
【Emotion Points +50】
“Thank you.”
The smile on Anna's face was still “natural,” only slightly softer than before.
“Just call me Sasha.”
“We are classmates, after all. Constantly adding the last name sounds a bit too distant.”
“Alright, Sasha,” Lynn readily agreed.
Anna hummed softly in satisfaction, putting her hands behind her back and leaning forward slightly.
Her crimson eyes blinked mischievously.
“As a thank-you gift, why don't I show you around the academy?”
“Show me around the campus?”
“Mm-hmm~”
Anna gently pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses, her tone natural. “Looking at you, you must have just settled in. The Imperial Academy is very large, and it's easy for first-time freshmen to get lost.”
“I've been here a few times in advance, so I'm fairly familiar with the places.”
She tilted her head slightly, revealing a perfect smile.
Perhaps mistaking Lynn's hesitation for reluctance, she pressed on with a supplementary explanation.
“Anyway, there's still a long time before the entrance ceremony tonight, so it won't waste your time.”
There was actually such a good thing?
Just now, Lynn was still worrying about where to go to interact with the main characters of the plot and quickly harvest Emotion Points.
Yet this Imperial Princess had actively delivered herself to his doorstep?
Moreover, Anna still thought her identity was well hidden. If he just utilized the information gap a little...
“Then I'll trouble you,” the somewhat “hesitant” Lynn finally made up his mind.
“It just so happens that I really didn't know where to start exploring.”
Anna nodded in satisfaction.
“Hmph~ Then as a senior who has scouted the campus in advance, let me show you around~”
Holding Snowball, she turned around and walked ahead.
However, the newly energized little fox still turned its head, staring longingly at Lynn.
After taking only a few steps, it leapt out of Anna's arms once more, landing steadily back on Lynn's shoulder.
“Ying!”
Anna: “...”
Just wait until they went back tonight to see how she would deal with this traitor!
【Emotion Points +50】
Lynn patted the little fox on his shoulder, the corners of his mouth twitching as he struggled to suppress a smile.
What a grateful little fellow.
You also think you should help me squeeze out more gold coins, right?
Rate on N.U.
