’What in the world is happening?’
The streets of Langerstine had beco a warzone in an instant. Simon was frozen, his mind struggling to process the chaos. He could accept, in theory, that a terrorist attack might happen in Langerstine.
But for the perpetrator to be Loraine of all people...
The battle raged. Loraine was a blur of crimson lightning, while a swarm of pure-white feathers pursued her like homing arrows. Each slash of her red dagger split the feathers, sending them fluttering uselessly to the ground.
The dagger spinning in her other hand stopped with a sharp click before shooting forward at an imperceptible speed.
’BOOM!’
The dagger materialized just before Serne, only to be stopped by her protective shield. The impact sent a shockwave blasting outward, shattering nearby windows and ripping tiles from the ground. Yet Serne’s expression remained infuriatingly calm.
“I won’t stand by and watch your sches any longer!” Lorraine snarled, her eyes flashing dangerously.
“And what will you do about it?” Serne retorted with a sinister smile.
Lorraine’s crimson flash t Serne’s storm of white feathers, neither giving an inch. Realizing the situation had escalated beyond control, Simon shouted, “Lorraine, wait! I think this is all a misunderstanding!”
Lorraine’s chilling, ruby-red eyes darted toward him. But it was only a glance before she refocused on her duel with Serne.
“Lorrai—!”
’Thud! Thud!’
Suddenly, two skeletal hands shot out, clamped onto Simon’s shoulders, and slamd him against the wall of a nearby building, pinning him in place.
’Lorraine’s skeletons?’
He struggled, but they were immovable. Pinned to the wall, his mind raced.
’Lorraine doesn’t want involved, but she also refuses to listen. Why?’
This wasn’t the blind rage of soone shouting, ‘Stay out of it!’ He thought for a mont, and the answer struck him.
’She thinks Serne is mind-controlling !’
Suddenly, it all made sense. Simon planted his left foot firmly against the wall.
“Open Gate!”
A blade-tipped tentacle erupted from his subspace, precisely severing the skeletal joints and freeing him. As he landed, his expression hardened with resolve.
’Then there’s only one thing to do.’
Drawing a shortsword from his subspace, Simon charged straight at Serne. Engrossed in her frantic duel with Loraine, Serne was startled by the sudden attack from behind and moved to counter.
’Simon?’
Her feathers froze mid-air. In a fluid motion, Simon wrapped his left arm around her shoulder, pulled her flush against him, and pressed the cold steel of his shortsword to her throat.
The sight made Lorraine freeze, her attack stopping short. The seemingly unstoppable clash between the two powerhouses ground to a halt.
“My, aren’t you bold,” Serne cooed.
Far from being afraid, Serne seed delighted, snuggling deeper into his hold.
’For crying out loud, at least pretend to be scared!’
This girl was impossible. His head throbbed, but with the fight paused, this was his chance.
Looking at Loraine, Simon spoke in a grave tone.
“Trust , Lorraine. I’m not brainwashed.”
She gritted her teeth.
“How can I believe that? What if this flimsy hostage act is all part of Serne’s little show?”
The door to conversation was open, but Lorraine’s guard was still up.
“Then let ask you this: what makes you so sure I am brainwashed?”
“It’s strange enough that you two, who barely interacted at school, are suddenly acting like a couple. But the deciding factor was seeing Serne make you sign a curse contract. That’s the proof.”
A curse contract was a terrifying piece of black magic that would unleash a curse if the signatory broke its terms. Simon finally understood her misunderstanding.
“See for yourself.”
He had a skeleton retrieve a docunt from his subspace. Lorraine, still watching them with suspicion, took the paper from the skeleton and examined it.
It wasn’t a contract at all, but a simple order form with a na and address. A look of chagrined realization washed over her face. ’I saw him about to sign his na and just jumped to conclusions.’
The telescope hadn’t been powerful enough to read the fine print. She had attacked anyway, driven by her deep suspicion of Serne. It was the sa logic as seeing a known addict put powder to their lips—you assu the worst.
Her only thought had been to stop Simon from pledging himself to the Ivory Tower.
Lorraine raised a communication crystal.
“Stand down. Retreat.”
At her command, her minions imdiately withdrew behind the thick clouds of smoke. Fortunately, neither Loraine’s group nor the Ivory Tower’s spies seed to be injured. They were all aware that any real casualties would create a diplomatic nightmare, so they had been holding back.
“We’ve already reported this to the city of Langerstine and the royal family. Focus on cleanup. Estimate the damage and check for injuries. I’ll deploy our standby personnel to expedite the process. I will contact the Ivory Tower’s leadership separately.”
At her command, the minions dispersed.
“Aww, how boring. Are we really stopping just because of a little misunderstanding?” Serne wore a satisfied smile, but she beckoned with a finger, taunting her rival. “We both find each other insufferable. Why not settle this now?”
“If you want to fight that badly, do it at Kizen.” Loraine strode over and grabbed Simon’s wrist. “Let’s go back, Simon.”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Serne grabbed Simon’s other arm. He was now caught between them, completely immobilized.
“Simon and I have things to do,” Serne said, tugging on his arm.
Loraine, as always, maintained her calm poker face.
“Being here without reporting to Kizen is a violation of school rules.”
“You’re here too, aren’t you? Or do you get special treatnt for being Nephthys’s daughter?”
“More importantly, I’m still not fully convinced that Simon isn’t brainwashed.” Lorraine stared intently at Simon. “What was all that just now? Feeding him cotton candy, running to get him ice cream, hugging him?”
At her words, Simon’s face turned beet red to the tips of his ears.
“You... you saw all of that?” He was so flustered that his voice trembled.
Lorraine gave a small, sharp nod.
“I-It’s a misunderstanding! Let explain...!”
“My, my, why ask about such obvious things between a man and a woman?” Serne purred.
She hugged Simon’s arm tightly.
“We have business to attend to, related to the mission evaluation. We’ll be fine on our own, so mind your own business.”
“How can I, when there’s a precedent? If it’s related to the mission evaluation, then report it properly, right here.”
As if she’d been waiting for those exact words, Serne pulled a letter from her dress with a triumphant smile.
“Ta-da! Simon and I have been invited to the Dresden royal family’s ball! A designated request for Special Admission No. 1 and No. 2. It’s only natural for the royal family to want the top first-year pair, isn’t it?”
Lorraine’s jaw tightened.
“You get it, right?” Serne continued, her voice dripping with satisfaction. “We’re going to buy our ball gowns now. A lot of people will see , the successor to the Ivory Tower, out with Simon. I imagine they’ll say how good we look together. After the ball, everyone will be talking about the relationship between Simon and the Ivory Tower!”
Loraine had stopped listening halfway through and was pulling a communication crystal from her subspace. A connection tone chid, and she spoke.
“Yes, Mom.”
Serne’s eyebrow twitched, but she quickly recovered her relaxed smile and tucked a strand of ivory hair behind her ear.
“Seventeen years old and still running to Mommy. How quaint. Perhaps I should call my father for the first ti in a while.”
Though not her biological father, Serne’s father was the current head of the Ivory Tower.
“Yes, yes, I understand.” Loraine ended the call and looked at the two of them. “That ball. I’ll be attending as well. The royal family will extend an invitation before the day is out.”
Simon let out a hollow laugh. So this was the power of influence.
Lorraine crossed her arms.
“You said you were going to buy clothes for the ball, right? The three of us can go together.”
Serne’s lips twisted into an annoyed pout.
---
In the end, all three went shopping for clothes together. They decided to make their purchases at the largest, most expensive boutique in Langerstine.
’What is my life right now?’
The pressure from the two girls flanking him was ntally and physically exhausting. Serne was relentlessly aggressive, using Simon as a pawn in her verbal sparring with Lorraine, forcing him to constantly watch Lorraine for her reaction. It was hell.
’I already miss my team.’
With the mbers of Team 7, he could relax and laugh freely. In contrast, he felt less like a friend and more like an attendant serving two incredibly high-ranking and demanding bosses. His energy was draining away by the second.
“Simon! What do you think?” Serne erged wearing a stunning, wine-colored gown.
“It looks good on you.”
“Is that all?”
“You look beautiful.”
Serne had chosen a bold dress that accentuated her figure. She deliberately picked out low-cut gowns or those with high slits, then stood before Simon, clearly enjoying his reaction. Simon suggested she wear sothing more modest, since she was attending as a student.
anwhile, Lorraine was quietly trying on dresses by herself. Her choices were all of a single the: pink, pastel-toned gowns or frilly, princess-like dresses. Honestly, they didn’t quite match her chic, cool-headed deanor.
“Why do you only pick clothes like that?” Simon finally asked, unable to watch any longer.
“It’s my taste.”
He had no response to that.
“How pitiful. Your fashion sense seems to be stuck in your toddler years.”
The one making that comnt, Serne, was now wearing a leopard-print dress trimd with black fox fur. She had even found a folding fan sowhere and was giggling behind it.
Simon sighed.
“Can’t you tone down your own sense just a little?”
“Oh! That one’s cute!” Serne dashed off, ignoring him completely. The ‘cute’ dress she’d spotted was practically see-through.
Simon heaved another sigh.
“Ever since I was little,” Lorraine said quietly, holding a frilly dress. “My mother always dressed in drab, formal clothes and dragged everywhere. I’ve had enough of ‘calm’.”
“Ah...”
Finally, a professional shop assistant, who could no longer bear to watch, selected an outfit for Lorraine. It was a classic, elegant black dress. When Lorraine erged wearing it, not only the assistant and Simon but even passing custors gasped.
’Wow, the transformation is incredible!’
She radiated the aura of a sophisticated adult, not a seventeen-year-old girl. Most importantly, it suited her perfectly. It wasn’t that Nephthys had forced her into drab clothes; it was that this was the style she was born for, leaving no other choice.
Lorraine glanced wistfully at the pink princess dress, but after Simon and the assistant showered her with complints, she finally relented.
“Ah, and you’ll be purchasing one as well, sir?” The assistant now turned her attention to Simon. Without much hesitation, she pulled out two tuxedos, compared them, and handed one to Simon. “Would you like to try this on?”
Since this was his first ti buying such an outfit, Simon ekly accepted and headed to the dressing room. A mont later, he reappeared, dressed to the nines. He adjusted his bow tie slightly and asked, “How do I look?”
Serne, Lorraine, and even the shop assistant were silent for a long mont. Then, Serne quietly took out her money to pay.
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