Evenings at Eden Academy were still sultry even after the sun had set. Girls in short, white, flowery skirts ran laughing through the school gates, their sandals revealing perfectly round toes, their slender calves and slim bands of absolute territory teasing the eyes of the watching boys and only intensifying the sweltering heat.
Yet amidst this summer night's oppressive warmth, a figure utterly out of place passed quietly by the school gate. His handsome features and melancholic air unconsciously drew numerous female gazes.
"What a gentle, melancholic boy!"
"He must be heartbroken!"
In truth, there were plenty of boys out walking in the summer heat for all sorts of reasons—though most were dismissed with nothing more than a casual "that guy."
Finally, a particularly bold female student—quite confident in both her looks and her figure—mustered her courage, walked up beside Linen, and softly asked:
"Good evening. Is something troubling you?"
Linen glanced at this upperclassman, noting her deliberate posture—pushing her chest together to look as if she had at least three times Hysteria's proportions—and offered only a polite smile, refraining from brushing her off on the spot.
After all, at least she understood the basics of conversation.
Seeing that her opening seemed to have worked, the girl pressed on, her voice growing more seductive as she coaxed him:
"For boys, keeping everything bottled up really isn't good, you know. If you let it all out to me, /your senior, maybe you'll feel better~?"
A conflicted expression crossed Linen's face.
"Can I really tell you everything, senior?"
"Of course~ Your senior isn't like those little girls—I'll gladly take everything you release inside me."
Thinking things were progressing smoothly, she leaned in even closer, her alluring gaze lowered toward Linen as her voluptuous figure brushed lightly against his arm.
"Let me guess—it's about another girl, isn't it? Senior here is very good at helping you forget all about those ungrateful women, you know~?"
Linen was genuinely moved by her seemingly considerate attitude, yet he slowly but firmly shook his head.
"I'm sorry, senior, but it's exactly the opposite—do you know any way to make a girl who's hopelessly devoted to me completely forget about me, or even hate my guts?"
"Hah?"
A huge question mark might as well have popped up over the flirtatious senior's head.
...
A moment later, the previously seductive upperclassman stormed off in a fury, muttering curses like "disgusting" and "fucking scumbag" under her breath. Linen stood alone in the summer heat, suddenly feeling as if a cold, icy rain were slapping randomly against his face.
Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong. How the hell did even this turn into shooting myself in the foot?!
Linen couldn't help retracing when exactly things had gone off the rails—but before anything else, he had to rule out blaming Novie.
From every angle, Novie was completely innocent. In every original plotline, Novie had been a minor side character with barely any scenes. The only storyline where she had a bit more presence was the one where she turned evil after learning the truth about her origins. Even then, because she was weak, she barely troubled the protagonist. Clearly, none of that matched the current situation.
Then obviously—this was all the damn system's fault!
[Sure, blame it on me if you want.]
Seeing the system instantly reply with dozens of blinking warning notifications, Linen fell into speechless silence.
Well, as a system, maybe it wasn't really that much at fault.
But then how exactly had things turned out like this?
Who was the one who'd stayed by that isolated girl's side since childhood, giving her constant encouragement and warmth as she grew up?
Who was the one who'd generously taught Novie martial skills when no one else would?
Who was the one who'd designed the original prototype for those Arcana artifacts, giving her the chance to completely transform herself?
It was me! All me! Always me!
If Novie had gone from a resentful, bitter minor character to a hidden heroine instead of falling into darkness, wasn't that entirely because of him?!
Linen reached an astonishing conclusion:
Did I just backstab myself?!
The girl who had always been mundane in every other timeline had undergone a change that never should have existed—all because of his actions.
[A Protagonist Who Exists Because of You]
Each golden letter of that damned title stabbed painfully into Linen's soul…
"Well, fine. At least it's a golden hidden title—it should do something useful, right?"
Pushing down the ache in his chest, Linen forced himself to ask.
[Of course it does. This unique title grants powerful special effects unmatched by any other reward.]
"Oh? Tell me more?"
Linen's interest was piqued.
[It massively increases affection from all female characters towards the host and—]
With lightning reflexes, Linen shut down the system interface in under a second, shoved that title to the very bottom of his inventory, and massaged his temples wearily.
Forget it. Look on the bright side. If I could change Novie's fate, that means this world's story doesn't have to follow the original plot.
Which meant his predestined role as a doomed villain might also be altered.
From that angle, it was undeniably good news for Linen.
Having sorted out his thoughts, Linen started toward Eden Academy's central building—the auditorium known as Eden's highest point.
Almost all of Eden's major events and ceremonies revolved around this building. Being personally honored by the Headmaster here was every Eden student's greatest dream.
If the black-robed mage hadn't intervened tonight, Linen would unquestionably have been the star of the evening. Unfortunately, by the time he arrived, the award ceremony had already ended and the teachers and students were celebrating at the banquet instead.
Linen slipped in quietly, drawing almost no attention—just as he'd intended.
It didn't take him long to spot Elena and Hysteria in the crowd—though neither of them looked particularly happy. Hysteria already had her teeth bared and claws out, clearly in battle mode. Linen was certain that without the auditorium's magic-nullifying barrier, she would already have lobbed a fireball straight at someone's face.
"What exactly was wrong with what we said, you barbaric woman!"
The boy facing her was just as furious.
"So what if Linen Norton won the Spring Cup? Big deal! There's a winner every year, but someone arrogant enough to skip the entire award ceremony—he's the only one who's ever dared disrespect the Academy like that."
"In fact, who knows? Maybe he even cheated to win!"
"If you've got guts, say it to that small fry's face instead of gossiping behind his back. Are you even a man?"
Hysteria shot back without an ounce of fear.
The thing she despised most was someone who acted one way to your face and another behind your back. On top of that, that "small fry" Norton was her little bro! Someone dared insult her little bro right in front of her? How could Princess Hysteria possibly endure that?!
However, rather than back down, her words only fired up the boy's companions, who chimed in mockingly:
"Ohhh~ maybe we're not real men, but you two are really good women, huh? Do you think no one watched the competition? Everyone saw how much Linen helped you two. Maybe that Linen guy deliberately wanted to—"
SLAP!
A sharp smack rang out, the boy's cheek instantly swelling.
Stunned, he stared at the seemingly frail, chestnut-haired girl in front of him. He had been prepared for the hot-tempered Hysteria to explode, but he had never imagined the one to slap him would be the quiet Elena.
Just as he was about to erupt in anger, Elena's dark, icy stare froze him in place.
The previously silent girl, almost overlooked until now, pressed her lips together tightly. Her face remained blank, but the chilling hostility and strange ripples of purple in her eyes sent a shiver down the boy's spine.
"Apologize to Linen."
Elena's voice was like storm clouds gathering over a dark sea, the barely controlled tremor in her tone clearly signaling her fury.
"Linen earned his victory entirely through his own effort and skill. Anyone who actually watched the competition would never say he cheated."
"As for his private behavior, that has nothing to do with any of you. Besides, we were the ones who wanted to team up with Linen, and he was the one who turned us down. I have no idea why you're so intent on targeting Linen, but keep that fact in mind."
Elena's defense was clear and logical, instantly sounding far more convincing. At her side, Hysteria nodded vigorously and jumped in at once:
"Yeah! That's exactly what I was thinking!"
Unfortunately, Princess Hysteria overlooked one thing: logic didn't always convince people.
Instead, the slapped boy's expression suddenly twisted into a smug grin. To everyone's confusion, he dramatically raised his hand and shouted:
"Teacher!"
The auditorium was protected by special Arcana barriers that ensured the nearest instructor would immediately respond the moment a student called for help.
Soon, a woman in loose black mage robes with a pale, indifferent face arrived. Seeing the tense, confrontational atmosphere so out of place amid the celebration, she frowned slightly and turned to the boy:
"What's going on?"
Holding his swollen cheek, the boy put on a pitiful expression and complained:
"Teacher, we just had a small disagreement, but that girl actually slapped me!"
The cold-faced woman slowly shifted her gaze to Elena and Hysteria, though her eyes seemed to linger—intentionally or not—on Hysteria. Her voice remained flat:
"Is that true, you two?"
"Why don't you ask us why—"
"I don't care about the reason. I only want to know whether what this student said happened."
The teacher cut Hysteria off sharply.
Elena pressed her lips together and stayed silent. The moment the boy raised his hand earlier, she'd realized they'd walked right into a trap.
Arcana was prohibited in both the auditorium and the classroom buildings, but violence was banned everywhere on campus.
Back on the rooftop, when Farao's group merely attempted violence against Hysteria and Linen, Professor Gust had punished them heavily.
This boy had provoked them on purpose, then immediately called a teacher over.
Looking closer now, Elena noticed that the teacher's uniform matched those boys' uniforms. They all belonged to the Golden Court.
Was this all arranged?
When neither girl spoke, the teacher's frown deepened, her gaze locking firmly onto Hysteria.
"It seems you have nothing to say in your defense. According to Academy regulations, I'll be deducting your credits and assigning labor education. If there are no objections, this student will come with me."
Hysteria shot Elena a quick glance, then puffed out her chest proudly.
"Fine! I'll go!"
Elena instantly felt something was wrong. She was the one who slapped him—so why was the teacher insisting on taking Hysteria?
There was only one explanation: Hysteria had been their target from the start.
Elena pieced everything together in an instant.
Arguing now would be pointless—they wouldn't listen.
If a student was biased, others could argue with them. But when a teacher took sides, students could never win by reason alone.
Only another teacher could counter a teacher.
And the Academy's barrier system wasn't something only this instructor could access.
Elena lifted her right arm, preparing to raise her hand.
"What, planning to resist?"
The indifferent teacher had clearly anticipated this. The moment Elena moved, a restraining Arcana spell bound her in place.
The magic-suppression barrier applied only to students. Inside classrooms and the auditorium, teachers carrying special items could bypass those restrictions entirely.
Hysteria still hadn't realized anything was wrong. She wasn't thinking deeply—she simply didn't want Elena dragged into trouble. So she turned to her with a confident grin:
"Don't worry, Elena. I'll be back soon—they wouldn't dare do anything to me."
No, Hysteria, don't go!
Elena screamed inwardly, but couldn't force out a word.
Just then, for no reason at all, a certain figure flashed through her mind.
She'd thought she'd finally grown strong enough to help him—but without him here, was she still helpless after all?
If only he were here…
"Could you all lower your voices a bit? Arguing this loudly during dinner is rather disrespectful."
A calm voice cut through the tension. Everyone turned toward it, discovering that at some point a boy had quietly seated himself beside Hysteria, calmly cutting into a sizzling lamb chop. Meanwhile, the broccoli and carrots—clearly despised—had been pushed onto Hysteria's plate.
"Norton?!"
Hysteria stared at Linen in shock, suddenly feeling a strange sense of relief despite her earlier swagger.
Then she snapped back, flustered and confused.
This guy had ditched her earlier, leaving her alone. Shouldn't she be mad at him?
So why was her heart beating so fast?
The boys instantly recognized Linen, their expressions freezing.
Wasn't Linen Norton not showing up tonight? Why was he here?
The teacher's frown deepened. But since Linen stayed quiet, she pretended not to notice him.
"Apologies for disturbing you, student. We'll be done shortly."
"That won't do." Linen shook his head, pulling a spatial ring from his pocket and casually tossing it onto the table. "According to school rules, for minor infractions, students can pay double credits in exchange for waiving the punishment, and team members can contribute. For non-serious acts of violence, it's 5 credits, right?"
The teacher's brows knit tighter.
This brat actually used Academy regulations against her.
And wasn't he just a freshman? How could he possibly have enough credits?
Suspicious, she picked up the ring and checked inside—her already grim expression darkened further.
Inside lay none other than the Spring Cup's Champion Goblet.
He actually carried something like that with him?!
By standard conversion, the Spring Cup victory alone was worth 25 credits.
She'd have to drop the matter for now.
But fine—this wasn't the main issue.
"Very well, Linen Norton, I'll accept the goblet. Any excess credits will be returned to you by the Student Affairs Department."
Just as she thought the matter would end, Linen suddenly raised a hand.
"Wait, Teacher. There's no need to go through the trouble of returning any credits."
The teacher's frown sharpened.
"Linen Norton, what exactly do you mean?"
"I mean…" Linen spoke unhurriedly, dabbing his lips with a napkin before finally turning to Hysteria, nodding toward the boy from earlier.
"Go ahead. Slap him too."
The boy & the female teacher: ?
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T/N: LETS GO LINEN
"Mm. If you've read this far, I suppose you're at least a little invested."
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Say thank you to Maomao guys