After leaving the classroom, Luo Yu followed the faint trace of malice he had sensed earlier and made his way up to the top floor of the school building.
This level wasn't lined with standard classrooms—it was reserved for club rooms. He glanced at the placards beside each door: the Art Club, the Literature Club, and the Astronomy Club. Several other rooms remained empty, their doors shut as if they had been abandoned for years.
He passed them one by one, narrowing his focus, until his gaze settled on the entrance ahead.
The girls' restroom.
"…Of course," Luo Yu muttered.
Ranni, perched invisibly on his shoulder, caught the resignation in his voice. Her tone carried a faint, amused lilt.
"My king, there is no one here at present. If you must enter, then surely it is acceptable, is it not?"
"That's true," Luo Yu replied, sounding faintly resigned, "but to avoid being seen, we'll do it properly."
He drew out the Carian Regal Scepter and cast a concealment spell over himself as well, slipping into invisibility before stepping inside.
The moment he crossed the threshold, the cursed aura thickened sharply. A stall door at the far end slammed open with a loud bang, and a lizard-shaped cursed spirit—barely over three feet tall—crawled out on all fours, its movements twitchy and unnatural.
Even hidden from sight, Luo Yu still carried a living presence.
The creature's head snapped toward him instantly.
Luo Yu did not hesitate.
A Glintstone Icecrag shot forward—precise, compact, and lethally dense with cold. The spell struck cleanly, freezing the cursed spirit solid.
A heartbeat later, the ice fractured.
The frozen mass crumbled into scattered shards, and the cursed spirit was exorcised.
"As expected," Luo Yu said calmly, lowering his scepter. "Compared to the one from this morning, its energy was weaker. All right—done. Let's go back."
Ranni's gaze flicked toward the Carian Regal Scepter in his hand.
"My king," she asked, "do you not intend to use other sorceries?"
Luo Yu smiled as he explained, his tone practical rather than boastful.
"We're in a school. When exorcising something quickly and cleanly, freezing it in place is the safest option. Adula's Moonblade and Zamor Ice Storm both cover too wide an area—using them in a confined space like this would be excessive. As for the Dark Moon you taught me… its power is far too great. I wouldn't dare use it here, and I have no need to."
Ranni gave a small nod, satisfied.
"Then when you face an opponent with real strength, I would like you to use more of your sorceries—especially those of the Carian royal line."
"Don't worry," Luo Yu said lightly. "I'm sure the chance will come."
Carian Slicer, Carian Piercer, Carian Greatsword, and Carian Retaliation were among his favorites. As for formations like the Glintblade Phalanx, he used them far less now—by the time the glintblades even reached their target, he could usually end a fight with two strikes of Adula's Moonblade.
Leaving the restroom behind, Luo Yu didn't linger on the top floor. He dispelled the concealment spell and headed back down, returning to his classroom without drawing attention.
By noon, Luo Yu had a simple problem: he hadn't brought a lunch.
So he went to Sobu High's cafeteria instead.
It was spacious, and the food was far better than he expected. He chose a large bowl of tonkotsu ramen and a generous portion of fried chicken, then settled in and ate with genuine comfort.
Just as he finished a piece of chicken, Ranni's voice reached his mind again.
"My king… there are five girls over there who appear identical."
"Hm?"
Luo Yu lifted his eyes and looked toward the seats ahead and to the right.
Five girls—truly identical in face, all strikingly beautiful—sat together in a circle, eating and chatting as though the scene were perfectly ordinary.
Five sisters.
No, not merely sisters.
Five quintuplets.
The hairstyles confirmed it quickly, and the fact that there were five made the conclusion unavoidable.
He took a sip of cola and said evenly, "They're quintuplets. Even among humans, that's extremely rare."
"Five at once… and identical," Ranni murmured, faintly impressed. "How curious."
Her interest ended there—momentary fascination, nothing more. Luo Yu likewise didn't pay them much mind. He finished his meal, returned his tray to the collection area, and left the cafeteria with a cola in hand.
Because it was the first day of the term, lunchtime was especially lively. The campus buzzed with recruitment, nearly every club stationed outside with signs and loud voices, trying to draw in new members.
Luo Yu had barely stepped out when two boys carrying recruitment boards rushed him down.
"You're a first-year, right?" one of them said quickly. "Join the soccer club! Our goal this year is Nationals—come on, our club is popular with girls too!"
Before Luo Yu could respond, the second boy cut in immediately.
"Don't listen to him—join the baseball club! We made the national tournament quarterfinals last year!"
Luo Yu stared at them for a brief moment, then answered with calm finality.
"Sorry. I already joined a club."
With that, he turned and walked away without hesitation.
On his shoulder, Ranni asked, genuinely curious, "My king… when did you join a club?"
Luo Yu's reply was succinct.
"The Go-Home Club. I have no interest in these. If I have time, I'd rather find a way to make money. This identity came with savings, but they'll run out eventually."
The one million yen in his bank account wasn't nothing, and if he lived alone, it could last for a while—but in the long run, he would need a steady source of income. More importantly, his future magical research would demand a continuous supply of resources, and what he had collected in The Lands Between would not be enough forever.
"Money…" Ranni repeated softly. "Can you not use Runes? I recall you accumulated a great number."
Luo Yu laughed under his breath.
"I do have Runes, but they aren't recognized in this world. They contain traces of gold, yes, but I also need the power within them. Still… speaking of gold, that does remind me."
He paused, thinking, then continued with growing certainty.
"Among my shields, there's one made entirely of gold—the Beast Crest Heater Shield. And several large gilded greatshields as well. When I get home, I'll start by examining one of the gilded greatshields, strip the gold plating, and sell it."
Ranni fell silent.
She truly hadn't expected the shields of Godrick's knights to be reduced to raw material for cash.
Yet this world did run on currency, and those greatshields were useless to Luo Yu at his current level. In the end, she chose not to comment.
"But my king," she asked after a moment, "will you be able to sell such gold without trouble?"
"Hm…" Luo Yu considered it. "Probably. And if not, I'll find a black market. There will always be someone willing to buy."
A black market carried risks, of course—but Luo Yu didn't believe anyone would dare cheat him.
If someone tried…
He would simply let them experience the full force of Lion's Claw.