“Zervanie? You’re out and about today?”

“Out and about? That sounds kind of weird.” Zervanie adjusted her hat, revealing her pale pink earrings to Felyn.

“I just happened to be out for a little human expression observation today, and—what a coincidence—I ended up observing you. Imagine that.”

Coincidence did exist in the world, but it certainly didn’t happen this often. Running into Felyn wasn’t a coincidence at all.

After finding out that Felyn was a student at Saint Andros Academy, Zervanie would hang around the nearby streets whenever she had free time.

After all, there were only a few roads leading to the academy. Eventually, she'd run into him one way or another.

“What were you just muttering about, saying it’s hard to find the right person?” she asked, having overheard his grumbling. Naturally, she was curious.

Was Felyn looking for the right person to marry?

“Oh, I meant for team-building. I was talking about forming a team,” Felyn quickly explained, feeling it might be a bit awkward to talk to Zervanie about his frustrations.

“A team? For what?”

“Nothing. Just talking to myself.”

Today, Zervanie wore a cropped long-sleeve top that exposed her waist, paired with a black leather mini-skirt and brown knee-high boots. Her slender legs looked even more enticing in that outfit.

“Why are you wearing that today?” Felyn pointed at her exposed waist, clearly trying to change the subject.

“Don’t you like it?” Zervanie tugged at her top nervously, watching Felyn’s reaction.

“It looks good.” Her perfectly pale waist seemed to glow, and Felyn couldn’t help stealing another glance. “But with weather like this, wearing a cropped top? You’re going to catch a chill. Aren’t you cold?”

“I won’t catch anything!” Zervanie stomped her foot defiantly.

“It’s freezing out here! If it weren’t for you, Felyn, there’s no way I’d dress like this in this weather!”

Felyn looked down at his own school jacket, then back at Zervanie.

His movement caught her attention.

She froze. Could it be—was Felyn worried about her? Was he about to offer her his jacket?

Felyn! My sweet, sweet Felyn! You do care about me!

“It’s already cold even for me in this jacket. Zervanie, you’re really something. Built different,” Felyn said, giving her a thumbs-up.

Zervanie stood frozen, at a loss for words.

Then suddenly, realization struck her.

Felyn just said I’m resistant to cold!

Felyn had no idea Zervanie was a lost cause already. All he knew was that he was running late.

“Zervanie, I’ve gotta run. Let’s talk another time.”

With that, he jogged off toward school, leaving Zervanie standing there, still glowing from his “praise.”

“Hehehe… Felyn said I’m awesome.”

People nearby, witnessing the scene, all made a point to walk around her.

All they saw was a girl in the middle of the street acting strangely while wearing a mask.

“Ahem.” Zervanie coughed twice, clutching her exposed waist. Okay, maybe it was a bit cold.

Still, she couldn’t stop thinking about what Felyn had said about finding “the right person.”

“What did he mean by that? Why wouldn’t he tell me? Could it be… Felyn is trying to find a girlfriend?”

She guessed and guessed, but couldn’t pin down what was really going on in Felyn’s mind.

Following the direction he had left in, Zervanie soon arrived at the gates of Saint Andros Academy.

She watched the bustling crowd pass by and suddenly had an idea.

“If I sneak into the school and ask around, I can find out what Felyn meant!”

A short while later, a masked figure moving stealthily appeared inside the academy grounds.

As a top idol, Zervanie had fan clubs in all the elite schools. Getting the Saint Andros fan club president to sneak her in wasn’t hard at all.

But the school was massive. Where should she start?

She headed for the area where Felyn’s year was located. Someone as good-looking as him surely wouldn’t go unnoticed.

And sure enough—bingo. Everyone knew him.

“He’s a follower of some seductive evil god. You should stay far away.”

“Felyn? Oh, everyone knows him. He’s Miss Viloti’s boyfriend.”

“You like Felyn too, don’t you? Wait… Are you Miss Bernice? Oh, you’re not? So now there’s another girl who likes him?”

Every single answer felt like a dagger to Zervanie’s heart.

She came for answers, but didn’t get a single clear one. Instead, she got her heart shredded.

Also… Who the hell is Bernice?! Why does another new girl suddenly like Felyn now?!

“Why do I keep setting myself up for disappointment? Asking around won’t get me anywhere like this.”

Exhausted from questioning people, Zervanie sat on a bench and rubbed her legs.

“If there’s anyone in this school who really knows Felyn… it’s that one girl.”

Miss Viloti Silafiel.

She was basically Felyn’s little shadow these days—always sticking close to him.

“I could just ask her!” Zervanie sat up excitedly, then sat right back down.

“What am I thinking?! Like Viloti would tell me anything. She’d probably throw me out on the spot.”

Zervanie buried her head in her hands, frustrated.

“I’m just too curious about what Felyn meant… It’s driving me crazy!”

Wasn’t there anyone else in this school who had a good relationship with him?

“Felyn, you really should try making more friends.”

“Excuse me, I don’t think I’ve seen you before. Where’s your uniform?”

Ask, and you shall receive.

Zervanie looked up to find a blonde girl standing in front of her. She looked familiar.

“I’m Linda, the student council president. I noticed you weren’t in uniform and were sitting here alone with a mask on.”

Linda sat beside her and gently placed an arm around her shoulders.

“Did someone bully you?”

Zervanie had heard of Linda, the council president. She was also known to be on good terms with Adelina.

Maybe she knew Felyn too?

“Have you heard of a student named Felyn?”

“Felyn? Of course! Did he bully you? Wait… don’t tell me you…”

Zervanie glanced at the large clock hanging on the academic building. Lunch break would start soon.

Once lunch ended, she’d have to leave for her next event.

Seeing that no one else was around, she slowly pulled off her hat and mask.

Linda reacted like a boiling kettle, letting out a high-pitched shriek.

“Lady Zervanie! I—I didn’t expect it to be you! I-I-I-I—!”

Linda was completely starstruck upon seeing the empire’s most popular idol. Her face turned bright red, and she could barely speak.

“Shh!” Zervanie pressed a finger to her lips, urging her to keep quiet.

“What are you doing here? Oh my god, I can’t believe this…”

“I came to observe student life—to gather inspiration for my new song.” Zervanie offered a simple explanation before smoothly steering the conversation.

“I just happened to hear some rumors about a student named Felyn and got curious. Do you know him?”

“I do! He just came to my office yesterday to get a stamp.”

There’s nothing confidential about Felyn’s situation, so Linda didn’t hide anything from Zervanie.

At the moment, she was completely mesmerized. Whatever Zervanie asked, she answered.

“A stamp? For what?”

“For the early examination approval form from the Capital. Felyn qualified for the early testing round yesterday.”

Zervanie felt like she was getting close to the truth. “Does that have anything to do with forming a team?”

“Team?” Linda thought for a moment. “Probably for dungeon monster hunts. That boosts favorability with the gods, which helps with entrance assessments.”

That’s it!

Zervanie finally had her answer!

“Thank you, Linda. I’ve got something to do, so I’ll head off now.”

The lunch bell rang just then. Zervanie didn’t have much time left.

If Felyn was in trouble, then she had to help him!

“Wait—Lady Zervanie…”

Linda watched as Zervanie dashed away, her voice growing fainter.

Something didn’t feel right. Lady Zervanie seemed really interested in Felyn.

And she was way too specific with her questions… almost like she wanted to know his entire schedule.

No way… no way!

Could it be… the empire’s top idol, Lady Zervanie, also has a crush on Felyn?!

Linda suddenly went limp and collapsed onto the bench, her vision going dark.

If it had been anyone else, she would’ve laughed at the idea.

But this was Felyn.

The guy who had Viloti and Adelina completely head over heels.

If it was him, then… honestly, anything was possible!

“No, I have to tell Adelina right away!”

Faced with a choice between her idol and her best friend, Linda chose Adelina.

She opened her Communication Seal and tapped on Adelina’s name.

(End of Chapter)