“……” Vinny fell silent.

“Moreover, at this level, without physical contact, I don’t think it could be so strong,” Shikondell continued, her gaze still fixed on Vinny, unmoving.

Damn it, he had returned in such a hurry that he forgot to spray the usual cheap perfume to mask the scent!

Plus, elves’ senses were overly sharp, and Shikondell might be one of the most sensitive among them.

She probably caught every trace of his scent the moment he reached the door.

Of course it would be strong, because…

Not only Mirexia’s scent, but even Vanessa’s scent was detected by her.

“Ahem, it’s inevitable to have some contact during work. Other male students haven’t had contact with me, right?” Vinny explained.

“Didn’t you say that the scent in the bathroom was his own?” Shikondell ignored Vinny’s explanation and asked her own question.

“But why last night, when you didn’t shower at home, didn’t bring his shower gel, shampoo, or perfume out of the dorm—why did he still have that scent?” Shikondell continued, clearly a soft girl who usually didn’t dare to talk to strangers, but now her expressionless questioning was strangely aggressive.

“This…”

“Vinny, you’ve been lying to me since last time, right?” Shikondell cut him off before he could respond.

“Shikondell, let me finish.”

“Why? Why not just tell the truth? Why did you lie to me, why did you deceive me like those others?” Shikondell stood up and approached him.

Only then did Vinny see that her eyes weren’t just empty—but filled with the sadness and despair of betrayal.

‘Virtue +100.’

‘Current Virtue: 13254.’

“So, you lied to me—are you planning to abandon me too?”

“Right… Someone as troublesome and bad as me, no one would want to get close to me… You’ve been tired of me for a long time, haven’t you?” Shikondell seemed to have fallen into a dark state, constantly blaming herself.

“So it’s my fault that you lied to me… And now you don’t want to be with me anymore… Just being in the same dorm with me exhausts you… makes you not even want to come home at night?” Shikondell’s voice became soft and low. She crouched down, hugging her snow-white, tender knees—curled up like a quail.

“All right, Dell, get up. The floor’s cold. There’s flu going around the academy lately—be careful not to catch a cold.” Vinny was speechless. He didn’t understand how this matter—just explaining where he’d been the previous night—had gotten so complicated.

So who, exactly, had complicated it??

Vinny had a headache. Shikondell’s personality was seriously hard to grasp. He had no idea how Aesphyra in the original work managed to tame her so well.

But Shikondell’s story really was tragic—a princess whose nation was destroyed by tribal invaders, whose people were enslaved, who had to hide her identity and wander. She wanted to restore her kingdom, but the odds were dismal.

From her conversation with Milian, it seemed the two were childhood friends—but they’d fallen out, probably because the Golden Elves refused to aid the Moon Elves in their hour of need, ignoring their shared bloodline.

Vinny didn’t know the exact details—he wasn’t familiar with the late-stage plot.

The child was pitiful. She had suffered all her life before ever meeting her destined benefactor.

Thinking that, Vinny let out a sigh.

“Dell, calm down. Didn’t I tell you not to always blame yourself?”

“Last night, I went to a colleague’s house to work. You know the student council closes at five—only the group leader and the president are allowed to stay. So I went to a colleague’s place.”

“…Was it a girl?” Shikondell asked softly.

“What ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) does it matter if it was a boy or girl? You can’t expect every member of the student council to be male, right?” Vinny looked at her oddly.

“So… the scent in the bathroom wasn’t Vinny’s after all?”

“It’s hard to explain to you, but I didn’t lie about that. And, Dell, really—everyone has some secrets. Aren’t you the same?”

Shikondell faltered.

“You also have secrets you can’t tell anyone, right? Don’t deny it—everyone does. If I asked you to tell me those secrets now, would you be willing?”

“I, I…” Shikondell’s face flushed. Her words stuck in her throat.

Her unmentionable secret—wasn’t it… her identity? Her real gender?

Something like that… she really couldn’t tell anyone. If it were discovered—especially by the tribesmen at the academy—she had no idea what they would do.

Maybe they’d blackmail her. If she refused, they’d kill a Moon Elf every day and send her their hair.

If that happened, what should she do? Obey them or not?

And if her gender was revealed, she couldn’t legally stay in the same dorm as Vinny anymore.

So, Shikondell lowered her head in shame.

“See? You also have secrets you can’t tell me, can’t tell anyone. Don’t be ashamed—it’s human nature. Who doesn’t have something they need to keep hidden?” Vinny looked at her.

“I’m not saying you have to tell me yours. I just want you to understand that sometimes people have to lie—because it’s about their personal life. Their privacy. Things that really matter. You get that, right?”

“…Um…” Shikondell hesitated.

She still cared about the scent in the bathroom. But hearing Vinny say that, it made sense. Just like she couldn’t tell him her truth—maybe Vinny had his reasons too.

“Then… Vinny, you don’t plan to change dorms?”

“Why would I? I’m living just fine here. I get dinner cooked for me every day. Why should I move?”

“You didn’t come home last night. I thought you hated me… that you preferred to stay away…”

“Dell, stop thinking up weird stuff, all right?” Vinny held his forehead.

“…So, Vinny, which colleague did you work with yesterday? Did you… end up staying at her place?”

“Not really. I fell asleep on the table while working. When I woke up, it was already dawn.” Vinny didn’t tell the full truth—because if he did, Mirexia’s deeply personal secret would be exposed.

See? He lied to protect his childhood friend’s private matter. It was unavoidable!

Vinny tried to comfort himself, though guilt gnawed at his chest.

“Then… the scent on you?”

“Maybe it got on me when she handed me the documents,” Vinny said.

“…Um, Vinny, you’re so hardworking.” Hearing that he’d worked himself to sleep at a desk, all of Shikondell’s inner turmoil and suspicion melted into guilt and heartache.

Vinny had done so much… and she’d been secretly fixating on nonsense behind his back.

Why had she even thought that way? She had no right to question him. It wasn’t like he owed her anything. There was no commitment between them.

And yet, that’s why she’d sat at the table all night—without even touching her food.

She didn’t know how to define what she had with Vinny. She clearly had no right to care where he stayed, or which girl he might’ve been with. She knew she had no right. But she couldn’t help it. She just kept paying attention to him.

In the end, she could only blame herself. Her kingdom destroyed, her identity hidden, her gender untellable—it had all led to this.

But then she thought… what if Vinny knew her real gender?

And so Shikondell spiraled into another round of self-torment. Time passed in a haze of confusion. By the time she came back to her senses, it was already the next afternoon. The door clicked open. Vinny had returned.

“I’m convinced. You didn’t sleep all night over such a ridiculous question? Dell, what do I even say to you? I told you—men should be generous, open-minded. How can you dwell on trivial things all night? Are you even a man?” Vinny poked her lightly on the forehead.

“Alright, go to sleep. Good thing today’s a holiday. If it were a class day, would you even remember anything?”

“Um… I know.” Shikondell pulled the blanket over her head. “Sorry.”

“Why are you saying sorry again?” Vinny sighed. If he stayed around Shikondell any longer, he’d probably grow calluses from hearing the word “sorry.”

“Alright, stop apologizing. Go upstairs and sleep.” Vinny finally coaxed her into bed, then sat down to check his virtue system.

Current Virtue Points: 13254

Not easy.

Think about how hard Vinny worked to accumulate such a solid foundation??

For this, he didn’t hesitate to approach those jinxes from the original work—repeatedly risking his life—enduring the psychological toll of his male body, paired with the tea-selling tactics of his female form, and finally succeeded in pushing his Virtue value past ten thousand.

Of course, the person who deserves the most thanks is undoubtedly his lovely childhood friend, Mirexia.

He thought Aesphyra would end up as his top contributor, but that damn purple-eyed girl—aside from the first few times and the encounter with Vanessa—stopped giving him any Virtue once she got desensitized. She even started draining his Virtue instead. Truly the worst.

Besides her, there were Shikondell and Milian. Those two elf princesses contributed less, but still better than nothing.

Oh—and that big white fox? She didn’t matter anymore. Their paths would never cross again, and her value had been exhausted. Vinny even asked her remotely, and she expressed no objections.

The most important and irreplaceable contributor was without question Mirexia—his undisputed MVP, his beginner’s welfare bundle. She had given him countless Virtues, and due to her personality, the difficulty of gaining them from her was practically nonexistent. She was a lighthouse on his road to greatness!

Put simply, if Vinny were to host a Virtue Celebration Banquet right now, and Mirexia didn’t speak, the other three girls—and that fox—wouldn’t even dare to pick up their forks.

And now—it was the most exhilarating moment.

Just as people earn money to spend it—Virtue Points exist to be spent now, right??

He scrolled through the shop, flipping to the [Holy Fire Blessing] section. It cost 1500 Virtue to reduce energy consumption.

Vinny didn’t hesitate—click.

With Virtue, of course he should invest in his invincible [Flames of Myriad Divine Blessings].

‘Virtue deducted: 1500 points.’

‘Current Virtue: 11754.’

The second energy consumption reduction required 6000 Virtue, four times the price.

Vinny hesitated. Then he glanced at [Flawless Holy Wings] on the side—the upgrade required only 500.

Unlike those flashy and obscure pieces of magic, [Flawless Holy Wings] and [Holy Fire Blessing] were practical, solid talents that directly boosted Vanessa’s combat strength. They were crucial.

So Vinny kept upgrading [Flawless Holy Wings]. As long as the button stayed active, he kept clicking.

In the end, he spent 11400 Virtue, upgrading [Flawless Holy Wings] a full five times.

Its mana cost dropped significantly, and its functions became broader and stronger—evolving from the original low-tier two wings into a now perfected, ultimate version of two wings. Vinny even saw the next evolution option, along with its Virtue and level requirements:

‘[Flawless Holy Wings] next requires 15000 Virtue. Required realm: Master Realm. After upgrade: Two wings → Four wings.’

So… the number of wings could increase??

Vinny suddenly thought of the goddess statues at the entrance of the Church of Radiance. Every one of them had six wings.

Even the succession of Saintness figures had shown an increase in wing count alongside their strength.

After all, the Varelis family’s body was that of an angel—and in mythology, an angel’s status and power were marked by the number of wings they had.

And just like that, all those hard-earned, long-accumulated Virtue Points—gone in less than ten seconds.

Remaining balance: 354.

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