Chapter 628: Day before the tournament

The academy’s streets were warm and buzzing with life.

Even though morning had barely settled in, the place was already packed — almost too crowded for Hajey’s liking.

Rows of stalls and entertainment booths stretched across the walkways, lights flickering, vendors shouting, and students laughing as they browsed through food, games, and all sorts of pointless little trinkets.

Business was booming as usual.

The commercial district of the academy was always like this — loud, lively, and overflowing with energy.

It really lived up to its name as the most vibrant part of the greatest academy on the continent.

And with the continuation of the grand festival getting delayed, every student — even the foreign ones who came from far-off kingdoms — had nothing but free time.

They explored, played, and wandered around without a care in the world.

Yes… despite all that color and noise…

A young man with red hair and sharp crimson eyes walked through the street with a deep frown carved across his face.

Hajey already had a naturally intimidating look, but with that annoyed expression on top?

Anyone who caught sight of him instantly avoided eye contact and shifted out of his path like he was some kind of walking disaster.

“Hahaha… at least try to fix your face a little, Hajey,” Cristo said with a helpless laugh beside him. “I get you’re frustrated with what happened, but it really wasn’t something we could help, right?”

Hajey clicked his tongue, shooting him a sideways glance.

“You understand the consequences of our failure, right?”

“Of course I do,” Cristo replied casually. “But since the mistress hasn’t reacted to anything yet, I’m guessing our screw-up is still within her tolerance.”

“Bold of you to assume you know what my mother is thinking…” Hajey muttered, but after a short pause he added, “…but you’re right.”

His mother’s silence said enough.

If she hadn’t reached out, hadn’t yelled, hadn’t summoned him — then clearly she still expected him to keep acting as the thorn in Seo’s side.

That part of the plan hadn’t changed.

Still

A faint crease formed on Hajey’s brow.

Even for her, it was strange.

Strange that she did nothing while everything fell apart right in front of her.

Something felt off.

And Hajey hated that feeling.

Although he had always been someone his mother barely paid any real attention to, Hajey at least hoped he could get something from her today… some order, some hint, some sign of acknowledgment.

Of course, expecting anything from her was already foolish — and he knew that.

So, he sighed internally, forcing those pointless thoughts aside as he scanned the bustling scenery around them.

As expected of the academy’s overwhelming vastness…

Even though they had been walking for a solid thirty minutes straight, they were still only making their way through the commercial district — a district that easily rivaled a large town, maybe even a full-sized city with how dense and expansive it was.

Hajey watched groups of academy students walking around, chatting, laughing, and exploring the stalls without a care.

It was honestly a little surprising. Back in Killian Hall, they rarely saw academy students openly thronging around like this — aside from the foreign students like themselves, interaction was minimal at best.

“By the way, Hajey,” Cristo suddenly spoke, hands behind his head as he walked. “Are you sure we’re supposed to gather information like this?”

“Weren’t you the one who said this is how you gather information?” Hajey shot back flatly.

“Yes, yes, for me,” Cristo exaggerated, placing a hand on his chest. “You could’ve just waited for my report, you know?”

“No,” Hajey replied instantly. “We’re basing things on rumors right now. I need to hear the actual tone of these people to tell which stories are real and which ones are useless.”

Cristo blinked. “…Wow. How diligent of you this time.”

“I’ve always been diligent.”

“Haha, I know, I know. Calm down, will you? Look at all those girls you scared just now—”

“What— I didn’t—”

He turned in the direction Cristo pointed at.

There was no one there.

Cristo snorted.

Annoyed, Hajey smacked the back of Cristo’s head without hesitation.

“O-Ow!”

Hajey ignored him.

He let out a tired sigh and looked around again, sharpening his senses

Mana gathered in his ears, and the surrounding sounds stretched wider and clearer as he used a small enhancement spell to listen in on the public chatter.

Honestly, their failure last time wasn’t entirely their fault.

There were too many unexpected variables — after all, no one in their right mind would expect to randomly run into two monstrous academy geniuses at the same time.

So, it couldn’t be helped.

But even with all that accounted for, Hajey didn’t bother dwelling on those two.

Unexpected things could happen anytime… that was natural.

What he actually wanted to confirm — or at least get a sliver of control over — was Riley Hell.

He wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but he knew enough.

The moment Riley got involved, his mother probably froze from making any drastic moves.

And honestly? Hajey understood why.

He’d personally seen how dangerous Riley really was.

Add to that the rumors — no, at this point they were basically facts — spreading everywhere like wildfire.

Riley Hell wasn’t someone anyone could take lightly now. Not even for a second.

That’s why Hajey needed information.

Anything. Something he could bring back to his mother.

Yes, her own intelligence network was better than anything he could produce.

But she wasn’t the type to judge a person based on casual rumors.

No — she would cross-check everything, verify everything, calculate everything.

Still… Hajey couldn’t just sit around doing nothing.

So, he listened.

Filtering through random gossip, festival chatter, merchant arguments, and excited students, it didn’t take long for him to pick up Riley’s name.

But as he kept listening, his expression slowly hardened into a blank, almost offended stare.

Because the first solid information he managed to hear…

was the sound of a group of girls inside a small boutique giggling like crazy, faces red, as they whispered and laughed about Riley Hell in the most embarrassing, ridiculous way imaginable.

Hajey blinked.

“…What the hell are they even talking about?”

….

Meanwhile, in a quiet corner of a certain café, two beautiful girls sat across from each other, sipping at their cold drinks.

Janica’s green eyes narrowed as she stared at the girl in front of her, suspicion practically leaking off her.

Evelyn just smiled.

“Fufu~ Really now, you don’t have to glare at me like I kicked your family dog… no need for that hostility,” Evelyn said lightly, brushing a loose strand of her long golden hair behind her ear. Her blue eyes softened, almost teasing.

Janica shifted in her seat, uncomfortable as always under Evelyn’s annoyingly gentle gaze. “You never call me out privately like this.”

“Oh my, but I do call you out from time to time~”

“Hah. Only when you drag Lucas along.”

“Well, he always asks for you,” Evelyn replied with a tiny grin. “And besides… it’d be weird for me to hang out alone with the boy my friend likes, don’t you think?”

Janica flinched, eyes twitching at the comment. Evelyn watched her reaction with that same knowing smile.

Honestly, despite the so-called ‘clarity’ they had already sorted out between them, Janica still felt weird around her.

Maybe it was because of that messy, tangled situation the three of them got involved in.

But she also wasn’t the type to stay cold to someone who was genuinely being nice.

“So,” Janica said eventually, exhaling, “why did you bring me here?”

“Nothing dramatic, really~” Evelyn waved her hand. “I just wanted to share a very… peculiar book that’s been getting popular lately.”

“A book?” Janica raised a brow.

Without another word, Evelyn slid something across the table toward her.

Janica looked down.

A book.

Its title printed in bold letters:

“A Knight’s Oath.”

“…Is this some fantasy novel about knights or whatever? If so, you should’ve given it to Lucas instead.”

“You should read it first,” Evelyn replied, her smile deepening just a little.

Janica wanted to retort, but one look at Evelyn’s expression told her she wouldn’t get anything more until she went along with it.

So, she sighed, grabbed the book, and opened it.

And the moment her eyes scanned the first page—

she froze.

Then she kept reading.

And without even realizing it…

she couldn’t look away.

…..

By the time morning finally came…

Riley found himself completely surrounded by his girls on both sides.

Honestly, he felt like a big body pillow.

Each one of them was clinging to him in her own way, hugging and wrapping around him like a bunch of koalas sticking to a tree.

He had a hard time gently peeling their arms and legs off just so he could breathe, let alone move.

He slowly sat up, stretching his sore shoulders, then glanced back at the bed. All of them were still sound asleep, looking peaceful.

It made him smile in this oddly satisfied way… even though, if he was being honest with himself, he had almost died last night. But well—he survived. Somehow.

He stood up, walked over to the mirror, and stared at his reflection. His neck and chest were covered in kiss marks of all shapes and sizes.

A faint groan slipped from his mouth as he rubbed his forehead.

Then his eyes shifted toward Alice, still curled up at the edge of the bed.

A complicated feeling twisted in his chest. He didn’t know what to do with the things he’d learned yesterday… the things she told him.

Before he could sink too deep into thought—

Click.

The door to his dorm opened.

“Good morning, Master. There’s a certain book that might pique your interes—”

Yui froze. Her eyes widened.

Then, in a split second, she bowed so fast Riley almost thought her neck would snap.

“P-Please forgive my rudeness! Please enjoy your time!”

And she immediately slammed the door shut.

It was the first time he had ever seen his personal maid, Yui of all people, blush that hard.

Riley blinked.

Then it hit him.

…His morning wood was fully up.

He covered his face with both hands and groaned.

“Great… just great…”

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