Vol 3. Chapter 152: At Odds

“After all, it was way too hard to get their consent and take you out of the church. And the inherited method that Lady Luna used makes a huge commotion, and we didn’t want anyone else to see it, so we had no choice but to quietly bring you out of the church monastery.” Fennia explained what had happened before.

“Is... that so?” Dale looked at Fennia, then at Luna sitting beside him, his eyes flickering with disbelief.

Even though his rational mind half believed it, his intuition kept telling him it wasn’t like that—there had to be something else going on.

But when the facts and the people all pointed to his intuition being wrong, Dale wasn’t sure of himself anymore.

“Senior Haukekai, Amisha, and Fennia... thank you for helping me when I needed it most, for reaching out in time. The life-saving grace you’ve shown me—I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.” Even though he was hesitant, the fact that they had saved him was undeniable, and Dale thanked them with sincerity.

“Dale, you don’t need to thank us. If you want to thank someone, thank Vinny. He asked us to save you. You have no idea—he was really anxious back then. He put in a lot of effort for you.” Luna added, elegantly crossing her pale, stocking-clad legs.

“Mm.” The moment Vinny came up, Dale’s mood became incredibly complicated—especially when he recalled the scenes from that “dream” earlier. That unfamiliar-yet-not-unfamiliar pink-haired angel girl, holding him, whispering softly by his ear...

Was all of that... really just a dream?

Was it all just because he missed Vinny too much, so it turned into a dream??

There was a feeling in Dale’s chest that he couldn’t put into words. The vividness made it hard for him to accept that it was “only a dream.” He could see it, he could touch it—he could even describe the soft texture of the girl’s body, and the scent of her skin and hair.

Right.

Dale felt like he’d found a blind spot—namely, the fragrance on that pink-haired girl in the dream.

That scent... Dale felt like he hadn’t smelled it for the first time. He’d smelled it somewhere before.

That gentle aroma of white tea flowers mixed with lavender—he thought it was... in the dorm??

All of a sudden, Dale’s pupils shrank. He parted his lips, then ultimately stayed silent.

Was it... a coincidence? Or...??

But the three of them all said Vinny hadn’t participated in the treatment. They were the ones who saved him. And they weren’t wrong—Vinny didn’t even have a [Saint’s Envoy]. Even if he wanted to help, he didn’t have the power to, right??

There was no way the three of them were helping Vinny trick him... was there?

In Dale’s impression, Fennia knew Vinny, but they weren’t close or intimate. The two had even dueled once—now that she’d realized her mistake, it was basically impossible for her to conspire with Vinny to hide something from him. As for Amisha, she didn’t even know Vinny—before this, Dale hadn’t even known a person like her existed.

In that case, Amisha really should be Fennia’s childhood friend, brought in by Fennia to help. Luna was probably the same type of situation. And Vinny and Luna shouldn’t be familiar with each other either.

That made two storms collide in Dale’s little head—one that insisted on trusting instinct and intuition, and one that drew conclusions through rational thought. The two smashed into each other, and Dale couldn’t tell what the truth was anymore.

After all, he didn’t have the strong self-judgment and confidence that other “Destiny Heroines” had. Even if he had an intuition-backed guess, he still couldn’t declare it as fact.

So what exactly was going on?

Vinny... what exactly was he—?

“Alright. It’s getting late, and dawn’s almost here. If the nuns doing rounds in the church find that you’re not in your bed, it’ll be trouble. And your Golden Elf friend won’t be able to explain what happened—how you disappeared while she was guarding you. Dale, hurry back to the church. Your room number is 151. After you go back, lie down in bed and act like nothing happened. Just say you made it through and naturally woke up in the morning, okay?” Luna instructed thoughtfully.

“Otherwise, whether it’s that Golden Elf lady or Vinny, they’ll both be dragged into trouble.”

“I understand.” Dale nodded, saying he understood. He definitely wasn’t going to do anything that would get Vinny into trouble.

“But... how do I get back into the room without making a sound?” Dale asked.

“That’s easy.” As she spoke, Luna pointed at the small bottle of potion on the table. “That little bottle is a high-tier Invisibility Potion. After you drink it, no one will be able to detect you. Once you take it, go to the church room as quickly as you can.”

Of course, this potion wasn’t some extra bottle—it was what Vinny had left over from earlier, the part he hadn’t finished drinking.

As for why there was only a tiny bit left...

“I know you still have a lot of doubts, but the situation is urgent right now. If you have questions, you can slowly learn the details later. I hope you understand what I mean.”

“Okay. I understand.” Dale knew that too. He glanced at the sky outside, opened the stopper, and drank the potion.

After a brief moment, his body gradually turned transparent. Then even his presence vanished along with it. The three of them couldn’t sense Dale’s existence anymore.

“Well done, Dale. Go back to your room like this, then act like nothing happened. Just say you woke up naturally. After that, follow the church’s instructions, do the paperwork, and get checked—you’ll be able to leave the hospital.” Luna’s tone was meticulous, as if she was afraid Dale would mess something up.

“Remember to hurry. The potion has a time limit.”

Invisible, Dale followed Luna’s advice. He silently thanked the three of them, then left the maid café.

When he walked out of the maid café, everything opened up before his eyes. Dale raised a hand to shade his face. The sky had only just brightened, and the scenery on the street seemed to glow. Maybe it was because he’d stayed in that lightless place for too long—coming back to the familiar campus, everything felt bright and lavish, beautiful and friendly.

He recognized this as the academy’s leisure street district. Carillian Academy was huge, but Dale had lived here for almost a year, and he was familiar with every road. Before long, he made his way to the church with practiced ease. At this hour, there were already a few nuns visible in the church corridor.

Dale felt a sinking feeling— the nuns were already getting up to do rounds. He hurried to find Room 151.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long. He found Room 151, and there was no one else around.

Dale carefully pushed the door open and entered. He found that Milian was the only person in the room.

“? Who is it?” Hearing the sound of the door, Milian looked toward it and found that it had already been closed.

Just as Milian was wondering what was going on, Dale canceled the Invisibility Potion and appeared in front of her.

“Little Shicodale?!” The moment she saw him, Milian’s expression shifted from confusion to shock, then immediately to joy as she rushed over.

“Little Shicodale, you—you’re awake?? Are you okay? Are you alright? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere??” Milian came over and fired off a string of questions so fast it caught him off guard. If Dale hadn’t shown a hint of resistance, she probably would’ve hugged him on the spot.

“Mm. I’m fine now. Vinny asked some friends in the Church to cure me.” Dale explained.

“Friends in the Church?” Milian looked puzzled.

So when Vinny said he had a way, did he mean finding friends?

But Vinny’s relationship with Church clergy didn’t seem good at all. And even if he had such powerful friends in the Church, why didn’t he have them come here to treat Dale—why go around in such a big circle?

Milian found it strange, but she didn’t dwell on it too much. The church had its own rules. Maybe it didn’t allow students without official clergy certification to participate in treatment. Or maybe that hidden expert friend had some secret method and didn’t want to show their face.

In the end, Milian didn’t care that much. Compared to all that, the important thing was that Dale was safe and sound.

“What’s wrong? Is there something strange?” Dale asked when he saw Milian’s confused expression.

“No. Nothing strange. It’s good that you’re fine, little Shicodale.” Milian shook her head.

“Before... was it Vinny who took me away?” Dale asked, wanting to see whether the real situation matched what Luna and the others had said.

“Yes. He said he had a way to treat your inner demon, so I believed him.” Milian nodded.

Hearing that, Dale didn’t find anything obviously off.

“Then... where is Vinny? He isn’t here?” Dale asked.

“Huh? He took you to get treated. He didn’t come back with you?” Milian frowned.

“No. I didn’t see him.” Dale shook his head.

“That’s weird. By all rights, he should’ve been guarding your side. He was so anxious before.” Milian raised her brows.

“Forget it. Let’s not talk about him. Shicodale, you don’t feel uncomfortable anywhere, right?”

“No. I feel great. Thank you for your concern, Milian. And thank you for staying here all night without sleeping. I really appreciate it.” Dale hesitated for a moment, then thanked her.

“Ah, it’s nothing.” Sensing the faint distance in Dale’s words, Milian opened her mouth, then ultimately said nothing.

She remembered what Vinny had told her before.

How should she put it... it felt like she’d been scolded into understanding.

After she understood what she and the others looked like in Dale’s eyes, and what their actions meant to Dale, she didn’t dare bring it up. More precisely, she didn’t know what identity she should use, what position she should stand in, to show concern for Dale.

“So, um... what next? We should be leaving the hospital, right?” Milian didn’t know what to say, to the point her words became clumsy.

“Mm. Right—Milian, please don’t tell anyone what happened last night. Otherwise, you and Vinny will both get in trouble.” Dale repeated what Luna had instructed him.

“Of course. I know.” Milian answered.

So the two of them packed up and left the room—only to run into a nun who happened to be checking rooms right then.

“Milian, hurry and go back to sleep. You’ve been guarding here all night without leaving. Let us take over—eh?!” Seeing Milian come out of the room, the nun spoke out of habit, then saw Dale behind her and immediately froze in shock.

“Room 151’s student Dale?? You—you’re awake?!” The nun hurriedly checked her patient list, comparing back and forth to make sure she hadn’t gotten the person or room number wrong.

“Yes, Sister. I woke up this morning, and I feel almost fully recovered. Thank you for taking care of me.” Dale thanked the nun.

“Huh...?!” The nun’s eyes widened. “Student Dale, are you really okay? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

“No, Sister. Can I apply to be discharged? I want to hurry back to live in the dorm.” Dale said.

“Ah—o-okay. In theory, it’s fine, but we still have to follow procedure. After all, we can’t be sure yet whether you have any aftereffects.” The nun flipped through her list.

“Alright. Sorry to trouble you.”

“It’s no trouble, no trouble. It’s our duty.” As she spoke, the nun brought Milian and Dale to the front desk. After she explained the situation, the nun named Feili came out. Even though she found Dale’s recovery unbelievable, she was sincerely happy for him.

After a full set of procedural checks confirmed that Dale had no other issues, Feili told him to come find her at the church if he felt uncomfortable anywhere, then let him go.

Dale didn’t have anything to bring back to the dorm anyway. After all, his luggage had all been left behind at Kamov Mountain. By the time they finished all the discharge procedures, it was already noon.

“Sh—no, I mean, student Dale... are you hungry? You’ve been unconscious for so long—you must be hungry. How about I treat you to something to eat?” Milian proposed.

“No.” Dale refused.

“Eh? You... you’re not hungry?”

“No. But I need to hurry back. Vinny is probably hungry too—I need to go back and cook.”

“Ugh...” Those words sank Milian on the spot, and the tuft of hair she’d perked up drooped down again.

“Milian, I’ll thank you another day. Sorry.” With that, Dale quickened his steps toward the direction called “home.”