Vol 4. Chapter 16: It Must Be Like This!

Right. This was originally the dorm area for the first-year top five. Even though each place was relatively far apart from the others, the probability of randomly running into Aesphyra, Isatia, or Milian here was still much higher than in other places.

Vinny also felt like he was really so unlucky that even drinking water would get food stuck in his teeth. The top-five dorm cluster was all villas, so the area here was huge. Logically, the chance of bumping into someone should have been very low. Vinny also felt that in a place like this, he wouldn’t run into Aesphyra.

No—wait, that’s not right. Why would he think that in his heart??

Even if he did run into Aesphyra, so what? He didn’t do anything shameful, did he? So why did he feel scared in his heart about running into her at a time like this??

“What? I’m going home and I just happen to run into Classmate Vinny sending a girl home, and the two of you having some dispute that can’t be summed up in a single sentence. Is there a problem?” Aesphyra tilted her head, her eyes filled with a long, deep smile as they drifted between Vinny and Milian. “I really couldn’t tell, you know, Classmate Vinny. You’ve been hiding it well~?”

“H-hey, hey hey, no, it’s not that, listen to my explanation—it’s not like that!” Vinny naturally heard the sarcasm behind that “hiding it well” and hurried to explain.

No—didn’t this line sound kind of familiar? Didn’t he say something like this not that long ago??

Ah. Vinny remembered. During exam review earlier, when Isatia was tutoring him and feeding him cake, and Mirexia caught them, it had been a similar scene. His words right now were the same as back then.

Then what was he supposed to do?! Even if it sounded like the last pale excuse of someone caught on the spot, it really was the truth, okay??

Both of these were misunderstandings—deep misunderstandings. The Isatia one aside, this one was a misunderstanding on top of misunderstandings. It was literally disaster out of nowhere, okay??

Vinny’s mind was in chaos. If last time with Isatia was still fine, then this time Vinny felt like the problem might be a bit serious.

Last time it was only feeding cake. This time, he got directly tangled up with a girl calling him a scumbag and saying things like he was going to abandon her and the child. This was really getting out of hand!

Never mind whether Aesphyra saw it—if anyone saw it, his reputation would be utterly ruined, okay??

Even though he didn’t have a reputation to begin with.

And also, in the original story, Milian was a member of Aesphyra’s crystal palace. With him doing this kind of usurping behavior, Vinny really didn’t know what it would turn into.

“Things really aren’t what you imagine! It’s like this—Classmate Milian just doesn’t understand!”

“You don’t need to explain, Classmate Vinny.” Looking at Vinny flushing red as he tried to explain himself, Aesphyra still had that faint smile at the corner of her mouth that he couldn’t understand.

“I... I...”

“Just in time, I also have something to talk to you about.” Aesphyra ignored Vinny’s incoherence and continued. Then, between the index and middle fingers of her right hand, a student card appeared. “I was going to give it to you on Monday, but since I ran into you, I’ll give it to you now.”

“Huh? This is...?”

“What, you lost it for barely any time and you don’t recognize it anymore?” Aesphyra said with a laugh as she walked over gracefully. She came to Vinny and returned the student card to him, then slightly lifted her chin and teased, “Should I say Classmate Vinny is heartless, or promiscuous~?”

“Clearly, Classmate Isatia is so passionate and proactive toward you, but you turn around and you can still roughhouse with other girls, unclear and messy, and you even...?” Aesphyra’s pretty eyes curved into crescents. With her arms folded, she didn’t continue.

“Uh, I—!” Vinny held the student card he had lost earlier. Looking at Aesphyra in front of him, he clearly had a lot he wanted to explain, but it all seemed clogged in his throat—he couldn’t get a single word out.

No—how was he heartless or promiscuous?? This was obviously a misunderstanding!!

Ahh! What is going on? A double reversal, right? How could it be that Aesphyra, that stinking sea-queen, was calling him promiscuous, and he actually had a day where he couldn’t refute it?!

So was it Milian, that big idiot, who dragged his intelligence down to her level?!

Before Vinny could even think, Aesphyra was like a light, nimble fairy. After saying those few lines, she only left him with an unreadable smile, then walked away with her usual elegant steps.

“H-hey, hey hey! Wait! You—don’t just say some inexplicable stuff and then just leave on your own?!” Vinny shouted toward Aesphyra.

“See you later, Classmate Vinny.” Aesphyra flicked her star-like silver hair and left without even turning her head, with no intention of listening to Vinny’s explanation at all.

“......” Vinny gripped the student card in his hand and watched in silence as the girl’s figure gradually went farther away. He had a belly full of explanations, but she wasn’t willing to hear a single word.

“Turns out you actually have a girlfriend!” And of course, it still wasn’t over. After watching Aesphyra leave, Milian recalled what Aesphyra said and immediately reacted.

‘[Virtue +50].’

‘[Current Virtue: 3734].’

“No—please, stop messing around, okay?!” Vinny wiped his face and told Milian to shut up and stop talking for a moment so he could sort out his thoughts. Otherwise, once she disturbed his train of thought, it would trigger his passive again and drag his intelligence line down to Milian’s level.

Then, word by word, he explained it clearly to Milian: she neither fell in love with him, nor would she have a child because of it.

“What you said... is true??”

“I don’t want to say any more. Don’t you trust your imperial sister a lot? Then go back, or write a letter, or use whatever way to contact your imperial sister and explain the situation here. Ask her whether it’s really like this.” Vinny felt that if he kept communicating with Milian, it wouldn’t just be his intelligence dropping. His own mind would collapse.

“Alright, alright. I’m done talking to you. I have things to do, I’m leaving!” Vinny took a deep breath, forcibly pressed down his rising blood pressure, turned around, and left.

He felt like if he stayed with Milian too long, sooner or later he’d get high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high lipids.

Seriously. This idiot little female brat always managed to produce brand-new tricks to mess him up.

Good news: his student card was back. Bad news: his whole day’s good mood was completely gone. He was depressed as hell, and he didn’t even know why.

Maybe it was because he got pissed off by that idiot Golden Elf, Milian. How could there be someone that stupid in this world??

Damn it! He was so mad he couldn’t even eat.

“Classmate Vinny, what’s wrong? No appetite?” At the dinner table, seeing Vinny unable to swallow and full of worries, Shicodale tilted his little head. “Or... is the food I made today too bad?”

“No, no. Classmate Dale, it has nothing to do with you.” Vinny shook his head, but he was still holding his utensils with no other movement.

Seriously. Why did he feel so irritated?! Like he wanted to scratch his ears and cheeks, like he couldn’t sit still—this kind of restlessness was unprecedented.

What... was wrong with him?

At this point, Vinny felt lost. Was he really like this because Milian pissed him off? She was just a single little golden-haired brat—could she really make him so mad he couldn’t eat? With his ability to handle pressure, would he really get angry to this extent??

But if not, then what was it? What was making him like this?

Ah—did he get sick or something??

Vinny grabbed his own hair, looking like he couldn’t eat or sleep in peace.

“Classmate Vinny, are you... really okay?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m probably just too tired. Um, Classmate Dale, sorry—please clean up the utensils today.” Vinny symbolically ate two bites, then went upstairs to his room and shut the door.

“Huh? Huh?” Shicodale instinctively sensed something abnormal in Vinny, but Vinny refused to say anything, so there was nothing she could do. She could only clean up the utensils by herself.

At night, when it was deep and quiet, Vinny lay alone on his bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Eyes closed, lying sideways, lying straight—nothing worked.

Ahh, damn it, what is wrong with him?? Why was he so restless and unsettled??

What on earth was making him so annoyed? Normally, he could eat anything and sleep the moment his head hit the pillow. Why was he like this today??

“Ahh—can’t take it anymore! This young master is so damn annoyed! What the hell is going on?!” Vinny grabbed his hair. He felt like his whole head was filled with the scene from daytime—Aesphyra seeing the conversation between him and Milian, refusing to listen to his explanation, and leaving.

With something that ridiculous happening, would that girl overthink it??

She definitely would, right? She definitely would treat him as trash, right?!

No—wait! Why did he care so much about what she thought of him? That white-haired nutball could think whatever she wanted about him. Why did he care?? He should just do what he should do. And that was clearly a misunderstanding!

Ah, right!

Vinny suddenly felt like he’d found a blind spot. He shot up from the bed.

That’s right. It must be because that white-haired nutball didn’t listen to his explanation, making him feel inexplicably stifled and inexplicably burdened by a misunderstanding!

It must be like this!

Vinny was certain. He didn’t care what that white-haired nutball thought. He cared whether his reputation was damaged, whether other people misunderstood him!

If it wasn’t Aesphyra, if it were anyone else, he’d still be this restless.

Right. Who could tolerate being misunderstood??

This was different from the Mirexia time. The Mirexia time—Mirexia listened to his explanation, and afterward it was all explained clearly. But this time was different. Aesphyra didn’t even want to listen. She just left so cleanly!

That’s right. It must be like this. That girl was so—so rude!

Thinking it over, Vinny could only slap that label onto Aesphyra. Couldn’t she at least listen to his explanation? It was clearly a misunderstanding. He didn’t do anything, okay?!

With that thought, Vinny figured it out. He lay back down, brewed his emotions a little, pulled up the blanket, and couldn’t help snorting inside.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow he had to explain it clearly to that girl. He couldn’t let himself suffer this kind of unclear, unexplained misunderstanding!

Especially that girl—he especially didn’t want that stinking sea-queen to think he was promiscuous. After all, that kind of thing was way too embarrassing, wasn’t it??

That had clearly always been his stereotype of that stinking sea-queen. But now, it turned into that promiscuous stinking sea-queen’s impression of him. Wasn’t that too humiliating?!

Vinny felt he had to take the field back!

Alright. Sleep! If he didn’t sleep, he wouldn’t have the energy the next day to argue it out with that white-haired nutball.

In a daze, Vinny fell into a dream.

The next morning, Vinny woke up very punctually. He got dressed, walked out of his room, and—

“Classmate Vinny, time to get up—huh?!” He happened to run right into Shicodale, who was coming to knock and wake him up. Seeing the door suddenly open, Shicodale was startled too.

“Classmate Vinny, you... you’re already awake?” Shicodale was genuinely surprised that Vinny woke up on time today and didn’t sleep in, because this kind of thing was unprecedented. It had never happened before.

“Mm. I’m awake. Let’s go downstairs to eat, Classmate Dale.”

“Okay, okay. Classmate Vinny, wait a moment, alright? The food isn’t ready yet.” Shicodale explained. “Because normally Classmate Vinny always sleeps in for over ten minutes, I always call you once before cooking, and then call you again after I finish cooking.”

The implication was that Vinny woke up too early today, so Shicodale was very surprised.

“Ah, okay.” Vinny glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. “No—am I really that early?”

After breakfast, the two of them headed to the Teaching Hall together like usual.

“Classmate Vinny.”

“......”

“Classmate Vinny?”

“Ah—huh? What is it?” Shicodale called him several times before Vinny realized she was calling him and reacted.

“Classmate Vinny, are you really okay?”

“I’m fine. What’s up with me today?”

“No, it’s just... I feel like Classmate Vinny, your expression is different from how you usually look when you go to class. It feels like you have something on your mind.” Shicodale said what she was thinking.

“Something on my mind? No.” Vinny answered absentmindedly.

They finally reached the classroom. On the way there, Vinny felt like every second was torment.

Vinny let out a breath. He didn’t know why, but before he entered the classroom, he paused for a moment, then stepped in.

And then, like usual, he saw that familiar silver figure. As always, she had arrived early.

However.

If it were any other day, Aesphyra should have looked at him with a smile when he entered—no matter what that emotion was made of.

Today, it was like she hadn’t seen him at all.

Vinny’s expression froze instantly.

(No cliche misunderstanding plotline)