Chapter 647 - Taming the Fifth Year - Multiwalled Fortress - 2

"I don’t have any experience," Ren admitted, trying not to think too much about the ’random’ and ’unreal’ kisses he’d received. "I’ve been busy with many studies. I haven’t had time for... that."

The admission came out more vulnerable than he’d intended, a genuine confession from someone who’d been too focused on survival and cultivation to navigate the complexities of teenage romance.

’Is he honest? Maybe too much. Or does he want us to think that?’

Seraphina signaled to them that maybe it was a half-truth but she couldn’t read him too well, and all three tensed slightly. Her mana eyes flickered with frustration, unable to penetrate the chaotic mess of Ren’s energy signature.

’He claimed no experience too quickly,’

Cassia noted, her mind racing through possibilities.

’Is it genuine or is he establishing low expectations to surpass them later?’

"That’s... refreshing," Jeannette said, and she meant it. "Most boys in your position would brag, even if they were lying."

’But Aldric said he was different. Maybe this is part of that difference.’

"Why would I brag?" Ren frowned, confusion evident on his face. "It doesn’t make sense to lie about something like that."

’Do they expect me to lie? Or maybe that’s what’s expected of nobles? I feel lost... What kind of strange learning system is this?’

Seraphina studied his expression. Without being able to read his mana clearly, she had to rely more on body language. And his body language showed genuine confusion. No microexpressions of deception. No tells that suggested manipulation.

’Either he’s the best actor in the kingdom, or he really has no experience.’

"For example... I’ve been pursued by groups of girls lately. It’s uncomfortable because I don’t know how to handle it without being rude. Maybe Aldric thought you could help me understand how to... I don’t know, decline appropriately."

His voice carried genuine distress, the kind that came from days of being hunted through hallways like prey.

’It makes sense. Aldric saw I have problems with admirers and brought these noble girls to teach me protocol for rejecting advances. It’s strange but not stranger than everything else in noble politics, right?’

The silence that followed was absolute.

Cassia felt her brain momentarily stop functioning.

’So he’s... asking us to help REJECT girls who aren’t at his level?’

Seraphina opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. No words came out. Her carefully cultivated noble composure cracked like thin ice.

’That can’t be real. A noble who doesn’t want to bask in the attention of making his own place clear by rejecting lower houses? It has to be a play. It. Has. To. Be.’

Jeannette leaned back in her chair, studying Ren with a new expression. Something between disbelief and dawning horror at the situation they’d walked into.

’Aldric said he was a genius. That he played complex games. If this is a game, it’s the most elaborate I’ve seen...’

"Ren," Jeannette said carefully, each word selected with surgical precision, "is it possible that Aldric brought us here at your request to help you reject romantic advances?"

’Please say no, or say it’s a joke. Please.’

"Maybe... Don’t you want to?" Ren asked, genuinely confused now. "What else would you be here for? You heard it... Aldric said ’social practice’, and that’s the area where I’m having the most problems lately."

’It may be the case, right? They’re nobles, they probably have experience with these types of situations. It makes sense.’

The three looked at each other, silent communication passing between them with the speed of lightning.

’He’s completely serious,’

Cassia’s face transmitted.

’It can’t be,’

Seraphina responded with her eyes, a slight shake of her head denying the reality before them.

’But it is,’

Jeannette confirmed with a slight head tilt, her expression somewhere between amazement and despair.

"Ren," Cassia began, choosing each word with extreme care, like defusing a bomb where one wrong word would detonate everything, "what if I told you we could do... the opposite? Not reject, but... accept."

’Give me something. Any sign of what you really want.’

Ren frowned, processing the words like they were in a foreign language. "Accept? Accept who?"

"Whoever you want," Seraphina clarified, her voice carrying forced patience. "People with specific characteristics. Who could be... appropriate."

’How direct do we have to be for him to stop playing?’

"But I don’t want to accept anyone else... I don’t need more ’attention’," Ren protested. "It’s already overwhelming."

’Why would I want MORE of that?’

The thought was so sincere that it transmitted through every line of his body language.

Jeannette felt something bubbling in her throat but suppressed it. Laughter. Hysteria. Screaming. She couldn’t quite tell which.

’He really is the best actor in the kingdom’s history.’

’I give up.’

’Aldric. Aldric told us this boy was a manipulative genius. That he played games even Aldric couldn’t follow. And it turns out he’s...’

The thought trailed off, too absurd to complete.

’If we keep pushing here we’re just going to upset him. Better play along,’

Cassia’s eyes transmitted, a strategic retreat in the face of overwhelming confusion.

"I see," Seraphina spoke, her voice carefully controlled despite the chaos in her mind. "We can help you with the unwanted attention then."

"And maybe," Jeannette added, grasping for some way to salvage their actual mission, "help you distinguish between unwanted attention and... attention that might be worth considering."

’Because I’m still not convinced that what he’s doing is just to deceive us and give us false importance that...’

"That would be useful," Ren admitted, feeling genuine relief wash through him like cool water. Finally, someone who understood his problem. "But again, forget any ’extra retention’. You’ll be enough to ’practice’ with. Thank you."

His gratitude was so pure, so completely sincere, that it hit like a physical blow.

’Damn, he’s good...’

The three thought in unison.

The three girls nodded, their expressions carefully neutral. Years of noble training allowed them to maintain composure even as their internal worlds collapsed.

But in their minds, chaos reigned.

Cassia:

’I’m going to kill Aldric for getting us into this. This is indeed a genius and I feel like an idiot child for thinking in circles at his mercy.’

Seraphina:

’I can’t read his mana. I can’t read his intentions. I’m completely blind here.’

Jeannette:

’This is going to be much more complicated than I thought. In every possible sense.’

And Ren, completely oblivious to the mental whirlwind of the three girls before him, simply thought:

’Well, at least this type of social practice sounds more useful than memorizing genealogies of extinct houses.’

The misunderstandings had been established.

In layers.

Upon layers.

Upon layers.

And nobody had any idea how deep the onion... the ogre... the disconnection between what each one thought was happening really was.

♢♢♢♢

Then Ren relaxed, thinking his problems would end, and began complaining about Lin and talking about training sessions that more closely resembled horror stories for the young women.

"She teamed up with Zhao that day," Ren said, his voice carrying the trauma of lived experience. "No matter how fast I moved..."

"That sounds..." Cassia began, searching for words.

"Brutal," Jeannette supplied, her eyes wide.

"That wasn’t even the worst day," Ren continued, warming to the topic now that he was on familiar ground. "Yang decided I needed to ’understand the weight of leadership’ so he had me carry a boulder the size of an adult up and down a tower... For 3 hours."

"That’s insane," Seraphina breathed, genuine horror replacing her earlier confusion.

"Lin says pain is weakness leaving the body," Ren quoted with the flat tone of someone who’d heard it too many times. "Yang says suffering builds character. I say they’re both sadists who enjoy watching students cry."

The three girls laughed, the sound genuine and surprised.

’Damn, he’s good...’

The three thought in unison again.

’Or maybe he really is just...’ Cassia thought, something in her chest loosening.

’No, no no careful Cassia, careful.’’

They talked about beast cultivation next, Ren’s enthusiasm infectious as he explained resonance patterns and mana flow optimization.

The three girls thought Ren was playing some type of long game, testing their patience or dedication before revealing his true intentions. Watching. Evaluating. Seeing if they were worthy of whatever he had planned.

And Ren thought he’d made three new friends who would help him stop dealing poorly with the girls outside. Simple as that. Problem solved.

When Aldric returned an hour later, he found all four in animated conversation about mana structures and elemental resonance. Ren was drawing diagrams in the air with light mana, the girls asking questions that showed genuine interest.

He thought they were already done and his plan was working perfectly as they now seemed close and getting some good information from him.

The trap was sprung. The bait taken. Now it was just a matter of time before Ren became distracted enough to fail.

Aldric smiled, satisfaction warm in his chest, completely unaware that absolutely nobody in the room understood what was actually happening.