“Cute things—what girl doesn’t like them?~” Aesphyra shot Vinny a sideways glance. “That’s why I’m saying it, Vinny. You really don’t understand a girl’s heart at all.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course I don’t understand as much as you do—Miss Flirt-Master, who hits on any pretty girl she sees. The legendary playgirl sea queen.” Vinny snapped back irritably.

Vinny could still remember it—back before enrollment, in the carriage, this white-haired nutball had even said she wanted to bet with him. Bet on who Vanessa would like first.

Now that he thought about it, if he’d really taken that bet back then, it wasn’t like she would’ve won anyway. At the very least, Aesphyra’s relationship with Mirexia had definitely veered off from his past life. As for where it had veered to, even Vinny didn’t know, but even he could tell—their relationship had gone off-course, more or less.

“Oh my~? Vinny, why are you so concerned about that? What reason could you possibly have to care about it? Could it be...” Aesphyra leaned in with a meaningful little smile. “Jealous?”

“Get lost! I told you I’m allergic to nuts—why are you getting closer?!” Vinny barked, and for some reason his embarrassment and irritation flared up all at once, like he was about to explode.

“And jealous? Jealous of you?? Tch. You, nutball—your hardware’s not even up to spec, but you’re confident as hell, aren’t you?? Don’t insult my character! I’m not interested in a stinking green-eyed sea queen like you. I’d sooner fall for a pig—fall for a cow—than ever fall for you!” Vinny declared with righteous conviction.

“Oh?~ Is that so?” Aesphyra crossed her arms. “Ahh, what a shame. If you’d just taken the hint and confessed to me earlier, I might’ve even considered it, you know~?”

Her tone made it impossible to tell whether she was purely joking.

But Vinny was sure she was. This woman was just that nasty—she loved teasing him for fun, and after she finished, she’d make that smug little face that said, Got you, leaving the teased party wanting to die on the spot.

No need to even think about it. She was definitely messing with him again!

“Thanks, no need to consider it. I know you, white-haired nutball—you’ve been drooling over me, but what a pity. I already belong to someone. You’ve got no chance. Got it?” Since she was messing with him, Vinny stopped holding back and went full shameless mode.

As he spoke, Vinny slipped on the slippers. “By the way, looking at your shoe cabinet... it looks like there’s only one pair of these blue octopus slippers. No second matching pair?”

He said that because he’d noticed Aesphyra had a lot of slippers that were the same style bought in pairs—only this one was a one-off.

“Mm-hm. I deliberately picked one without a matching pair for you,” Aesphyra said as she strolled into the hall at an unhurried pace. “Otherwise, later I might not be able to tell which pair you wore. It’d be bad if I threw out the unworn pair too.”

“You—what the hell??” Vinny actually laughed from anger. “I’m clean as hell. I don’t even have athlete’s foot. And you’re gonna act picky about me?? Worry about yourself first! You’ve been stuck in that cube space forever—how many days did you wear those thigh-high stockings and loafers without changing? Tch. I can smell it already, and you’ve still got the nerve to look down on me?!”

While he and Aesphyra bickered, Vinny’s sanity recovered by quite a bit. This feeling—having his emotions yanked up and down by her words every second, the daily back-and-forth of their verbal warfare—made him unconsciously feel like he’d returned to a warm, ordinary routine. It gave him a lot of security.

Aesphyra only smiled and said nothing.

Soon, she brought over freshly brewed tea and set it on the large coffee table in front of the living room sofa.

“Hey—weren’t we supposed to have Kontro cake and ice cream? Why are you just pouring tea?” Vinny complained. “Are you trying to brush me off?”

“Don’t rush, Vinny. Drink the tea first.” As she spoke, Aesphyra poured a cup for him and one for herself. Sitting on the small sofa in the middle, she cradled her cup and took an elegant sip of hot tea.

“Ah—hot, hot, hot!” Vinny took one sip and almost blistered his tongue.

“Vinny, is your tongue a cat’s tongue?”

“And what if it is? Did my cat tongue eat your family’s rice?” Vinny set the cup down.

“Right. Aesphyra—have you received any signals from Dale??” Vinny suddenly remembered something and asked.

“A signal from Dale?” Aesphyra arched a brow.

“Yeah. If I remember right, didn’t you give Dale something before? A thing you could use to receive signals from him. Back in that creepy cube space, did he ever try to call for help?” Vinny looked at Aesphyra with open hope.

But Aesphyra shook her head. “No. And that cube space—each scene is relatively independent. Different independent spaces are basically different planes. Even if he sent a signal, I probably wouldn’t receive it.”

Vinny fell silent.

“There’s still no news about Dale?” Aesphyra asked.

“Mm.” Vinny lowered his head and nodded quietly. “He still hasn’t come back, and there’s no news. None of the people who returned have seen him either.”

“If anyone among the returnees had seen Dale, then he would already have returned by now,” Aesphyra said, and she could tell Vinny’s mental state wasn’t great because of it. “So you don’t need to torment yourself over this. It’s a logically contradictory proposition.”

“Hold on a second, Vinny.” For some reason, Aesphyra reached into the drawer beneath the coffee table and produced a pure gemstone. Pinched between two fingers, she held it out in front of him.

“Huh? What’s this?” Vinny lifted his head to look at it, confusion written all over his face.

“Keep it in your mouth. Spit it out after about ten minutes,” Aesphyra said, offering no further explanation.

“Tch. You tell me to keep it in my mouth and I’m supposed to just do it? I don’t even know what this is.” Vinny grumbled, but even as he complained, he knew Aesphyra wouldn’t hurt him. True to form, his mouth did the opposite of his attitude—he complied.

“I’m asking you—what is this thing?” Vinny mumbled around it.

“Shh, Vinny. Be careful you don’t swallow it,” Aesphyra said—and she also pinched one between her fingers and placed it in her own mouth.

Time passed, second by second, as Aesphyra watched the white steam rising from the tea gradually fade.

Vinny thought the tea must have something special about it, so he and Aesphyra stared at the steam together for a long time—only to realize she was simply using it to measure time.

“So—are we done yet?” Vinny finally asked.

“All done.” Aesphyra gently spat the gemstone onto the tea tray. “Thanks for your hard work, Vinny. Making you not talk for ten minutes really is a kind of torment.”

“I’m not some chatterbox,” Vinny said indistinctly. “Where do I spit mine?”

“Wait a moment.” Aesphyra examined the gemstone she’d spit out, and after confirming it was still crystal-clear, she casually tossed it into the trash.

Then she pulled out a disposable glove from her pocket, put it on, and extended her open palm toward Vinny.

“Spit it into my hand.”

“...?” Vinny didn’t know what she was doing, but he did it anyway, spitting the gemstone into her gloved hand.

“......” Aesphyra lifted the gemstone Vinny had spit out and inspected it carefully under the sunlight.

“W-what is it?” Watching her scrutinize something that had just come out of his mouth, Vinny felt an inexplicable flush of shame in his chest.

Aesphyra didn’t speak. After a while, she tossed both the gemstone and the glove, then stood up, went upstairs, and entered her room.

“...?” Vinny was completely baffled. He had no idea what she was /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ doing.

When she came back down, Vinny saw she was holding a gray bottle of alchemy potion.

“That gemstone just now is called the [Origin Alchemy Stone]. It’s used to check whether there’s anything abnormal inside your body.” Aesphyra sat back down to explain. At some point, the smile had vanished from her face, replaced by calm seriousness.

Vinny knew that expression. When Aesphyra looked like that, she was fully serious.

“[Origin Alchemy Stone]?” Vinny had never heard of it, but it sounded powerful. “Is it for physical checks? That’s unnecessary—I already underwent the academy’s comprehensive medical examination after I returned.”

“Not enough. Not comprehensive enough, and not detailed enough,” Aesphyra said flatly.

“You mean... there were things they missed?”

“Of course. For example—your body still has traces of an alchemy potion.” Aesphyra’s expression was grave. “And that alchemy potion—there’s no way you drank it knowing what it actually does.”

“What did you just say?” Vinny’s eyes widened.

“Just now, your [Origin Alchemy Stone] detected an alchemy potion reaction residue in your body.” Aesphyra glanced at the discarded stone.

“...So what is it?”

“I can’t be certain. But it’s probably not directly harmful to you,” Aesphyra said. “You had a comprehensive exam, and they didn’t find anything. The infirmary’s scope is basically toxins and hidden injuries that harm the body. Residues of other kinds of potions tend to get overlooked. So I’m more inclined to think it’s a support-type alchemy residue.”

“Like what?”

“Like an alchemy potion that, once ingested, allows you to be tracked for a long time,” Aesphyra explained slowly.

Vinny’s face hardened instantly.

“Think back,” Aesphyra said, taking in his reaction. “Have you taken any alchemy potions recently?”

“...Yeah. But it was before the Kamov Mountain study trip.” Vinny already more or less knew who had done it. That time, Luna had even warned him.

Aesphyra stayed silent for a long time before she finally spoke.

“Was it after the [Blood-Debt] incident—when the academy priest gave you something?”

Vinny lifted his eyes to her in silence.

He was genuinely surprised. For Aesphyra to say that meant she’d suspected this possibility a long time ago.

Earlier than him—earlier than a descendant of House of Facilis—she’d suspected the Church of the Dawn might intend him harm.

That alone showed how meticulous and watertight Aesphyra’s thinking really was.

Of course, it had only been suspicion. Even Aesphyra probably hadn’t expected that the Church of the Dawn would truly move against a dead-blooded nobody with no threat at all—and that once they moved, they’d go for the kill, even willing to injure so many innocents just to shape his death into an “accident.”

It was completely beyond everyone’s imagination of the Church—because no matter what, the Church of the Dawn was, in human society, a holy organization that embodied every positive image.

Seeing Vinny’s silence, Aesphyra naturally understood. There was no need to keep asking.

“Drink this first.” Aesphyra handed the gray potion to Vinny. “It will erase that residual trace. Whether or not that residue can still harm you directly or indirectly, nobody wants something that strange left inside their body.”

“Mm.” Vinny took the potion and looked at Aesphyra deeply.

He said he’d repay her, but after repaying her once, he’d only ended up owing her more and more.

How many times had this idiot helped him?

Even when he asked himself that, he couldn’t really remember clearly anymore.

It was her who helped him in the enrollment Secret Realm. It was her who blocked that punch for him at the banquet. And later—the [Bronze Blood] attack on the academy, the fanatic attack on the academy, the encounter with Jiuli Xue, the encounter with [Blood-Debt]...

And beyond those, counting all the big and small favors, he no longer even knew how much he owed her.

Vinny let out a quiet sigh.

Seriously... back when they started, their relationship was practically on the edge of becoming enemies. How did it develop to the point where he’d ended up owing her this many debts of gratitude??

Vinny drank the potion. He didn’t feel any difference, but what Aesphyra said had to be right.

Now, Vinny instinctively chose to believe Aesphyra in everything—just like Aesphyra did with him.

After finishing it, Vinny set the empty bottle on the table and exhaled a muddy breath.

“This cube space,” Aesphyra continued. “For you—was it trouble?”

Vinny immediately understood the hidden meaning behind that question.

She was asking whether what happened in the cube space was linked to that potion residue in his body—whether the two were tightly connected.

“Yes,” Vinny answered without much hesitation.

“Maybe you won’t believe me if I say it,” Vinny continued, “but I was never someone who wanted to stir up trouble.”

“My original plan was just to get a diploma, then find a respectable job after graduation. I never wanted anything to do with House of Facilis, or...”

“But now...” Vinny trailed off into silence.

[Virtue +80]

[Current Virtue: 7784]

“Those... were done by them?” Aesphyra asked abruptly.

“Do you believe me?”

“Vinny, you’ve asked me that a lot of times.” Aesphyra suddenly smiled. “But if you’re that lacking in a sense of security, then I don’t mind telling you again and again.”

“I’ve always believed you.”

“...It was all done by them.” Vinny didn’t stay silent for long.

[Virtue +100]

[Current Virtue: 7884]

“Vinny—have you ever heard a saying?” Aesphyra paused, then spoke.

“What?”

“Everything is fate. Not even half is up to you.”

“Hah. That’s for someone like me. You’re not the same,” Vinny said, trying to lighten the heavy mood with a joke. “You’ve always been someone who grips fate in your own hands, haven’t you?”

“Is that so? No, Vinny.” Aesphyra shook her head softly. “No one is an exception.”

“....”

“Ah~ alright, enough of that.” Aesphyra stood up, her tone turning light again. “Weren’t you talking about cake and ice cream earlier? Alright—Vinny followed my instructions and ‘took his medicine.’ A good child who obediently takes his medicine naturally gets a reward.”

With that, Aesphyra walked toward the magic-stone ice cabinet in her home.

Vinny watched her back in silence for a long, long time.