Watching Dale’s back, Milian parted her lips, but in the end she didn’t say a word.

Yeah. What right did she have to speak?

Had she helped Dale at all? Whether back then or now—

She suddenly understood why Dale’s attitude toward Vinny was completely different from his attitude toward her.

She had known Dale earlier, and they were even of the same race, yet those same-race acquaintances who had known him for so many years still stood by and watched them die when it mattered.

Vinny, on the other hand, had known Dale for less than a year, and they were different races with different cultures—yet from the moment they were still strangers, he had been sincerely helping Dale. Even now, it was still him who had shouldered the banner and pulled Dale back from the brink of collapse.

And as for her—she had barely helped at all, just like back then.

Helping in a snowstorm was better than adding flowers to brocade. When Dale was in the greatest danger, the one who always reached out and saved him was Vinny, not her, and not other Golden Elves.

As his own people, they would hesitate because of their own survival and all kinds of factors, not daring to help a Moon Elf. But as an outsider, Vinny could share the same kind of experience with Dale, and with feelings that accumulated day after day, he never gave up on him.

His own people might not dare to help Dale for various reasons, but Vinny would definitely help Dale.

That human was right. He really did what he said.

For a moment, as Milian’s impression of Vinny changed, curiosity about him also rose.

That blue-haired human... didn’t seem quite like the person in the rumors.

After saying goodbye to Milian, Dale couldn’t wait a second longer. With urgency burning in his chest, he rushed toward the dorm in his memory.

Before leaving the church, Dale saw the statue of the Dawn Goddess at the courtyard gate and froze.

He suddenly realized the goddess statue looked a lot like the pink-haired girl from his dream.

Right. Vinny was a descendant of the House of Facilis to begin with—he carried the Dawn Goddess’s bloodline.

But Vinny’s bloodline was dead. It had completely fallen asleep, showing no signs of itself at all, to the point that the outside world was always spreading false rumors.

Dale said nothing.

In that earlier dream, the Vinny he saw was a pink-haired beautiful girl, with the standard traits of the House of Facilis.

If that was the case, then why Vinny would become like that could be explained.

If that dream was real, then everything would seem reasonable and logical.

But everyone told him his dream was fake.

Dale didn’t know what to do.

Still, there was one thing that didn’t add up. Even relying on the powerful senses of an elven royal bloodline, Dale could tell the pink-haired girl in the dream felt very familiar—yet he couldn’t explain why there was such a stark difference in personality.

The more he thought about it, the more Dale felt his head was about to overload. Everything clearly hinted at being reasonable, yet everything also hinted at being at odds. It was far too strange—completely beyond the complexity of what he could bear.

It felt... so complicated.

Dale felt he had no way to untangle these threads that were both contradictory and reasonable, no way to pull a correct truth from this snarled ball of yarn.

If he asked Vinny directly... would he tell him the truth?

Dale couldn’t help thinking that. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Maybe he wanted a definite answer in his heart, because right now, all he wanted was to see Vinny.

No—maybe he didn’t truly want that answer. Maybe he just wanted to see that long-missed face right now, say a few words, and let the heart hanging in his chest finally settle.

By the time he reached that point in his thoughts, he had already arrived at the first-year dorm area. He walked briskly into the top-fifty dorm section, moving with practiced ease along this road home he had walked countless times.

In the past, either he walked home from class together with Vinny, or he went out alone to buy groceries and daily necessities, then walked back by himself.

Even though he’d lived here for less than a year, this place already carried a sense of home.

Now that he thought about it, whether human or elf, the reason someone missed a place was simply because the people they knew and were close to were there. The aftertaste it left might differ, but it worked the same way—both gave a warm feeling, like no matter how awful a day had been, returning here meant you could recover to full strength by the next morning.

Just seeing these familiar buildings made Dale think of all the little moments after entering Carillian Academy—his life with that blue-haired human youth.

Dale understood. It was because of him that this place tasted like home, just like how his homeland carried the memories of living with family and close friends who were already gone.

But now, everything had changed.

In the end, people were what mattered. Without people, what meaning did an empty home even have??

Dale once again remembered what that pink-haired girl had said to him in the dream—don’t drown in memories that were already dead, don’t cling to things already lost. Cherish the people in front of you, then live each day well. That was the greatest respect and remembrance for them.

[Virtue +100]

[Current Virtue: 8584]

Dale had already entered their dorm area, but for some reason, this stretch of road felt unusually slow, so he quickened his pace as much as he could.

When he reached that familiar house, Dale took the steps two at a time, pulled out his Carillian student identity card, and opened the door.

“Vinny, I’m back.” Dale pushed the door open and walked inside, just like he always did when he came back from buying groceries, calling out that he was home.

But there was no response like he had imagined.

He looked at the familiar furnishings inside. Everything was frozen the way it had been on the day they left.

“Vinny?” Dale tried calling again. He still didn’t get any response. The house was empty.

Dale pressed his lips together. Even though he desperately wanted to go inside and look around right away, he still had to take off his shoes first. Ever since he’d been rescued from the cube’s anomaly subspace, he hadn’t changed clothes, and he hadn’t had time to. After all, the situation had been urgent. In theory, he’d been “critical.” Milian also knew Dale’s situation, and she tried her best to keep the nuns from having more contact with him, to prevent Dale’s real sex from being exposed.

He hadn’t changed his clothes or shoes and socks in a long time. Before, he didn’t have the conditions. After entering the cube’s anomaly subspace, he had been running nonstop. There were even times he couldn’t run away—and then he lost consciousness. When he woke up, he was already out of danger, left with only fragmented memories. Black Shicodale must have appeared.

But after that, Black Shicodale never appeared again, as if restrained by some limit on how frequently he could manifest.

After taking off his shoes, Dale changed into his own slippers. He glanced at the dust on the floor—there wasn’t much. It seemed like someone had deliberately maintained the place recently, but from lack of experience, it had only been a simple cleanup.

It was probably Vinny.

Dale stepped into this home he hadn’t returned to in so long. Ever since his homeland fell, he’d realized that without meaning to, he had begun treating this place as his second home—so much so that when he missed “home” after being pulled into the cube space, what he thought of was this place.

Now, he was finally back.

He walked into the living room. There was no one in the living room, the kitchen, or the study.

He went upstairs and first pushed open his own bedroom door. It felt like wandering outside for a long time and finally coming home.

It was still this warm.

He walked to his bed. Several star-shaped decorations hung on the blue wall—room décor Vinny had bought for him when they were out shopping.

He opened the wardrobe. Inside were clothes he and Vinny had bought at shops in the Camella Royal Capital when they traveled there during summer break—mostly neutral styles that could be worn by anyone.

Leaving his room, Dale went to Vinny’s door and pushed it open. Just as he expected, it was empty. That familiar figure wasn’t inside.

Vinny wasn’t home.

Otherwise, when Dale had called earlier, he wouldn’t have stayed silent.

Dale rarely went into Vinny’s room. Even when Vinny wasn’t around, he rarely entered. After all, this was Vinny’s private space—just like how Vinny would never barge into Dale’s room.

Maybe it was because he’d been away for too long. Today was one of the few times Dale actually looked around Vinny’s room. Textbooks lay in a messy pile on the desk, scattered with things like paper and pens.

Just like other boys, Vinny didn’t really clean up on purpose. You could even see a few outfits tossed on the bed.

In Vinny’s own words: if he didn’t tidy things up, it was fine—but once he did, he couldn’t find anything anymore.

A card box sat in the corner, neatly filled with cards. Aside from that, there were plenty of other places around the room where Vinny’s collected cards could be seen.

That familiar scent that made Dale feel safe floated in the air, mixed with the smell of a cheap, low-quality unisex cologne—one Vinny used often.

[Virtue +40]

[Current Virtue: 8624]

Vinny... wasn’t in the dorm?

Because he was filthy, Dale didn’t sit in Vinny’s seat. After confirming that Vinny really wasn’t home, Dale wandered around Vinny’s room a few more times, then left and returned to the living room.

But where was Vinny right now?

Dale really wanted to see him, yet he had no idea where Vinny had gone.

No matter what, take a shower first. He was too dirty.

Could it be that Vinny came home last night, worried about him so much that he couldn’t sleep, so he went out to find something else to do to distract himself??

Or did some urgent matter come up??

Dale’s mind spun through possible answers.

He had no idea that every single guess was wrong.

Right now, in the Student Council—

“Student, please hand this reimbursement form to the president.”

“Shouldn’t this kind of paperwork have been on the president’s desk last night?” Cheng An at the front desk frowned as they took the file that a Student Council member handed over.

“It’s a temporary document, but it’s not that urgent to process.” The student who handed it over replied.

“Fine. But the president isn’t here today. She’s working from home. I’ll hand it to the acting vice president in a bit.”

“Huh?” Hearing that, the student who handed it over looked surprised. “Today... the president actually isn’t here?”

That was news. After all, who in the entire Student Council—no, who in the entire Carillian Academy—didn’t know that Mirexia was a diligent Student Council President who came in no matter the wind or rain?

Unless she was so sick she couldn’t get out of bed, she would never skip work. Sometimes, even if she was sick enough that she couldn’t get out of bed, she still worked.

“What’s so strange about it? Didn’t you hear about what happened on the field trip a while back? Sigh, that mess turned everything into a disaster. Now the entire first and second years are on leave, and the academy is still handling the aftermath. After all, the casualties weren’t small.”

“Mirexia taking a few days off—so what? The president is usually so hardworking. If something like that happens, what’s wrong with resting a few days?”

“No, I just feel like it doesn’t really match President Mirexia’s personality. Still, resting a few days is good.”

At this very moment, on the second floor of Mirexia’s residence—

“Mirexia, dear~ It’s only been a few days, and your tea-making has improved.” What Dale didn’t know was that the pink-haired girl he had been thinking about so desperately was currently wearing a crisp women’s academy uniform and white rabbit slippers, sitting elegantly in the study on the second floor of the villa, chatting with Mirexia. Her words carried a hint of teasing, and those peach-blossom eyes full of both holiness and allure held a playful, amused smile.

Mirexia didn’t respond, only quietly lifting her tea and taking a sip.

[Virtue +80]

[Current Virtue: 8704]

“Why are you suddenly calling me that?” Mirexia’s gaze slid to the side, refusing to look at the dazzling pink-haired girl in front of her.

“What’s wrong? Other people can call you that, but as Mirexia’s childhood friend, I can’t?~” Vanessa giggled as she kept teasing Mirexia.

“Of course it’s not like that.” Mirexia denied it.

“I just think it’s cute—just like you, Mirexia. It suits you. How about I call you that from now on?” Vanessa propped her cheek in her hand, half joking.

It had been a long time since she teased her cute childhood friend. Now that Dale’s problem was solved, her time still hadn’t run out, and she couldn’t change back yet. With nowhere else to go—and unable to stay there—Vanessa drank a little high-tier Invisibility Potion, then simply spread her wings within the academy. Before dawn, she landed on Mirexia’s balcony and woke her up.