Vlad and Max submitted their treasure maps in turn. As for the items, Vlad possessed eleven books. The senior wrote 11 in the books column beside Vlad’s name and crossed out the uniform and hidden treasure columns. 47 was written for Max in the books column, his uniform checked and hidden treasure crossed out.

But when Chloe’s turn came, she didn’t present a hidden treasure either.

"Chloe, didn’t you receive that metallic card?" Vlad asked. "Now that I think about it, I haven’t even seen it. Show it to me."

Chloe immediately flinched. Her nose turned a rosy hue as she answered, "I didn’t find treasure. It was my identity card."

Vlad’s eyes narrowed at Chloe, his gaze fixed intently on her face. Still, she kept a completely calm expression.

Vlad moved closer, pinched her nose between his thumb and index finger, and muttered, "You know your nose turns red when you lie. Tell me the truth."

"I’m not lying!"

Chloe pulled his hand away from her nose and covered it with her own.

"Alright then. You’ll be eating only vegies for a whole week."

"You can’t! You promised no vegies for one day!"

"No promises for liars."

Chloe glared at Vlad in silence for a full five seconds. Vlad could clearly picture her cheeks puffing up like a balloon in anger.

"I have it. But I want to keep it."

This genuinely surprised Vlad. She hadn’t even bothered to take a second look at her Black Card, which carried immeasurable value, yet she wanted to keep a card from a simple treasure hunt. Whatever it contained had made Chloe hide it even from him.

"Show it to me first."

Chloe seemed completely reluctant to take it out. But she knew she had no choice. There was no way she was going to eat vegetables for a whole week. She slipped her hand into the inner pocket of her leather jacket and produced the card.

Vlad had to use a little extra force to take it from her grip.

Cafeteria: One Month Membership

The holder of this card may eat as much as they wish in the cafeteria for one month, free of charge.

Vlad read the details on the card.

"So that’s why you were hiding it," Vlad sighed. He wasn’t even surprised at this point. He turned to the senior at the entrance and asked, "Senior, how many credits would we receive if we submitted this card?"

"So someone actually found it," the senior chuckled. "This is the grand prize we set for the Treasure Hunt. You’d receive thirty credits for that card."

"Thirty?" Max gasped, having thoroughly enjoyed the quarrel between Vlad and Chloe along with the senior up until now. "That’s enough for one person to live comfortably for a whole month!"

Before Vlad could say anything, Chloe lunged to snatch the card from his hand. This time, Vlad was prepared. He immediately raised his arm, dodging her cat-like swipe.

"I want it. Don’t submit it," Chloe demanded, jumping to reach the card.

"Eh? That’s not how I remember the deal," Vlad said with a smug look, pressing down on Chloe’s head with his other hand to limit the height of her jumps.

"I gave you three Vlad-wishes in exchange for this treasure. If I don’t receive it, the deal ends here."

"You said..." Jump-jump "...no backsies!"

"And that applies to both sides."

"Agh!" Chloe groaned in frustration. After a moment she stopped jumping and declared, "Keep it."

"Oh? Are you sure?" Vlad asked. "You can’t come crying to me later."

"I said keep it."

Vlad lowered his hand. Just as he turned to the senior to submit the card, Chloe declared, "My first wish is to have that card!"

"..."

"..."

"Are you being serious right now?"

"Yes."

Vlad facepalmed before handing the card back to Chloe.

A faint smile formed on her face the moment she received it. Vlad looked at her silently for a moment.

"Take it as a gift. You did work hard today."

"You mean?" Chloe asked, tilting her head.

"I won’t count it as one of the three wishes," Vlad said, rubbing the back of his head.

The smile on Chloe’s face widened slightly. In a barely audible tone, she whispered, "Thank you."

’At this point, you two should just get married already,’ Max shook his head. The senior at the entrance seemed to share the same thought, though he was seeing the duo for the very first time.

Once their group went inside, the entrance closed and the senior moved backstage, carrying the large box filled with treasure maps and the hidden treasures the students had submitted.

Although the sky was black with countless twinkling stars scattered across it, the stage and the area where the freshers stood were brightly illuminated by colourful lights and evenly spaced lighting poles.

Sophia arrived on stage again, followed by two men carrying her stool. Once she reached the podium, she welcomed the freshers back and asked whether they had enjoyed the game their seniors had prepared.

Only two loud yeses rang out among the hundreds of half-hearted responses. One belonged to Vlad and the other to Max.

Their answers were of course met with immediate retorts and frustrated clicks of tongues. How could they be this shameless after ruining the entire orientation?

"Haha, seems like some enjoyed it more than others," Sophia said before quickly moving on. "Now then, it’s already getting late and I’m sure you’re all tired and hungry, so let’s get to the moment you’ve all been waiting for. The top three places!"

A student arrived from backstage, handed her a clipboard, and left at the same brisk pace.

"Hmm... third place goes to Miss Chloe from the Order of Blades. Please welcome her with a round of applause."

The students began clapping while the girl in question had no idea why her name was being called.

"Chloe, you need to go up to the stage to receive your reward," Vlad told her, gently patting her back. "You must have won third place because of the grand prize you found." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Why? I didn’t do anything. I don’t want to."

Her introverted self was naturally reluctant to become the centre of attention of hundreds of students.

"Miss Chloe, please come to the stage," Sophia said, already fixing Chloe with her gaze from the podium.

"Chloe, you’ll receive the money if you go up there," Vlad said, trying to coax her.

’Money = food = Chloe happy,’ Chloe completed her inner calculations before agreeing.

As she began moving forward, more and more eyes fell on her and she grew increasingly nervous. Halfway there, she stopped, too anxious to continue. Sweat began trickling down her temple and her breathing turned unsteady.

She was on the verge of giving up when a warm hand gently took hold of her own.

"Want to go together?" Vlad asked, standing beside her.

All of Chloe’s nervousness dissolved, as though the weight of every gaze had simply ceased to matter. She took a deep breath and gave a small nod.

They walked together until they reached the stairs to the stage. From there, Chloe had to go alone. But she had already gathered enough courage.

She clenched her fists and climbed the steps.

Meanwhile, Sophia retrieved a book and a palm-sized flat device from the podium and walked toward Chloe.

"Congratulations, Miss Chloe," Sophia said, handing her the book and the device. The sweat on Chloe’s face made it plain how much the moment was costing her, so Sophia didn’t prolong it any further.

Once Chloe returned, Sophia continued with the announcement.

"Second place goes to... Max Caldren from the Order of Rings!"

"Heck yeah!!" Max’s voice was loud enough to carry across the entire crowd.

"A huge round of applause for our second place winner."

No applause came. Only dissatisfied glares from the other students. Max felt a twinge of awkwardness at the whispered curses of his peers, but the elation of winning seventy credits quickly drowned it out.

While Max was receiving his reward on stage, Vlad turned to Chloe on the ground below and asked, "What did you receive?"

"Don’t know. Not interested," Chloe answered, leaning her head against Vlad’s arm. She was completely drained, both mentally and physically.

"You must be starving. We’ll eat all your favourite dishes the moment the orientation ends," Vlad said, taking the book and device from her hands.

"I want to eat right now," Chloe groaned.

"Just a little longer. It’ll be over soon."

It was fortunate that Grimveil Forest had various fruit trees, or Vlad would have had to run all the way to the cafeteria to feed her during the day. Even so, the fruits had barely been enough to hold her hunger at bay.

"I wonder who took first place if even Max with 47 books only managed second," Vlad murmured, rubbing his chin. "They must have found quite a few hidden treasures."

"I’ll say it once more. Mr. Vlad, please come to the stage and receive your reward," Sophia said in a sharp tone, fixing Vlad with a pointed stare from the podium.

"Eh?" Vlad raised an eyebrow, confused.

"Bro, get on the stage already," Max pushed him from behind, having already returned from his own trip up.

"W-why?"

"Because you won first place!"

Vlad’s knees buckled and he barely kept himself from hitting the ground.

"B-but why me?"