BING.

[AFFECTION INCREASED]

Elira Frostveil: 44 → 77

Status: Genuinely Impressed → Deep Feelings

New Thought: "I need to know Lucian more deeply... from now on, I’ll stay close to him."

Lucian narrowed his eyes.

Hehh? Elira’s affection just jumped that much? What the hell, System? Where did this come from all of a sudden?

[Oi, numbskull — every girl is wired differently. You can’t charm everyone with just words like you did with Seraphina. Sometimes you have to put your life on the line to win certain girls’ hearts... like what you just did with Elira.]

Lucian cursed the system internally, then glanced toward Elira.

She was resting her cheek against her hand, eyes closed, daydreaming with a small smile on her face.

Lying there, Lucian kept watching her...

"Hey... Elira."

She snapped out of her daydream, looking at him with blood-soaked eyes.

"You know... you’re actually pretty tough."

"Mmm... you mean physically?"

A soft chuckle escaped his lips.

"Haha, yeah... physically too."

She didn’t quite grasp what Lucian meant by that.

For the next 10 to 15 seconds, silence settled between them.

Not awkward tension. Just... quiet.

Then Lucian sat up, brushing some dirt off his academy uniform as he thought to himself.

She’ll probably need another water spray...

"Need some help?"

Elira had already moved to the side to grab her robe.

"Yes..." she murmured.

"If I walk back to the academy like this, they’ll probably give me some nickname like ’Mass Murderer’ or something worse..."

The morning sun had started rising, casting faint orange light across the blood-red clearing.

She quickly walked over to him and spread both arms wide, standing in the exact same pose Lucian had used when eliminating the weaker goblins from the first wave.

Lucian didn’t feel a shred of embarrassment this time. Instead, a small smile played on his face.

Without hesitation, he conjured his water magic again—treating it like a high-pressure car wash—and thoroughly rinsed the thick, drying blood off her body.

Elira stood perfectly still, then used a touch of wind magic to dry her hair before draping her robe on.

Meanwhile, Lucian’s senses had grown considerably stronger, allowing him to hear movements even from a distance. He sensed something — slow movements approaching them.

As he focused on the treeline, Elira’s eyes shifted toward him. She noticed how much his aura had intensified after the battle... and an uncharacteristically indecent thought flashed through her mind:

I wonder... what he looks like without those clothes on...

She immediately snapped her head in the opposite direction.

Even with those scandalous thoughts swirling in her head, there wasn’t a hint of a blush on Elira’s face. Instead, as her hands fumbled with the buttons of her robe, one hand slowly drifted to her cheek — and a thin line of drool began sliding from her parted lips.

Her face wore a completely overstimulated, lewd expression. Every filthy thought running through her mind was plainly visible on her features....

At this rate, her curiosity wasn’t just a passing phase; it was rapidly spiraling into a full-blown obsession.

On the other side, Lucian’s sharp instincts told him that the approaching footsteps belonged to patrol knights—and they were getting dangerously close. Almost 200 meters away. There were about 5 to 6 knights... mounted on horses, rapidly heading in their direction.

The distance had shortened enough that while the knights couldn’t clearly see their faces yet, they could definitely make out two young students—one male, one female—standing amidst a field of mangled corpses.

One of the knights raised his sword, pointing it toward them and shouting:

"Hey! You two—stay right there!"

Lucian panicked.

Shit, shit... we need to get out of here now...

In one swift motion, he lunged toward Elira — who was still lost in her daydream, half-dressed in her robe.

In the next instant, he grabbed her by the waist.

"Gate."

Elira flinched. Before she could say anything, they both crashed through the portal — and it snapped shut instantly.

Fwooshh...

The knights closed nearly 50 meters of distance and arrived at the scene moments later.

All the knights’ eyes widened in shock at the sight of the portal — but when they moved closer and witnessed the massacre, they stood frozen in disbelief.

What kind of madness... one of them whispered.

Then no one spoke.

Who were those two students? What were they doing? A massacre of this scale...

This was not ordinary.

Staring at the graveyard of nearly fifteen hundred dead goblins, the same thought ran through all their minds—how could just two students accomplish something like this? Taking down a horde of this magnitude would normally require at least 50 veteran knights.

The lead knight dismounted and stepped forward.

Goblins everywhere—some decapitated, some bodies charred completely black, others reduced to pulp.

One of the knights picked up Elira’s shoulder cape lying on the ground. She had made a critical mistake—leaving her cape behind. It bore the academy’s symbol.

"Captain, look at this..."

The captain took the shoulder cape in his hand. His eyes narrowed the moment he spotted the Astraviel Academy emblem.

"We need to report this to the commander."

On the other side, Elira and Lucian landed with a heavy thud directly onto his dorm room bed.

Lucian recoiled in shock, sitting upright on the mattress.

For a brief moment, Elira’s fresh, water-cleansed scent lingered in his nostrils... then she regained her composure. Still lying down, she slowly sat up on the bed.

"You know, Lucian... when you are that close to Seraphina, you don’t panic at all.. in fact, you seem to enjoy it in a completely different way."

She shot him a look that suggested she felt slighted by the way he suddenly backed away.

Lucian glanced at her sheepishly and chuckled.

"It’s not like that, Elira... I just... I get a little nervous when there’s sudden physical contact.."

His gaze drifted to the floor, his tone shifting into something more vulnerable.

"I think I’ve always been that way."

Suddenly, he felt a weight against his back. Elira had moved behind him, her eyes closed as she wrapped her arms around his torso in a firm hug.

The sensation of her breasts pressing against his spine was unmistakable, while her pale hands locked tightly over his ribs.

Then she leaned close to his ear and exhaled softly — causing a visible blush to spread across Lucian’s face, his ears turning red.

Elira whispered bluntly:

"My shoulder cape..."

"It got left behind..."

Lucian had been feeling extremely warm... but suddenly his flushed face went completely flat leaving his mouth slightly parted.

Elira released the hug and sat beside him, grabbing his arm by the bicep and bringing it close to her breast for him to feel.

Yet Lucian’s reaction remained dead.

"Come on... why are you panicking so much? What’s done is done. Besides, there are so many students in this academy — they’ll never be able to identify us..."

She squeezed his arm.

"And from now on, you’re not going on those night hunts alone. I’ll always come with you..."

Her voice dropped lower to softening.

"You know... I always knew you weren’t a weakling, regardless of what the rest of the academy said about you."

Seeing this side of Elira — the strange mix of obsession and genuine support — Lucian finally let out a long, heavy sigh. He allowed his body to relax, his posture returning to normal.

"Yeah... you’re right.. I guess it’s time I started acting with a bit more confidence.

"Mmm..." Elira leaned into him, letting her head settle gently on his shoulder.

No one had been this close to him in the last eight years. At this rate, with the way things were escalating, he figured he might actually lose his virginity within the next few weeks.

Man, she smells so nice... and her breasts — they’re really warm... I don’t understand why people call her the Ice Princess when she’s this hot up close...

A goofy smile spread across his face for about 4 seconds — before he quickly shook it off.

After sitting like that for a few minutes, Elira began murmuring softly...

"Lucian..."

"Hmm?"

"How much do you actually know about me?"

He frowned.

"Just that you’re the 2nd princess of the Frostfall Kingdom."

"And... anything else?" Her eyes remained closed — she just wanted to hear his voice.

"Hmm... that you’re a child prodigy who received the title of youngest hero..."

"No, tell me more..."

He turned his head slightly—Elira’s hair brushed against his jaw.

"I guess... that’s all I know."

Elira didn’t respond. She slowly released him, then reached for a blue gemstone attached to the belt around her waist.

Lucian had seen it before but never gave it much thought — it seemed like just another royal trinket.

But as soon as she detached it, Lucian’s eyes widened. He watched, mesmerized, as her ears — previously round and perfectly human — began to shift. They elongated slightly, tapering into a sharp, elegant point.

"Elven ears?"

Elira shook her head slowly, a complicated expression crossing her face.