"You—!"
Teri's eyes instantly filled with rage, nearly spilling over. Elena met her gaze calmly, showing no sign of fear.
It wasn't that Teri had strong attachments to her mysteriously vanished family; rather, for Teri South herself, the name "South Family" had been the only thing setting her apart from commoners—her proudest symbol of prestige.
The abrupt dissolution of her family had plunged her into a severe reality check. Former friends turned indifferent, and even students who'd once fawned over her now hesitated to acknowledge her in passing.
If not for her talent in Artifice and her previous accomplishments securing her role as Master Holly's teaching assistant, her situation would have been far worse.
Elena's simple statement struck Teri's most sensitive nerve.
She definitely did that on purpose!
And for some inexplicable reason, Teri felt Elena had insulted her profoundly, even though she hadn't used a single explicit word.
At that moment, Master Holly's lazy voice once again emerged from the empty podium:
"Assistant, is there an issue?"
"No, none at all. I was merely recording a student's reason for nearly being late," Teri quickly controlled her emotions, replying calmly.
She knew exactly where she stood now. Master Holly was a national treasure-level Artificer of the Empire—even when Teri had her family's support, she'd always tread carefully around Holly.
Without her status as Holly's assistant, Teri was nothing.
So what if she gave Elena a few verbal victories? She had already achieved her real goal.
After two days of class, Elena had become completely isolated. The Golden Court students despised her, and the Star Court students would never willingly approach her. Elena had become an outsider whose sole source of official information was Teri herself—meaning Elena had no way of verifying the accuracy of anything Teri said.
Thinking of this, Teri's lips curled into a sinister smile again.
She wasn't foolish enough to openly lie to Elena, as that could easily backfire.
However, if she, as the sole assistant instructor, occasionally became too "busy" and accidentally forgot to pass on important announcements, who could blame her?
If she was punished for negligence, she would accept it.
But could Elena, so isolated she couldn't even verify basic announcements, completely escape responsibility herself?
Passing the quietly composed Elena, Teri felt nearly buoyant as she moved to the last row of the classroom.
As the assistant, naturally, she could attend Master Holly's classes freely.
But even so, Teri couldn't wait for the term to end—so she could finally see the despair on Elena's face.
After Teri left, Elena's façade of calm immediately faded. Her heart hammered fiercely, relief and gratitude flashing across her eyes.
As expected, Linen's method was right. When facing people who push too far, showing weakness is absolutely the wrong move. You don't have to fight back—but you must never appear afraid.
Though Elena had only forced herself to act tough, it seemed to have worked well enough.
Master Holly's classes would only last until the end of this semester. Maybe things would remain peaceful until then.
Still, Elena wasn't very good at this sort of confrontation. In that moment, she felt even more envious of Hysteria.
Ah, I'm jealous she gets to study with Linen—not jealous that she gets to call him "Master," obviously.
...
Meanwhile, in Sorgana's office, two figures—one large, one small—sat comfortably on either side of an expansive leather sofa, observing the classroom scene via Arcana projection.
On one side sat Headmaster Sorgana herself, sipping juice. Opposite her was a lazy-looking woman with flowing dark-purple hair cascading down her shoulders.
She wore a long dress adorned with patterns of stars, its fabric outlining a breathtaking figure. Peeking through her hair were two delicate, pointed ears, both mysterious and playfully elegant—an unmistakable mark of her race.
At the pinnacle of the Zijinghua Empire's Artificers stood Holly Orlando, an Arcana Master. Of course, that was merely her human-world name. If fully translated into human languages, her true name would fill dozens of pages.
For her true identity was that of an Elf.
The speaking Arcana sphere lecturing in the classroom was just a small artifact containing Holly's pre-recorded voice.
At present, the real Holly gently swirled amber-colored wine in her glass, observing Elena closely as she began the lesson, remarking thoughtfully:
"Interesting. She's quite a sharp-tongued girl—I'm becoming increasingly eager to see her performance in the final examination."
Sorgana raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised:
"Really? It's only the first few classes, and you've already picked a favorite for the disciple slot? That's quite unlike you narcissistic, cryptic, pointy-eared folk."
Holly laughed softly at Sorgana's blatant mockery.
"The riddles and vagueness elves are accused of exist solely from humans' perspective. My dear friend Sorgana, once your lifespan grows long enough, you'll become acutely aware of the storms each decision might cause, and naturally become cautious and indirect."
Sorgana curled her lips, unimpressed.
She thought Holly had started speaking nonsense again…
"But," Holly continued, "that doesn't mean we hesitate when we truly recognize someone special. Do you remember yesterday's assignment?"
With a casual wave, a palm-sized silver box appeared in Holly's hand.
"That's just a standard Arcana Shield generator, isn't it? What's so special?" Even as a non-Artificer, Sorgana easily identified it at a glance.
"The item itself is ordinary," Holly nodded, "but the way this girl Elena crafted it was astonishing. Her process was a complete mess, yet the end product surpassed many students who strictly followed instructions—as if the materials themselves guided her to completion."
"I don't understand," Sorgana admitted bluntly.
"You don't need to," Holly smiled faintly, accustomed to her friend's bluntness. "All you need to know is that girl is either an extraordinary prodigy, or she's received long-term instruction from an Artificer whose skills surpass even mine, allowing her to ignore the usual rules entirely. Which do you think is more likely?"
This time, genuine surprise registered in Sorgana's eyes.
She'd personally investigated Elena's background: just a countryside orphan who'd barely made it into the academy. It was impossible for her to have been taught by an Artificer superior to Holly.
Then there could be only one answer—she really was an exceptional genius, one who could even stir Holly's rare admiration.
Damn it. I only arranged for Elena to join the class to force Linen into tutoring that spoiled princess personally and create some entertainment for myself. How did I inadvertently discover another genius for that brat's group?
If this continued, even Sorgana herself would feel like she was plotting to steal from the cradle…
"So, you plan on taking her as your disciple?" Sorgana probed.
"Not necessarily," Holly shook her head slowly. "It's just my personal observation. While I have high hopes for her, she hasn't reached the point of being indispensable."
"Since the rules are already set—that the disciple is selected based on final exam results—I must follow through. If Elena can't even beat her classmates, then perhaps I judged her wrongly."
Sorgana's eyes suddenly glinted mischievously:
"Oh? Even if the final winner is male?"
"A man?!" Holly's tone immediately dropped eight degrees, becoming icy cold. "Impossible. Those filthy creatures could never pass my test—are they even worthy?"
"If not for your sake, I'd gladly toss every worthless man out of my class! Men should stick to serving women—learning Artificery? Disgusting!"
Sorgana rolled her eyes. Holly's infamous male-hating side had emerged once more. Who'd have guessed this famed Elven Artificer secretly harbored extreme feminist ideals?
"However," Holly's tone softened slightly, "Her Majesty the Empress requested that I observe her son during my stay at the academy. Apparently, he topped the recent Artificer exam."
Holly's voice was tinged with distaste.
"I put his name on the student list as requested, but he didn't even bother attending. At least he's saving us all some time."
Her voice clearly relaxed at the thought.
Sorgana nodded casually, quietly sipping her drink and shifting her gaze guiltily away.
At this point, she absolutely couldn't admit she'd randomly put Linen's name at the top after the original exam had been disrupted by the Chronomancy Tower incident…
...
Time swiftly passed. As Eden Academy's first semester drew closer to finals, Linen's study group quietly transformed.
Hysteria and Elena both successfully stabilized at the Second Ring, while Linen himself reached the Third Ring. Elena still attended Holly's Artificer classes daily; luckily, aside from occasional passive-aggressiveness, Teri didn't cause further trouble.
Of course, Her Highness's tutoring continued smoothly, with significant progress.
Don't misunderstand—Hysteria's grades were still average at best, climbing from absolute bottom to merely mediocre.
But her ability to smoothly address Linen as "Master" had improved dramatically.
"Elena, off to class again today?"
In the dormitory's common area, Linen sat elegantly cross-legged, sipping steaming black tea.
"Elena, save me!" Hysteria whimpered pitifully, tears welling as she pleaded desperately for help.
Her sorry state formed a stark contrast to Linen's refined elegance—after all, she was currently serving as Linen's chair…
Currently, Hysteria was sprawled on all fours in the dorm's living room, a large sign around her neck written in bold black letters:
"Failing Idiotic Princess"
She obediently copied the notes Linen had prepared for her, while Linen himself sat cross-legged atop Her Highness's back.
With the help of Wind Arcana, he wasn't heavy—but the humiliation factor was definitely maxed out.
When Linen overheard Hysteria's desperate cry for help, his expression darkened ominously.
"You still have the energy to call for help? Looks like I didn't assign you enough homework. Is our idiotic princess actually that hard to satisfy?"
Hysteria's face paled instantly. Terified, she shook her head vigorously:
"N-no more, please, Linen—wait, no, Master! Master, please no more homework! It's too much! My head's already full of knowledge, it's gonna overflow!"
"It's too late," Linen sneered, pulling another stack of test papers from his spatial ring and slamming them down in front of her.
"Add three more sets of Advanced Elemental Theory!"
"Noooo! Too much! Too much! If I have to do that many papers in one night, I'll turn into some weirdo whose brain is stuffed with nothing but Advanced Elemental Theory!"
"Oh, really? Then throw in one more paper each on Arcana History and Numerology."
"Aaaaaaah!"
Truly, Linen is amazing…
Watching Hysteria collapse onto the floor, twitching, Elena wiped sweat from her brow.
Though the scene was admittedly a bit strange, this was undeniably academic tutoring.
Concerned Linen might become overwhelmed, Elena had tried helping Hysteria study occasionally, hoping to ease his burden. However, the results had been laughably ineffective.
Elena had vastly overestimated her own teaching ability, while severely underestimating Hysteria's astonishing stupidity. After just two attempts, Elena had realized with absolute certainty that if she continued tutoring, Hysteria would have no path forward but expulsion.
In a certain sense, Linen's ability to lift Hysteria's grades to even a middling class level was itself a form of genius.
I really wonder what methods he's using…
In fact, after his initial gentle tutoring sessions, Linen had quickly realized that kindness alone couldn't salvage the princess's grades—because she wasn't an ordinary idiot; drastic measures were required.
Therefore, Linen had calmly explained to Hysteria that, although the academy allowed expelled students to re-enroll, she'd have to repeat Year One, while he and Elena would naturally advance to Year Two.
Different years meant she'd inevitably be separated from Elena. Their study group would also automatically disband, leaving only Linen and Elena alone.
The mere thought of Elena falling entirely into this demon's clutches instantly triggered Hysteria's heroic resolve to endure Linen's hellish tutoring.
Even if she devolved into a pig-brained fool overflowing with Advanced Elemental Theory, she'd never let Linen torture Elena alone!
...
Collecting Rejection Points every day as the princess screamed "Nooo!" was delightful, and it significantly accelerated Linen's progression to the Third Ring.
However, Linen wasn't without his own frustrations.
Compared to Hysteria, Elena's plotline had stagnated. Linen repeatedly asked about Elena's progress in the Artificer class, only to hear her vague reply that everything was fine.
When Elena said things were fine, Linen felt profoundly un-fine.
In the original storyline, Elena's troubles in Holly's class were never-ending. She had struggled greatly just to enter as a transfer student, whereas here the academy had directly invited her.
If Elena had zero issues, how could he possibly insert himself into the plotline?
With semester finals approaching rapidly, the Artificer class subplot would soon conclude, yet Linen hadn't reaped any rejection rewards.
Missing out on crucial rewards from such a key plot event was worse than death for Linen.
However, his daily chats with Elena hadn't been entirely fruitless.
He noticed an interesting detail: Elena had never once mentioned that Master Holly would select a personal disciple from this class.
Had his own earlier interventions caused some unexpected shift in the storyline?
Regardless, Linen was certain that Holly would choose a disciple at the end.
Perhaps he could exploit this knowledge to subtly threaten—er, persuade Elena.
...
About to leave the dorm, Elena cast one final glance behind her.
Though noisy, it was clear Linen and Hysteria's relationship had vastly improved, and the dorm's warm atmosphere was infinitely preferable to that cold classroom.
I really am… a little jealous.
For the first time, Elena felt reluctant about attending a class that would enrich her knowledge.
At that moment, Linen cleared his throat slightly, catching Elena's attention.
"Elena, Master Holly's classes—are you sure things are really okay?"
He asked casually.
"Yes, I'm learning a lot."
Elena nodded sincerely. Though the atmosphere was tense, Master Holly's teaching ability was unquestionable. Even the slightest knowledge from a true Artificer Master was profoundly beneficial. Elena had learned new, practical artifact creation methods and even discovered ways to refine her earlier designs.
Unfortunately, the class would soon conclude, and Elena had no idea when—or even if—she'd meet Holly again. Another chance to study under her seemed incredibly remote.
At this moment, Linen suddenly spoke again:
"Then… What if I told you I have a way for you to become Master Holly's personal disciple?"
"Huh?"
Elena felt her heart skip a beat.
"You're… not joking, are you, Linen?"
"Of course not," Linen replied coolly. "I wouldn't joke about something like this. Do you want to know how?"
Seeing she had taken the bait, Linen calmly sipped his tea.
"I—of course I want to!"
The girl nodded instantly, without hesitation. Such a massive opportunity was something she couldn't possibly ignore.
"In fact, it's quite simple. But…there's a tiny condition."
Linen carefully set down his teacup, maintaining his composed expression.
Elena nodded again, indicating she understood.
An opportunity to become Master Holly's disciple was immensely valuable. If Linen offered it freely, Elena would feel guilty instead. It was only natural he would ask something in return.
She just hoped his request wouldn't be too difficult…
"In that case…"
Linen raised his gaze slightly.
"First, how about calling me 'Master'?"
"Eh—?!"
Elena's mind suddenly went completely blank.
---
T/N: YOU FOOOOL!! SHE WANTS THAT!