性瘾者

Neoma’s (mouth-watering) thoughts were interrupted by a loud roar of cheering.

She found the delayed reaction of the crowd amusing. After all, her awesomeness left people in disbelief for a few moments. And now that reality finally hit them, the crowd went crazy cheering for her.

[Yes, keep the praises coming.]

She was starting to get hyped when her mood was ruined by Calyx Dalton’s laugh. The crow psycho was even clapping and stomping his feet on the ground as if he was ecstatic.

“Your Royal Highness, you’re truly amazing,” Calyx Dalton said. In fairness, the psycho sounded genuine with his praise. “I know this isn’t a competition, but I clearly lost. Your Royal Highness’ abundance of Mana is spectacular.”

[I know, right?]

.....

“Thank you, Lord Calyx,” Neoma said, acting the humble royalty that she wasn’t. “Your abundance of Mana is also impressive.”

“It’s nothing compared to Your Royal Highness’, but thank you for acknowledging my skills.”

[Why do I have a feeling we’re both just bullshitting this “small talk?”]

Thankfully, their nonsense conversation was interrupted by the Headmaster who cleared his throat to get their attention.

“Your Royal Highness, Student Applicant Calyx Dalton, breaking the little moons and the glass pillars only means that our gauging device isn’t enough to measure your Mana,” Headmaster Salvatore said. “This is not the first time that the gauging device broke. The last time it happened was when His Majesty took the entrance exam.”

Heh.

[You too, Papa Boss?]

Nero would probably have done the same if he was the one who took the exam.

“However, this is the first time in the academy’s history that three students filled the seven little moons,” the Headmaster continued. “Your Royal Highness, Calyx Dalton, Hanna Quinzel- on behalf of the entire faculty staff of the Royal Moon Academy, I’d like to congratulate the three of you for being this year’s top students.”

She gasped softly. “Headmaster, does it mean...”

“Your Royal Highness and Calyx Dalton both aced the written exam. The two of you also broke the gauging device, which both gives you a perfect score for this exam as well.”

Oh?

She thought she would get additional brownie points because she broke the other glass pillars, too.

It was her fault for assuming that, though.

“Thus, Your Royal Highness and Calyx Dalton tied in the first place,” Headmaster Salvatore said. “Hanna Quinzel, who got the second highest score in the written exam, including the interview, filled the seven little moons with her Mana, too. That means Hanna Quinzel also got a perfect score for the second test, resulting in her placing second overall.”

She gasped when she realized something. “Headmaster, are you saying that...”

The Headmaster nodded. “For the first time in the academy’s history, we will be holding a three-way match to choose this year’s student representative among the incoming freshmen!”

Once again, the crowd went wild.

[Hype is real, y’all.]

Neoma immediately turned in Hanna’s direction.

As expected, her cousin- the perfect noblewoman- was standing there gracefully with a calm look on her face.

But Hanna’s pretty green eyes were sparkling with happiness.

[Congrats, girl! I’m so, so proud of you, Hanna!]

She smiled and gave her cousin a double thumbs up when their eyes met.

Hanna smiled back at her.

“A three-way match sounds interesting.”

Her smile slowly faded away when she heard what Calyx Dalton said.

[Right. A three-way match means Calyx and Hanna will also fight each other.]

After Calyx Dalton “warned” Hanna, she wouldn’t get it past him to use the match as an opportunity to “take care” of Hanna.

She turned to Calyx Dalton, her facial expression probably cold even though she was smiling. “Yes, a three-way match is interesting,” she said to the crow psycho. “I’m already looking forward to it, Lord Calyx.”

Calyx Dalton smiled at her. “Same here, Your Royal Highness.”

“I apologize, but we have to make our top three students wait a little bit,” Headmaster Salvatore said, barging into their conversation politely. “Since the match has turned into a three-way battle, we have to adjust the rules. I will be holding an emergency with the faculty later to decide the new schedule for the match. After that, we will send the new schedule to the three of you through an official letter from the academy.”

Neoma smiled and nodded. “Then we’ll be waiting for it, Headmaster.”

***

AFTER the Headmaster officially ended the second day of the exam with a short speech, he congratulated everyone and retired for the day with the other key figures in the academy.

But the members of the faculty that were in charge of the enrollment were still there.

As of the moment, the enrollment for the student applicants who passed the entrance exam was taking place in the academy’s main building. It was a process that the incoming students themselves must do, so the courtyard was empty now.

The attendants and the guardians of the incoming students were waiting in the greenhouse.

And Neoma...

“Why are you following us, Lord Calyx?” Neoma asked without turning around. She just continued walking in the hallway while Hanna and Calyx Dalton followed behind her. As the Crown Prince, no one was allowed to walk on either of her sides. Thus, Hanna and the crow psycho had to walk a few steps behind her. “Since we’ve completed our enrollment process already, shouldn’t we part ways here now?”

As the top three students, they were prioritized during the enrollment.

Thus, they were the first ones to finish the process.

[But in fairness, even without computers and fast internet connection in this world, the enrollment process here is pretty efficient.]

“Oh, I heard that Your Royal Highness and Lady Hanna are unofficially engaged,” Calyx Dalton said casually. “Am I being the third wheel here?”

“Ah, so Lord Calyx isn’t dense, after all.”

The crow psycho just laughed at her taunting.

She was distracted when she realized it was already nighttime after getting out of the main building. The sky was already dark, but the pretty lamp posts in the vast quadrangle in front of the building provided enough light.

“Your Royal Highness, Lady Hanna, we forgot to ask the Headmaster about a certain rule for the upcoming match.”

She turned around and faced the crow psycho.

Now she was facing Hanna and Calyx Dalton who were standing side-by-side. Of course, there was a significant space between the two.

[I’m glad Hanna looks calm, even though I know she’s uncomfortable with Calyx Dalton.]

“The Headmaster said they’re going to adjust the rules for our three-way match,” she said to the crow psycho. “So, what rule are you talking about, Lord Calyx?”

Calyx Dalton smiled brightly before he dropped his bomb question. “I’m just wondering if I will get disqualified if I accidentally kill Lady Hanna during the match-”

The crow psycho was forced to talk when a sudden shift in the air happened.

It was followed by a crazy pressure coming from a thick bloodlust directed at Calyx Dalton. Yes, it was so thick that she and Hanna felt it even though the target was the psycho crow.

[This pressure is enough to knock out hundreds of civilians...]

But the pressure wasn’t enough to hold her down.

In just one swift movement, she was now standing in front of Hanna protectively.

“Let me answer your question, Calyx Dalton.”

It was Duke Rufus Quinzel, and he just appeared behind Calyx Dalton without making a sound.

[As expected of a Shadow Manipulation Technique user.]

It was as if the duke had emerged from the shadows.

[Wait, that could have happened.]

Anyway, the duke didn’t come alone.

Lewis also arrived in time and was now standing in front of her and Hanna protectively.

“First, it was arrogant of you to assume you could kill my daughter easily,” Duke Quinzel said in a calm yet threatening voice. “Second, after making that threat, do you think I’ll let you go alive?”

“It wasn’t a threat, Your Grace,” Calyx Dalton said calmly, and the psycho was still smiling even though the duke was standing behind him. “It was just a hypothetical question. And you can’t kill me. Not here, at least.” He pointed his finger upwards. “You see, we’re being recorded by my dear butler at the moment. If you kill me now, that recording will quickly spread across the entire continent.”

Hah, that was pretty smart.

[I’d do the same if I were him.]

“Unfortunately for you, the recording device he’s using doesn’t have an audio recording function,” the crow psycho continued. “So, if you kill me now, Your Grace would be forever branded as a murderer who killed his daughter’s opponent. Why?” The psycho laughed while clapping his hands. “Because he wasn’t confident that his beloved child could win the match using her own power!”

Duke Quinzel’s face turned grim, and his aura became even more murderous.

[Oh, no. House Quinzel will be put under fire if His Grace attacks the psycho-]

.....

“Please calm down, Father,” Hanna said in a calm voice. “Don’t let Lord Calyx provoke you. His threat will remain a threat because he won’t be able to kill me, anyway. I didn’t spend the last few years away from home just to die in the hands of a lowlife like him.”

Neoma gasped at Hanna’s confident and savage remark. [That’s my girl!]

Even Lewis looked proud.

Thanks to Hanna’s savage remark, Duke Quinzel finally calmed down.

“Eh, you’re not going to kill me anymore?” Calyx Dalton asked in a disappointed voice. “What a bummer.”

When Hanna stepped forward, Neoma’s body automatically moved to step aside and give way for her cousin.

Lewis did the same.

That was how commanding Hanna’s aura at the moment was.

[So freaking cool.]

“Lord Calyx, do you know what animals represent the Quinzels?”

Calyx Dalton just tilted his head to one side while looking at Hanna with sparkling eyes, as if he found her amusing.

“I’m a hawk, and hawks are the main predators of crows. It will do you good to remember that,” Hanna declared in a calm yet firm voice. Then she smiled “kindly” at the stunned crow pyscho. “And oh! Be careful around shadows, Lord Calyx.”

Neoma felt the urge to kneel and bow down to Hanna, the kween.

[Calyx Dalton isn’t hiding the fact that he’s a crow, so why should we hide the fact that we already figured out who he is?]

Duke Quinzel, who was now completely calm, laughed softly as he backed away from Calyx Dalton. “I worried for nothing,” the duke said, then he stood beside Hanna and gently patted her head. “Let’s go home, sweetie.”

Hanna smiled and nodded. “Yes, Father.”

The duke turned to Neoma, his eyes silently asking her what move they should do next.

[Okay, I got this now.]

She was about to open her mouth to talk, but the crow psycho beat her to it.

“You better do your best to find and kill me before the upcoming match,” Calyx Dalton said in a disgustingly friendly voice, and his words were directed at Neoma. Yes, this punk just stopped talking politely to her. “Because I assure you, on that day, you won’t be able to kill me anymore.”

She shrugged casually. “Really now?”

“I have prepared three gifts for Your Royal Highness on that day.”

“I’m pretty materialistic,” she said. “Are those gifts worthy of my attention?”

“Oh, absolutely. Even His Majesty will surely enjoy the presents I prepared,” Calyx Dalton said cheerfully, then he began to walk away while waving his hands. “Look forward to it, Your Royal Highness.”

And just like that, they let Calyx Dalton leave unscathed.

[Attacking him in the open wouldn’t be wise since we have so much to lose if House Quinzel gets accused of killing him for a “petty” reason.]

Most of the noble households in the empire weren’t too fond of House Quinzel recently after Duke Quinzel appealed to the Ministry of Education to change the system. If the Quinzels got into another controversy, the noble households waiting for their downfall would definitely jump and devour them alive.

[So the only option we have is...]

“We will track him down, Your Royal Highness,” Duke Quinzel said in a low yet firm voice. “We will eliminate him as soon as we get the chance.”

Yes, the option was to get rid of Calyx Dalton quietly.

“Alright,” she said. She was about to tell them to go home when, all of a sudden, she felt a sharp pain in her chest. “Argh!”

She groaned and clutched at her chest tight.

Duke Quinzel, Hanna, and Lewis immediately surrounded her out of worry.

“Your Royal Highness?” Lewis asked worriedly. “What’s the matter?”

“My chest is burning,” Neoma said, then she shut her eyes tight. “Tteokbokki is calling me.”

[But to be honest, I actually don’t know if it’s Tteokbokki or Crimson.]

***

“WHAT ARE you doing?”

“Cooking rice?”

William shut his eyes tight while reminding himself to remain calm. “Ruston Stroganoff, you know very well that’s not what I mean by that question.”

This bastard had the audacity to summon him.

But Ruston Stroganoff offered him a deal that he couldn’t resist. Thus, he followed the young man to talk about the deal they just made. But Ruston Stroganoff brought him to a kitchen, and then he began to cook.

“My request is not hard for you, is it?”

He opened his eyes to look at the young man. “It’s not hard to enter the consciousness of the academy’s Headmaster.”

Yes, that was Ruston Stroganoff’s request.

The young man wanted him to enter the Headmaster’s consciousness, then convince the Headmaster to set the date of the match on the day that Ruston Stroganoff chose.

And that was what he didn’t understand.

He opened his eyes to watch Ruston Stroganoff’s expression. “Why do you want me to manipulate the Headmaster to reschedule the match on the first day of school? That’s two weeks from now. I heard they delayed the match because of the unexpected test result. But I don’t think they would delay it for that long.”

“That’s why I’m asking you to manipulate the Headmaster. I know you can do it,” Ruston Stroganoff said bluntly. “But you don’t need to know the reason why I chose the first day of class as the new schedule for the match.”

[This bastard...]

“You don’t have to trust me, since you don’t care what happens to Neoma, anyway,” Ruston Stroganoff said, then he turned to him with glowing dark purple eyes. “Just do as I say and, as I promised earlier, I will awaken Neoma’s Soul Beast now.”

That was the offer that he couldn’t resist.

He and Manu were expecting the dragon egg to hatch in three to six months. But Ruston Stroganoff claimed that he could awaken Neoma de Moonasterio’s Soul Beast right now. And once the dragon was awake, they could go and rescue Mona immediately.

The earlier, the better.

He didn’t want Mona to be stuck in that stupid block of ice any longer.

“Alright, I won’t question you anymore,” William said, giving in easily because he didn’t really care about anything else as long as he could see Mona again. “Will you still be here once I returned?”

“No,” Ruston Stroganoff said without hesitation. “I have to go and hunt down the Masterpiece after I awakened Neoma’s Soul Beast.”

***

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