131~All-Star Lineup
As it turns out, among the crowd that surrounded the Crown Villa that day was Wenfu. Upon learning that Tillysha had checked in, she also wanted to try her luck. But when she found out Tillysha’s team was already full, Wenfu was down in the dumps for a while. Then, she tried to look for a new team, only to discover all teams were almost full. It seemed she had no chance.
At this point, her former teammate approached her. After some awkward small talk pretending to be close, he hoped Wenfu would rejoin his team.
But Wenfu had no interest in listening to his nonsense. She remembered all too clearly how this so-called honorable man had been in the Secret Realm. After his confession was gently rejected by Wenfu, he bore a grudge and intentionally made things hard for her. Leaning on his significant influence within the team, he kept pressuring Wenfu to take a stance.
If being sent into the jaws of an enemy team was explainable, then what he did otherwise made absolutely no sense. Wenfu had seen right through this hypocrite, who was only good at saying pretty words.
So even if she had no other options, Wenfu was absolutely not going to trust this man again.
However, what this man said wasn’t entirely wrong. Indeed, by now, almost all teams had already filled up and submitted their forms. Some teams hadn’t submitted yet, but they were mostly weak and hopeless teams.
Think about it, with the team registration deadline fast approaching, all the good talent had already been snapped up by others. So who would be the ones struggling now to get things done?
If she didn’t make a choice now, she’d really end up stuck with a team of dubious character, terrible performance, and bleak future, spending four years of her life with them.
So Lehman was confident that Wenfu would eventually cave in to him because she had no choice.
Being a caged canary or a puppet controlled by others was better than starving three days out of every ten days and being utterly useless.
Lehman was certain that his team configuration was either first-class or second-class elite. It was impossible for any other team’s setup to surpass his.
However, just when he thought victory was assured, an unexpected variable appeared.
“R-really, is it okay?” A pair of cat ears perked up, seemingly expressing the owner’s excitement.
“Of course, it’s entirely up to Miss Wenfu.” Tillysha’s implication was very clear.
“Of course I would… oh no, I mean, since we already agreed, I must honor the agreement,” Wenfu exclaimed, then hesitated upon realizing something. “Isn’t Miss Tillysha’s team already full?”
“If I join rashly, will it cause unhappiness?”
“The full team thing was just an external claim. In fact, there are still two spots open.”
“Th-then…”
“Miss Champion, my name is Lehman, nice to meet you,” Lehman interrupted at an inopportune moment.
“Nice to meet you as well,” Tillysha responded with a polite nod and a well-mannered smile.
“Miss Champion, I heard your team is already full. Won’t forcing more people in cause others to feel uncomfortable?”
“This is something Mr. Lehman doesn’t need to worry about. My teammates are all very nice, I’m sure they’ll welcome Miss Wenfu warmly.”
“And joining or not is entirely up to Miss Wenfu’s decision. I won’t interfere. I think we should all respect Miss Wenfu’s personal wish, don’t you agree?”
“Y-yes… that’s right.” Lehman’s face twitched. If it had been anyone else, he might have been able to object a bit, but since it was Tillysha and considering Wenfu’s personal wishes, he didn’t dare say a single word against it.
Facing Tillysha’s suggestion, Wenfu naturally agreed. Lehman, watching this scene unfold, didn’t bother to make a fool of himself. Realizing he was no match for Tillysha, he mumbled, “Sorry to bother,” and left the scene rather clumsily.
Tillysha then took Wenfu to the previous counter to process her application to join the team.
“Um… can I press my paw print?” Due to her small stature, Wenfu couldn’t reach the counter, so Tillysha had to hug her from behind to help her reach it. Her head rested on a soft ‘water bed’ cushion.
When it was time to sign, Wenfu tilted her head and showed her little paw.
“Paw print?… Well, it’s possible, but it might not be very straightforward,” the counter lady said.
“Thanks meow.” With that, Wenfu happily dipped her paw in red mud and pressed a big red paw print in the teammate space.
Team creation was completed with five members confirmed: Male Dillin, Wanderer Tillysha, Knight Princess Filisia, Knight Princess Aistride, and Cleric Princess Wenfu.
No Mage and no Alchemist.
At a glance, it seemed like five people, but only Dillin knew that there were actually four.
Afterward, Wenfu combed her hair and mentioned she needed to go prepare.
Tillysha understood that Wenfu was going back to move all her luggage to the Crown Villa. The same went for Aistride and Filisia, because from the day after tomorrow, they would all officially be teammates living under the same roof.
After Wenfu left, Tillysha reverted to Dillin, finding Aistride and Filisia and informing them that Tillysha had already signed the contract, along with the unexpected addition of a new member. Both of them said they had no objections.
“The captain is Mr. Dillin, so our stays and departures are all decided by Mr. Dillin’s word. Of course, we have no objections,” Filisia said playfully.
Back in the dormitory, Dillin put the golden butterfly back into Tillysha’s room and enjoyed the rare solitude in the second-floor library.
Soon, this big villa would become lively as school was about to start, and his peaceful days would be few.
The other rooms on the third floor would soon be occupied. Tillysha’s room was located at the farthest end of the right side of the third floor, and Dillin’s was next door, both on the right.
The third floor had three rooms on one side, meaning there might be one more person on his side, and two people on the other two sides.
Calculating the date, after school starts would be the award ceremony, and after the award ceremony would come the class placement exams. The scores from the Crown Cup and the written test of the class placement exam would directly determine the class level of a team.
Different from the previous life, the class placement exam wouldn’t decide the class level of individual students, but rather would be decided by the overall average score of the entire team.
In a situation where one’s success or failure depended on the whole team, it could effectively create a learning atmosphere. Teams would have to address the weaknesses of each member, engage in mutual learning, and complement each other’s strengths. This was the purpose of the school’s arrangement and a crucial part of team unity.
As evening approached, Dillin stepped out of the library. A crisp doorbell rang outside.
The new villa member was moving in.
Dillin looked around the quiet villa estate. Although recruiting new members was necessary, it was indeed lonely for someone to live in such a big villa. More people might just be positive.
Dillin walked to the front door, contemplating that he should upgrade the villa’s other members’ crystal cards for matching, otherwise he’d always have to open the door himself.
“Good evening, Mr. Dillin~” As soon as the card was swiped, the iron gate opened to reveal the Princess Amber standing outside in her uniform, her long hair tied in two braided pigtails, carrying a suitcase in her hand and a huge bundle on her shoulder.
Dillin silently stared at the bundle, which was several times bigger than Filisia herself. It seemed to be packed with items, bulging and full.
Filisia’s move seemed to have brought quite a lot of items, but her strength was impressive as she managed everything herself without needing assistance.
Dillin was curious about what was inside those bundles but managed to contain his curiosity.
He wasn’t that familiar with Filisia, and prying into someone’s privacy was terribly impolite. Plus… Dillin had a hunch that he really didn’t want to know what was inside.
“Princess Filisia, please.”
“Ah, come on, didn’t we already say that?” Filisia placed her suitcase gently on the ground and then poked Dillin’s nose.
“Just call my name, alright.”
“Eh?” Dillin was slightly startled by Filisia’s overly intimate gesture and took a step back.
“Otherwise, life from now on will be difficult for me.” Filisia leaned against the doorframe and said jokingly. “Mr. Dillin calling me ‘Your Highness’ all the time makes me wonder if I’m in school or a palace.”
“Sorry, Miss Filisia, welcome to join us. Please come in.”
“It should be me thanking Mr. Dillin and Miss Tillysha for ‘taking me in.'” Filisia stepped closer.
“Uh uh…” Dillin of course knew Filisia was being humble. With Filisia’s competence and appearance, there were probably plenty of people fighting to be her teammates. There’s no way any team would turn her down. If given the chance, those princes would kneel down and call her grandma and probably be eager to wash her feet every day.
“Princess Filisia.”
“Ah, already said don’t call me that.” Filisia chuckled as she closed the iron gate and welcomed Filisia into the brightly lit mansion estate.
“By the way, Mr. Dillin, do you and Miss Tillysha have any plans for which room I should stay in?”
“Not really, it’s entirely up to Miss Filisia’s preference.”
“So, it doesn’t matter which room I choose?”
“That’s right. The living area is on the third floor. The second floor has the library and tea room.”
“Alright~”
Looking at Filisia’s large luggage behind her, Dillin scratched his head, feeling that as the host, it was a bit awkward not to help.
The bundle he couldn’t lift was fine, but this small suitcase should be no problem, right? It looked small; its contents should not be too heavy…
Dillin grabbed the handle and tried to lift it up.
Huh?
Why didn’t it budge at all?
Refusing to believe that, Dillin used all his strength, trying hard to lift it with one hand, then two, but the suitcase was like it was rooted to the ground, completely unmoving.
“Haha, this suitcase is slightly heavy. I can handle it myself.” Seeing Dillin’s face turning red and the suitcase still standing, Filisia couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Alright,” Dillin felt awkward. Although he was a prince, it was normal to be weaker than Filisia, but putting up a false front to help someone when you can’t was quite embarrassing.
“Use this.” After entering the room, Dillin found a pair of rabbit slippers and placed them by Filisia’s feet.
“Thank you, Mr. Dillin.” Filisia didn’t use her hands to take off her shoes; she stepped on the heel and slid her foot, wrapped in black over-the-knee socks, out of the shoes, slipping into the rabbit slippers.
“My room is on the third floor, so let me go tidy it up first.”
“Alright.” Dillin just watched Filisia drag her large bundles up the stairs when the doorbell rang again.
Dillin went to open the door, and sure enough, it was Aistride. Behind her stood a petite figure looking somewhat nervous. Apparently, the two had met on the road and came together.
Aistride’s luggage wasn’t much, at least not compared to Filisia’s.
Today, Aistride was wearing a silver dress with lace-trimmed black stockings, and her silver high heels elevated her beautiful feet. The setting sun cast a bright glow on her pure silver hair.
Behind her was Wenfu from earlier that afternoon, who looked overly nervous right now.
After a brief pause, Dillin understood the situation.
“Cough, Student Aistride arrived.”
“Um.” Aistride slightly lowered her gaze, the setting sun couldn’t rival the intense beauty of her face.
“That’s Miss Wenfu, isn’t it? Tillysha already told me about your situation. What are you still standing there for? Please come in.”
“Waaah…” Wenfu lowered her head, her cat ears drooping, and only cautiously crept into the room once she saw Aistride enter.
After Dillin closed the door, Wenfu didn’t say anything or go in; she just stared at Dillin continuously.
“Wenfu Student? ………. Why are you staring at me? Go upstairs and organize your room.”
“……… Is Miss Aistride also on this team?”
“That’s right. What’s wrong?”
” ……. The champion and the runner-up being on the same team is just too much, right?” Wenfu commented. “Please don’t tell me the third place is also on your team?”
“Eh? You’ve already figured it out?”
“What???” Wenfu’s pupils dilated like a cat. “Filisia is here too?!”
“Sure is. What’s the big deal?” Dillin knew Wenfu felt pressured due to having such heavyweight teammates and felt out of place, so he calmed her down. “From now on, we’re all teammates.”
“They’re all nice people, easy to get along with. Don’t feel too much pressure, relax.”
“……… Is that true?”
“Yeah, and you don’t need to feel pressured. You’re ranked fourth, remember?”
“Umm………” Dillin hadn’t reminded her, but Wenfu had almost forgotten that she was in the top ten and even in the top four.
In this case, it’s impressive — the top four from the Crown Cup have gathered in one team.
Currently, the team list hasn’t been released yet. Once the team information is disclosed and becomes transparent, who knows how many dog eyes will be blinded.
