83~Wenfu
“Divine Authority fellow, you didn’t get your brain pulped, did you?”
“Yeah, you didn’t fall for them while getting beaten up, did you?”
“When you stormed out of the break room, you were swearing to the heavens you’d be eternal enemies!” Faced with his teammates’ skeptical stares, the burly Male stammered.
“You think I’d do that?? Keep your assumptions to yourself! Sure, she’s a real pain in the neck, but you can’t argue with her skills. I just made a rational decision, that’s all!” The Male cleared his throat dramatically, speaking with an air of righteousness.
“Is that all there is to it?”
“What else could there be? It’s all about strategy. Let’s set aside feelings for a second—how powerful do you think she is if she can silently wipe out our entire team?” He gestured with his arm for emphasis.
The trio fell silent after hearing that.
Additionally, a number of academy students who’d placed their bets on Tillysha due to her striking appearance almost universally found themselves at peace with being defeated by her. Those who were defeated didn’t have much of a bone to pick. After all, she’d single-handedly wiped out their team fair and square, relying on no one else. What was there to complain about? There was, however, one exception.
The blue crystals hovering in the square split the projected images into multiple screens, showing the remaining contestants.
When the screen flickered to Tillysha, a Brown-haired Girl in Tight Leather Outfit clenched her fists tightly.
Aileen was one of the earliest students to leave the break room, with just enough points to scrape by for academy admission. Yet, the bitterness in her heart didn’t seem to have subsided in the slightest.
She couldn’t comprehend it—why had she, the legitimate Divine Authority, lost to a Wild Female who had only awakened her powers recently? Her combat experience, her battlefield judgment, her Divine Authority ranking—they were all superior to her rival’s. She had no reason to lose.
On top of that, Aileen felt regret. Even as a Coleman Academy student with the minimum requirements, her tier placed her in the lowest treatment tier. Unless a higher-tier student invited her, her only option was to team up with similar-tier Male students, stuck living in a tiny shack on the furthest outer perimeters without even access to the nice mansions!
If only… if only she hadn’t initiated conflict with Tillysha in the beginning, wouldn’t her score have been much higher instead? …………
But now, it was too late. No matter how she tried to analyze her failure, the fact remained that she had lost. And the fact also remained that Tillysha still stood tall and victorious on the stage.
But……
Recalling the last look Tillysha gave her, the resentment in her heart dimmed, replaced by a strange kind of loneliness.
Tillysha hadn’t even spared her a proper glance—not exacting her revenge, nor gloating over her victory with contempt. Nothing. To Tillysha, it was as if she didn’t even deserve it.
Thoughts and emotions tangled together like a messy ball of yarn, leaving Aileen feeling conflicted.
After leaving the break room, she didn’t seek out her other teammates, instead returning alone to her dormitory, burying herself under the covers.
When the Top Ten was confirmed, though reluctant to attend, her feet betrayed her intentions, and she ended up watching the final Top Ten matches.
“Hey, Pat, she’s here, your crush Tillysha’s here! Look, look!”
“Wha- what do you mean crush? I just admire her skill, don’t go spreading rumors……” The long-haired boy blushed and snapped irritably.
“Not a crush? Then why have you been rambling about her nonstop since we left? Hearing Tillysha made it to the Top Ten probably made you happier than if you’d made it yourself. You can’t go three sentences without mentioning her!”
“Stop saying nonsense!……”
“Why not just admit it? What’s there to hide anyway? With Tillysha’s looks and abilities, she’s bound to have admirers in the academy.” The friend shrugged.
“Wh- what? Are you trying to say she can’t be admired?”
“Come on, even if nothing else, appearances matter. Attraction to beauty is universal. With that factor alone, she won’t go unnoticed.”
“So that makes you a shallow person then?”
“Hey, I’m honest, I don’t deny it. But while I’d pick someone cute, like Miss Wenfu, over someone like Tillysha who’s ethereally pure, you can have your preferences.”
“Wenfu?…… Do you mean that one?” The boy pointed to another figure near the Golden-haired Girl on the screen.
“Huh?!” His friend’s eyes widened. “Wenfu Miss?? Her split-screen’s right next to Tillysha’s?!”
“Not just close—it’s the same frame! They’re in the same place!”
“Whaaat??”
———
The Top Ten competition marked the final leg of the Crown Cup. After the announcement, Tillysha met her first Top Ten final opponent.
In reality, Tillysha had already locked onto this approaching enemy with her Divine Analysis Technique long before the opponent noticed her.
She had originally intended to let the enemy find her, then trick them into attacking her, so she could counterattack. But the enemy didn’t seem intent on sneaking up on her at all, and strolled freely down the mountain path, approaching her gradually in broad daylight.
Tillysha’s back was to her, but she knew—by the way she tightly gripped her longbow—that Tillysha was well-aware of her presence.
“Don’t be nervous, Miss with the golden hair.” A high-pitched voice, dripping with sweetness yet tinged with a hint of youthful innocence, came from behind Tillysha.
Tillysha remained silent, turning to face her opponent, her gaze lazily landing on the approaching blonde girl.
This petite girl had short shoulder-length hair. What stood out most were the cat ears, the same color as her hair, atop her head. Her clear blue eyes were pure and innocent.
Dressed in a backless, light-yellow lace dress, her attire accentuated her energetic and youthful aura.
Her ears revealed her identity—she was a Demi-human.
Without responding to the girl’s words, Tillysha silently fitted an arrow to her bow.
“Are you telling me not to move any closer?” The cat-eared girl immediately stopped in her tracks. “Alright, alright, I’ll stay put and won’t inch closer.”
Silence. Tillysha didn’t speak but had her arrow aimed directly at the Red-haired Girl.
It was evident she didn’t understand what the cat-eared girl meant.
“You didn’t attack immediately, which means you at least want to hear what I have to say, right?”
“Just relax. I pose no threat to you, otherwise I wouldn’t be so bold as to stroll right up to you, would I?”
“I came here to make a deal with you.”
“Allow me to assume this: your team is also down to just you now, isn’t it?”
