The Demon God Pillar Elrunas incident from the original story had more or less come to an end. There weren’t any major casualties—just a lot of property damage. But compared to how the original plot had left Carillian Academy in ruins, this was already a pretty good outcome.
...Could it be that the world’s trajectory had changed because of him, Vinny?
The dramatic reduction in casualties had come about because of him, the original villain. If word got out, people would think it was absurd—completely unbelievable.
Even so, Vinny still found the whole thing strange. There were so many questions left unanswered throughout the whole affair. Take, for instance, that incident that even Aesphyra hadn’t anticipated.
It made sense that the current timeline would deviate from the original storyline. Vinny could accept that. But this deviation... felt a little too strange.
Could it really be that just because he, Vinny, had “reformed,” the narrative correction force had to assign someone else to take up the villain role and keep doing bad things?
Vinny didn’t think it was that simple. The narrative correction force wouldn’t do something so irrational. If it did, that’d be way too contrived.
Bronze Blood’s plot had reached a conclusion. But the real reason Aesphyra’s plan had been exposed—nobody had figured that out yet.
If someone powerful inside Bronze Blood had really betrayed them, why had all of them looked genuinely shocked? Were they just faking it? But why would they need to pretend? Don’t tell him even the zealots—those high-level cultists—weren’t told the specifics of the plan? That didn’t make sense.
Zealots, as their name suggested, were born and raised in families that had worshiped Elrunas for generations. Their loyalty to Bronze Blood, to Elrunas, was absolute. There’s no way they wouldn’t be informed of the plan.
Vinny sank into thought, but no matter how much he mulled it over, he couldn’t make sense of it. So he gave up.
Forget it. What’s the point of overthinking? Sure, he, Young Master Vinny, was clever and sharp, but why waste extra brain cells? That kind of problem was for the story’s protagonist, Aesphyra, to worry about. Why should he stress himself out?
What good would it do him to overthink it? He had already “reformed” in front of Aesphyra, so all he had to do was go with the flow. Aesphyra would definitely figure it out herself. And if even Aesphyra couldn’t resolve it, then no matter how hard he tried, it’d be meaningless.
Final exams were coming up. That was what he actually needed to worry about. Even though he was intelligent and astute—and his grades in the general studies subjects had improved compared to when he first enrolled—they hadn’t improved that much. If he wanted to maintain his ranking, he needed to think of a solution.
Counting on himself to improve quickly? Totally unrealistic. If he could’ve improved on his own, he would’ve done it already.
Yeah, he had to admit it—maybe his ability to study wasn’t exactly... ideal.
Maybe he could use Vanessa’s form to study. But keep in mind, the person taking the exams couldn’t be Vanessa. Which meant Vinny would inevitably have to face the situation where he’d forget most of what he learned after waking up in the morning.
He didn’t have Vanessa’s photographic memory. Vanessa’s high stats didn’t apply to him. What he needed was a method—a way to learn that would let him retain more information and use it flexibly.
Besides, Shikondell had become very sensitive to Vanessa’s scent lately. If he tried to turn into Vanessa to cram, there was a real risk she’d notice.
Based on the memory retention curve, the things you learn at first are the easiest to forget, but after a while they stick better. So even if he did transform into Vanessa to study, the stuff he’d already learned wouldn’t be forgotten. That would just be the cherry on top, wouldn’t it?
With his goal clear, Vinny decided he needed to find a genius student to tutor him.
But that was easier said than done. Most of the students at this academy had some kind of family background. They weren’t hurting for money. Why would they waste their °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° time tutoring someone else? And given Vinny’s reputation here—well, what could he expect?
Still, when he thought about possible tutors, two people immediately came to mind. Two people who were very likely to say yes—and both were heroines.
One was Mirexia. The other was Shikondell.
If he asked either of them, they’d probably agree to help him study without question. But thinking it through... it just didn’t feel right.
Mirexia’s grades placed her in the top five of the second-years. Teaching Vinny first-year material would be a piece of cake for her. But with all the chaos at the Academy lately, and the end-of-term rush piling on Student Council duties, Mirexia was run ragged. She was so busy her heels were about to blister from running around.
And Mirexia had a strong sense of responsibility. She was determined to make up for the time she had spent visiting and resting with Vinny the past few days. Just handling her Student Council duties was leaving her with barely any time to rest.
Besides, she wasn’t the only one who needed to study. What, just because she was a good student, he was going to make her stop studying to tutor him? Wasn’t that just... entitled?
Mirexia was too busy. So Vinny gave up on asking her and instead went to the person who was nearby, easy to approach, and always around—Shikondell.
When Shikondell heard that Vinny wanted her to tutor him, she was thrilled. But then...
“For this one, first you do this, and then this, and then you can also do this—so the answer is right here.” Shikondell sat on a tiny stool, holding a pen, scribbling away on the worksheet while murmuring rapidly. She quickly produced a long solution without realizing that Vinny, sitting beside her, was utterly lost. His expression was blank. He couldn’t follow her thought process at all.
“Vinny, that’s how you do it—do you understand?” Shikondell’s eyes sparkled like little stars, her face full of hopeful anticipation like a little bunny asking for praise.
“...I still don’t quite get the steps,” Vinny said. He really wanted to say he didn’t understand any of it, but seeing the proud look on her face, he couldn’t bring himself to burst her bubble.
“Oh? Which step didn’t make sense?” Shikondell asked. “Was it this one? Yeah, I thought that part was kinda tricky too. Alright, listen closely now! First we do this, then this...”
Shikondell was bursting with energy. It seemed she was genuinely happy to finally have a way to be helpful to Vinny.
Vinny silently watched her, opened his mouth... then closed it again.
He really didn’t have the heart to snuff out her enthusiasm.
But seriously—he hadn’t understood a single word of that from beginning to end.
“Um, Teacher Dell, could you... maybe explain things a little more slowly?” Vinny tried to put it delicately.
“Eh? You mean you didn’t understand?” Shikondell, who had just been so happy to help him, suddenly looked crestfallen, slipping into her usual pit of self-blame.
“No, no, that’s not what I meant. You explained it really well—it’s just, my comprehension’s kind of poor. Could you slow it down a bit?” Vinny quickly amended.
He’d seen Shikondell sleepless and worried for him just a few nights ago. She’d been through so much. He really didn’t have the heart to be harsh with her.
Even though she’d been totally unhelpful so far and was mostly stressing herself out.
“Alright, alright! Vinny, listen carefully now. First, you do this, then...”
“Wait, wait—stop right there! Teacher Dell, can you tell me what exactly you mean by ‘this’?” Vinny finally voiced his biggest confusion.
“Eh? ‘This’ is just... ‘this’? It’s a simple formula pattern?” Shikondell tilted her head with a look that said, Why would that need an explanation?
“And... which formula, exactly?” Vinny’s lips twitched.
“Oh, that one! That... uh... the one called... something. Sorry, Vinny, I don’t remember formula names. I kind of forgot.” Shikondell tapped her tiny head. “But formulas don’t need names, right? Just look through them all and memorize them. That’s what matters.”
“......”
At that moment, Vinny knew—Shikondell might have decent grades, but she was not suited to teaching others.
Some people were like that: natural-born overachievers who couldn’t explain anything clearly. The moment they started solving problems, they got lost in their own process. Their logic made perfect sense to them—but left everyone else in the dust. Having someone like that tutor you was like trying to drink soup with a fork.
So, Vinny didn’t ask Shikondell to tutor him anymore.
This was just ridiculous.
Thanks to his reputation, Vinny didn’t have many friends at the Academy—especially not smart ones. Mirexia and Shikondell were both out. What was he supposed to do—ask Aesphyra??
Forget whether she’d even agree—he didn’t want to ask her. The way she’d toyed with him a few days ago was still fresh in his mind. If he ran into her again, he might not be able to stop himself from trying to “settle the score.”
And would Aesphyra even want to help him? She’d literally stalked him not long ago, suspicious of his intentions. Even if she’d let her guard down after confirming he wasn’t up to anything... that didn’t mean she liked him.
If he asked, Aesphyra would probably tease him, give him some vague, bait-filled answer, then breeze off with a smirk. No way she’d tutor him—what girl would agree to be alone with a guy like that?
It’d sound like some shameless harem protagonist move... but that’s exactly what it would be.
And that was it. That was all the people he knew well enough at the Academy. He couldn’t exactly ask his card-playing buddies to teach him, right?
Sure, their bromance was strong, but those guys were useless at everything except cards. Their grades were garbage. Asking them to tutor him would be a joke. Fred was even worse—his scores were trash, worse than Vinny’s. If they studied together, who would be helping who?
Let’s be real: among that entire card-playing gang, Vinny was the best student. And that wasn’t saying much.
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with a good candidate. So in the end, Vinny went to the library by himself.
What else could he do? His social life was basically a lost cause.
He, Young Master Vinny—dashing, elegant, devastatingly handsome—had a face that could ruin lives with a single glance. But the gods had opened a window for him and slammed a big ol’ door in his face: no one wanted to talk to him.
It wasn’t just that no one wanted to talk. People actively avoided him.
The moment he walked into the library, a bunch of girls carrying books looked up, realized who he was... and subtly changed course. Their footsteps and their line of sight drifted in sync, as if an invisible barrier surrounded him, one even he couldn’t see. No one came within five meters of him.
Seriously? Wasn’t this a bit much?
Vinny was inwardly furious.
He was this good-looking, and yet not a single normal girl wanted to get near him??
At this rate, how the hell was he supposed to achieve his dream of flying off into the sunset with a random cute stranger?
Given his current reputation, the odds were abysmal.
He sighed deeply, his future shrouded in uncertainty. For now, Vinny decided he would just be a quiet, beautiful young man.
At least there was one upside: he got to enjoy the rare luxury of a whole table to himself. In this packed library, where everyone else had to share, no one dared to sit at a table once Vinny had claimed it. Anyone who was already sitting there quietly got up and left.
It was almost exam season. Library seating was in short supply. Everyone was squeezing in with strangers. So getting a whole table to himself was actually kind of nice.
Vinny shook his head, crossed his legs, opened his workbook and textbook, and started studying on his own.
Chances were, no one would talk to him the whole afternoon.
But... the unexpected happened, as expected.
Tap tap. Two soft, rhythmic knocks on the table.
Vinny instinctively ignored it. He didn’t think anyone would be looking for him.
Tap tap.
The person in front of him didn’t leave. Vinny finally realized—someone really was trying to talk to him.
He looked up—and froze.
Because the girl standing in front of him... was someone who absolutely shouldn’t have been the one to approach him.
“...Excuse me. Are any of the seats around you taken?” The black-haired girl asked coolly, her voice as clear and cold as a mountain spring.
“...No,” Vinny answered reflexively.
“Then, pardon the intrusion.” With that, the beautiful black-haired girl pulled out a chair and gracefully sat down. Her movements were elegant and effortless, as if she hadn’t even considered Vinny’s presence an obstacle. Her black-stockinged legs crossed naturally.
Looking at this girl with black hair and violet eyes, Vinny felt like he was staring at a royal lady straight out of an oil painting.
Just a few simple words—and she had completely radiated that overwhelming, inborn aura.
Elegant. Polite. Noble. Confident to her very core. Unwavering in word and deed. Unbothered by how others saw her. Assertive. Highly efficient and capable of taking initiative.
Honestly, he admired people like this. He could only silently sigh—
As expected of someone destined to become Empress of the Empire.