The originally closed door was reopened, but Ximo didn’t try to hide. Instead, she stood awkwardly at the doorway and scratched her head.
“Principal Meier, that…”
Ximo was certain she hadn’t made any noise just now. As expected of the principal of the Imperial Capital Magic Academy—she didn’t even know when she’d been discovered.
Principal Meier smiled amiably. “You and Melrose accidentally disrupted the behind-the-scenes manipulator’s plan by sheer luck. If the culprit is really someone from the Academy, both of you are at risk of being targeted.”
“So, I think you have the right to know about this. Just be extra careful from now on. However, if the other students at the Academy found out, it might cause panic, so…”
Principal Meier made a zipping motion over his mouth, and Ximo nodded vigorously, catching his drift perfectly.
She hadn’t expected Principal Meier to have such a modern personality instead of being some rigid old fogey. It caught her off guard.
And a behind-the-scenes manipulator… She hadn’t realized the Academy was so unsafe either.
“By the way, Instructor Shasta,” Principal Meier suddenly remembered something, “didn’t you mention before about wanting to change your Assistant Student? Is there some kind of problem…?”
“No, there’s no problem at all.”
Instructor Shasta glanced at the Crystal Ball on the desk and abruptly pulled Ximo in front of her, wrapping her arms around Ximo. Due to their height difference, though, it looked more like Shasta was hiding behind her.
“I’m on great terms with Student Ximo. Isn’t that right, Ximo?”
The Blood Clan’s mouth was truly as deceptive as ever—Shasta hadn’t said anything like that earlier—but Ximo just nodded anyway.
Principal Meier asked a few routine questions about whether she was adapting to her studies lately and how her relationships with classmates were going. Although Ximo thought of Jackson, she didn’t mention him and gave standard responses before making her escape.
That was terrifying. Principal Meier hadn’t been angry, but getting caught eavesdropping by a teacher still felt awful…
It had been a good chance to bring up the Jackson issue with the principal, but Ximo didn’t want to make a big deal out of something so minor, so she let it slide.
On the way back, System’s long-absent voice cautiously echoed in her mind.
“Darling, a new plot task is coming up. But this one might be a bit tricky. Even if I tamper with the task content to help you, it could still be troublesome…”
Right, she’d been so busy lately that Ximo had forgotten about the System tasks. System’s voice was small, as if afraid of being scolded, but Ximo had already let it go.
“Go ahead, what task?”
【As the Sickly Young Lady who didn’t take the entrance exam, you’ve been isolated by your classmates because you failed to fit in at the start of the semester.】
【Even though a week has passed since the semester began, you still haven’t made any friends in class. This leaves you, who came to the Imperial Capital Magic Academy full of anticipation, deeply troubled.】
【Please complete the plot task “Isolated by Classmates (Incomplete)” as soon as possible. Warm reminder: Failure to complete this task will result in punishment.】
“Of course, that’s the original task. Let me think about how to alter it for you, darling… Huh? The task is already complete?”
System’s voice clearly faltered in surprise, and soon the System prompt sounded in Ximo’s mind again.
【Congratulations, darling. Plot task “Isolated by Classmates (Completed)”. Rewards will be settled shortly.】
“Could it be that you’re really blessed with the Innate Sickly Young Lady Saint Body?”
Ximo smiled helplessly. She didn’t know about any saint body, but this did indirectly confirm that Jackson had definitely been spreading rumors about her in class. For a moment, she wasn’t sure whether to be angry or pleased.
Without Jackson stirring things up, completing a task like “Isolated by Classmates” would’ve been tough. She’d probably have had to proactively antagonize most of her classmates to lower their favorability… Maybe she should just let it be? She might be able to leech off a few more tasks like this later.
“Settle the task rewards too. I think magic talent is still really important right now.”
She still couldn’t cast any magic, but Ximo knew it was her biggest trump card at the Academy so far.
【Task rewards settled for darling: “Intermediate Magic Fragment ×1″… The magic talent rewards have been fully settled. Now moving to the next phase: Collect a few magic fragments to unlock a brand-new magic skill.】
After boosting magic talent came magic skills. This reward made perfect sense, and Ximo’s spirits lifted. Great! So as long as she completed a few more tasks, she could quickly shore up her magic weakness.
This suddenly gave her the motivation to study magic. Ximo quickened her pace, eager to get back to the dorm and cram.
But the Academy was huge, and the dorm was far away. Plus, the sky was gradually darkening—Instructor Shasta had called her over after dinner.
Whatever, she’d take a detour. The map showed a shortcut through a small path this way?
The Student Terminal’s screen cast a ghostly glow on Ximo’s face. Though night had fallen, she wasn’t afraid of ghosts and calmly turned into a narrow path flanked by groves on both sides.
The Student Terminal even had a flashlight function… Ximo had just tried it on a whim, but it actually worked, projecting a conical beam of light ahead on the path.
“By the way, why does this world’s tech tree feel so similar to my original world’s? Do you think it’s possible that someone else crossed over here before me?”
“I don’t know about that, darling. I only handle plot-related stuff…”
“Sigh, go play somewhere else.”
Ximo shook her head but suddenly halted, raising the glowing Student Terminal to shine toward the side.
“What’s wrong, darling?”
“There’s someone in the woods,” Ximo replied mentally. “Be quiet.”
Her assassin’s keen instincts made Ximo instantly sense something off, though she wasn’t sure if it was trouble. What if it was just a couple sneaking off for a rendezvous? That happened at schools all the time, right?
But Ximo quickly realized it wasn’t. She caught a faint whiff of blood in the air. Whoever was hiding in the woods definitely wasn’t a lovestruck pair… Could it be the behind-the-scenes manipulator, just as the principal said, coming after her?
Before Ximo could figure it out, a leaf drifted down lightly. In the next instant, a figure burst from the bushes!
Ximo instinctively reached under her skirt but grasped at empty air.
Oh no! She suddenly realized her gear had all been left behind in the Mist Forest—she wasn’t carrying any weapons!
