“Damn it, are you trying to get me killed?!”
At that moment, the sullen little maid was berating a certain sentient system.
“You pick this exact moment to drop this crappy task—neither early nor late, but right now?!”
“I can’t help it, sweetie. It’s not up to me; that’s just how the original plot unfolds. Besides, I already adjusted the task for you to ‘refuse Melrose’…”
System’s voice sounded a bit aggrieved. Just moments earlier, after Ximo casually accepted Melrose’s invitation, the system prompt had rung in her mind.
【As a highly suspicious Sickly Young Lady, although Melrose’s concern touched you deeply, you’ve recently started noticing something off.】
【This princess seems to be hiding some secret behind her back. She isn’t as warm and approachable as she appears on the surface.】
【This sets off alarm bells in your heart, battered by bullying since childhood. So, when Melrose deliberately invites you out in front of everyone, you refuse her.】
【Please complete the plot task “Publicly Refuse Melrose’s Invitation (Incomplete).” Friendly reminder: Failure will result in system punishment.】
That was why Ximo had quickly retracted the message she’d sent. Otherwise, if that action alone counted as a failure, it would’ve been way too embarrassing.
After thinking for two or three seconds, Ximo came up with a suitable excuse and resent the message.
“Sorry, Senior Sister. I have some personal matters to handle this weekend, so I probably can’t go out with you.”
That should work, right? She’d retracted the original message so quickly that Melrose probably hadn’t seen it. Unless Melrose had been staring at her screen… But a princess with a million things on her plate wouldn’t be sitting around waiting for her reply.
Ximo let out a sigh of relief and looked up. Right in front of the academy’s teaching building stood a statue of the Great Sage Gandalf. The bronze statue depicted Gandalf in a long magic robe, with a long goatee beard and a wide-brimmed hat, embodying the image of a wise elder.
Ximo was especially grateful to her fellow countryman right now… Luckily, when he’d plagiarized the smartphone, he’d copied all its functions too. If she hadn’t been able to retract the message, she’d really have been done for!
“System, why hasn’t the task completion notification popped up yet?”
“Because it doesn’t count as completed until the refusal succeeds, sweetie.”
Ximo blinked, and a bad premonition suddenly stirred in her heart.
Meanwhile, as she read Ximo’s new message, Melrose’s expression gradually cooled, like the calm before a massive storm.
She felt an impulse—to use her collection of little toys to control Ximo, to slowly torture her until she gave a satisfactory answer.
Why the sudden change of tune? Because of Xiliya? Or simply because she didn’t want to go out with her? Did she think their relationship wasn’t that close… just like before, unwilling to tell her what had happened?
“Hoo…”
Melrose exhaled slowly and typed her reply. She hadn’t planned to say this, but now, she just wanted to properly train the toy she’d set her sights on, to make her obediently agree to her demands—no matter the method.
For a hardcore sadist like Melrose, she was someone with extremely strong control issues. She’d kept many pet dogs before, precisely because those rowdy pets were loyal—loyal only to her.
Thus, when she saw the message from Melrose, Ximo froze in place.
“Ximo, you wouldn’t want the rest of the academy to know about you and Xiliya sneaking out of the dorms in the middle of the night and breaking into Instructor Shasta’s basement, would you?”
Ximo: “?”
This wasn’t right! Regardless of how Melrose even knew about it, what was with this blatant threatening tone?!
“Hiss…” Ximo sucked in a cold breath. “You’re saying… I can still refuse her now?”
System’s little head poked out from Ximo’s body unnoticed. After seeing the message, even she fell silent.
“…It’s fine, sweetie. I can extend the task deadline a bit.”
“See you at the academy gate at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Ximo.”
Melrose had retracted the threatening message at lightspeed, as if nothing had happened, and sent this instead. Her tone seemed back to normal.
But Ximo’s heart was now filled with unease. She knew the gravity of this. If Melrose really reported it to the academy higher-ups, there’d be no turning back.
Ximo didn’t know what the consequences would be if it reached the top—disciplinary action or even expulsion were possible. More importantly, the item Instructor Shasta had entrusted to her would definitely be lost.
After pondering for a moment, Ximo closed her student terminal and decided not to tell Xiliya for now. After all, Instructor Shasta had only asked her to go to the basement; it was Ximo who’d dragged Xiliya along on her own initiative. She didn’t want the fallout to implicate Xiliya.
Plus, Ximo knew Xiliya and Melrose didn’t get along. Telling her might not be the best choice.
Since Melrose hadn’t immediately reported it to the academy but came to her instead, that meant there was still room to maneuver. If she went out with Melrose and resolved it without Xiliya knowing, that would be ideal.
Ximo sighed inwardly. Now there was a big problem: With such a huge leverage in Melrose’s hands, she had no right to refuse… So who was going to make up for her missing system task?
—
On Saturday morning, Ximo got up early. For her student life, such leisurely weekend time was rare lately—she’d been inexplicably dragged into all sorts of troubles.
Since she was going out with Melrose, Ximo tidied up in advance. If she didn’t show enough importance, the princess might get upset and spill everything, right?
“Ximo, are you heading out? I thought you’d rest up today.”
The always-early-riser Xiliya emerged from the bathroom and saw Ximo packing her things. She couldn’t help but be surprised, thinking Ximo would enjoy this hard-earned weekend.
“Ah? Yeah… planning to go out for a bit.”
“Are you leaving the academy for the Imperial Capital? Something you need to handle?”
A flash of panic crossed Ximo’s face. Damn, she’d forgotten Xiliya got up early every day to hit the library. She hadn’t seen her in the dorm when she woke up and assumed she’d already left—not realizing she was in the bathroom.
“I…” Inspiration struck Ximo. “Right, I need to pick up custom gear in Cantelot.”
“My weapons from before got lost in the Mist Forest, so I commissioned some new ones from weapon shops in the Imperial Capital. Perfect timing over the weekend to grab them.”
