Innocence is a funny thing.
Its part of speech is never fixed, but most of the time, it carries a distinctly negative meaning.
And this time, Allen had unknowingly become associated with that word.
Yes—he had thought too little. He had been far too naïve, actually believing that everything had simply ended like that.
How could that possibly be the case?
As he sighed and continued discussing possible upgrades to the tent with the twins, he had absolutely no idea that he was already being calculated against.
Who did it?
Of course, it was still that very first group of gossip-hungry onlookers.
Although Allen had utterly defeated Kaoru in front of everyone—and even made her cry—he had surprisingly received very few complaints.
Instead, he had gained an unexpected surge of goodwill among the girls.
The main reason was that the groundwork laid by the morning class had been far too solid.
A male wizard who was knowledgeable, decent-looking, and overwhelmingly strong found it very easy to win favor with witches.
Especially when, after the duel, he hadn't turned away coolly, but instead chose to comfort the loser—this single action alone had massively boosted his likability.
Even though the loser was their leader, and even though the defeat had been humiliating, none of that mattered.
After all, someone like their big sister wouldn't just randomly get tangled in rumors with an ordinary wizard.
So why had the rumors between Allen and Kaoru spread so widely?
Wasn't it precisely because his vast knowledge had already been acknowledged by the girls present?
Thus, they collectively ignored the fact that Allen's actions were nothing more than friendly consolation—and instead let their imaginations run wild.
They're a perfect match!
Strong. Handsome. Gentle. Knowledgeable.
What was there to criticize?
If they hadn't already mentally paired Kaoru with him, they might've started considering Love Potions by now—though, of course, that was only a minority opinion.
Don't assume such thoughts don't exist.
Do you know how Voldemort was born?²
Do you know how many "enhanced" gifts Harry nearly received during his sixth year?³
Still, since Kaoru—the leader—had already taken the initiative, the rest had no choice.
They could only quietly help her strategize.
Though Kaoru's face was red with embarrassment, her refusal wasn't very firm, which only made everyone more excited.
Unfortunately, most of the girls present had no dating experience at all.
And even those who had dated had never experienced the situation of a girl chasing a boy.
They could only rely on imagination.
Thus, without Allen knowing a single thing, he was practically dissected in discussion.
Never underestimate the mobilization ability of girls.
Once they united, information about Allen was collected at astonishing speed.
Even Zongze—the student who had interacted with Allen the most—was summoned.
At first, Zongze nearly scared himself half to death, afraid that his earlier leak of Kaoru's information had been exposed.
But when the questions turned out to be about Allen instead, his heart finally settled.
As for Allen's data?
Naturally, he sold it without hesitation.
If he acted suspicious at a moment like this, he might as well forget about surviving on campus.
As the girls flipped through Zongze's exclusive intel, they were utterly shocked.
It seemed as though nothing could stop that young wizard—he was almost too perfect.
If they hadn't personally witnessed Allen effortlessly blocking Kaoru's attacks, and if several girls hadn't sworn they'd seen Allen chatting casually with professors, they would've suspected the file was fabricated.
In the end, Zongze received a simple warning and was allowed to leave unharmed.
The warning was straightforward:
If he ever revealed that the girls had investigated Allen, he was dead.
Wiping cold sweat from his brow, Zongze silently swore never to get involved again.
This was a clash between gods—he couldn't afford to offend anyone.
"Sorry, Allen-san… I still want to graduate alive. I hope you can survive this intact. I'm staying out of it."
And just like that, Allen lost his final source of information.
=======
To be fair, Allen wasn't entirely blameless in this matter.
After all—he had won.
As the 'boss', Kaoru had never tasted defeat. Her confidence had always been absolute.
After Marshall recklessly flirted with her, she sensed something different about him compared to the boys who acted like quails in her presence.
Coupled with the disastrous effects of that so-called training course, the girl entered the initial stage of romance—
Only for it to fail before it even began.
Then came the rumors.
And when she tried to handle them using the methods she excelled at, she was defeated in the most direct way possible.
Do you really think her affection wouldn't increase?
Especially after Allen's reckless attempt at comfort.
Yes, he succeeded in comforting her—but in doing so, he unknowingly skyrocketed her favorability, blasting straight past the warning line.
Unfortunately—
It was autumn, not the season of blossoms.
Put bluntly, it was a case of fallen flowers yearning for flowing water.
To Allen, he had only met Kaoru twice.
Once, they fought.
The other time, she slapped Marshall.
Rejection? No.
But affection? Where would that even come from?
Love at first sight was mostly a myth—unless both parties were purely visual creatures who locked eyes at first glance.
And right now, neither Kaoru nor Allen fit that description.
So how could sparks possibly fly?
Kaoru's complicated emotional journey was something Allen knew absolutely nothing about.
To him, everything was baffling enough as it was. Not developing a negative impression was already impressive.
Love at first sight? What a joke.
Not to mention Marshall's involvement.
In short, this was a tragedy that had been doomed from the very beginning.
Let us observe a moment of silence for Kaoru.
Yet neither of them realized this.
Allen was still discussing tent modifications with the twins, while Kaoru listened to advice from a group of people with zero experience.
Everything seemed perfectly harmonious.
=======
The collision of imagination often leads to technological innovation—especially when hands-on experimentation is allowed.
After discussion, the three of them added powerful new functions to the tent.
A combination of Spells and Transfiguration allowed the tent to respond differently based on who was inside and who was visiting.
For example:
"The owner is out."
"The owner is busy, please come back later."
None of this was remarkable.
The real strength lay in the hidden mechanism.
If a professor visited, the tent would inform them that the owner was sick—and moments before the visit, all other occupants would be moved to undetectable locations, leaving only the "sick" owner behind, complete with a fabricated illness.
Yes.
It was designed specifically for skipping classes—and avoiding dorm inspections.
Just as the three were happily optimizing it, a group of visitors arrived at their tent.
They were Allen's roommates.
Among them, Marshall looked particularly strange.
"Been looking for you everywhere. Didn't expect you to be here. We visited this tent several times, and it kept saying no one was inside."
"If Lee Jordan hadn't sworn you were definitely here, we wouldn't have barged in."
Clearly, they'd been played by the tent.
"What's wrong? Did something happen? Why the rush?" Allen asked casually.
He was adjusting the transfer spell when he suddenly thought of something.
"Wait—this isn't about the afternoon duel, is it? Relax, it's settled. The girl isn't planning to cause Marshall any trouble."
"She's not planning to trouble Marshall," Shane said quietly.
"But Allen… do you know what the latest rumor this afternoon is?"
"Do you know what your disappearance after the duel has evolved into now?"
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