Figuring out a believable way to let Hysteria and Elena discover the "evil plan" between him and Ken—that was the challenge.
Linen didn't like admitting it, but he had to sigh: human nature is really just... messy.
People don't trust things that come too easily. It's like when some random "big sister" messages you out of the blue on a chat app—your first thought isn't romance, it's whether she's trying to sell you overpriced cereal or weird tea leaves.
But a girl-next-door who finally agrees to watch a movie with you after some back-and-forth? Now that feels real.
So, if he wanted Elena and Hysteria to discover the "intel" and genuinely believe it, then he needed to lay the groundwork properly.
Time to throw a little party.
...
"Study party?"
As school was about to end for the day, the two girls—called over by Linen—exchanged a look.
"Yeah," Linen replied, completely serious. "We're in the same study group. It's perfectly normal to do group review after class, right?"
"How about we do it at your dorm tonight, then my place next time?"
Wait. Wouldn't that mean he'd get to walk into her room next time too?
Hysteria immediately bristled, ready to shut it down.
"You trash—don't even think—"
"Sounds great, Linen. Let's do it after dinner tonight, okay?"
Elena jumped in and quickly clamped a hand over Hysteria's mouth, cutting her off mid-spellcast.
"Great. I'll stop by later then," Linen said with a thoughtful glance at Hysteria before walking off.
---
The moment he was out of earshot—
"Elena, what are you thinking?! How could you let that annoying guy into our room so easily!?" Hysteria protested.
"Calm down, Shia. This is a necessary sacrifice," Elena said gently, hands clasped. "Remember, we agreed we'd gather information from Linen, right? This is our chance."
"Besides, you do know he lives alone in his dorm room, right?"
"Of course I kn—wait, I don't care who he lives with!" Hysteria huffed.
"That's not what I meant." Elena waved her hands quickly. "What I mean is, if Linen's with us tonight, his room will be empty. That makes it the perfect time to search it for information."
Hearing that, Hysteria shook her head wildly in refusal.
"No way!"
Just the thought of being alone in a room with Linen made her feel like bugs were crawling up her spine.
Whatever the reason, even if she had to jump off the building, there was no way she was staying alone with that trash Norton.
---
Later that evening, in the girls' dorm room—
"Looks like it's just the two of us tonight. Elena's not around," Linen observed from across the round study table. Hysteria sat across from him, visibly tense.
He squinted. "Why is your whole body shaking? Do you have ants in your pants?"
"H-hah?! You trash—don't make things up! This is just a normal study party, right? And Elena's grades are so good, she can afford to show up late!"
"Fair. I mean, you are the only underperformer in our group, Hysteria."
Linen nodded sagely.
The comment instantly made Hysteria's cheeks flare red. She opened her mouth to retort, but caught herself—damn it, she had to endure for the mission's sake.
So instead, she forced out the fakest smile known to mankind.
"Oh, I'm so sorry you have to study with someone like me, Linen. I hope you don't mind too much."
"It's fine. I don't mind."
Linen waved it off and lowered his head to continue reading.
Infuriatingly, he wasn't wrong.
Elena was the type to work hard—no surprise she'd scored second place on the entrance exam. That much Hysteria could accept.
What she couldn't accept… was that the top score went to Linen.
He doesn't even pay attention in class! How is he doing better than me?!
When she first saw the rankings, it felt like betrayal.
Still, she vaguely recalled him once muttering something like, "Compared to studying nine ancient tomes simultaneously, Arcane Theory is child's play."
What kind of horrifying royal preschool education did the Nortons go through?!
Even thinking about it made Hysteria shiver.
---
Outside the room, Elena let out a breath of relief as she listened to their voices—not yelling, not fighting. Good.
It had taken a lot of convincing to get Hysteria to distract Linen while she snuck into his dorm. Leaving Hysteria to poke around would've been a disaster—she would've stormed in and flipped every drawer in sight.
If anyone could do this quietly, it was Elena.
Still, there was this odd little feeling deep down. Like maybe something... interesting might happen with Shia and Linen alone in a room?
She caught herself smiling.
No. Bad Elena. This is serious business, not time for popcorn!
Hang in there, Shia. For the mission... let Linen win a little tonight!
Reaching Linen's room undetected, she slid the master key into the lock—something she'd quietly obtained in advance.
Bingo.
---
In his seat, Linen paused mid-page.
The small detection spell he'd left behind had just gone off.
Someone had entered his room.
And judging from the timing—paired with Hysteria's ultra-awkward behavior—he didn't even need to guess.
Elena.
Too bad she was going to find... absolutely nothing.
Yes, he did plan to leak some fake intel to the heroines eventually, but first—he needed insurance.
If Ken panicked and went rogue, he'd need rejection points for emergency buffs.
Trying to get rejected earlier by inviting them to his room? That was a basic move.
Making Elena so flustered she'd say no? Still a bit cliché.
But if he wanted maximum value… the real prize was sitting right in front of him: this crabby little princess with a flea's attention span and a fuse made of paper.
He glanced up at her, smiling faintly.
She was nervously rubbing her cheek, looking like she was ready to bolt at any moment.
She noticed the gaze and glared.
"What are you staring at, you—! You... very knowledgeable classmate, Linen!"
"Nothing really. I'm just not used to studying with someone like you. Feels different from home."
Linen sighed and closed his book.
"If you could help me recreate the same atmosphere, maybe I'd be able to focus."
This guy... so high-maintenance!
Hysteria gritted her teeth. A # had practically formed on her forehead.
Still, she couldn't blow their cover just yet.
So she forced out another smile.
"Well, if it helps you study, I guess I can try. But who do you usually study with at home?"
"Thanks. I appreciate it," Linen said, nodding. Then with an innocent expression, he added:
"Usually it's just me and my maid. I've never studied with a friend before."
"So if you could change into something similar to what my maids wear... I might concentrate better."
M-M-Maid?!
He wanted her—Princess of the Flame Rose Empire—to cosplay as a maid?!
Under the table, Hysteria's hand clenched so hard it nearly snapped the wood. She was one second away from flipping the entire desk.
Still—smile. Endure. Breathe.
"Oh, what a shame. I don't have anything like that, unfortunately. So sad."
"It's fine," Linen said, interrupting smoothly.
From the storage ring on his finger, he pulled out a neatly folded maid outfit—short skirt, black stockings—and placed it on the table.
Then looked up at her with innocent eyes.
"Lucky for you... I do."
CRACK.
Something inside Hysteria shattered.