In the silent, empty corridors of the teaching building, a shadowy figure strode forward, his silhouette stretching grotesquely under the moonlight pouring through the tall windows.
"Come out, Elena, my adorable student. Weren't you looking for your teacher? I'm right here—why won't you come say hello?"
"You must have so many questions. Let your teacher answer them for you."
"Even if you won't think of yourself, shouldn't you consider that little princess who trusted you so much? It surprised even me, seeing how much she believed in you at the very end. Are you really okay watching her die from my poison?"
At the corner of the stairwell, Elena tightly hugged Hysteria, who had already lost consciousness, her lips turning a sickly purple-blue. Elena bit her own lip until blood seeped out.
She herself had inhaled some of Ken's poison mist, and her condition was deteriorating quickly. She forced herself to steady her breathing despite the growing dizziness, fearing that any noise might reveal her position. Using the sharp pain as a distraction, she desperately cycled her mana to remain alert.
As a traitorous teacher determined to kill them, Ken had taught the two inexperienced girls a brutal lesson:
Never give an Arcane Mage stronger than yourself a moment's respite—otherwise, in a heartbeat, the hunter could become the hunted.
The healing artifact had turned their carefully prepared counterattack into a lethal mistake.
Tonight, no one else would come to the teaching building, and the next two days were holidays.
If Ken acted swiftly, their disappearance might not even be discovered until the day after tomorrow.
No help would come. Despair filled her, until a name flickered through her mind again:
Linen... Linen's on his way!
Elena's fading eyes briefly brightened again. She didn't know why she trusted Linen so much, considering he was probably no stronger than Hysteria.
But more importantly… could she really believe that Linen would come and save her again?
"Oh, right—you're not still hoping someone will come save you, are you?"
Ken's sneering laughter broke through her thoughts again, his voice filled with sadistic amusement.
"Who are you waiting for?"
"Gust? That old man could be trouble, but students like you mean nothing compared to his magical experiments. I'm sure he locks himself up in his lab the moment class ends."
"Millian? Now, that woman might actually care about you two, but it's unfortunate—she won't realize you're missing until at least two days later."
"Who else could you possibly be waiting for...?"
"Wait a minute—you're not actually expecting Prince Linen, are you?!"
Ken seemed to remember something amusing, his grin widening mockingly.
"You must believe that the kind prince who always cleans up after you will once again be your savior, right? Well, allow me to share a little secret with you~"
"It was actually His Highness Linen's idea to eliminate you two tonight—I'm merely his pawn. Surprised? Shocked?"
Elena shut her eyes tightly in anguish. No matter how firmly she believed in Linen, under such circumstances, a sliver of doubt inevitably emerged. Such wavering thoughts were glaring weaknesses to a seasoned mage.
"Found you."
Ken narrowed his eyes. While searching, he'd continuously extended his mana perception. Elena's wavering emotions had clearly disturbed the mana around her, giving her position away.
Ken marched confidently toward the corner he sensed, suddenly sticking his head around the stairway.
"Empty? Did she realize she was exposed and relocate? It doesn't matter; after breathing in that poison mist, she couldn't have gotten far."
Ken chuckled coldly, his gaze sweeping around the corridor, finally settling on the small storage room nearby.
...
So, is this where it ends…?
Inside the storage room, Elena leaned weakly against the door, wiping the sweat off her cheek and bitterly smiling.
Just then, a voice sliced through the silence like a dazzling bolt of lightning in the darkness:
"Ken, why are you barking like a mad dog?"
Ken, startled by the displeased voice, quickly recovered, realizing this was no enemy but rather his greatest ally.
"Prince Linen? Your timing is impeccable."
Ken forced out a smile, looking toward the figure ascending the stairs step by step.
"You've created quite a mess," Linen said, frowning. "Why is there so much blood?"
"My apologies, Your Highness—that's my blood. Those two little brats managed to ambush me."
Ken looked embarrassed; despite the ambush, a high-ranking Arcane Mage being pushed to such a state by novices was humiliating.
Your blood?
That's good, that's good.
He'd worried Ken had already killed them, which would have completely ruined his plans.
Relieved, Linen continued:
"And where are those two students now?"
"In that room, Your Highness."
Ken puffed up proudly. "The little princess is nearly dead from my poison, and the commoner brat inhaled plenty as well—she should be unconscious."
"Nearly dead? Unconscious? What do you mean?"
Linen's brow creased deeply.
For anyone else, Ken wouldn't have bothered explaining, but given Linen's royal status and their agreement, he had no choice but to recount how he'd nearly been defeated by the two girls. Linen's expression grew more and more troubled.
"So you mean, those two girls are gravely injured and unconscious, completely unable to see or hear?"
Then hasn't my perfect plan gone down the drain again?
God damn it, why does this always happen to me?!
Linen looked up at the ceiling in despair.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Ken answered honestly, puzzled by Linen's strange fixation.
"Really now, Teacher Ken," Linen sighed deeply. "I didn't expect you to be this ruthless. Ambushed by two inexperienced girls, yet still able to turn the tables—you've really shown their incompetence."
"You flatter me, Your Highness…"
A sudden, razor-sharp [Wind Blade] shot at Ken's throat. He dodged just in time, losing only a strand of hair, but his eyes flashed viciously.
"Your Highness, don't force my hand!"
After tonight, he'd be a fugitive anyway—killing a prince along with the princess made no difference now.
The [Wind Blade] Linen had just fired was quick and fierce, genuinely threatening Ken, who'd exhausted much of his mana and artifacts.
Yet, how many more of such blades could a mere One-Ring mage like Linen cast?
[System has distributed all stored rewards. Your mana will automatically replenish upon depletion.]
"Shh," Linen placed a finger to his lips. "Don't wake them up."
Behind him, at least a dozen sharp green lights appeared.
"[Wind Blades]… How can there be… so many?"
Ken's eyes filled with despair.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
...
In the storage room, Linen quietly opened the door, sighing with relief upon seeing both girls still breathing.
Though his plan had once again collapsed, he still knew the value of keeping them alive.
Elena and Hysteria had to survive—how else would he continually farm rejection points?
His plan had undoubtedly failed; now was the time to minimize losses.
Fortunately, after killing Ken, his villainous reputation would be set in stone.
He'd anonymously alerted other Academy teachers. Help would soon arrive, but he needed to handle their poisoning first.
He took out a [Magic Stone] given by the system, which accelerated mana recovery and resisted poison. Linen placed the stone gently into Hysteria's robe. When he noticed the stone barely created a bulge, he couldn't help but feel sympathy for the girl.
Next was Elena, who was less severely poisoned—but just to be safe, Linen decided to transfer some of his own mana to her.
"Thank goodness you're still alive. Otherwise, where would I farm my points from?"
Holding Elena close, Linen murmured quietly as he channeled mana into her.
And right at that final moment, just before Elena fully lost consciousness, when all her senses were fading into chaos, she distinctly felt the warmth of that embrace.
And heard those unquestionably sincere words:
"...Thank goodness, you're still alive…"
With a sweet smile lingering on her lips, Elena slipped peacefully into darkness.