"Who hired you?"
"Then who gave you your orders?" Morin shot back.
The standoff froze.
Crow and Maya clearly couldn't sell out the Boss. Morin also couldn't just invent an employer. If he named one, it would have to be Angé, Luminous's parents, or even Han Gao.
None were good options.
"Why don't we both take a step back?" Morin broke the silence. "Your target is Princess. Mine is Luminous. We don't interfere with each other."
"You have a point," Crow said, appearing to agree. "But you're getting too close to Princess."
"Does your protection cover that?" Morin's gaze shifted. "Are you hired by the Gattuso family?"
"...Of course not." Crow paused, then answered flatly, inspiration flashing.
"Then that means you are." Morin nodded thoughtfully. "Princess must fit your family's plans perfectly. Otherwise, you wouldn't spend this much effort."
On the other end, Crow jumped internally.
So you did drink my foot-washing water after all!
I used your own trick against you!
Crow immediately felt satisfied.
Then froze.
Still suspicious.
Suspicion loop.
This is exactly why I hate dealing with smart people. If only he were an idiot.
Crow silently sighed and forced herself to calm down. Every sentence Morin spoke was disassembled, recombined, analyzed. All possibilities were listed, eliminated, and ranked by probability.
A genuine human supercomputer.
"It's fine. I'm just making sure no woman gets involved with Luminous," Morin said, his face practically reading employees suffer too. "He's not mature enough yet. His mindset, ability, and the responsibility he carries don't allow romance."
"Can you believe someone gave me a task like this? No need to protect him. Just make sure he doesn't date."
"Haha... yeah. That's really weird..." Crow laughed dryly, swallowing the urge to scream our Boss is trying everything to make him fall in love. "I'm curious who gave you that task."
"That's none of your concern." Morin waved it off. "Since your goal is Princess, relax. I just get along with her. I'm not stealing anyone's girl."
"Look at my face. A pure gentleman."
"Your actions earlier didn't look very gentlemanly," Maya raised a hand weakly. She'd tested it firsthand.
"That just means you're very charming," Morin gave her a thumbs-up.
"Can you stop being a jerk so righteously!" Maya snapped.
"Didn't you come here to rob my body?" Morin countered.
Maya fell silent.
After confidently announcing she was here to rob him, losing momentum now would be embarrassing.
"...It's late," Morin said, lying back down. "If you're robbing me, do it fast. If not, leave."
"So you really are a rogue," Maya laughed.
"If you're ugly, it's being a rogue. If you're handsome, it's called a free spirit." Morin yawned.
Maya snorted and suddenly jumped onto the bed, leaning over him.
"You're really doing it?" Morin froze.
"Of course..." Maya breathed softly, eyes seductive. Her red lips came down without hesitation.
She moved like a mad snake, wrapping around him.
A moment later, she shoved him away.
"Jerk!"
"First, you started it. Second, it's just an earpiece." Morin looked at the device in her hand. "Isn't that a nice souvenir?"
"Then what was your hand doing just now?" Maya snapped, straightening her clothes, especially around her hips.
"Taking some interest," Morin waved lazily. "Bye, Heroine. Come play again next time~"
Maya said nothing and flipped out the window.
For a woman with her looks and body, dealing with innocent boys or perverts was easy. But against someone like Morin-high IQ, no pride issues, and absolute self-control-it was like throwing a meat bun at a dog.
If he weren't actually handsome, it'd be hard to say who lost more.
"I'm telling you, I took a huge loss! My first kiss is gone!" Maya roared into the earpiece after confirming she wasn't followed and no tracker was planted.
"There, there. Didn't you give your first kiss to me already?" Crow comforted her. "And he's handsome. Not a loss."
"Stop talking!" Maya pulled out a small vial and collected saliva. "Are you sure this is enough?"
"Saliva has shed epithelial cells with DNA. It's enough to test some things." Crow replied. "That's why I told you to work harder. Bring it back fast."
"Won't my cells be in there too?"
"Then it's a huge project!" Crow wailed. "I'll have to separate yours from his one by one. You got to kiss a handsome guy, and I get lab equipment!"
"Don't pretend you won't dump this on someone else," Maya snorted. She knew exactly what kind of person Potato Chip Girl was.
The next day.
"Why do you look so dead?"
Princess handed Morin a Milk Tea Three Brothers. She wore a baseball cap and tracksuit today, not matching him. Then she remembered most of Morin's clothes looked the same as yesterday's.
So yesterday's matching was probably her fault.
Feeling guilty, she bought two milk teas and decided to forget about it entirely.
"Because a beautiful woman with a great body raided my room last night to rob me. I resisted for an hour to protect my virtue." Morin yawned and poked the straw in.
He looked exactly as tired as advertised.
"An hour?" Princess looked suspicious. "Are you sure you were resisting... or dreaming?"
"Relax. It wasn't you. There were prerequisites." Morin glanced at her. "Tall. Long legs. Slim waist. Big chest. Pretty face."
"Who says I don't have those!" Princess exploded.
Wait.
That was an ultimate insult.
"Maybe I misjudged," Morin perked up. "I could do some field research to gather accurate data. Thoughts?"
"Go die!" Princess considered dumping the milk tea on his head.
"Do we really need to be here this early?" Morin changed topics smoothly. "The movie's in the afternoon."
"Finish enrollment first. Fewer people, fewer problems!" Princess tapped her phone and shoved it at him. "Say something."
"Uh..." Morin thought. "Descendant of the Dragon."
"Verification passed. Options unlocked. Morin, DOB January 18, 1992. Male. ID A.D.0012. Rank A. Added to Cassell College list..."
Norma's calm voice flowed out.
Princess explained perfunctorily, then asked, "Why 'Descendant of the Dragon'?"
"Because I'm a child of the Yellow Emperor."
"Fun fact," Princess said cheerfully. "Dragon history says 'Children of the Dragon' is accurate. But those dragons migrated from the West!"
"Lizards?" Morin squinted.
"...When you put it that way..."
"But Eastern dragons were never actually seen, right?" Princess mused. "Do four-legged snakes count?"
"Deer horns, camel head, rabbit eyes, snake neck..." Morin sighed. "Weren't you raised here too?"
"Yes, yes, you remember it well." Princess sipped her tea and swung her legs. "But an Eastern dragon organism has never been observed. Maybe it's just myth."
"Look here." Morin pointed at himself. "The Eastern Dragon is right here."
"Get lost!" Princess rolled her eyes. "If you transformed, I'd be the first to chop you up!"
"So you're superficial too!" Morin accused.
"Look who's talking," Princess sneered. "Tall legs, big chest?"
"Because I'm already handsome enough."
"A bullet couldn't pierce your skin," Princess muttered, gazing into the distance.
"If Eastern dragons existed, wouldn't it be fun?" Morin said suddenly.
"Yeah. That'd be chaos." Princess nodded. "Completely different from Western dragons. A whole new system. The school and Secret Party would go insane."
"Dragons and humans can't coexist, right?" Morin asked.
"So far, all data says no." Princess frowned. "There's a Critical Blood Limit. Exceed it, and people fall toward the dragon side. Emotionless. Power-hungry. Slaughter."
"Those are Death Servants."
"Thanks for the lesson, Teacher."
"Put some feeling into it!"
Luminous felt like he was floating.
Yesterday, Chen announced the Literature Club would rent out a theater and asked him to buy tickets with her.
Together.
Normally, he'd overthink it.
But after Morin's push, he'd decided.
This was it.
Luminous felt like a Child of Destiny. Luck everywhere. Even his aunt's nagging sounded pleasant.
The road was short. Too short.
He wished it were longer. Much longer.
Scenery didn't matter. Sneaking glances at Chen was enough.
Morin's last message echoed.
If you succeed, you won't enter Cassell College.
If I succeed, why would I go there?
Luminous looked at Chen.
I'd rather die in this gentle village.
"Which school are you applying to?" Chen asked.
"Anywhere that accepts me." He hesitated and didn't mention Cassell. If he did, she'd definitely let him go for his "dream."
He could already imagine it.
Kind smile. Gentle rejection. Heartbreak.
"He might as well have a screen on his face," Morin sighed from the railing.
"Seriously," Princess agreed. Luminous was easy to read.
"Shall we interrupt?"
"I want to extort him for ice cream."
"Cold food's bad right now, isn't it?"
"How do you know that!" Princess hugged her chest nervously.