Fortune: 57,174
Li Fei rested her chin in her hand and browsed her balance and item list the way someone might scroll through an online shopping app.
The bulk of that fortune had come from the Secret Garden — a single haul of over thirty thousand gold coins. Next came the proceeds from the half-beast tribe trading post, where she'd taken eighty percent of goods worth roughly five thousand gold coins and quietly pocketed six thousand on top of that. After that were the roughly five thousand seven hundred fortune points left over from looting corpses in Viranean. Beyond those, there was the steady trickle of commissions from entertaining clients and credit points earned from attending classes.
With tomorrow's "exhibition match" on the horizon, she needed to think about converting resources into combat power.
At present, Li Fei's assets were divided into fortune points, gold coins, Witch Merit Points, academic credits, and fixed assets. Gold coins were hard currency — usable for purchasing most Transcendent items that weren't too rare. Credits and Witch Merit Points were currencies that circulated internally within the Witch Coven and the Magic Academy respectively, redeemable for items held by those two organizations; certain knowledge and Transcendent items among them were nearly impossible to acquire on the open market. Fortune points, however, were the hardest of hard currencies — they let Li Fei forcibly master spells and combat techniques that would otherwise be beyond her grasp.
Without question, Li Fei intended to spend every last fortune point on the Knowledge Tree. Nothing else came close in value.
Even the [Altar] merely resembled the Knowledge Tree in effect — there remained a fundamental gulf between them. After all, comprehending spells through the Altar required possessing prerequisite Transcendent knowledge first; it could never produce the kind of forbidden miracle that was a non-combat unit unleashing the power of a dragon.
At this moment, Li Fei's gaze settled on the [Tier-I Nature Magic Spell Bundle], priced at 9,998 fortune points, which contained the Knowledge Trees for 103 standard Tier-I Nature-aligned spells.
Since Li Fei already possessed Sensitivity Aura, Stone Skin, Terrain Awareness, and Fairy Summons, buying now came with a discount of 388 fortune points.
"Fortune points don't come easy. Spend wisely. Be rational…"
Li Fei stared at the bundle, silently lecturing herself against impulse purchases — yet her gaze refused to move on.
If money were no object, who wouldn't want to master more spells?
Then, all at once, her fortune ticked upward again.
Li Fei looked up in surprise. Her eyes met those of the radiant, mature blonde teacher standing at the lectern — whose jade-green eyes were full of warmth and approval. "Keep it up," Melodia said. "You're doing wonderfully."
The special-recruit student didn't even know what excuse Melodia had used to award her extra credits this time. But judging by her classmates' calm, completely unsurprised expressions, they clearly found it entirely reasonable — not even a flicker of perceived favoritism or unfairness.
And so the special-recruit student gave her teacher a demure, modest nod — and promptly bought the bundle.
'Fortune points don't come easy,' she says. Since when is Jie's money hard to earn?
All I have to do is sit here, and the food practically walks into my mouth on its own!
Her fortune dropped from 57,184 to 47,574. As over a hundred Knowledge Trees shattered in rapid succession, a vast tide of information surged into Li Fei's mind — text and symbols of every conceivable kind — and gradually wove themselves into one precise, stable spell model after another, spiraling and hovering through the sea of her spirit in a breathtaking display.
These spell models drew on her mana even as they expanded her spiritual sea in return. By the time Li Fei came back to herself, her Intelligence attribute had risen by another point.
— With the System's modest assistance, Li Fei's attributes had been rocketing upward, sparing her a great deal of grinding on the path of the Transcendent. Other mages, by contrast, had to spend time outside meditation repeatedly studying and puzzling over the mysteries of their spells — using knowledge to refine the spirit, purifying and strengthening the soul, with mana growing in proportion. Warriors, beyond cultivating their battle-qi, had to shed blood and sweat to forge their incomparable bodies.
But right now, because Li Fei had fed the System so generously, the System had put in an extraordinary effort in return — over a hundred spell models tilling the soil of her spiritual sea until her base attributes broke through, granting her results that should by rights have been earned through sheer hard work.
Which raised a question: Dragon's Might and Abyssal Lava had far more powerful spell models — so why hadn't those given her any feedback boost?
Every new discovery spawned new questions. When it came to the System, Li Fei was the most obsessive, relentless sort of investigator — she wanted to pry out every last secret, down to the smallest detail.
"…I'll save that puzzle for later."
As class ended, Li Fei quickly and precisely said her goodbyes to each of her classmates in turn. Then she reached under her mage's robe and produced a bottle of wine and a bottle of perfume, setting them down on Klein's desk.
"A return gift for Cowell and his wife."
The Golden Kumquat Tavern never ran short of premium wines that were, technically speaking, still sealed — yet somehow could only be poured down the drain if left unopened. It was a phenomenon rather like a fan who kept receiving cases of their idol's albums with nowhere to put them.
Not to say anything against business ethics, but Lady Gneia's rule against reselling wines was decidedly wasteful and environmentally unfriendly. If Miss Courtesan were running the tavern… well, it would certainly be a lot greener.
There's clearly wine mixed in with the water. Heh.
"Perfect — I'm meeting him for lunch anyway," Klein said, pocketing the gifts. Then his gaze lingered on Li Fei, as though waiting for something.
"What are you staring at?"
Li Fei feigned puzzlement.
Klein just smiled and said nothing.
"…Have you ever read one of those popular light novels?" Li Fei smiled sweetly. "An ordinary-looking boy who gets a little too close to the school beauty, and then the school bully corners him at the gate after class to start trouble — that's practically a classic trope, you know."
"As they say, art imitates life. So it's not that your sister is being stingy about a return gift — I'm thinking of your wellbeing, darling."
"…"
Klein blinked, then laughed and shook his head. "Surprisingly convincing logic."
"See you around."
With a wave goodbye, Li Fei strolled out of the classroom at a leisurely pace. As she passed Class Three, she let her gaze drift, apparently without intent, through the doorway for just a moment.
Homeroom teacher Ye Shu was, as usual, running over time — though her students still looked fairly engaged, which said a great deal about the teaching ability of this short-haired woman with her aura of a literary housewife. This was the last class of the morning, after all! To hold a class's attention at a moment like that, a teacher either had to be magnetic in personality, exceptional in method, or — most likely — both.
But the important thing was: Poker-face was not in that classroom.
Two days in a row absent from the Academy. That was normal enough in itself, but given Grace's particular circumstances, something urgent had clearly come up and she couldn't get free.
Li Fei could easily get the answer by batting her eyes at Hathaway — but even a heavenly hound had to mind its step. She couldn't keep running to the same person for every errand, especially not for matters touching on another girlfriend. Besides, if Hathaway ever found out about the secret shared between Miss Courtesan and Poker-face… Grace, living outside the city walls, might not live to see another sunrise.
"What a pity…"
Outside the school gates, Li Fei cast one last, reluctant look in the direction of her foreign-language tutor's home — then mounted her broomstick and flew off beyond the city.
Only once Li Fei's silhouette had faded into the distance did the blonde girl step out from behind a nearby tree, looking hollow and dazed.
Her twin tails, which normally bounced around wherever she went, drooped listlessly — the picture of dejection.
When Lilith had come home the previous day, her mother and stepmother had been deeply, thoroughly engrossed in a foreign language lesson, oblivious to the rest of the world.
Something had compelled her — she couldn't explain it — to peek through the gap in the door at the lesson in progress.
When her stepmother's eyes met hers through the crack, the sound of vocabulary recitation grew noticeably louder.
Lilith had fled in a panic and hadn't slept a wink all night. A tangle of guilt-edged forbidden feeling filled her heart — shame wound through with just a thread of… excitement.
Her stepmother's brief, unexpected first kiss in that brief state of "Stupefaction," and the breathtaking, almost cinematic scene from yesterday — both replayed in her mind on a loop, like frames from a film reel.
Lilith stood frozen at the school gate, gazing at those dark tresses dancing in the wind as they grew smaller and more distant. Her water-blue eyes grew gradually unfocused, and without thinking, her fingers drifted up to touch her own tightly pressed lips.
"Miss, it's time to eat."
Su Ling'er carried the meal tray to Qin Zhihua's side with a slightly nervous air.
Qin Zhihua, who was ordinarily gentle and gracious, had come back from a brief morning outing radiating a palpable "do not approach" energy.
The table was also piled with a large number of failed potion batches — a failure rate that would have been unimaginable by her usual standards.
Did she and Li Fei have a fight?
That doesn't seem right.
What Miss was working on were all high-potency Lucky Potions — surely those weren't meant for someone else?
Having been personally mentored by Qin Zhihua, Su Ling'er could at least identify what her mistress was currently brewing.
"Thank you for your trouble, Ling'er."
Qin Zhihua's expression softened slightly.
"Heh."
Su Ling'er flashed a docile, almost silly grin.
The once sharp and capable shop girl had, ever since becoming a personal attendant, steadily come to give off more of a "sweet and easy to trick" impression.
But that wasn't a bad thing.
When you're on your own, you have to be clever and strong. But when there's someone you can truly trust, it's natural to let yourself lean on them — to let the softer side of yourself show.
At least in Su Ling'er's estimation, there was clearly no one in the world more worthy of trust than her mistress. And Miss Courtesan, she felt sure, would feel the same.
"Have you eaten, Ling'er?"
"I had quite a lot while cooking just now."
Su Ling'er chatted with her mistress while nimbly and carefully tidying the potion bottles on the table. "Are all of these for her?"
"No."
Qin Zhihua's voice carried a hint of wounded reproach. "Throw them out."
…So they really did have a falling out.
Having realized she'd stepped on a landmine, Su Ling'er's intelligence snapped back online in an instant. She shut her mouth obediently, gathered up the potions, and tiptoed back to her own room to tuck them away in the cabinet.
If she actually threw them away, and Mistress cooled down later, she'd only have to go through all that effort again.
After Su Ling'er left, Qin Zhihua pushed aside her untouched meal, walked out into the courtyard, and extended two fingers into a blade. Sword qi crackled in sweeping arcs as she carved Li Fei's face into the trunk of a tree.
It was smiling. Just a little bit annoyingly.
The sword energy hummed at her fingertips, practically begging to be blasted straight into that faithless face as an act of catharsis.
But in the end, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Like a child throwing a sulk, Qin Zhihua picked up a small stone and lobbed it with perfect accuracy straight at the forehead carved into the bark — then turned and walked away.
"Freedom!"
Clear of the city, no longer in danger of being caught by Asuna and stuffed into an orange, Li Fei pushed her flying broomstick to its absolute limit. Her mage's robe snapped and billowed in the fierce headwind.
Li Fei had done a background check on Grace back when they first met — long before they shared the secret of their intimate bond, she'd already known where Poker-face lived, which school she attended, and what class she was in.
Before long, stacks of lumber came into view below.
As the last surviving branch of the Belikeli family's side lineage, Yarman's family had not been without means. The lumber mill had steady business and reliable income; after Yarman latched onto the Mettis family's coattails, he'd cultivated ties with several powerful figures — and, after greasing enough palms, had successfully secured a new license and seized control of a mine.
The means by which that mine was obtained were far from honorable. The whole thing was soaked in the blood and tears of the original owner's family; even the owner's daughter-in-law had ended up as one of Yarman's mistresses. On top of that, most of the profits had to be sealed in envelopes and respectfully delivered to the Mettis family's steward.
But even the scraps left over amounted to a considerable windfall for Yarman's household — enough to breathe new, thriving life into a family that had spent years languishing in obscurity.
Until Yarman died in a Moonlight Wolf attack, and everything came crashing down.
His father, Salim Belikeli, had Yarman's body carried to the gates of the Mettis estate. Pointing to the gaping wound on his son's throat and the grotesquely discolored flesh left by the poison, he wept and pleaded with the steward — who had taken so much money from them over the years — to see justice done for his son. The answer he received was a string of impenetrable doublespeak:
"This matter is complicated. All I'll say is: those in the know already know, and for those who don't, there's no point explaining. You understand what I mean or you don't. Think carefully. Don't come asking me what happened — there are too many competing interests at stake, and saying more wouldn't be good for either of us. Just pretend you don't know. All I can say is, there's a lot going on beneath the surface, and many things are tangled up in it… In short: those who know, know."
How could Salim accept that?
He had his son's body carried to the front of City Hall, then fell to his knees and kowtowed, begging the magistrate to deliver justice — just as the original owner of the mine, after being swindled, had once knelt at his feet and begged him to spare his daughter. The outcome was equally futile.
At first, Salim saw a glimmer of hope. A magistrate with chestnut hair that fell to her ankles and an air of upright authority received him and seemed determined to dig to the root of the suspicious case.
But she was quickly reassigned to an "urgent mission." The case was handed over to a woman described as even more generously proportioned than autumn fruit — by the name of Kalida.
The latter conducted negotiations in under five minutes and made a promise: "Come back tomorrow. The real culprit will definitely be here."
That night, Salim was killed in the exact same manner as his son. The official cause of death was ruled a suicide.
After the Belikeli bloodline was extinguished, the widow — out of the faint thread of affection she still held for Grace — personally incinerated every piece of evidence, and let it be known that "Salim had died of rage upon hearing the tragic news." No matter how Grace pressed her, she never relented, unwilling to let Grace draw the attention of powerful figures in City Hall.
Beyond that, knowing all too well what sins the Belikeli family had committed, the widow had become erratic and haunted after the upheaval — murmuring constantly about "retribution," her weight plummeting, her hair turning dry and white within days, her body wasting away to almost nothing.
In the early hours of the previous day, Salim's wife had hanged herself before the gates of the orphanage the Belikeli family had once founded.
And so Grace had changed into mourning clothes and was managing the funeral arrangements at home.
"Grace, if you ever run into any difficulties down the road, just say the word." Outside the mourning hall, a middle-aged man with an expression of deep concern pushed his son forward toward Grace. "Don't stand on ceremony, really."
"Oh, my poor Grace." A woman dabbed at her eyes and fussed over her with concern. "Last time I saw you, you were only three years old… and look at you now, so tall, and so beautiful."
After chattering on for a while, the woman finally revealed her true purpose: "You're still so young, and you have your spell studies to focus on. Can you really manage all the family business on top of everything else? It would be a shame if it distracted you from your future. Auntie could find someone to help look after things for you."
"Thank you."
Grace's expression was flat and empty. "But that won't be necessary."
She had been treated as a child bride from an early age and had long since witnessed the Belikeli family's sordid dealings. She knew perfectly well what these people were after.
If not for the silver special-recruit brooch on her chest giving them pause, these distant relatives and business associates — people she might not have exchanged more than a few words with in years — would have been far less refined and cordial in their efforts to pick her clean.
In this entire world, there was only one person who had ever treated her with genuine sincerity.
And she had destroyed it with her own hands.
When the thought of Li Fei surfaced in Grace's mind, a faint glimmer of light finally appeared in those otherwise gray and hollow eyes.
The next instant, the short-haired girl's slight frame gave a start.
The person she had thought of day and night had appeared in her line of sight — and was walking toward her, step by step.
Li Fei stopped three meters away. She switched on the same haughty, tsundere expression Lilith wore, and let out a cold, contemptuous scoff:
"Well. Still breathing, I see."
"You didn't show up at the Academy for two days — I was starting to think you'd had a moment of conscience and done yourself in as penance."
"My mistake. Someone as selfish and shameless as you would never have the guts to face what you've done."
The cutting words, delivered in a tone that was unmistakably relieved beneath the cruelty, made the world — which had been reduced to nothing but black and white — bloom back into color.
— She — she's worried about me!
— She still thinks about me!
— Even after what I did to you — something so vile and unforgivable — you still came to check on me… Why is there someone so warm and kind in this world?
At last, every emotion that had been suppressed to its breaking point came pouring out like a collapsing mountain and a surging tide.
In the silence between them, Grace's tears fell in a torrent — and once again, she shook Miss Courtesan to the very depths of her heart.
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