FANTASY LIBRARY

In the end, the sneak attack came to nothing.

The identity of the prisoner remained unclear, and the method was nothing special. Even if Claudia called the disciplinary committee to search and collect evidence, she probably wouldn't find anything.

In addition, in Livermorny, this kind of thing was not particularly rare. Generally, famous Festivals players might be secretly plotted against by competitors or people with ulterior motives. So, even Jenni Ortega herself did not do much. She just claimed to remember the help of Natasha and Ferguson and then let the matter go.

Also, the incident of Butler breaking into her room seemed to have been revealed for the time being, which made Butler feel like he had been saved.

But seeing that the matter had come to an end, there was no fun left to be had, and the onlookers dispersed one after another.

They still wanted to stay for a while. After all, the first-ranked Wind Blade Thunder, the second-ranked Tomas Leader, the fifth-ranked Flame Witch, and the thirteenth-ranked Langxing Demon Sword, who all had the strength of top players, were present. If they continued to stay, they might be able to witness some interesting scenes.

However, Erend and others naturally did not enjoy being watched by others, so they disbanded on the spot under Claudia's organization.

"Then, I'll excuse myself now!"

Ferguson was the first to leave, as if she didn't dare to stay any longer and left in a hurry.

Jenni Ortega glared at Butler once more and then returned angrily to the girls' dormitory.

"Thank you for helping me out, Student Council President."

Butler smiled bitterly as he thanked Claudia.

"It's just a small matter, don't worry about it." Claudia covered her mouth and chuckled before continuing, "I've heard about everything in general. Don't worry, I've contacted your roommate, and he will come over to lead you back. No more wandering into strange places again."

"...Thank you."

Butler laughed dryly and thanked her again, clearly embarrassed.

Seeing that there was no more entertainment, Erend immediately prepared to leave.

"I'm heading out now. See you later."

After waving his hand, Erend turned around to leave.

However, at that moment, he vaguely felt an intense gaze directed at his back.

Erend immediately turned around and looked.

"What's wrong? Student Erend?"

Claudia looked at him in confusion.

"...No, it's nothing."

Erend scratched his face, making sure that Claudia looked the same as before, with nothing abnormal. Then he left with a slight sense of unease.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he left, Claudia's expression, which had been a polite smile, suddenly became complicated.

"Student Council President?"

Butler noticed and hesitantly called out.

"Sorry." Claudia seemed to wake up from a daze and returned to normal. She smiled at Butler and said, "Butler, there must be something you want to tell me, right?"

"...Yes." Butler paused for a moment before saying, "It's about my sister."

"I understand." Claudia didn't seem surprised at all and nodded. "This isn't the place to talk. Let's go to the student council room."

Butler nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Elsewhere…

On the other side, Erend, who had just left the girls' dormitory, walked for a while before realizing that someone seemed to be waiting for him ahead.

"Senior!"

Ferguson stood in the middle of the road, and upon seeing Erend, she immediately showed a look of relief.

"Are you waiting for me?"

Erend found the way this child expressed her emotions a little too obvious, as if everything was written on her face. He found it deeply amusing.

"Yes, yes." Ferguson didn't know what Erend was thinking. Seeing him approach with a smile on his face, she looked a little flustered and whispered, "After all, senior just saved me, and I still want to thank you in person."

"I didn't expect you to be so proper about it." Erend laughed. "But I already told you, right? That level of attack was nothing to you. Even if I hadn't stepped in, you would have been able to handle it."

"...Even so, I am still very grateful to you, senior."

Ferguson raised her eyes and glanced at Erend, then quickly lowered her head as if she didn't dare to look at him. Hesitantly, she added, "In that situation, it would have been best for you to just ignore it, right?"

At first, Erend didn't quite understand what she meant, but then he suddenly got it.

"You mean that if I had ignored it, you might have gotten injured, and once you were hurt, I would have an advantage when I challenged you next time?"

Erend voiced her thoughts directly.

"Yes, I'm sorry!" Ferguson quickly apologized, feeling a little ashamed. "I know it's selfish to think like that…"

"Not at all." Erend didn't mind. He shook his head and said calmly, "No matter what, I am still a challenger aiming for your position. It's normal for you to think about these things."

"Isn't this the way things work in this city? Almost everyone is a competitor, and plenty of people would do whatever it takes to gain the upper hand. The sneak attack on Jenni Ortega just now proves that."

"You're still young, so it's right to be cautious. If you're too naive, it could be dangerous."

When he said, "You're still young," Erend couldn't help but glance at Ferguson's uniform, which seemed to struggle to contain her figure.

Hmm... that's still a bit outrageous.

Oblivious to Erend's stray thoughts, Ferguson finally smiled for the first time, her young and pretty face lighting up.

"Senior, you're really a good person."

The little girl issued a good person card.

Erend wanted to protest.

Whether he was a good person or not wasn't the point here—this girl definitely had a kind heart.

The reason for his conclusion wasn't just because he knew her character from the original story, but because she had stepped in to save Jenni Ortega.

As he said, in this city, almost everyone was a competitor.

So, what Ferguson had just said actually applied to her as well.

Jenni Ortega was ranked fifth in Livermorny, not far from the number one position, meaning she could threaten Ferguson's ranking at any time.

Under these circumstances, it would have been most beneficial for Ferguson to stand aside and do nothing.

Yet, when she saw someone attacking Jenni Ortega, she took action without hesitation.

She wasn't someone who liked the spotlight. There was no real reason for her to step in. Moreover, she had an uncle who was extremely controlling and treated her like a tool.

Helping Jenni Ortega was completely thankless for Ferguson.

And yet, she had done it. That proved how kind-hearted she was.

Compared to her, Erend didn't think of himself as a good person.

But looking at the shy smile on her face, he suddenly felt that none of that mattered.

"You look really cute when you smile," Erend said sincerely. "You should smile more often."

Ferguson was stunned, then blushed deeply.

"C-Cuteness has nothing to do with this!"

She was so flustered that she started speaking nonsense.

"S-Senior is the one! No matter if it was last time or this time, you've been so kind to me! And you even saved me! I really think you're very... handsome…"

Her voice got quieter and quieter as she became overwhelmed with embarrassment.

"I-I'll excuse myself now!"

She bowed quickly and then ran off before Erend could react.

Watching her flee, Erend chuckled.

"What an interesting little girl…"