Betty raced down the stairs, taking two steps at a time, only to freeze dead when she reached the bottom.

Empty. Angelia and the other two were completely gone; they had already left. Only Harrison remained, standing there blankly, seemingly lost in thought.

Betty was furious. Such a golden opportunity, just vanished! She had finally hoped to see what Robin’s master looked like, only to end up with this result! Sigh, if she had known, she should have just jumped out the window!

She wanted to chase after them, but looking around, she had no idea which direction they went. She wanted to ask someone, but she wasn't exactly close with Harrison!

What now?

A flurry of thoughts zipped through Betty’s mind. Finally, she decided to head back to the dormitory first; perhaps Angelia and the others had returned there.

With that thought, Betty wasted no more time and bolted towards the dormitories. (Perhaps readers are wondering about classes? What else? She skipped them, of course—it wasn't her first time!)

However, Betty had no idea that Angelia and the others had already left the academy grounds, and wouldn't be back for several days!

…….

On the streets of "Gulu City," Elina and the others were window shopping.

Today was different from usual; they had an extra person with them—Elina’s younger brother, Laurent.

“Little brother, did you skip class to sneak out today?” Elina asked Laurent with a smile, but the glint in her eyes suggested a very different meaning: if you dare say yes, just wait until I deal with you!

Laurent pouted and forced a smile. He knew his sister too well. Despite her current amiable expression, if his answer wasn't satisfactory, he was in for a world of trouble!

They always said women change their minds faster than flipping a book, and Laurent never questioned this saying, as his sister had perfected this art, especially when dealing with him!

“Sister, I’m an exemplary student at school; I would never skip class!” Laurent quickly declared preemptively, just in case he suffered an unexpected accident later.

“Then why do you have the free time to go shopping with us today?” Elina smiled again, her voice soft.

But this softness was precisely what Laurent dreaded. Since he could remember, his older sister, Elina, had kept a tight rein on him. When he was little, her methods were harsh—she pinched the fleshy parts (like his bottom or thighs); as he grew a bit older, she switched to pinching the thinner-skinned areas (like his ears or cheeks)!

Laurent had been thoroughly disciplined by his sister’s hand; a significant portion of his current accomplishments and strength could be credited to her. (No pain, no gain!)

What truly terrified Laurent was that Elina never scolded him. Whenever she hit or disciplined him, she always did it with a gentle smile and a soft voice!

“Sister, I… we were given a mandatory day off by the academy today!” Laurent hastily explained, subtly putting some distance between himself and Elina, as if this provided him a sliver of security.

“Oh? Your academy is so generous, giving everyone a surprise day off?” Thomas interjected, unaware of the subtle dangers lurking in the brother-sister exchange.

Seeing Thomas ask, Laurent’s face lit up, as he desperately wanted someone to distract his sister.

“Big Brother Thomas, you have no idea!” Laurent said, leaning closer to Thomas while sneaking a peek at his sister. “Today, our Headmaster went for the lottery draw to secure the rights to host the ‘Academy Ranking Tournament’ again, but he didn’t win. He came back quite depressed. Then, for some unknown reason, he suddenly decided that today would be a mandatory annual holiday from now on.”

“Hehe~, your Headmaster is hilarious. Does he really think that will help him secure the hosting rights?” Cherie couldn’t help but laugh.

“Maybe their Headmaster has lost his mind!” Solomon also chimed in.

Laurent just smiled and said nothing more.

“Where are we actually going?” Thomas couldn't help but ask, as they had been walking aimlessly for quite some time.

“Why ask so many questions? You get to walk around with beautiful women, and you’re still going on and on! Right, Teacher Linna?” Cherie first pulled a face at Thomas, then turned to Elina beside her.

Elina just smiled, offering no comment.

Surprisingly, Thomas didn’t argue back this time. He’d learned his lesson, fearing further group reprimands if he misspoke. He merely adopted an expression that implied, “Indeed, we have nothing in common!”

“Laurent, want to spar with me later?” Solomon seemed unable to bear the aimless wandering anymore and suggested to Laurent, who wore an equally bored expression.

“Sure! I really have to thank you for your pointers last time, Big Brother Solomon!” Laurent replied with a smile.

Solomon felt a small surge of pride and said, “Your skill is already quite good. I think you’re ready to be specially recruited by our ‘Homebody Magic and Martial Arts Academy’!”

Unexpectedly, Laurent didn't look happy upon hearing this; instead, his face soured. He truly did not want to attend the ‘Homebody Magic and Martial Arts Academy’! It wasn’t because the school was bad, but because his sister taught there. He could already picture being disciplined daily!

“What? You don’t want to join our academy?” Solomon asked, slightly surprised.

Laurent’s heart leaped, and he quickly glanced toward his sister, Elina. Seeing that his sister was indeed watching him, his face nearly turned green. He rushed to explain, “Willing, I’m willing! A hundred times willing, hehe!”

It looked completely forced.

When Laurent saw Elina finally shift her gaze away, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He was pre-selected by Elina; there was no escaping it. In his sister’s words: ‘As long as you study under my nose, I feel secure!’

Solomon was oblivious to Laurent’s inner turmoil. After a pause, as if struck by an idea, he asked, “Oh, by the way, are female swordsmen popular around here?”

Laurent looked at Solomon, puzzled and somewhat surprised. “We don’t actually have that many female swordsmen here!”

“That can’t be right! I saw one female swordsman in the Demon Beast Forest last time; her strength seemed about the same as yours!”

“About the same as mine? And a female swordsman?” Laurent stared at Solomon, but the next moment, he finally realized, “Are you talking about Angelia?”

The mention of Angelia instantly energized Laurent, and he added, “She’s really strong. Every ranking competition, she pushes me to use every ounce of my skill just to barely manage a victory against her!”

“Is she very pretty?” At that moment, surprisingly, Elina suddenly cut in.

Even though she hadn’t seen Laurent for two or three years, she knew her younger brother extremely well. She could tell from Laurent’s expression and tone that he was very interested in this girl named Angelia.

If her brother is interested in a girl, the older sister naturally becomes interested too!

“Yes, she’s indeed quite…” Laurent couldn’t finish his sentence; he simply froze.

Heavens, could it be such a coincidence?

Yes, as he turned back to look at Elina, he caught sight of Angelia’s figure!