"Are you okay?" rlin asked as he slowly landed beside Monica on her right.
Monica's heart leapt at the sight of him. She nodded eagerly and said, "I'm fine, rlin. Thank you for helping !"
She lowered her head slightly. At first, she had thought it was another student who had attacked the three elves.
Fortunately, she had been wrong. It was rlin who had intervened—and truly saved her.
"You're welco. Stand up," rlin said, gently helping her to her feet.
Monica felt a flush of embarrassnt at his touch, but she didn't pull away.
"By the way… why were you surrounded by those three elves? And who are they?"
He recalled that the elves had never dared to openly show hostility toward Monica, let alone attempt to kill her.
Sothing deeper was clearly at play.
Monica pressed her lips together and said, "It's all because of Tina and Tira."
"Tina and Tira?" rlin's brow furrowed in surprise.
The images of the two elves who had bullied Monica flashed in his mind, and suddenly everything beca clear without further explanation.
"Are they targeting you again?" he asked, his tone cold.
He had assud his previous warning would be enough to keep them in check. He hadn't expected them to be bold enough to harm Monica.
Still, their actions didn't technically break any rules. After all, the academy allowed students to kill one another.
No matter the thod, everything was considered legal—and within the rules.
"All right, let's find a safe place first. That black smoke will have drawn the attention of the other students."
He glanced at the tree roots still smoldering from his fire magic. The thick black smoke curling into the sky would surely attract nearby students.
Monica didn't resist. As she started to walk, rlin scooped her up into a princess carry.
Her body froze, and her eyes widened in surprise.
"rlin, you…" she stamred, struggling for words. But rlin just smiled and gave her a quick wink.
"It's okay."
With that, he leapt and vanished from sight.
***
By the stream's edge, Monica brushed the sweat off her skin.
She cast occasional, nervous glances at the boulder behind her.
"rlin… you weren't peeking, were you?" she asked weakly.
"I wasn't peeking. How many tis do I have to say it, Monica? Do you think I'm a pervert?" rlin rubbed his temples in mock exasperation.
He hadn't expected Monica to be so shy. Besides, the boulder he had leaned against was over two ters tall and wide.
Even if he had been peeking, she would have noticed imdiately.
Still, he understood—his relationship with Monica was new, not yet as close as friends who had known each other for years.
One thing was certain: he would never do anything perverted. Doing so would ruin his mission to win Monica over—a loss too great to risk.
Monica let out a relieved sigh. "It's not that I don't trust you, rlin… I'm just embarrassed. I'm sorry."
Her voice was soft, tinged with a hint of sadness.
rlin stayed silent, shaking his head.
Ten minutes later, her voice ca from behind him.
"I'm done. You can co over now."
Hearing that, rlin rose and walked toward her.
She had changed into fresh clothes and looked both adorable and charming.
"Thank you for waiting for , rlin," she said shyly.
"It's nothing." rlin waved his right hand.
At the sa ti, he deactivated the protective magic around them and walked to the stream to wash his face.
"By the way… how many points do you have now, Monica?"
Monica hesitated for a mont. Then, rembering it was rlin asking, she quickly replied, "I have 5,700 points, and I'm ranked ninth."
rlin froze mid-wash, staring at her in disbelief.
"5,700 points… and you're ranked ninth?"
"Um!" Monica nodded slightly, then pulled out her tablet to show him her ranking.
rlin was even more surprised to see that she had the sa tablet as his.
He looked at her na in ninth place, and finally, his doubts were put to rest.
"You're really in ninth place, huh? How did you manage that?"
It should be noted that breaking into the top ten was extrely difficult.
It wasn't that rlin underestimated Monica, but she was timid, and it seed almost impossible that she could have accumulated so many points in just one day.
"I don't know either," Monica said, pursing her lips with a hint of sadness. "I was just walking around the forest, and every ti a monster ca near , I hit it with all my strength. But… strangely, they all died instantly. I don't know if it was luck or sothing else."
She stared at her right hand in wonder and confusion.
rlin: "..."
If he didn't know Monica to be such an innocent and timid girl, he might have thought she was bragging.
One punch killing every monster?
Even rlin couldn't do that.
At the very least, it took him three or four moves to defeat a level six monster.
'Huh… is this the incarnation ability of the ultimate villainess? Incredible,' he muttered, a hint of envy in his voice.
rlin was certain that Monica could instantly kill a level seven—or even level eight—monster if one stood before her.
After all, she had a direct connection to her original body, whose power rivaled that of his master, Linda.
Shaking off that thought, rlin stood and gently patted her head.
"Whatever the reason, you did your best, Monica. Congratulations on making it into the top ten. If you can maintain your rank, a big reward awaits you after you leave this island."
Monica blushed at his touch. Instead of pulling away, she leaned slightly into it and replied shyly, "Thank you, rlin. I'll try even harder!"
She clenched her right hand with excitent. For the first ti, soone had genuinely praised her efforts, and the feeling made her both happy and giddy.
"[Ding! The affection of the villainess Monica Sael'myr has increased by 7 points! Current affection: 77 points!]"
rlin was pleased. The more he interacted with Monica, the faster her affection grew.
Still, he couldn't afford to be careless.
His goal wasn't just to win over the Monica in front of him—it was to reach the true Monica, hidden sowhere, so he could complete his mission and earn 500,000 system points.
"[Ding! Congratulations, master. You have completed the mission to save Monica! Reward: 15,000 system points and a Soul Control Hairpin (mythical). Accept now? Yes/No.]"
Without hesitation, rlin selected "yes," and the mythical item instantly appeared in his pocket.
He took it out and examined it carefully. The hairpin was green and exquisitely beautiful, as if carved by the gods themselves.
Even just looking at it filled rlin with a sense of calm and warmth.
Then, under Monica's innocent gaze, he handed it to her.
"Here, Monica. This is for you."
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