Chapter 74

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Chapter 74: Aesphyra’s Ideal Type

Returning to his room, Winnie looked at the blue armband Malric had stuffed into his pocket and noticed a special pattern embroidered on it, a golden sheep.

The meaning behind embroidering a sheep on the blue armband given to people was quite intriguing.

It was almost certain that Malric, that bastard, had no good intentions.

Perhaps he had some ulterior motive from the very beginning when he contacted Winnie.

Why else would he be so friendly? It couldn’t be to make friends with a villain with a terrible reputation, right?

No one in their right mind would do that.

Only someone as clueless as Winnie wouldn’t understand and would actually believe that someone was trying to flatter him.

Winnie put away the blue armband.

He wasn’t a paranoid person, so even though he realized there was some force working against him, he couldn’t figure out why.

The Varelis family had been ransacked by the church, and no treasures were left.

Only a dead vein remained. Anyone could see that, barring a miracle, the Varelis family was as good as dead and would never rise again.

So why were people still worried about him?

What else could he possibly do?

Or maybe the people targeting him this time weren’t the same group as before?

Winnie couldn’t figure it out. He thought about it and realized he hadn’t offended anyone recently, so why did someone always want to trip him up?

He wasn’t the protagonist, so why were the protagonist’s DEBUFFs all being transferred to him?

Was this the world’s malice toward him?

Winnie felt a headache coming on as he thought about the possibility of more than one party targeting him in the Dungeon.

The chances of promotion were already slim, and this made the possibility even slimmer.

If he didn’t want to be eliminated, he had to try his best, which meant he couldn’t rule out the possibility of calling out Vanessa.

After eating, Winnie lay on the bed like a lifeless fly.

He felt that just thinking about these troubles was damaging his brain cells, so he decided to stop thinking about them, rest his mind, and go to sleep.

It was already dusk when he drowsily got up from the bed.

He walked out of the room and found the corridor eerily quiet.

Only then did he remember that before the Dungeon assessment, there was a cultural written test, which was almost like a bonus question exclusive to the nobles.

This was why the corridors were eerily quiet as night approached. Everyone was reviewing.

Even nobles couldn’t hold banquets every day. Everyone had work to do.

Even if the written cultural test accounted for a very small proportion of the entrance examination score, every point counted.

What if that small score made the difference?

Be fully prepared.

Winnie didn’t have this kind of worry. He had never been nervous about exams.

The reason was simple: he didn’t know how to do them.

However, when he saw this atmosphere, which was similar to the one before the exam in his previous life, he got a headache and felt like he was back in the examination room of his past.

Damn it, why do I still need to study and take exams after traveling to another world?

After dinner in the restaurant, Winnie had nothing to do, so he went to the corridor to get some fresh air, staring in a daze at the endless golden wheat fields outside the carriage.

Thousands of dandelions flew up and took root on the ground.

They all eventually found their own home.

“Where is my home?” Winnie murmured softly.

“Oh? Lord Winnie is feeling homesick?”

“I…” Winnie instinctively started to answer but suddenly realized whose soft voice it belonged to.

He turned and saw that beautiful face with an enigmatic smile.

He quickly took a few steps back, as if he had stepped on an accelerator, putting distance between them.

“Woman, why are you here? Didn’t I tell you that this young master doesn’t like your type and asked you to stop pestering me?” It won’t rain forever, but it will keep raining.

Although it’s just an act, Winnie is getting more and more used to saying it, and now it’s become a reflex whenever he sees Aesphyra.

“Lord Winnie is too self-conscious. This is a public area, and anyone can stand here, right?” Aesphyra pushed a strand of hair behind her ear with one hand and stared at the scenery outside the window without even glancing at Winnie.

Looking at the silver-haired girl standing by the window, the golden waves of the wheat field lifted her silver hair one after another, and her stunning profile made hearts race.

Why isn’t this girl reviewing her books?

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Winnie realized how wrong he was.

The person standing in front of him was the protagonist of this story, impeccable in every way, morally, intellectually, physically, and aesthetically.

She had already memorized the contents of the textbooks in her previous life. Did she need to review?

Not a chance.

“…Why, are you here to find out how I feel about you again?” Winnie pouted.

“Give up, I already have someone in my heart. You have no chance.”

“I know, I know. Lord Winnie only has Princess Mirexia in his heart, right?”

“Huh, you really don’t know anything, do you?”

“Oh? Isn’t that the case?” Aesphyra finally turned around to look at Winnie, her watery eyes filled with teasing.

“Tsk, forget it. There’s no need for me to explain anything to you.”

“Lord Winnie, there’s no need to explain. Anyone would be attracted to a perfect girl like Mirexia. It’s human nature.”

Good grief, are you just going to drop the act now?

“Oh, so you’re saying you’re attracted to someone too?” Although Winnie already knew the answer, he raised his eyebrows and asked anyway.

Aesphyra smiled without saying a word, but her meaning was clear.

“Lord Winnie, do you dare to make a bet with me?”

“What kind of bet?”

“A bet on who Mirexia will choose in the end.”

Winnie scoffed at the suggestion.

That’s rich. Why don’t you just declare yourself the winner now?

“No, I’m a good young man, and I don’t like gambling.” Winnie waved his hand dismissively.

“Lord Winnie, are you afraid? Is it because you lack confidence in your charm as a man, or are your feelings for Mirexia not as deep as you claim?” Aesphyra said slyly, her tone gentle.

Oh, this woman.

Laying the groundwork now, and when the time comes, she’ll strike to crush his heart, right?

How ruthless.

But unfortunately, he’s not the Winnie of the past and won’t fall for it.

“You can say whatever you want, but… Miss Aesphyra, do you truly have those kinds of feelings for Her Highness Mirexia? Tsk tsk, so you like women? How bold of you to admit that.”

“What’s there to say? If you like someone, you like them. If you don’t, you don’t. As for me, I like pretty girls the most.”

“So you’re saying you’d like anyone as long as they’re pretty enough?”

“Yeah.” Aesphyra admitted with a smile, without any hesitation.

“That’s the basic requirement. On top of that, there are additional conditions for it to be truly meaningful. The more of those conditions are met, the better.”

“What are the other conditions?”

“Virtuous, gentle, considerate, exuding feminine charm, preferably a perfect lady with proper etiquette, and her appearance should be on par with mine. And then, I’d love it if she had a bit of a contrast, someone who’s elegant on the outside but has a playful, dark side. That would be perfect.”

“Whose standards are these?” Winnie couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

Aside from everything else, the idea of someone’s looks being on par with Aesphyra’ was already a tall order.

Her figure was decent, sure, but could anyone in the entire story really match Aesphyra’ beauty?

The standards were ridiculously high, and she was picky about personality too.

…Wait, had he actually met someone who met all these conditions before?

Winnie frowned, but he couldn’t quite recall.

“These are just the ideal conditions, and they’re not always necessary,” Aesphyra said casually.

“So, in most cases, as long as she’s pretty enough, that’s good enough for you? Tsk tsk, how promiscuous,” Winnie sneered. It must be nice to be the protagonist.

Her standards for choosing a partner were as broad as a highway.

“Promiscuous? That’s not it. I just want to get close to every cute and pretty girl. What’s wrong with that?” Aesphyra tilted her head, her charming smile making it hard to tell if she was joking or serious.

But only Winnie knew that many truths were often spoken in jest, and what Aesphyra said was absolutely true.

“So, the prettier the woman, the better for you? That’s your criteria for choosing a partner?”

“Hmm~ I’ve said so much. Shouldn’t Lord Winnie also share his criteria for choosing a spouse?” As she spoke, Aesphyra blinked her beautiful eyes at Winnie a few times.

“Me? I’m not as picky as you,” Winnie pouted.

“As long as she genuinely likes me that’s enough for me.”

“Eh? That’s it? That’s your only condition?” Aesphyra raised an eyebrow.

“What can I do? My standards are what they are. I can’t afford to be too picky.”

After all, not everyone is destined to be the protagonist.

“Pfft, that condition makes it sound like you’d be easy to take advantage of.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you were a girl, Lord Winnie, maybe I’d consider you~”

“Don’t worry, even if I were a woman, I’d never like someone as promiscuous as you,” Winnie shot back, knowing full well that she was just trying to mess with him.

“Even if my standards aren’t sky-high, they’re certainly not low enough to include someone like you,” Winnie said, lifting his chin proudly.

“Really, Lord Winnie? You truly have no feelings for me at all?” Aesphyra took a step forward, her long, perfectly curved legs moving gracefully, but she stopped after just one step.

It was mostly teasing, and she certainly wouldn’t take the initiative to touch a man.

The rose-like fragrance of her hair caught him off guard, and Winnie took a step back, maintaining a safe distance from Aesphyra.

“But, come to think of it, Lord Winnie does seem to have a lot of friends.”

“What do you mean by that?” Winnie was momentarily stunned, then snorted coldly.

“Friends? That’s something only weaklings like you need. I don’t need them.”

“Really? But I seem to recall Lord Winnie mentioning that he learned bandaging skills from a friend,” Aesphyra said with a smile.

“Would you care to introduce that friend to me?”

“How presumptuous! Do we have that kind of relationship? This has nothing to do with you,”

“Don’t say that. What if I happen to know Lord Winnie’s friend, or maybe we’d hit it off right away?” Aesphyra’ tone was light and teasing, or at least it seemed that way.

“Don’t worry, there’s no way you’d know my friends, and it’s impossible for you to hit it off with them,”

“Are you so sure?” Aesphyra raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Absolutely,”

“Hmm, let me guess. Your friend is a girl, and she’s a healing nun, right?”

“Sorry, all your guesses are wrong, Miss Aesphyra,” Winnie replied calmly, though internally he was almost certain why she was probing him.

Perhaps she had heard about Vanessa from the orphanage, and her old suspicions were resurfacing.

“Really? To be honest, I’m quite interested in Lord Winnie’s friend. I can see that you’ve changed a lot since meeting her,” Aesphyra said, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

“By the way, is she on this carriage?”

“Even if I did know the person you’re describing, as her friend, I wouldn’t let you near her for her own good,” Winnie said, taking another step back.

“Is that so?”

Seeing Winnie’s stubbornness, Aesphyra realized she wouldn’t get any more useful information from him and decided to drop the subject.

“Then, I’ll see you in the Dungeon, Lord Winnie.”

“I’ll have a lot to say to you when the time comes. We have a long way to go,” Aesphyra said, glancing back at Winnie with a mysterious look before walking away.

See you? Not if I can help it.

Winnie felt a headache coming on. It seemed inevitable that he’d face Aesphyra in the Dungeon, and he wasn’t looking forward to the confrontation.

Tsk, what a petty woman. Just because I said a few harsh words and pointed out her flaws, does she really need to go this far?

And it seems she’s set her sights on Vanessa now.

What a troublesome person.

After standing in the corridor for a while, enjoying the breeze, Winnie returned to his room.

A week passed in the blink of an eye, and the carriage finally arrived at the trial location.

The trial site was a transit station between the kingdom and Carillian Academy, complete with dormitories, several buildings, and a handful of instructors.

Though the living conditions in the carriage were decent, everyone was thoroughly bored after a week of travel.

Stepping onto solid ground again brought a sense of relief.

After the long journey, the academy gave the students a day off to rest and prepare for the written test in the best possible mental state.

While everyone else was reviewing, Winnie spent his time wandering around.

During this period, there were only two types of people not holed up in their dorms studying: academic geniuses like Aesphyra, who were confident in their knowledge, and college slackers like Winnie, who didn’t care whether they studied or not.

Seeing Winnie wandering outside, people initially wondered who could be so calm and composed.

But when they realized it was Winnie, they all gave him looks of pity, knowing that this uneducated guy had probably given up.

This guy’s just here to go through the motions.

And they were right. When the written test began, Winnie knew very well that Aesphyra, with her speed and intellect, would likely be the first to finish if nothing went wrong.

Unfortunately, Winnie had his own plan.

Aesphyra wanted to be the first to hand in her paper?

Not a chance. If he couldn’t compete with her in answering questions, he’d beat her in handing in the paper.

Even if she wrote faster, could she hand in her paper faster than he could write his name?

All he had to do was write his name and submit it.

Did Aesphyra really think she could compete with that?

As expected, Winnie’s action of handing in a blank paper stunned the other candidates.

Even those who hadn’t studied much wanted to at least pretend to try, not hand in a completely empty paper.

That would be too embarrassing in front of everyone.

But Winnie was different. He didn’t overthink it.

He simply refused to waste time staring at questions he couldn’t answer. Why bother?

“Student, why don’t you try a little harder?” the instructor overseeing the exam couldn’t help but ask.

“What if there are some questions you actually know how to answer?”

“Teacher, you don’t understand. These things kill my brain cells. I’m conserving my energy,” Winnie replied with a yawn, glancing in Aesphyra’ direction.

‘See? I won this time. You can’t beat me in speed, got it?’

With that, Winnie walked out of the examination room proudly, like a victorious hero, while Aesphyra watched him with an amused expression.

Although everyone was surprised and puzzled, when they realized it was Winnie, it all seemed normal and reasonable.

“I mean, do we really need to target that guy in the Dungeon assessment? He’s like a lost cause,” one of the students muttered after the exam, as a group of them gathered to discuss privately.

“I agree.”

“Isn’t that better? Just complete the tasks assigned by the young master, and then we can get promoted based on our own abilities.”

“But the Dungeon is huge. We might not even run into him, right?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve already arranged for someone to guide that idiot. With his level of intelligence, he’ll definitely take the bait. He’ll come running to us on his own. We just need to be ruthless,” one of them said with a grin.

“Remember, don’t break his token all at once. Hit him a few more times. It’s best to cripple him and let the young master vent his anger!”

“After all, there are so many people in the capital who dislike him. It’s only natural that he’d become the target of everyone’s frustration if something happens in the Dungeon, right?”

With the written test over, the Dungeon assessment began.

Under the guidance of their instructors, the ambitious candidates arrived at the secret assessment location, a lush, dense jungle.

It wasn’t crowded, as each country had its own entrance.

This was the entrance for candidates from the kingdom, and only those from the kingdom were standing here.

Once inside the Dungeon, the real chaos would begin.

People from the kingdom, the empire, the grand duchy, the tribes, and even non-human entities could all be encountered in the Dungeon.

“You can earn points by killing monsters, but that’s not the fastest way to accumulate them,”

“You can eliminate other candidates and take their points, no matter which place they’re from,” the instructor continued, outlining the rules of the Dungeon assessment.

“You’re allowed to bring two enchanted weapons, but only two. Those who have enchanted weapons need to report them to the instructor.”