Chapter 69

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: https://gravitytales.com/coins-purchase-page/

Volume 3 + Chapter 69: Forbidden Knowledge  

“Xia Yi, look right here!”  

Norma pointed at a section of the magazine.  

Written boldly across the page were the words: “Popularity Poll for CPs!”  

In short, it was a popularity vote for pairings between Xia Yi and Yue Liu, Lia, Hill, and Norma.  

And the most popular pairing was…  

Xia Yi was stunned.  

“Why is my pairing with Teacher Hill ranked first?!”  

“Because Teacher Hill is the most popular person in the academy. It’s not surprising,” Norma explained. “Plus, a romantic relationship between a teacher and a student is strictly forbidden by school rules. The more forbidden it is, the more thrilling it becomes.”  

Xia Yi was taken aback.  

There’s actually such a logic to this?!  

But what had Norma fuming wasn’t this.  

“Why… Why is my pairing with you the least popular?!” Norma couldn’t accept it. “The votes are so low—way lower than the others!”  

Xia Yi’s pairings with the other three girls were all in the same tier, while hers with Norma lagged far behind.  

But… was this really something to get angry about?  

Xia Yi’s cheek twitched.  

Norma is seriously upset over this? Are you kidding me?!  

“Xia Yi, tell me, why? Is it the ‘maid knight’ setting?” Norma was genuinely puzzled. “I refuse to accept this. It feels like I’ve completely lost to the others.”  

“I… don’t really get it either.”  

“I thought the contrast between a ‘maid’ and a ‘knight’ would be a popular trope!” Norma kept obsessing over it.  

Xia Yi was speechless.  

The young lady of the Lawrence family had clearly fallen.  

Norma had not only grown accustomed to her maid persona but seemed to be enjoying it to some extent—even earnestly analyzing shipping dynamics.  

It was hard to imagine how resistant she had been to this just a short while ago.  

“Norma, what does ‘seductive bottom’ mean?” Xia Yi asked.  

“Do you know what ‘top’ and ‘bottom’ mean?”  

“Like… one attacks, and the other defends?”  

“You could think of it that way. In yuri relationships, one is the active party, and the other is the passive party,” Norma explained. “‘Seductive bottom’ means using all kinds of methods to tempt the other person into making the first move, becoming the active party, while the seductive bottom gets to be the passive one and enjoys the situation.”  

“Oh!”  

Xia Yi kind of understood—though it was still complicated.  

So, according to this, she was deliberately using all sorts of tricks to lure girls into pursuing her, all while enjoying the attention?  

Hmm…  

This is a huge misunderstanding!  

When have I ever done anything like that?!  

“By the way, ‘seductive bottoms’ come in many types. Some do it on purpose, others unintentionally. Xia Yi, you’ve been classified as the former.”  

Norma enthusiastically bombarded Xia Yi with this forbidden knowledge.  

“I see… Wait a second!!”  

Xia Yi stared at Norma in shock.  

“Why do you know so much about this?!”  

“Uh…”  

Norma faltered, her eyes darting away nervously.  

“Norma, wasn’t your goal to become an outstanding knight and restore the Lawrence family? Why do you have such an extensive reserve of… questionable knowledge?”  

“I-I… well…”  

Norma broke into a cold sweat, her guilt written all over her face.  

—  

“Hey, isn’t the freshman social coming up soon?”  

“Yeah, you got a partner yet?”  

“Nah, figured I’d try my luck there. Maybe some cute junior will take a liking to me.”  

“You? Yeah, right!”  

A group of passing students chatted about an upcoming event.  

Norma seized the opportunity to change the subject. “Xia Yi, who are you planning to go to the freshman social with?”  

“Freshman social? What’s that?”  

Xia Yi blinked. She’d heard whispers about it recently.  

“It’s a semi-official event. Started as a student-organized mixer for freshmen from all grades. Usually happens not long after the school year begins—meant to help freshmen and upperclassmen connect. Since it worked so well, Laurel Academy started supporting it, and now it’s a tradition,” Norma explained.  

“Oh, so that’s a thing. Do you have to bring a partner?”  

“Not really! It’s a mixer, not a dance. Though there is a final dance segment—voluntary, of course. If you stand out there, you’ll be the talk of the academy for the whole year. Lia made a huge splash at last year’s dance and got swarmed with admirers.”  

Xia Yi wasn’t surprised Lia had gone all out. That sounded exactly like her little sister.  

As for the freshman social… if she had nothing better to do, she might drop by.  

Dancing, though?  

Even though she’d technically mastered it thanks to Vanessa’s brutal etiquette lessons, she had zero interest in dancing with anyone.  

“Are you going, Norma?”  

“Me? Probably not. I didn’t go last year either,” Norma replied. “I need to focus on graduating, reviving the Lawrence family, and becoming a great knight. That’s my priority!”  

—  

 Swordsmanship Class. 

Today was Xia Yi’s first elective swordsmanship lesson.  

“Xia Yi, you actually came.”  

Before class officially began, Hill—the primary instructor for the course—spotted Xia Yi and greeted her with a smile.  

“Hello, Teacher Hill.”  

Xia Yi’s response was tinged with awkwardness.  

I’m supposed to be her teacher… Now I’m her student? And I have to attend her class?  

This is so weird.  

Even now, Xia Yi still struggles to accept this role reversal.  

“Did you see that? Teacher Hill smiled.”  

“Seriously?! I’ve never seen Teacher Hill smile before!”  

“Ugh, I’m so jealous of Xia Yi! I want that too!”  

Nearby students buzzed with chatter.  

“Class is about to begin. Everyone, prepare yourselves,” Hill said, seemingly unfazed by the comments.  

“Yes~!”  

The swordsmanship students replied in unison.  

During the lesson, Hill guided the students through their drills.  

With her skill level, teaching these students was almost too easy for her.  

“Teacher Hill, why does the greatsword feel like it has so many disadvantages?”  

“When wielding a greatsword, brute force and momentum alone aren’t enough. A patient opponent will wear you down quickly. If you can’t sustain your burst phase, you’ll lose. You need to think more strategically. Try this—lower your burst ceiling but extend the duration…”  

Hill picked up a greatsword and demonstrated.  

Xia Yi watched, memories flooding back—of the days when she had been the one teaching her student swordsmanship.  

She observed Hill’s movements intently, nodding in approval at first. But then, she noticed a particular detail and couldn’t help but frown.  

“Hill, even after all these years, you still haven’t fixed that bad habit? How many times did I tell you—”  

“…Xia Yi, what did you just say?”