Sefina looked at Flovi, who still wore that dazed expression as if she was still stuck in a state of “strictly following orders.” She sighed and raised a hand to rub her forehead.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know me, Flovi.”
She glanced back at the three students behind her, each with different expressions, and decided to be straightforward.
“They already know about my identity on the western continent.”
Flovi’s golden eyes blinked, and the confusion on her face receded like a tide, replaced by a look of “Oh, I see.”
“Oh.”
She gave a very slight nod and let out a short syllable.
Then—
Clang!
A crisp metallic sound rang out. Before anyone could react, Flovi had already drawn the sword from her waist with lightning speed!
The tip of her blade lifted slightly. Those golden eyes, which usually seemed a bit vacant, now turned as sharp as an eagle’s. Her gaze locked onto the three people behind Sefina. Her tone was flat and expressionless, yet carried a murderous air.
“So master’s identity has been exposed. Should I knock the three of them unconscious and use a memory-erasing magic potion to ensure the secret doesn’t leak?”
The air seemed to freeze instantly.
Mia’s mouth fell open into an “O” shape again, but this time from shock.
Ellaria’s face paled slightly, and she instinctively took half a step back, her emerald-green eyes full of alarm.
Kefi stiffened as well, her gray pupils contracting sharply, and her hand unconsciously gripped the handle of her suitcase.
‘This white-haired, golden-eyed lady—why does she want to knock people out and force-feed them potions at the drop of a hat?!’
‘Is this some kind of standard villainous silencing procedure?!’
“Stop, stop, stop! Stop!”
Sefina almost shouted. She lunged forward, raised her hand, and grabbed Flovi’s wrist holding the sword. The veins on her forehead were faintly bulging.
‘This maid with her bizarrely straight thought process and severe lack of common sense is going to drive me insane!’
“Who told you to do that?! Put your sword away!”
Sefina lowered her voice and explained rapidly.
“I mean, I told them my identity voluntarily! They are my trusted students! They are not targets for silencing because their identities were revealed! Do you understand?!”
Flovi halted her movement as her wrist was grabbed.
She tilted her head, her golden eyes fixed on Sefina’s face so close to her own, processing the information.
A few seconds later, that “sudden realization” expression appeared on her face again, and she let out another syllable.
“Oh.”
This time, she finally understood.
So it wasn’t a “leak crisis,” but “master voluntarily told trusted people.”
The nature was completely different.
Whoosh—
She flicked her wrist, smoothly sheathing the sword in a fluid motion. Then Flovi turned to face the three still-startled girls. Without hesitation, she bent forward and gave a deep, formal bow.
“I sincerely apologize.”
Her voice returned to its usual flatness, but if one listened closely, there was a hint of… muddled sincerity?
“I misunderstood the situation. I made an inappropriate and wrong threatening gesture toward you all. Please forgive me.”
Flovi’s apology came abruptly and directly. Her face still showed little expression, but it felt oddly earnest.
The three girls: …
The tension and fear from the sword-drawing earlier inexplicably dissipated, replaced by a sense of absurdity that made them want to laugh and cry.
‘This maid… she’s not a bad person, is she?’
‘Just her brain… well, a bit too straightforward?’
Seeing Flovi maintaining the bow, Mia scratched her head first and let out a dry laugh.
“Ahaha… It’s, it’s okay! Just a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding.”
Ellaria also let out a soft sigh, regained her composure, and gave a slight nod to accept the apology.
Kefi remained silent, nodding once, and glanced at Flovi with a complex look.
Sefina finally felt the throbbing in her temples ease a bit.
She walked over to the students and tried to reintroduce her.
“This is Flovi. She is my… companion. She’ll be acting with us from now on.”
“Companion?”
Mia caught that word, and a curious light sparked in her blue eyes.
“If she’s a companion, why does Miss Flovi call Teacher Sefina ‘master’? That sounds… weird.”
She pointed at Flovi, then at Sefina, with an expression that seemed to be probing whether the title had some special meaning.
Sefina was about to explain that it was just a past habit of Flovi’s and had no special meaning—
“It’s my habit to address her that way.”
Flovi had already straightened up and took over the conversation, speaking calmly.
“Also, master seems to enjoy this form of address.”
“Enjoy?!”
Mia and Kefi repeated the word simultaneously, their voices slightly distorted.
Ellaria’s breath hitched, her emerald eyes widening as scenes and terms from novels involuntarily flashed through her mind.
‘Teacher Sefina, who is usually cool and serious at the academy…’
‘In private… she actually likes being called “master”?’
‘What a huge contrast!’
‘It completely overturns my impression of her!’
‘She likes this… master-servant roleplay game?’
Mia’s train of thought jumped straight into some “special fetish” territory not suitable for minors. Her cheeks turned slightly red, and the way she looked at Sefina became subtle.
Kefi pursed her lips, her gray eyes dropping, and her fingers unconsciously twisted together.
‘Could teacher really…’
“NO!!!”
Sefina almost screamed. Her cool mask completely shattered, and her cheeks flushed red from exasperation and urgency.
‘I want to crack open Flovi’s head to see what’s inside!’
“It’s Flovi herself who can’t break this habit of address!”
Sefina turned and glared at Flovi, nearly grinding her teeth.
“And when did I ever say I enjoy being called that?! Explain yourself!”
Flovi faced her master’s “wrath” with a calm expression, even tilting her head slightly innocently, and explained in her usual monotone.
“Because master has never strictly corrected or forbidden this form of address. According to behavioral logic analysis, absence of objection implies tacit approval and potential acceptance.
“‘Enjoyment’ is a more positive emotional state beyond ‘acceptance.’ Based on master’s overall satisfaction with subordinate’s loyal behavior over time, I inferred that master possesses a certain degree of ‘enjoyment’ psychology toward this title.”
Sefina: …
‘I didn’t refute it because I was too lazy to correct it every time!’
‘That doesn’t mean I enjoy it!’
‘Those are… two different things!’
Sefina held her forehead, feeling the headache that had just subsided returning with a vengeance.
Flovi’s golden eyes looked at Sefina, as if rapidly processing this new information.
A few seconds later, that signature “aha” expression appeared again, and she nodded earnestly.
“Oh. I see. ‘Too lazy to correct’ does not equal ‘enjoy.’ Logic chain updated. Understood, master.”
“And you three!”
Sefina suddenly changed the subject, looking at the three girls.
“Mia and Kefi, you’ve met her before, remember? Last time at the clothing shop, she was disguised as a shop assistant! And we even joked about this whole… master-servant play thing back then!”
Sefina was practically grinding her teeth.
“You should remember! How could you misunderstand now…”
“Oh!”
Mia seemed to recall something.
“Yeah, that’s right! When we were buying clothes at the shop, Kefi and I did see Miss Flovi, but we didn’t know she was Teacher’s companion.”
At that moment, Kefi slowly remembered as well.
Back then, Miss Flovi had also kept calling Teacher Sefina “master.”
And then another cat-eared shop assistant had said it was a store service, so they let it slide.
But it had been so long, they’d kind of forgotten. Accidentally suspecting Teacher was a bit awkward…
“Pfft…”
Ellaria couldn’t help it first—a stifled laugh escaped her.
Flovi’s deadpan earnestness, paired with Sefina’s expression of utter helplessness and life-weariness…
It was just too amusing and cute!
Ellaria couldn’t hold it in and accidentally laughed.
Then, as if a switch had been flipped, the corners of all three girls’ mouths twitched upward, and they couldn’t suppress their laughter.
The three girls exchanged glances, seeing the same amusement in each other’s eyes.
The heavy and tense atmosphere that had come from embarking on an unknown journey was dissipated by this unexpected incident.
Though Miss Flovi seemed a bit dangerous and a little offbeat… somehow, she was also kind of cute?
And Teacher Sefina, looking flustered and angry, was really cute too.