The night deepened, and a gentle evening breeze whispered through the air.
“Princess Isxila…”
“Are they still here?”
Irina glanced around, unable to pinpoint the source of that hostile gaze from earlier.
When she turned back, she saw only Isxila approaching with a smile. Lol followed behind, maintaining his polite expression, though for some reason, his face appeared slightly tense.
“Student Laixi, is this a friend you’ve made at the academy?”
“She truly is…”
“A remarkably rare beauty~”
Isxila narrowed her smiling eyes slightly, her gaze lingering on Irina as she took in the tall senior — nearly 170 centimeters — with near-perfect proportions and healthy, wheat-colored skin.
Though Isxila’s expression was gentle and her tone warm, Irina inexplicably felt a chill run from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head.
“Uh, ahahaha…”
Irina awkwardly scratched her head, about to respond to the princess’s compliment, when something suddenly clicked. Her eyes widened in shock.
“Student Laixi?”
Not just calling him by name, but with such an intimate tone.
Irina whipped toward Ye Laixi, asking in disbelief, “Junior, you actually know Her Highness the Princess? Didn’t you say you were just…”
She was growing more convinced that this junior of hers was unfathomably deep. Wasn’t he supposed to be the long-lost younger brother that the count had found somewhere in the empire? How could he…
“It’s a long story.”
“In short, I once encountered danger in the empire, and when I was little, Student Laixi saved my life.”
Just as Ye Xu was about to speak, Isxila answered for him, leaving Irina even more stunned.
“…”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“At the time, Her Highness ran into some trouble, and I helped out a bit.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered whether I was there or not.”
“We just happened to meet because of that incident.”
Ye Xu had no intention of dredging up the past or using it to grow closer to Isxila.
After brief consideration, he explained it lightly.
Irina nodded as if she half-understood. “Ohhh…”
Seeing Ye Xu’s attitude, Isxila smiled and accepted his version without protest.
“By the way, Student Laixi, won’t you introduce me to this senior?”
“After all, we should… still count as friends.”
“Seeing how ‘close’ this beautiful senior is with you…”
“I’m sure your relationship must be quite special, right?”
It can’t be, right?
Definitely not, right?
Ye Xu wouldn’t like this type, would he?
After all, even Sister Navila back then didn’t have a figure anywhere near this impressive.
“Uh…”
When Isxila deliberately emphasized the word “close,” Irina finally realized she was still standing practically glued to her junior, with almost no space between them.
“Ehhh?!”
She hurriedly jumped back a step, her cheeks instantly flushing bright red.
—She really, really hadn’t meant to.
But her junior smelled so incredibly good, and unlike the oppressive aura from her family or other nobles, being near him made her mind go blank every time.
“W-Well, I’m just an ordinary senior! We only met this afternoon.”
“Junior’s personal machine is parked in the hangar I’m in charge of, so…”
Before Irina could finish, Isxila’s expression shifted to one of understanding.
So it’s just a professional relationship? That’s good.
Still, better safe than sorry — precautions should be taken early.
“Student Laixi’s personal machine — is that the black-and-purple one?”
“Yes, it’s truly an outstanding Magitech Knight.”
(Though compared to his real personal machine, it’s still far inferior.)
“In that case…”
Clap clap
Isxila thought for a moment and lightly clapped her hands.
A low hum from a magitech core suddenly cut through the quiet night.
The massive shadow — covered by a white cloth with golden patterns and somehow placed beside the grand auditorium at some unknown point — began to tremble faintly.
The next instant, the cloth dissolved into particles of magic.
As a dazzling night-purple V-shaped monitor lit up, a Magitech Knight — entirely white-gold with intricate night-purple patterns — slowly rose to its feet, revealing its imposing five-meter-tall frame.
On its shoulder armor, the white-gold trident royal crest of the Elze Kingdom gleamed under the moonlight.
“W-Wow wow wow wow, w-what is this???”
Watching the magnificent white-gold machine stride forward and halt behind Isxila, Irina exclaimed in disbelief.
“Built on the framework of the ‘Radiant Sun Type-14,'”
“Commissioned by our Elze royal family and specially developed by the empire’s research institute — a deeply customized royal-exclusive model.”
“This one is my personal ride. I named her ‘Dawn Heart.'”
“If you don’t mind, I can sign a four-year hangar slot rental and premium maintenance package contract right now.”
“I’m willing to pay immediately.”
While Irina’s attention was completely captured by the gorgeous machine, Isxila threw in an offer she couldn’t refuse.
“Would it be possible to arrange a slot for my beloved machine close to Student Laixi’s?”
“If you’re willing, I’d like to entrust all related matters fully to you.”
“Please take this child back to the hangar for me~”
As she spoke, the cockpit hatch of Dawn Heart slowly opened, revealing an interior seat that looked extraordinarily comfortable and perfectly fitted.
“Piloting a royal-exclusive, custom-developed Radiant Sun Type-14 Magitech Knight”!!!
In an instant, that thought completely dominated Irina’s mind.
What was a royal-exclusive machine? What did custom-developed mean?
It meant sparing no expense, using the finest materials, and tailoring every tiniest detail to the pilot’s physical attributes.
Among machines of the same generation, the performance gap between these top-tier customs and standard models could easily double — no exaggeration.
One could even say that, aside from the legendary “Eternal Night Knights” used by the “Nine Riders of Eternal Night” in the Night Princess’s elite Eternal Night Knight Order — machines said to effortlessly take on hundreds alone —
These custom units represented the absolute pinnacle of the world’s technology and power.
“Yes! I’ll do it — please leave it to me!!!”
Irina was practically drooling. Every hangar regulation flew out of her mind.
She immediately pulled a blank sheet from her storage device, scribbled out a contract in a flurry, and handed it to Isxila.
Isxila signed with a smile and said, “In that case, Senior, please pilot her away for now. Until you exit the cockpit, feel free to operate her as you wish — just park in the designated slot before leaving.”
She stepped forward, patted Dawn Heart a few times to register Irina’s information into the system, granting one-time piloting privileges, then asked with a smile, “Is this acceptable?”
“No problem! Your Highness, please entrust this to me with peace of mind!!!”
Irina leaped into the cockpit.
With the roar of the magitech engine firing at full power, the royal-exclusive machine representing the world’s highest standard streaked away as a white-gold blur toward Hangar 3.
In the night sky, only Irina’s excited cheers lingered.
“Well, it seems she’s really not an enemy~”
Watching Irina vanish without a backward glance, Isxila murmured to herself.
Beside her, Lol — who had witnessed the entire performance — was struggling to hold it in, the corners of his mouth already curving uncontrollably upward.
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