“Let me think… what needs to be done right now…”
Luo Ye rubbed his chin with a slight headache, carrying the freshly bought apple as he walked along the path back to school, pondering the unfinished tasks ahead.
After some careful thought, there were three things he needed to accomplish.
First was to uncover the truth behind Alicia’s death.
If he couldn’t find out the truth, he might get trapped in an endless simulation dream.
The real world would be killed over and over again.
Although resurrection was possible, the feeling of death was real.
And it would be terrible if he developed a habit of disregarding life because of this.
Secondly, he needed to deal with the Gravity Girls.
Anna was straightforward—this blonde knightess was a bit dense at times, but she listened when told. As long as he used Alicia’s status to intimidate, she would obey orders.
The difficult one was Sisnai.
This silver-haired girl was obsessively stubborn to the point of self-destruction, a female version of a “simp.”
Luo Ye had never imagined the girl in love could be so humble.
Sisnai was a living example.
Not just in her pursuit tactics, but the underground basement drama she’d been involved in… he’d seen it all in every sense.
As for the last girl…
Lilith was not worth mentioning.
She didn’t speak human language.
A pure performer.
Currently, the bad news was that after returning to reality, Luo Ye still hadn’t figured out what really happened between Sisnai and Alicia back then.
But there was good news too.
At the funeral, in Luo Ye’s mind—that is, the original owner’s thoughts on Alicia and Sisnai—the two were described as best friends who told each other everything.
In the simulation, even when Alicia and Sisnai were apart, it was visible to the naked eye that when Sisnai came to her, Alicia’s eyes showed reluctance.
In reality, meaning after the simulation’s timeline, Sisnai and Alicia completely severed ties.
This meant that if he reentered the simulation now and told “Simulated Sisnai” about their future falling out, then would “Simulated Sisnai” warn him about what happened back then to prevent it?
The future was uncertain, but it was worth a try.
Finally, the third matter…
If there was a chance to do it, Luo Ye also wanted to investigate his own origins.
It wasn’t that he was paranoid by nature, but historically, few emperors hadn’t killed the donkey after using it.
In reality, the sages were all dead, the king had bestowed the princess he loved most onto him—who was regarded as a bastard—and still protected him after Alicia’s death.
With such behavior, Luo Ye thought to himself that maybe he wasn’t the sage’s bastard, but the king’s bastard instead.
But the answer was obviously no; even in this noble circle, it wouldn’t be so ethically chaotic as to have siblings marry.
“Logic sorted out. Next, I should have a proper talk with Sisnai.”
Luo Ye adjusted his nonexistent glasses, putting on an inscrutable expression.
Clearing his thoughts, he decided to take the initiative.
Luo Ye contacted Sisnai through the academy’s internal messaging system and sent an invitation in a calm yet firm tone: “Sisnai, meet me at the Iris Café beside the library at 3 PM for a make-up class.”
Translation—We need to talk about Alicia.
At 3 PM.
The silver-haired girl arrived as promised, pushing open the carved glass door with a chime of wind chimes.
She wore the academy uniform, the sleeve cuff embroidered with the same pattern as Alicia’s.
“Try this. It’s the coffee I like,” Luo Ye pushed a steaming caramel macchiato toward her. “Don’t drink black tea all the time. I think you should try changing your taste.”
Sisnai’s pupils contracted. Her silver spoon struck the bottom of the cup with a clear clink.
“Teacher Luo Ye, are you saying you want me to stop clinging to Princess Alicia?”
“What do you mean by that?” Luo Ye looked at her, a bit confused.
Sisnai sneered, “Hmph, are you still pretending not to know after everything? I admit you’re one step ahead now, but I won’t give up.”
Luo Ye blinked, taking a moment to grasp Sisnai’s thought process.
Because Alicia liked black tea, Sisnai drank black tea too.
Now, Alicia’s fiancé was advising her not to drink black tea anymore, to change her taste, which basically meant stop clinging to Alicia and like other girls instead?
Luo Ye silently applauded.
As expected of Sisnai, her brain worked differently.
“Looks like you’re very wary of me.”
Sisnai was unimpressed.
“Well, why not? I won’t easily trust someone who took Princess Alicia away from me.”
“Even though you personally asked me to investigate the changes in Alicia?” Luo Ye asked curiously.
Sisnai gracefully shook her head, her expression complicated beyond words.
“That’s a different matter. I asked you because it’s important to both of us, but that doesn’t mean I’ll easily trust you, Teacher Luo Ye.”
So straightforwardly evasive.
Luo Ye thought to himself.
If only Sisnai were as easy to deal with as Anna—when persuasion failed, he could even sleep her over…
cough cough
Just kidding.
Luo Ye stared into her eyes, which were starting to ripple with emotion, lowering his voice to get to the heart of the matter.
“Alright, since you’re so guarded against me, I won’t beat around the bush. Let’s talk business.”
Sisnai’s icy blue eyes fixed on him as she lifted her delicate hand to her teacup, sipping the coffee without a word.
It was as if she was waiting for him to speak first.
Luo Ye didn’t stall.
“What if I told you… Sisnai, I asked my father, the Sage, to use forbidden magic to observe the future of Alicia and me, and it revealed that in the predicted future, you and Alicia will eventually become strangers—would you believe me?”
Outside, falling petals seemed to freeze midair.
The entire café fell into an eerie silence.
Sisnai’s breathing quickened, her collarbone under the uniform’s necktie rising and falling sharply with her heartbeat.
Suddenly, she slammed her hand on the table, her nails almost digging into the surface.
“Hah? Don’t joke around, who do you think you are?
“What right do you have to think… I would believe such ridiculous prophecy?”
“Future-predicting magic… don’t be ridiculous. Even the Sage wouldn’t mess around like this with you!”
Sisnai’s face flushed red, her pure white skin shaking visibly.
That alabaster face was as red as fire.
Not from shyness.
But from anger.
Luo Ye stared at Sisnai’s face for a while before casually taking a sip of his coffee.
Sisnai didn’t disbelieve him.
She was afraid—what if he was telling the truth? What would she do then?