The crescent moon was partially obscured by the clouds, and the drifting thin clouds blurred the light, adding a touch of mystery to the night.

However, most people, being not sensitive poets, were not concerned about the weather. Even if the sky were to be filled with dark clouds tomorrow, the Magic Masters at the Academy could easily disperse them with a spell.

Humanity had developed over the years and, although unable to completely conquer nature, was capable of making small changes within a limited scope. But compared to the forces of nature, humans were still more terrifying.

In the emptied living room of the villa, Aya knelt on the washboard in the center of the room and thought, "Where did this washboard come from? Clearly, clothes were sent to the laundry room with magic-powered washing machines to be washed."

"I bought it on the way back from the shopping street. Any problem with that?" said Aya.

"N-No, there's no problem," Aya hesitated, afraid of being stared at.

"Alright, let's begin the trial now," said Angel, sitting next to Tiran, as she took out a small wooden hammer from an unknown source and knocked it twice on the table, making a dull sound. She seemed quite fascinated, judging from her expression, very enthusiastic.

Don't join in just to be part of the excitement!

"First, let's recreate the crime scene according to the testimony of the witnesses, Miss Milen," said Tiran.

"Alright!"

The gray-haired boy raised his hand and emerged from the jury, his eyes lit up as he looked at the two girls beside him. "Coach, coach, who will be my partner?"

Nancy and Petra instinctively took a step back, their faces filled with nervousness.

Tiran tapped his forehead and pondered for a moment. "Let me think... Ah, I've got it. Ruel, you come."

"(°Д°)! Wait a minute, coach! This isn't what we agreed on! I object!" exclaimed Milen, shocked. Wasn't he supposed to partner with one of the girls?

"Objection overruled. The crime scene was originally male-male anyway," said Tiran, stifling a yawn, with great interest in Milen's reaction.

A burly man, as towering as a tower, revealed a seemingly simple and honest smile as he looked at Milen. He flexed his body, and his arms, exposed and muscular, almost had the texture of steel. "Come on."

"Hey, wait... Ruel, are you serious? I'm not interested in men, so please don't come near me! Stay away!"

Wow, this is too much to handle...

...

After a while, Ruel dragged the now grayish-white Milen, who kept spitting out something resembling souls, back to the jury's seat.

"Brilliant recreation of the crime scene," Tiran clasped his hands below his nose, embodying the commanding figure once again.

"Thanks for the hospitality. I've gained a lot of amazing material," said Ciella, who appeared at the window with a bleeding nose. In one hand, she wiped the blood, and with the other, she held a drawing board, showing a satisfied smile. "Good job!"

"Why are you here?" Aya glared at her. What is this? Is there a party going on and everyone's invited?

"Don't worry, we're not slacking off here. To ensure the safety of the Elf Princess, we brought her along," said Ciella proudly, puffing out her chest.

"Aya, are you alright?" Coco cautiously poked her head in as she pushed the door open, unsure if it was appropriate to greet Aya at this moment.

"So far, so good," Aya said with a dark face. Now that Coco had arrived, then...

"What's going on here?" Selvissin opened the door for Coco and walked in behind her, looking totally unaffected.

"How dare you ask me that! I'm kneeling here all because of you!" Aya jumped up, wanting to bite someone.

Snap.

In the next second, a hand pressed him back down, Tiran left his position as the chief judge and came to Aya's side, his five fingers spread out and forcefully pressed down on Aya's head.

"Alright, scene reconstructed. Suspect Aya, you may defend yourself now." Tiran glanced coldly at Aya, seemingly emanating a tangible darkness.

"Hold on, defend what! I don't even know what crime I'm being accused of! And that reconstruction earlier, wasn't it just a wrestling scene between two men!" Aya widened his eyes and innocently exclaimed.

"Oh? So it wasn't a wrestling scene? So it seems you, the little fox spirit wearing a maid outfit, indeed seduced the male Elf as I suspected?" The princess's eyes filled with killing intent, causing Aya to gulp nervously. Did you see that? That was killing intent!

"How did you come to such a conclusion?! I wore the maid outfit because I was helping out at the shop..."

"Tournament! Coco." Tiran reached out and immediately Coco understood, turning and running into the kitchen to retrieve a hatchet, which he handed to Tiran.

[Guiyan Leaf Hatchet] - A hatchet with a nostalgic feel. The dark blade retains traces of reddish-brown rust, giving off a bloody scent.

—In any case, it seems like it was something like this from the prop description.

Tiran took the hatchet and tested the sharpness in his hand, nodding in satisfaction. "Not bad, it truly lives up to its legend as a tool of integrity. It looks like it could cut off a dragon's head in one swing."

"It's just an ordinary steel knife..." Aya sighed with exasperation, black lines forming on his forehead.

"Do you want to try it out?" Tiran narrowed his eyes and glanced at Aya, causing Aya's scalp to tingle and his hands and feet to turn cold.

Even if it's just an ordinary knife, in the hands of this young mistress, it's truly capable of cutting anything.

"Here's another chance, speak up." Tiran's gaze became sharp.

"It was an accident, I lost my balance when Silver War Maiden pulled me up!" Aya argued in a righteous tone.

"Is that so?" Tiran looked at Silver War Maiden.

"That's indeed the case, Silver War Maiden." Silver War Maiden held her chin and thought for a moment before nodding. "As Aya said, it was my fault for not helping him maintain balance. It wasn't his fault."

Not sure if it was just Aya's imagination, but Tiran seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and the hatchet was also set aside.

"Hah, I thought you had really become a pervert who liked pretty boys because of crossdressing for too long, Aya." The dark aura dissipated instantly, the hand that was grabbing Aya's head also released, and Tiran ruffled his hair before letting go.

"If anyone became like that, it would be your fault, right?"

With the crisis resolved, Aya finally felt at ease. He spread his hands helplessly, stood up, massaged his sore knees from kneeling for a long time, and then went to embrace Silver War Maiden tightly.

"Forget it, saving a person's life outweighs a seven-story pagoda. From now on, you're my brother."

"Forget about being brothers for now," Silver War Maiden felt a bit uncomfortable being embraced so warmly by someone, but still smiled. "And Silver War Maiden doesn't really dislike you either. Just like how you think she's a bad-tempered flat-chested otaku, her desire to protect you is also genuine."

Silver War Maiden suddenly noticed that Aya had stiffened.

What?

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped without warning, and Yuan, who was responsible for the temperature drop, stood behind Aya with one hand gently resting on his shoulder.

"Sorry, could you repeat what this guy said earlier? He has a terrible personality, always resorting to violence and playing pranks. No one likes a flat-chested shut-in like him."

Princess Aya's tone didn't sound angry at all, but her silver hair floated without any wind, and the frosty chi effect caused frost to form on the ground.

"Don't add so many adjectives on your own! I only said he has a terrible personality and he's a flat-chested shut-in—"

Aya realized something was wrong and panic started to set in. This was a big problem.

"So you admit it, right?"

Well, there's no way to explain now. What should I do in this situation? Aya tried hard to remember what he had written in his notebook.

Apologize obediently (×)

Turn and run (√)

"Look! Shooting star!"

Pushing away Sylvian who was hugging him, Aya pointed outside the window and exerted his feet, unleashing his dragon scales, and with a burst of three times the speed, he rushed towards the door like a bullet.

"Freeze, don't move...no, wait, stand still and don't move."

Huh?

As Tiran commanded with the power of the contract, Aya, who was already in mid-air ready to sprint, instantly froze, and before he could adjust his movements, he crashed into the wall, shaking the reinforced wall with runes three times.

"Well, Minna, let's go back for now. The upcoming scene is too bloody and not suitable for children. We still have a match tomorrow, so quickly go back to sleep."

Realizing what was about to happen, Ciella coughed and led a group of curious jurors away from the other side of the garden through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

And the princess slowly approached Aya, who was trapped on the ground, unable to move due to the contract.

The Grim Reaper has come to collect.

...

Late at night, the entire academy city fell into slumber.

... except for Aya, probably.

"Wu wu wu!"

Aya, who was tied up like a dumpling and gagged, was trying hard to wriggle his body to escape on the first-floor living room floor, but it was of no use. He was as clumsy as a caterpillar trapped in a glass bottle.

His body movements and use of magic were prohibited by Tiran through the contract, and not only was he tied up with ropes, even if he were thrown there, he still couldn't move.

If it were just that, he could just maintain a posture and sleep for the night, but the problem was...

On the first-floor living room, there was someone, in pitch darkness.

All of this reminded Aya of one thing—he was afraid of the dark.

Previously, Aya slept in the same room with Tiran and little Angel, with someone by his side and the sound of steady breathing, so he could sleep peacefully.

Aya found it quite mysterious that he was afraid of the dark, because most people were usually afraid of ghosts or zombies that they associated with darkness. But for Aya, ghosts could be purified with holy light magic, and as for zombies... he had killed countless of them in the Dark Swamp.

He was genuinely scared of the dark and didn't know the reason behind it. He was always afraid that something would suddenly jump out of the dark corners—what that something was didn't matter; it was the unknown and suddenness that was key.

But now, he was in such a state, looking around anxiously, lying on the floor trembling in fear.

Over there, by the French window! Oh...oh, there's nothing there. I'm scaring myself.

Behind the sofa! Oh, nothing there either. Ugh... I'm scaring myself.

Stairs!

Hmph, scaring myself...

Creak...

Σ(っ°Д°;)っ Oh my god, there really is something!

Aya's first reaction was to close her eyes and pretend to be dead, as if you can't see me, you can't see me!

Huh? Wait a minute, the sound seems like... footsteps? Is someone coming down? Coming this way?

With her eyes closed, Aya relied on her hearing to determine the location of the sound.

"Aya, Aya? Are you asleep?" The soft voice emitted through breath, but after spending several months together, Aya easily recognized Tiran's voice.

Relieved, Tiran also attempted to poke Aya's cheek, it was still just as easy to poke, soft, and then a small laugh escaped.

"You really fell asleep... I thought you, this fool, would be too scared to sleep alone. I worried for nothing."

Feeling annoyed that her concern went unanswered, the princess let out a hum and lightly pinched Aya's cheek in retaliation.

"You, you always look so dull, but you're quite cute when you're asleep."

"Well, of course I know you're not interested in guys, but if a girl were to see that kind of scene... I'd definitely be unhappy."

"Can you describe the specific feeling? Jealousy, perhaps?"

Huh... huh?! Aya, who had originally planned to stay dead, was startled, almost screaming out loud.

"I was going to ask you, 'Do you like me?' but since you're my master, it's too immodest to say that."

"But, if you didn't like me, you wouldn't have protected me all the way from being chased by Xiao Feizi, right?"

"You wouldn't have been so anxious when that black Elf captured me."

Ah... it's really weird, even I feel strange now."

"But anyway, since you're asleep and can't hear me..."

"I like you, Aya."