"First up is the basic endurance test. You'll sprint around the poles along the designated route on this training ground, leaping over obstacles. Pay attention: poles marked with red symbols will fire cork bullets. Avoid getting hit—each strike deducts one lap. Your score is the total laps completed before this hourglass runs out." Instructor Josephine pointed to the mountainside training ground, roughly fifty meters square. Imperial light infantrymen in cloth uniforms were already marking the route and placing waist-high carved wooden poles.

Josephine set an hourglass on an open-air stone table behind her. "For this test," she continued to the three examinees, "thirty laps is a perfect score for boys—each six laps earns one point. Girls need twenty-five laps for full marks."

Tiyi wasn’t entirely clear on these basics. Swordmasters like Yedi never bothered with such entry-level assessments. Still, for her physical abilities, it posed no challenge. A quick glance at the course was enough to gauge the distance.

"Oh, you—Tiyi, right? Did you bring running pants?" Josephine asked, eyeing her.

"Eh? Pants?" Tiyi blinked, puzzled. Trained solely among women in the underground church as a witch, she hadn’t anticipated this.

Beside her, the burly Morton frowned, shaking his head at Tiyi’s tall, curvaceous figure.

"Surely your academy has rules? Female students must wear pants for running or jumping tests—it affects performance and breaches decorum." Josephine stepped forward, her tone laced with the justified superiority of the First Academy. "Alandiye, girls admitted to the Holy Academy aren’t just skilled fighters. They’re refined young ladies. Etiquette matters."

Jolouwei and the chubby boy smirked quietly. Jolouwei had been gloomy since earlier.

Tiyi’s suitcase held nothing—she’d grabbed an empty one at dawn after meeting Xingyu, slipped into the fake Nolan Academy uniform, and scaled the wall to escape.

"My apologies. I couldn’t know the test details beforehand, so I didn’t prepare pants… But even in a skirt, I believe my performance won’t suffer," Tiyi replied.

"Oh? Don’t be overconfident, Miss Alandiye. The Imperial Sacred Academy’s standards aren’t comparable to some remote backwater academy. And we don’t welcome students who ignore protocol." Josephine’s voice sharpened. Her words, though haughty, were technically correct.

Tiyi hesitated, unsure how to respond.

Just then, a petite girl rushed up the mountain path, clutching a cardboard box.

"Tiyi, come here." Qingruo strode forward.

"Senior?"

Qingruo offered no explanation, turning away. Tiyi followed.

*White pleated skirt… part of the Academy’s swordsmanship uniform set.* Tiyi’s gaze lingered on Qingruo’s tall, graceful back—the gentle sway of her hips beneath the short white skirt, the rhythmic play of light on its delicate folds. Her heart fluttered. Even Yedi, after countless lessons, had never seen Qingruo in a skirt with black stockings… She was stunning.

*Guilty daydreams aside,* Tiyi mused, *she’d look perfect in a skirt, stockings, and knee-high boots—making her even taller.*

Torn between admiration and urgency, Tiyi trailed Qingruo to a storage shed tucked beside the training ground in a small grove. It held spare poles, practice weapons, and other gear. Inside, shadows pooled dimly.

*What’s this about? I’m in the middle of an exam!*

The girl from the slope arrived, panting. Thick-rimmed glasses framed her face, and two thick braids of dark green hair swung at her shoulders.

"P-P-President! I brought what you asked for!" The girl’s voice trembled with effort—and nerves.

*Tch…* Tiyi thought inwardly. *Really?*

Just another admirer of the young lady.

"Good, Mina. Leave it here. Thank you." Qingruo’s tone was calm but warm.

"N-No need to thank me!" Mina’s face flushed crimson. She bowed deeply, fumbled the box, knocked over some clutter, and stammered apologies while backing away in a fluster.

Tiyi sighed. *Qingruo-gegei unconsciously charms everyone. Doesn’t she realize it invites trouble?*

"Tiyi."

"Huh?" Tiyi snapped to attention, facing Qingruo. The reflex had been drilled into her over the past few days.

"Undress." Qingruo’s command was calm, unhurried.

"Huh!??!" Heat flooded Tiyi’s face. She stared at Qingruo, nervous and wary. *Here?* Though Qingruo held her contract, ordering this during an exam? What was in that box? She’d been too distracted by the fangirl’s gaze earlier.

Qingruo gave a faint, exasperated smile. "What are you imagining? I meant take off your skirt. Change into pants." She opened the elegant cardboard box. Inside lay neatly folded trousers.

"They’re mine. If you don’t mind, wear them for now." Qingruo’s eyes held knowing warmth—as if she’d anticipated Tiyi’s lack of preparation.

"Senior… Of course I don’t mind!" Tiyi flushed deeper, breathless. She bowed deeply, forgetting how much she resembled that flustered fan moments ago.

Qingruo didn’t stay to watch. She turned gracefully, her long hair swaying as she left the shed.

*Senior’s pants…* Tiyi’s hands trembled slightly as she lifted the trousers reverently. They were clean, yet… they carried Qingruo’s faint scent.

*Wait—if I can wear pants touched by the girl I adore without issue… isn’t that strange itself?*

No time to dwell. Tiyi unfastened her skirt.

To her surprise, she slipped into Qingruo’s pants over only thin underwear—black, high-waisted, stretchy leggings that still held her senior’s subtle fragrance.

The box also held a thoughtful addition: a white silk blouse edged with delicate lace. Unsurprisingly, also Qingruo’s.

The trousers were slightly long, but Tiyi’s legs were equally long. The stretchy fabric fit perfectly. Only in Qingruo’s blouse did her chest feel comfortably unconfined.