Pah!...

Aerin glared at Tilisha in the front row with utter disgust.

And she even had the nerve to act all considerate, saying she'd wipe it herself. What a two-faced little bitch. Who are you trying to fool?? You think I don't know how happy you are right now?!

Wasn't this exactly what you wanted in the first place?!

Scheming little slut. You played the teacher, then turned him into your backer. You got what you wanted and still acted innocent!

Aerin was grinding her teeth in hatred, yet there was nothing she could do to Tilisha.

Damn it. If private duels were allowed out in the open, she'd definitely make that little bitch suffer!

...Wait. An open private duel?

After a brief moment of thought, a cold curve tugged at Aerin's lips.

She'd come up with a perfect idea.

Heh, Tilisha. Enjoy yourself while you can. You won't be smiling for much longer!

"Um, Aerin, look, we..." After class, Tilisha left ahead of everyone else, following Karis's instructions. Watching the other students leave one after another like it had nothing to do with them, Aerin's lackey hesitated.

"Wait." Aerin's expression suddenly turned calm and breezy.

"Ah?" They didn't understand how her attitude had changed so fast, but they didn't dare ask.

Aerin stayed seated with several followers beside her. Only after the last student besides them had left the classroom did she rise leisurely.

"Let's go."

"G-Go where??"

"Do I really need to say it? We're going to help clean Tilisha's desk and chair, of course." Aerin smiled. "What, were you not listening in class?"

"No, it's just..." That completely threw her lackeys off.

They knew Aerin's temper better than anyone. This noble young lady, who always had family and bloodline on her lips, was far too proud to tolerate doing something like wiping down a wild Divine Maiden's desk.

"Sister Aerin... are you really okay with this?"

"Okay with what? Since it's the teacher's order, we wipe it. What's there to be okay with or not?" Aerin said indifferently, then turned to one of her followers.

"Kono, if I remember right, you were the one who scribbled on Tilisha's desk and chair that day, yes?"

"Ah, yeah, that was me." A male Divine Maiden admitted it, already feeling a bad premonition.

"Then you'll be the one cleaning it. And remember the teacher's instructions. Not a single trace can be left behind, or..." Aerin smiled faintly. "Even I might not be able to help you."

"...Understood." But you were the one who told me to do it in the first place, weren't you??

Kono felt wronged, but he couldn't show it openly. He could only curse his bad luck, grab a rag, and go wipe the desk.

"Aerin, that ungrateful wild Divine Maiden humiliated you like this. Are you really just going to let it go?" A female follower pressed her lips together.

"What else?" Aerin said with a smile. "The teacher's already stepped in. If we do something like this again, do you believe someone might get expelled by the academy?"

The moment expulsion was mentioned, the girl shut up at once.

She was only from a minor noble family. If she got expelled from the academy, her father would be furious.

"Alright, clean up quickly so we can head back early." Aerin looked as if she'd truly let it go.

Several of her followers exchanged glances as they looked at her.

They knew exactly what kind of woman Aerin was. She wasn't someone who would ever drop a grudge so easily. If she was acting this carefree, there was probably only one reason.

She'd thought of a better, crueler move. So good that all the gloom from today had been swept away.

"...That's the general situation." The sharply dressed female instructor folded her arms and looked down at the class.

"At the start of the school year, aside from the data from your entrance tests, we don't truly know what each of you Divine Maidens is capable of."

"Cold, static data can only show so much. Adaptability, combat experience, weapon proficiency, composure under pressure... these matter far more than static numbers."

"And these 'dynamic' qualities can't be measured through simple tests. If we want to assess actual combat ability and combat style, there's only one way."

"Live combat."

"With ten days left until the Freshman Crown Cup, we will be holding a live combat assessment for all freshman Divine Maidens. Every student will take part. Based on your performance, we will refine your files and dynamic data."

The moment those words fell, the freshman Divine Maidens lit up with confidence, eager and ready.

They'd waited so long. It was finally here!

Really, who wouldn't want to shine in front of the instructors and the entire freshman class? Who wouldn't want to become the leader of the freshmen, the new rising star on campus, admired from every side??

The male Divine Maidens were especially excited.

They knew their chance had come.

To put it in more biological terms, how did you secure first pick in the campus mating market? The answer was simple. Break into the top three of the combat rankings. Make your name known across the academy, across the entire freshman class. At that point, would you still be lacking admirers?

This freshman Divine Maiden assessment wasn't an official combat ranking, but it was the first step toward entering Coleman's duel rankings. Plenty of female Divine Children and female Divine Maidens would be watching. If they performed well, they'd solve both their relationship problems and their team problems in one go. They'd also catch the instructors' attention and earn the label of "full of promise."

And if they made a name for themselves in the Freshman Crown Cup after that, then they'd truly become famous in a single battle. Their names would be known throughout Coleman Academy, maybe even across half the continent. After all, the Freshman Crown Cup at Coleman Academy carried real weight.

By then, they'd be heartthrobs wherever they went. Maybe some kingdoms would even send out princesses to recruit them...

On the other hand, competitiveness and a fighting spirit were basic traits of Divine Maidens, just like curiosity was for Divine Children.

Especially this first batch of newborn-calf freshmen who feared no tiger. Young, arrogant, and unwilling to submit to anyone. Forget their own year. Even if second-years or third-years showed up, they still felt they had the strength to fight. How could they possibly pass up a chance like this to show themselves?

"Heh..." Aerin propped up her head, one long leg wrapped in over-the-knee stockings crossed as she stared coldly at Tilisha in the very front row, observing every last reaction.

Divine Maidens could sense each other's domains. And clearly, Aerin could barely sense Tilisha's at all. In fact, she couldn't even tell whether Tilisha had a domain in the first place.

There were only two possibilities.

Either Tilisha's domain was unusually special, or Tilisha hadn't awakened a domain at all.

A Divine Maiden without a domain didn't even deserve to be called a Divine Maiden.

Either way, Aerin could hardly wait to see Tilisha stumble and humiliate herself in the freshman live combat assessment.

That was definitely going to be fun...

Ugly duckling, let me teach you the difference between the orthodox and a bastard.