Though the Hero Butler Academy and the superhero training institutions shared the same roots—both managed by the Superhero Administration—their curricula overlapped little. Mirror October parted ways with his sister Ruoshui after getting off the vehicle. *Sigh.* For Mirror October, having a sister who despised him was anything but joyful.
The Hero Butler Academy stood adjacent to the Superhero High School, sharing the same campus facilities. After all, butlers were a profession born from superheroes. No matter how exceptional, they remained ordinary humans—incapable of wielding supernatural powers like superheroes, unable to shield people from the Dire Calamity. They simply lacked the prominence to overshadow their masters.
"North Campus, Building 14. Registration Office. Hero Butler Department..." Standing under the shade of a tree, Mirror October squinted at the roadside sign. He felt a twinge of embarrassment—he had a natural aversion to maps. It wasn’t that he was directionally challenged; it was just that maps made his head spin the moment he looked at them.
The enrollment threshold for hero butlers wasn’t high. Even someone like Mirror October, with zero foundation, could apply.
But graduating? That required securing recognition from a superhero.
A brutally strict condition—especially now, when superheroes grew increasingly arrogant. This era was nothing like the one Mirror October remembered. Butlers? To many heroes, they were little more than servants—unspoken, but understood.
A cool breeze drifted by. With no freshman orientation season, no staff escorted new students.
Most aspiring hero butlers... well, their motives weren’t exactly noble. People relying on good looks to climb the social ladder were never in short supply. And superheroes? Prime targets for such ambitions. Mirror October could easily picture the gaudy, extravagant scenes.
*This* was why he’d abandoned all honor, pride, and faith without hesitation after witnessing the rot at the core of superheroes—becoming a super-criminal instead.
As Mirror October struggled with the headache-inducing map, an elegant OL-clad beauty approached from down the path. Her mature, radiant charm far surpassed any girl’s. Yet what stunned him more was the superhero insignia pinned to her chest—a badge issued exclusively by the Superhero Administration. Unauthorized wearers faced legal consequences. Delicate beauties as superheroes? Common enough nowadays. Thanks to their mysterious powers, heroes of any gender always possessed looks and aura far beyond ordinary people—much like Mirror October himself, whose striking features rivaled idols’.
A woman like her surely had endless suitors. As a superhero, her status was undeniably lofty.
Mirror October glanced sideways at her. Something felt familiar, yet he couldn’t place where he’d seen this lady before. Sensing his gaze, Lan Xinyi paused as she passed his slender figure. That familiar silhouette...
She shook her head firmly, a wistful smile touching her lips. *"How can a back look so identical? That brat is long gone..."*
Her steps halted. Unconsciously, a tender smile curved her lips. *He really resembles that little fool. If he were still alive, he’d be about this age.* Driven by a strange impulse, Lan Xinyi called out kindly to the familiar-yet-foreign back.
"New student for the Butler Academy? Registration closed early today—the teachers have already left." Though she knew it impossible, she still longed to see the face behind that silhouette. A faint voice in her heart whispered, *hoping for a miracle.*
Perfectly timed surprise flickered across Mirror October’s face as he turned his head slightly. His ascetic features, paired with deep crimson eyes, crafted a beauty that made women blush. Lan Xinyi was momentarily dazzled—but her expression dimmed with a flicker of disappointment.
The silhouette matched, but the aura and face were utterly different...
"Good day. Are you an instructor at the Butler Academy?" His tone was polished, utterly devoid of pretense. Warm and courteous—he’d mastered this effortlessly pleasing demeanor during his days as a male host.
*Nothing like him at all...*
Lan Xinyi studied the slender, beautiful youth. Mirror October subtly shifted under her gaze, just enough to seem flustered. She realized she’d been staring. "Yes, I teach here." *Well, the dean is still a teacher~* She hadn’t lied.
"Wonderful! Could you tell me the registration hours? I... didn’t check the official site and mismanaged my time." He lowered his eyes slightly, a hint of embarrassment in his posture. *That scatterbrained girl I remembered has truly grown up,* he thought.
"8 a.m. to noon, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. You’ve missed today’s window." Perfectly timed, Mirror October offered a helpless smile. Courteous, respectful, breathtakingly handsome—this flawless act bore no resemblance to the shadow in Lan Xinyi’s memory.
*Exactly as I planned.*
"Thank you, teacher. I suppose I’ll have to return tomorrow."
"Not quite. You’re lucky—I handle registrations." As dean, she could process it later from home. Lan Xinyi’s eyes lingered on Mirror October. Sharp intuition sparked a bold, unprecedented hypothesis in her mind.
A trace of surprise crossed his face—not at her role, but that she’d settled for such an unremarkable position.
"Your name?"
"Mirror October. Mirror as in reflection, October as in the month." Flawless. He widened the distance between them imperceptibly. From his host days, he knew how tenacious women could be when chasing ghosts. Lan Xinyi clearly saw echoes of the past in him.
But he was already dead. Truly, irrevocably dead. No cracks remained.
