"What... what's going on?" Vicky hesitated to reach out and shake his hand.

It felt like crushing on someone, only to discover one day they were actually your same gender.

That was incredibly awkward.

This can't be real! The person I like is actually a girl? Oh, so shameful! Vicky nearly covered her face. Tell me this is fake, right? You're not Sky Qi at all.

She stared at Sky Qi's face—it did resemble him slightly, but after cross-dressing, she hadn't recognized him at all.

Sky Qi seemed to realize something and hurriedly explained, "Don't mind it. It's just because of that despicable rule your grandfather set, favoring girls over boys. That's why I had to dress as a girl to get in."

Sky Qi's words cut through the confusion. Vicky felt a little better. So it was just cross-dressing—not that he was truly a girl.

"Um, um, I'm Vicky." Their hands clasped tightly in the air. "I'm truly grateful to meet you." She stressed the word "grateful" deliberately.

Still, Grandpa was outrageous—such a big deal as Sky Qi arriving, and he hadn't told her.

"By the way," Sky Qi's mouth twitched, "do you have men's clothes here? Anything works. I just feel really awkward like this."

Vicky froze for a moment. "I can ask my grandfather for a school uniform."

On weekends, the academy's clothing store only sold women's wear. Adolf's twisted tastes ran deep; for years, academy policies had revolved almost entirely around females. Beyond essentials like the grocery store, arena, fencing hall, and training rooms, most entertainment spots were women-only.

Faced with this, Sky Qi could only silently curse Adolf: Fuck you.

Since it was the weekend, he couldn't even buy men's clothes. Boys here seemed treated worse than slaves.

Adolf was truly a traitor to men. Sky Qi felt tears welling inside—he'd caused this painfully awkward reunion.

The atmosphere was stifling. Two pretty girls sat together: one flushed crimson, the other tense and uneasy. A heavy silence hung in the air.

"Well, just get that uniform from your grandfather," Sky Qi scratched his head awkwardly, then paused. "I'll cut my hair later too."

With waist-length hair, even he wouldn't believe he wasn't a girl. He focused—a flicker of will dispelled the magic on the Unicorn Mage Mask, revealing its original form. His hand hesitated, considering removal. No, better not. While Vicky wasn't looking, he shifted his face back to normal.

Enough. He couldn't take it anymore. Sky Qi muttered under his breath, "I'll find that old bastard myself for a men's uniform."

"Ah, okay. I'll wait here," Vicky replied instantly, stunned.

WindStride

Sky Qi activated WindStride instantly, speed maxing out. Wind from his sprint sent flowers swaying wildly.

Seconds later, he stood again at Adolf's office door.

This time, the door was open. Directly ahead, Adolf slumped in his armchair, dazed and staring blankly.

Spotting Sky Qi's return, Adolf snapped out of it. "Why are you back?"

"Hey, hurry up—give me a men's uniform and a single room."

Adolf ignored him, muttering instead, "Do you know what happened here just now?"

Sweat drenched Adolf's suit, clinging to his skin. He sagged weakly in his chair, as if haunted by terror.

"What's wrong? Something threatening mighty Headmaster Adolf?" Sky Qi joked half-heartedly.

"What did you do?" Adolf asked weakly. "Did you commit some heinous crime?" He fired two questions rapid-fire.

Sky Qi clicked his tongue. "Damn it, just spit it out."

"Just now... a dragon came looking for you."

"Just a dragon?" Sky Qi froze. "What the fuck? Say that again?"

"A dragon came looking for you."

In an instant, Sky Qi lunged, grabbing Adolf's collar with a grim smile. "You're joking. Right?"

"No joke." Adolf's face turned deadly serious. "Be careful. She doesn't seem here to kill you."

"Yeah, of course not." Sky Qi's smile grew bleaker, despair creeping in. "Never thought she'd chase me this far."

"You didn't sell me out, did you?" Sky Qi realized this was critical.

Adolf's smile twisted, uglier than tears. "If I hadn't sold you out, would I be sitting here unharmed?"

Sky Qi grasped the gravity—and felt ashamed of his outburst. "Forget it. What's done is done. What did she say?"

"She wants to enroll here. To get close to you." Adolf slammed the table, furious. "This dragon's reckless—daring to act like this on human turf."

Sky Qi stared at him like he was an idiot. "If you've got guts, go beat her. I can't fight her now." He paused. "One flap of her wings could send me flying."

"So what now?" Adolf asked helplessly. "We're blackmailed by a dragon—with zero defense. Our whole academy couldn't take her."

Forget her innate magic. Even powerless, her wing gusts could crush ordinary people. Her roar shattered eardrums. Her fangs tore flesh. Her breath blinded.

As Sky Qi once said, dragons radiated destruction in every move. Human form lessened the danger—but full dragon form meant unimaginable ruin.

A catastrophe. An irreparable disaster. Even at his peak, with insane luck, Sky Qi could only make dragons flee.

"Now—you must break that magic array with everything you've got."

Adolf nodded thoughtfully, gripping a pencil tightly. His eyes didn't meet the paper, yet he scribbled furiously.

Sky Qi leaned closer. It was a magic array—Adolf hunted its flaws by instinct.

Suddenly, Sky Qi held out a hand.

"What?" Adolf looked up impatiently.

"Give me the men's uniform!"