“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lied.”

Yu Ge immediately surrendered. If this got out, Saya would probably go berserk, and his wonderful academy life would be over before it had even begun.

“I don’t have any improper intentions toward you. I just wanted to properly thank you, that’s all.”

Seeing Yu Ge admit it, Luna smiled and handed him the magic card. As expected, a beautiful girl’s smile really could outshine the whole world.

“You can keep this card.”

Yu Ge pushed back the card Luna had handed him. You might not have any improper intentions toward me, but I do toward you.

“It could save your life in a pinch.”

“B-but it’s such a precious, rare card. I can’t accept it.”

After hearing Yu Ge, Luna froze for a moment, then hurriedly waved her hands. This was such a rare magic card that even the encyclopedias didn’t mention it. How could he just give it away so easily? A defensive magic card this powerful would surely have Mages all over the World scrambling to get their hands on it.

“No magic card, no matter how precious, is more important than you.”

Looking at Luna, Yu Ge delivered a cheesy pickup line he’d heard before, already bracing himself for her to tease him. Even he found it a little embarrassing. But after hearing it, Luna just stood there, stunned. Her cheeks flushed bright red, and her eyes grew misty.

“Hey, don’t cry.”

Thinking Luna was about to cry, Yu Ge hurriedly tried to comfort her.

“N-no, I’m not. It’s just… since my mom passed away, this is the first time anyone’s been so kind to me.”

Luna hurriedly rubbed her eyes. She didn’t know why, but she just felt like crying. He’d saved her life and given her a rare magic card. Since her mother passed away, she hadn’t felt this kind of warmth again—and now it was coming from a boy she’d known for only two days.

Luna had considered the possibility that there was no such thing as a free lunch, but what could someone like her offer to a person who could give away a magic card of this level so casually?

Maybe this boy was just especially kind.

“That’s because you hadn’t met me yet.”

Yu Ge grinned carelessly, and Luna couldn’t help but burst out laughing too.

Meanwhile, a few boys in the group of students not far away watched Yu Ge and Luna sitting together, chatting and laughing. They began whispering among themselves.

“So the transfer student really is making a move on Luna.”

“We should tell Senior Xibolai, right?”

“Of course. We’ll be counting on him for our jobs in the future.”

“Yeah. We’d better not make a scene for now. Let’s just keep watching. I’ll report to Senior Xibolai.”

After what had just happened, Yu Ge and Luna seemed to have become the kind of close friends who could talk about anything. Yu Ge told her jokes he’d heard before, and Luna laughed delightedly. Gradually, she let her guard down and started sharing some amusing stories of her own.

“Damn transfer student. Looks like you’re doing pretty well for yourself.”

At the training grounds of Class A, next to Class S, a brown-haired boy glared at Yu Ge in the distance. He gritted his teeth and continued.

“But you’ll be in for a rough time soon enough.”

“Inzack, what are you standing around for? Come play with us!”

Just then, a short-haired boy with black hair waved at the brown-haired boy.

“Coming, coming!”

Inzack replied, then glanced at Yu Ge once more before turning and leaving the training grounds with a few other male students. The more comfortable Yu Ge seemed, the more irritated Inzack felt. He didn’t care which girls Yu Ge got along with. He just hated Yu Ge, plain and simple.

That bastard was an obstacle in his path to success. He had to get rid of him.

“So, I saw this thing once…”

“Yu Ge, you’re up next.”

Just as Yu Ge was getting into his story, Lashier called over from the side. Every student in the class had now faced the Hellshadow Demon Wolf. Some had beaten it without much trouble, some had failed right away, and others had fought a drawn-out battle. In short, everyone had been tested except Yu Ge, who was last.

“Heh. How many seconds do you think the transfer student will last?”

“I say three.”

“You really think that little of him? I say two seconds, tops.”

“Ha! I bet he’ll wet himself after one second.”

In their eyes, Yu Ge was a dead-last student who couldn’t even answer a question without getting it wrong. He’d only made it into Class S because of his relationship with Saya. In other words, he was just a useless hanger-on who’d gotten in through connections. They might not have the talent or strength to beat Luna, the top student, but surely they could at least mock Yu Ge, the one at the bottom?

“Teacher, what do I have to do to win? Just make this dog unable to fight, right?”

Yu Ge walked over to Lashier and looked at the Hellshadow Demon Wolf, baring its fangs and claws in the training ground.

“Haha, does he not know the difference between a wolf and a dog?”

“He’s probably scared out of his mind.”

“I bet he’s from the countryside and has never seen anything like this.”

When the students who’d been mocking Yu Ge heard him call the Hellshadow Demon Wolf a dog, they burst into even louder laughter.

“Uh, Yu Ge, that’s more or less right, but it’s a wolf.”

Lashier was at a loss too, a dark look on his face. There was nothing he could do about Yu Ge calling a wolf a dog.

“That’s good, then.”

Yu Ge nodded and stepped into the training ground. When Lashier announced the start of the battle, the Hellshadow Demon Wolf immediately charged at him, following its programmed routine.

“Magic activation—Mind Control.”

Yu Ge swept a magic card through the air in front of him. A beam of green light shot out and hit the Hellshadow Demon Wolf, but it had no effect at all. The wolf kept charging straight at him.

“What kind of damn magic card is that?”

“Yeah, it didn’t do anything!”

“I’m dying. The transfer student’s about to get wrecked.”

But in the next instant, the mockers’ expressions froze. The Hellshadow Demon Wolf reached Yu Ge—and stopped.

“Sit.”

Yu Ge made a gesture, and the Hellshadow Demon Wolf obediently sat down.

“Shake.”

Yu Ge held out a hand. The Hellshadow Demon Wolf put its front paw in his, then even started wagging its tail.

“Th-that’s a dog, right?!”

One student cried out in shock. The Hellshadow Demon Wolf looked just as it had before, but everything it was doing was clearly doglike.

“So it’s a magic card that controls the opponent’s monster…”

Lashier had been just as dumbfounded, but when he saw the effect of Yu Ge’s magic card, he immediately understood. Yu Ge had used a magic card that controlled the opponent’s monster. It couldn’t control high-level monsters, but it worked on B-rank monsters!

“Um, Teacher, does this count as a win?”

Yu Ge asked Lashier as he patted the Hellshadow Demon Wolf on the head.

“Y-yes! I declare that Yu Ge has completed the test in five seconds!”