How Could the Villainous Young Master Be a Saintess?

“Then what kind of tricky problem did President Mirexia run into? And it just happens to be something Vinny is good at. Is it convenient to talk about?” Shicodale asked, tilting his head with the grocery basket in hand.

That question left Mirexia speechless, and it dragged Vinny down with her too.

If Vinny had not known exactly what kind of person Shicodale was, and that he would not have that many hidden thoughts, even he would have suspected Shicodale was deliberately putting some deeper meaning into his words.

“Huh? Is it inconvenient to say? Then never mind. It must be something very confidential.” Seeing that neither of them spoke, Shicodale very considerately stopped there.

But perhaps it was because Vinny and Mirexia both had “guilty consciences” to begin with. No matter how Shicodale asked, both of them felt a little as though there was something hidden in his words.

“No, these things, well... they’re important if you say they’re important, and not that important if you say they aren’t. Haha.” Vinny forced out a laugh.

“Mm.” Mirexia stiffly echoed him.

Fortunately, Mirexia usually wore that same poker face anyway, so there was not much visible difference between her stiff expression now and her usual one.

That tiny change was probably something only Aesphyra could notice.

“Well then, Mirexia? Shall we discuss these problems another day?” Vinny found them a way out. In the current situation, it truly was not suitable for Mirexia to continue staying here.

“Mm. All right. Another day, then.” Mirexia followed that way out as well, and with that, she stood.

“Huh? President Mirexia, you’re leaving? You don’t have to. If you two need to discuss those things, go ahead. I’ll just go upstairs. I won’t hear anything,” Shicodale said.

“There’s no need. Next time.”

“President Mirexia, you’re not staying for a meal?”

“No. Thank you for your kindness, Dale. I still have important matters to handle, so I’ll be going first.”

After saying that, Mirexia said goodbye to Vinny, then walked rather quickly to the entrance, changed into her shoes, and hurried away.

“Huh??” Shicodale felt the gust of wind Mirexia stirred up as she passed him, then looked at Mirexia’s back with a face full of confusion.

Was President Mirexia a little more impatient than usual today? Or was that just his imagination?

Still, Shicodale did not suspect too much that anything was abnormal about it. He did know Mirexia somewhat. She was a very dedicated Student Council President, serious and attentive with her work, never procrastinating. When she got busy, it was common for her to spend entire days shut inside the office without coming out.

Perhaps she had suddenly remembered some important matter she had not handled yet.

She really is so busy.

Shicodale sighed inwardly, then shifted his gaze toward the tea table. At that moment, Vinny also seemed a little dazed for some reason, sitting properly on the sofa and staring at the tabletop. Who knew what he was looking at?

Shicodale followed Vinny’s line of sight and found that his gaze seemed fixed on the tabletop, on the flower candies Shicodale had made yesterday. When Shicodale looked over, he discovered that compared to when he had left to buy groceries that morning, there seemed to be one fewer candy in the box.

Huh?

Shicodale looked at the dazed Vinny, then looked toward the door.

Had that candy been eaten by Vinny? Or had it been eaten by President Mirexia?

Shicodale did not particularly mind either way, nor did he find anything strange about it. To someone who cooked, having others like the desserts or food he made was a recognition of his cooking. It was something to be happy about. If no one ate what he made, then he would feel sad.

But.

As an elf, his sharp senses also told him that it seemed things were not that simple.

“Vinny?”

“Ah, mm? Dale, you’re back from grocery shopping. Thanks for your hard work. What’s wrong?” Being suddenly called by Shicodale, Vinny’s neck whipped around like a machine wound up with a spring.

“Nothing. I was just wondering, what do you think of the flower candies I made?” Shicodale asked.

“The taste? They taste amazing. Very sweet, with a fragrant floral aroma. I think I already commented on them yesterday, didn’t I?” Vinny did not understand why Shicodale was asking again today.

“It’s nothing. You only ate one yesterday, Vinny, so I thought perhaps you didn’t like them.” Shicodale shook his head, setting his attention on the gift box containing the flower candies.

“Uh, uh.” For some reason, Vinny felt a little guilty when he heard that, even though Shicodale definitely was not implying anything with that sentence.

After all, that previous flower candy had been...

“Did you eat another flower candy this morning, Vinny? You can’t eat only candy, you know. You ate a proper meal, didn’t you?”

For a moment, Vinny did not answer.

“Huh? It wasn’t you who ate it?” Seeing Vinny’s reaction, Shicodale found it a little strange. “Was it President Mirexia?”

“No. Oh, no, actually, yes too.” Vinny organized his words.

“Ah?” Seeing Vinny’s reaction and hearing his tone, Shicodale became even more puzzled about what exactly was going on. His senses told him that things seemingly were not that simple, but if he had to say what was excessively strange about it, he could not say. “Then who ate it, exactly?”

“It doesn’t matter. President Mirexia ate the candy I made, and I’m happy too. I was just curious what President Mirexia thought of my candy. Was it good?” Shicodale was very confused. Why did Vinny’s expression look so strange when this matter came up? It was clearly such an ordinary thing. He was not a petty person who would get unhappy because someone ate one candy.

“What she thought?” Vinny subconsciously recalled Mirexia’s reaction earlier.

She had eaten it with her whole face flushed red.

So he nodded. “She probably thought it was good.”

“Huh, that’s wonderful.” Shicodale was very happy to hear that. “President Mirexia also thought my flower candy tasted good?”

“Mm. Yes.” Vinny was silent for a moment, then nodded.

Deceiving this pure and good little elf in front of him gave him a terrible sense of guilt.

No, this did not count as deception, right? How could it be called deception? What he said was the truth, wasn’t it? Mirexia had indeed eaten it, and he had eaten it too. Although both of them had only eaten half, there was nothing wrong with that, right?

“Vinny, are you... all right?” Seeing that Vinny was still somewhat dazed, Shicodale asked, “Did you have nightmares last night? Was your sleep shallow? Did you not rest well?”

“No, no, I rested very well. Dale, your flower candy was wonderful. Very energizing. I ate one and slept without a peep. I dreamed of a field of flowers, and also dreamed of a cool summer night where people could sleep in peace without worries,” Vinny praised exaggeratedly.

“Um, is it really that exaggerated?” Shicodale blinked those beautiful large eyes in innocent confusion. Hearing that description, it felt as though the candy he had made was something like arsenic.

“Mm. Well, Dale, I ate the food you left for me. I ate too much and I’m a little bloated, so I want to go outside and wander around. I’m going for a walk.”

As Vinny said that, he stood.

The moment he thought about what had happened earlier, he felt as though his face had become allergic to pollen. Something felt wrong, and he wanted to go out and walk around.

“Did you eat too quickly? Do you want me to go with you?” Shicodale asked.

“No. I’ll go by myself.”

After saying that, Vinny also quickly walked to the entrance and changed into his shoes.

“I’ll be back in a little while.”

Then he went out.

“Oh, all right.” Shicodale stood in place, feeling that something was strange.

Mirexia and Vinny were both acting strange. Not only was the degree of strangeness similar, even the motions with which they left through the door were nearly identical, cut from the same cloth.

Walking down the Academy street, Vinny had both hands in his pockets, feeling somewhat bored.

Sometimes he would take a few steps, stop, quietly say something to himself, shake his head, and continue walking. Fortunately, it was currently holiday break, so there were very few people left in the Academy. If someone saw his bizarre behavior, they would probably suspect whether his current mental state was normal.

“Ah, no, no!” Vinny shook his head again. He had come outside to clear his head, not to keep thinking about what had happened earlier.

But.

What exactly was going on??

Why had Mirexia suddenly...?

Were they not close friends and childhood sweethearts??

Mm. It was precisely because they had grown up together since childhood and had a very good relationship. Although there had been some misunderstandings between them in the middle, those misunderstandings had all been resolved afterward.

Since they had grown up together, understood each other, and had such a good relationship, it was normal for that kind of atmosphere to appear, right?

Was it normal??

Even Vinny himself was not very confident about calling it normal. If this world had something like the internet, he felt so lost he would want to make a post and ask the almighty netizens: “Does eating the same candy with an opposite-sex childhood friend count as ambiguous? Waiting online. Pretty urgent!”

If it was not normal, then what?

But even if he felt it was not normal, that was only what he felt was not normal. He did not know what Mirexia thought about it.

What if Mirexia only felt that the situation earlier had been awkward and embarrassing? Would that not make it his own one-sided overthinking again??

Recalling the scene when he had first transmigrated, or perhaps when his memories first awakened, and Mirexia had rejected him in front of everyone, Vinny calmed down.

If he misunderstood again and did something tactless again, then this time, they might not even be able to stay friends.

That was right.

People always viewed the things they personally experienced through a heavy filter. It was very possible that earlier, he had simply been too self-assured and taken it too seriously. In reality, Mirexia was only the same as before, embarrassed but not knowing how to express it, and afraid of hurting their relationship again.

If that was the case, then he would be making a huge mistake.

After figuring that out, Vinny stopped tangling himself up over it. With nothing else to do, he began wandering around campus, and his mood relaxed unconsciously.

A campus. This place was a nightmare during one’s youth, yet after graduation, it became an incomparably nostalgic place, because when one stayed on campus, the things one had to think about were very simple and very easy.

I wonder if that guy has come back yet.

Vinny had a blade of grass between his teeth as that thought drifted through his mind.

She probably had not. After all, she had gone home, and it seemed as though she had some urgent matter to return for. She probably would not be back for a while.

Ah, how had he ended up thinking about that white-haired nut ball again?

Fine. If he thought of her, then he thought of her. He wondered if that fellow, far away at the Galathus main house, would occasionally think of him.

Forget it. Who knew what that guy was thinking? She was an orthodox direct imperial descendant of the Tyrelis Ancient Empire. She had plenty of serious business. How could she have that much time to think about him?

“Sigh, so being alone is actually this boring.” Vinny wandered by himself down the empty street. Normally, this place would be bustling with people. This was the first time he had seen the commercial street so deserted. There was not even a single person in sight.

Ferdi and the rest of the card players had all gone home too. He could not even find anyone to play cards with. It was not like he could play cards with himself, right?

As he wandered, Vinny walked up to a shop and stopped.

Vinny glanced at the shop’s sign. It was a mirror shop, one that specialized in selling mirrors. Large and small mirrors were displayed at the entrance. There were full-length floor mirrors, gemstone-framed mirrors the size of a person and used specifically for decoration, and small mirrors that could be carried around.

“‘Forest of Mirrors’?” Vinny read out the name of the mirror shop.

As for why he happened to stop in front of this shop, the reason was very simple.

On the entire street, only this shop was open. All the other stores were closed.

During the holiday, there were only a handful of students around, so naturally there was no business. Aside from a very small number of merchants, some self-operated Carillian Academy stores, and restaurants, most of the shops on the commercial street would close and go home. Those people needed rest too.

Strange. Were there really that many people buying mirrors in this school? Why was this shop still open?

With nowhere else to go, Vinny curiously walked in. Once inside, he discovered that the shop was lined with a dazzling array of mirrors, gleaming so brightly his eyes hurt.

“Welcome to this shop. Customer, what would you like to buy?”

Vinny looked to the side and found an old man dressed in strange clothes sitting in front of the counter, carefully wiping a mirror with ornate decorations.

“What would I like to buy? Old sir, your shop only sells mirrors, doesn’t it? What else could I buy?” Vinny asked in confusion.

“Mirrors, too, are divided into many types.” The old man, dressed like some kind of prism, spoke with deep significance. “If you are someone who understands mirrors, you certainly will not be disappointed. Every mirror here is a proud treasure from my lifetime collection. Of course, among them are also many mirrors that look exactly like those treasures. Unless someone truly understands mirrors, they will not be able to find the special one.”

“Proud treasures from your lifetime collection? So they’re very expensive?” Vinny asked.

“The treasures of this shop are sold only to those fated for them,” the old man said, seemingly casual. “Mirrors of the same model are all priced the same. If you can find the special mirror I treasure, proving that mirror has fate with you, I will sell it to you at the original price.”

“Haha. Looking at it that way, no matter how I pick, I won’t lose, right? What if I happen to pick that special mirror? Wouldn’t you take a huge loss?” Vinny found it interesting and teased him.

“Do not speak too soon, young man. In my shop, there are mirrors of immeasurable value hidden among them, and there are also ordinary mirrors with reasonable prices hidden among them. Of course, mixed in are no small number of inferior goods made with poor materials as well. I have touched up all these mirrors and placed them together. Whether you can distinguish them depends entirely on your own eye and whether you understand mirrors. If you cannot tell the difference and insist on buying one as a treasure to take home, do not come looking for me if you lose out,” the old man added.