"Why?" Belle asked.

  "Why what?" Caius replied.

  "Why... blame Manasa?" Belle said.

  "Uh..." Caius twitched at the corner of his mouth before responding, "Just don't worry about it. The point is—it’s all Manasa’s damn fault!"

  Look at what she had done to this girl! She was bullied to the point where "self-doubt" might as well be tattooed on her forehead!

  Hearing this, Belle turned back around and silently continued walking forward.

  After a while, she turned back to Caius and said, "Actually... it’s not Manasa’s fault."

  Caius was stunned. "What do you mean?"

  Belle lowered her head, staring at the cold ground, her voice tinged with sadness. "I took her spot..."

  "Instructor Holan came to the academy to select students for the magic research team. She was supposed to choose Manasa because Manasa had always been the top student in the magic research program."

  "But that time, I also took the elective exam for the magic research program and ranked first. So, Instructor Holan chose me instead..."

  "That’s why she hates me. I can understand..."

  Caius’s eyebrows twitched repeatedly. Finally, unable to hold back, he reached out and placed both hands on Belle’s shoulders.

  Belle was startled by his sudden movement, letting out a small squeak as she trembled slightly.

  Caius firmly turned her to face him, his expression serious. "Girl, you need to understand—being too kind will only make people dislike you."

  "By your logic, you should actually blame Instructor Holan. If she hadn’t come to the academy, none of this would’ve happened!"

  "No... no..." Belle quickly shook her head. "Instructor Holan is a good person, she—"

  "Yes, she’s a good person!" Caius cut her off. "Then what about you? Are you a bad person?"

  Belle shrank her neck and eventually shook her head.

  "Then that settles it, doesn’t it?" Caius said.

  "Now, let me ask you—if you had placed second in that exam and Instructor Holan had chosen Manasa, would you have bullied her?"

  Belle shook her head again.

  "Exactly! You wouldn’t. So why does she get to bully you?"

  "You ranked first—that’s your ability!"

  "Instructor Holan chose you—that’s also your ability, and it shows she has good judgment!"

  "So why should she get to bully you?"

  "Just because you’re kind? Just because you get bullied and don’t fight back?"

  "You did nothing wrong, girl. Not even a little bit. So don’t take on blame that isn’t yours. Instead, you should smash it right into the face of the one bullying you!"

  "Do you understand now, girl? This is why—it’s all Manasa’s damn fault!"

  Kiki immediately raised her paw. "It’s all Manasa’s damn fault, meow!"

  "See? Even the little cat gets it." Caius grinned widely.

  "So, do you get it now?"

  Belle tilted her head up, staring at him blankly.

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  From this angle, Caius could see the lower half of her face peeking out from under her high-collared sweater. He could just make out her lips and a hint of her face.

  Caius would bet his life on it—Belle was definitely not ugly!

  Five points added!

  Eighty-five points now. Keep going, girl! Try to surpass Hilda!

  After a while, Belle finally snapped back to reality.

  She clenched her small hands slightly before giving a light nod.

  Caius chuckled. "Now, say it with me—It’s all Manasa’s damn fault!"

  Kiki: "It’s all Manasa’s damn fault, meow!"

  Belle: "Um..."

  She hesitated before whispering, "Grandma Lunla says... cursing is bad..."

  "Alright, Grandma Lunla has a point." Caius smacked his lips, not insisting further.

  The cold wind howled as Caius took out his wooden flask, downed the last of his rum, and then pulled out a cigarette, lighting it up.

  Kiki: "Can I try, meow?"

  Caius: "Here."

  Caius handed the cigarette to Kiki, who curiously examined it before taking a puff. She immediately burst into a fit of coughing.

  "Ugh... so awful... cough cough... don’t like it... cough cough..."

  "Hahaha! That’s why kids shouldn’t smoke." Caius retrieved the cigarette, placing it back in his mouth.

  Kiki took a moment to recover, wiped away her tears, then pouted and said, "I’m not a kid, meow!"

  "I’m already seventeen, meow!"

  Caius was stunned.

  Wait a minute—this little girl is older than me?

  So... should I be calling Kiki 'big sis'?

  Maintaining a composed expression, Caius calmly lied, "Seventeen is still a kid. I’m eighteen."

  With that, he turned to Belle, cigarette between his lips. "How old are you?"

  Belle: "Nineteen."

  Caius: "Cough! Cough, cough, cough!"

  He choked on his cigarette, breaking into a coughing fit.

  Kiki burst out laughing, while Belle hesitated for a moment before gently patting his back to help him breathe.

  Truthfully, Caius’s face was red purely from embarrassment.

  Damn it, I should’ve said I was twenty!

  Just moments ago, he had been calling Belle 'girl,' but it turned out she was three years older than him. Thinking about it made his face burn.

  But as someone with a thick skin, Caius quickly put the matter behind him.

  "So that’s Ocean City Academy. Looks alright," Caius remarked, gazing at the academy in the distance.

  Ocean City Academy was built at the boundary between land and sea, with half of it extending into the water and the other half on solid ground. There was even a shipyard nearby. From a distance, it looked quite impressive.

  It was already 6:40 AM. They had spent about twenty minutes walking here.

  By now, students were starting to trickle into the academy’s entrance.

  Caius had initially considered sneaking in.

  However, he quickly realized that students were required to show their academy badges.

  Belle didn’t wear a uniform, but she had her badge pinned to the sleeve of her sweater, so no mage stopped her.

  Caius, however, was stopped at the entrance.

  Fortunately, he was prepared.

  Seeing Belle pause and glance back at him, Caius waved her off. "No need to wait for me. Go on ahead."

  Belle gave a small nod and walked deeper into the academy, while Caius took out a mission slip stamped by Yvlan and handed it to the mage guard, along with his mercenary ID.

  "Hello, I’m here to complete a task."

  The mage checked the documents and then raised an eyebrow. "You’re a new face. You know the rules, right? As an outsider, there are places you can’t go..."

  "Don’t worry, I know the rules!" Caius grinned and offered a cigarette.

  The mage took it, sniffed, and his eyes lit up with a pleased smile.

  Good stuff!

  "Go on in. The library’s straight ahead, then turn right." The mage not only let him through but even gave him directions to his mission location.

  This mission was simple—delivering books from the library to another city.

  But Caius wasn’t here for the mission.

  Watching Belle’s figure disappear into the distance, he turned to Kiki. "Time is short. Kiki, go pick up the delivery. I’m going to scout around and will be back soon."

  "Got it, meow!"

  Having a reliable catgirl really made things easier.

  Kiki ran off to pick up the delivery while Caius took advantage of the relatively empty surroundings. He reached into his waist pouch and pulled out a dark, polished stone etched with a magical rune.

  It was a magic stone imbued with the [Concealment] spell, a gift from a village guard captain. Though only Silver-grade, it was a fairly common standardized magical device.

  However, such items were typically military-regulated and not readily available for purchase. The guard captain had previously served in the army as a scout, which was how he had come into possession of this magic stone. After retiring, he returned to his hometown and became the self-appointed head of the village’s protection squad—an unofficial, unregulated role.

  For the average person, this magic stone was quite a rare treasure. Had Caius not been on good terms with the captain and preparing to leave the village for greater adventures, the man wouldn’t have been willing to part with it.

  The magic stone’s effect created a localized force field that concealed its user’s presence, reduced light refraction, and darkened the surrounding area. In the darkness of night, it granted near-invisibility.

  Now, with the sky still dim and morning mist lingering in the air, this stone would help Caius avoid detection.

  Its activation was simple—just an infusion of magic power.

  Anyone of a certain rank possessed magic power. For warriors, it was called battle aura; for mages, it was known as mana. But in essence, they were the same thing—merely different names for the same energy.

  Caius not only possessed magic power but had quite a substantial amount of it. However, he had yet to discover how to convert it into spellcasting.

  He infused the magic stone with his power, triggering its effect. Then, with agility, he leaped onto the rooftop, stealthily following after Belle.