On the streets of Atte City, a drowsy coachman was yawning while driving, his horse equally listless as it slowly made its way through the streets.
Suddenly, a dark shadow whooshed past, blowing off the coachman's hat and revealing his shiny bald head underneath.
Feeling the cool breeze on his scalp, the coachman jumped in fright: "What on earth just flew past?"
At this hour, it was peak time for Atte City residents heading to work, and the streets were exceptionally crowded.
But Laine's horsemanship was nothing to scoff at.
Galloping through the bustling crowds, Laine never slowed the horse's pace. Instead, they went faster and faster, weaving through the gaps between people.
Hearing the wind whistling past her ears, Nanaly's body grew increasingly rigid.
If something were to go wrong, someone could die, right? They would definitely die, wouldn't they?!
Finally, Laine arrived at Olcott Academy just before classes began.
Olcott Academy was the most magnificent building in Atte City. The Duke who governed this place invested even more in it than in his own residence, and even the Imperial Capital's cathedral couldn't compare to this academy.
Laine charged through the main gate at lightning speed, startling the guards so much they didn't dare try to stop them.
After scanning the spacious academy grounds, Laine quickly found the stables near the entrance designated for horses, galloped in, and suddenly pulled hard on the reins!
"Neigh—!"
The lean horse reared up on its hind legs, finally coming to a stop, nearly strangled by Laine's sudden pull.
Nearby, a tall, muscular man in armor was leading his horse, apparently intending to stable it in that very spot, but Laine's sudden intrusion left him dumbfounded.
"My lady, we made it!"
Laine dismounted while carrying Nanaly, setting her down on the ground with a smile.
Finally feeling solid ground beneath her feet, Nanaly felt somewhat safer, though her legs were still weak, forcing her to hold onto Laine's leg for support.
Seeing Nanaly in this state, Laine realized he might have gone too far: "Uh... My lady, I apologize."
"I'm... fine!"
Nanaly stood up straight with forced bravery, slowly releasing Laine's pants and taking a couple of steps, her voice returning to normal: "I'll head to class now."
"My lady, I'll accompany you."
Just as Laine was about to follow Nanaly, suddenly, an armored hand clasped his shoulder.
Turning around, he saw the armored man looking at him - presumably a knight guardian for some noble lady.
The knight pointed at Laine's horse, his meaning clear - you've taken my spot.
Laine noticed there were still plenty of empty spots in the stable, but to avoid unnecessary trouble, he apologetically said:
"I'm sorry, we were in a hurry and were discourteous. I see there are many empty spots around, would you mind stabling your horse elsewhere?"
With that, Laine intended to escort Nanaly to class.
The knight's eyes narrowed, and his grip on Laine's shoulder suddenly tightened, clearly trying to intimidate him.
—Hmm, the level of a Dark Erosion apprentice knight.
Laine could feel the knight using his full strength, but this fellow's ability was... truly pathetic.
Grabbing the knight's wrist guard, just as the knight was looking confused, Laine shifted his stance and executed a shoulder throw, suddenly slamming the knight to the ground!
"Bang!!"
"Gah!"
Like a mountain crashing down, the burly knight was thrown to the ground by the seemingly frail Laine, causing the surrounding ground to tremor.
After being slammed down, the knight bounced twice in his armor before lying there unable to get up, clearly badly shaken by Laine's throw.
"Sorry about that, I need to escort my lady to class first. I'll check on you later!"
With that, Laine hurried after Nanaly toward the academy interior.
While surprised, Nanaly couldn't help but grimace slightly - wasn't her new butler a bit too prone to causing trouble?
Though ultimately, this was her fault. If she hadn't delayed and almost been late, Laine wouldn't have gotten into this trouble.
However, truth be told, what had just happened made Nanaly feel... somewhat thrilled, very exciting!
Laine wore a bitter expression: "Is this the usual style at your Olcott Academy, so rough and tumble?"
Nanaly calmly explained to Laine: "That knight wore the Odis Family crest - he's a knight from a marquis's household, probably used to being overbearing."
"Huh?"
Laine expressed confusion - how could a marquis's daughter's guardian knight be so weak?
"Won't this cause trouble for you?"
"The Odis Family won't make trouble for me over a single knight, but you should be careful."
Nanaly's expression was very serious as she said this.
Whether influenced by her earlier excitement or not, this was the first time Nanaly had spoken so many words at once since meeting Laine.
—Well, that's a relief then.
Laine sighed in relief; as long as they didn't cause trouble for Nanaly, it was fine.
Making it to the classroom with just a minute to spare, Laine finally delivered Nanaly to class, wiping sweat from his brow.
That was too close!
This was his first day as butler escorting Nanaly to school - absolutely nothing could go wrong.
Originally, Laine had planned to wait outside the door until Nanaly's class ended, but looking around, he noticed no one else was waiting there. Standing alone would be too conspicuous, so he decided to leave.
What should he do next?
Check on that marquis's knight he had knocked down? Better not - that knight had probably disappeared by now.
As for whether the knight would cause trouble later, Laine wasn't worried. The knight seemed like the type to bully the weak and fear the strong; after being taught a lesson, he'd probably avoid Laine in the future.
If he really did come looking for trouble, that would actually suit Laine just fine.
After all, Laine wasn't really a gentle and refined butler by nature. If Nanaly hadn't been present earlier, that knight would probably have vanished from this world by now.
After hesitating for a moment, Laine headed toward Olcott's grand library, planning to read some books while Nanaly was in class.
Within Olcott Academy, aside from the central teaching building, the grand library was the most magnificent structure.
Entering the library, Laine found the spacious interior eerily empty, with hardly anyone around.
Just as Laine was about to look for books related to events of the past decade, suddenly, he noticed a petite figure in the corner of the library.
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
