At first glance, Sonia being willing to abandon her noble title and career for the one she loved seemed terribly romantic. Looking at it from another angle, however, if she could make such a massive sacrifice, she would inevitably demand a return a thousandfold—unless their brains were missing brains, no one would believe Sonia Servi was some sucker of a girl willing to give everything without expecting anything in return.
Yet when she clearly possessed such a ferocious desire for control, she was still feeling uneasy and insecure. That could mean only one thing: her power was not yet sufficient to control this relationship.
This deduction narrowed the field of candidates down to the absolute limit, or perhaps even... zero.
In the entire Starry Country, whether by personal strength or backing, the individuals capable of making the Paw-Stretching Swordmaster lose her confidence could be counted on two hands; among those, once the other screening criteria were factored in, there wasn't a single one left.
This was also why Aisha had handed over the dossier so easily: by now, even the Strategy Team believed that "Sonia's boyfriend" might merely be a metaphysical, philosophical concept.
Yet only the trio in her dorm knew that Sonia's boyfriend truly existed and was by no means a figment of her imagination.
The reason was simple: unable to see her boyfriend these days, Sonia's temper had grown increasingly volatile.
At first, they assumed it was just menstrual mood swings, but all four of their cycles had long since synced up; there was no reason for Sonia's to come early, much less last for over a month. Furthermore, this was not the first time such a thing had happened. Whenever Sonia could not log into the Void Realm, her mood would undergo violent swings, perfectly fitting every symptom of a long-distance relationship.
Compared to the idea that her boyfriend was an imaginary construct, Lois and the others were far more willing to believe that Sonia's boyfriend was a Fishcleaver Dragon in human form.
During the previous few "long-distance spells," the country girl had at most been a little downcast and haggard, occasionally singing a few love songs or showing richer emotional swings, none of which had significantly impacted daily life in the dorm.
This time, however, was different. Over the past few days, Sonia's emotions had been an unpredictable rollercoaster, deteriorating to a horrific point that her roommates could barely endure. If an analogy had to be made, she was practically like a tigress in heat forcibly dragged away from her mate.
In truth, what had happened wasn't hard to guess: Sonia's romance had made a sudden, massive leap forward, only for them to abruptly be unable to meet, and for such an extended period. Anyone in her shoes would have found it unbearable.
That was why they wanted to find Sonia's boyfriend—not out of gossip, but purely in hopes that someone could pacify this red-haired beast in their dorm. Ingrid had even gone pleading to Professor Trozan, which only resulted in Trozan's office being blown to pieces the next day by their swordplay miracles.
"What do we do?" Adele asked in distress. "She's almost done cultivating and on her way back!"
*Clap!*
Ingrid gave a loud clap. "I have an idea."
She looked around the room. "My soul has already recovered. From now on, I'll just spend the night in the Meditation Building."
"I'll be almost recovered by tomorrow too." Lois nodded. "I'll go home tonight to hide, and tomorrow I'll go with you to the Meditation Building."
"You two bastards!" Adele ground her teeth. "Think you're so amazing just because you're sorcerers?! Just you wait! I... I... Actually, how about you take me along too? Any random room would do!"
"I'm just joking," Lois said. "We have to solve the problem eventually. If we let Sonia go on like this, heavens know what will happen. If we don't ease the pent-up emotions inside her, forget about nights—we'll suffer during classes in the daytime too."
Ingrid stared at Lois for quite a while before slowly sitting back down. "So it was a joke after all..."
"How do you plan to ease her pent-up emotions? Crawl under the same blanket for some intimate girl talk?" Adele raised a hand. "Count me out. Not because I'm scared, but purely because I can't share a blanket with anyone other than my fiancé..."
"And who was it that saw Sonia staring at her wooden sword in the middle of the night and got so scared that she scrambled under my blanket?" Lois asked.
"You said it yourself—it's *your* blanket, not mine." Adele spread her hands. "Your blanket, your rules."
"I never counted on either of you having good advice anyway. Fortunately, I prepared in advance." Lois pulled out a crate from under her desk. "To deal with a wild beast, you have to use a trap."
The other two peered closely. "Alcohol?"
"What lowers a wild beast's guard better than alcohol?" Lois said solemnly. "When she gets back, we'll—"
*Clack.*
When the sound of footsteps in steel-soled boots echoed on the stairs, it was as if a silencing miracle were spreading outward. The entire dormitory building abruptly went dead silent.
The dorm rooms that had already shut their doors sighed in relief. Students in rooms that hadn't closed their doors hurriedly scrambled back to their seats, clamping their hands tightly over their mouths and holding their breath, not daring to utter a sound or make a move.
*Clack, clack, clack.*
The footsteps struck the floor as though treading directly on everyone's hearts. The timid slumped flat against their desks without twitching a muscle, while even the brave dared only steal glances down the corridor from the corners of their eyes.
A flash of blood-red drifted down the corridor. As she passed open dorm doors, the eerie chill stirred by ripples of sorcery power swept through the central halls, making onlookers shiver uncontrollably with spines frozen cold.
*Clack, clack, clack.*
After the familiar thirty-six paces, the terrifying monster stopped as always before her dorm room door and turned the knob. Once she returned to her lair, the entire dormitory building exhaled in relief, and the stagnant air began to circulate once more.
"You're back, Sonia," Lois greeted her.
"Mm. I'm back."
Her long hair hung loose behind her; her pretty face was bare of cosmetics, her eyes filled with the loneliness of the deep sea, the corners of her mouth drawn flat without an ounce of expression. The red-haired girl shut the dorm door, set her sword bag beside the wardrobe, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
"What is this?" She pointed at a gold-dusted bronze box on the desk.
"Some gift labyrinth from someone or other," Ingrid said. "The courier said the sender's calling card is inside the puzzle box, but you have to solve this expensive, entertaining maze to find out who sent it."
The red-haired girl gave a slight nod, then raised her fist.
*Smash!*
Under the full-force strike of a Sanctuary Sorcerer, the bronze puzzle box was instantly smashed to smithereens, struck with such power that fragments even embedded themselves into the desk below. Picking up the calling card hidden within, she murmured softly, "Kemu Audris... I'll remember that name."
With that, her fingers rubbed the calling card into dust.
Her roommates silently mourned for that aristocratic stranger who had tried so hard—couldn't you at least investigate her mood before sending a gift? You've caught her wrath, and there's nothing we can do to save you.
"By the way," Lois pulled out the crate of cocktails, "we don't have morning classes tomorrow, so let's play a drinking game! Drinking at the Secret Garden wasn't nearly satisfying enough; having drinks in the dorm is way more comfortable."
"Great idea!"
"I agree."
Adele and Ingrid chimed in immediately.
The red-haired girl slowly turned her head and asked, "What drinking game?"
"How about... 'Never Have I Ever'?" Lois suggested. "Everyone names something they've never done before. If anyone has done it, that person takes a drink. If nobody has done it, the person who made the statement has to drink. How about that?"
It was indeed a very simple yet dramatic drinking game. Adele had nearly forgotten their original objective, nodding eagerly and shouting that she wanted to play. Ingrid naturally had no objections. After a moment of thought, the red-haired girl nodded as well.
"Then I'll go first!"
Once all four had grabbed a bottle, Lois thought it over. She decided not to target Sonia too overtly right away; she would wait until the mood picked up before focusing on getting Sonia drunk. At first, the goal should be relaxation—ideally lifting Sonia's spirits.
Then let's kick it off with something from the romance dramas Sonia loved best!
"Never have I ever..." Lois said, "...competed with another woman for a man."
Chapter 753