I love time travel the most!

Just as painters have their own painting styles and calligraphers have their own handwriting, the gears and magic circuits within Liu Zi's body are incompatible.

Is that why you said that?

"Also, as I just mentioned, Ryuu can function without magic, so there's no reason why she needs magic circuits."

"……I see."

Xiaolin suddenly understood.

Besides proving herself, Hanayagi Sai Shoko's previous statement was probably also a way of testing the magic circuits.

Finding subtle flaws in someone's language is something I'm really good at, but unexpectedly, I was the one who got caught out by it.

"Then, what do you want to do with it?"

"Of course, it's to create an Eve's heart that can utilize this magic circuit to its fullest potential, a heart perfectly suited to Ryuu's nature! Just watch, kid, this might be the most powerful 'heart' in the world!"

"The most powerful one..."

It has to be said that Kobayashi also started to look forward to it.

Chapter 144 The Adorably Dumb Assassin - Frey

In the quiet path, only the master and servant were taking a leisurely stroll.

After making the bold statement, "I will definitely create the best Eve Heart in the world, and I will never admit defeat," Hanayagi Shoko left the Mechanical Academy that very night.

After all, even if there were workshops in the academy, the basic facilities couldn't produce sophisticated, top-tier items, so she had to return to her own workshop.

At first, Xiaolin also planned to go along, hoping to learn some advanced knowledge from this opportunity.

However, she was rejected because the other party said that it was their base of operations, and given the sensitive nature of her identity, she had no choice but to give up after some consideration.

I thought I'd finally have some free time, but I was too naive.

"So tired... What's wrong with this academy? Everyone's working way too hard. Is it really necessary to be this competitive?" Xiaolin couldn't help but sigh and complain in a low voice.

The Royal Academy of Machinations is one of the top academies, with extremely fierce competition among students. This is evident from its constantly changing rankings.

Especially with the evening party about to begin, and perhaps influenced by this, the students are working even harder and more diligently.

Even Kobayashi, who didn't care, was affected.

There's a small test every three days and a big test every five days.

My mind is filled with exam questions, and I don't have any free time at all.

It seems it's the same in every world. The days leading up to the big exams were agonizing and painful, and being around top students made it even more acute.

"What a pathetic sigh, Lord Kobayashi. Since your mind is still somewhat sharp, why not try to use it a little? If you end up like that reckless savage (Akaba Raishin) who only knows how to swing his fists and get stuck in the quagmire of tutoring, it will lower my opinion of you." Ryuu's sharp tongue was as venomous as ever.

What she didn't know was that her extremely harsh and sarcastic remarks had already lowered her rating considerably. Oh no, in the eyes of certain people with particular tastes, it might even have raised her score.

"What's wrong, Lord Kobayashi? Why are you looking at me like that?" Ryuzu asked, puzzled.

“…No, it’s nothing.” Kobayashi shook his head and said, “Let’s go back to the dorm to get our books, and then we’ll go to the cafeteria to meet up with Charlotte and Akabane Raishin.”

As night approached, the three of them often gathered to discuss things. Although Charlotte did most of the talking, he and Akabane Raishin simply listened.

Go back to dorms.

As soon as I entered the room, I saw a mysterious object shaking in the center.

—It's a net.

Something resembling a fishing net hung down from the ceiling, and inside it was a sprawled-out girl with her arms and legs raised high, completely exposing the private cloth that only she could see.

A girl dressed in the uniform of the Royal Academy of Kinematic Arts is suspended in mid-air in a pose that is harmful to teenagers, which is very tempting.

The girl was also very young and beautiful.

The hair, styled in a bun on the right side of her head, is a fantastical pearl color, distinct from the shimmering purple and silver. The unusually long scarf, stockings, and fluffy lace bow complete the adorable look.

Most importantly, her uniform seemed to be a size too small, and the buttons on her chest were not fastened, revealing a dazzling white glow in the sunlight.

Besides, a black wolfhound, almost flattened by her rear end, was also happily trapped in the net with her. Judging from the armor on its shoulders and the camera-like eyes, it should be an automaton.

At this moment, the girl was looking at Kobayashi with anticipation.

"Master Xiaolin..."

"Don't worry."

Kobayashi decisively ignored the two girls' questions. He quickly walked into the room, picked up his textbook from the desk, and said something to the girl in the air.

"—Enjoy it slowly."

Then he turned around and was about to leave.

The girl who was hanging up was extremely disappointed.

Seeing this, Liu Zi asked again in a low voice, "Lord Kobayashi, is it really okay to leave her alone?"

"Ryuu, we already have enough to do. If we get into any more trouble, I'll be exhausted," Kobayashi replied wearily.

He recognized the girl who was being suspended in the net.

—Frei.

That is, Akabane Raishin's opponent in the first round.

She probably confused Kobayashi and Akabane Raishin. After all, they both have East Asian faces, so it's normal for Westerners not to be able to tell the difference.

In addition, the room was littered with harmless toys for toddlers, such as springs, pulleys, and rubber bands. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like someone had set a trap but ended up getting caught instead.

Although he didn't succeed, it was true that he wanted to use a trap against him. Even though Frey was indeed very cute, he still wanted to teach her a lesson.

"So just leave her here as punishment."

"Lord Kobayashi... is it really okay for you to do this? She looks like a complete good-for-nothing, and now she's tied up in the air and can't move. If some bad guy accidentally wanders in here and makes a move on a girl in such an indecent position, then Lord Kobayashi would be an accomplice to evil. Is that alright?"

...The story of Little Dragon Girl?

Kobayashi frowned slightly.

This is an academy, how could such a thing happen! ... He wanted to retort with that, but the academy had long since become a public restroom that anyone could come and go as they pleased, and he couldn't guarantee that it was absolutely impossible. No, perhaps it was just his own soft heart.

There's nothing I can do; I'm just a sunny, outgoing guy.

While thinking, I put the net down.

After the girl landed on the floor, she tried to get up, but the net tightened around her and the binding position was quite precarious.

Kobayashi's lips twitched as he looked at the girl, whose hands and feet were bound and unable to move, bouncing around like a fish.

If it were some perverted female knight with a flushed face, she would definitely have stopped it on purpose, but Frey was absolutely certain that it was not intentional.

They're equally clumsy.

At Kobayashi's signal, a scythe emerged from beneath Liu Zi's skirt, and after a flash of black, the net binding the girl was cut open.

"Um...thank you."

Frey trembled like a lab rat and whispered her thanks to the two of them.

The girl, with her face tilted back, had eyes like rubies, and her pretty face clearly showed she was a beauty yet to blossom. However, contrary to her timid expression, a certain part of her body inexplicably and strongly asserted its own will, something that would surely make most people blush.

Kobayashi seemed to know why he had saved her.

But that's all.

After giving the girl a deep look at her strong assertion of herself, he turned to leave without saying anything more.

But when he and Liu Zi arrived downstairs...

Xiaolin saw a bright, pearly light reflecting off the grass in the sunlight, and a dog's tail that was constantly twitching.

No, that can't be.

Xiaolin turned to look at the dormitory, then at the bushes.

Even though he didn't deliberately speed up his walk, it was still surprising that the other person jumped down and blocked his way in the three-story dormitory.

No wonder he's clumsy at everything, but an expert at escaping.

Sigh.

The other party was clearly a troublesome little devil; even though they only caused minor inconveniences, it was enough to give him a headache. He needed to make things clear before the situation escalated.

He stepped forward and said, "So, what do you need me for?"

"This one……"

Frey emerged cautiously from behind the bushes, trembling as she handed over a basket, like a newborn fawn.

"this is?"

"I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier, so I made a bento box..."

That's such a flimsy excuse!

The incident just happened less than three minutes ago, and you were able to intercept the bento box here and apologize. Does your automaton have the ability to stop time manually?!

Even if you want to lie, you should at least come up with a plausible reason. You've already given yourself away!

"I'm...very good at...cooking..."

Frey remained timid and hesitant.

No, no, no, does this have anything to do with whether you're good at cooking or not?

She opened the basket with trembling hands.

The basket was neatly filled with sandwiches that looked delicious and appetizing, and it seemed that his claim of being good at cooking was true.

...That being said.

Most people wouldn't eat that, right?

Even if you know it's a delicious delicacy, no one would eat something that's been poisoned.

"I'm sorry, we have to go to the restaurant right away. I appreciate your kindness, but if I have the chance, I will... Wait, don't cry!"

Frey's eyes filled with tears.

Fortunately, there was no one else around. If some busybody had seen it and said something sarcastic like, "Look, a man actually refuses a girl's offer to feed him. It's incomprehensible," he would have been really angry.