SAINTESS [Chapter 142: Are you possessed?] (Patreon)

“So, yeah, it’s a truly wonderful and mysterious feeling. Everything you’ve described is just the same familiar stuff, and none of it really captures what love is. Liking someone means being drawn to the way you feel when you’re with her, not to a list of actions or qualities you can put into words. There are countless little details woven into that feeling, things you can’t fully express through language, and sometimes you can’t even explain them to yourself. You simply find yourself irresistibly attracted to her, almost without knowing why.”

Winnie finally finished explaining his thoughts.

After hearing that, the girls all fell silent.

Seeing this, Winnie couldn't help feeling nervous, worried whether this whole spiel of his could fool them.

'Virtue + 100.'

Current Virtue: 18239.

“Winnie, that answer of yours is really sly. Feels like you're dodging the important parts, you know?” Aesphyra said with a chuckle.

“That's not dodging anything! I'm telling the truth!” Winnie's heart tightened the moment he heard her.

“Still… I'll let you pass for now.” Aesphyra chuckled.

Whew, whew. Thank goodness.

Hearing that, Winnie felt as if a huge weight had been lifted, like he'd just been granted a pardon.

Good, he'd muddled through.

But it wasn’t really muddling through either. Much of it was genuinely what Winnie thought, based on his own lived experience, those so-called “qualities you like” are simply filters for people you don’t like. In front of the person you truly like, those qualities become meaningless.

And the reason Aesphyra let it go so easily was because her own experience told her Winnie was right. She'd already put that rule to the test and proved it was indeed correct.

Besides, what Winnie said looked like he hadn't answered who it was, yet in fact, he already had.

The corners of Aesphyra's lips curled slightly.

Lived experience goes both ways. Who else could have made him think like that?

Aesphyra got her answer, and she was satisfied.

The others either listened in a haze, half-understanding, or sank into thought, or else felt that the person Winnie meant was themselves, and were satisfied too.

And so the question passed just like that, everyone got the answer they wanted.

Winnie let out a breath.

He'd barely scraped by!

It was way too thrilling and dangerous. Winnie absolutely did not want to play a second round like that.

Was choosing Truth really this risky??

Winnie decided he'd better stop choosing Truth. Who knew what kind of questions these fated heroines would ask next??

After a few more rounds, the spoon landed on Mirexia and Shikondell in the turn, but the ones asking questions were either Mirexia or Shikondell, and neither could come up with anything decent or fun. After all, they didn't know each other particularly well, so it just drifted by.

Then, under everyone's gaze, the spoon, true to the crowd's expectations, finally landed on Winnie again.

‘I'm truly done.’

Winnie was speechless.

Couldn't it land on him a little less??

“Ahhh, seriously.” Milian gave a resentful look at Aesphyra. “You've got some kind of enchanted item on you or something, don't you? How come it never lands on you?”

“Mmhmm. Milian, your technique is good. I'm just reaping the benefits.” Aesphyra blinked at Milian playfully.

“Ahhhh!” Milian raked her fingers through her hair, clearly furious, so angry she almost wanted to smack her own little piggy hands a few times.

Then they flicked the spoon again. It stopped, and the person it landed on surprised everyone once more.

It was Shikondell again.

Winnie was momentarily at a loss for words. Earlier when it was his turn, it had landed on Shikondell too, now again??

Fine. Shikondell it is. At least the one setting the penalty wasn't Aesphyra or Isatia. That alone was a blessing.

“Huh? Me again?” Shikondell pointed at herself.

“Mm, yep. Little Dell, your luck is pretty good.” Milian puffed out her cheeks.

“Then… Winnie, what do you want to choose this time?” Shikondell asked, tilting her head.

“I'll pick Dare this time.” Winnie said helplessly.

“Huh? Dare?” Shikondell asked.

“Yes.” Winnie already felt Truth wasn't safe. Who knew what tricks these chosen heroines still had up their sleeves? Better switch it up.

And Winnie had thought it through, since the one giving him the dare was Shikondell, even if it was a dare, she wouldn't make Winnie do anything outrageous.

“For Dare, you make the other person do one thing, and they can't refuse.” Mirexia explained the rules to Shikondell from the side.

“Huh, do one thing…” Shikondell fell silent for a moment. “Whatever?”

“In theory, yes.” Winnie frowned, suddenly getting a very bad feeling.

“Then…” Shikondell lowered her head slightly. The next instant, the corner of her mouth lifted into a wicked grin. “Make Winnie lean in and kiss me once, would that work too?”

Winnie fell silent.

No, seriously, has this 'Dark Dell' been showing up way too often lately? Why does she keep popping out?

“Uh… ahh??” Milian didn't react at first. Then she stared at Shikondell beside her with a stunned, shaken look.

With what she knew of Shikondell, she simply couldn't believe such a bold line came out of her mouth. It was utterly inconceivable.

“W-what?” The most shocked, aside from Milian, was Mirexia. She stared at Shikondell beside her, who was grinning wickedly, not only taken aback by the collapse of Shikondell's usual persona as she understood it…

At this moment, Mirexia's CPU was practically being burned out.

No matter what, Winnie was at least in a male state right now, wasn't he?

And Dell, although he looked delicate like a girl, was also a boy, right??

So… what did this mean?

Mirexia felt her brain circuits overloaded.

Of course, maybe it wasn't what she was thinking. Could it be that Dell already knew Winnie's situation??

Could it be that what Winnie liked was actually boys? Or… that he swung both ways??

Mirexia was in chaos.

As for Aesphyra, she already knew what was up with Shikondell, so she wasn't surprised at all. Isatia didn't know, but she could tell something was going on, and she looked Shikondell up and down with a meaningful gaze.

If she remembered correctly, Shikondell was supposed to be a boy, and Winnie's roommate at that.

Although his feelings for Winnie were indeed a bit… abnormal, it still hadn't reached the point of a qualitative change.

But now, it seems the situation was even more complicated than she'd thought.

“No, Dell.” Naturally, the others weren't going to sit by and allow that. Aesphyra stopped him with a smile. “In the end this is just a game. The content of a dare can't be something too excessive.”

“What you just said is already very excessive.” Aesphyra added.

“Tch. So you can ask questions, but I'm not allowed to make requests like that?” Shikondell gave Aesphyra a provocative look.

“The question I asked, I declared previously, has nothing to do with anyone, any stance. Any resemblance is purely coincidental. Dell, don't go matching numbers to seats.” Aesphyra replied, her reasoning impeccable.

“Tch, fine. Then I'll change it, okay?” Shikondell said. She hadn't expected it to work anyway; she was just testing the game rules.

“No.” Aesphyra gave him no chance at all. “Dell, you've already used up your chance.”

“Huh? Why?” Shikondell protested, especially because it was Aesphyra saying it, which made him even more unwilling to accept it.

“I said you already used your chance.”

“What? Used it up? He didn't even do it! How does that count as me using it up??” Shikondell said indignantly.

"You already used it. Once you make a request, it counts as used. It's just that your request touches the rules of the game, so it didn't take effect." Aesphyra said with a cheerful smile.

“Hey, so you have the final say in this game?” Shikondell fumed.

“Of course not. I just think everyone thinks the same.” Aesphyra swept her gaze over the others present. “Don't believe me? Ask them.”

“Tch! You’re pretty good at picking sides, huh. Fine, just you wait!” Shikondell glanced at Isatia and Mirexia beside her, gritting her teeth slightly.

“Um… Little Dell, you… what's wrong?” Milian stared at Shikondell in shock, as if she suspected she'd been possessed or something.

This was her first time seeing Shikondell like this. She felt like a completely different person, so unfamiliar.

“What's wrong?” Shikondell gave Milian a glance.

“Little Dell, are you really okay?” Milian couldn't help asking.

“What’s wrong with me? Why are you looking at me like I have a fever?” Shikondell crossed her arms and frowned.

“Uh… nothing.” Milian found Shikondell's current self extremely strange. Honestly, it wasn't until today that she realized Shikondell had such an unknown side. She couldn't help glancing at Winnie, as if asking him.

This guy… he should've known about this long ago, right??

After that, they played several more rounds. Thankfully, none of them landed on Winnie again. 'Dark Dell' showed up again, but he couldn't find an opening.

Winnie finally relaxed. With Dark Dell setting that precedent, who knew what kind of demands they'd make later if they played Dare?

Afterward, Winnie ended the Truth-or-Dare game on the pretext that it was getting late.

After soaking in the hot springs, everyone left the island one after another and returned to the dorms.

Had to say, the hot spring really hit hard. The moment Winnie got back to his dorm, he collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep, sleeping like a pig, dead to the world.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Soon, the day of Carillian Academy's Chosen Tournament arrived.

That morning, Winnie was, as usual, called up by Shikondell. After breakfast, he put on his uniform, took his qualification certificate, and left the dorm. He found many students hurrying in the direction of the Teaching Hall.

Winnie knew the Teaching Hall was the assembly point for the Chosen One Contest. According to the original plan, the gathering point should've been at Saintess Selina Cathedral, but now… the Cathedral was gone. They could only assemble at the Teaching Hall first, then head together to the island where the competition would be held.

By the time Winnie and Shikondell arrived, the place was already packed. Everyone wore the same uniforms. There were familiar second-years Winnie recognized, as well as many older upperclassmen and seniors he'd never seen before. All of them stood solemnly with serious expressions. Unlike the murmuring and chatter of ordinary campus events, no one spoke.

Winnie and Shikondell were assigned to the second-year ranks, though not by class unit. So most of the students around Winnie were strangers. He only spotted a few familiar faces, and none were standing with him.

After the instructors checked their qualification certificates one by one, they were allowed into the formation.

Before long, the vice principal stepped onto the high platform.

“Students, I'm very glad to see you still able to maintain such a full and spirited outlook after the disaster.” The elderly man stood ramrod straight and nodded at the students below.

"The opening ceremony for the Chosen One Contest, which should have been held solemnly in the Cathedral, can now only be held here. Due to the severe damage to the church, many ceremonial instruments placed within it were destroyed."

“So this Chosen One Contest can only be held in a simplified manner. All right, at a time like this, those of you still staying in the academy surely aren't here to listen to an old man like me talk nonsense. I know what you're here for.” He nodded, he had never been one to speak useless words.

“Everyone, I'm honored to front over this Chosen One Contest in the principal's stead. I only hope you remember, do not grow arrogant in victory, nor lose heart in defeat.”

“This isn’t like graduating from the academy. This is ten thousand troops crossing a single-log bridge, with only one person able to step onto the victor’s dais. What it tests isn’t just your strength and talent, but also your judgment of the situation, and most importantly, luck.”

“Many times, it's exactly because you lack that bit of luck that many favored sons of heaven miss victory by a hair.”

“All right. Set off. Instructors will lead you to our arena.” At the vice principal's direction, the instructors at the front of the ranks began to lead the way.

The fourth-year seniors walked at the very front. They were Carillian Academy's biggest show of force, and also the group most likely to take the championship this time, each one brimming with momentum.

The third-years were no less imposing, carrying the air of “who will win is still unknown.”

Finally came the second-years. Their momentum was not weak, but it was obvious that many of them were extremely nervous.

That was unavoidable. Even with the best luck, a tournament like this only comes once in a lifetime. Nervousness was inevitable, especially once they realized that, in this tournament, they were the youngest cohort, with relatively the fewest advantages.

Soon, everyone arrived at the other side of the academy's island. Many unicorn carriages used to transport students were already waiting there.

For Carillian Academy's students, these things were nothing unfamiliar.