Vol 4. Chapter 107: Goddess of the Library

Central Library, central district of Yexinlian Royal Academy.

As the most prestigious academy in the Crimson Leaf Empire, and even one of the finest institutions across the entire Anqieka Continent, Yexinlian Royal Academy’s library was undoubtedly breathtaking in its grandeur.

Beneath an exterior resembling a magnificent white palace,

the interior of the library was majestic and imposing, filled with an unmistakably classical atmosphere. Its symmetrical layout along the central axis emphasized a sense of solemnity and rigorous order. Against the calm, cool-toned color palette, the entire interior appeared elegant and quiet. The transparent brightness of the glass curtain walls blended perfectly with the stable, imposing structure of the building, while the distinctive architectural design was saturated with artistic beauty.

Rows of jade pillars stood like towering columns supporting the heavens, exuding a proud and imposing presence. The lofty ceiling seemed to connect directly to paradise, giving those who looked upward an almost dreamlike sensation.

White-gold stone tiles covered the floor, their clean carved patterns and exquisite masonry making every detail extraordinarily refined. Together with the vivid and magnificent murals covering the walls, they fully displayed the splendor of the Central Library.

Beyond its magnificence and grandeur, the library also possessed an almost countless collection of books.

Materials from every conceivable field could be found here, whether supplementary magic textbooks, swordsmanship manuals, psychological strategy, artistic cultivation, or countless other subjects.

Students of Yexinlian Royal Academy could find almost any knowledge here that they wanted to study and were capable of learning.

Naturally,

such an enormous library had become one of the places countless students visited most frequently.

After all, not only did it provide all kinds of books to fill gaps in their knowledge, it also offered a peaceful and comfortable environment for studying.

Therefore, during the midday break after regular classes temporarily ended, students of Yexinlian Royal Academy streamed into the library one after another.

Time to crack open the books~

No matter what,

students from all across the continent gathered at Yexinlian Royal Academy for two primary reasons.

One was the abundance of educational resources and the strength of its teaching staff.

The other was to obtain the blessing of the Heart of the Holy Dragon.

The blessing of the Heart of the Holy Dragon was not something easily obtained. Only the top few students of each grade were qualified to receive it.

Therefore,

the competitive pressure within Yexinlian Royal Academy was equally unimaginable.

However,

this particular noon seemed somewhat different from usual.

After gathering inside the Central Library, the exam maniacs who normally should have quietly taken their seats and begun devouring books and hundreds of mock examination papers instead behaved completely out of character.

Most of them had even gathered directly on the fifth floor.

Separated by glass, desks, and bookshelves, they stared from afar at the breathtakingly beautiful girl sitting on the rooftop reading......

The girl, dressed in the academy’s white uniform dress, sat alone on a bench while holding a thick magic tome in her hands.

Her crystalline silver-white hair drifted gently in the wind.

Beneath the sunlight, her complexion shimmered like flawless jade, like a halo surrounding a newly risen crescent moon, or a flowering tree piled high with snow.

Her beauty was beyond description.

Yet the most eye-catching feature was undoubtedly the girl’s clear, jewel-like pale-purple eyes.

They seemed to ripple like crystalline spring water, filled with noble elegance and possessing an indescribable charm.

And this girl—

was none other than the most popular, most talked-about figure in Yexinlian Royal Academy at present:

the reserve Saintess from the Asumos Church......

......

......

“So...... seeing her in person really is completely different from just hearing about her, huh? She’s not only beautiful, her aura is practically like a fairy’s......”

From a nearby elevated platform,

Sofifi, an ordinary freshman, could not help sighing in admiration after finally forcing her wandering soul back into her body.

She had originally been curious about why this so-called academy goddess attracted so much attention.

Wasn’t she just a little prettier?

Her status was a little higher.

Her academic results were a little better.

Her strength was a little greater.

So what exactly was so special about her that she managed to attract the attention of so many students and teachers, even Sofifi’s own father and older brother?

It was noon.

Everyone should have been eating, doing practice questions, or taking a nap.

Why had they all stupidly run here just to stare at her?

But after personally seeing the legendary Child of Destiny,

Sofifi understood.

Under the influence of an invisible, comforting aura, the trace of dislike Sofifi had previously held toward Mengxi instantly vanished without a trace.

In its place came an overwhelming wave of affection~

Suddenly,

she even felt an urge to have her babies~

Such a beautiful and pure girl deserved to be carefully protected and treasured~

“Big Sister~”

At that moment, faint pink hearts seemed to appear inside Sofifi’s eyes.

Deep down, she even developed the urge to join Big Sister’s fan club.

Even though, when she had first entered the academy, she had mocked those people as a bunch of brain-dead fangirls......

Still,

at least she was someone who had gone through hardships and training since childhood.

After remaining dazed for a moment, Sofifi hurriedly shook her head violently and forced herself back to her senses.

“Stop, stop, stop!! Calm down!”

How strange.

Why had she suddenly started thinking about things like that?

Sofifi felt somewhat depressed.

But considering even she, a girl, had nearly been completely bewitched, then if it were a boy—

especially some adolescent boy who had never seen much of the world before—

and he encountered this silver-haired girl......

Uh.

Thinking of that, Sofifi helplessly glanced toward several boys beside her who had already entered a completely frozen state.

They were her fellow townsmen.

The two fellows looked as if their souls had been stolen away entirely.

Their eyes remained fixed firmly on the silver-haired girl, and drool was even beginning to leak from the corners of their mouths.

Sofifi genuinely wondered whether the two idiots might suddenly rush over and confess to her right then and there.

If that happened, it would be unbelievably embarrassing.

“Hey, hey, hey!! Big Pighead, Second Pighead! Stop spacing out!”

As she spoke, Sofifi angrily raised her hand and smacked both black-haired boys on the head, directly leaving her two dazed fellow townsmen dizzy.

Only after the world spun around them for a while did they finally manage to recover.

The two black-haired boys immediately turned toward Sofifi with complaining expressions.

“You brat, why’d you hit us?!”

The boy wearing glasses grumbled unhappily.

“That hurt, you know.”

“Tch, I did it for your own good. If you kept staring any longer, I was afraid you’d lose your minds and rush over there to confess.”

“Tch, it wouldn’t be that exaggerated.”

The bespectacled boy shot Sofifi a disdainful look before once again turning his gaze toward the silver-haired girl reading not far away.

“But...... confessing might not actually be a bad idea. What if she agreed? Wouldn’t I be living the dream?!”

“Living the dream my ass. With your strength and background, if she actually agreed, you probably wouldn’t survive three days.”

“Huh? Wh-Why?”

The bespectacled boy suddenly turned his head and looked at his fellow townsman in confusion.

The other black-haired boy beside him, who had been entertaining similar thoughts, also looked toward Sofifi with a questioning expression.

Faced with these two country bumpkins of hers, Sofifi helplessly covered her forehead.

“Do you know...... what kind of identity that senior has?”

“Identity? Isn’t that obvious? She’s the Child of Destiny, right? The reserve Saintess of the Asumos Church.”

“Hehe, looks like your brain is still functioning at least. Then...... do you know how many people are pursuing this Child of Destiny?”

“Uh, I don’t really know......”

“Sigh, just know that there are a lot. Let’s only talk about the ones everyone knows about. The Third Prince of the Crimson Leaf Empire, the son of the Western Duke of the Sadik Empire, the heir of the Flame Dragon King of the Dragon Race, the disciple of a Venerable from the Holy Tower, the little princess of the elves, the young lady of House Camelo...... Oh right, and there was also that now-dead Emperor of the Snow Night Empire, Xue Tianao. All of those people are pursuing the Child of Destiny.”

“Uh......”

As one ridiculously impressive identity after another entered his ears, the bespectacled boy could not help swallowing.

“That crazy......?”

“Yeah. So, respected Mr. Aluga, what exactly is your status? You’re just a slightly above-average adventurer from some small place. With your current strength and background, competing with those people isn’t courting death? If they learned what you were thinking, they could crush you in minutes. If your confession actually succeeded, I’d probably have to prepare your funeral overnight. You know, last time one senior merely received a gift from the Child of Destiny, and those people messed with him so badly that he dropped out and fled overnight, okay?”

As she spoke, Sofifi earnestly patted her fellow townsman on the shoulder.

“Know your own limits, okay? A woman like that isn’t someone you can obtain. And even if you somehow did, you wouldn’t be able to handle her.”

“Uh......”

Although Sofifi’s words made a lot of sense, the boy experiencing his first awakening of romance still looked reluctantly toward the silver-haired girl in the distance.

“But in novels...... aren’t there also stories where the heroine is powerful and protects the weak male protagonist? What if she really...... happened to like me...... wouldn’t I......”

“......”

Looking at this companion whose imagination had already drilled a massive hole in his thoughts, while his skull might soon follow physically, Sofifi helplessly rolled her eyes.

“Dream on......”

“Th-That doesn’t mean it’s imposs—”

“It’s completely impossible, okay.”

Having already learned plenty of academy gossip, Sofifi mercilessly smashed her fellow townsman’s fantasy to pieces.

It was partly for the bespectacled boy’s own good, and partly because she was simply stating a fact.

“You know what? Last week, Ankeqi, the Third Prince of the Crimson Leaf Empire, already confessed to the Child of Destiny.”

“Huh? Confessed?”

Hearing this, the bespectacled boy and the other fellow townsman beside him instantly focused their gazes on Sofifi, their souls of gossip blazing fiercely.

“Feifei! So what happened with the confession?”

“He got rejected, obviously...... And do you know why she rejected him?”

“What? Why?”

“The Child of Destiny said she already has someone she likes~”

“Huh?!!!”