Chapter 71: The Crowd’s Murmurs

The Crowd’s Murmurs

From the podium, the principal of No. 1 High had noticed the commotion.

He furrowed his brow slightly.

"What’s going on with Teacher Cecilia today? Getting into a dispute with a student?"

He shook his head.

"Age really does make people irritable."

Principal Lawrence looked more closely at the young man.

His gaze eventually landing on the woman behind him.

"Selena...?"

His eyes widened.

As if trying to see her face more clearly.

He rubbed his eyes to confirm he wasn’t mistaken.

That woman was indeed Selena.

Aurelia City’s famous powerhouse businesswoman.

And she was standing behind that young man.

Her posture, her expression—they radiated subservience and dependence.

He remembered the rumors he’d heard recently.

"Hiss!"

A look of deep envy crossed Principal Lawrence’s face.

He had dismissed those rumors as nonsense.

After all, Leon was just a graduating martial high school student.

How could he possibly be involved with someone like Selena?

But what he was seeing now left him no choice but to believe.

"So those teachers’ gossip was true—this kid really contracted Evan’s mother!"

The principal was stunned.

A woman like Selena was a sight to behold wherever she went.

She turned heads simply by existing.

Watching Leon and Selena’s receding figures, Principal Lawrence felt a tidal wave of envy wash over him.

Mixed with a longing he couldn’t quite name.

A woman like that wasn’t something just anyone could possess.

"Truly... extraordinary."

---

Ahead lay the examination hall.

The central square was already packed with people.

Selena had gained two more levels this morning.

Further boosting her stats—and Leon’s along with hers.

Evelyn, with her S-rank aptitude, now far surpassed every other student present after reaching Level 20.

Back when Selena was S-rank, she had been unstoppable.

Now Evelyn was the same.

Aurelia City was, after all, just a small city.

Leon’s goal was clear: achieve the highest rank possible.

Complete Quest 3.

The reward depended on his final ranking.

Ten evolution opportunities!

One more evolution for Evelyn—and she would reach SS-rank.

Her venom attacks and crowd control made her an excellent support-type beast-girl.

Of course, "support-type" was relative.

In the face of Selena’s overwhelming damage as an SSS-rank Divine Beast—

Evelyn’s damage was just a bonus.

Leon quietly made his way to the central tower for check-in.

[Ding! Aurelia No. 1 High, Martial High (8) Class, Leon. Hello. Loading examination information...]

[Scanning your contracted beast-girls...]

[Detected two registered beast-girls contracted to you. Please confirm!]

Two light projections appeared before Leon.

Images of Selena and Evelyn.

He confirmed without hesitation.

[Congratulations! Martial high check-in complete.]

[This martial high exam will feature two beast-girls: Selena and Evelyn. We wish you excellent results!]

---

"Look—isn’t that Leon?" A student spotted Leon checking in and shouted.

"Whew. That’s Leon?"

"Yeah, that’s him. I heard his beast-girl is SSS-rank."

"Bullshit. Do you even know what SSS-rank means?"

"It’s true! I was nearby when she evolved—I saw it with my own eyes. The sky changed colors. How could that be fake?"

"Pfft. Who knows if it was faked."

"Every time an SSS-rank appears, it shakes the world!"

"You think evolution is that easy?"

"Exactly. I could just say my cat-girl is the SSS-rank Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden or the Divine Beast Vermilion Bird!"

"Didn’t some student fake it last year? Claimed they evolved to SSS-rank too. There were ’celestial signs’—wind and rain and all that."

"Then they hyped it up and went live-streaming the next day, selling some ’Super Bone-Strengthening Elixir.’ Claimed their beast-girl evolved because of it."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that. They supposedly moved thirty million dollars’ worth of product in a single day! Hilarious—people actually bought it."

"Can’t say for sure. There are plenty of idiots out there."

"Turns out the ’celestial signs’ were caused by drones."

"Such a joke."

The crowd buzzed with debate.

Some claimed to have witnessed the evolution firsthand and believed it completely.

Others dismissed it as hype.

The two sides argued fiercely.

Then—Cecilia appeared out of nowhere.

Her brows furrowed.

"Evelyn, what’s going on?"

"Where’s Levis?"

Leon and Evelyn completely ignored Cecilia.

Leaving her to stew in her own resentment.

But as she watched the three of them walk away together, a question gnawed at her.

Where was Levis?

Wasn’t Evelyn contracted to him?

That was why she had asked.

The moment Cecilia raised the question, many nearby students also realized something was off.

Evelyn was Levis’s beast-girl.

He had transferred from Spiritan City to Aurelia No. 1 High just for her.

It had caused quite a stir at the time.

The pair had been hailed as a "perfect match."

An S-rank beast-soul master paired with an S-rank beast-girl.

Even the teachers had been thrilled.

With a combination like that, they’d crush the competition!

"Now that you mention it—why is Evelyn with Leon?"

"Exactly! And walking so close!"

Among the onlookers, despite some questioning the authenticity of Selena’s SSS-rank evolution, most were still envious of Leon.

Regardless of Selena’s actual rank, her beauty was undeniable.

Even if she were F-rank, countless powerful figures would still want her.

If not for battle, then simply as a trophy.

But Selena’s previous status had kept most people from daring to pursue her.

Now, seeing Evelyn also walking so closely with Leon.

Many felt the sting of jealousy.

The atmosphere shifted subtly.

Curious glances now carried a hint of bitter envy.

"What’s Leon’s deal? He already has one beast-girl—and now he’s poaching Evelyn, who already has a beast-soul master?"

"Exactly. Total player. And he looks like such a pretty boy too!"

"So handsome—must have strong urges. Damn it."

A few students muttered sourly.

Their jealousy dripping from every word.

"Sour grapes" was an understatement.

In this country, trying to poach a beast-girl who already had a beast-soul master was considered shameful.

"Teacher... I’m no longer Levis’s beast-girl."

Evelyn’s voice carried a hint of complexity as she mentioned Levis.

The surrounding chatter fell silent.

All eyes locked onto Evelyn.

Searching her face for any sign of deception.

"What did you say?" Cecilia’s voice rose several octaves.