Chapter 67

Chapter 67 Are You Inside? At the Priss Academy, there were two extreme factions of students - the nobles and the commoners - that made people want to steer clear upon hearing about them. The extreme faction of nobles detested commoner students. Usually, those they took a dislike to were ultimately forced to drop out of school. However, unlike the tactics used by the noble faction against commoner students, the extreme commoner faction's first targets of enmity were not the nobles, but the commoners who had good relations with the nobles or aspired to climb up the aristocratic ladder. The extreme commoner faction believed that it was because these commoners acted as lapdogs to the nobles that inflated the arrogance of the nobles, leading to the slow decay of the entire Sis Empire. They aimed to deal with these common students who groveled to the nobles! They sought to correct the mindset of these individuals and make them understand that blindly trying to please the nobles was erroneous! Although the common students targeted by them were not forced to drop out, the constant stream of insidious tactics made the lives of ordinary commoner students in the academy unbearable. Very few students could endure this harassment, and most ultimately voluntarily dropped out due to depression. Even the commoner students who managed to persist till graduation despite being forced to conform to the ideology of the extreme commoner faction usually suffered from psychological illnesses that were difficult to cure throughout their lives. Therefore, upon encountering these two extreme factions, the ordinary common students would avoid them like the plague, fearing getting targeted by them. Once, a common student questioned why the extreme commoner faction only picked on the weaker ones and didn't dare to confront the haughty nobles. They suggested making them stop oppressing the commoners. Although the extreme commoner faction didn't respond directly, a shocking incident followed soon after. One of the members of the extreme commoner faction was actually a common student who had been forced to drop out of school! Soon after, a noble student outside the Priss Academy's gate was attacked with weapons, resulting in serious injuries and disfigurement. The assailant turned out to be the former member of the extreme commoner faction who had been forced to drop out! Although the commoner who had been expelled faced severe punishment for attacking the noble, their act still won them a fearsome reputation. Consequently, the extreme noble faction at the Priss Academy refused to associate with these lunatics. However, the extreme commoner faction did not become complacent after this incident. They continued to target common students who had good relations with the nobles and refrained from provoking the nobles. It wasn't surprising that Ifia had attracted the attention of the extreme commoner faction. Even though Duke's daughter, Baron Amelia, was an admirable noble with none of the bad habits and arrogance of other nobles, Ifia's good relationship with her was seen as a fundamental flaw that needed correction. "She's in the spotlight now. It’d be too obvious to act immediately." "Yeah, if she complains to the nobles, especially the duke's daughter... no one in our group has ever had interactions with such a high-level noble. We might need to bide our time!" "What are we waiting for? Even if the duke's daughter retaliates, we won't endure it passively." Perhaps due to naïveté or because the extreme commoner faction was like a wild dog, and no one dared to provoke them, the new students who had just joined the extreme commoner faction were full of enthusiasm. They felt that they didn't need to cower at the academy, so openly discussing these matters in the classroom, even if in hushed tones, wasn't a big deal. There was no cover-up. Irene, sitting nearby, couldn't help but smile when she heard this. She had failed to instigate trouble through Fiona the last time, but now, she was thinking that these extreme lunatics might finally make it impossible for Ifia to stay on at the academy. It would be best for Ifia to drop out! "Irene, look at this. Lanny gave me this silver ring. It's so beautiful!" Just as Irene was covertly hoping, Fiona, her tablemate, once again flaunted something to her, deliberately extending her hand with the ring on, displaying an overt sense of satisfaction on her face. However, Fiona's fair complexion made the scars and bruises quite prominent. Irene frowned, puzzled, as she looked at Fiona's arm. Even the parts not covered by her sleeves had quite a few green and purple bruises, and upon closer examination, there were even bite marks. Fiona had been coming and going at odd hours recently. What was she up to? Perhaps sensing Irene's gaze, Fiona quickly withdrew her hand and her smile faltered slightly, but she still forced herself to speak confidently, "My dear Lanny is so generous. After I go home today, I'm going to buy him an even better gold ring!" She then forcibly changed the subject, "Hmph, even if Ifia won't lend me money, there are still kind-hearted people who will!" As she spoke, Fiona glanced at Ifia, her gaze carrying resentment from the previous rejection. If Ifia had lent her the money, none of this would have happened... As these thoughts crossed her mind, Fiona unconsciously clenched her fists, sinking into a state of furious anger. "Fiona, you have money now, right? When will you be able to repay me?" It was only when Irene spoke that Fiona seemed to be abruptly awakened, and her thoughts returned to the present. Regaining her senses, Fiona forced a smile at Irene and didn't immediately return the money, "Irene, you know someone else lent me the money. I'll pay you back next month!" Having said that, Fiona stopped boasting and rested her head on the table. This made Irene look at the back of Fiona's head with a gloomy expression, realizing that she had to find other suitable companions as soon as possible. ... Ifia was currently very confused. She had just needed to use the restroom urgently, so she had darted over during the break after class. After finishing in the single washroom, just as she was about to push open the door, she couldn't! The door could only be locked from the inside, and she had already unlocked it, so why couldn't she open it? No way! No way! Don't tell her she's trapped in the restroom! [System, what's going on? I can't get out!] [Host, after system inspection, you've been intentionally trapped in the restroom...in human terms, this is campus bullying.] However, the system's reply confirmed Ifia's suspicions. She had actually been bullied and locked inside the restroom! This was the first time this had happened to her. Previously, she had only seen this plot in movies or the news. [Ah? System, why didn't you warn me!] [The system will only give advance warnings when the host is in danger. Being trapped in the restroom for a while won't cause any harm.] [......] It seemed that she couldn't completely rely on the system's warnings. Not all dangers would be forewarned. And now that she was stuck, she'd just have to wait for rescuers and chat with the system in the meantime...would Ifia get angry about being bullied? No big deal. What's the use of being angry? In any case, she would take her revenge. They wouldn't get away with this! [System, your warning function isn't very reliable. What if something happens while I'm trapped in the restroom?] [Apologies, Host. Only by upgrading the system can we provide more comprehensive service.] [How do I upgrade?] [It's simple. Once the Host completes the mission to save the world, the system can obtain the energy needed for an upgrade!] As they continued chatting, they shifted to the topic of the mission to save the world, and Ifia smiled as she closed the chat box, refusing to converse with the system further. For now, she felt that making do would be enough. Free is best! "Ifia, are you in there?" Just as Ifia finished her conversation with the system, Lucy and Jessina's voices suddenly came from outside. This made Ifia quickly raise her hand to knock on the partition of the restroom cubicle and call out, "I'm here!" Hehe, those bullies, your nemesis is about to arrive!