Chapter 131 – All-Star Lineup

In truth, among the crowd that had surrounded the villa that day, Wenfu was one of them. Upon learning that Teresa had moved into the Crown Villa, she came to try her luck too. But when she found out Teresa's team was already full, she felt dejected. Later, when she tried to find another team, she realized that almost all the teams had already filled their rosters—she was out of options.

That was when her former teammate approached her. After a few awkward and pretentious pleasantries, he expressed his hope that Wenfu would rejoin his team.

But Wenfu had absolutely no interest in listening to this man's bullshit. She remembered very clearly just how horrible this sanctimonious man had been in the Secret Realm. After she politely rejected his confession, he bore a grudge and began making things difficult for her—constantly pushing her for statements, using his influence in the team to pressure her.

If sending her into the jaws of an enemy team could be understood, then the rest of what he did was simply inexcusable. Wenfu had already seen through this hypocritical beast who only knew how to say flowery, self-righteous words.

So, even if she had no other choice, Wenfu would never entrust her trust to this man again.

That said, what this man said wasn't entirely wrong. At present, nearly all the teams had finalized and submitted their forms. The few remaining were the kind that couldn’t be salvaged.

Think about it—when the registration deadline was fast approaching, which teams would still be incomplete? Only those that were hopeless from the start.

If she didn’t make a decision soon, she’d be stuck spending the next four years with a team full of unknowns, with no achievements, and a bleak future.

That’s why Lehman was confident that Wenfu would eventually give in to him—because she had no better options.

Being a caged songbird or a puppet at the mercy of others still beat starving and having no place to prove her worth.

Lehman was certain that, even if his team wasn’t top-tier, it was at least second-tier elite. No other lineup could compare.

However, just as he believed victory was in hand, an unexpected development occurred.

“R-Really?!” A pair of cat ears perked up excitedly, practically radiating their owner's delight.

“Mhm. That all depends on your choice, Miss Wenfu.” Teresa's words were clear in meaning.

“Of course I’m willing... Oh no, I mean, since the promise has been made, of course it must be honored.” Overjoyed, Wenfu suddenly remembered something and hesitated. “But I thought Miss Teresa’s team was full?”

“If I join out of the blue, won’t it upset the others?”

“‘Full’ was just the official word. In truth, there are still two spots left.”

“Th-Then…”

“Champion Miss, I am Lehman. A pleasure.” Right at that moment, Lehman cut in at the worst possible time.

“Mm. Nice to meet you.” Teresa nodded politely, her smile well-practiced and formal.

“Champion Miss, I heard your team was already full. If that’s the case, wouldn’t forcibly adding someone cause tension among the rest?”

“No need for concern, Mr. Lehman. My teammates are all quite kind. I’m sure they’ll be happy to welcome Miss Wenfu.”

“Of course, whether she joins or not is entirely up to her. I won’t interfere. I believe we should all respect Miss Wenfu’s personal choice—wouldn’t you agree?”

“Y-Yes... Absolutely.” Lehman’s face stiffened. If it were someone else, he might have tried to argue. But this was Teresa—plus, with Wenfu’s clear preference, he didn’t even dare make a peep.

Naturally, Wenfu accepted Teresa’s offer. Lehman, seeing the writing on the wall, wisely didn’t embarrass himself further. Knowing he was no match for Teresa, he simply mumbled a word of farewell and left in a somewhat humiliated state.

Teresa took Wenfu to the registration counter and helped her complete the joining application.

“Um, can I use a paw print?” Due to her short stature, Wenfu couldn’t reach the counter, so Teresa lifted her from behind, allowing her to fill in her information—her soft, fluffy head resting on a cushion of ‘water.’

When it was time to sign, Wenfu tilted her head and raised a tiny paw.

“A paw print?... I suppose that works. It just won’t be as clear.” The clerk replied.

“Thanks, nya~” Wenfu cheerfully dipped her paw in red ink and stamped a big red cat paw in the ‘Team Members’ section.

The team was now officially formed—its five members were: Divine Child Dylin, Ranger Divine Princess Teresa, Knight Divine Princess Felicia, Knight Divine Princess Astrid, and Priest Divine Princess Wenfu.

There was no mage nor alchemist.

At a glance, it seemed to be five people—but only Dylin knew the truth: there were really only four.

Afterwards, Wenfu combed her hair and said she’d return to make preparations.

Teresa knew she meant she was going to move her things into the Crown Villa. Astrid and Felicia would likely do the same. After all, starting the day after tomorrow, they’d be officially living under one roof as teammates.

After Wenfu left, Teresa shifted back into Dylin and found Astrid and Felicia to inform them that Teresa had signed her name—and that a new member had temporarily joined. Both expressed no objections.

“Captain is Dylin. Where we go or stay is entirely up to him,” Felicia said with a hint of flirtation.

Back at the dormitory, Dylin returned the Golden Butterfly Ornament to Teresa’s room, then retreated to the second-floor library to enjoy the rare peace and quiet.

Soon, the big villa would become lively. The semester was about to begin—there wouldn't be many more tranquil days like this.

The third floor would soon be fully occupied. Teresa’s room was at the far end on the right, and Dylin’s was next door, both on the right wing.

The third floor had three rooms per side, meaning one more person could still move into his wing, while the other two rooms would be taken by the remaining teammates.

Based on the calendar, once the semester started, the award ceremony would take place—followed by the class placement exam. Scores from the Crown Tournament and the written exam would jointly determine which class a team would be placed in.

Unlike in his past life, placement was no longer decided on an individual basis, but rather the team’s overall average.

In this “all rise and all fall together” system, academic motivation would be greatly stimulated. Teams would be forced to support each other's weaknesses, encouraging mutual learning—exactly the kind of unity the academy wanted to promote.

As dusk arrived, Dylin stepped out of the library. A crisp doorbell rang from outside.

The villa’s new members had arrived.

Dylin looked around the somewhat quiet estate. Though he had only accepted new members out of necessity, it was true that such a large villa felt a bit lonely with only one resident. A little more life wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Standing at the gate, he thought it was time to upgrade the others' crystal cards for automatic entry—so he wouldn’t have to answer the door every time.

“Good evening, Dylin~” The gate opened with a swipe, revealing the amber-haired princess in school uniform, long twin ponytails swaying behind her. She carried a suitcase in one hand and a huge bundle over her shoulder.

Dylin silently eyed the bundle—it was several times larger than Felicia herself and stuffed full to bursting.

Felicia had clearly brought a lot. With her strength, she didn’t need anyone’s help—she could handle it all herself.

Curious about what was inside, Dylin restrained his impulse to ask.

He wasn’t close enough to her to be prying into her privacy. And... he had a bad feeling that he really wouldn’t want to know what was in there.

“Please, Lady Felicia.”

“Oh, come now, haven’t I told you already?” Felicia gently placed her suitcase down and poked Dylin’s nose with a finger.

“Just call me by name.”

“Eh?” Startled by the unexpected closeness, Dylin stepped back a little.

“If Dylin keeps calling me ‘Lady’ like that, it’ll make me wonder whether I’m at school or back at the palace,” Felicia said teasingly as she leaned against the doorframe.

“My apologies—Miss Felicia. Welcome aboard, please come in.”

“I should be thanking you and Miss Teresa for ‘taking me in.’” Felicia stepped forward.

“Uh...uh...” Of course Dylin knew she was being modest. With Felicia’s talent and beauty, there were plenty of people begging to have her on their team. If there were a chance, those Divine Children would probably drop to their knees to call her grandma and serve her tea.

After closing the gate, Dylin ushered her into the brightly lit mansion.

“If I may ask, have you and Miss Teresa decided which room I’ll be staying in?”

“No, that’s entirely up to you.”

“So I can choose any room I like?”

“Yes. The living quarters are on the third floor. Second floor is the library and tea room.”

“Got it~”

Seeing how much luggage she brought, Dylin scratched his head. As the host, he felt it was wrong not to help.

The bundle was out of the question, but the suitcase looked small enough—surely it wasn’t that heavy…

Dylin grabbed the handle and tried to lift it.

Hmm?

Why wasn’t it moving?

Refusing to believe it, he put in more strength. Still no movement. He used both hands—nothing. The suitcase was rooted to the ground like a tree stump.

“Pfft, it’s a bit heavy. I’ll handle it myself.” Felicia giggled at Dylin’s futile struggle and reddened face.

“O-Okay.” Dylin felt a little embarrassed. Even as a Divine Child, it was natural that he wasn’t as strong as Felicia—but trying to act cool and failing was a bit humiliating.

“Here, use these.” Inside, Dylin offered her a pair of bunny slippers.

“Thanks, Dylin.” Felicia slipped off her shoes by stepping on the heels, her black over-knee socks arching as she slipped into the slippers.

“So, third floor it is. I’ll go get my room sorted then~”

“Mm, okay.” Just as Dylin watched Felicia haul her luggage upstairs, the doorbell rang again.

As expected, it was Astrid. Behind her stood a small, shy figure—clearly they’d met along the way and came together.

Astrid hadn’t brought much—certainly less than Felicia.

As always, Astrid wore her silver dress with lace-trimmed black stockings, silver high heels lifting her graceful form, her pure silver hair glinting in the crimson sunset.

Behind her stood Wenfu, looking a little overly timid.

A brief pause and Dylin understood.

“Astrid, welcome.” Dylin adjusted his tone.

“Mm.” Astrid lowered her gaze—though the sunset was dazzling, it paled before her beauty.

“And this must be Miss Wenfu. Teresa already told me about you. Why are you still standing there? Come in.”

“Uuuh...” Wenfu lowered her head, her cat ears drooping. Only after Astrid stepped in did she timidly pad in after her.

Once the door was closed, Wenfu didn’t speak or move forward—just stared at Dylin with wide eyes.

“Miss Wenfu?...” Dylin felt a little puzzled. “Why are you staring at me like that? Go upstairs and get settled.”

“...Miss Astrid is also in this team?”

“Yes, why?”

“...The champion and runner-up are on the same team? Isn’t that too much?” Wenfu muttered.

“Don’t tell me the third-place finisher is in the team too?”

“Eh? You noticed?”

“What??” Wenfu’s eyes widened, pupils narrowing like a startled cat. “Felicia is here too?!”

“Yeah, why not?” Dylin realized she was feeling overwhelmed by being surrounded by such top-ranked teammates and tried to reassure her. “We’re all teammates from now on.”

“They’re all nice people—easy to get along with. Don’t feel pressured, just relax.”

“...Really?”

“Of course. And you don’t need to feel nervous—you were fourth place, remember?”

“Mmgh...” If Dylin hadn’t reminded her, Wenfu would’ve forgotten that she, too, had ranked in the top ten—top four, in fact.

When she thought about it that way... it really was something else. The top four from the Crown Tournament had all joined the same team.

Right now, the team lists haven't been made public yet. But once they were—once everyone saw this lineup—it was bound to shock more than a few people senseless.

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