Chapter 29

Chapter 29

"Don't you think Eve seems to be keeping secrets from us?" Grace rubbed her chin, a suspicious look on her face.

Dick chimed in, his expression aggrieved: "Exactly! She's made new friends behind our backs, while we, Grace, are still trapped in that eternal summer."

Eve, caught between the two, simply sighed.

She massaged her temples, saying helplessly, "Why would you two think that? No matter what happens, you'll always be my best friends."

Grace: "Doesn't that sound incredibly insincere and dismissive?"

Dick nodded emphatically.

Grace: "Oh, we're clearly not good enough for Eve anymore. She has a Mythological Mecha now and friends who are heirs to the four great families. I get it, I understand. Dick and I are obsolete. Waaah, we'll just leave!"

Dick: "Waaah..."

"..." Eve flicked both their foreheads, remarking coolly, "You two are really getting into character, aren't you?"

They lay sprawled on the soft, sandy ground, having just finished a simulated training session. After taking down seven waves of low-level insectoid creatures, all three were physically and mentally exhausted, quietly recovering their strength by playing dead.

Since the family introduced practical combat classes, Eve had rarely visited the simulation combat room at night, prioritizing other studies. When she did, she'd book a private room instead of training with Grace and Dick. Only on Saturdays and Sundays, free from family-arranged practical classes, would Eve occasionally join them, just as she had when she first arrived at the Medici family, training and fighting side-by-side.

Grace and Dick knew that Eve's skill level now far surpassed theirs. With her Mythological Mecha, her practical combat abilities were vastly superior to theirs and others'. Training alone was far more effective for her than training with them.

While they understood this, it didn't stop them from feeling a sense of loss.

At first, Eve didn't grasp the anxiety hidden beneath their playful banter. But as they got more into their act, inadvertently revealing their true feelings, she finally understood what was going on.

She stretched out her arms, pulling them into a comforting embrace, one on each side. "What are you two so anxious about? Look at yourselves—double A-grade potential. A Mythological Mecha is just a matter of time for you. Even if you don't seem strong now, it's only due to a lack of practical experience. All of this is just a matter of time; there's no need to be anxious."

Grace buried her head on Eve's shoulder, her voice muffled: "But there's still a huge gap between us and you."

"I'm just afraid that if we improve too slowly, you'll leave us behind. And compared to ordinary people like us, perhaps someone as outstanding as Miss Isabella would be a more suitable friend for you."

Having always seen Grace as strong and cunning, it was rare to witness her vulnerability.

Eve glanced at her in surprise. So even someone like Grace could feel insecure and anxious. Her heart softened, like a biscuit soaking in soda, and she said gently: "But Grace is already amazing. Almost no one among your peers can match you. Even if there's still a gap compared to someone like Isabella, they're heirs of great families who've been training since childhood. The conditions aren't fair to begin with. I actually think that given time, Grace might become even better than them."

"But why can Eve already achieve what they have now?" Grace asked stubbornly. "Is it because Eve works harder than us? Honestly, I don't care about those young masters and ladies. I just want to be able to stand alongside Eve."

"That would indeed require more effort, but frankly, I think if that effort isn't driven by your passion—like for mechanical mechas—it's unnecessary and can be quite miserable."

Comparison is the source of misfortune, and Eve was quite sure of that.

In her previous life, she came from a hyper-competitive era where people started striving from childhood, never resting properly from birth to death. For Eve, the thing she hated most was suffering for no purpose. So she was surprised that Grace would think this way.

To be fair, if it weren't for the plot's push and the need to survive, she would still work hard to strive because she wanted to gain a new life in this era and believed in her ability to do so.

Eve wanted to learn Alchemy, wanted to own a better Mythological Mecha, wanted power and status, so she worked desperately for all these "wants."

Her exhaustion stemmed from her constantly growing desires, not from comparing herself to others. Everyone has their own aspirations, but in Eve's view, the latter held little meaning.

However, now that it was mentioned, she suddenly realized: was she really living such a tiring life?

"I always feel like Eve is running out of time, rushing to do something," Dick asked. "Do you have some difficulty, Eve?"

"Probably not."

Eve was startled by Dick's sudden perceptiveness and tossed out an ambiguous reply.

"Hmm, really?" Dick didn't press further.

Eve's heart tightened. She thought it was better not to let Grace and Dick know about her plans to leave. Based on her understanding of the family head, such a rough plan wouldn't stay hidden for long. Once exposed, she would be millions of light-years away, beyond Sparti's reach. But whether he would take his anger out on Grace and Dick, these two who knew about it, was inevitable.

She needed to wait out the storm; everything else could be discussed later. Anyway, they had other ways to stay in touch.

That's what Eve thought, but on her face, she wore a big, seemingly innocent smile. She heard her own voice say: "Hey, I was thinking, for next month's practical, we need to form teams, right? Three to five people per team. The three of us can just form one."

Sorry, but her "death" needed witnesses, and this was the fastest way to clear Grace and Dick's names.

"If I'm not mistaken, the Elder will probably force Luo Lin and Cecil into our team too."

So Luo Lin was the bait, and Cecil, or someone around him, was the chosen perpetrator who would bear the family's anger in the short term.

Eve didn't like involving innocent people in her personal affairs. Fortunately, Cecil already had conflicts with her, and his status was enough to shoulder all the blame. If he couldn't handle it alone, the Third Steward would be there to share the burden.

Sparti wouldn't have the heart to punish his own son and the Third Steward and then punish the responsible Elder again. The Medici family wasn't like the Oliver Family, which had experienced family rebellion. The death of a talented junior wasn't enough to warrant a major upheaval.

Grace pouted and complained: "I don't like Cecil. I'm afraid if we're in the same team, we'll end up fighting first."

"But if the young master doesn't join our group, he and Miss Luo Lin would only have two people, not enough to form a team. Do you want to see him poach someone from us?" Dick was much more accepting of the reality. He said nonchalantly, "Well, anyway, someone like the young master wouldn't actually work with us. At most, we'll just be grouped together for scoring purposes."

Grace sniffed softly and muttered: "He better not drag the team down."

-

When they returned to class the following week, the Second Steward in charge of teaching these children announced the practical project to everyone and told them to form teams on their own.

As soon as he heard that each team needed at least three members, Cecil started sneakily glancing at Eve out of the corner of his eye. Seeing her only talking to the two beside her, he was so angry he didn't even want to speak.

Why was this person so clueless? She had just humiliated him a few days ago, and now she didn't even have the decency to take the initiative to reconcile through team formation?

Cecil glanced at Luo Lin, who was quietly minding her own business, and got even angrier.

What was going on? Weren't they on good terms? Why wasn't she approaching him, or even caring about Luo Lin? And Luo Lin, why couldn't she be more proactive?

He resentfully turned his head toward the window, not wanting to see others enthusiastically discussing their teams.

"Snap!" Someone snapped their fingers right by his ear. Cecil, already fuming, turned around and flew into a rage: "Who's bothering—"

When he saw it was Eve, his tone plummeted. The already weak anger was doused with a bucket of ice water, suddenly turning meek: "...Are you looking for trouble?"

Eve looked at Cecil, who seemed like he was in a foul mood first thing in the morning: "I need you to sign the team application. Everyone else has already signed."

She was indeed holding a team application form filled with familiar names: Eve, Grace, Dick, and even Luo Lin. All had signed, leaving only the last line blank.

"I won't fill in the last line. Go get another application form. I want to fill in the first line, the team leader line."

Eve looked at him calmly: "Don't push your luck. If you won't fill it, forget it. We already have four people."

Know your place. Who exactly has the choice here?

Cecil: "..."

In the end, Cecil reluctantly wrote the noble name of the Medici family's young master on the last line of the application form.

After he finished, Eve took the form and submitted it. Sandro looked quite pleased at this difficult group. He had been worried about how to divide these five into teams and whether he would have to manipulate things behind the scenes to force them together. Unexpectedly, they had already worked it out privately and voluntarily formed a team.

The Second Steward was very satisfied with the students' initiative and said: "For the next month, we'll have specialized training for the practical project. As a team, you'll need to train together."

Naturally, and it's also meant to cultivate a sense of teamwork—though who knows if their team will ever actually develop that ancient and mysterious spirit.

Eve nodded in understanding. Sandro was just making small talk. After collecting the forms, he waved a hand at Eve and dismissed her, saying, "Alright, go back and prepare. Do well in the practical project—don’t let the family down."

"Yes!"

...That agreement came a bit too quickly.

Eve stood numbly to the side while Grace and Cecil were at each other’s throats. During the recent simulated insectoid battle, Cecil had intentionally prevented Silver Moon Clematis’s healing from reaching Grace, but she quickly retaliated—Burst Wind Chime covered Cecil head to toe in dirt, which, to the young master, was worse than death. His face flushed red with anger, the battle came to a halt, and he started arguing with Grace. Dick stepped in to mediate, but both of them snapped "Shut up!" in unison, shutting him down. Luo Lin stood off to the side, completely detached and unconcerned, holding a book she was reading.

What the hell—this last part was what puzzled Eve most. Weren’t they on a battlefield? Everyone was in combat gear—where had she pulled that book from?

Perhaps sensing Eve’s prolonged stare, Luo Lin walked over, shook the book in her hand—it was actually a book of poetry—and calmly asked, "Would you like to read it, Eve? It’s a collection praising the Olympian gods."

"Thanks, but I’m not really into poetry," Eve said, pointing at the book. "But where did you get it? It doesn’t look like any of us could hide something that big on us."

It was like a little brick.

"Oh, I left it in the Aphrodite’s cockpit earlier. I can just grab it directly from my Spatial Ring."

"..." Eve was utterly impressed by the young lady’s refined elegance. She gave a thumbs-up. "Classy move. Keep reading—I’m going to go break up a fight."

Things continued in this chaotic, messy way, but fortunately, the month passed in the blink of an eye, and soon it was the day of the practical project.

A massive silver-white spacecraft descended onto the steel platform, its hull elegantly designed and gleaming, engraved with enormous clematis patterns.

As expected, the Second Steward stood before the ship heading to the practical planet, just as he had at their first meeting—dressed in a matching pure white formal wear, leaning on a silver-headed cane. He bowed to everyone, a well-groomed face smiling, and said gently, "Well, little buds, good times are always short. The days of laughter and playful training are over. Now, it’s time for us to step onto the real battlefield."

"The journey to Pulton 1103 will take four hours. Maps of each group’s rest quarters have been sent to your personal terminals. Equipment and instruction manuals are already in your rooms. If you have any questions, you can come find me or Elder Tang in the monitoring room. Board the ship, little buds, and enjoy these last comfortable moments."

Eve stood ramrod straight, her eyes bright and focused on the spacecraft before her, as if she could see a brilliant path to freedom.

—And then she heard a new argument break out behind her.

Grace grabbed Cecil by the collar and said, "Listen here, young master. Usually, I let it slide when you don’t cooperate in training and sabotage me. But if you hold the entire team back today, I will make you pay."

"Hah, make me pay? Who do you think you are?" Cecil shot back. "You idiot, the moment we’re off this ship, I’m taking the Third Steward and splitting off from you. Screw your team points—you think I care about that?"

"The second you turn around, I’ll blast you to kingdom come with Burst Wind Chime."

"You’d better kill me, because if you don’t, I’ll definitely secretly heal your opponents with Silver Moon Clematis during combat."

"Ha," Grace sneered sarcastically. "Then give it a try. Let’s see which of us is better."

Eve interjected, "Are you two in elementary school?"

Grace immediately let go of Cecil’s collar. Both turned away and snorted in unison.

Clearly still not buying it.

"..."

Let them stew in their own juices, Eve thought expressionlessly.