The Girlfriend Game

The surrounding crowd, especially some of the girls, let out gasps, blushing as they shared what they were seeing with those around them.

Sathya didn't resist. In fact, the entire process went incredibly smoothly.

Her previous anger had completely melted into shock and embarrassment. Like a young girl in love, she resembled a fully ripe apple—her heart raced, and her eyes grew timid.

“Tina... Sister Tina, what... what are you doing?”

“Is it not allowed?”

Tina suddenly felt like she was the one with a problem. Forcefully kissing Sathya in broad daylight and then saying something so unreasonable made her look like she was bullying her.

“Don't misunderstand,” Tina quickly came up with a plausible excuse, explaining, “I just don't want to get tangled up with anyone else. I'm simply using you to pretend you're my girlfriend.”

“G-girlfriend?”

She stammered, trembling and not knowing what to say. Her little head was already fantasizing about all sorts of things with Tina, sending her heart fluttering and her face flushing red.

But Tina was utterly bewildered.

“How... how can I help you?” Sathya quickly asked in a whisper. She seemed incredibly eager, even thoroughly enjoying this so-called girlfriend game. Her expression practically read: Can we kiss again?

“I already told you, I'm just using you. There's nothing you need to do, just play along.”

“Mmh, I understand. I'll do whatever you say, Sister Tina.”

By this point, Tina's heart was already starting to soften. For some reason, her chest began to throb with a dull ache again.

She grabbed Sathya's hand, pulling her close, and gently licked her earlobe.

“Mmh...”

Sathya let out an embarrassed whimper, yet she was still full of anticipation, hoping Sister Tina would take things a step further.

In truth, they had already done everything there was to do. However, for Sathya, this was the first time she was doing anything with a responsive Tina.

Because of this, Tina had somewhat underestimated Sathya.

Sathya suddenly wrapped her arms around Tina's waist and muttered to herself in confusion.

“Sister Tina's period hasn't arrived yet... Sister Tina, you look a bit pale.”

Tina was suddenly pulled forward, and her lips felt a sudden warmth.

“You?!”

“What? Is Sister Tina the only one allowed to kiss me, but I'm not allowed to kiss you?”

“No, I didn't say that...”

“Every time you get kissed, you cry and your body goes all soft.”

Tina shook her head repeatedly.

The surrounding chatter quieted down, but more and more people began to gather.

Sathya's mouth tasted so sweet; she loved it.

But she kept intentionally slipping her tongue in...

“Sister Tina, can you let me see your injury?”

“No, you can't.”

Her eyes drifted to Tina's bandaged wrist.

It felt somewhat familiar, yet she couldn't quite put her finger on why.

Tina noticed her hesitation as well. She was probably starting to suspect something.

But this troublesome “girlfriend game” was far from over.

...

The sun rose as usual the next day.

When Tina stepped out of her dormitory, she saw a pile of gifts stacked in front of her door.

There were some kitchen utensils, perfume, boxes of dish soap, brand-new daily necessities, and a crate of delicious snacks.

Without a doubt, these had all been sent by Sathya.

Ever since they started the “pretend girlfriend” game yesterday, that idiot had only grown more excessive. Could these be her idea of “hush money”?

Tina initially wanted to send them back, but she suddenly noticed a note attached, written in Sathya's handwriting.

“Thank you for your hard work, Sister Tina. I was a bit rough with you last time, so I hope you can forgive me. These are to make up for it. They're all things you need, so I hope you'll accept them. —Sathya.”

...

There was a compulsory class in the afternoon.

Aside from weekends, two hours had to be set aside every afternoon.

Skipping class wouldn't result in any deducted points, but as top-tier students, such free-spirited behavior would naturally draw the attention of certain people.

Many students packed their schedules throughout the entire day and even into the weekends. Nearly a hundred Class A students from across the school attended classes in the Holy Church Building, occasionally participating in other elective courses and heading to classrooms of students from other ranks.

Tina nearly fell asleep during the afternoon's compulsory class.

However, the session wasn't entirely without fruit—Alix was back to normal.

She had returned to her usual cheerful self. When Tina asked her about yesterday's events, she claimed to have absolutely no memory of them, only recalling that she had slept like a log.

During class, they were notified that a magic competition would be held next week. The rules allowed students to form teams freely, up to a maximum of ten people, similar to the competition held two months after their enrollment.

Class A students were restricted to teaming up only with students of the same rank.

As soon as class ended, Sathya and Velrose took the lead in forming a two-person team.

Only then did Sathya carefully walk over to Tina and sit down beside her.

“Sister Tina, can you give me another chance this time?”

Sure enough, ever since the talk about pretending to be girlfriends, she had become even more enthusiastic.

“No, Sathya. I take this magic competition very seriously.”

“I... I see...”

Sathya lowered her head. She waited a moment longer, seemingly hoping that Tina would change her mind.

“For this magic competition, we're going to the White Dusk Ruins in the north. It's very dangerous there, so it would be much more convenient if we were together.” She still had no intention of leaving, trying to persuade her once more. Deep down, she eagerly hoped that Tina would give her another chance.

However, Velrose, who had been watching the drama unfold from the side, suddenly stepped forward.

“Senior Tina, you're Sathya's girlfriend, after all~”

“Exactly, exactly!”

To Tina's surprise, Krulu, who was standing nearby, nodded in agreement.

Tina didn't really want to join Sathya's team.

That was because acting together with her always carried the risk of exposure.

But right now, under Sathya's gentle, expectant gaze, she ultimately compromised.

“Well, alright.” Tina felt she was rarely this passive. Now, she had actually turned into a hesitant, bashful girl, which even she found a bit hard to accept.

“Sister Tina, I will definitely protect you. I promise!”

“That's more like it!” Krulu beamed. She was also one of the few who had witnessed them kissing.

In the evening, as soon as Tina returned to the society dormitory, she saw a group of female students chatting in the first-floor lounge.

“Have you heard? The magic competition is going to be held in that forest! And if you withdraw, you'll lose academic credits!”

“Are they trying to send us to our deaths? I heard quite a few lives have been lost there...”

“No way. The Church will definitely provide us with protection, and my family will buy me plenty of magic items anyway.”

“Besides, Lady Sathya will be there too~”

Hearing this, Tina recalled that Sathya's team seemed to have already been fully assembled.

Taking advantage of the night, she immediately headed to the Holy Church Building and made her way to the Dean of Students' office.

On the list, there were countless teams, and the one at the very top was Sathya's.

Among them were Velrose, as well as Krulu from the Nightingale Society.

The remaining five were students Tina didn't recognize, though they all appeared to be upperclassmen of Class A.

Unusually, this team formation did not follow the society-based grouping system.

“Oh? Student, what are you doing?” A woman walked into the office, questioning Tina as she watched her busily rummage through the documents.

“Miss Dean, I would like to review some student profiles right now. I hope you'll allow it.”

“Ah, alright! Just let me know directly next time~”

The Dean of Students nodded nervously.

She knew Tina.

Perhaps this student was too nervous and socially awkward, which was why she came here to review the profiles and learn about her peers in advance.

However, she gradually realized that Tina was only looking up the profiles of the members in Sathya's team.

She went so far as to pore over the dossiers and all the recorded information of the other five members before moving on to the next document filled with records with a satisfied expression.