I stopped after a step and glanced back at her. She didn’t move, just crossed her arms and waited. Great. I wish I just stayed in the forest for a little while and dodged this whole encounter. But, here I was. With my damn luck.

"Okay..."

I approached the bench slowly. The closer I got, the more the hostility sharpened. Jelda’s friends looked ready to throw hands if I took one wrong step.

"Go away," one of her friends snapped, stepping in to block my path. "She doesn’t need this right now."

"I’m not here to cause trouble," I replied, keeping my hands visible and palms open. "The Professor sent me."

"And what are you going to do? Just leave her alone!" the other one added, her voice rising in protective anger.

"Let him pass," Professor Kroua commanded from behind me.

"NO!" she shrieked, her body recoiling as if I’d struck her. "GODS, NO! NO! NOT AGAIN!"

"You’re upsetting her!" her friend yelled, reaching for my shoulder. "Get out of here!"

"Let him."

The voice came from a few meters away; cold, flat, and devoid of any emotion. It wasn’t a suggestion; it was an order. I recognized her instantly. It was the S-Rank student, the one who had saved the old man at the tavern where I was staying. Damn, she lived here, too? I’d assumed someone of her status would have a private estate, not a room in a dormitory.

Professor Kroua nodded in agreement. "Let him work."

"Why?" one of the friends whispered, her voice trembling.

"He is Ambly-blessed," the Professor explained. "Do not interfere."

"Ambly?" the S-Rank girl repeated. For the first time, I saw her stoic expression falter, her eyes widening slightly.

Jelda’s friends froze, their hostility instantly replaced by a stunned, heavy silence. I felt a bead of sweat roll down my neck. Seriously... just how much weight does this ’Ambly’ title actually carry?

"I..." I gulped, feeling the collective gaze of everyone in the hallway burning into me. "Can you all... give me some space?"

Professor Kroua looked at the remaining students with a calm but commanding gaze. "Everyone else, please leave."

A few students hesitated, exchanging confused glances.

One of them opened his mouth. "But Professor, we still have—"

One sharp look from her was enough. The students immediately fell silent, gathered their things, and walked away without another word. The area around the bench cleared quickly.

Professor Kroua raised her hand and cast a spell. The same shimmering barrier I had seen in the alleyway appeared around us, isolating the bench and the immediate area completely. No sound would escape. No one outside could see or hear what was happening inside.

"Do your thing, Ace," Professor Kroua said, her voice leaving no room for argument.

"I’m not sure about this..."

"Just help her," she insisted, her gaze softening slightly. "Please."

"I’ll... I’ll try, Ma’am."

With a shaky exhale, I stepped toward her. Jelda flinched instantly, recoiling and pulling her legs against her chest as if she could disappear into herself. I felt a pang of guilt. A man was the last thing she wanted to see right now, let alone touch, yet here I was.

Ignoring the knot in my stomach, I lowered myself into a crouch. I reached out, my fingers barely brushing her shoulder. The second contact was made, the hungry energy within me surged, rushing toward her like a dam breaking.

"Ah!"

Her legs went limp, her knees pressing together as she squeezed her eyes shut. A deep flush crept up her neck, her breath hitching into a broken moan that she tried desperately to swallow through her tears. Hell. This was bad. I could feel the energy pouring into her, governed by a mental "cap." The looser I let it go, the more she was overwhelmed by a pleasure that was clearly at war with her trauma.

I tightened the cap, twisting my mental grip until the flow slowed to a trickle. Her body relaxed, the hysterical sobbing fading into a heavy, wide-eyed stare.

"Jelda," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I’m here to help. Can you tell me who attacked you?"

"I don’t... I don’t know him," she whispered.

"Can you describe him for me?"

The mental cap fought me, bucking against my control. It wanted to fly open and drown her in that addictive, golden energy. I felt my grip slip for a fraction of a second, and Jelda let out a jagged, broken moan, her hand flying to her mouth to stifle the sound.

"Ace," the Professor warned, her tone sharp. "I’d rather not have to write a report about you assaulting a student."

"I’m trying, Professor!" I snapped back, sweat beading on my forehead. "It’s... okay. I’ve got it."

I focused everything on the girl. She was teetering on the edge, the misplaced energy pushing her toward a release she didn’t want. I felt like a monster.

"Did he... did he touch you, Jelda?"

She exhaled a shaky gasp. "N-no... I made it to the window just in time."

"Good. What did he look like?"

"He was... he was wearing my... my... pantie... um, my laundry on his head," she said, her voice cracking with fresh shame. "But I saw his eyes. He was older. Long, brown hair."

"Curly or straight?"

"Straight... maybe a little wave at the ends," she replied, gaining a bit of focus as the energy numbed her panic. "He had a brown tunic on, too. Darker than his hair."

"Perfect. You’re doing great."

I consciously tightened the cap again. This power was a live wire... dangerous and unpredictable. I had to babysit it every second, or it would do something unforgivable. As her eyes started to well up again, I loosened the seal just a hair, not enough to push her over the edge, but just enough to bathe her in a sense of calm. Her shaking slowed.

"How did he get inside?"

"He was already there," she said, her voice hollow. "I entered my room and then I hopped onto my bed... and he crawled out from underneath it."

"Then what happened?"

"He grabbed my throat," she choked out. "I managed to cast Rush. The momentum carried us both through the glass... we fell together."

"Did he say anything?"

Her chin trembled. Before she could spiral, I pulsed a bit more energy into her, steadying her heart rate.

"He said... ’I wish I’d done this when you were younger, Jelda.’"

The air turned cold. This wasn’t a random prowler. This was a predator with a history.

"That’s enough," Kroua said, her hand returning to my shoulder. "Let go of her, Ace."

I broke the contact and stood up immediately. The moment the link severed, the warmth drained from Jelda’s face, leaving her pale but stable. The crying didn’t return; she just looked exhausted.

As the Professor’s fog dissipated, Jelda’s friends rushed to her side, whispering in disbelief at her sudden composure. The S-Rank student was already gone, having vanished into the shadows. Just who the hell was she?

"Will that be enough to find him, Professor?" I asked.

"It has to be."

We both watched as Jelda began to talk to her friends with some semblance of normalcy. My skin crawled. Using my power like that felt invasive, even if it worked. If I hadn’t managed to keep that "cap" on the energy, I would have destroyed her dignity right there.

"I’ll alert the guards," Professor Kroua said, giving me a rare look of genuine approval. "Thank you, Ace. Truly."

"Glad I could help," I said, though I didn’t feel glad. "But Professor? Do me a favor. Make sure those girls don’t talk. I don’t want the whole school knowing I’m Ambly-blessed."

"Most students would be shouting it from the rooftops," she noted, curious. "Why hide it?"

Because a crazy goddess killed me and dumped me into this nightmare world, and I’d like to stay off her radar, I thought.

"I just prefer the quiet life," I said instead.

"Mmhmm." She didn’t look like she believed me.

"Good luck with the manhunt, Professor." I gave a stiff, respectful nod and turned toward the boys’ dorms, desperate for a sleep that didn’t involve nightmares or UI screens.

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