They Hated Me in My First Life, But Now I Have the Love System

Chapter 647: This Is It

Arthur’s gaze lingered on her as she defended Darius. A quiet storm brewed behind his calm eyes, jealousy he couldn’t quite smother. He kept his expression steady, but his jaw tightened, betraying the war beneath his cool surface.

"Why aren’t you on board?" Nnenna asked Darius earnestly, not noticing what was going on beside her. "What are your concerns?"

Darius exhaled, the tension easing from his shoulders a little now that she had asked. "We’re taking a huge risk," he said. "The arena is chaotic. If someone wants to hide an attack, they can make it look like an accident. Even death could be made to seem accidental. I don’t want us to gamble with your life. I would rather detain the girl, question her, and find out who’s using her, that’s safer than hoping nothing goes wrong tomorrow."

Nnenna’s tone softened. "I know you’re worried and you make a very good point, but I still think this is the best idea. Let’s keep asking questions along the way. Even if we get a chance to talk to her, she might not say much. And it’s not like we can force her to tell us anything."

She paused, her eyes distant for a moment. "No one really knows what she’s doing. If we move carefully, we can find out more. Besides..." she gave a small smile, "I’ve got you guys to help me if things go sideways."

And I have the Love System too, she added silently in her mind.

"What do you say?" she asked.

"Fine," Darius finally agreed. "But I’ll make sure I keep a close eye on her. You two—" he looked at Carl and Arthur "—make sure Nnenna doesn’t leave your sight tomorrow."

"That’s the plan," Carl replied with an easy grin.

Arthur, just looked away.

The next day came faster than anyone expected, the final day of the exams. The second majors. For Nnenna, it was martial arts.

"I asked around," Darius said as they walked toward the arena. "That Linda girl’s exam is in a hall not far from here. She’ll probably finish before Nnenna’s match ends since hers is Accounting. I’ll keep an eye on her throughout the day."

"That’s not necessary," Carl reasoned. "I’m sure you would like to watch Nnenna’s matches as much as we do. You don’t have to be stuck on Linda duty, I’ll get someone else to handle it." He said kindly.

"Yeah, I agree," Nnenna added, glancing at him appreciatively.

Arthur said nothing. He just adjusted his gloves and walked ahead, the quiet tension between them lingering like static in the air.

"No, no," Darius shook his head firmly. "I’m good."

"Are you sure?" Arthur suddenly stopped and asked, breaking his usual silence. His voice caught everyone off guard, he actually sounded like he agreed with Carl and Nnenna.

"Uh..." Darius blinked, momentarily speechless before finding his voice again. "I appreciate the concern, really, I do. Especially because it’s coming from you. But I won’t be at ease unless I handle it myself."

"Don’t misunderstand me," Arthur cut in, his tone cooling instantly. "I just don’t think you have the training for surveillance. A professional, someone who can actually be serious for more than five minutes, should handle it. Otherwise, something might go wrong."

The air went heavy.

Great, Carl sighed inwardly, already seeing where this was going.

And he was right.

snapped, glaring at him. The edge in her voice carried more than annoyance, it was frustration built over days of biting her tongue. Day by day, he was testing her patience, acting one way,

Arthur’s expression shifted. For the first time, a faint look of hurt flickered in his eyes, something rare, something that caught her off guard. He

back, to soften. But then she remembered why they were all in this tense mess to begin with. The thought burned too sharply to let

alright, Nnenna," Darius said quickly, stepping in before things escalated. "I’m sure he didn’t mean it

Arthur well enough to understand, when it came to emotions, the man’s words often came out the exact

"I’ll watch it online when all this is over. Go

walked off before he could change his

trying to lighten the mood. "You heard the man,

as they headed toward the locker area, though he couldn’t resist

of course,

face George in the arena today if you’re to come out at the top," he said after a moment, his voice

closer, his gaze locking on hers. "But you have something that gives you an

were calm, but there was weight in

more, but her heart beat faster at his

wasting no time. After all, this was one of the biggest highlights of the entire year, the martial arts finals.

his voice echoing across the massive

candidates! This is the last stage of your exams

students pounding their

your opponent’s name," the referee continued, holding up a transparent box filled with folded slips. "Fight fairly. Fight with honor. Remember, victory isn’t everything;

matches began one after another, the sound of fists hitting the mat mixing with gasps and cheers from

Soon, only ten remained.

side, anxious and uncertain. No one knew who had passed or failed, the academy had changed the system this year. Results wouldn’t be

the top ten eyed each other like predators waiting for the

the announcement that sent a shockwave through the

match!" the referee called out, glancing down at

The audience gasped.

"What? Already?" someone exclaimed.

been dominating since the

anticipated duel between the academy’s rising stars to happen in the finals, not now, not when they had just reached the top

or luck, had other

relieved beyond words. It was far safer to let the

turned to Nnenna with a faint smirk. "So,

than I expected," she admitted with a calm

Guess that’s our

more, just gave a small nod before turning toward the underground

you up there," Nnenna said

you," he replied

Arthur were watching. Carl caught her eye and gave a subtle nod,