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.

than annoyance, it was frustration built over days of biting her tongue. Day by day, he was testing her patience, acting one way, feeling another, and refusing

Arthur’s expression shifted. For the first time, a faint look of hurt flickered in his

But then she remembered why they were all in this tense mess to begin

before things escalated. "I’m sure he didn’t mean

to understand, when it came to emotions, the

enjoy the match," Darius said, turning away. "I’ll watch it

he could

trying to lighten the mood.

toward the locker area, though he couldn’t resist shooting Arthur a silent What the heck

course, ignored

today if you’re to come out at the top," he said after a moment, his voice back to its usual composed tone.

then stepped closer, his gaze locking on hers. "But you have something that gives you an edge when you use it,

words were calm, but there was weight in them, care disguised

quietly. She didn’t say more, but her heart beat faster at

time. After all, this was one of the biggest highlights of the entire year, the martial arts finals. The air buzzed with energy, cheers echoing from every corner as

his voice echoing

last stage of your exams for those offering this

erupted with cheers, students pounding their feet in

you will draw 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; control,

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 announced immediately but after all final exams concluded in the

the top ten eyed each other like predators waiting for

the announcement that sent a shockwave through

out, glancing down at the names drawn. "Candidate

The audience gasped.

"What? Already?" someone exclaimed.

two have been dominating since the preliminaries!" another

expected the much anticipated duel between the academy’s rising stars to happen in the finals, not now,

luck,

relieved beyond words. It was far safer to let the two "weird geniuses" fight it

to Nnenna with a faint smirk. "So, this

than I expected," she

Guess that’s our

gave a small nod before

said softly,

he replied without

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