Chapter 62 Green Maple

“I’m fine, thank you.”

The girl, of course, was the excessively lively Wendy.

Witnessing her eager anticipation of praise from Xie Shenhong, and acknowledging the paramount importance of the kingdom’s citizens, Xie Shenhong found himself unable to utter a word of reprimand at such a moment.

“Hehe, it was nothing, no need to thank me, Elder Sister… But how do you plan to deal with these guys?”

The four boys, who had just scrambled to their feet, were on the verge of unleashing a torrent of abuse.

However, a single glance at the dark blue knight uniform Wendy wore was enough to send them scrambling away in a panicked retreat.

This was hardly surprising.

The combat members of the Deep Sea Crimson Knights possessed a minimum strength of high-tier Silver rank, capable of single-handedly overcoming multiple ordinary Silver-ranked opponents.

Such an insult to a knight, as they had just committed, would grant the knight full authority to subdue and imprison them for several days.

Of course, their escape proved largely futile.

Wendy swiftly cast the ‘Afterimage Tracing’ spell, recording the recent events within a memory stone.

“Hand that recording over to me.”

“Are you going to destroy the evidence and let them go, Elder Sister Shenhong?” Wendy asked, obediently handing over the memory stone.

“Not at all.

I will deliver it to the Dean of Students… They will likely receive a warning for attempted bullying.”

Though Xie Shenhong was often praised for his kindness, this demeanor was entirely feigned.

In his heart, he believed that wrongdoing demanded punishment, that the cost of transgression should be high, and that law-abiding students ought to feel a psychological superiority and receive tangible advantages.

This, he felt, was the only way to prevent a situation where ‘saints never die, yet great thieves never cease.’

Blindly protecting someone simply because they were a classmate was something he would never do.

“Elder Sister Shenhong is truly kind,” Wendy, however, chuckled.

“How did you arrive at that conclusion?”

“Because if I were treated like that, I would definitely teach them a harsh lesson, locking them away in a dungeon… At the very least, I’d beat them down before they could even lay a hand on me.

But you, Elder Sister, merely collected evidence and allowed the school to mete out some insignificant punishment.

Your temper is far too gentle.”

“Is that strange?

Violence can certainly resolve issues, but relying solely on violence implies that those without it deserve to be bullied, doesn’t it?

Therefore, I prefer to resolve matters through regulations.”

Despite his words, Xie Shenhong knew deep down that he was far from normal.

Having been accustomed to following orders and living as a mere puppet before his transmigration, he had, even to this day, developed a profound indifference towards himself.

Indeed, he now paid attention to his own safety, but this was a necessary measure, driven by the kingdom’s need for Xie Hai Zhu’s existence.

As for the purely verbal insults he had just endured, which hadn’t escalated into physical bullying… honestly, he felt very little about them.

Nevertheless, as he had stated earlier, even if he didn’t feel anger, he would still uphold the greater principle, never allowing an offender to go entirely unpunished.

“Not strange at all.

It perfectly aligns with the image I’ve heard about you, Elder Sister Shenhong.”

“Rumors aren’t always reliable… Never mind.

By the way, Wendy, have you transferred here today?”

“It was supposed to be tomorrow, but I wanted to see you sooner, Elder Sister Shenhong, so I came early,” Wendy replied, grinning.

“Alright then, I’ll show you around the school.”

“Wait a moment.” Wendy spread her divine sense, scanning her surroundings, then whispered conspiratorially, “Elder Sister Shenhong, there’s something I want to ask you.”

“Go ahead.

Anything I can answer, I will tell you.”

“Then I won’t hold back…” Wendy’s voice dropped even lower.

“Why are you pretending to be a boy, Elder Sister Shenhong?”

Xie Shenhong froze for an instant.

However, suspecting Wendy might be trying to trick him, he quickly composed himself and answered with a calm expression:

“I am a genuine male, no doubt about it.”

“How could that be!” Wendy exclaimed, then quickly glanced around before lowering her voice.

“Elder Sister Shenhong, I couldn’t possibly mistake your chest binder.”

“…”

Fine, Xie Shenhong conceded defeat.

Although he had long known that binding his chest was an attempt to hide something that couldn’t be concealed forever, he was currently still ‘A-cup’ size.

How had he been exposed so quickly?

What would he do if they continued to grow larger in the future?

“There’s actually a reason for this… I apologize, but I cannot tell you right now.”

Noticing that his first sentence only made Wendy’s eyes light up, Xie Shenhong immediately adopted an air of mystery, offering no further explanation.

As for continuing to deny it, there was simply no need.

After all, if everything went according to plan, he truly would become a girl.

“Alright… But if you intend to keep using a chest binder to hide it, Elder Sister Shenhong, you’ll need to wear thicker clothes.”

“I see… Thank you for the reminder.” Xie Shenhong paused, then asked, “Is there a better way?”

“Generally, I’d suggest using magical items that give the illusion of having no breasts, while still allowing them to develop naturally without hindrance,” Wendy said, pulling out her phone and opening an e-commerce app, recommending a series of magical artifacts to Xie Shenhong.

“If necessary, you can even fake what’s below, you know.”

“I’ll pass on that.”

‘I still have *that* down there for now… even if it won’t be there in the future, I don’t want to resort to methods that feel pathetic just thinking about them,’ Xie Shenhong thought to himself.

“Actually, Elder Sister Shenhong, since you’re already cross-dressing, what’s the point of hiding it?” Wendy continued, her gossipy spirit reignited, steering the conversation back, seemingly hoping Xie Shenhong would inadvertently reveal more as they chatted.

“Could it be that you’re testing boys, searching for true love that transcends gender?”

However, Xie Shenhong was not like those excited busybodies who would lose themselves in conversation and blurt out every family secret.

He simply watched Wendy prattle on, remaining perfectly silent.

“Ugh, Elder Sister Shenhong is so cold,” Wendy said with a hint of dejection after a while.

“You’re just too enthusiastic,” Xie Shenhong said, comforting her with a pat on the head.

“Come on, let’s go explore the surroundings.”

“Okay… Oh, by the way, Elder Sister Shenhong, aren’t you going back to class?”

“Skipping a class or two occasionally is fine.

Besides, Wendy, you specifically came to find me; there’s no way I would abandon you.”

These were pleasantries, half-truths at best.

What Xie Shenhong was truly thinking was that if he left Wendy alone, she would likely dismantle the entire school, so he absolutely had to keep a close eye on her.

Furthermore, Xie Shenhong intended to extract some information from Wendy.

At this point, he no longer harbored the naive belief that Wendy was an ordinary newcomer.

After all, the 99th Squad appeared to have been specifically formed to help him regain his memories.

It was conceivable that even if Wendy genuinely was a newcomer, she was certainly no ordinary one.

At the very least, she was someone connected to the Eastern Expedition.

Frankly, consulting the squad’s internal documents would have been quicker, but when he had transformed into Xie Hai Zhu last night and attempted to access them, he discovered that the detailed files on the 99th Squad members were encrypted.

His clearance level was sufficient, yet he did not possess the password, rendering the files inaccessible.

Clearly, these were classified documents specifically designed to remain hidden from him unless he recovered his memories.

Unfortunately, he was merely an imposter… Thus, the moment he met Wendy, Xie Shenhong resolved to uncover the truth directly from her.

“How touching! Let’s go quickly then!”

“Wow, the school is huge, much bigger than my old one… Oh, my previous school was located at the border of Sakura Province in the east.”

“My father is from Silesia Province, and my mother is from Sakura Province.”

“The Eastern Expedition?

I was still in elementary school then; wars are truly terrifying.

We even had to stop school for a year, but everything turned out fine later, and my family is safe and sound.”

The process was unexpectedly smooth; Wendy answered almost every question, making Xie Shenhong feel a pang of shame for his slight insincerity.

“See you tomorrow, Elder Sister Shenhong!”

After wandering for two class periods and touring all the significant areas of the school, Xie Shenhong bid farewell to Wendy.

As for the outcome, Xie Shenhong had learned nothing substantial.

While Wendy was indeed connected to the Eastern Expedition, her role likely extended only to mildly stimulating Xie Shenhong’s memory recovery.

‘I’ll have to approach this from another angle,’ he mused.

Xie Shenhong sighed, placing his hopes on the afternoon and the following day.

Yet, unexpectedly, that wait stretched into an entire week.