My name is Arthur, seventeen years old.
My main occupation is currently a first-year student at St.
Freya Academy.
My side job is…
well, I don’t have a side job right now.
If I had to say, I’m a ‘quasi-intern’ for the Imaginary Tree—after all, that system AI calling itself ‘little tree’ only settled in my head yesterday.
The interface is still stuck on ‘Loading, please wait,’ and it hasn’t even issued a newbie gift pack yet.
Tsk, typical workplace PUA, painting big pictures before I’ve even started the job.
“Student Arthur Le, please answer this question.”
From the podium, Ms.
Himeko’s voice pulled me back to reality from my internal complaints about the system.
I looked up, my face wearing the signature gentle smile that had become ingrained in my facial muscle memory.
“Sorry, Teacher, I didn’t hear the question clearly.”
A few suppressed chuckles rang out in the classroom.
I could feel several gazes from the female students—caring, admiring, and those with filters so thick they were ridiculous, thinking ‘he’s even elegant when he’s spacing out.’
Sigh.
Let me explain the current situation.
I, Arthur, or rather Arthur Le·Ge Meng·Jeanne d’Arc—a string of names long enough to make any teacher’s tongue ache during roll call—belong to the original owner of this body.
(Note: Meow, this is a Soul-transmigration, yet not quite; the original owner is the protagonist’s counterpart meow, there will be an explanation at the end of this chapter meow.)
My own name is much simpler, just two characters: Arthur.
In my previous life, I was twenty-five, a standard corporate slave.
One day, after working seventy-two hours straight, everything went black.
When I opened my eyes again, I had become the body of a six-year-old street urchin in an alleyway in Western Europe.
The original owner’s cause of death: a combination of freezing and hunger, both parents dead, no relatives, and a useless government.
My new life began by scavenging through trash.
Using my twenty-five-year-old brain, I spent nine years saving up for a small shop that could provide a living—then a Chariot-class Honkai Beast passed by.
With one stomp, my shop, my inventory, and the belongings I had worked so hard to save all became fragments in the ruins.
At that moment, I deeply understood the meaning of ‘Arthur’—having no way out.
Literally, a sense of powerlessness from the soles of my feet to the crown of my head.
Fortunately, every cloud has a silver lining.
I tested for ‘fairly good’ Honkai Energy resistance and adaptability—according to the Valkyrie who saved me, it’s quite rare for males to have this level.
So, I was stuffed into St.
Freya Academy, where food and lodging are provided, and there’s even a stipend.
Sounds good, right?
Yes, if you ignore having to deal with at least three confessions a day.
“Teacher, the question is about the clinical manifestations of Honkai Energy erosion,” a girl with twin tails whispered to remind me from beside me, her cheeks slightly flushed.
“Thank you.” I smiled and nodded at her, fluently reciting the standard answer from the textbook.
The girl’s face turned even redder, almost burying her head in her book.
See, here we go again.
This is me, Arthur, and my daily life at St.
Freya Academy: sporting the face of a ‘Western hunk’—specifically, long golden hair that I’m too lazy to maintain and is always a bit messy, eyes described by a girl from the literature club as ‘molten green agate,’ and delicate features said to ‘make it hard to distinguish between male and female.’
Plus, this gentle smile that seems welded onto my face.
God knows, this smile isn’t because I have a gentle personality!
This is a professional fake smile trained during my time as a corporate slave in my past life!
It’s a protective mask for clients, bosses, and all sorts of troublesome people!
After transmigrating, it became my default expression, and I can’t take it off!
What gives me even more of a headache is the male-to-female ratio at St.
Freya Academy…
Let’s put it this way: the number of males in the whole school can be counted on one hand, and I’m the most ‘conspicuous’ one among them.
Thus, confessions have become a daily occurrence.
Chocolates, love letters, handmade cookies, even training wristbands (with hearts embroidered on them)…
I’ve received all kinds of gifts.
But they’re useless.
Completely useless.
Because none of them understand me.
What do I like?
Money.
To be blunt: cash, savings, hard currency.
Having been crushed by mortgage and car loans in my past life and starting from scratch as a street urchin in this one, I know the value of currency better than anyone.
Love?
Romance?
Can that pay the rent?
Can it buy a full meal?
Can it compensate for losses when a Honkai Beast tramples your shop?
No.
So my standard is very simple: hit me with money.
If you hit me hard enough, gender, age, and species are not an issue—of course, that last part about species is an exaggeration.
Unfortunately, to this day, not a single lady (or gentleman) has grasped this truth.
They send me handmade chocolates, not knowing I’d rather have the equivalent cash to buy them myself; they write long, flowing love poems, when a direct transfer would be much more practical.
“Correct answer, Student Arthur, please sit down.” Ms.
Himeko nodded, her gaze turning toward the classroom door.
“Before we continue with the lesson, I’d like to introduce three new students to everyone.”
I sat down and continued to space out.
New students?
What does that have to do with me?
My campus survival philosophy is simple: maintain a ‘nobody’ status, keep my grades strictly in the middle range—not so bad that I’m called for talks that increase social interaction, and not so good that I attract attention that increases social interaction.
Perfect.
“Come in.”
The classroom door opened, and three people walked in.
A girl with long purple hair, a gentle aura, and a dignified posture—clearly the well-bred young lady type.
A white-haired girl with two…
uh, how should I put it, rather ‘retro’ braids.
Her blue eyes were sparkling, and she had a cheerful smile on her face.
And a girl with short gray hair, petite, with a flat expression.
Her limbs were equipped with obvious mechanical exoskeletons—or were they prosthetics?
“I am Raiden Mei, please look after me.” The purple-haired girl bowed slightly.
“This lady is Kiana Kaslana!
We’ll be classmates from now on!” The white-haired girl waved with a brilliant smile.
“Bronya Zaychik,” the gray-haired girl said briefly, her voice showing little inflection.
A small commotion broke out in the class.
I clapped along with the others—surface-level etiquette must be maintained.
Ms.
Himeko arranged for them to sit in empty seats toward the back of the classroom, quite far from me.
Good, let’s keep it that way.
The lesson continued.
While drawing income and expenditure calculations on my notebook that only I could understand—figuring out how to allocate this month’s stipend—I observed the new students out of the corner of my eye.
Raiden Mei was listening very carefully, her notes neat.
Kiana Kaslana…
was already dozing off, her head nodding up and down.
Bronya Zaychik sat up straight, but her eyes were blank, looking who-knows-where.
Hmm, the standard ‘transfer students with a story’ setup.
But it has nothing to do with me.
As long as they don’t come looking for trouble or set up obstacles on my path to a peaceful, money-making life, they could be Herrschers for all I care.
“Student Arthur Le.”
The bell rang for the end of class.
Just as I was about to slip away, a voice called out to me.
It was Raiden Mei.
She walked to my desk with a gentle smile on her face.
“Sorry to bother you, Kiana, Bronya, and I just transferred here and aren’t familiar with the academy yet.”
“Ms.
Himeko said you are a very reliable student in the class.
Could we trouble you to help us get familiar with the environment?”
My professional smile automatically came online.
“Of course, it would be my honor.”
Internally, however, I was calculating rapidly: How much time will showing them around take?
Will it delay me from going to the library to look up information?
Can this be exchanged for a substantial reward?
“Great!” Kiana had also approached at some point and slapped my shoulder—the force was so great it made the corner of my mouth twitch.
“Then treat us to lunch!
As thanks for leading the way!”
Me: “…”
This student, is there something wrong with her logic?
“Kiana, it should be us thanking Student Arthur Le and treating him to lunch,” Raiden Mei said helplessly.
“Eh?
Is that so?” Kiana blinked, then grinned.
“That works too!
I’ll treat you to lunch!
Aunt said the fried chicken cutlet set at the academy cafeteria is delicious!”
“Bronya believes the task of becoming familiar with the environment should be completed first.” Bronya said calmly, her gaze falling on my face and pausing for two seconds.
“Furthermore, Student Arthur Le does not seem to want to go to the cafeteria.”
Keen observation.
“I just have some personal matters to handle.” I maintained my smile.
“But since Ms.
Himeko gave the instructions, I’ll first take the three of you around the teaching building.
As for the cafeteria…
we’ll talk about it next time there’s a chance.”
A tactful refusal, perfect.
I led the three of them on a lap around the teaching building, introducing the locations of the main classrooms, faculty offices, and training grounds with maximum efficiency.
The entire process took eighteen minutes.
My explanation was as concise as a navigation voice prompt, and I maintained a safe social distance throughout.
“That’s about everything.
If there’s anything else you’re unclear on, you can check the map issued by the academy or ask other students.” I stopped at the entrance of the teaching building and smiled.
“In that case, please excuse me.”
“Wait!” Kiana called out to me and leaned in, her blue eyes staring straight at my face.
“Do you…
not like us?”
“Kiana!” Raiden Mei gave her a light pull.
“I just feel like, although you’ve been smiling the whole time, it’s like…” Kiana tilted her head, seemingly searching for the right words.
“Like there’s a layer of glass in between?
Bronya, what do you think?”
Bronya nodded.
“Student Arthur Le’s facial muscle movement patterns exhibit high repeatability, and the variation in the curvature of his smile is extremely subtle—practically nonexistent.
It belongs to the category of social expressions rather than emotional expression.”
Me: “…”
Are transfer students these days all this terrifying?
“Sorry, Kiana is just blunt.” Raiden Mei tried to smooth things over, giving me an apologetic smile.
“Thank you very much for showing us around, Student Arthur.
I hope we didn’t waste too much of your time.”
“Not at all,” I smiled.
“Well then, goodbye.”
As I turned to leave, I heard Kiana muttering in a low voice.
“The way he walks is also very strange, like a machine…”
I quickened my pace.
It wasn’t until I returned to my dorm room and closed the door that I breathed a sigh of relief.
What a hassle.
New students being too sharp is also a problem.
But as long as I keep my distance, there shouldn’t be much interaction.
I walked to the mirror and looked at the face inside.
The long blond hair was indeed a bit messy, so I gave it a quick brush with my hand.
Green eyes, a gentle smile—the standard professional expression.
I tried to relax my facial muscles, and the smile slowly faded, revealing an expressionless face.
It looked a bit unfamiliar.
Forget it.
I lay down on the bed, closed my eyes, and tried to call out to that unreliable system.
“little tree?”
[Loading…
Current progress 87%…
Please wait…]
Still that same line.
Yesterday, this thing suddenly popped into my head, calling itself the “Imaginary Tree Auxiliary System AI,” code-named “little tree.” it said it wanted to recruit me to work for the Imaginary Tree, something about saving the world, becoming a Deliverer, yadda yadda yadda.
Then it started loading, and it’s been loading until now.
Unpaid labor, no wage description, I haven’t even seen a labor contract.
If it weren’t stuck in my head and impossible to remove, I would definitely complain about this illegal employment practice.
But…
the Imaginary Tree.
The name sounds pretty impressive.
If it really is some high-level entity, maybe there’s a reward for completing tasks?
Bonuses?
Performance commissions?
Thinking of this, I felt a slight spark of interest.
Money talks.
If this “God” really exists and is willing to pay, then I don’t mind taking this job.
[Loading complete.
Imaginary Tree Auxiliary System, activated.]
A clear electronic voice suddenly rang in my mind, completely different from the previous stuttering prompt.
I immediately sat up.
[Candidate detected: Arthur Le·Ge Meng·Jeanne d’Arc (Code: Arthur).
Identity confirmed.
System binding complete.]
[Welcome.
I am your auxiliary AI, little tree.
From today onwards, I will assist you in completing various tasks assigned by the Imaginary Tree.]
A translucent blue interface floated before my eyes, simply designed with several icons in the center: [Task], [Status], [Inventory], [Communication].
It actually looks quite professional.
I clicked on [Status].
Name: Arthur Le·Ge Meng·Jeanne d’Arc (Arthur)
Age: 17
Current Identity: First-year student at St.
Freya Academy, Imaginary Tree Mender
Honkai Energy Adaptability: B+
Honkai Energy Resistance: A-
Comprehensive Combat Assessment: C (Rating standard: Anti-Honkai combat capability)
Assets Held: 14,260 yuan (St.
Freya Academy allowance account)
It even shows my account balance?
What about privacy?
[This is necessary information collection for the convenience of task settlement,] little tree’s voice responded directly to my thoughts.
[Your right to privacy is protected by the highest clauses of the Imaginary Tree.
Please rest assured.]
“Task settlement?” I caught the keyword.
“There are rewards?”
[Yes.
After each task is completed, you will receive corresponding rewards based on the evaluation, including but not limited to currency, special items, and ability enhancements.]
Excellent.
Money.
Now that’s within my area of expertise.
I clicked on [Task].
There was only one entry in the list:
Main Task (Prologue): Observer
Description: As a contractor of the Imaginary Tree, your primary task is to observe and record.
Please pay attention to the daily behavior and state changes of the following three individuals over the next week: Raiden Mei, Kiana Kaslana, and Bronya Zaychik.
Requirement: Record at least one valid observation (close contact for more than 10 minutes or observing clear abnormal behavior).
Time Limit: 7 days
Initial Reward: 5,000 yuan
Evaluation Reward: Based on the completeness and depth of the observation records, an additional reward of up to 20,000 yuan.
My gaze lingered on the three names: “Raiden Mei, Kiana Kaslana, Bronya Zaychik.”
A coincidence?
Or had this so-called Imaginary Tree planned this long ago?
And this task…
Observation?
Recording?
It doesn’t sound dangerous.
The rewards are quite substantial, though—a base of 5,000, potentially reaching 25,000.
Earning this much in a week is far higher than the academy’s allowance.
But, what does “abnormal behavior” refer to?
[This information requires your own judgment,] little tree replied.
[The system is only responsible for recording and settlement.]
Fine.
A worker doesn’t need to know all of the boss’s intentions; they only need to know when the wages will be paid.
I closed the interface and lay back down.
Observing three new classmates, contact for over ten minutes.
Not difficult.
I can make use of the follow-up from showing them around—right, Major Himeko might even ask me for help again.
And since they just transferred, there will always be times when they need to ask for directions or help.
Using the minimum social cost in exchange for the highest reward.
It perfectly aligns with my code of conduct.
The sunlight from outside shone through the glass, casting square patches of light on the dorm floor.
I stared at the ceiling and began to map out my “observation plan” for the coming week.
First, find a reason to approach them tomorrow.
For example, proactively ask if they need further help getting familiar with the academy facilities.
I could suggest taking them to the library, the training grounds, or the cafeteria—although I hate crowded places, I’ll endure it for the sake of money.
Second, the recording.
What needs to be recorded?
Words and deeds?
Emotional changes?
Any special behaviors?
Finally, maintain distance.
I can’t be so distant that I can’t observe, but I can’t be so close that I get into trouble—especially emotional trouble.
My goal is money, not romance.
Thinking of this, I rolled over with satisfaction.
Working isn’t shameful.
As long as the pay is enough, what does observing a few classmates matter?
But…
these three people always feel like they aren’t simple.
Whatever, why think so much.
Observe, record, take the money.
It’s that simple.
I closed my eyes and began to calculate the income after this week’s task was completed, as well as how this money could be allocated.
As I thought, a genuine smile unconsciously curled onto my lips.
The scent of money is always so reassuring.
[Day One Observation Log has automatically opened.
Recording started.]
The system prompt sounded in my mind.
I ignored it and continued my financial planning.
Outside the window at St.
Freya Academy, the sunlight was just right.
And in a corner where no one noticed, the threads of fate had already begun to quietly intertwine.