Erica stuffed her schoolbag under the desk, took out the textbooks for morning self-study and last night's homework, and prepared to review seriously.
It is now 7:30 in the morning in the fourth district of the eastern capital star. The weather is sunny and the temperature is suitable. The God is in a good mood and Mr. Igor is in a good mood. This is a perfect start to a daily routine. However, Erica, who could have enjoyed a good life, has to go solo to the school dungeon.
The little girl looked a little unhappy.
The first-year junior high school curriculum was too easy for her. The reason she pretended to be absorbed in her studies was just to avoid the curious or malicious looks from the children around her.
The news that Erica had beaten Terry Griffin into the hospital had spread throughout the school.
After all, Griffin is a very prestigious surname in the capital.
In addition, Erica's parents went to the Griffin mansion to discuss compensation, but it turned out that Bishop Gilbert called an ambulance himself... The lethality of this family was too shocking. Although Langman Griffin himself said that this had nothing to do with his guests, it did not prevent others from thinking divergently and spreading rumors.
So Erica could hear the whispers of children around her all morning.
——Neither Igor nor Azathoth was thoughtful enough to consider changing her class or school. The former didn't think it was a big deal, and the latter had never thought about it at all.
Even Erica herself didn't want to trouble others because of this little difficulty.
She is used to solving problems on her own.
However, little Terry's frail physical condition last time left a huge psychological shadow on Erica. This time, even though there were a few annoying people chattering and pointing at her, Erica remained motionless and pretended not to hear anything.
Until the Alpha girl sitting diagonally below Erica couldn't help but look up and said, "Where did you hear all this news?"
The classmate who had been gossiping before said with a weak voice: "...My parents just overheard it when they were chatting, so what?"
"You're totally wrong." The girl raised an eyebrow. "Patriarch Griffin was discharged a long time ago. The hospital said his condition wasn't serious at all, probably just from recent stress. He just needed to rest at home. Why are you making it sound like he's terminally ill?"
Erica couldn't help but prick up her ears.
She had also heard the adults talk about these things, and Azathoth and Igor never avoided her when discussing serious matters.
Langman Griffin's diagnosis was true. Apart from occasional hallucinations, hyperactivity, or depression and irritability, his condition was basically no different from that of a normal person.
The most terrifying thing about this man was that even though he knew he might be mentally unstable, he could completely rely on willpower and rationality to separate any unconventional events from reality. In other words, after determining which part was an illusion, all he had to do was ignore it, control the negative impact of his mood, focus his attention, and put aside the unnecessary thoughts that occasionally popped up.
Even the next day, this person began to return to his normal work life. According to his secretary, the most significant difference from the past was that the frequency of swearing had increased by 50%.
Secretary: Our boss is like this. In the past, when he was in a bad mood, he was like a firecracker that would go off at any time. Now, he is just in a bad mood all the time.
"Well, he's in the hospital too... Maybe Erica is the one who brings bad luck..."
"Are you an idiot?" the Alpha girl said impatiently. "Is it fun to make up baseless stories? Maybe it's just that the Griffin mansion has bad feng shui. After all, it's the people who live there who suffer the most."
After saying that, she stood up by supporting herself on the table and walked straight to Erica's desk.
"Hello."
The girl, with a thick mop of curly red hair, held out her hand. "My name is Agnes Joyce, but my friends call me Anne...it's my middle name and my great-grandmother's name."
"Saint Anne," muttered the boy who had been arguing with her.
Erica blinked, feeling overwhelmed by this first extended hand of friendship. "Hello, my name is Erica, Erica Bacon."
"You came from Port Alpley, didn't you?" Annie said, glancing at the people around her. "Don't pay any attention to these people. They're only capable of gossiping behind your back anyway."
“Hmm…”
Erica followed Anne's gaze and found that the children were staring at her angrily but dared not say a word.
This is probably one of the big guys in the class.
Erica concealed her inner thoughts and smiled softly and sweetly (she was naturally soft and sweet). "Thank you."
"Nothing." Annie glared back at the others. "Class is almost time. Let's talk during break."
**
"Saint Anne is the title of my great-grandmother." Erica took the initiative to ask her question during lunch break, and Anne answered her with a familiar attitude, as if this was not her first time explaining it. "It's no big deal. If you stay at school for a few more days, everyone will be eager to explain this to you."
She held her head and tilted it to look at Erica. "After all, you are so cute. Others just don't have the courage to be the first to come over and talk to you like me."
"Ah...ah?" Erica realized this was another blind spot in her knowledge. "Why? I think they really hate me. After all, I'm a transfer student from the country, and I even let Terry into the hospital."
"Port Alple isn't exactly a rural area," Annie said, swinging her legs. "It's probably a promising development zone. Once the effects of the war subside, it might even become a 'small capital planet.'"
"As for the others in the class, some were instigated by their parents, who are vassals of the Griffin family, while others are simply fools who want to attract your attention in this way."
Erica looked at her in confusion and shock.
"Pfft, kids in the capital usually mature late. I used to go to the border with the church and even went to school in Port Alple for two years." Annie laughed and said lazily, "It feels completely different over there than in the capital, doesn't it?"
"Have you also been to Port Alple?"
"I've practically crossed every border of the Federation." Anne seemed uninterested when discussing this topic. "It's all because of my great-grandmother. She was known as the late bell of the age of magic. After the bell rang, the entire Federation never produced a single genius capable of withstanding the divine favor. The church's records say she could converse with the gods at any time, or even draw upon divine power to defeat her opponents... I know it sounds untrue, but that's what they wrote. And because I look so much like my great-grandmother, they've always hoped I'd achieve the same feats in my lifetime."
"This is something everyone knows. If you ask around, your classmates will be able to tell you."
"But instead of you receiving secondhand information from them, whether it's true or not, it's better for me to tell you in person."
Erica, who always has an evil god by her side, couldn't understand the difficulty of this pursuit for a moment.
She asked hesitantly, "You don't like this?"
"Alas," Anne sighed like an adult. "What can I say? It's a good thing that my great-grandmother is great. I've been treated well since I was born. It would be ungrateful to say that I haven't enjoyed the benefits of the title of Saint Anne."
Seeing her disappointed expression, Erica simply changed the subject: "...Speaking of which, aren't you worried about being affected by the Griffin family's revenge?"
"Huh? What?" Annie was stunned for two seconds before she reacted. "Oh, it's okay, don't worry. The head of the Griffin family has a good relationship with my aunt, he will definitely not make things difficult for me."
"My aunt is Viscount Joyce. You should have heard of her, right? Shirley Joyce, the head of the Federation's mecha research and development department. Because of her job, she has good connections with the bigwigs in the capital. Plus, I'm a descendant of my great-grandmother Saint Anne. Although I'm not a main branch of the Joyce family, as long as I don't cause trouble, no one will deliberately embarrass me."
Erica said sincerely, "That's wonderful."
Although the head of the Griffin family probably doesn't have the energy to avenge his youngest son's two baby teeth.
However, a group of large and small forces centered around the Griffin surname will still cause some trouble.
**
When school is over in the evening, the school gate is filled with cars of parents or drivers who come to pick up their children.
Erica had been with Annie all day, and their friendship had quickly blossomed. Coupled with the fact that before the second phase of gender differentiation, children's gender awareness wasn't very clear, and no one criticized their innocent friendship.
It must be admitted that Anne is a very knowledgeable girl.
She wasn't a genius like Erica, a traditionally intelligent person. Rather, her vast experience at such a young age had given her a mind and perspective far beyond her peers. She was also the first person Erica had ever met who she could chat with happily. Neither of them felt uncomfortable with the other's unique qualities, and their personalities were surprisingly compatible.
If nothing goes wrong, after three years of middle school, the relationship between the two children may develop into childhood sweethearts.
But the person who came to pick Annie up today was not her parents or the driver hired by the family.
Anne saw a familiar face from afar and excitedly pulled Erica to her side. "It's Aunt Shirley who's here to pick me up today! She might just be stopping by on her way home from get off work today."
Shirley Joyce was standing at the school gate. Although she and Anne shared the same last name, their appearance alone made it hard to tell they were related. Anne had fiery, flaming red hair and reddish-brown eyes. Most of the time, she was full of life around Erica, but when she turned cold towards other students she disliked, she had the power of a lion king.
Shirley has short white hair like winter snow, and a pair of ice-blue eyes that seem to contain frost.
She stood tall, seemingly over 1.75 meters tall. She wore a simple yet elegant English-style dress and four-centimeter high-heeled riding boots. She was like a sword unsheathed, so much so that everyone around her instinctively stood a little further away. A clear circle of one or two meters formed around Viscount Joyce, making her easily distinguishable in the crowd.
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