“Want to play cards?” Charles Parker leaned in from the side. The “cards” he was talking about were actually a game most kids from ordinary families loved when they were young. They’d fold pieces of paper into rectangular cards, mark them with different numbers of dots, and then play by rules similar to poker.

George Miller and Jack Reed saw him pull out a somewhat worn set of yellow paper cards and immediately got interested. “Let’s do it, what’s the bet?” “Loser buys grilled meat or fish! One piece per round.”

The group squatted in a circle on the ground and started dealing cards right on a white stone. In no time, they were completely absorbed in the game.

Florence Reed stood under the shade of a tree, watching from afar as a few boys played a simple card game in the dirty mud and stones by the riverbank. Although there was no trace of disdain in her gem-like eyes, she still instinctively placed herself on a higher level, looking down. She and the students of this small city were simply from two different worlds.

She was only passing through this city, and had come out for a walk at the invitation of a classmate and good friend.

A girl with short red hair walked over and stood beside her, watching the boys busy themselves. “That Franklin Reed is my cousin, though we’re not close. The students here love nothing more than building a big bonfire and having a barbecue at night. Are you interested? I can ask them to include you later.”

“No, it’s too dirty…” Florence Reed frowned slightly. “I just came out to clear my head. I’d rather be alone for a while.”

After playing cards for a while, George Miller and the others all noticed that the group’s gazes kept drifting unconsciously toward the girls, which he found a bit amusing. While drawing cards, he very lightly and secretly drew an extra card and stacked it on top of another. Glancing at the other three, he saw that none of them noticed.

He repeated this a few times, then suddenly threw down his cards. “Sorry, I win.”

“Huh…?” The others were stunned for a moment, all showing confused and surprised expressions.

With a smile, George Miller calmly gathered up the cards. Seeing his three friends at a loss for words, he couldn’t help but think of the old George Miller.

Before he crossed over, whenever George Miller argued with his younger sister, he would always be completely defeated and beaten up with no chance to fight back. His sister Grace Carter, who was skilled in archery, martial arts, and athletics, was far from as delicate as she looked—her punches really landed. Ever since their parents got married, from the age of three, he’d been bullied by his two-year-old sister.

Whether it was playing cards or anything else, the old George Miller had no confidence and didn’t know how to adapt, so he failed at everything, grew less and less confident, and his spirit weakened. One big reason he started working out and practicing fighting was because he couldn’t beat his sister…

Remembering that even in junior high, before high school, he’d once been beaten to tears by his sister, George Miller’s smiling face twitched involuntarily.

“To be over ten years old and still get beaten to tears by your own sister… that’s seriously embarrassing. And I even hid in my room to cry in secret. No wonder our sibling relationship is so distant…” George Miller suddenly regretted crossing over into this body…

※ ※ ※ ※

Thwack!

A black-feathered arrow shot out from the bowstring, landing firmly on the edge of the bullseye on the distant target.

Grace Carter, dressed in a spotless white kyudo uniform, slowly lowered her longbow and exhaled lightly. “Still not steady enough…”

“That’s already very good, at this distance.” A blue-haired girl standing nearby said coolly, “If you can keep this up, I’ll hand over the position of vice-captain of the archery club to you.”

“Thank you for your support, senpai!” Grace Carter quickly bowed respectfully in response.

At St. Oriole Academy, student positions were different from those at ordinary schools. Senior student officers even had the right to participate in school administration and had a certain amount of authority over major school affairs—not just ordinary student leaders.

The blue-haired girl nodded. “Also, aside from that, I’ve already taken care of the incident where you beat someone up last time. Try to avoid doing that in the future, or at least don’t hit so hard—it’s a hassle to deal with.”

“Thank you so much, captain. I’ll restrain myself…” Grace Carter bowed again to admit her mistake. She knew the archery club captain always had high hopes for her and often helped her with trivial matters. She was the type who responded to kindness, not force, so she always felt guilty toward the captain. If it weren’t for her fighting, she would have become vice-captain long ago.

But the last time she fought, it was because…

Hearing her answer, the blue-haired girl nodded and went off to instruct other club members.

Grace Carter continued practicing alone, but after just a few minutes, a short-haired brunette girl ran in and whispered a few words to her.

Grace Carter’s expression changed instantly. “No matter how useless he is, he’s still my brother! Anyone who touches him is disrespecting me! Let’s go!” She put down her longbow and, still in her kyudo uniform, stormed out of the dojo in a fury. Several other tough-looking girls followed her out, making the scene look just like a gang leader and her crew.