Chapter 3

When you have been working hard outside all day, worn out by heavy work or studies, and you return home, what will you see when you open the door?

Will it be the warm greetings of your parents and the aroma of a hot dinner?

Or the gentle meowing of a pet cat and the slippers it brings to you?

Or perhaps, a young maid in a vacuum apron, blushing and asking, "Would you like to eat first, or... me?"

Cough, cough, it seems I've drifted off again. I should be more serious. We shouldn't mock the dreams of otakus, even if they are completely impossible to realize. Most otakus probably won't even see a cat when they get home, facing an empty, lonely house, a computer that never shuts down, and a pile of garbage and used tissues... Cough, cough, I should be more serious again. I got carried away. Where was I?

Hmm, home, a special and warm word, is a unique place for everyone.

No matter when, closing that door isolates you from the storms outside. From this moment until dawn, it is a world of your own heart.

No matter how hard the day has been, no matter how much criticism and pressure you've faced, once you get home and close the door, the storms are over.

A greeting, a whiff of tea, a warm rainbow light, all these can bring a weary traveler back to their own rhythm.

Lying on the sofa, watching TV, chatting with family, listening to complaints, and sharing your own, you might feel a bit drowsy, but there's a warm feeling that all this hard work is for moments like these.

And at this moment, Luoxia returned to the residence prepared for him by the academy. Perhaps, he received the most surprising... shock?

"What a surprise, seeing a headless corpse when I open the door! Even if the academy doesn't provide maids, they shouldn't provide corpses!"

That day, the tragic confession had become an indelible black history in his memory. Worn out, Luoxia returned to the dormitory, opened the door, and what he saw was a murder scene with blood all over the floor and a headless corpse lying on the carpet.

"Forget about the maid, even a cat would be nice. What kind of start is this with a dead body... Wait, I can't panic now. This is a murder scene, I need to preserve the environment until the professionals arrive."

As an amateur author who has read many detective novels, Luoxia immediately realized something was wrong.

His roommate, lying in the room, headless, was definitely dead.

"Amitabha, my unseen roommate, I probably won't know what you look like in this life."

Luoxia clasped his hands in prayer, a gesture to help the poor soul, and then continued to search for clues.

All the windows were tightly locked.

The front door was also locked before he entered with his key.

The key, which only he and his unseen roommate had, and the roommate's key... was in the blood.

The other key, the only one that could theoretically open this locked room and kill the victim, was in Luoxia's hand.

"A murder in a locked room, is this the legendary locked-room murder? Ha, I finally encounter a plot only found in detective novels... No, who would want to frame me to death just as I start school?"

The situation was not good, very not good.

In detective novels, those brilliant detectives always find bizarre and useless murder methods to solve the cases of bored killers with equally bored motives and setups...

But in reality, the police are efficient and will not hesitate to arrest the biggest suspect.

The first discoverer is often a major suspect, and the truth may not always come to light.

"Ha, only I and he can enter this room, and he's dead inside. So, the truth is only one: the murderer is... me!"

He still had time to complain, so Luoxia wasn't too nervous... Wait, what is he doing? He took out a towel and started wiping away the footprints he left when he entered! He carefully backed out of the room and took out his key to lock the door!

"Who wants to be the first discoverer and the first suspect! I'll just run away!"

Yes, that's right, good job, Luoxia. Your decision is very correct.

Hmm, he started wiping the blood off his shoes? Act faster, smart little Luoxia. In this situation, you should erase the evidence and run away!

Just as Luoxia was about to close the door, a familiar voice came from behind.

"...Little Luoxia, don't be sad. Isabella didn't reject just you. Come, let's go drink with the brothers... Oh my!"

Kals was a good friend, knowing how to comfort the "heartbroken" little brother... Ha!

At this moment, Luoxia, holding the key in one hand and a blood-stained towel in the other, looked at his shocked classmates, feeling helpless and not knowing what to say.

From the angle of the open door, the headless corpse in the blood was clearly visible, and the blood on Luoxia's fingers was still dripping from the towel.

In this situation, there was only one explanation...

"You might not believe me, but he attacked first... and died first. Yes, he committed suicide. I found him dead when I entered. Well, whether you believe me or not, I believe it."

Luoxia covered his face, not knowing what to say or what to do.

At this moment, Luoxia realized it was a trap.

What would happen next? A quick trial and imprisonment? From the start of school, everything seemed to be a trap, a pit dug for him to fall into.

"Luoxia, you... you..."

Kals pointed at Luoxia in disbelief, and the poor Luoxia was at a loss.

What would happen next, having seen hundreds of episodes of Detective Conan, he already knew.

Killed by an infiltrated assassin? Sentenced to death by a bribed judge? It seemed the mastermind behind his sister's death was not giving him any chance.

Considering the TV drama trope where running away leads to being shot on the spot but often results in a turn of events, Luoxia reluctantly gave up resistance and escape... Mainly because he looked at his small frame and calculated the power gap between him and the other students. Surrendering was the only option; otherwise, the mastermind could easily kill him if they had more tricks up their sleeve.

To avoid being accidentally "broken," Luoxia loosened his tight grip and looked up at the sky.

"Ah, the ceiling is really blue. My poor life, so short. Sorry, Luo Li, I didn't expect to join you so soon."

Luoxia was mentally prepared for the worst, but Kals's surprised question came from behind.

"...How did you see through it? Lynn Stur, your classic self-introduction was seen through, you should run now."

What? Run? What the hell?

Luoxia turned around, and a shocking scene unfolded before his eyes.

The headless corpse slowly got up, and Kals laughed as he helped him up.

"Let me introduce you. This is also an exchange student, Lynn Stur, the Headless Knight from the Siro Empire, and your new roommate. He accidentally lost his head again, so I had to introduce him for him."

Hmm, a headless knight? Who lost his head and can't speak? Very good, very impressive, very fantastical.

"Ha, very funny, right? This is our traditional welcome joke, always gets good reviews. You're the first to see through it instantly. Hmm, Lynn is asking if his fake death technique is still immature."

The headless Lynn placed his right fist on his chest, leaned forward slightly, and performed a standard knight's salute.

Oh, it was all a joke. There was no murder, no mastermind, just a welcome joke for new students.

Luoxia, with a blank look in his eyes, looked up at the sky.

Ah, such a blue ceiling. In the morning, I got a 3D gorilla card from a vampire, and in the afternoon, a headless knight asked me about his fake death technique. What kind of crazy world is this!

"Welcome joke? This joke is not funny at all! Bastards! Is it fun to bully a country bumpkin from Earth? I'll fight you!"

"Hey, hey, hey, it was just a joke, don't take it so seriously. Where's your sense of humor? Damn, didn't they say Earthlings love jokes? Wait, we're sorry, put down that toilet brush, it's just been used!"