Silvana noticed the oddity coming both from her mother and father. They were becoming more transparent by the second, and she didn’t like that.

A crestfallen expression was left on her mother’s face as she came closer to her daughter along with Harmis.

Although she didn’t want to believe it, Silvana understood it very well. Biting her lip, she lowered her head, not wanting to show it to them.

Together, although it wasn’t possible, they tried to hug her, at least acting so.

Still not seeing them, she suddenly felt something touch her. A gentle, soft pair of hands raised her head. She saw it. With a smile on her face, tears were dripping from her ghostly face before Midena kissed Silvana’s forehead.

At the same time, she felt something prodding at her chest, right where her heart beat hesitantly.

With the same smile as his wife, Harmis’s gaze softened as he stared at his daughter.

“Lorine. That’s what we wanted to call you. Lorine Nollia. The daughter of Midena and Harmis Nollia.”

The night met her eyes, no longer seeing a certain pair of people in front of her.

However, just at that moment, she heard two voices speak to her ears at once.

“We love you, Lorine.”

Frantically turning around, she tried to look for their silhouettes, only to see the barren, empty land of this place.

For a while, Conall and Silvana stood still, with her back turned to him.

Only after a few minutes did he speak, a soft tone reaching her.

“Silvana?”

“Lorine. You should call me Lorine from now on.”

She turned around, a prominent smile shined on her face as she revealed pearly white teeth to him. However, quickly enough, it started to shake while tears began to trickle down onto the dark ground.

Walking closer, he brought her into his embrace, hugging her as tight as he could, for all of the ones she missed.

Repricocating, Lorine hugged him just as tight, sobbing while her heart cried out.

…

Surrounded by buildings, with the lecture palace in the very front, Lurius stood around the center of the academy’s plaza where countless paths connected and a large, white fountain that sprayed lustrous, bright blue waters.

With the fountain behind him, he watched as thousands of students started to walk away slowly, having gathered today to witness the opening of the teleportation gates.

Staring at the completely different buildings and environments beyond the portals, the student’s excitement reached a zenith.

Three on each side of the fountain, the portals were always open, and the kingdoms that allied themselves with the academy had built educational sites of Laufiel in their capitals, allowing students to not go back if need be.

Officially, they have unified themselves with the entire continent.

Only one hundred students were allowed to visit each portal on the opening day as to not overcrowd the professors stationed inside the kingdoms.

Watching as most of the students went back to either the dorms or the training dome, Lurius also started to fly away, to where his tower was stationed.

In a few seconds, he was already inside his office, staring at the girl sitting behind his desk, diligently sorting out the papers while scouring through their meanings.

Her light pink hair flowed like a rose, a smile always pestered on her face. Noticing that her father finally arrived, she opened her mouth.

“Did it go well?”

Einna asked, to which Lurius smiled.

“It did. Everyone is excited about teleporting to the kingdoms and the empire. THe foreign students even more so.”

Although he said that, there was a tinge of melancholy ringing in his voice. Noticing it, his daughter put away her gaze from the papers.

“That’s good, then, no? Isn’t that what you wanted, dad?”

With a shallow sigh, Lurius looked down at the silver ring on his left hand before answering.

“The heavenly order has finally started to move after a decade. It bothers me.”

“Those guys, huh? I heard what they did in the point hunt. I guess we just have to increase the academy’s vigilance.”

Once again, Lurius sighed, as that was precisely what he worried about.

“That’s the issue. I have a nagging feeling their poison has deeply affected us from within. I don’t know who to order.”

“Maybe Conall knows something.”

Einna said all of a sudden, making his eyes glimmer in confusion.

“What would that boy know? Just because he is lucky doesn’t mean he’s knowledgeable.”

He reprimanded his daughter, however, the more he thought about it, the weirder Conall became.

There were quite a few times where the boy had surprised him, mainly the information about Silvana’s hidden cameras, or the ticket to the Kreon Dungeon.

The cameras were very well hidden magic circles that camouflaged themselves with the surroundings. Not to mention the magicless him, even the Golden Eyneir couldn’t decipher it.

At the same time, the dungeon wasn’t accessible to the students, it was a part of the academy, but not inside the grounds like the other ones. It was isolated from others, because it couldn’t be moved away from its place.

All of a sudden, the dean started to wonder if Conall was himself a part of the Order, but those thoughts quickly perished away.

There was no way he would have come from the Order, precisely because of the lack of a mana core Lurius had sensed before. They wouldn’t nurture a weed that was dead from the beginning.

‘Unless they made him that way, but that’s highly unlikely.’

Admitting defeat to the little girl compared to his body, he still doubted Conall would know something.

“By the way, dad, do you have any idea when they will be coming back? It’s been more than half a month now.”

“They should be coming back soon. the Atrophy Mountains will start to reveal themselves in ten days and Silvana has one of my tokens.”

“I see. Do you think I could participate?”

With firm and resolute eyes, he replied briskly, the very moment she ended the question.

“No.”

Looking at the eyes she was making, Lurius couldn’t help but shake his head. However, his reaction was swiftly overridden as he felt something enter the academy’s invisible barrier.

“They’re back.”

Before Einna could show him her uplifted mood, he was already gone, floating above the ground and standing in Lorine’s path. Looking at her speed, it had definitely increased, and that only meant one thing.

As soon as she stopped before him, he asked.

“Silvana, have you increased your control?”

Although still with her usual, passive face, her reply left him speechless.

“It’s Lorine now, dean Lurius. Lorine Nolliah.”

He had never heard her be so expressive before. Silvana, no, Lorine was always like a tough brick wall that he couldn’t break down no matter what, despite all his efforts to make her stay in the academy comfortable.

Scratching the back of his head, he proposed to the three people on the broomsticks.

“The lectures have been canceled because of the gate opening, so how about you tell me and Einna about your adventures?”

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

With a soft nod, Lorine agreed, flying behind him.

After a while, a group of four gathered around a table. Juliette was missing, however, she had a great reason for her absence. She needed to get some sleep after almost three days of being awake.

Leaving her on the ground, Lorine entered the Dean’s tower along with Conall, who hopped onto her broomstick.

Getting inside, the witch girl was immediately assaulted by a flowery-scented girl, who ran up to her the moment she saw the witch behind her father.

Still behind the open doors, Conall didn’t know what to do, so he simply waited for them to finish hugging.

“Did you have a good trip?”

Lorine looked at a blossoming smile plastered on her face before nodding.

“Yes, it couldn’t have gone any better.”

Stunned, Einna’s eyes widened for a second while the smile disappeared. For a second, she could have sworn to have seen Silvana smile. Worried that something might be up, she quickly voiced her concerns.

“Silv, is everything alright?”

With Silvana glancing at the dean, Einna turned her head only to see her father chuckling. It was also at this time that she noticed the red-haired boy standing behind the girl.

Abashed, she quickly moved away from Lorine and hid behind Lurius, a rosy hue pervading her face.

The dean quickly moved, arranging something for the four of them to enjoy in peace.

After a while, they found themselves sitting in a luxurious place, even though it was only a table in Lurius’s mansion.

Having delivered them food one would find at a royal dinner, the dean dismissed the servants as he wanted to speak in privacy.

Staring at the beautiful landscape beyond the dining room’s ornate windows, Conall suddenly recalled the similar look that kept nagging him.

This part of the capital, as well as the mansion, was possible to be bought in the game after the order killed Lurius. Though, the price was exorbitant and the buying option was only accessible to the higher nobles. Conall only bought it once when he played the game.

Still, the thoughts were quickly forgotten as he once again felt a stare. Directing his gaze at the person, she quickly looked away one more time, as though it wasn’t her.

Conall couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly as he stared at the fidgety Einna. Going back to cutting the sirloin on his plate, he listened to the awkward silence that permeated the room.

Surprisingly, after a while, it was Einna who broke it.

“If you don’t mind, Lorine, why did you change your name?”

Lorine quickly stopped slicing the piece of fine meat before looking at her with a slight shake of her head.

“I didn’t change it. I simply acquired my rightful name.”

Listening calmly to their light conversation, Lurius suddenly gripped the fork in his hand tighter before his eyes opened wider. He stared at the purple-haired girl that didn’t drop her pointy hat no matter what.

At first, he also thought that something was up with her, that something may have happened during the trip, but now, he dropped the fret, becoming baffled instead.

Putting on a serious look, Lurius asked.

“Is that what the trip was for? Did you actually find them?”

Since he was the one that gave her missions of finding the giants, he naturally knew why she searched for them, even if it took him quite a while to receive the information.

He knew just how hard of a mission it was. Like trying to find a certain droplet of water in an ocean, something that would most likely not be achieved even after her death.

So, once he saw her nod, he couldn’t help but drop the braised carrot that was on his fork, which bent in half under his pressure.

Turning to the mastermind of the trip, he quickly asked. His suspicions about the boy were growing with each second, and he showed it with the pressure around his body.

“How did you know?”

Not averting his gaze from the blue eyes of his, Conall replied with confidence.

“From Harmis.”

Unprepared for such an answer, he looked at Lorine for clarity, but she simply nodded one more time before saying something.

“Harmis is my father. Before his death, he told Conall where my mother, Midena, was.”

Something wasn’t right here, Lurius judged. He was an aura grandmaster, so he shouldn’t have experienced such a mental confusion as he did right now.

Like a flock of birds picking at his brain, he didn’t know how to reply with the sudden information. Harmis, the God of Giants, died? The Mother of Witches is her mother? Thinking of something all of a sudden, he needed to ask.

So, he turned to Conall once again.

“How did he die?”

Seeing the grin on the boy’s face, Lurius knew it wouldn’t be good for his head.

“He passed away after I acquired his heart.”

“What?!”

He stood up abruptly, making the dishes on the table vibrate. Shock filled his body, even more than the fact that Harmis was Lorine’s father.

“So, that’s why the potion was so potent. As I thought, a normal heart wouldn’t be so good.”

Scratching his chin, Lurius wondered while Einna asked him to sit properly with an agitated look on her face.

After a while of being silent while thinking to himself, he finally spoke up. The things the pink-haired girl said to him a few minutes ago resounded in his mind like thunder.

“Are you a part of the Heavenly Order? Were you a part of it in the past?”

The sudden question made his daughter want to punch him, but Conall gestured that it was fine.

“I have no connections with them. I despise them, so I won’t even joke about it.”

Sensing the truth, Lurius nodded.

“Great. We have already found countless students that have joined them. It would be a shame if I had to kill you.”

“Though, I do have some information about them I think you might appreciate.”

“Tell me. I will reward you heavily if it’s true.”

“I don’t care about that, but if that’s what you want then alright.”

“What’s the information?”

“If I told you that signing the treaty was the Order’s plan, would you believe me?”

Unfortunately for the new fork in the dean’s hand, it hadn’t lived a long life as he bent another one. This time, it was due to anger.

“I wouldn’t want to believe it, but something tells me it’s true.”

He already had his doubts in the past, ones he wished weren’t true, yet it seemed like he still fell in their trap.

“Tell me, is it Eyneir? He was the one to get the Eights to go to the academy, as well as the one to get the treaties going.”

“He is a part of them, but you don’t have to worry about the goldens. I will deal with them with enough time. For now, keep an eye on Morgana and Vilathe, but don’t do anything to them.”

“Are you doubting my strength, boy? I could kill them within a blink of an eye.”

Conall’s smile faded as he looked at dean Lurius. He had no doubts about his might. The headmaster was at the verge of becoming a Transcendent, after all. However, the Order wasn’t weak, by no means whatsoever. Both in quantity, and quality.

If they were to suddenly start a war, Conall feared they might be capable of killing Lurius, even if they lose a lot of their members.

Despite the pressure he was experiencing, he replied calmly to the strongest magical knight.

“Yes, I am. Fifty percent. Do you know what that means?”

“Are you kidding me?”

He immediately understood it. It couldn’t mean the amount of students since that was far too large. Professors, then? Although it was unthinkable, it was possible, as much as he hated that idea.

Seeing Conall shake his head, Lurius heaved a defeated sigh. What was the reason to trust the Grade C’s words? His strong intuition that came from his high level told him.

“You said goldens before. Are all of them from the Order?”

With a dead-serious look, the boy nodded, and Lurius almost broke down, Einna comforting him from the side.

“How do you know all of this? And why have you told us?”

With a final question about the matter, Lurius asked as he quickly collected himself.

Conall’s stupid smirk returned as he pointed his finger upwards, his gaze remaining in place.

“Because I’m the Goddess’s chosen one.”

“So, you’re a hero?”

“Well…”

…

The dinner lasted quite a while after Conall revealed the staggering information. Though, their conversations were no longer about the Heavenly Order, but rather, the trio’s adventures.

Because of their mutual trust, he didn’t hesitate to show the father and daughter the famous dragonheart. Lurius even offered to buy it off of him, but he declined before he could even name a price.

Giving them a piece of raw dragon meat, Lorine and Conall went on their ways, preparing for the Kreon dungeon after getting permission from Lurius.

The boy didn’t forget to train during their travels, so his stats almost reached the brink of the Grade C, but they still lacked a few points.

Also, despite leaving the dean’s tower, he never got to hear what Einna actually wanted to say, even though she had been constantly looking at him with desperate eyes. Although somewhat interested, he quickly forgot about it while finally entering the academy’s forest, the same one where the point hunt took place.

Most of the dungeons inside were closed off today because of the portal opening, and he ruled that it was also the best day to do his light training.

“Olghar! Come out!”

Entering, he immediately shouted, using his hands to spread the voice far out.

“What the hell are you screaming for? You could have called for me in your head.”

Behind him, a man with pure black hair and transparent, green wings appeared. Floating above the ground, he put on a tired look, especially after finding out who called for him.

No, as Conall saw it, he was actually quite angry.

“What? Did you think I was Vayna?”

“Don’t you dare utter her name without a reason!”

Smiling at the fairy bursting with anger, he couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly.

“Aren’t you happy I’m seeing you? Don’t you think it’s lonely in here?”

“I have plenty of fun on my own. Besides, it’s your first visit here, almost a month after the event. I was thinking you started to chicken out with that idea of yours.”

“Are you sure? Weren’t you just scared of me ruining the forest with a flood of monsters?”

“I will simply take away from your beast crystals for all the trees you damage. I need a lot of mana to grow them back quickly enough.”

“Stop lying. With your grade, you could grow them in seconds.”

Conall rolled his eyes at the fairy. Did he dislike him that much?

“Not after you lot left me almost bald. Do you know how many trees I had to regrow after those Order jerks?”

“You’re acting like this isn’t your daily job.”

“Tch. Stop being such a smartass.”