Their five person dinner ran late into the evening. Once they settled the bill—discounted due to their student status—they split into two groups. Albion, Titus, and Conrad all decided to, in their words, “hit a huge gaming session” to “absolutely wreck some noobs.”

“I don’t think they’ll win much...” Celeste ventured as she watched the trio walk off while play-fighting and bantering with each other. Alone with Nyssa once more, her hand wandered, and after a few nervous brushes, she laced her fingers together with Nyssa. “What do you think, Nyssa?”

“No, I agree,” Nyssa squeezed Celeste’s hand as they turned and walked in the other direction. “Now that I’ve been living in the dorms... I uhm... understand where you’re coming from. I can hear their defeats quite clearly at night, and it doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in their skills.”

“You can say that again,” Celeste snorted before motioning forward. “What do you want to do now? We could just... go back to our own rooms, or we could go do something? I’m fine with anything.”

“Do you know any events that are happening tonight?” Nyssa squinted her eyes as she stared off into the distance towards a gleaming display board in front of the dorms. “I’m... also fine with anything.”

“Let’s go take a look then,” Celeste pulled Nyssa along as they broke into a jog. Her brown hair and Nyssa’s white hair fluttered in the wind behind them as they ran. Together, as a pair of girls running along the street under the evening glow of the streetlights, they drew a couple of momentary glances before people lost interest

Not even out of breath by the time they got to the board, the two squeezed by a small crowd of people buying ice cream at the adjacent stand to get a better look at the board. Nyssa, craning her neck to see the board in its entirety, tapped her chin with her free hand. “Fireworks show? That’d be nice...? Maybe? There’s also a... self-constructed paddle boat competition at the lake too.”

“Oh wait, aren’t Ryker and Electra competing in that?” Celeste’s eyes brightened as a faint spark of recognition went off in her mind. “That’s why the Class One people dragged them off, right? Because they had to prepare for the competition?”

“... I was half-dozing while walking, I don’t remember...” Nyssa confessed, hiding her face with a hand as a few embarrassed laughs left her lips. “Let’s go support them then, what do you say?”

“Sounds good to me,” Celeste agreed, her mind doing a joyful backflip. We could lean on each other during the fireworks afterward! Plus, it’ll be dark and loud, so... what if I confessed? That wouldn’t be too bad right?

... R-Right?

But what if she doesn’t hear me... that’s a classic trope...

Well... just going together would be nice too, even... even if I don’t confess.

As a similar, yet also dissimilar train of thought ran through Nyssa’s mind, they walked into the dorm building, up to the Class Zero floor, and to their adjacent rooms. Bidding each other a temporary goodbye, they agreed to meet each other in a couple minutes right in the hallway before entering their rooms.

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Once the door closed behind her with a ‘click,’ Nyssa fought the urge to dive into bed and, instead, walked over to the wardrobe to pick out some warmer clothes for the evening. After picking out an outfit more for comfort rather than style, she paused for a second.

Well, I am going out with Celeste in this case... so... it wouldn’t hurt to look a little better.

She put a couple pieces of clothing back. A moment of thinking later, she pulled out a different top and jacket. I think these two match a little better... especially with the skirt and tights I’m wearing right now.

Speedrunning the process of changing, she cracked the door open just as Celeste did the same. But, before they could laugh and make a comment about it, their phones buzzed with two notifications. With the sound of an ‘important announcement’ coming from their phones, they paused their actions and checked.

[Administration Announcement: Due to an emergency summon from the Society of Hunter’s, Roxanne’s guest seminar will be pushed back. A rescheduled date will be published once more details about the situation are known. We know everyone was excited, but this, sadly, is something outside of our control.

And, don’t worry, as her father, I’ll make sure she comes.

With warm regards,

Kaiser Ravenstein]

I expected that one... Sent out so quickly though...

Screenshotting the announcement, she sent it to Roxanne through their private messages with an attached note. [I’m looking forward to when you come to our school! :p]

Content after channeling her inner cheeky bastard for a moment, Nyssa leaned against Celeste who had walked over beside her while opening and reading through the second announcement.

[Class Zero Announcement: Angelica, here, I assume you all have read the broader administration announcement. Because of that we’ll be moving our own field exercise up, especially since I’ve already gotten a reply from all your parents giving permission.

Tomorrow during class we’ll talk over the details, what to expect, and what to pack. I’ll give you the afternoon to pack and we’ll leave by evening. It’s a fairly long journey, so we’re taking an overnight train, trying to sleep through it.

Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow. Don’t wear yourselves out too much tonight. Try to relax and unwind.

Angelica]

“Unexpected... but also expected,” Celeste murmured as she read the announcement from Nyssa’s phone. “Any idea on what its going to be like?”

“Not at all... I’m a little nervous in all honesty,” Nyssa put her phone away. “I’m not very good at fighting unlike my older siblings. I kind of just... exist.”

“You’re plenty strong,” Celeste reassured as they began making their way back to the ground floor. “Plus, it’ll be easier for the rest of us too, now that we aren’t sparring against each other, but monsters, we can just let loose and run wild.”

“M-Maybe not fully run wild,” Nyssa looked at Celeste with a worried eyebrow furrow. “I don't want you to accidentally blow your heart up or something...”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, I won’t, I have it all under control,” Celeste hugged Nyssa with a laugh, rocking with her in place as they stood in the elevator. “I mean... I don’t have it under control fully, but I have my limits under control... you know what i mean. Thank you for caring for me~”

Nyssa, without a response, could only let out a faint, dissatisfied harumph as she returned Celeste’s hug until the elevator doors opened where they returned to holding hands.

“To the lake~!” Celeste cheered, her mood floating among the clouds as she walked alongside Nyssa.

Nyssa, along a similar vein, made a small cheer of her own as they, together, broke out into faint laughter, oblivious to the gazes they drew from nearby students.