It was about a week after the Magician’s troupe first mission but its members are still reeling from the experience. Hence, they are given a special schedule for therapy and special classes to make sure that they don’t get left behind. Thankfully, this will only affect their morning classes so the afternoon PaleoMageo class was left unscathed. This meant that for the morning classes, at least, the team was separated into pairs: Artian and Estelle, Sylvester and Rossa.

The therapy sessions themselves weren’t that strange. The patient simply talks to the therapist and is given adequate advice while under the effect of a special spell that relieves stress. After the therapy session, Sylvester met up with Rossa on the way to their special class with their professor, Bridget Bishop. As the two met up at a designated spot, they gave each other a greeting before walking towards their class.

It is not an understatement that the four members of the Magician’s troupe forged a much closer bond after the Lich battle, creating a link of mutual trust and respect. This also meant that they started to get more invested in each other’s well being and as such, there is one person all of them are most worried about.

“Good Morning there Rossa.” Sylvester greeted first.

“Good morning to you too, Sylvester.” She replied.

“How’s your therapy going on? I think I’m almost done with it.” Sylvester asked, with concern in his voice. He noticed that Rossa seemed to have been affected the most with their battle given how much she broke down during the aftermath.

While Artian and Estelle were a bit shaken as well, it was Rossa that was affected the most as she was even having a hard time to sleep. Estelle herself was greatly concerned for her friend and often asked Sylvester to keep an eye on her during their class.

Rossa, the proud and very stingy duchess was now quite lethargic and a bit more mellow. The battle against the Lich and whatever it turned into as the fight went on has had a very negative effect on her. She looked discouraged and depressed and while she tried her very best to hide it, her newfound friends could read her like an open book.

“I think it’s going fine. I don’t get nightmares now at least.” She replied, trying her best to smile.

Sylvester wanted to try and comfort her but he didn’t know what to say. Up until now she had been leading a different kind of life and most importantly he also knows that people react differently to these kinds of situations. So in the end he just decided to listen.

“I see, that’s good to hear. We were really getting worried about you.” He declared.

“I’m sorry. I,-I didn’t know I would act like this once the chips were down. In the end I learned much more about myself due to this experience.” She began explaining.

“You, Estelle, and Artian are very strong people. You guys have managed to bounce back much quicker while here I am still dragging my feet.”

Sylvester right now wanted to respond but forced himself to stop in his tracks.

“After the battle, it really put my views into perspective I guess? Getting that close to death made me realize how much better I had it before. Funnily enough I think my past grievances seemed so insignificant compared to what I have now.” She paused.

“Looking back, I really think I was just a spoiled child throwing a tantrum.” She said in a disjointed expression.

“Well, you are a daughter of a Duke household. I think getting spoiled is part of the course right?” Sylvester said in his characteristic joking tone, much to Rossa’s chagrin.

“You are a very rude man, you know?” Rossa replied with an annoyed expression.

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Jokes aside, you shouldn’t really compare the path you traveled to get here to the one I or anyone else took. Everyone has a story, everyone has their own heartaches and pains. Different perspectives means one thing will not be equal to another, and thus one's character cannot always be judged based on their past.” He paused as he smiled to look at Rossa’s sullen face.

“But the fact that you acknowledged it means that you are growing and are striving to move forward. It doesn’t matter where you started, all that matters is how far you will go.” He concluded as Rossa’s eyes had a small glimmer of change.

“I see. Thank you, you may act like a bumbling fool who likes to do things tediously over the top, but you are surprisingly wise.” Rossa replied.

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“And now you’re being much more sassy and sarcastic. Is this a sign of your growth?” Sylvester joked as Rossa simply smiled back.

“You should be happy, after all I was giving you praise.” Rossa defended herself with a fake air of superiority.

“Thanks I guess.” Sylvester replied as he let out a short laugh.

As they continued to walk a female voice that Sylvester was all too familiar came ringing into his ears, growing closer and closer by the moment. “Syl!” The voice yelled prompting Sylvester to turn around and there he saw a youthful looking woman with blonde hair and blue eyes waving her hand into the air as she walked closer.

It was his mother Claria Clearsight who had obviously come to check up on their son. Due to a case they were handling, the pair of doting parents were unable to visit Sylvester immediately, only finding a short window of opportunity to do so.

“Oh, hi mom!” Sylvester waved back, smiling towards his visitor.

“Hi there sweetie!” Claria almost went for a hug when she suddenly noticed the silver haired girl beside Sylvester prompting her to stop her motion. Her eyes then scanned Rossa from head to toe as if trying to convince herself that she wasn’t seeing things. With a smile forming on her face, Claria finally spoke again. “Oh, who might this be?” Claria asked Sylvester, prompting him to introduce his companion.

“Oh this is my friend Ross-” He suddenly halted his speech when Rossa gestured for him to stop.

“Let me do it myself.” She demanded and Sylvester didn’t object.

“Sure, fine. Go ahead.”

Rossa then touched the sides of her long skirt and bowed slightly towards Claria before speaking. “I am Rossa Argentum, daughter of the duke of Argentum from the kingdom of Vanicares.” She said in a polite and dignified tone making Claria gasp in glee. “OH! So you are that special foreign student the headmaster mentioned before!” She suddenly blurted out.

“How are you my dear? I hope my son isn’t causing any troubles for you, he can be quite a handful at times.” She suddenly declared, much to the embarrassment of Sylvester. “Really mom? Really?” Sylvester said in a disappointed tone as he shook his head. Rossa on the other hand found this scene amusing as she finally got a glimpse of Sylvester getting fully dismantled.

A playful smile formed on her face as she looked towards Sylvester direction, even though there were no words spoken verbally or telepathically, Sylvester had a really bad hunch that Rossa would try and mess with him. Fortunately she decided to hold back.

“Oh no, he has been very helpful really. He did save my life.” And all of a sudden, her mood seemed to sink from a playful one to a more depressive tone.

However, she immediately realized what she was doing and picked herself back up and forced herself to show a smile. But Sylvester knew all too well what was going on in her head.

“Speaking of which.” Rossa suddenly spoke. “I think I should be going ahead to class.”

“What?” Sylvester suddenly asked.

“You should spend this free time we have to talk with your parents, I’m sure they are worried. In the meantime I’ll just go on ahead.” Rossa then looked at Claria and bowed. “If you’ll excuse me ma’am, I’ll be going now.” She then excused herself and started to walk away, only for Sylvester to call out again.

“Hey Rossa, you okay?” He asked and immediately she responded.

“Yes, I am fine. See you later.” She said as she made her exit.

Claria was silent throughout the whole exchange as she looked on with interest, only speaking up again once Rossa had completely left. “Oooh, what a fine catch you got yourself there little man. You’ve really grown up!” Claria teased her son.

“It’s not like that mom.” Sylvester clarified. “She’s a good friend I made recently, though I must admit I am a little worried for her after that whole Lich business. I don’t know if we’ll encounter something of that magnitude again after all.”

“Yes, she does seem like she’s still shaken up. I do hope the therapy is going strong.” Claria replied only for her to switch back into cheerful mom mode.

“Oh that’s right! Me and your father came here together but he uh visited Leonardo first.” She explained.

“Oh okay the-”

All of a sudden an elevator manifested itself in front of the mother and son duo and soon a tall man with dark hair and dark eyes walked out of it. He had a serious expression on his face, but it quickly softened the moment he laid eyes on Sylvester.

“Hi dad!” Sylvester greeted almost immediately.

“Hello there Sylvester. Are you okay?” Jericho suddenly asked.

“Yeah I’m fine dad, don’t worry too much. I’m a big boy magician, no stinky Lich can put me down!” Sylvester proudly declared as he thumped his hand on his chest.

“Yes dear, he surely has grown up. I saw him with a very beautiful girl earlier too!” Claria suddenly revealed.

“Mom, stop it. Rossa and I are just friends. You’ve been acting like this towards every female friend I made since elementary. It was awkward then, and it sure as hell is still awkward now.” Sylvester complained.

This calm scene however brought a relief inside Jericho’s heart as he saw that his son was still acting like his usual self. Sadly, the reunited family only had a very limited time to have a talk and soon they had to part ways since Sylvester still had class while his mom and dad had more business to attend to. However, even though the time spent was short, it was enough to give all three of them the peace of mind they needed.