The following morning, in Cycelia's room…

Cycelia wakes up, and Straf's bed remains empty yet again. She lets out a large, sullen exhale as she's slipping her boots back on. As usual, she digs through her baggage for the required tome. She consciously notes that her baggage is now a lot more orderly and sorted than it was when she had arrived. Most of the tomes she ordered are now mere library-fillers, good only for re-reading and perhaps extracting bits of specialized information. She glances at the flashlight on her cluttered table, and ponders it for a few seconds. Ultimately, she decides to take it with her.

「Lia.」

Tisha simply says with her voice raised, holding her hand up to greet her at the merge of the dormitory and the main hallway along with Neela as she approaches them.

「Morning…」

She nods her chestnut head in response, and the three head out to join Damian on the way as nearly every day.

「Didn't sleep well today again?」

Tisha asks, looking at Cycelia's face held low. She briefly turns her emerald eyes to her, then looks down the hallway.

「I slept… It's just I barely see Straf anymore, since he's busy…」

She replies with a sigh, walking along with the two as she stares into the distance ahead.

「Chin up, Lia, he'll solve the problem soon enough.」

Neela says from her other shoulder, smiling lightly at her.

「Lia was close enough to solving it herself… Seriously, it's pissing me off. Academy town is nice, but we can't even go down there. I feel like finding him and teaching him to not mess with northerners-」

「Tisha, that's a bad idea.」

Neela cuts the northerner's rant short, and Tisha lets out an exasperated sigh in response.

「I knooow… But the term is almost up. Doesn't it make you mad? We haven't left even once.」

She looks at Neela past Cycelia, scrunching her mouth heavily to the side.

「It does, but… On the bright side, most of the exams are already behind us, and we might actually pass this term.」

Neela shrugs, looking up as she thinks. Tisha lets out another sigh.

「Yeah… I guess that's the silver lining…」

She agrees, and her blue eyes turn to the handsome student approaching them through the crowd.

「There he is…」

Tisha declares, and raises her hand up so that Damian can see them. The three join him, and continue along the general flow of the crowd to the classroom.

「Found Straf yet?」

He asks, walking a little ahead of them with his hands in his pockets.

「Nope.」

Tisha shrugs, replying for Cycelia, who looks at his back with a gloomy expression on her face.

「Tsk… What is he doing all day?」

Damian clicks his tongue in frustration, grumbling to himself.

「Who knows?」

Regardless, Tisha replies to his idle remark. He briefly glances at her over his shoulder, and they make their way to the classroom in relative silence, as none of them are willing to talk much this early…

…

During free period, in the cafeteria…

Damian and the girls pay for their food, and head for their usual seats. On the way, Damian looks around for the peculiar tall man, only to see the usual sea of unremarkable faces.

「…He's not even going to eat with us?」

He comments, swiveling his head left and right as he sits down. Cycelia looks at her tray with a sullen frown, and Tisha glances at Straf's empty bench spot.

「He has hot dogs…」

Tisha replies with a shrug of her shoulders, and slowly begins eating.

「…But how does it work?」

Her words cause Damian to interlock his fingers and rest his mouth upon them deep in thought in a pose strikingly similar to the headmaster.

「…Are they frozen? Salty? Coated in some deadly alchemical solution that kills flies?-」

He asks, spreading his hands in exasperation due to the hot dog hole mystery.

「Nope, nope aaand nope. It tasted just right, was nice and warm as if it was freshly cooked, and I'm not dead, so it can't be deadly. Nom.」

Tisha nonchalantly declares, and bites into her hefty cut of steak.

「I can't believe he has warm food on demand, and he chooses to steal…」

Damian grumbles as he takes his fork into hand, shaking his head.

「Might makes right… And he didn't steal it, he paid for it.」

Tisha swallows, and replies before Cycelia can. She glances at her, then returns her emerald eyes back to her tray.

「Right… The strong can do anything they please, and no one can stop them… Tsk…」

「Yup. It's pretty pathetic that this isn't the first thing you're taught down south.」

Tisha nods in agreement as Damian lowers his head with a vengeful tone. Neela looks at Tisha with disapproval in her gaze, but remains silent. Mages adhere to the same principle, after all.

「…Being able to blink, dodge attacks at crazy speed, and casting without any incantations aside… Straf could make a fortune by just carrying food around for armies.」

Damian grumbles, staring at his food with frustrated eyes.

「What makes you think that's not exactly what he did? He seems pretty rich to me.」

Tisha asks, glancing briefly at him.

「He's rich, and is stingy enough to pay a single gem for a pile of food?」

「If you were rich too, you'd know that's how rich people are. We save money on everything.」

「You don't save money at all. You're throwing it around.」

「It's my pocket change, do you have to count coins on your hand before you're sure if you can afford to buy a snack or something?」

Tisha asks with her brows raised, causing Damian to cringe.

「Guh…」

He grunts out as her words pierce deep.

「…That is kind of sad.」

She looks at him with a straight face, and her voice carries only a tiny hint of a mocking tone. Damian looks away with a sour expression.

「…This isn't fair. If I had any of his abilities, I wouldn't need to be a mercenary… Kuh.」

He grumbles, and lets out an anguished, frustrated breath out through his clenched teeth before angrily shoveling his food into his mouth and chewing rapidly.

「Well, life isn't fair… Some people are more special than others…」

「I know that…」

Damian replies with an annoyed tone, chewing with his mouth full.

「…But that doesn't mean you are not special.」

Tisha adds, looking at him with a completely serious expression. He gulps, looking at her with wary eyes.

「…Hmpf. As if. I'm just a guy. I'm not falling for that.」

He lets out a dismissive huff from his nose, turning his gaze back to the tray.

「Shame.」

Tisha declares in a completely normal, nonchalant tone and resumes eating, causing Damian's eyes to snap back to her, squinting a little. He blinks at his food, somewhat confused.

「Damian, you're heading to Professor Arkeis later, right?」

Neela suddenly chimes in, asking with her head tilted.

「Hm? Yeah… I was thinking I'll do that after the last class.」

「Isn't that a little dangerous?… It'll be getting dark by then.」

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Cycelia asks, joining the conversation with concerned gaze.

「It's fine. It's not like I'm going to linger there-」

Damian replies in a dismissive tone, shrugging his shoulders.

「I'll go with you, then.」

Tisha abruptly chimes in as well after a moment of silence, staring at him with a side eye.

「Tsk… You don't have to, and I don't want you to-」「Too bad, I'm coming anyway.」

Frustrated, he replies with his mouth scrunched. Tisha doesn't even wait for him to finish.

「Tsk… Suit yourself.」

Damian clicks his tongue again, turning his head away with an annoyed tight-lipped grimace. He huffs out of his nose, then continues eating his food in silence…

…

Donnnnngggg… Gonnnnnnnggggg… Donnnnnnggggggg…

The last bell for today tolls heavily, and loud shuffling begins in the classroom as students make their way to the door.

「Nooo! No! This isn't enough for the exam! Wait! Give me one more hour!…」

Professor Reise exclaims in dismay, watching the classroom rapidly bleed students.

「We're not allowed to stay an hour longer, professor. There's a curfew.」

Damian says loudly over the mass sound of the footsteps as he passes by him at the front. The tiny professor throws his arms up in despair, cringing.

The three girls join Damian outside the classroom just a moment later.

「Right, so see you two tomorrow-」

He says, looking at Neela and Cycelia.

「We're coming with you, actually.」

Neela cuts in, approaching closer. All of them are holding their tomes and notes underneath their arms, and Cycelia is additionally clutching onto the flashlight in her hand.

「Nhh… Well, I don't mind you coming along… But why?」

Damian lets out a troubled exhale, rubbing the back of his neck.

「The more the merrier, right?」

Cycelia asks, and glances at the other two. Damian sucks air in through his teeth.

「…Fine. Come, then.」

He says with a resigned sigh, and turns around. The girls follow him down the sparsely filled hallway…

…

Half an hour later, in the auxiliary building…

Damian is looking around with nervous eyes, glancing side to side at each crossing they pass, and back over his shoulder at each corner they take. Tisha is quick to notice.

「What's up?」

She asks, tilting her head a little. He looks at her with a tight-lipped grimace, hesitating.

「…I think it might have been a mistake to come here.」

He cryptically replies, alarming the girls a little.

「What? Why?」

Tisha asks, before glancing at Neela and Cycelia. Though still calm, they are growing visibly anxious.

「…Not only do I feel like someone is watching me, I can feel a presence shifting around. I can't tell if it's wrong, or someone is actually following us around… But it's too fast to be a student.」

He replies in a hushed voice, staring dead ahead. Neela covertly draws closer to Cycelia, clinging onto her shoulder.

「Wha-? Are you serious?… That's creepy…」

Tisha blinks at his back in disbelief, and glances over her shoulder herself.

「Yeah. You don't feel it?… Let's just get there, and get out…」

Damian nods, briefly glancing at her again. They continue onward through the dim hallway, looking around themselves with cautious eyes…

…

A few moments later, they make it safely to demonology. Damian opens the door and walks right in without knocking.

「Professor Arkeis? Headmaster Corvus asked us to check if you have a reply for him…」

He announces himself. The old man emerges from beyond a bookshelf across the room, and approaches them. Unlike many times before, he appears a lot less angry, though his face is still scowling.

「Why yes, I do…」

He says in a very obviously displeased tone, glaring at Damian and the girls, before turning around. He approaches his cluttered desk in a quick step, and picks up the envelope waiting for him.

「…To be perfectly clear… I don't want to see you here either. Stop checking on me. Stop checking if I have a reply. Stop coming back here. All of you.」

The gray-bearded old mage growls out, practically seething through his teeth. He holds the envelope out for Damian. The handsome student looks at it, briefly hesitating, then reluctantly takes it.

「Well, to be frank, Professor Arkeis… Your study is very out of the way, and I can't lie, coming here is a large bother. If I don't have to come here again, that'd be a great relief…」

Damian replies, and the man slowly strokes his beard with eyes narrowed at him.

「…Especially considering you treat us like we're some sort of invaders. Not even Professor Aria is as coarse as you. I don't know if you are not aware, but you come off as extremely rude.」

He adds, and the old man scoffs in response.

「Rude, is it?…」

He asks dismissively with a derisive smirk directed at Damian.

「That's right. I do not intend to be rude either… I am just informing you, because the headmaster believes you're not all that bad, but I don't see how.」

Damian nods, and turns around, walking past the girls towards the door. They glance at the old man, and follow him back.

「…It's just my personal feelings on the matter, professor. Don't take offense.」

He adds over his shoulder as he's walking away, and opens the door, holding it ajar for the girls. The man scoffs again, shaking his head as Damian shuts the door with a squeaky creak…

…

Another half an hour later, after a tense way back to the main building…

Damian and the rest let out a relieved exhale as they walk into the main hallway. The nervousness dissipates, and they take a turn towards the dormitories.

「Good grief… Whatever it was, it's gone now.」

「You weren't just making it up?」

Tisha asks, staring at his face. His mouth scrunches to the side very quickly in response.

「Tsk… What do you think? That I'd just lie about sensing something?-」

Thud.

「Unf!-」

Professor Aria grunts out as Damian walks straight into her, sending them both stumbling backwards.

「Ah!」「Professor Aria!…」

Neela and Cycelia exclaim, while Tisha is too shocked by her sudden appearance from beyond the corner, and the fact Damian just bumped into her to react.

「Gah… Mr. Damian!… And you three! What are you doing here!? Do you want this to go into your students' records!?」

Aria asks angrily with her gloved fists on her hips, glaring at them.

「N- No! We were just!…」

「…We were just on our way back to our rooms! The headmaster asked us to check if Professor Arkeis has a message for him!… Show her! Show her!」

Tisha completes Neela's thought, then clutches onto Damian, shaking him as she urgently speaks into his ear through her teeth with a hushed voice. He pulls the envelope out for Aria to see.

「Hmm?… Is that true?…」

The professor asks as she stares at the emerald-eyed weakest link in the group.

「Well… Um… Technically, he asked Damian to do it…」

Cycelia taps her fingers together, refusing eye contact with Aria.

「…And you are all here because?…」

She asks, looking at Neela and Tisha beside Cycelia.

「…Because they thought it'd be dangerous to send me alone, professor.」

Damian replies, staring at Aria with a serious face. A brief moment of uneasy silence begins as her frigid expression and scrutinizing glare darts all over them. Silently, she begins to weakly nod.

「…Very well. You better not wander around after dark.」

Professor Aria says, and walks past them, lifting her hat's brim with one hand to not clip Damian with it. They stare at her back, waiting for her to leave. Immediately afterwards, all of them let out a sigh.

「Ahhh… How did you not sense her, idiot?」

Tisha asks, looking at Damian with an angry frown and her fists on her hips.

「Because you distracted me!」

He replies, and storm away onward. She shakes her golden head, and they continue following him in silence. They make their way to the dormitory split, and Damian takes a turn for the male one.

「See you later, I guess…」

He blurts out, looking mostly at Neela and Cycelia.

「Yes, goodnight…」

Cycelia nods, smiling a little.

「See you.」「Don't let the vampire eat you.」

Neela waves, and Tisha smirks at his back with her fists on her hips. She nods her golden head to the two, and takes the turn for the female dormitory.

「Ahh… What a bother. I had something to say to Professor Arkeis as well, but he mostly said it already…」

Tisha lets out a fatigued sigh as they head for the stairwell, smirking at the other two a little.

「He's weird…」

Neela replies, shrugging her shoulders.

「Neela, Tisha… I think you're a little too quick to judge. I had a br-」

Cycelia says, but quickly bites her tongue, turning her emerald eyes away.

「Hm?」「What's that?」

They ask, turning their heads to her.

「…Nothing.」

Cycelia quietly replies with a sullen frown as they enter the stairwell upward…