Marina, the girl with white hair, let out a sigh. "Why don't you just say something like a hundred?" she suggested. "It'll be easier to understand."

Aurora smiled in response. "Okay, that sounds good. For now, let's just say I need a thousand potions sent here as soon as possible."

Marina raised an eyebrow. "A thousand? Seriously what do you plan on doing with all of those?"

Aurora closed her eyes for a moment. It's hard to explain without telling them about Nova and her predictions about what she's going to do. But she don't have enough confidence or trust in them to reveal that information.

"It's just in case," Aurora continued. "The world might end tomorrow, who knows?"

"I... don't know what you're talking about," Marina said, looking a little worried. Oliver, who was beside her, simply nodded in confusion.

Aurora smiled. "So you understand. Anyway, that's my request, and I'll send Lyra over later to discuss the details with you. Thank you for your help."

Marina seemed to give up, simply saying, "Fine."

"Great," Aurora said, clapping her hands softly. "I guess that's it for today. Please be safe, you two."

Marina blinked, looking even more confused. "Safe from what...?"

Aurora just smiled and didn't say anything more. She simply left.

"That... was the strangest Aurora has ever been," Marina said, still dumbfounded.

"Agreed," Oliver said.

"But I kind of liked it," Marina said.

"What?" Oliver asked, disbelief in his voice.

Marina giggled. "Sorry, that sounded wrong. But wasn't she kind of cute when she acted like that?"

"I don't get it," Oliver replied. "I guess you're a little weird too."

"Hey!" Marina protested.

***

Aurora walked towards the academy garden. Someone had been sending whispers to her again, and she wasn't sure if she liked it. It always made her jump in surprise every time it happened, but she knew it might be the only way to call for her without being noticed.

In a part of the garden that was a little hidden, Aurora saw the man with purple hair.

"I have been waiting," Dante said, smiling.

Aurora nodded in response. "So what is it? I don't think it's time yet for your weekly report."

Dante laughed. "True," he said. "So, are you not going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Aurora asked.

"You saw something from the future, right? Something big," Dante said.

Aurora cast her gaze far out to the horizon. Her father, Lyra, and this man still believed her lie about her ability to see the future. At this point, all she could do was continue with this charade.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"It's too vague to share," Aurora said. "And it might be nothing."

"Nothing?" Dante laughed again. "Your family has been in a hurry to hire knights and adventurers left and right, as if they're planning to go to war, and you said it's nothing?"

Aurora smiled. "Well, if I didn't trust it myself, then who would?"

Dante looked frustrated. "Why don't you just tell me?"

"I'm not going to share something that I'm not sure about," Aurora said. "Especially if it's a deal with people like you. I won't risk my reputation by giving you half-assed information."

"Fair enough," Dante said. "But I'll still be looking into this closely."

"That's fine," Aurora said. "So, since you're here, what can you tell me?"

"James appearing at this academy was a surprise," Dante said. "But thanks to that, it's clear that he has a strong connection with the rebels. When he managed to escape from this academy, some of my people saw him with a group of mysterious individuals that we believe are remnants of the Black Knights."

Aurora nodded in response. This was in line with her prediction.

"What about Nova?" Aurora asked.

"The last time we checked," Dante said, "she was staying at the Wilder house in the west area. We can't really get close to her. She is very strict at the moment. Anyone who doesn't have clearance from her will be immediately executed if they get too close. But even from a distance, my subordinates can tell that she has been meeting with several nobles. Unfortunately, we can't tell what they discussed."

Aurora was surprised at how extreme Nova's actions were. With such actions, it was as if Nova was telling the world that she was hiding something.

Was she so desperate that she had to dismiss subtlety? Aurora thought. That makes her even more convinced that they are going to do something big soon.

"What about the second prince?" Aurora asked again.

"No movement," Dante said. "He has been acting like a good kid for a while now. Unfortunately, I still can't find any connections between him and the rebels."

That makes sense, Aurora thought. Another hint. The second prince won't do anything before their big plan happens.

"Last thing," Aurora said. "Can I ask you for a little favor?"

"Of course," Dante said with a smile. "What is it?"

"Can you spread a rumor among people around Finnick about Nova siding with the rebels and having a connection to the death of the knight captain?" Aurora asked.

Dante blinked. "Are you going to make them fight each other? Aren't you evil?" Dante grinned.

"It will happen anyway," Aurora said. "When the truth is revealed, they will become enemies whether I want it or not. I just want to speed up the process. And fine, I admit that it will help me."

"Dante laughed. "How can you be such an honest girl and yet such a pretty scary schemer?"

"I'm not scary," Aurora said.

"Okay, sorry," Dante said with a grin. "You're an adorable schemer."

"Enough with your jokes," Aurora said, pouting. "That's it for now."

"Alright," Dante said. "We'll talk again soon."

***

Aurora immediately sat down when she entered the library. She hadn't done anything physically demanding, yet she felt more tired than ever. She had already done what she could, but she still felt worried, the stress slowly eating away at her and now all she could feel was uneasiness.

That was actually reasonable, she thought. If things continue as she predicted, this might be the most important moment in her life since she transmigrated to this world. The moment when Nova will actually try to take her life. It will decide who will end up victorious, her or Nova.

"Uh... What's wrong, Aurora?" Sera asked, sitting across from her. She was worried with how stressed and pale Aurora looked.

"Just a little tired," Aurora said, trying to smile. "Anyway, I have something I need to tell you."

"Oh, okay," Sera said. "What is it?"

"This is just my prediction," Aurora said. "So don't freak out just yet."

Sera gulped. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

Aurora smiled. "Didn't I say not to freak out just yet?"

"B-but that's exactly why I suddenly worried!" Sera exclaimed. "This can't be about a good thing, right?"

"Well, yes, I guess not," Aurora chuckled. "I guess bad news will still be bad news no matter how you spin it. Anyway, what I want to say is I had a prediction about why James and those mysterious guys are so interested in your family forest."

"So you finally figured something out?" Sera asked.

Aurora nodded. "You know that my family had a connection with a famous merchant called Nicholas, right? I heard from him that a huge amount of magic crystals have been secretly bought by mysterious individuals. It started to happen around the same time people started to get interested in Molten Forest."

"You think they're connected?" Sera said. "But how?"

"Didn't you tell me about a unique little monster that only lives in your forest before?" Aurora said.

"Oh." The idea finally connected in Sera's mind. "Wa-wait a second, do you mean they're going to feed the monster with these magic crystals?"

"Probably," Aurora said.

"B-but, what are they going to do with that...?" Sera asked.

"Your parents said they saw Finnick, right?" Aurora said. "He has been absent from the academy since his father's death. I heard he's going around the kingdom looking for the remnants of the rebels his father fought against. For revenge..." Aurora's voice trailed off.

Sera's eyes widened. "Do you mean... the group that has been entering my family forest are rebels? And they're hunting for these monsters to feed them with crystals? Why...?"

"These rebels, the Black Knight, want to take down those currently in power," Aurora said. "It's obvious what they're going to do with it, isn't it?"

"They're going to create chaos using these monsters? But... can it even be done?" Sera asked.

"Who knows," Aurora said. "I don't think anyone has ever tried it before, right? Force-feeding these monsters, making them stronger and more dangerous. As you said before, they usually die before reaching their potential. But if humans force them to grow..."

Sera gulped. "Wh-what should we do then?" she asked. "We must tell someone about it!"

"Tell who?" Aurora said. "And it's only my prediction. It's not like I have proof. If we tell the wrong people about it and it turns out they're part of the rebels, we might end up erased."

"Then...?" Sera asked.

"My father has hired a lot of people in case it's really happening," Aurora said. "But the reason I told you this was so you can be prepared. Anything is fine, but try to find a way to protect yourself."

Sera nervously nodded. But talking about protecting herself reminded her of something.

"Um, Aurora," Sera said. "I don't know if this is the right moment, but..." Sera grabbed her bag and pulled out a box from inside.

She gave it to Aurora. "Talking about protection, I remembered I bought this for you," she said.

Aurora opened the box, and there was a beautiful black knife inside.

"You're strong," Sera said. "I saw it myself. But if you end up hurting yourself when you use your punch, I thought there should be another way. A weapon. But a sword might be a little too much, so I thought you might be able to use this."

Aurora grabbed the knife. The handle felt nice in her hand. The size was perfect. It looked sharp and sturdy.

"Um... what do you think?" Sera asked, worried. "Am I overstepping the line? You must have your own way of protecting yourself. I'm sorry..."

"No, I like it," Aurora said as she put the knife back into its sheath. "Thank you, Sera. I will use it."

Sera smiled widely. "Yes!"

***