“You know, in my class, lately, everyone’s been talking about this new couple.” [Fyr]

“Oh? Are they famous around school?” [Allen]

“Well, I don’t think so. They’re from my class. But, they’re really cute together! The guy is always smiling happily and the girl is always blushing whenever they’re together! It’s really cute!” [Fyr]

On the rooftop, Fyr was telling Allen and Ava about some love gossips with red cheeks. The two listened to the excited harpy while eating their sandwiches.

“You really like topics about romance.” [Allen]

Allen, who was sitting in the middle, said with a wry smile on his face. This small girl was usually introverted, but became quite lively when she was talking about anything to do with love.

“Well, yes, but, I think it’s normal for any girl.” [Fyr]

She suddenly became timid again and nibbled on her own sandwich.

“Normal for girls…” [Allen]

“Yes. Normal for girls…” [Fyr]

Allen and Fyr muttered softly and turned their heads towards Ava who was drinking a bottle of milk.

“… What?” [Ava]

She asked after suddenly being stared at.

“It’s nothing really, but…” [Allen]

“L-like Allen said. It’s nothing. But, um, we were wondering what you thought about love, or so…” [Fyr]

Fyr asked her question uneasily to which Ava tilted her head and went silent for a moment.

“… Oh yeah. We should be interested in love. I mean, we’re already fourteen. Time passes by so quickly.” [Ava]

She spoke some incomprehensible words with an expression that said that she suddenly remembered it.

“Um, Ava, what are you on about?” [Allen]

“Allen, I think she’s a late bloomer.” [Fyr]

To Allen who didn’t understand his friend’s weird behavior, Fyr relayed her thoughts while tugging at his sleeve.

“Who are you calling a late bloomer? I’ve got tons of experience on the subject.” [Ava]

“Really?!” [Fyr]

Fyr asked excitedly while clenching her fists in front of her chest.

“Really?” [Allen]

Allen asked while tilting his head and stared at her skeptically.

“Yeah, but that was a long time ago, before you two were born… Huh? Why are you sighing so deeply while someone’s talking about their past?” [Ava]

“I wonder if she’ll ever find someone…” [Allen]

“It is worrying as her friend…” [Fyr]

Ava looked at the human and harpy who were both slowly shaking their head with an expression like they had lost hope in something.

“But, it’s alright! I’m sure someone will realize all the great qualities you have!” [Allen]

Then, Allen raised his head and stared at Ava with strong determination in his eyes. He did his best to cheer her up, though she didn’t really need any cheering.

“Great qualities? Like what?” [Ava]

“Like, you’re really strong!” [Allen]

“That’s, that’s right! And you’re also nice and pretty!” [Fyr]

The boy blurted out the first thing that came to his mind and Fyr rode on the momentum.

“Don’t call me pretty.” [Ava]

“I-I’m sorry, but it’s true! I’m sure you’ll have a good husband one day and have a cute family!” [Fyr]

The brown-haired girl exclaimed with clenched fists to which the half-elf shook her head.

“That’s not happening.” [Ava]

“D-don’t say that!” [Fyr]

“Yeah! It’s too soon to give up!” [Allen]

Both Allen and Fyr were doing their best to tell her that she would definitely find a wonderful man, even with her quirky personality. However, Ava, unconcerned, told her the number two reason why that wouldn’t happen with her usual sleepy expression.

“I heard half-elves can’t have kids and people tend to stay away from us. So, I don’t think anyone would want to marry me.” [Ava]

Her statement turned them into statues with awkward expressions. Ignoring their reactions, she proceeded to tell them the number one reason why she would never have a husband.

“Besides, I’m into gi-.” [Ava]

“I-I-I’m sorry! I said something thoughtless again!” [Fyr]

With Fyr taking the lead, the boy and the harpy apologized to their friend with all their might, cutting off her words.

That was how another peaceful lunch was nearing its end and the three of them would soon return to their respective class.

However, something broke that usual routine in their everyday life. The first one to notice was Ava.

Because they were on the roof, they had a good view of their surroundings. From there, the half-elf saw a caravan of ten carriages and wagons going down the road towards Sanctuary Academy. Getting a bad feeling, she looked at the four other roads, but two were hidden by buildings from her position. However, she noticed that other caravans were heading towards the school as well. She found it weird, but thought that maybe they were guests that the staff was expecting like when her mother, brother and sister visited.

“We should go back or we’ll be late.” [Allen]

“Unh. Let’s go. Ava? What’s wrong?” [Fyr]

So, for now, ignoring Allen and Fyr who were calling out to her, she kept observing the caravans. Two staff members stationed at the entrance to the school grounds stopped them, seeming to ask them for their identity and reason for visiting. They were too far for Ava to properly see any of their faces, but she could make out their general figures.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

That was why, overlooking from the roof, she saw how the driver of the wagon at the front of the caravan guided the staff that acted as guards to the back of his wagon. Afterwards, only the person came back to the front and sat at the driver’s seat. From her position, she couldn’t tell what happened to the two guards at all. As if nothing happened, the caravan continued and entered the campus with no one to stop them.

Class had already started, which the two behind her kept nagging about. So, there were no students hanging outside. Only these three on the roof were late for their next lesson. Allen and Fyr, wondering what she was staring at, approached the fence and looked down.

“… Allen.” [Ava]

“Yeah?” [Allen]

When Ava called the red-haired boy, he responded while curiously watching the approaching caravan. Next to him, the small-winged harpy also observed the row of carriages and wagons with a question mark over her head.

“You said before that there are kids from some pretty important families who study here, right?” [Ava]

“Yeah. There are students of high status here. You can mostly tell from how they act and the servants they bring.” [Allen]

As she asked him questions, her eyes were fixed on the possible intruders.

“Then, the security here is pretty good since the school needs to protect them, right?” [Ava]

“Yeah. The school is responsible for their safety, so there are strong guards that are posted here. Some also bring their personal guards.” [Allen]

The half-elf’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“You know, I always thought that, since Sanctuary Academy has kids from some influential people of different countries…” [Ava]

From below, the three caravans had linked up at an open space in front of the middle school building. Men were disembarking from the wagons and carriages, all armed and masking their face with a piece of cloth. There were about a hundred and fifty of them.

“Wouldn’t this school be a great place to collect valuable hostages?” [Ava]

“Huh? No one would think of doing that. I mean, they’d be the enemy of every country in the world if they attacked Sanctuary Academy, so it’s never happened.” [Allen]

 “You sure?” [Ava]

“Well, yeah.” [Allen]

From each caravan, one person seemed to be giving orders as everyone started spreading out and used the wagons and carriages as covers. One of the leaders, whose lower half of his face was covered by a black cloth, noticed Ava’s stare. He raised his head and locked eyes with her. It was too far for them to clearly see each other, but both of them knew that the other saw them.

“(Crap.)” [Ava]

Her senses went on high alert upon that exchange and she stepped away from the fence to get out of sight.

“I think some idiots were dumb enough to try.” [Ava]

She turned around and went for the door at a brisk pace. Allen and Fyr stared at each other, lost, and quickly followed her.

“Wait, what do you mean by that?” [Allen]

“U-um, is something wrong?” [Fyr]

“We’re under attack.” [Ava]

“HUH?!”[Allen]

“A-A-AT-T-T-TACK?!” [Fyr]

Her shocking declaration caused the both of them to turn stiff for a moment.

“Well, maybe I’m just being paranoid.” [Ava]

The half-elf said carefreely as she ushered the two awkwardly moving middle schoolers through the door.

“One of them spotted us, so we should get out of here for now. Then, we should go and warn the others if my paranoia’s right.” [Ava]

Not bothering to lock the door, they went down the stairs that led to the roof and walked through the hallway of the fifth floor. Then, reaching the first door that was a classroom, Ava grabbed the doorknob while peeking through the small window to check inside. Sure enough, instead of the teacher talking in front with a book in his hand, he was, along with the rest of the students, looking outside.

“Hey, who are they?” [Student]

“What’s with all the carriages?” [Student]

“Did the school plan some sort of event?” [Student]

Questions and speculations were being exchanged. Most likely, the students and staff in the middle school building all saw them already. Security was probably on their way as well. The intruders were sitting right under everyone’s eyes, so there was no way that they would stay unnoticed for long.

But, that was what Ava was worried about.

“KYAAAAA!!!” [Student]

Just as she opened the door, distant cracking noises and faint screams reverberated on the floors below. The men that had disembarked had taken out crossbows and fired them at the windows on the second floor. Multiple arrows flew in the classrooms there, shattering the glass and hitting a number of people.

Among the victims was a poor teacher that was hit in the forehead and laid down with his eyes wide open. There were others such as a human child that was hit in the shoulder and a cat-eared girl that was hit in the stomach. Some injuries were serious, others were fatal.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Did that really just happen!?” [Student]

“W-what?! What was that?! What did they?! What was that?!” [Student]

“Arrows! They shot arrows at the lower floor!” [Student]

Having witnessed that attack, panic quickly spread as people yelled out in fear. Similar voices were raised in several other places as bodies fell down and windows shattered. The hallways that were normally so quiet at this time were now filled with a cacophony of noises. The teacher was trying to get things under control. Telling his students to get away from the windows, he urged them to get out of the room and into the hallway for now.

“(So I’m not paranoid.)” [Ava]

Ava thought calmly in her head while the two behind her were shaken up and panicking as well. Fyr was trembling like a leaf and her eyes were already wet. Allen was looking left and right, uneasy and unsure of what to do. Meanwhile, a flood of frightened middle schoolers were heading their way, so the three stepped to the side to let them through the door. Other students were also leaving their classrooms in a panic and were following their teacher’s instructions.

“Wait, the teacher over there.” [Ava]

Amidst the crowd that had quickly formed in the corridor, Ava called out to the nearest teacher to get his attention.

“I think some of those attackers are infiltrating the building. Can you contact anyone to warn them?” [Ava]

That was the first thing she said once he looked at her.

“What? In, infiltrating? You, who are, nevermind.” [Teacher]

It would appear that he was quite shaken up by this turn of events as he couldn’t even speak properly. But, as the adult, he had to somehow reassure her, so he showed her a smile.

“We’ll be safe. The guards are surely dealing with them as we speak. Right now, we should stay put and away from danger.” [Teacher]

“No. From their formation, I think they’re decoys and their friends are sneaking inside.” [Ava]

 “Decoys?” [Teacher]

“They stopped at an open space that’s hard to defend and fired arrows to get our attention. There’s a bunch of other place to park their carriages and carry out their attack. But, they went out of their way to group up right in front of everyone and stuck out like a sore thumb. No matter how you look at it, they’re exposing themselves uselessly.” [Ava]

The half-elf told her hunch to the teacher while Allen and Fyr stood behind her, scared and anxious just like everyone else.

“I think they’re making a fuss to distract us. There are five roads leading to this academy and I only had a good look at three of them. I saw three caravans that are currently bunched up there, but I couldn’t see if more came from the other two roads. Which means, that there might be more of them and they could be heading here now.” [Ava]

“… Where’s your proof for that?” [Teacher]

“I’ve got none.” [Ava]

She bluntly told him “It’s just a hunch” to which he nearly sighed, exasperated. In the end, he told her that it was dangerous to move around when there was fighting just outside and that they should stay put. Then, he went around to check and reassure the students that were scared.

“Great. He’s not taking me seriously because I’m too young. So I’m a middle schooler, you should still consider what I said.” [Ava]

Ava muttered as she went inside the empty classroom while no one was watching.

“Wait, where are you going, Ava?!” [Allen]

“I-i-i-it’s dangerous!” [Fyr]

 Allen and Fyr hesitated at the door since arrows might come in through the windows.

“Stay there and block the way for me.” [Ava]

She told them over her shoulder and went near the windows where she crouched down. Ignoring the two that were telling her to stop and come back, she raised her head until she could see what was happening outside. In front of the middle school building, the intruders were fighting against the security force of Sanctuary Academy.

“(Finally. Your response time sucks.)” [Ava]

Armed men in armor engaged them in combat while another group stood in front of the school building with shields to prevent them from entering. Some of the criminals stood on their carriages and fired arrows at anyone that moved, so the guards had to keep their shields up to block incoming projectiles. The battle was chaotic as someone fell whenever a sword was swung, but the ones in charge of protecting the school were slowly pushing the invaders back.

Since Sanctuary Academy was vast and was comprised of several buildings, a lot of manpower was needed to keep it safe. That was why the guards easily outnumbered the attackers and had them surrounded. From the course of the fight, it was obvious they were going to win, but Ava’s worries didn’t disappear.

“(They’re going to die at this rate. Are they suicidal?)” [Ava]

She peeked at the intruders who were fighting on despite their imminent death approaching. Observing them, she tried to guess the motive for their attack. If she could find out what their goal was, then she could respond to the threat better.

“(Or, they’re buying time and waiting for the infiltrators to get to whoever they came for. Then, they could use a hostage as a shield to force their way out.)” [Ava]

She lowered her head to hide herself under the windowsill.

“(Are they here to kill one or many targets? Or is it capture? And who?)” [Ava]

Coincidentally, she looked towards the opened door and saw the small harpy and the red-haired boy. They were both staring at her anxiously. For each of them, Ava had caused a commotion and gotten in trouble.

“(… Probably not.)” [Ava]

Suddenly, more screams were heard down the corridor along with the sounds of several footsteps.