“This place is amazing!” Lucille exclaimed as she pushed herself against the railing of the school’s rooftop. Zyra raised a hand to stop her but was quickly blocked by Yhaine, the blue haired girl turned to her and in response, their tank simply shook her head slowly, mouthing, ‘let her enjoy this,’ with a soft smile followed by a tired sigh.

Since her eyes were practically glued to the view of the entire Academy (the place that she would be going to for the next FIVE YEARS!) Lucille didn’t get to see it happen, her smile was excited as she scanned the courtyard of the school, sure, the front gates were nice and clean but this?

Lucille didn’t expect to see a massive flatland worth of grass behind the school! It’s- it’s basically the greatest thing that she’s ever laid her eyes on!

“It’s like I’m back home,” the heroine said with a content smile before turning back and facing her two friends, “don’t you think so Zyra?” She grinned and pushed herself further into the railing to sit on it-

Zyra ran forward, hand raised but quickly stopped when Lucille was sitting on the 3 inch wide railing just fine.

“Like home huh?” Zyra smiled at her, it was tight and awkward and it looked fake but Lucille thought it was a smile nevertheless, Lucille didn’t care about the reason behind her putting up that sort of mask because Zyra was doing her best to do it regardless- and to her, that’s what matters.

Lucille patiently waited as her friend tried to find the words she couldn’t say until eventually, she spoke, “I guess,” she said followed by a sigh, Zyra took a single step forward, walking until she was right next to Lucille, she pressed her back against the railing, eyed the scenery before them, then said, “it does look nice,”

Lucille didn’t point out the fact that Zyra didn’t say anything related to the part where Lucille said the field before them felt like home, with her avoiding it entirely.

No, she wouldn't want to call it out, Zyra had her problems and Lucille wasn't planning on prying- instead, the heroine smiled and jumped down from the railing, she followed Zyra’s example, though instead of pressing her back against the railing, she instead rested her arms and chest on top of and against it, “it does, doesn’t it?” She replied softly, humming, “I never knew that Pledge Academy is so… large,”

“It’s bigger than the Everlast Castle, if any of you are curious,” Yhaine said as she walked up to the railing and followed Lucille's example, “kinda neat huh?” At that, the two of them nodded, Zyra faced forward and eyed the field and silence was the only thing around the three girls for a while before Yhaine broke it, “there’s plenty of space for physical activities here,” she said, “and I think… that we’re gonna have to suffer through everything if we want to be able to fend off the current Demon Horde,”

“... how much effort do you think the Princess put in order to be as strong as she is?” Said Lucille, “if- I heard that a Pact only gets amplified when… you know, the human is stronger than the magical creature initiating it,”

It was why most Pacts are made with a young magical creature after all and the Princess made one with what's considered to be one of the strongest magical creatures out there, only for them, in the end, to become stronger.

“You’re saying that Neophyte got a boost from making a Pact with Fafnir right?” Zyra said and Lucille nodded, “well… if you’re implying that she’s stronger than an Adolescent Dragon, you’re not wrong, she is.” she said, “I heard that both her and Fafnir weren’t even lethargic or weak after they made the Pact,”

“I know,” Lucille said, she remembered the day when the Princess got an adolescent Dragon and rode it towards the Flora and Fauna territories, and she remembered the shock she felt when news broke out that the princess made that Pact on the same day. She was stronger than an Adolescent Dragon by a large margin before she made that Pact!

And it was- it was one thing to realize that she’s powerful, to know that she’s at least as strong as an Adolescent Dragon but… to be as strong as a Demon Duke? To be able to kill one?!

That’s not something that Lucille ever expected.

“She’s the Saintess,” Yhaine said what was undoubtedly on all of their minds at this exact moment- proof of that is when the two girls quickly nodded in agreement to her words, “and I heard that she… trained till collapse ever since she was a child,” Yhaine sighed, a tired one? Or one of resignation? Lucille couldn't tell… “Did you know that it was her that told the King of the original Hero’s origin and name?”

“We do,” Zyra replied and Lucille nodded, who doesn’t know of that story? It’s as widespread as it could possibly get, the story serving as both caution and an inspiration for many aspiring Slayers out there.

“I… think that we’re gonna be fine in the end,” Lucille said, “even without him- the Hero, I mean.”

Zyra smiled, “maybe,” she said in a tone that felt of reminiscence, “we can probably last until the next Hero thanks to the Princess and the current Beast King.”

“Do you think the other party members are out there?” Asked Yhaine, “the Caster, the Shield, the Powerhouse, the Support and the Scout?”

“They’re probably here in this very school, they just don’t know it yet.” Lucille said with a smile, wondering how it would feel to be one of the characters of prophecy.

Surely they must be in here, in this very school? Waiting to realize their true purpose and go with the princess to stave off the Demon Invasion and wait out the arrival of their predecessors alongside the new Hero, sure, they would never be able to beat the Demon Lord on their own but at least they would be able to stall him until the next set of Prophecies arrived, and then, they’d pass on their mantle, just like all the retired Prophecies of the past.

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Lucille smiled, “...and, I think they need our help,” she announced with calm resolution to the rest of her friends, “Not just Saintess Neophyte, but also the rest of the team as well.”

Zyra nodded, “the civilians have always been the backbone and the people who hold the line,” the sacrifice, she didn’t dare say- the scapegoat for the seemingly unbeatable Prophecies, Zyra silently thought, the people fighting for their right to survive, she said to herself with conviction.

“The Prophecies are the ones destined to fight the Demon Lord, but that doesn’t mean that we’re gonna let the invading Demons kill us all without a fight,” Lucille said with a grin, “and we’re gonna show those stupid demons why we were given Pledges,”

Yhaine’s sudden laughter broke the atmosphere and the two girls turned to her, “sorry- it’s just, why are we all so serious?” Her smile was soft as she spoke, “come on, we just survived a horde of Demons! We should be celebrating down there with everyone else!”

“Is Neophyte there?” Lucille asked with a tilt of her head.

“No?” Yhaine answered, “everyone thought that she needed rest after she… you know-” she waved her hands around, “- killed a Demon Duke with her Dragon?”

And that was when the reality of the situation fully dawned on all three, yes they’ve been mentioning her being as strong as the Demon Duke and even going as far as talking about her being a Saintess but… saying that someone within their year killed a Demon Duke is just… different, in a way that… well, manages to make all three girls feel obsolete, and saying that out loud placed them in a spell that forced them to accept that type of reality- that someone who’s as old as them killed a type of Demon that would’ve taken several teachers and a few House Scions to defeat.

“She’s really something,” Lucille murmured, “I remember the day when I first met the princess,” she started, “... she-” Lucille paused when she saw the expressions that her friends wore and she decided that maybe, just maybe, talking about this isn’t the best idea at the moment, “- I’m gonna be as strong as her one day,” she said, “I’m gonna beat a Demon Duke one on one and without a Dragon,”

“They’re the same thing,” Zyra pointed out.

Lucille grinned, “yep!”

Her blue haired friend sighed, then smiled, “but you’re right, I’m gonna do what she did one day,”

“Might as well join,” Yhaine butted in, “well, good for us right? We now have a goal, one that our generation’s prodigy managed to get…probably since a few weeks back,” she chuckled and looked at her two friends with a mischievous look, “how strong do you think she’ll become when we reach our goal?”

“I’m gonna catch up to Neophyte!” Lucille pumped her fist.

“So will I!” Zyra joined.

“Sure, why not?” Yhaine chimed in with a smile.

Lucille shook her head and started moving away from the railing, “but… learning and becoming more powerful can wait,” she faced her friends, “I’m starving,”

Zyra and Yhaine shrugged before following after her and all three walked back to the rooftop’s entrance in complete silence- a few sets of stairs later and they reached the packed hallways of Pledge Academy, students of all races and Pledges milled about, talking and laughing as though the school hadn’t just gotten invaded by a horde of Demons and threatened all of their lives, enjoyment was clear on their faces and Lucille couldn’t be anymore happier for them but… this sort of atmosphere simply isn’t for her.

“It’s more cramped than I thought,” she muttered to the nods of her two friends, the celebrations back in her village wasn’t this packed… “you guys ever been to this sort of thing before?” She asked the two girls and only Yhaine nodded confidently.

“Yeah, plenty of balls are held by nobles but it usually isn’t this packed,” Yhaine faced Lucille with a soft smile, “it’s close though, so I’m used to it. Somewhat.” The yellow haired girl looked away from them and faced the frolicking students, “it’s fun when you get used to it,”

“I don’t think I ever will,” Lucille said with a tight smile while eyeing a couple kissing so openly on public, “haha…” Lucille trailed off in response to the sight, “how nice,”

“Maybe we should go to the Cafeteria first?” Yhaine and Zyra exchanged looks.

The blue haired Florist nodded, “good idea,” Zyra replied before grabbing Lucille’s hand, “we’re going to grab food and then leave the building, how’s that sound?”

“... I like it,” Lucille warmly smiled.

…

All three girls found themselves at the back of the school eyeing the fields while sitting on a bench, their gathered food silently sat on their laps, occasionally, one of them would pick theirs off and start eating. Under the blue hue of the evening, everything felt so calm and serene, and they found themselves thinking with clarity as they silently watched the swaying grass in front of them.

Lucille took a bite out of her food and appreciated the silence between her and her friends, it was the comforting kind that usually, she would only find whenever it was raining- Lucille concluded that she liked this kind of atmosphere, the peace between her and her friends as they sat outside and basked in the silence, she hummed and that tiny little sound coming out of her mouth broke the ice and suddenly, all three started talking, it was Zyra that spoke first-

“I heard that those box-shaped buildings over there are used to train infantry students to live in barracks,” the girls looked at where she was pointing, and indeed, it was a building in the shape of a box, the blue haired girl placed her hand down and stabbed a piece of meat and eating it, “that’s their dorms apparently,”

“That’s…” Lucille trailed off, she didn’t know that… “isn’t it a bit too harsh for them to live there?”

“Not really,” Yhaine answered, “they’ll only stay here for two years before getting drafted to fight Demons,” their party’s tank explained, “after that it’s a new set of infantry students who will live there,”

“Still, two years living like that…” Lucille had heard about the state of living in the barracks before, and from what her father told her about it- the barracks were cramped and completely uncomfortable so she couldn’t imagine living like that for two whole years- probably more given that a standard service in the military goes for as long as 4 years, “it’s kind of sad that the people holding back the Demons have to live like that right?”

Zyra nodded slowly, “I guess but you should also know that spending too much on their comfort would be expensive- and that extra money can be used to forge weapons or make Holy Silver,”

Practicality over Commodity- Lucille isn’t unfamiliar with that line of thinking but still… it's a bit harsh in her opinion.

She turned her eyes back to the fields and gave out her opinion, hoping it’ll change the subject, “you know,” her eyes scanned the flat plain, “I’ve always been curious about the purposes of the marked areas,”

“The track fields and the training grounds are there for training all of us,” Zyra said.

Yhaine nodded, “I heard that this place is never empty whenever the school is open, there’s always a bunch of classes here that train and exercise at every hour of the day, it’s all scheduled.”

“We have a lot of work ahead of us huh?” Lucille said with a wry smile.

“We’re gonna become powerful Slayers in no time,” Zyra said, trying to be positive.

“Agreed!” Yhaine chorused, her enthusiasm not needed to be masked or faked and Lucille guessed only the princess made her feel weak- which, Lucille had to admit, Neophyte also had that sort of effect on her but the Princess is fighting for them! She saved a lot of students- all of them really, - by fighting that Demon Duke with Fafnir and killing it!

Feeling envious will just make the Demons prouder, stronger- there's simply no point to it.

Lucille hummed, “I wanna see how far we’ll go,”

Will they burn out? Will some of them stop? Will… some of them die? Disappear? Lucille knew that the next few years of her life would be wrought with dangers and monsters of all kinds but she’s ready, she’s already experienced fighting a Demonic Horde once and after a bit of reflection- realized that fighting against Demons wasn’t as hard as she assumed it was.

Or maybe that was thanks to the presence of the House Heads and the Saintess herself but even then! People like them would always be present on the battlefield and Lucille is sure that should she face another horde, she’ll be ready and then she’ll come out on top!

Or maybe she won’t and simply die- but that’s always part of the risk isn’t it?

Lucille eyed the swaying grass and ate another piece of her meal, wondering what kind of future is ahead of her, this, she knew is- and always will be, - considered daydreaming because no matter what, her current, hopeful thoughts of the future of her winning against hundreds of Demons and coming back victorious are nothing more childish fantasies.

But her daydreams of pushing herself in training every day, becoming stronger, and taking in missions that will push her to her limits aren't- after all, unlike fighting hordes of Demons with ease, which at her current state might as well be impossible, Lucille had a choice on whether or not she can fulfill those dreams.

She just has to work hard on achieving them.