From being angry and in pain from busting my knee, to being happy to find ginseng, to being sad to realize I can't take it, and finally to being furious that I missed the last mana train. I went through all of these emotions within five minutes.

I stood in a completely foreign town with no way to leave and I had classes tomorrow in a school that was over 24 hours away walking distance.

'The mana trains open at six and classes start at 8:30 and it's a two-hour ride, so I should be fine'

The sun had set, so the town was essentially empty except for some drunkards who got kicked out of their bars. I looked around town for any sign of any inn or hotel, however, to my surprise, they were all either fully booked or under construction. Deciding to take a break at around 9, I headed to the center of town and sat down at a fountain. The moon was half-crescent and shining brightly in the sky, illuminating the town in the darkness of the night. It was breathtaking. After admiring the sky, I realized my hunger and thirst as I hadn't eaten anything after arriving here.

Since it was only 9, surely some stands would be open, so I once again looked around. My hope was soon shattered when everything was closed, the only places open were some bars, but those were already packed, and I hadn't brought my cube ID. Even if I wanted to eat, I couldn't even get in.

I even tried asking some of the locals, but they thought I was a crazy homeless person because my clothes were torn from the explosion of dark mana upon the undead girl's death.

'what kind of shitty town'

I headed back to the fountain and decided to continue admiring the stars. One night without sleep can't hurt that much, after all, I've pulled all-nighters studying before. I laid down on the side of the fountain, ignoring the cold steel below me, and began counting the stars in the sky to pass the time.

-*- (POV Change)

[Mom: Olivia come home please, your sister won't stop complaining]

[Olivia: Mom, you know I have school tomorrow]

[Mom: Wake up early and catch the mana train back. PLEASE. She won't stop crying]

[Olivia: Fine, I'm coming. Only this ONE time]

I headed out of the cube with a change of clothes for tomorrow and towards the mana train station. Thankfully, I barely caught the last train to my hometown. It was only a two-hour ride, so I arrived at 8 and headed straight to my family's manor. As soon as I entered, my sister, who was crying in my mom's arms, did a 180 and ran up to me happily.

"Sister, you're finally here. I was so sad you left"

"Cecil, you know you can't call me on school days. Next time, I won't come. Ok?"

Cecil puffed up her cheeks and turned away from me.

"We'll see next time"

"What did you want to do with me?"

"Mom won't let me go outside. I'm bored"

I glanced out at my mom and she nodded.

"Fine Cecil, I'll take you for a walk"

My sister grabbed my hand and we walked outside into the garden. Cecil then pointed towards the gate of the manor and I sighed.

"Cecil, it's too late to go into the town"

"No"

I wasn't in the mood to deal with a tantrum, so I decided to let it go. I walked up towards the guard who protecting the gate and nodded my head. He opened the gate and we walked out into the town. Though it was night, the bright moon brightened the city streets. It seemed like the perfect night to have some sort of festival, but the streets were empty except for a couple of drunkards. I kept one hand on the training daggers I got from the cube in case anything happened.

'this town really hasn't changed. same boring town.'

When I was younger, I didn't leave the manor much as my parents were always scared for me and when I went, I was on the receiving end of many disgusted expressions. It's to be expected though. Most of the town was poor and struggling for money while my family's mansion stood above the town flaunting its decorations that were more expensive than an average family's annual salary. Even throughout middle and high school, I was treated as an outsider even though I never mentioned or said anything about my family's wealth.

When I was 13, I complained to my parents about how I had no friends and how I wished I was poor like the other kids, but they explained to me.

"Think about it, you have the money to live comfortably and eat feasts every day while other kids in your school have to work to eat a loaf of bread for dinner. They exclude you because they want to be you"

After this, I decided to take advantage of my loneliness by using my free time to study hard and practice magic every day. When I graduated high school, I desperately wanted to escape the town, so I applied to the cube, and all my hard work paid off when I got accepted. My acceptance was a big deal for the city as the Cube was the best magic school, however, I had learned to ignore the looks of jealousy.

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The one thing I worried about most was my sister's well-being. Though she hadn't entered the school system yet, I worried about when Cecil had to realize she couldn't have any friends. That's why I spoil her so much by visiting often and bringing back presents.

After about five minutes of walking around the same old scenery of the town, I asked.

"Is this enough? your bedtime is soon"

"NO, I want to go play in the fountain"

'how can she be so energetic at six years old'

Walking towards the center of town, I glanced up at the sky and admired its beauty. Out of all the things in this town, the most fun had to be stargazing. During high school, I remember whenever I felt lonely, I would sit on the roof of the mansion and watch the stars. It somehow felt like the sky was soothing me and saying it would all be better. During my time at the cube, I missed lying down on the mansion's roof, which was the highest place in town, and admiring the stars in the sky for hours. The coldness of the night never bothered me as I was so engrossed in the scenery above me.

As we neared the fountain, I saw an unidentified figure lying down on the side of the fountain. Unlike the other people in town, this man seemed fit and his body seemed well-trained. His clothes were torn like he was in a fight and he didn't seem bothered by the cold of the night. Realizing that this man could be potentially dangerous, I took out the daggers in my pocket and looked for my sister to send her away in case something happened.

'he seems like a crazy homeless man, but his body says otherwise'

But, while I was distracted by the figure, my sister had taken the opportunity to run towards the fountain and the man. I held my daggers and got ready to jump in if he did anything suspicious, however, the two simply had a conversation. Then, the man turned to his side to look at my sister and I saw him clearly.

'that can't be him. impossible. why would he be here this late? there's class tommorow'

-*- (POV Change)

Surprisingly, looking up at the sky made all my worries go away. My longing for my family, my loneliness, and my exhaustion from the day's fight all disappeared. All I could think about was the beautiful scenery in the sky.

"this town might not be that bad"

Interrupting my admiration of the sky, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

'WHY DO PEOPLE ALWAYS FUCKING TAP ME'

I got ready to pull out my katana and kill whoever tapped me. After all, disturbing me when I was clearly zoned out was a terrible thing to do, however, I looked to my side to realize it was a little kid.

"Sir, what are you doing this late"

"Could say the same about you. You're too young to be alone at this time"

The girl appeared angry at my words and said.

"I'm not alone, my sister is here"

I surveyed my surroundings and couldn't find anyone, however, upon a second look, I could see someone, who was terrible at hiding, behind a tree. I pointed at the tree and asked.

"Is that her"

"yes, I think she's playing hide and seek"

"well she's terrible at it"

"I know right"

Since the girl didn't want to come out, I assumed she was uncomfortable with me talking to her sister. After all, I did look homeless, so I told the child.

"you shouldn't worry your sister at this time of night. Go back to her and sleep."

The girl puffed out her cheeks and angrily said.

"BUT I WANT TO PLAY IN THE FOUNTAIN"

Sighing, I realized that this girl was pretty stubborn. This was a town fountain, and I didn't even live here, so I had no right to hog it. I understood the unknown sister's feelings as I wouldn't want my family member talking to some homeless stranger, so I got up and prepared to leave.

"it's all yours"

I walked away from the fountain and decided to look for some other place to stargaze when another older feminine voice said.

"Stop"

'she must be worried I did something to her sister'

"Don't worry I didn't do anything to her and I don't even live here, just visiting. The fountain is all yours"

"No, wait"

'First, this girl clearly hides when I'm talking to her sister and now she wants to talk. Make up your mind god damn it'

I turned around and behind me, stood a girl, whose figure was illuminated by the moon. The girl had black eyes and jade-green hair. It was the girl who called me ugly.

'I don't know if it's the moon, but damn. Still, what is my luck? How is it that she ended up here?'

I titled my head and asked in a tone that clearly signifies "leave me alone."

"Yeah, what's up?"

"what the hell happened to you? there's class tomorrow. You know that right? If you don't show up, the Veritas class will get a bad reputation."

'this girl really cares about reputation more than me. '

"I'm fine, just stargazing. I'll be there tomorrow."

I said that and walked away without waiting for a response.

'it's too late to deal with her bs'

I walked towards the forest, where Aether was, and decided to look around the outskirts for a spot to continue looking at the sky. Behind me, I could easily tell that the girl was following me. After about five minutes and not finding anything, I was gonna use Aether to make a bed to relax, but the girl was still following me. Attempting to get her off my trail, I asked.

"Are you genuinely this bad at hiding? And don't you have your sister to worry about?"

"Jokes on you, I've been following you for five minutes, and she is already back at the mansion"

"So, now, you're proud of stalking me? Congrats, I guess"

"Oh shut up, you know we have a joint class tomorrow. If you don't show up, the other classes will spread rumors and I can't have that as a member of the Veritas class"

"I told you I'll be fine. Now go away for real"

"Your clothes are tattered and you clearly have nowhere to go. Fine, my ass. Follow me"

"I told you, I wanted to stargaze, not sleep"

"Who said I was giving you a place to sleep? You're not even close to my standards."

"Are you trying to piss me off?"

I decided to follow her as she obviously wouldn't stop trailing and pestering me.

She led me towards the top of the town and there in front of me stood a gigantic mansion that towered over the rest of that town.

'of course, she's rich'

She stopped near the gate and told me.

"don't make a noise or you're dead. We're going to the roof"

She led me around the mansion and to the back. She climbed up a tree and used it to jump over the fence guarding the mansion. I followed suit and landed next to her in the middle of a garden. Then she decided to explain her plan.

"Alright first, we're gonna sneak to garden B. From garden B, we can't go up the tree and land on the balcony of the second floor. Then from there, we jump from balcony to balcony until we reach the twentieth one. Next, we will .... "

'holy shit, does she ever stop talking'

"Stop, just meet me on the roof. Alright?"

"??? What do you mean"

"you just go inside and head to the roof. I'll be there"

"fine, but if you get caught by the guards, I'm not helping you."

I sighed in relief as I saw her head back to the front gate and enter the mansion.