*P.O.V of Elaine*

Dear Diary,

It's been four days since I set foot in Veras, and three days since I began my life as a student at this academy, under the false name of Lucy Blazerstorm.

Initially, I harbored some doubts, but I soon realized that coming here, even if "forced," was the best decision I could have made. This place is extremely secure, with highly skilled guards meticulously monitoring the walls. The professors—at least mine—are all top-notch, and I've learned more here in three days than I ever did at home with private magic tutors.

Things are going well, almost too well, and this makes me a bit uneasy. After all this time on the run, I'm no longer used to this kind of peace. But I couldn't relax, as something could happen at any moment. And perhaps, the one to ruin everything might be Erwin...

That Erwin... Even though he didn't know it, I've been watching him closely from a distance these past three days, just to make sure that idiot hadn't said anything about me. For now, it seemed he had kept his mouth shut, but there was always the risk that this idiot might spill everything at any moment.

He had made a friend, a useless boy with nothing special about him, and the two often went to train together. I wondered what pleasure he found in beating up someone as weak as his new friend.

Anyway, unlike him, I don't need friends. I don't need fun. I only need to accumulate as much knowledge as possible and gather loyal followers around me.

But there's a problem with this last point: how can I trust the elves at this academy? How do I know they aren't spies for Umarth? I wanted to kill Umarth, but I couldn't confront an army in Lorein alone, and at the same time, I didn't want to gather suspicious people only to be betrayed.

Moreover, most of the elves here were born to emigrated parents, so it's likely they don't consider Lorein their home and might not care about my plea for help, despite my being a princess.

So far, the elves I've met here are few, and those I've seen are arrogant and foolish... In short, not trustworthy.

I must admit, in my mind, this plan was foolproof. But now that I'm here, I realize how foolish I was to think everything would go according to my plans.

I have two options: ask for help from the kingdom or persevere. Asking for help from the kingdom is out of the question because I can't trust the King of Mykotos, an old, belligerent warmonger.

So, my only solution is to continue my search, although, at the moment, it seems fruitless.

The elves here seem to have some sort of "circle"; Indeed, after observing them carefully, I realized that some of them, disappear into thin air after classes end and reappear one by one between 8:30 PM and 9:00 PM. Where do they go? What do they do? They don't seem like dangerous people, yet I know they're hiding something. Maybe, even if they can't help with my plan, they could introduce me to other elves in Veras.

...And after observing those guys, maybe i know who could help me in this...

-End of page-

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“Ok...Let's do this...”

I felt uneasy speaking to this person. Firstly, I didn’t want to interact with anyone unless absolutely necessary. Secondly, this person was popular, annoyingly so. I wanted nothing to do with her because the risk of drawing attention was too high. But I had to make this effort to advance my plan. Who better to help me than an ultra-popular girl?

For the past two days, I had been observing her closely, investigating her. Her name was Miriel Laurea, an 18-year-old half-blood, born from a union between a human woman and a third-generation elf.

This surprised me because most elves in Lorein would rather die alone than mix with other races to preserve their cultural heritage. But this wasn’t Lorein, and the contexts were different.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Miriel was a girl from Class 3, Section B, presumably a young mage with decent skills. But her abilities didn’t interest me. What mattered were three things: she was an elf, she was popular, and most importantly, she was the one of the elves who always disappeared after the lessons.

Moreover, she was also the school journalist. I knew it because every morning, we heard her reports on the radio's school. Judging by the students' surprised reactions, her news was anything but trivial. I concluded that someone like her must know about the elves at this school and in Veras, and more importantly, she loved to gossip, so i could get some information out of her about their ilttle group and other important stuff.

All night, I pondered how to approach her. I had become distrustful after what happened; I couldn’t blindly trust others. But now, I had to suppress my doubts and move forward.

So, I woke up two hours early, at six in the morning. This was when she recorded her Magiradio segments, and it was the only time she wasn’t surrounded by boys drooling over her beauty and naive girls seeking fame.

After a quick bite, I put on my jacket and left the room quietly to avoid disturbing others. The academy at that early hour was vast and desolate. The faint mist and the grayish landscape around the academy gave the place an eerie feel despite its security.

Being alone in such an immense space made me uneasy, as the scars inflicted by Umarth and Rudolf were still fresh. But it was something I had to overcome, whether I wanted to or not.

Walking briskly, I headed to the academy wing where the recording studio was located. As expected, she was there, spouting her nonsense.

[Do I really have to do this?] I asked myself quietly, doubting my decision. But then I remembered why I was doing this, and my doubts vanished. Steeling myself, I marched forward and flung the door open.

“AAAAH!” The girl screamed, startled by my abrupt entrance. “W-Who the hell are you?!”

I was taken aback as well, making a small jump.But I couldn’t scream like an idiot as she had, it was embarassing.

“Sorry for scaring you…” I replied calmly, stepping into the room and closing the door behind me. “I’ve come to ask for your help.”

“I asked who you are!” Miriel retorted, adjusting her glasses and looking at me with a displeased expression.

Her response annoyed me, but I had to play along if I wanted to get rid of her as quickly as possible.

“I’m Lucy Blazestorm and—”

Suddenly, Miriel jumped up, startling me again. What was she yelling about now?

“So you’re Lucy!” she exclaimed, her eyes wide with excitement, leaving me puzzled "i finally met you!"

“You know me?”

“Of course I know you!” The half-elf exclaimed, standing up and moving her face closer to mine with exaggerated excitement. “How could I not know the new genius of the academy?”

Her words unsettled me. What did she mean by "genius of the academy"? Why did she know me?

“You know me?”

“Do I know you? I know everyone!” Miriel boasted, grabbing a small notepad and pen from her desk. “I was just thinking of interviewing you... You might not know, but it’s rare, very rare, to meet humans who awaken the deviant element of ice. You’re the talk of the academy, even among some renowned professors! You should be proud!”

I didn’t respond. My sole interest was advancing my plan, not these trivial matters she seemed so excited about. She seemed to understand my disinterest, as she put away her pen and notepad, looking slightly nervous.

“Ah... haha,” Miriel laughed nervously, realizing I wasn’t in the mood for such nonsense. “M-Maybe another time… Anyway, you said you needed my help, right? What do you need?”

[Finally…] I thought, somewhat relieved that we were getting to the point.

“See, the thing is... I wanted some information about the elves at this school” I said, not beating around the bush.

“The elves at this school, huh? Why do you want to know about them?” Miriel asked, her eyes fixed on me with curiosity.

Her gaze made me a bit anxious, but it was nothing I hadn’t experienced before.

“Well, I’m curious about their story, and i'd like to talk to them...you know, about how they parents integrated here. And since, in addition to being part of their group, you are such a helpful girl, I wanted to ask you if you could help me” I replied shamelessly lyng, trying to not make the lie too obvious.

Then, I pulled 20 gold coins from my pocket. “I’m willing to pay you if necessary...”

For a while, silence reigned, with her merely looking at me. The more seconds passed, the more I believed that the scatterbrained girl, used to talking to people, had realized that mine was a lie. But then, Miriel looked at the coins, then back at me, and a small smile crept across her face.

“I don’t need your money,” she said, her tone softening. “But I will help you… on one condition.”

“What condition?” I asked, puzzled - "I warn you, i will not do any kind of interviews-"

"Don't worry, i won't ask you to do any interview..." - Miriel’s smile widened slightly, but she didn’t elaborate.

“You’ll find out when the time comes,” she said. “For now, consider it a favor.”

[...This was easy...Too easy]

I hesitated for a moment, my distrust flaring up. Miriel's eagerness seemed genuine, but I couldn't help but wonder what her true intentions were. Still, I didn't have many options, and she seemed my best bet.

“Alright,” I agreed, reluctantly. “It’s a deal.”

Miriel extended her hand, and I shook it, sealing our agreement. I couldn’t shake the feeling that this favor might come at a cost, but for now, it was a risk I had to take.

END OF CHAPTER 38 - DISTRUST