“I see that you have found the Siren’s Passages.”

Talia spun on her heel, turning back to look at Elder Krakatoa with wide eyes.

“I—I...” Talia stuttered. “I don't even know how I got here.”

Elder Krakatoa smiled knowingly and nodded.

“Many students lose themselves in the Siren's Passages. It's not unusual. When Nami told me that you were nowhere to be found and had seemingly disappeared, I knew you would probably be here. This is the Leviathan's Hall, one of the lesser-known passages and one of the harder ones to unlock. But you seem to have a natural aptitude for seeing and perceiving Mana. That’s what led you here, isn’t it?”

“Elder, I didn't mean to—” Elder Krakatoa raised his hand, cutting Talia off.

“It's alright. You didn't do anything wrong. I was just worried that you wouldn't know how to come back from here. The knowledge of these passages is not as widespread as one might imagine. This is an old academy, Talia. Many of the Siren's Passages are secret knowledge that most hold close to their chests. Some schools fully monopolize them to access secret rooms and special places inside the Academy. You actually made yourself some money by finding this passage.”

“I can sell the knowledge about this passage?” Talia frowned.

“This is not a passage that my School uses, nor do I know how to access the other places it leads to. However, senior students trying to get access to very rare artifacts, and perhaps even some professors, might be interested in paying gold for such information—and more gold if you show them how to get in. I wouldn't want to play favorites, so I suggest you ask Nami about this.”

“Thank you, Elder,” Talia said, slightly confused. “So are these passages, by any chance, used for... well, unsavory things? Let's say I think I saw something, but I'm not sure I should even mention it.”

Elder Krakatoa raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly.

“The Academy is a very complicated place. People go about their business and might be involved in things that you might not understand right now. I would ask you not to tell me what you saw, Talia. I am the Vice Principal; if there is something suspicious going on, I would need to investigate, and the result of that investigation might lead back to you, creating problems for your future.”

Talia frowned, not fully understanding.

“Politics, child,” Elder Krakatoa laughed. “You don't want to step on any toes, not in your first year. Otherwise, you might find yourself isolated, and trust me, you don't want that.”

Talia took in the words of advice and decided to keep quiet about seeing Professor Iakopo.

It was unlikely that the man was a Cultist, or so Talia wanted to believe.

For all she knew, Elder Krakatoa himself might have been a Cultist.

She regarded the man with a quick glance before turning to where they had come from.

“So, how do we get out of here?” Talia asked, confused.

Elder Krakatoa laughed.

“Got any money on you? Because that information will cost you.”

***

Thankfully, Elder Krakatoa had just been joking.

He showed Talia how to get out of the Leviathan's Hall and further explained that it connected to several places, most of which were unknown.

Apparently, each column inside the large chamber was connected to another room, chamber, or perhaps even another weird Siren's Passage.

Talia found it strange that these passages — these magical shortcuts or whatever they were — had been named after the terrible monsters that lived in the deepest parts of the North Deep.

Sirens were humanoid monsters that, much like the one Professor Iakopo had been dragging through Leviathan's Hall, looked like normal humans but were terrifying, high-level beasts capable of incredible magic.

Talia shuddered at the thought of one day meeting the same monsters she had seen in books so many times.

“Talia!” Nami called from her doorway as Talia walked across the corridor leading to her room. “There you are! Come in; I've been looking for you.”

Talia followed Nami into her room, which was as luxurious as Talia's own accommodation.

Nami led them out to a spacious balcony overlooking the Academy grounds and the shimmering waters beyond.

As they settled into some comfortable chairs, Nami turned to Talia with curiosity in her eyes.

“So, where did you disappear to earlier? We were worried when we couldn't find you after class — we even notified Elder Krakatoa.”

“I found a Siren’s Passage, apparently,” Talia was still so weirded out by that experience that the laugh that came out of her mouth sounded almost hysterical.

“What? Really? Which one?!”

“Elder Krakatoa said it’s called the Leviathan Hall.”

“You’re so lucky,” Nami said with wide eyes. “You can sell that!”

“Elder Krakatoa said the same,” Talia nodded. “He told me to ask you.”

“I’d be honored to help you out,” Nami grinned. “It’s so cool to deal in secrets this early on! It usually takes a couple of years for students to get something so valuable! Do you know that it’s rumored that entire classes are held in the Siren’s Passages?”

“Really?” Talia raised an eyebrow.

“Yes! When they allocate points to the various Schools, there are always a few points that are hard to track down. Those come from the Secret Classes!”

“Secret Classes? Isn’t that… impractical?”

“You’re silly,” Nami laughed. “Secrets are everything here. And out there, too. What do you think the Great Families thrive on, salt water?”

Talia kept getting whiplash from all the revelations she was subjected to at the Water Riders Academy.

First, she had been received with the warmest of welcomes after almost being ejected not once but twice.

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Both Professor Iakopo and Elder Kahua had been close to kicking her out of the Academy – albeit the second unknowingly.

And then, she had found so many students welcoming her, not caring one bit about the clunky bracelets she used to hide her wrists nor about the fact that some people thought she was the Kraken’s spawn.

Talia really took pride in being smart, in being someone who planned ahead, but every time she thought she was finally grasping something about how the Academy worked, and about what to expect, her world kept getting thrown upside down.

“You know,” Talia said, sighing, “Solara was small. I always thought I wouldn’t miss it at all. But…”

Nami leaned against the chair, waiting for Talia to speak and gesturing to the servant who had been tidying up her room to bring refreshments.

“It wasn’t easy back home, but it was simple. When someone doesn’t like you, you know how to act. It’s straightforward. I knew who all my enemies were and where to find my friend—well, friends by the end of it.”

A servant came and put some biscuits and hot tea on the small coffee table as Talia kept talking.

“Now, I really like the Academy, but…”

“The politics?” Nami guessed, biting into a buttery biscuit.

“Yes?” Talia scrunched her face. “Am I being stupid? Should I not complain?”

Nami took that question seriously and looked up at the sky, which was slowly turning pink as the sun started to set.

“I don’t know that I know much more than you,” Nami said. “I was raised to know all the names, all the Great Families, and all the minor nobles. I know things about the Academy and maybe things about Classes and Skills that are not public knowledge. I know that some people – like you, for example – are to be befriended. I know that others are to be avoided and, most importantly, not angered, like Professor Iakopo Kane. I have learned many such rules, but… the Academy and just everything is still so hard to grasp.”

Talia was surprised by the sudden, sincere declaration and the vulnerability that Nami was showing her.

Then, she burst out laughing, causing Nami to stare at her in puzzlement.

Talia, however, couldn’t hold it in and just kept laughing hysterically.

“What?” Nami asked, amused.

“I come from a backwater island and you’re a fancy noble,” Talia tried to calm down, drying the tears of laughter escaping her eyes, “and you feel overwhelmed here. Imagine that.”

“Even nobles have their challenges.”

“You do,” Talia laughed.

“But at least we’ve got biscuits,” Nami winked at the girl.

“We do, I guess,” Talia said, toasting in the air with one of the buttery biscuits.

They just watched the pink sky for a while, enjoying the presence.

There was a bond forming there, something that each girl could feel developing but, because of their past experiences, hesitated in pressing any further at the moment.

And so, the conversation went back to the previous topic.

“Why is the Leviathan Hall valuable? Is it because it’s connected to other places?”

Nami nodded.

“It’s a pure node — a place connected to many other places. Usually, you can expect a good Siren’s Passage, an old one, to be attached to one or two places. Leviathan’s Hall, instead, from what I know, is connected to, like, sixteen different places. But you need a very valuable secret if you want anyone to trade you for how to access any one of those.”

“Huh,” Talia mused. “You know, I don’t really have a good idea of what things are valued for in the Deep. Back on Solara, money was barely an issue.”

“How did you get food?” Nami asked, confused.

“You just go help out with harvesting or fishing,” Talia shrugged. “People share everything, and, in exchange, you give them a hand with work or something. Plus, there’s a bunch of fish in the Calm Belt. Maybe it’s because they don’t get eaten by the Abyssal Creatures.”

“Fascinating,” Nami replied. “The Kraken Slayer’s daughter is a peasant. That’s so funny.”

“Thanks,” Talia laughed back.

“Without any money, you’d starve in Tempest City,” Nami shrugged. “Maybe it’s better out there on Solara.”

“Maybe,” Talia smiled. “But what about you and your sister?”

“What about it?”

“Do you mind me asking how it all works?”

Nami stared back, knowing what Talia was asking.

This wasn’t the first time she was asked about it.

“Even before being Initiated, a Great Family can gauge the talent of their descendants. I can’t tell you how – secrets, as you can imagine – but they know from a very early age. That’s why I was asked to wait to go to the Academy.”

“The Shield and the Retinue must be placed in the same year as the Promised Slayer?” Talia guessed.

“Yeah,” Nami sighed. “We make sure to take the same courses, too, so we can always watch over Lilo. Right now, Koa, Kahale, and Nainoa are guarding her door and her balcony while she rests.”

“Is it actually dangerous at the Academy?” Talia frowned.

“Not at all. Assassination attempts at a Promised Slayer are unheard of. It’s not meant to be practical; it’s meant to be practice.”

“You train to guard her all the time while she’s safe so that when you guys go out there, you can guard her for real.”

“Not just guard,” Nami cleared her voice. “The main reason we are not sent ahead to the Academy or that the Promised Slayer doesn’t get stronger bodyguards is because it would impair their growth. Our priority is to support Lilo, to keep her alive long enough to blossom into her talent and kill the Scourge of the Deep before it takes any lives or attacks any city.”

“If you were too strong, she wouldn’t be able to level up alongside you. She’d be sheltered into weakness,” Talia mused. “That’s… elaborate. And smart, I guess.”

“It works. The other Great Families do the same. We have incorporated all we have learned across the years into what we do. It’s the reason why the Promised Slayers get a Soul Artifact for a weapon – which, yes, is very strong – but it’s not a Legendary Artifact, which would make things too easy for them. Struggle is the key to growth.”

Talia looked into Nami’s eyes and saw some melancholy in them.

That made a question bubble up in her mind.

“Do the Shields die before the Slayers? Or do the Slayers die because they have to fight the Kraken so many times?”

“A good Shield,” Nami said, “might die long before their Slayer gets to fight the Kraken. It’s considered a shame to outlive your Chosen, both for the Shield and the Retinue.”

“You guys are there to keep the Slayer alive even while fighting the Kraken,” Talia frowned. “Wait a second…”

She made a connection.

“Elder Krakatoa mentioned being there for my mother when she fought the Kraken. Is that why he’s so nice to me? He feels guilty that she died before him?”

“It is unusual for those outside the Great Families to become Kraken Slayers — but once they manage to slay the Kraken or show enough strength to let you believe they might, the Water Riders will step forward and offer themselves as Shields and Retinues. That’s what Elder Krakatoa did for your mother.”

“So, that’s why he’s so nice,” Talia frowned.

“There’s more to that. You’re guaranteed to be strong, an asset. Every School would love to have you. Look at your sister – she’s the Champion of Elder Kahua’s School, and she’s only in her fourth year. Usually, only the seniors in the fifth year are picked to represent their Schools. The fact that Elder Kahua chose her this year means he must have absolute confidence she’s already much stronger than any other fifth-year student.”

“An asset,” Talia shook her head.

“It’s not a bad thing,” Nami smiled back.

“It’s just… surprising. Anyway, did you see your sister talking to Takai at the end of Elder Krakatoa’s lesson? Does she have a crush on him?”

“She’s been mostly secluded away in training all these years,” Nami shrugged. “Our parents didn’t want her to get distracted by, you know…”

“Boys,” Talia laughed.

“Boys, yeah. She doesn’t know much about them. Your friend probably looks sweet and innocent in her eyes. She likes that.”

“Huh,” Talia looked impressed. “Happy for Takai, I guess.”

“Not really,” Nami sighed. “Being a Chosen is not—”

“Lady Nami,” the woman who had served them refreshments, came out from the room and bowed. “Miss Riala’s at the door. She’s looking for her sister.”

Nami and Talia exchanged a quick glance before Nami nodded at the servant.

“Please, show her in.”

Moments later, Riala stepped onto the balcony.

Her white hair seemed to glow in the fading sunlight, and her purple eyes – so similar to Talia's in shape – bore holes through Talia.

“Talia,” Riala said, her voice carefully neutral. “I've been looking for you. I see you’ve already accustomed yourself to a luxurious lifestyle. Did you even attend any lessons today?”

Nami frowned at the behavior, but Talia just laughed.

“Pipe it down,” she told her sister.

“Is everything alright?” Lilo’s older sister asked.

Riala's gaze flickered briefly to Nami before returning to her sister.

“Elder Kahua sent me. He wants to extend an invitation for you to take the entrance test for our School. First thing tomorrow morning.”

Talia blinked in surprise. After their earlier interaction and Elder Kahua's apparent hostility, this was unexpected. “Alright.”

“Do not be late, Talia,” Riala punctuated every syllable.

“I'll think about it,” Talia said cheekily. “Thank you for letting me know.”

“Talia,” Riala stepped forward, standing ominously over her, “if you embarrass me, I swear, you will regret it.”

“I’ll be there, Riala,” Talia sighed. “See you tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll come pick you up,” Riala said coldly. “Be up by dawn if you don’t want to be tossed from your balcony.”

That said, Riala turned on her heels and left behind a stunned Nami and an amused Talia.

“Do you always answer your sister like that?” Nami asked.

“It’s fun,” Talia smiled back. “Anyway, what about dinner?”