Life at the academy continued smoothly as always, the rhythm of classes and training undisturbed.
One day, after afternoon classes ended, Noah didn't immediately join the stream of students heading toward the dormitories or dining hall. Instead, she carried her bag in one hand, walked over to a quiet bench by the edge of the training grounds, and sat down, resting the bag on her knees. From inside, she carefully retrieved a slightly creased letter.
The envelope was already opened—Noah had read it earlier during a break between classes.
But its contents had filled her with so much quiet joy that she felt compelled to read it again, to savor the words.
Mevis, who was tidying up her teaching materials for the day at the instructor's podium, noticed that Noah hadn't left yet. She finished organizing her notes and walked over to her.
"It's not Friday today, so you don't need to join your sisters for dinner, right?" Mevis asked as she approached.
She sat beside Noah on the bench, her gaze briefly dropping to the letter in the girl's hands.
Noah looked up at her and shook her head, a soft smile playing on her lips.
"I'll go later. Muse is practicing a new piece in the music room and said she'd eat after she's finished."
"I see..." Mevis nodded, her expression neutral.
She gestured subtly toward the letter. "Is it a letter from your family?"
"Yes," Noah's smile widened. "From my dad."
Whenever Noah mentioned her father, Leon, her entire demeanor softened, her lips curving upward into an unmistakable smile of affection and pride.
"He's coming back next week for the parent-teacher conference."
"Coming back?" Mevis feigned mild surprise. "He's not home now?"
"No, he left a few months ago on a trip for the Lionheart Guild. We've been staying in touch through letters." Noah's voice was bright, full of unconcealed joy and anticipation. "But in his letter, he said that after this visit, he won't be going away for a long while. He's finished his main work."
Seeing Noah's face illuminated with happiness, Mevis's dark eyes wavered slightly, a flicker of something unreadable passing through them.
She averted her gaze, staring down at the scuffed tips of her practical boots. After a moment's heavy silence, she said softly, almost to herself,
"My father used to leave often as well... always claiming he was busy with urgent clan matters."
Hearing this, Noah carefully folded the letter back along its original creases, tucked it neatly into its envelope, and placed it securely in her bag. Then, she turned fully to face Mevis, her silver eyes curious and gentle.
"Mevis, are you from a noble dragon family too?"
"Yes, I am," Mevis replied, her voice flat.
"Then, do you also have—" Noah's question came to an abrupt halt.
She had wanted to ask if Mevis had any siblings, wondering if that was the family she missed.
But she suddenly remembered Mevis's words from not long ago—that her family was in a "far, faraway place." It was clearly a painful, sensitive topic.
So Noah quickly stopped herself, a faint blush of embarrassment coloring her cheeks. "Never mind. It's not important."
She stood up, intending to leave and give her teacher some space.
Even so, as Mevis watched Noah prepare to go, a strangely gentle, almost sorrowful expression appeared in her eyes.
"I still haven't become the person they expected me to be," she murmured, so quietly it was almost inaudible.
Noah paused, turning back. "What was that, Teacher?"
Mevis seemed to shake herself out of a reverie. "Ah, sorry. I just started remembering some... unpleasant things."
She sniffled lightly and forced a thin, unconvincing smile. "It's been a long time. I should have learned to let it all go by now."
Noah could tell she was trying to comfort herself, and failing.
In Mevis's vague, pained words, Noah sensed the edges of a sad and painful past that her teacher had no desire to revisit.
And from her current subdued state, it was clear that she hadn't yet escaped the long shadow of that regret and perceived failure.
Noah didn't know how to comfort her; she wasn't particularly skilled with words of solace.
She opened her mouth, then closed it, unable to think of anything profound or meaningful to say.
Finally, acting on a simple, compassionate impulse, she reached out her small hand and gently placed it over Mevis's where it rested on the bench.
Her touch was cool and soothing.
"You're right, Mevis. We have to look forward," Noah said, her voice firm with a conviction beyond her years.
Mevis looked down at the small hand covering hers, then back at Noah's earnest face. Her smile this time was a little more genuine. "Yes. You are wise for your years, Noah."
"I'm going to find Muen and the others for dinner now. Will you join us?" Noah offered.
"No, I have... a prior engagement!" Mevis said, adopting a lighter tone.
Noah's eyes lit up with innocent curiosity. "You finally agreed to a dinner invitation from one of the male teachers?"
"Mm," Mevis hummed noncommittally.
"Well, I wish you good luck on your date, Mevis!" Noah said cheerfully.
"Thank you, Noah."
"You're welcome, Mevis!"
"No," Mevis said, her gaze softening as it rested on Noah. "I mean... thank you. For everything."
Noah blinked in confusion. "What's the difference—"
"I'll see you tomorrow, Noah," Mevis interjected gently, standing up.
She tied her familiar patched-up coat—the one with the small teddy bear design—around her waist and strode off without a backward glance, her posture straight and purposeful.
Noah watched her tall silhouette disappear around a corner, feeling a strange, unaccountable twinge in her heart.
She didn't know that Mevis's "prior engagement" wasn't with any lucky male teacher.
It was with Sherry (Elizabeth).
On the windswept, isolated rooftop of the academy's main building, Mevis met her fellow agent.
Mevis crossed her arms, looking her teammate up and down with visible disdain.
Sherry (Elizabeth) was thoroughly soaked, her hair plastered to her scalp and face, her fine academy uniform stained with unidentifiable debris, mud, and what looked like bits of rotten vegetables. She resembled a drowned,狼狈 (bèi láng - wretched) rat.
"Did you take a roll in the academy's cafeteria trash bins for fun?" Mevis asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Sherry (Elizabeth) clenched her fists, grumbling with barely suppressed rage,
"I was trying to dump a full trash bin on that clever, pink-haired brat, but—well, she turned the tables on me! And she had the audacity to act like it was nothing afterward, just walked away humming!"
Mevis snorted, unsurprised. "I warned you not to mess with Aurora. Especially not that one. She's far too observant and clever for your clumsy attempts."
"Ugh, I just let my guard down this one time," Sherry (Elizabeth) muttered defensively.
"Just this time?" Mevis's eyes flicked to a faint, yellowish bruise near Sherry (Elizabeth)'s eye. "And what about that? Don't tell me a flying trash bin lid gave you that shiner."
"This is...!" Sherry (Elizabeth) began, puffing up with indignation, but she deflated just as quickly, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "Last week, I convinced two of my... less intelligent classmates to help me teach that Orphra girl a lesson after class, but..."
Mevis raised a skeptical eyebrow. "And?"
"And that damned pink-haired menace came out of nowhere and threw all three of us out of the music wing with a single uppercut! We couldn't exactly use real magic without exposing ourselves..."
"Let me get this straight," Mevis said, a slow smile spreading across her face. "You, with two accomplices, ambushed her, and a single seven-year-old dragoness still beat all of you up?"
"Yeah! So what!" Sherry (Elizabeth) snapped, her face red.
"Pfft—hahahaha!" Mevis threw her head back and laughed, a genuine, hearty sound that was rare for her. She laughed so hard she nearly cried, clutching her stomach as her shoulders shook uncontrollably.
Sherry (Elizabeth)'s mouth twitched in irritation. "Is it really that funny...? I thought you had a higher tolerance for humor."
"Sorry, sorry." Mevis finally composed herself, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye and forcing her expression back into its usual icy mask. "So, what did you drag me up here to talk about? It must be important."
"Lord Shadow has new orders," Sherry (Elizabeth) said, her tone shifting to one of grim seriousness.
"What are they?"
"The 'Banquet' plan is to be executed immediately."
"But didn't Lord Shadow previously say the timing wasn't right? That we needed to wait for the energy convergence to peak?" Mevis frowned, her mind racing.
"He did. But now, he says the conditions are met." Sherry (Elizabeth) shrugged, as if the change was trivial. "The academy's upcoming parent-teacher conference provides the perfect backdrop. The plan will go into action that day."
"The parent-teacher conference..." Mevis murmured, her thoughts flashing to Noah's joyful expression moments ago. "With all the prominent figures from the dragon clans, even multiple Dragon Kings attending... the security will be intense. Isn't the risk of something going wrong too high?"
Sherry (Elizabeth) waved a dismissive hand, suppressing her own doubts. "The more Dragon Kings, the better. That will only make the Banquet's flames burn brighter and more spectacular."
She walked to the edge of the rooftop, gazing out over the sprawling campus of St. Heath's Academy and toward the distant horizon, where the setting sun stained the sky a deep, bloody crimson.
With a fanatical glint of reverence in her eyes, Sherry (Elizabeth) declared,
"It was Lord Shadow who reignited the flames of destiny that should have been extinguished long ago. And now, the time has come for this world to repay its debt to him."