Deep in the Casipe Forest, the atmosphere in the temporary resting clearing was oppressively heavy.
Emma and Sarah were pouring their full strength into casting healing spells, their soft halos of light enveloping the most severely injured students from Lemon Academy and Stin Academy.
Under the influence of the magic, the wounds slowly knit together, but the lingering fear and sense of defeat on the students’ faces were harder to dispel.
As elites handpicked from the four great magic academies of the Olay Empire, they represented the pinnacle of the younger generation’s combat power and the hope of the future.
And yet, just moments ago, they had been crushed with overwhelming force by two unknown monsters who called themselves the “Blood Clan.” If Sarah hadn’t acted decisively and used her trump card, spatial magic, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
This sense of utter helplessness, of having no way to fight back, struck a deep blow to the pride and confidence of these geniuses.
Silence, like creeping vines, coiled around everyone’s hearts.
Once their injuries were basically stabilized, the group returned to the Silent Moon Pier, where they had first set out, carrying a sense of relief for surviving and an unspeakable heaviness. They remained silent the entire way.
According to the original plan, the four academies would part ways here, each returning to report the startling discoveries made during the investigation of the Lemon Territory.
After Rogge and Elsa from Lemon Academy expressed their gratitude to Sarah for her care during the trip, they were the first to lead their companions away. The students from Stin Academy followed closely behind. Their departing figures carried a hint of haste and gravity, clearly eager to bring news of the Blood Clan and the goblins back to their academy.
Soon, only the teams from Starlight Academy and Liyue Academy remained at the pier. Leon looked at Rhea, who had been standing still, and spoke with some confusion:
“Senior Rhea, aren’t we returning to Liyue Academy?”
He noticed that Rhea’s gaze seemed to have been fixed on the Starlight Academy side—more precisely, on the black-haired youth named Ize.
Rhea acted as if she hadn’t heard Leon. Her gaze crossed the short distance, locking firmly onto Ize.
That gaze was complex and difficult to decipher: there was scrutiny, a worry she herself might not have fully clarified, and a hint of… an indescribable friction that came with an impending parting.
Being stared at so intently made Ize feel uneasy. His heart skipped a beat for no reason, and he could even feel the knowing look Senior Sarah was casting his way from the side.
The air seemed to freeze for a few seconds.
Finally, Rhea took a slight breath. Using her characteristic voice—cool, with a barely perceptible hint of huskiness—she directed three words toward Ize:
“I am leaving.”
The statement had no beginning or end. It didn’t seem like a response to Leon, nor did it seem like a farewell to the rest of Starlight Academy; it was focused so clearly that it seemed intended for Ize alone.
After the words fell, she did not linger. She turned decisively and led the way toward Liyue Academy.
Leon was stunned for a moment before hurrying to follow. The moment he turned, he couldn’t help but look back deeply at Ize. That look was a mixture of scrutiny, doubt, and a coldness born from feeling vaguely threatened.
‘As I thought, Senior Rhea’s attitude toward this guy… is out of the ordinary.’
This realization felt like a stone clogging his heart. As Ize watched Rhea’s departing figure—one that left without a single backward glance—his heart was momentarily filled with mixed emotions.
He secretly calculated the date. Today was the third day. By tonight, the effects of that damn “Obedience Water” should be completely gone.
Moreover, Rhea now knew the secret of his abnormal defensive power; they both held leverage over each other now.
Logically, she shouldn’t pay him excessive attention out of suspicion or testing like before. The troublesome entanglement between them should finally be coming to an end.
Thinking of this, he should have felt relaxed, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
However, a strange, slightly bitter sense of loss quietly spread through him. It felt as if something was gently blocking his chest, making his breathing a bit labored.
He couldn’t explain the source of this emotion himself, so he could only attribute it to the aftereffects of the continuous harrowing encounters of the past few days.
“Senior Ize,”
Luke’s boisterous voice broke the stagnant atmosphere. He leaned in, blinking his eyes.
“The way you were staring at Lady Rhea as she left… your eyes looked a bit… reluctant?”
These words caused quite a stir.
Upon hearing them, Sarah and Emma focused their gazes on Ize’s face at the same time.
Sarah’s eyes held a playful scrutiny, as if she had already seen through everything. She had already guessed that Rhea had an unusual interest in Ize; what she wanted to confirm now was how her junior, who always tried to hide himself, actually felt about Rhea.
Emma, who wasn’t as sharp as Sarah, was simply curious, her large eyes blinking as she waited for Ize’s answer. Being stared at by the three of them made Ize’s scalp tingle. He coughed twice, forcing down the odd sensation in his heart, and put on his most serious expression to try and divert the topic:
“Don’t talk nonsense! I was just… reflecting on the experiences of the past few days. I didn’t expect a seemingly ordinary investigation mission to involve so many consecutive dangers—mutant goblins and the mysterious Blood Clan…”
He successfully diverted some of their attention.
Luke immediately nodded in agreement, a look of lingering fear appearing on his face:
“Yeah, you’re right! Those goblins were already difficult enough to deal with, and then there are monsters like the Blood Clan! Their strength is ridiculously high. No wonder they could easily turn the Lemon Territory into what it is now…”
As he spoke, Luke’s gaze fell on the group of children who had been quietly following Ize.
Most of them were dressed in rags and looked emaciated. They were currently huddled together timidly. Only the little girl named Linka, though equally thin, had eyes that were more composed and held a hint of hidden intelligence compared to the other children.
“But Senior Ize, how do you plan to settle these children?” Luke asked.
Ize looked at this group—the only lucky survivors, or perhaps the unlucky ones, from the tragedy of the Lemon Territory—and sighed:
“Let’s bring them back to Starlight Academy first. At least we can give them a magic talent test to see if any of them have the potential to walk the path of magic.”
Sarah took over the conversation. Her gaze swept over the children, a flicker of hidden guilt flashing in her eyes. Her voice was gentle yet firm:
“If their talent is average, or if they have no magic talent at all, I will arrange for someone to take them to the Ulysses Family territory for proper settlement. At least I can guarantee they will have enough to eat and wear and grow up safely.”
She remembered that in the Lemon Territory, she had personally ended the lives of the townspeople who had been turned into monsters—people who were once the parents of these children. The weight of responsibility and guilt in her heart grew heavier.
Ize looked at Sarah and thanked her sincerely: “Then I’ll leave it to you, Senior Sarah.”
“It’s only what I should do,” Sarah shook her head gently, suppressing her self-reproach.
—
The group walked through the streets of Silent Moon Pier, preparing to board their transport back to Starlight Academy.
The surviving children followed closely. Most of them were cowering, subconsciously gathering behind Linka, who seemed the most composed and reliable.
And Linka, meanwhile, kept her small steps consistent, following Ize at a moderate distance.
This detail made Ize a bit curious.
He remembered clearly that in the square of the Lemon Territory, in front of this little girl, he had unhesitatingly used lightning to kill several children who were assaulting her and her companions and blaming them.
Logically, he should be a cold and dangerous person in her eyes.
In contrast, Senior Sarah was gentle and powerful, and Senior Emma was kind and approachable. Shouldn’t they be the ones the children relied on and felt close to?
He couldn’t help but slow his pace. When Linka reached his side, he asked softly:
“Linka, why are you always following me? Aren’t you afraid of me?”
Linka looked up. There wasn’t a hint of fear in her clear, large eyes. She shook her head vigorously, her voice soft but certain: “No. I think you’re a good person, Big Brother.”
Ize: “…” He was momentarily speechless, not expecting to receive a “good person card” from a little girl. Linka paused, then added, her small face showing a hint of confusion as if describing an indescribable feeling: “And… I always feel like you’re a bit… different from other people, Big Brother.”
“Oh? How so?” Ize grew interested. He squatted down to look Linka in the eye.
Linka knitted her small brows, thinking hard for a moment, but eventually shook her head: “I can’t say for sure… it’s just a feeling.”
She pointed her finger at her heart.
Seeing her serious expression, Ize couldn’t help but smile, responding with the same sentiment: “What a coincidence. I also think you’re a bit different from the other children.”
As his words fell, he keenly caught a very rapid flash of… panic on Linka’s face?
Although she quickly lowered her head to hide it, that momentary abnormal reaction did not escape Ize’s eyes.
Was it just his imagination?
A hint of doubt rose in Ize’s heart.
This little girl named Linka did not seem as simple as she appeared.
—
Starlight Academy, Dean’s Office.
Claire watched the group of poor children filing in behind Ize. A rare look of obvious bewilderment and a hint of helplessness appeared on her well-maintained face.
She rubbed the space between her eyebrows and looked at Emma and Sarah, her tone laced with unshielded confusion:
“I say… you went to the Lemon Territory to investigate a monster invasion, not to open a charitable orphanage, right? Why did you bring back a bunch of little ones? This is an academy for training mages, not a relief station.”
Ize looked down at his nose and chose to remain silent, leaving the task of explanation to Sarah.
Sarah stepped forward. After a respectful bow, she explained:
“Master Claire, these children… are the only survivors from the ruins of the Lemon Territory. As for the reason we brought them back, the process is somewhat complicated. Please allow me to report it to you in detail later. For now, I would like to perform magic talent tests for them.”
Claire’s gaze swept over the children, who were even more nervous and uneasy due to being in a strange environment. She didn’t hold much hope in her heart.
While magic talent wasn’t an absolute monopoly of the nobility, it was indeed closely related to bloodline inheritance and the environment one grew up in.
The probability of these poor children from a frontier territory, who had lived hand-to-mouth, possessing outstanding magic talent was minuscule.
She waved her hand somewhat impatiently: “Fine. Ize, take them to the testing room.”
“Yes, Dean.” Ize felt like he had been granted a reprieve. He immediately accepted and led the children away without hesitation, not wanting to spend another moment under Claire’s scrutinizing and oppressive gaze.
Once Ize and the children had left, leaving only Claire, Sarah, and Emma in the office, Sarah took a deep breath. She reported everything that had happened during the trip to the Lemon Territory to Claire, leaving nothing out.
From encountering a Lord-class goblin in Casipe Village that possessed extraordinary intelligence and knew military formations, to encountering the “monster race” in the Lemon Territory capable of turning humans into bloodthirsty monsters, to the direct conflict with the two individuals calling themselves Bart and Chise, the overwhelming strength they displayed, and finally, Sarah being forced to use her life-saving trump card to lead everyone in a panicked escape.
As Claire listened, her lazy and casual demeanor was gradually replaced by shock and gravity.
Goblins with Lord-class strength and high intelligence?
Mysterious monsters who could easily shatter fifth-rank defensive spells with a few kicks?
Every single one of these pieces of information was enough to cause a stir among the empire’s high-ranking officials!
“Fortunately… I had you go along this time.” Claire looked at Sarah with lingering fear, then thought of Ize and Emma.
If the Fifth-Rank Chief, Sarah, hadn’t been there, Ize and Emma would likely have met a grim fate.
“Master Claire, have you… ever heard of the ‘Blood Clan’?” Sarah’s voice still carried deep dread when she mentioned the name.
Claire’s brows furrowed as she sank into thought, her fingertips unconsciously tapping the desk.
After a long time, she finally spoke, her voice carrying the distant tone of someone recalling history: “The Blood Clan… according to scattered records in ancient texts, they are an extremely ancient monster race. Their history may even date back to the era when dragons were active. They possess long lifespans, great strength, and certain bizarre abilities. It is said their power level is sufficient to rival true dragons. However, for some unknown reason, this race completely vanished about several hundred years ago and was almost considered extinct…”
She paused, her eyes filled with confusion. “But why would this powerful race, which had disappeared for so long, suddenly reappear and attack the Lemon Family? What is the hidden purpose behind this?”
Sarah seemed to suddenly remember something and added:
“There is one more thing, Master Claire. At Casipe Village, Rhea from Liyue Academy obtained a peculiar scale after killing that Lord-class goblin. The texture of that scale was extremely hard, and the magic power it contained was exceptionally pure and unique, completely different from any known monster scale I know of. Rhea should be handing that scale over to her teacher, Dean Alan of Liyue Academy, for research and analysis. I believe news about that scale will arrive soon.”
Claire nodded, silently noting this information.
Goblin mutations, dragon scale fragments, the reappearance of the Blood Clan… there seemed to be some faint, shimmering connection between these clues.
Pushing her chaotic thoughts aside for the moment, Claire’s gaze fell back on the two students before her. She changed the subject, her tone carrying a hint of inquiry:
“Sarah, Emma, putting aside the danger of this mission… do you two have any special opinions regarding Ize after this period of time?”
Her question seemed casual, yet it left both Sarah and Emma momentarily stunned.