“Dekalorin?”
Seraphina blinked.
Ever since arriving here, she had been under the older woman’s constant care.
Although Dekalorin had her fair share of mischievous interests and less-than-pure thoughts, Seraphina didn’t mind at all.
She was like a mother figure, always showing her boundless love through the smallest details.
“That makes sense… She really does seem to handle everything.
Mm, so let’s not overthink it.”
Night had fallen.
The first day of exams had ended, and the academy’s lights glowed once more, chasing away some of the chill.
Seraphina and Movira followed through on their afternoon plan and arrived at Dekalorin’s office.
They knocked lightly.
A slightly tired voice came from inside.
“Please come in.”
Pushing the door open, they found Dekalorin leaning back in her large chair.
The desk in front of her was piled high with messy documents, and the usual smile on her face had been replaced by clear exhaustion.
When she saw them, Dekalorin perked up and sat straighter.
“What is it? Something the matter?”
Seeing her like this, Seraphina suddenly felt bad about asking anything.
“Um… we wanted to ask about arrangements during the new year break… but you look really tired.
We can talk about it tomorrow instead.”
As she spoke, she quietly tugged at Movira’s sleeve, signaling that they should leave.
“Wait.”
Dekalorin stopped them, then waved her hand.
“Never mind. You’ve already come all this way. Go ahead, it’s fine.”
She picked up the cup of tea on the desk, which had already gone cold, and took a sip to refresh herself.
“Mm… alright.”
Seeing Dekalorin insist, Seraphina had no choice but to return and sit across from her.
“It’s about the new year.
The academy will probably clear everyone out, right?
Where would be a good place for us to go?”
Dekalorin looked slightly surprised at the question.
Her gaze finally settled on Movira.
“Didn’t I already talk to Movira about this?”
She rubbed her temples, trying to recall.
“It was last time… when Movira came to see me alone to discuss… certain desires.”
Because Seraphina was present, she kept it vague and only gave Movira a meaningful glance.
“Cough, cough!”
Movira coughed lightly, signaling her to stop.
“No, I don’t remember you saying anything about that at all.”
“Oh, maybe you left in too much of a hurry.”
Dekalorin finally remembered that afternoon.
Movira had practically fled back to the room afterward to do some… things with Seraphina.
Thinking about Movira’s embarrassed state at the time, she couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
“Heh, you probably didn’t hear what I said after that.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll say it again. When the time comes, you two can stay at my place. Spend the next few days packing your luggage. Once you’re done, I’ll have someone escort you over.”
Movira naturally understood the hidden meaning behind the words.
Her expression turned a little unnatural, and she quickly looked away.
“Alright, that arrangement works.”
Seraphina nodded quickly.
“Thank you so much. Will this cause you any trouble?”
“No trouble at all.
To be honest, spending the new year with just me and Saint Eustacia would be pretty quiet.
Having you two there will make things livelier.”
With that, she leaned back into her chair again.
The short conversation had clearly drained her.
Seeing how exhausted she truly was, the pair didn’t linger.
Seraphina stood up.
“You should rest soon.
We won’t disturb you any longer.”
“Alright.”
The two of them left Dekalorin’s office.
The hallway outside was dim and quiet.
“She really does look worn out,” Seraphina said, a hint of guilt in her voice.
“Should we have bothered her at a time like this?”
“She was the one who stopped us, wasn’t she? Besides, if we had known she was in that state beforehand, it would have been inconsiderate to come. But we didn’t know.”
Movira spoke while slipping an arm around Seraphina’s shoulders in silent comfort.
“And the problem is solved now. Staying at her place is actually a nice arrangement.”
“Mm.”
Seraphina nodded and naturally leaned against Movira’s side.
“I just didn’t expect that she had already told you, but you didn’t remember at all. Um… what exactly was so urgent that day that you didn’t even hear what she said?”
“Mm…”
Movira really didn’t want to bring it up.
After all, it wasn’t exactly a topic either of them wanted to discuss openly.
“Maybe I had some important matters to handle at the time.”
She avoided the real reason and changed the subject.
“Since we still have a week, we can pack slowly. No need to rush.”
“Yeah, a whole week left.”
Seraphina repeated it, already thinking ahead.
There isn’t much I need to bring anyway.
Most daily items… Dekalorin’s place will definitely have them.
If not, we can buy whatever we need.
The main things are my books and notebooks… As long as I’m with Movira, the location doesn’t make much difference to me.
“Mm, bring whatever you want.”
Movira didn’t mind at all.
“Perfect.
These next few days we can explore all the parts of the academy we haven’t seen yet.”
“Sounds good.”
Just as they were about to turn a corner, Movira couldn’t help glancing back at Dekalorin’s office in the distance.
The light was still on inside.
What puzzled her, though, was…
When did she become so… weak?
In the following days, the academy remained busy.
Students rushed to various exam halls from early morning, and so did the teachers.
Yet the two idlest people in the entire academy seemed to be Seraphina and Movira.
They thoroughly enjoyed the rare leisure.
As planned, they wandered all over the campus, exploring corners they had never noticed before.
They even visited the so-called “haunted building” from earlier.
It had already been cordoned off, and demolition was likely only a matter of time.
The academy had also issued an official statement a few days ago, apologizing and explaining that the lack of proper management in that area had caused a magical disturbance, which led to the appearance of monsters.
On sunny afternoons, they would find a quiet corner in the library and read together.
As for packing, Seraphina placed the few magic notebooks she had written in her spare time to pass the hours, along with some frequently used pens and ink, into a chest.
Oh, and the little prize Movira had won for her during the Thanksgiving Festival.
It wouldn’t be worth much on the open market, but Seraphina still carefully packed it away.
The sight warmed Movira’s heart.