The next day, Helos woke up early as usual. It was a habit she couldn’t break, especially after three years of Teacher Lilith’s “five o’clock sharp” wake-up service.
Now, she could wake up on time even without an alarm. It couldn’t be helped; once a biological clock was set, it was hard to change.
Soon after, she changed into her academy uniform. Helos climbed out of bed quietly, finished her morning routine, and pushed open her bedroom door to the living room.
To her surprise, Agatha’s door was also open, and rustling sounds were coming from inside.
‘Is she up this early too? Does she have class?’
Helos couldn’t help but feel surprised. Curious, she leaned toward Agatha’s doorway and peeked inside.
She saw Agatha squatting on the floor in her pajamas, carefully tinkering with a plant on the windowsill that looked like a bunch of dead twigs.
The plant was pitch black, its branches twisted like talons. It was completely bare without a single leaf. No matter how one looked at it, it didn’t seem like something that could be kept alive.
“Agatha? What are you doing?” Helos couldn’t help but ask.
“Oh, Helos, you’re up?”
Agatha turned her head at the sound of her voice, her face filled with excitement. “Look! The demon vine wood I was cultivating last night finally sprouted!”
She pointed at the “dead twigs” as if showing off a treasure. Helos looked closely in the direction she was pointing and realized that a tiny black bud had indeed emerged at the tip of the dark branches.
‘Can this even be called sprouting?’
‘It looks more like an ominous prop for some evil ritual.’
However, she didn’t feel like criticizing Agatha’s peculiar hobby. Helos’s eye twitched slightly; the thing just looked… She glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was almost time.
“Aren’t you going to get ready? The first class is about to start.”
“Class?” Agatha froze for a moment, then burst out laughing, looking at Helos as if she were a fool. “I say, Helos, have you studied yourself into a stupor? Today is a public rest day!”
‘Rest… day?’
Helos blinked, her brain stalling for a moment. She frantically searched her memory. It seemed… likely… indeed… was today the academy’s weekly public rest day?
Because her head had been filled with research on that damn alchemy bomb formula lately, combined with being overwhelmed by the various preview and review tasks assigned by Teacher Emilia, she had completely forgotten such an important thing!
Seeing Helos’s stunned and silly expression, Agatha laughed even harder. She stood up, brushed the dirt off her hands, walked over to Helos, and pinched her cheek.
“Oh my, what a little scholar. Forgetting even the rest day… that would be such a waste. Since you’re already dressed so neatly, you can’t just mope around the dorm all day, right?”
Her crimson eyes darted around, and a mischievous smile appeared on her face.
“On second thought, since you’re up… why don’t we head to the central commercial district? I happen to be short on a few rare catalysts. Maybe we can find something good there!”
‘Go to the central commercial district?’
Helos tilted her head and thought about it. Her impression of that place was still stuck on the brief glimpse she got when shopping with her sister a few days ago.
There were indeed many alchemy material shops she was interested in, and since there was no class today, there didn’t seem to be anything else to do.
It wouldn’t hurt to go. Maybe she could find something useful and relax at the same time.
“Alright,” Helos nodded. “Let’s go together.”
“Yay!” Agatha cheered and immediately rushed back into her room. “Wait for me! I’ll change right away!”
***
After a simple breakfast, Helos, Agatha, and the inseparable Gavi left the dormitory building together and headed toward the academy gates.
Because the Royal Magic Academy was located in the heart of the Imperial Capital, it was still a considerable distance from the central commercial district.
Agatha suggested taking a windrunner beast stagecoach.
“Those things run really fast,” Agatha introduced enthusiastically. “They’re very stable, too. Much more comfortable than walking or taking a regular carriage.”
Helos had no objection to this. After all, she was quite curious about such a unique magical transport.
The three of them walked along the wide, tree-lined path within the academy toward the gate, encountering many other students who were also heading out for the rest day.
Just as they were about to reach the vicinity of the main gate, Helos suddenly stopped.
Her gaze fell on a figure not far ahead, and her brow furrowed slightly.
It was Eleanor.
Her sister was currently standing at the fork leading to the Divine Magic Academy. She seemed to be preparing to leave the school as well, but her situation looked… less than ideal.
Surrounding Eleanor was a thick crowd of students, both male and female, several layers deep. They all wore expressions of excitement and adoration, encircling Eleanor and chattering away about something.
Eleanor still maintained that impeccable, gentle smile belonging to a Saintess, but Helos keenly caught the fleeting look of helplessness and exhaustion deep in her sister’s eyes.
‘Is Sister trapped?’ Helos chuckled inwardly.
It was inevitable. After all, Eleanor carried so many titles: Saintess, Duke’s Daughter, and sister of Christ.
Combined with her kind and gentle personality, she was practically a walking icon in a place like the Divine Magic Academy, where “believers” were everywhere. It was hard for her to find any peace.
While Helos was enjoying the spectacle, the surrounded Eleanor seemed to notice her in the distance. Eleanor’s eyes suddenly lit up.
She discreetly glanced at the “fanatical fans” who were still rambling around her and precisely directed a pleading look toward her sister, who was currently watching the show. The meaning in that look couldn’t be clearer — *Help me!*
Helos looked at her sister’s pitiful gaze and then at the airtight “human wall” around her. Her mouth couldn’t help but twitch. She really couldn’t do anything about her.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help her sister, but in this situation, dragging her out unharmed would require some forceful measures.
She took a deep breath and turned to Agatha. “Agatha, wait for me here a moment. I have some ‘family business’ to handle.”
After saying that, she patted Gavi’s arm and gave her a look. In the next second, Helos’s mind stirred, and **[Physical Enhancement]** quietly activated!
She could clearly feel her strength, speed, and reaction time significantly improve in an instant. Her body became light and filled with power.
“Sorry — coming through — excuse me — !”
Helos shouted in a voice that was as “ladylike” as possible while charging into the dense crowd like an arrow released from a bow!
Gavi followed closely behind. Like the sturdiest icebreaker, she used her seemingly slender but terrifyingly powerful body to force a path open in front of Helos!
The students who had been blocking the way felt an irresistible force coming from beside them. Before they could react, they were involuntarily pushed to the sides.
In the blink of an eye, Helos had charged into the center of the crowd and reached Eleanor.
“Let’s go, Sister!”
She didn’t even give Eleanor time to react, directly scooping her stunned sister up by the waist!
Eleanor felt her body go light, and in the next second, she fell into an embrace that was petite but exceptionally powerful. Immediately after, Gavi appeared behind them and gave Helos’s feet a boost with both hands!
Leveraging Gavi’s immense strength and the explosive power of **[Physical Enhancement]**, Helos held Eleanor and leapt high like a bird taking flight, clearing the circle of dumbfounded students!
Then, the girl landed steadily on the open ground several meters away with her sister in her arms. The entire process was seamless, happening so fast that people couldn’t even process it.
“My sister isn’t feeling well, so I’m taking her first! Everyone — see you later — !”
Helos set Eleanor down and threw those words over her shoulder without looking back. She then grabbed her sister, who still hadn’t fully grasped the situation, and fled the scene at high speed under Gavi’s cover.
She left behind a crowd of stunned students and an equally dazed Agatha watching from afar.
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