The door opened.
Liuna looked at the open door, her expression a bit strange.
“This is really secure…”
She carried the greatsword and walked inside.
However, she didn’t know that this place was no high-class student dormitory.
It was an auxiliary area of the Sage’s Tower.
The tower was very quiet.
White marble stairs spiraled upward, and the air was faintly filled with the scent of magical potions and ancient books.
The further she walked, the more she felt something was off.
Just then, a figure appeared at the top of the stairs.
It was a mature and elegant woman.
She had red hair similar to Liuna’s, only a shade darker.
Liuna’s gaze fell on the Sage, noticing her robes and the long staff inlaid with a green crystal in her hand.
The woman stared at Liuna for a moment.
“Little Na?”
Liuna froze.
No one had called her that in a long time.
Her eyes widened, and the greatsword in her hands nearly slipped.
“Could it be… Mother?”
Ignia walked slowly down the stairs, her gaze sweeping over Liuna’s dusty clothes, disheveled hair, and the greatsword that clearly didn’t belong to her.
“Little Na, how did you get into the academy?”
Liuna opened her mouth.
“Mom, it’s a long story.”
She had thought she would say it calmly, but instead, tears began to flow slowly. Then she started recounting everything that had happened at the Border Town.
From the attack on the night before the Hunting Festival, to the Black Flame blasting open the Hunting Lodge, to the fortress being blown up and the Residential Area catching fire. She spoke of how she and Rosa had fled, the battle in the Church, and seeing her father’s body in the Square.
When she got to that part, Liuna couldn’t go on.
She lowered her head, her fingers tightly gripping the hem of her clothes.
Ignia had listened in silence the entire time.
Finally, her expression had turned utterly grim.
Liuna was a little worried.
“Mom, are you okay?”
Ignia didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she looked at the greatsword in Liuna’s arms.
“What’s this sword about?”
“I ran into a few people on my way to the cafeteria. This sword was left behind by one of them…”
Liuna felt a bit embarrassed.
“I was originally trying to find her, but I ended up wandering here somehow.”
Ignia raised her hand.
Green mana and Space Spells intertwined into a ring of light, gently covering the greatsword. The next second, it vanished from sight.
Liuna’s eyes widened.
“Huh?!”
“Sent it back where it belongs.”
Ignia said flatly.
Then, looking at Liuna’s disheveled state, she let out a soft sigh.
“Daughter, come with me first.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll get you a clean change of clothes.”
Ignia’s tone turned very serious.
“You don’t look like a noble at all right now.”
Liuna looked down at herself.
Her hem was torn, her boots were muddy, and her hair was a complete mess.
She was speechless for a moment.
Indeed.
Right now, she didn’t look like a noble lady. She looked like someone fleeing a famine.
—
Meanwhile, Qiu Meng had finally found the cafeteria using the map.
The moment she pushed open the door, her first thought was:
This place isn’t that much different from her previous life’s school cafeteria.
Of course… the decor was much more luxurious.
The entire cafeteria was constructed with marble pillars and light birch wooden beams, with rows of magic guide lamps floating from the ceiling. Through the windows, she could see the fountain in the academy’s water court.
Long tables were neatly arranged, and many students were busily eating from their trays. The air was filled with the scent of stew, roast chicken, salted fish, and bread.
“Hmm…”
Qiu Meng stood at the entrance, curiously observing her surroundings.
She walked to the serving area and glanced at the menu.
Steak.
Lamb chops.
Chicken steak.
Stew.
Salad.
Preserved foods.
Rye bread.
Salt-smoked fish.
Mushroom soup.
Overall, it looked fairly normal.
But the seasoning was incredibly simple.
All salt. Anyone would think the Salt Lord had come to pay tribute.
Qiu Meng couldn’t help but think that if she could get some vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, or even just garlic paste and chili oil, the dishes here would instantly be elevated by a level.
“So average…”
She muttered softly.
Still, compared to some bizarre restaurants from her previous life, at least the ingredients here didn’t look like they were made with gutter oil.
She thought for a moment and was about to order a serving of stew when her gaze suddenly fell on a terrifying dish.
It was a blueberry pie.
In theory, it was a dessert.
But on the pie’s surface were a ring of fish heads.
A row of fish heads stood upright, their empty eyes staring at the ceiling.
Qiu Meng was silent.
A cold sweat trickled down her forehead.
“I… no way… Even Hemingway would drop dead on the spot seeing this…”
She took a step back.
“For… forget it. I’ll go back and find something to eat on my own.”
She quietly left the cafeteria.
At the entrance, she noticed a small magical array. Beside it was written: “Student Dormitory Express Teleport.”
“Wow, so convenient?”
Qiu Meng took out her admission letter, confirmed that her dormitory information had been registered, and tentatively stepped onto it.
A blue light flashed.
The next second, she was in the Girls’ Dormitory Ground Floor Hall.
Behind the front desk sat a familiar face.
Sailafei.
She was reading a novel, her expression much more relaxed than at the registration office.
Qiu Meng stood there, but a thought popped into her head.
‘Why is it this guy again?’
Sailafei looked up, saw her, and didn’t seem too surprised.
“Looking for your dorm?”
“Mm… yes.”
Sailafei flipped open the list, scanned a few pages, and quickly found the name.
“Qiu Meng… Room 301.”
She took out a Magic Stone Key from a drawer and handed it over.
“Here. Use this for both the dorm door and the teleport booth.”
“Thanks.”
Qiu Meng took the key and walked to the adjacent teleport room.
She found the teleport platform for the third floor. Tapping it lightly with the key, the teleportation runes expanded.
“Hmm…”
A blue light flashed.
She arrived at her dorm room.
Before she could push the door open, she smelled food.
“Huh?! Food?”
Qiu Meng was stunned.
After being scared off by the fish head blueberry pie at the cafeteria, she was still a bit hungry. But she hadn’t expected to smell food right at her dorm door.
Curiously, she pushed the door open.
Inside, a silver-purple-haired girl was standing in front of a small magic stove, using Fire Magic to fry meat strips and eggs.
It was the girl Qiu Meng had bumped into earlier.
Hearing the door open, she turned her head and was also stunned.
“Ah.”
Qiu Meng pointed at her.
“Hey?!”
The girl clearly recognized her too.
“You’re the one from earlier…”
The air became subtly quiet for a moment.
Qiu Meng thought for a bit. She didn’t have her luggage yet, and she’d probably have to go back to the Dream Travel Inn tonight to tell her parents.
For now, she just wanted to check out the dorm. She hadn’t expected to run straight into her future roommate cooking.
“Um… I’m supposed to be in this dorm.”
The silver-purple-haired girl blinked.
“Oh, is that so?”
She quickly regained her composure and turned back to flip the meat strips in the pan.
“I’ve done one round of cleaning. Do as you like.”
Qiu Meng stood at the door, a little unsure.
“Hmm…”
She looked at the sizzling meat strips in the pan, then down at her own stomach.
The girl seemed to notice and spoke up:
“I made an extra portion. It’s for you!”
She paused.
“Want to try it?”
“Uh… me?”
“Of course. We can’t start off on bad terms on our first meeting, right?”
The girl thought for a moment and added:
“Actually, it’s not the first meeting anymore.”
Qiu Meng was almost amused by that line.
“Then… thank you.”
She entered the room and sat down, taking the opportunity to look the girl over.
The silver-purple-haired girl’s clothes had a distinct Western Region style.
A short jacket made of dark blue fabric, trimmed with thin metal pieces along the edges. A tool pouch and table knife hung from her waist, and the cuffs had the steel buckle design common to ship cities.
She looked like she was from a place known for ships, iron plates, and sea cities in the Western Region.
She was a bit taller than Qiu Meng and moved quite nimbly.
In no time, the meat strips and eggs were served.
“My name is Alisia.”
The girl set down the bowls and chopsticks.
“And you?”
“I’m… I’m Qiu Meng.”
“Alright then. Dig in.”
Alisia sat down, picked up some bread, and ate with a natural air.
Qiu Meng picked up a small piece of meat strip and tried it.
The next second, her expression froze.
‘What the… why is it so salty!!’
‘The Old Man and the Sea is right—first the fish, now the Salt Lord!!’
But Qiu Meng couldn’t say that to her roommate. She could only force a smile.
Then she quickly took a big bite of bread to try and balance the flavor.
Alisia, however, was happily eating away, finishing most of the meat strips in no time. From her expression, she didn’t seem to notice any problem at all.
Qiu Meng silently got up, walked over to the faucet powered by a water magic stone, and poured herself a glass of water.
She drank.
Then took another bite.
Drank another glass.
Took another bite.
After five glasses of water, she finally felt alive again.
Alisia only then belatedly put down her chopsticks.
“Oh… I forgot to mention.”
“Mm?”
“I added a bit more seasoning.”
Qiu Meng stared at her with dead fish eyes.
Alisia seemed to realize the problem, her expression turning a little sheepish.
“Um, I’m really sorry… I’ll be more careful next time.”
Qiu Meng quickly waved her hand.
“It’s fine… Phew, I’m much better now.”
“Really?”
“It’s just the taste, yeah…”
Alisia looked visibly relieved.
“I’ll be more careful from now on.”
She ate very fast, finishing her portion in under three minutes. Qiu Meng, on the other hand, spent most of the time drinking water. In the end, she was not only full, but also facing a severe test of her bladder capacity.
‘Oh well… regardless.’
‘This meal was still much more normal than that Stargazy Pie.’
Qiu Meng mentally added a little approval rating for Alisia.
Even if the salt had deducted most of it.
After Alisia cleaned up the dishes, she suddenly asked:
“What are your plans next…?”
Qiu Meng thought for a moment.
“Go check out the classroom. I should at least know where I’ll be having classes.”
Alisia’s eyes lit up a little.
“Mm. Then, want to go take a look together?”
“Sure.”
Alisia turned her head and suddenly noticed the greatsword had appeared on the table.
“Huh…! Where did the greatsword come from? It wasn’t here before…”
She assumed the teacher had teleported it, then strapped the greatsword back onto her back. Before leaving, she checked her suitcase and bed again.
On the other side, Qiu Meng also tidied her small bag, felt for the admission letter in her bag, confirmed it was still there, then stood up and followed.
The two walked out of the dorm room, one after the other.
In the hallway, the afternoon sun streamed through the windows, casting light on the marble floor. It felt like she no longer had to rush and could finally attend school.
Then Qiu Meng walked up to Alisia and couldn’t help but curl the corners of her mouth slightly.
“A brand new academy life…”
Alisia tilted her head to look at her.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
Qiu Meng shook her head.
“Let’s go. Let’s see the classroom.”
“Mm!”