Night fell atop the bell tower.
“I’m going to bring him back.”
Astreia abruptly put down the magic telescope and turned to leave.
Every muscle in her body was taut, radiating dangerous signals.
“Are you crazy?”
Laxana grabbed the princess’s arm.
“Otherwise what?”
Astreia shook her hand off.
“If I wait any longer, that fox spirit will have completely stolen Wendy’s soul! Even if I have to use the Witch’s power, I’ll drag him out of there.”
“And then what? You’ll be suppressed by the Academy’s Sealing Array and charged with ‘assaulting faculty and damaging Academy property,’ permanently losing any chance to contact Wendy?”
Miss Klein was rarely this calm, and her composure momentarily stalled the princess’s explosive mood.
“Where do you think the Central Academy is? This is the magic center of the continent! Never mind that you haven’t fully mastered the Witch’s power—even if you had, you couldn’t break through the defense array here!”
She pointed at the distant library.
“That building is carved from foundation to spire with the ‘Silent Spiral’ left by the Ancient Elves, specifically designed to suppress all supernatural power. The moment you dare use magic inside, the array will drain you dry and reflect it back onto yourself!”
Laxana’s expression was more serious than ever.
“Especially there! The library and the faculty dormitory area are the core protected zones of the array. As a librarian, Xi Ya carries the Staff Beacon. Any violent act against her will be judged by the array as the highest level of intrusion!”
“The result is that before you even touch a single hair on her head, Sealing Chains will drop from the sky and bind you into a mummy, then they’ll hang you as a warning at the Academy gate!”
Astreia fell silent.
The wild power inside her slowly subsided.
She wasn’t stupid. The consequences Laxana described were entirely imaginable.
Forcing her way in was the stupidest move.
“You’re saying that… you already have an idea?”
Astreia suppressed her anger, her eyes narrowing slightly.
“If we can’t break in by force, we use our heads.”
Laxana released her grip, violet eyes glinting with calculation.
“That Xi Ya has to get off work and go back to her dorm, right? The reading room is her home turf, but outside, she’s just an ordinary librarian without even the strength to truss a chicken.”
“For now, our goal isn’t to snatch Wendy back.”
“It’s to take care of that meddling librarian first!”
Astreia understood immediately.
The two exchanged a glance, temporarily suppressing the jealousy and anger in their hearts, and focused all their hostility on the true enemy they had yet to meet.
A secret hunt aimed at the pink-haired librarian was thus finalized.
Night deepened.
Most of the Academy had fallen silent, with only streetlights casting dim yellow pools on the paths.
On a secluded tree-lined path, two figures lurked in the heavy shadows of the trees, like lionesses waiting for prey.
At last, a pink figure appeared at the end of the path.
Xi Ya carried a cloth bag on her back, stepping lightly while humming an unfamiliar tune—an ordinary girl who had just finished her day’s work and was heading back to her dorm to relax.
Just as she reached the darkest stretch of shadows.
Astreia stepped out from the shade, blocking her way directly.
“Xi Ya.”
At almost the same moment, Laxana emerged from the shadows on the other side, cutting off Xi Ya’s retreat, electric arcs flickering at her fingertips.
Caught between the two, Xi Ya stopped walking, and her humming ceased.
First she looked at the intimidating Astreia in front of her, then turned her head to look at Laxana behind her, magic surging.
The librarian showed no trace of panic.
She wore the same gentle, warm smile, her violet eyes unusually bright in the night.
“Senior Astreia, Junior Laxana, good evening. Is there something you’d like to discuss with me this late?”
Her calmness unsettled both girls, who had prepared a full repertoire of threats and ultimatums.
But Astreia didn’t feel like beating around the bush.
“Leave Wendy.”
Simple, direct, carrying the commanding tone of an authority.
Laxana added in support,
“Wendy is very important to us. We don’t want to see him distracted by unnecessary things, and even less do we want… any negative influence on our friend.”
Though her words were tactful, the thunder element in the surrounding air began to stir, emitting faint crackling sounds—a clear threat.
The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy.
Astreia and Laxana waited.
They waited for her to argue, to quibble, or to panic and beg for mercy.
But Xi Ya’s reaction completely exceeded their expectations.
She listened quietly to both of them, then nodded gently.
She didn’t look like someone being threatened; she looked like a junior seriously listening to reasonable advice from her seniors.
“I understand your concerns.”
“If my presence truly bothers you and makes you worry about Wendy…”
She gave a slight bow—a standard, humble apology.
Xi Ya lifted her head, her face showing an apologetic yet still serene smile.
“Then I am willing to stay away from him.”
What?
Astreia’s prepared follow-up threats instantly lodged in her throat.
Laxana’s electric arcs froze midair.
Just like that… she agreed?
No argument, no justification, no bargaining?
What was this?
They were like boxers who had wound up for a heavy punch, only to have their opponent retreat a hundred yards the moment before the fist struck, smiling and waving at them.
An overwhelming sense of powerlessness and absurdity flooded both girls.
“I hope both juniors have a good dream tonight.”
Xi Ya bowed to them once more, then calmly walked past Astreia, her steps unhurried.
The pink figure soon disappeared around the bend in the path.
Only Astreia and Laxana remained, standing there dumbfounded.
They had won.
They had achieved their goal for the night.
But why did they feel not a shred of victory’s joy, only a thicker unease settling over them?
“She… just left?”
Laxana murmured.
“Something’s wrong.”
Astreia’s brow was tightly knit.
That pink-haired fox spirit was definitely up to something.
Her concession had been too quick, too calm.
Calm enough that it felt like this was exactly what she had planned.
She wasn’t retreating; it was more like she was executing part of some scheme.
A feeling of being toyed with made the two prideful princesses’ faces turn ugly.
Meanwhile, inside the reading room, Wendy had just yawned, rubbed his eyes, and finished writing the last annotation.
He looked at the thick stack of manuscripts in front of him and stretched contentedly.
He had no idea that, only moments ago, a shadow war concerning him had broken out and, due to an unexpected “concession,” had entered an even more unpredictable and treacherous new phase.