They—or was it a she?—clutched several books to their chest and seemed startled by Sophie’s voice, stammering as they spoke.
“S-Sorry… I, I was looking for a book, and I, I didn’t notice anyone was here…”
The voice was intentionally kept very low, laced with a hint of panic. They sounded like a timid first-year student.
However, Lyra’s nose twitched almost imperceptibly, and the alert look in her red eyes did not fade in the slightest.
‘This person’s scent… it’s a bit strange.’
Although it was masked by the smell of old books and dust, there was a faint, discordant sweetness lingering in the air.
It bore a subtle resemblance to the scent Lyra had caught in a corner of the Library Area earlier—the one she suspected Irina had left behind—but it was mixed with something else, something much murkier.
Freya’s gaze swept over the books in the person’s arms.
Introduction to Basic Elements, Outline of Magic History (I), and Aurora Geography Compendium.
They were all the most basic, common textbooks.
It seemed reasonable for them to be here.
Yet, the way the person kept their head down so deliberately, their obvious panic, and the timing and location of their appearance made it impossible for Freya to lower her guard.
“Looking for books?”
Sophie arched an eyebrow and took a step forward, her tall figure casting an intimidating shadow.
“This area is for obscure ancient texts and advanced theories. The basic textbooks are in the main hall; take a left after you enter. Student, are you sure you aren’t in the wrong place?”
“Huh? Is… is that so?”
The person lowered their head even further, their voice sounding more frantic.
“I, I might have really gone the wrong way… I’m sorry! Excuse me!”
With that, they hugged their books tightly and practically hugged the edge of the bookshelf as they scurried past the three of them.
They ran back the way they came without looking back, quickly disappearing among the rows of shelves.
“Tsk, they sure ran fast.”
Sophie curled her lip and retracted her gaze, looking toward Freya and Lyra.
“A bit suspicious, but I didn’t feel any obvious malice or mana fluctuations. Maybe they really were lost and got scared? Or… do they have a guilty conscience?”
Freya looked in the direction the person had vanished, her brow furrowed slightly. She wasn’t sure either.
If it was someone sent by Irina, what was the goal? Was it just surveillance? Or did they want to confirm if she was looking up specific information? Or perhaps… it was about that book, Starry Sky Legacy?
She looked down at the dark blue ancient text in her hand, her doubts deepening.
Was there a connection between the appearance of this book and that suspicious “first-year student”?
Lyra kept her eyes fixed on the path the person had taken until they were completely out of sight.
Even then, her tense muscles did not fully relax.
She leaned in close to Freya and spoke in an extremely low voice.
“Boss, that person… their scent was weird. They didn’t smell like a normal student.”
“Yes, I know.”
Freya patted Lyra’s arm gently to soothe her. She held Starry Sky Legacy carefully.
“Let’s leave this place first.”
Sophie nodded.
“This place is indeed a bit too quiet. It’s not a good spot to linger. Freya-dear, you got your book? Then let’s go.”
The three of them didn’t stay any longer and returned the way they came. However, the atmosphere was a few degrees heavier than when they had arrived.
Lyra stopped focusing solely on Sophie.
Instead, like a true guard dog, she remained alert to every minute movement or scent in their surroundings.
Sophie also dropped her playful demeanor, a hint of deep thought appearing in her amber eyes.
Only when they returned to the bright, spacious main hall of the library did that invisible feeling of being watched finally vanish.
Freya went through the checkout process for Starry Sky Legacy.
The borrowing requirements for this book were very high, and it was fortunate that her research rank was sufficient.
Afterward, Freya tucked the book away safely.
As they stepped out of the library doors, night had already fallen.
Magic streetlamps were lit across the Academy, their points of light flickering in the darkness.
“Freya-dear, where to next? Straight to the canteen?”
Sophie stretched, her energy returning.
“This Senior will treat you. Consider it a way to calm the Little Wolf Cub’s nerves?”
She started teasing Lyra again.
Lyra immediately glared at her. She didn’t bare her teeth this time, but she hugged Freya’s arm tightly and announced loudly, “Boss promised to treat me to roasted lamb leg!”
“Oh? Well, that works out perfectly. This Senior has a bit of a craving too. Mind if I join?”
Sophie smiled like a cunning fox.
Freya looked at the two of them, who were on the verge of bickering again, and felt a slight headache coming on.
However, the chill in her heart caused by the suspicious watcher was softened slightly by this familiar noise.
“Let’s go,” she finally said, walking toward the brightly lit Academy Canteen.
In the night, the three figures walked together again. But this time, a heavy sense of vigilance and speculation about the unknown weighed on each of their hearts.
In the silent shadows of the library, that “suspicious first-year student” had not gone far.
They hid behind a row of bookshelves, peering through a gap to watch the retreating backs of Freya’s group until they disappeared into the night.
Only then did they pull a neatly folded slip of paper with complex hidden patterns from beneath the basic textbooks. On the paper, a single sentence was written in magically encrypted script:
“Target has made contact with Starry Sky Legacy and appears suspicious. Suggest accelerating preparations for the ‘Resonance Test’.”
A faint golden flame, holy yet subtly unstable, ignited at their fingertips. It burned the note to ashes, leaving no trace behind. Then, like a true ghost, the individual silently melted into the deeper shadows of the library.
Beneath the Academy’s peaceful night, the undercurrents were surging even faster.
The Public Cafeteria of the Central Magic Academy remained brightly lit and bustling even at night.
The tempting sound of meat fat sizzling on iron plates, the rich aroma of stewed soups, and the sweet scent wafting from the dessert area intertwined to create a warm, lively atmosphere.
After finishing their grueling daytime classes, most students gathered here to enjoy the most relaxing meal of the day.
Tonight, however, the attention of most people in the canteen wasn’t entirely on the food.
Many gazes—some curious, some envious, some amused, and some just there for the show—were focused on a small, four-person square table near the window.
There, a “spectacle” was unfolding that made every bystander look twice, some even stifling laughs.
Freya Christo Dale, the genius maiden famous in the Academy for her cool beauty and excellent talent, was currently sitting right in the middle of a bench.
The food on the tray in front of her was barely half-touched — half a portion of roasted lamb leg (with the best parts already cut away), some seasonal vegetables, and a cup of lukewarm black tea.
Her fingers gripped her knife and fork with slight force, and her pale violet eyes held a rare look of near-collapse and… utter resignation.
The reason was simple: she was being tightly sandwiched by “two great mountains”—or rather, “two pieces of sticky candy”—from both sides.
On her left was the fiery and curvaceous red-haired Senior, Sophie Teka.
Sophie had already removed her Academy jacket at some point, wearing only her tight-fitting inner shirt. Her impressive curves were currently pressing—unapologetically, closely, and completely—against Freya’s left arm.
As Sophie excitedly recounted how “heroically” she had helped a junior student scare off a troublesome magic squirrel a few days ago (in reality, her mana had gone out of control and nearly burned the poor boy’s homework), she didn’t forget to put food on Freya’s plate.
“Freya-dear, this mushroom soup is incredibly fresh! Here, have a sip!”
That soft sensation and elastic pressure were transmitted wave after wave, irresistibly, to Freya’s stiff arm and her brain.
On her right was her intensely possessive and high-temperature Assistant, Lyra.
She was like a large, clingy guard dog, leaning her entire side against Freya.
Her arms were wrapped tightly around Freya’s right arm, and her head would occasionally rub against Freya’s shoulder.
Her body heat radiated through her thin clothing, hotly enveloping the right side of Freya’s body.
It was a stark contrast to the “soft pressure” from Sophie on the left—a literal experience of ice and fire.
Lyra’s red eyes remained fixed warily on Sophie, especially on the “waves” that occasionally assaulted Freya’s arm.
Whenever Sophie leaned too close or tried to feed Freya, Lyra would let out a dissatisfied growl from her throat.
At the same time, she would hug Freya’s arm even tighter, as if declaring her sovereignty. ‘Boss is mine!’
Freya felt like a piece of sandwich filling stuck between two slices of sticky, soft candy, each with a different temperature and texture! She couldn’t move, she could hardly breathe, and she had to endure the stares coming from all directions!
“Senior Sophie, Lyra… could you… let go just a little?”
Freya tried to struggle, her voice dry from embarrassment.
She wanted to pull her arms back, but on the left was a “turbulent” and gentle imprisonment, while on the right was a “burning and persistent” brute-force embrace.
With the arm strength of a Mage, she couldn’t budge them an inch!
“Oh, Freya-dear, don’t be shy! This Senior is just looking after you!”
Sophie’s smile grew even more radiant.
She even deliberately leaned in closer to Freya, finding it hilarious to feel the junior’s stiff body and see her slightly reddened ears.
“Look at you, you’re always so thin. You need to eat more! Come on, try this roasted rib. I specifically picked the most tender one!”
As she spoke, a piece of glistening, fragrant rib was held by a fork near Freya’s mouth.
“Boss doesn’t want you to feed her!”
Lyra immediately bristled like a small beast whose territory had been invaded.
She lunged forward, snatched the rib off Sophie’s fork with her teeth, and swallowed it in two or three bites.
Then, she glared at Sophie defiantly, her greasy little mouth still chewing.
“I’m here to take care of Boss! I… I can put food on Boss’s plate too!”
As she spoke, she scrambled through her own mountain of food, found the most intact-looking piece of roasted meat, and clumsily tried to feed it to Freya.
She nearly poked Freya in the nose.
Freya: “…”
She looked at the glistening piece of meat shoved almost into her face, and felt the suffocating “affection” coming from both sides.
She felt her temples throbbing.
Elegance?
Etiquette?
Personal space?