Alice, Jade, and Allistair sat around a table on the second-floor balcony of a popular cafe.
They relaxed as they drank the special Magia-infused tea that made this particular cafe a popular destination in Crystalis.
"Remind me never to go with your ideas of fun.", Alice sighed as the special tea cleansed and boosted her internal magia.
"You say that every single time, Alice.", Allistair said with a calm yet amused smile. His sister complains about Jade's shenanigans but constantly goes along with them.
Alice became flustered and cleared her throat, "I have to make sure Jade does not do anything crazy."
She looked at her friend, "I have no idea how someone like you became a Family Head."
Jade crossed her hands with a smile, "Hey. I am responsible when I have to be and occasions like this where I can unwind are rare. Don't you think the same, Alice?"
Alice can't help but agree with her friend. The past few days felt like a well-earned vacation from her hectic schedule. She is thankful for her free time.
Jade sighed, "It was a pity that we couldn't follow Ruth and Seventeen during their date. Those guys are very crafty, revealing our identities in the Black Pegasus and leaving through the kitchen back door."
"They even incapacitated our helpers and vanished. Talk about thorough.", she said, mentioning Arthur and his friends.
Alice looked at her tea. At first, she panicked when those four seemingly vanished. Thank the Founder when Allistair came and told her that Arthur was sleeping in his room at the dorm.
Speaking of Arthur...
"So. Have you found any information about the one who sent the rogue Shadow?", she asked Allistair.
He nodded, "Obviously it's the branch family. I've asked our informant among them to look for any correspondence between the elders and the Predator."
"Most of the evidence was quickly destroyed but he managed to snag one letter detailing the target, Arthur Night."
The air chilled as Alice's bloodlust leaked, scaring the nearby customers and some of the pedestrians down the street.
"Calm down Alice.", Jade put her cup down and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I understand that this can be used as evidence against the branch family but things will not be so easy."
Alice calmed down and apologized to the other customers. She then turned to Jade, "What do you mean?"
Jade smiled smugly, "My information network may not be as spread out and efficient as yours or the Sylrans, but I did hear a few interesting whispers."
The two Night siblings leaned in closer. "What whispers?", Allistair asked.
"The Night branch family is establishing connections with noble families in Solaria. There are even rumors of them reaching out to the Ravis Arken Family.", Jade said in a low voice.
Alice thought about it, "It is entirely possible. Although I don't want to admit it, those elders are very good at making connections."
Allistair nodded, "The Ravis Family will most likely take up the offer of an alliance. Doing so will gain them the support of the branch family in ousting the Dragnias from the position of Ruling Family by the next election."
He frowned, "But we are a neutral Family. So how can the elders do that without approval from Alice, the Family Head?"
Jade sipped her tea and spoke, "It is possible to do that if the branch family doesn't consider Alice to be the Family Head."
"But to do that they must become a separate family.", Allistair countered.
"Trust me, Allistair. All the Arken Families have accepted that the Night main and branch families are now completely separated.", Jade replied with a chuckle.
Alice sighed, "I can't deny it."
Things are getting quite troublesome. She glanced at the street below and her eyes fell on a particular young man.
He had messy white hair and bright blue eyes that glowed like liquid magia. He was fully dressed in white and paired with his beauty made him stand out in the crowd but no one gave him a second glance.
She didn't take her eyes off him. She had never seen him before but he felt familiar to her.
Why?
The white-haired young man turned around and locked eyes with her. An intense chill ran down Alice's back. She couldn't move an inch and everything went silent.
She can feel immense power pressing down on her, threatening to crush her. The young man smiled and everything returned to normal.
Alice leaned back against her chair, breathing heavily and covered in a cold sweat. She blinked and the young man vanished from the crowd, as if he was never there.
"Hey, Alice! Are you alright? You look like you've just seen a ghost.", Jade called out to her.
She shook her head, "I'm fine, Jade."
Jade and Allistair looked unconvinced by her answer but they dropped the matter.
Alice looked back at the place the young man vanished.
"What in Arthemia's name was that?"
*******
"And that's how I kindly requested money from the Headmaster.", Seventeen said with a smile.
Ruth laughed, "I think the correct word for that is extorted."
After enjoying the sunset and the stars, Seventeen opened a rift outside the walls of Crystalis, and now he and Ruth are walking toward the gate of the city.
It was still afternoon by the time they saw the walls of Crytalis rising from the ground.
"Smart decision to open a Rift outside the city. The opening of a Rift releases a huge amount of magia at the destination and could trip magia sensors.", Ruth remarked.
"Wait. That happens?", Seventeen asked in a surprised tone.
She just looked at him, "You didn't know about this despite having the Space attribute?"
Seventeen rubbed his head sheepishly, "I just thought we could have a good walk to the city."
Ruth gave an exasperated sigh, "How come you are a genius at one time and a total dumbass at another?"
Seventeen chuckled, "Hehe. It's part of my charm."
She rolled her eyes, "Yeah yeah. Keep flattering yourself."
She took a deep breath and a small smile appeared on her face, "You're right. A walk is refreshing."
Seventeen gave a smug smile, "You see? Sometimes my genius is frightening."
Ruth groaned, "Oh come on!"
(I must agree with Ruth. You are in over your head right now.)
'Not you too, Prime!'
The two of them were talking and bickering as they walked when a muffled voice made them jump.
"Helloooo. Is anyone up there?"
"Where's that coming from?", Seventeen asked, looking around. There was no one but the two of them.
Ruth's ears twitched and she pointed to a small patch of trees just off the path, "It's coming from there."
Seventeen focused his hearing and pinpointed the location of the voice, "It's coming from the ground."
Ruth's eyes widened, "My goodness! Has someone been buried alive?"
They rushed to the spot and looked around.
"Over here!", the voice, now sounding closer, said.
Seventeen scanned among the bushes of the small forest and almost jumped when he saw something that shouldn't be there on the ground.
A pale hand was waving at him from the ground. It was so bizarre that Seventee had to rub his eyes.
Surely, an android cannot hallucinate. Right?
"You're not seeing things, my friend. This is my hand.", the person stuck in the ground said while waving their hand. Now that he is very close, he noticed that the person seems to be a female, judging by her muffled voice.
"Popsicle! Over here!", Seventeen called out and took hold of the hand sticking out of the ground.
"Hold on!", He called to the person under the ground and pulled. The ground cracked and crumbled as Seventeen effortlessly pulled a beautiful girl out of the ground.
She hacked and coughed as soil fell off her, "Thank you!", she said between coughs.
Seventeen gently put her down and stepped back. Ruth walked to him and the two instructors looked at the weird girl they rescued from the ground.
She looks to be in her late teens and has a delicate figure. She has pale skin with no flaws and long white hair that is now caked with soil.
She wore a light pink shirt under a white jacket and white shorts with silver accents. She wore white boots with similar silver accents and white leg warmers.
But her most captivating features were her bright heterochromatic eyes, one bright blue and the other a bright crimson. She looked very beautiful, almost like a doll.
Seventeen and Ruth couldn't take their eyes off the girl as she finished removing the soil from her clothes which are now quite dirty.
"Well, that was a disaster.", she said in a bright voice.
"Thanks, guys. Things would've been very sticky if you hadn't pulled me out!.", she thanked them with a bright smile on her face.
Seventeen was confused, "Um. How did you end up there?", he asked, pointing at the new hole in the ground she emerged from
The girl swayed with an embarrassed expression, "Well. I lost focus when I was teleporting and somehow ended up under the ground with only my hand sticking out. It was quite difficult as I was stuck in place. Thank the Founder that you two were passing by!"
"So. What's your name?", Ruth asked.
"Glad you asked, otherwise I would've forgotten to introduce myself.", from her jacket, the girl pulled out an enormous white witch hat and fixed it on her head.
With a bright smile, she introduced herself.
"Greetings! I am Iris, a wanderer and I am indebted to you, Seventeen and Ruth!"