About a week had passed since our triumphant return from the mission. The commotion caused by our victory over the royal hydra had gradually subsided. Katrina continued to dream of great achievements and, therefore, was not eager to undertake simple assignments.
Meanwhile, strange rumors began circulating around the Academy: supposedly, some students and professors had spotted a mysterious figure, shrouded in a black cloak, visiting the rector at night. Some claimed it was a ghost, while others believed it to be a hired assassin, come to claim the head of an important official. But the truth turned out to be far simpler... or perhaps more complex.
In the classroom, I now sat not only with Ragni and Katrina but also with Grain and Kurone. It was no longer a lifeless island with three outcasts on the edge of the class.
The teacher entered the room, ready to introduce the new student. The figure was draped in a black cloak with a hood, and upon closer inspection, one could discern that it was the academy's distinctive mantle. However, its coloring was unexpected: a dark green thorn-like ornament adorned the black mantle. The death mage's cloak completely concealed the student's body and face, and even though a portion of their face should have been visible under the hood, it was obscured by an enigmatic darkness. A slender, graceful hand in a gray glove firmly grasped a beautiful silvery staff with a skull-shaped tip. It perfectly complemented the image of the "angel of death," but I somehow knew that it wasn't the staff's final form.
"Um, please introduce yourself," the teacher's voice quivered with fear.
The hooded figure nodded lightly, took a step forward, and introduced herself:
"Shinigami... Rizel," she raised her head, and a sparkling green eye and a white smile emerged from under the hood.
Amidst the darkness that shrouded her entire face, that smile looked genuinely frightening. A girl in the front row even let out a frightened squeal.
Yet, from the tone of her voice, I could tell for sure that a beautiful girl hid beneath the hood, likely concealing her face out of embarrassment.
"Hmm, shinigami... it seems to be a god of death in some ancient religion. The title suits her," to my surprise, the cloaked figure silently glided through the auditorium and took a seat in front of us. The soundlessness of her movements made one wonder if there were legs under that mantle at all.