Chapter 171 - Reuniting with the Fox Girl (Part 1)
A day had passed since my discovery of the truth about the Illuminated Ones. I now held knowledge that perhaps no one else on my continent knew. The shadowy creatures with glowing eyes were Sisika's enemies.
There's still the prophecy about the five-headed darkness…
Before she vanished, Sisika told me about their impending arrival and mentioned a riddle about the future. At some point, there would be an avenging girl, a manipulative serpent, a religious man, and a young general. At that moment, the five-headed darkness would appear.
Is the manipulative serpent the creature in my eyes?
I thought it over. I'd gone over her words thousands of times over the years and concluded that the manipulative serpent was also human.
She said that the four of us would realize just how small we were in the face of the coming darkness… This creature within my soul understands the enemy completely since its former host fought them before…
Am I the young general in this prophecy? I think so… but who are the other three?
An avenging girl… a manipulative serpent… and a religious man…
I've dealt with oracles before in my past, and there's no escaping the message they leave behind.
I set aside my thoughts and refocused on my routine. The class I most wanted to attend, unfortunately, was taught sporadically. And yes, you guessed it… it's Professor Natasha Sinclair's class.
"Do you think something happened?" Chloe asked me.
We'd been called to the Headmistress's office.
I looked over to see the wolf girl tagging along.
"If it were something important, Thyra wouldn't be coming…"
"Hey! I'm right here, you know?"
We kept walking, and when we arrived, I was surprised to see Syvis, Edmund, Viktor, Melina, and Alice.
All the high nobles...
Princess Melina avoided my gaze, probably because of what happened yesterday.
"Do you guys know anything?" I asked.
"No. The secretary asked us to wait here outside," Alice replied.
Just as I was about to sit down, the door opened, and the Headmistress appeared.
"Come on in. I need to talk to you."
We followed Headmistress Victoria past the office staff and into her office. Once we were inside, she shut the door and went to her desk, sitting down in her chair.
Victoria fiddled with some documents and pulled out a scroll with several seals on it. I noticed that each seal bore the symbol of a different kingdom.
"You're all important figures within your kingdoms, and as of today, I'm forming a team. I know you're capable of handling any problem, and the knowledge you possess means you could finish this academy in a year," she said.
We exchanged glances.
"I don't understand, Headmistress. What's going on here?" Viktor asked.
"As you know, here at the academy, we operate under a military regime. From the moment you enroll, you're automatically classified as soldiers. That's why you'll all be working together with Princess Elara."
So my plan to decline has been completely overridden?
"Don't worry; you're not being enlisted in your kingdom's army. Quite the opposite. You're being enlisted in the army of the Apsalon Magic Academy. From now on, I consider you a valuable asset as my soldiers. Your role will be to support Princess Elara if she needs it, as well as to participate in a training regimen with her," the Headmistress explained.
"Is there any way to decline this?" I asked.
"No. This counts toward your student points. You're far too advanced for me to waste your time on simple classes. You're high nobles, and you've received both magical and military training. That's why I'm assigning you to positions where your talents will be best utilized," she said.
"Even me? I'm not very good…" Melina asked.
The Headmistress sighed.
"You're not figures of authority here at the academy, even though you receive special treatment. Here, you're military personnel. You'll be responsible for working alongside the Student Council, since, when they graduate, you'll be the ones to take their place," she explained.
Headmistress Victoria fell silent.
"You're dismissed…" she said, gesturing with her hands.
Got it! She has this 'Headmistress mode' just like Aunt Margie has her 'Queen mode.'
I let everyone go out first and was the last one to close the door.
"It's going to be hard not to attract attention," I said, shutting the door.
We walked down the hallway.
"What exactly does this mean?" Chloe asked Alice.
"I think we're like members of the Student Council? I didn't really get it," she grumbled.
"I hope that's all it is—I have no interest in joining the kingdom's army…" I said, and everyone stopped to look at me.
Oops!
I faced the two royal family members from my kingdom who were staring at me.
"With all due respect, your Highnesses," I said, smiling.
"It's all right. I don't want to either…" Melina said, looking a bit sad.
"Don't worry about it," Alice reassured me.
Diplomatic incident avoided.
"Just to be clear, I have my doubts," Edmund said.
Viktor walked past us.
"From what I understand, we're only going to train with the knights, not actually join the army. That works for me—we're getting advanced training here, and I'm tired of wasting time learning basic sword moves," he said, walking away.
"Thyra wants to fight!" Thyra chimed in.
We started walking again, and it suddenly hit me.
"Thyra! Are you a high noble?"
"No, but because of Aunt Victoria's position, Thyra has to participate in these boring things. She answers to the authority of all three kingdoms," Thyra replied.
"Then why didn't you get an apartment?" Chloe asked.
We all looked at the wolf girl.
"Thyra already lived at the academy with the Headmistress; that's why," she replied.
"But I invited the idiot to live with me," Syvis added.
We had some free time since we didn't have to return to class, and we all split up.
"What should we do?" Chloe asked me.
"Let's head to the library. We've finally finished the adaptation period, and we can reunite with someone."
"We're going to see her?" Chloe asked, a smile lighting up her face.