A quick search of the Academy records led her to the file of Sleeper Ray. He had been infected and had conquered his first Nightmare eight days prior, and had applied to the Awakened Academy three days before Noble had become a Saint.
Noble heaved a sigh of relief. The boy wasn't an apparition who had followed her out of the Nightmare.
While it wouldn't have been impossible for a particularly stealthy Other to follow her back and learn all about her, the evidence did not back her theory.
'He could still be an Other though…'
Even if he wasn't, something was going on with him. The boy was shielding himself from the world for a reason.
Reluctantly putting the mystery aside for the moment, Noble turned toward the faculty lounge. The students received good food and treatment at the Academy, but the cuisine for the staff was a cut above the rest.
"Good to see you, Noble!" Instructor Rock called from a table as she passed.
"It has been a while," the professor smiled warmly at him and the rest of the table.
"You should come by to give a few combat pointers at the end of class one day." Rock lifted his glass to his colleague.
Noble chuckled.
"You have a few legacies that need a little humbling?"
The muscular man winked. "I always do!"
"I'll see if I can drop by at some point."
Noble continued to make her way through the cafeteria, greeting the many faculty members that she had come to know over the years.
Some of them had helped her with the Dreamer Academy. A few were even assisting in the establishment of a Dreamer Academy in Bastion.
They were a good group of people, and Noble was happy to know them. However, none of them were who she had hoped to see.
Retrieving a tray of food, Noble expanded her emotional sense.
'Good. I didn't miss him!'
Over in the far corner of the dining hall, a man sat staring out of the reinforced windows. His bushy eyebrows were drawn together, his mind lost in lofty thoughts.
"Is this seat taken?" Noble's words were met with an exclamation of joy.
She set down her tray as the man stood and embraced her tightly. "Ah, my girl! There you are. I was beginning to think you might be avoiding me."
"As if I could ever do that. You're family, both legally and in my heart." Noble was careful not to squeeze her stepfather too much.
"Sit, sit!" Julius insisted, wiping a stray tear from his eye. "Your presence is far better than thoughts occupying my head."
"Everything alright?" Noble took the seat across from her mentor.
"Ah, yes, dear girl, nothing to worry about. I've been doing a little reading by nobody in particular, and I was imagining what it would be like to see such remote places and times." The man's smile was more than a little guilty.
Noble knew which publication he meant. While it had been largely removed from public places under the unspoken pressure of the Sovereigns, it wasn't too difficult to get a physical copy to read in the privacy of the Dream Realm.
Most Awakened had read it by now, even if they wouldn't openly admit it. The Great Clans wouldn't approve.
Noble knew more about the report than most. She even knew the author…because she had helped to publish it.
"You could still go out and adventure, you know. Mom might not like it, but she would understand." Noble knew Lena would let Julius go if it made him happy.
But the teacher shook his head. "These days, I think I like the idea of traveling more than actually doing it. There is something to be said for a cozy fire and a wonderful person to share a life with."
"I understand completely." Noble loved resting above the couch, nestled in Fort's arms, more than anything else in two worlds.
Julius looked at her from under his brows. "I imagine you do. What have you been up to, my girl? Your mother has been anxious, but she wouldn't say why. Were you out saving the world once again?"
"I've been busy having one of those adventures you mentioned. I am sorry that I worried Mom. Here's a letter for her to assure her I'm fine." Noble passed a synthetic page for Julius to tuck in his pocket. "Give her my love."
"Of course I will." Julius nodded. "An adventure, eh? Well, you can tell me about it when the time is right. For now, I'll just enjoy our time together."
Just when Noble didn't think her love for her stepfather could grow, he went and said the perfect thing to put her at ease. If there was a better mentor, she didn't know them.
"Oh, and before I forget, I have a letter for you as well!" The gentleman reached into a different pocket and pulled out an envelope with Noble's name scrawled on the front.
"Lena has been rewriting it weekly until I was finally able to deliver it. She wrote her newest version just this morning."
Noble greedily snatched the synthetic paper from her stepfather's hand. He chuckled.
Digging into her food, Noble read the note from her mother and caught up on all the news of Bastion. While Lena didn't say it directly, Noble could tell there was a growing patriotism for the Sword Domain that sometimes led to tension between the government agents and the legacy leaders.
Her mother specifically mentioned prioritizing the stabilization of supply lines to some of the outer settlements. Lena had planned to redirect resources to help some of the growing citadels with construction, but the proposal was shot down in favor of expediting the dead-end roads to Godgrave.
When she questioned the reasoning of potentially letting people starve or freeze with the deepening winter, the Legacy had told her that the roads were for the good of everyone and not just a few. "All of the Sword Domain should be our priority." Lena quoted the legacy Master in her letter.
However, when Lena pressed, the man would not elaborate. Instead, she had been taken off the road commission and placed on a food distribution committee since it was "more to her taste."
Noble seethed. Her mother was an ambassador, the same as Fort.
"Valor has no authority to move Mom to another position without government approval!" Noble's voice caught the attention of some of the people around her.
Had Fort received similar directives from Song while she was away? It was outrageous!
Julius leaned back in his chair. He had seen the outburst coming. "There, there, my girl. All is well. You know your mother is, well, tenacious. She doesn't let a little thing like that get her down. Lena will find a way."
Her mentor was right, of course. Lena had never let a little thing like 'no' stop her. But Lena was only one person, and a mundane one at that. Now that she wasn't in a position to stall the progression of Valor's forward march toward Godgrave, there was no one to slow down the inevitable conclusion once the forces collided in the deathzone between them.
And something told Noble that when that happened, the creatures there would be the least of humanity's troubles.