[Jack's POV]
The runes stopped spinning.
I didn't say anything at first. Just exhaled and leaned back on my hands, watching the faint purplish glow of the spell matrices slowly fade into stillness. The last line of energy fizzled out with a soft crack-pop, like air escaping a sealed bottle.
'Two hours straight,' I thought. 'Not bad, all things considered.'
I raised my arms above my head and stretched. My spine gave a satisfying pop-pop-pop in response.
The reaction was immediate.
Everyone froze, then turned toward me like I'd just grown antlers.
"...You good? You haven't moved in like 2 hours," Zek said blankly from across the room, magic crystal glowing orange in his hands.
Ark stood up from his corner seat, his expression slightly worried. "Are you okay?"
I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just… need a break. Even I need sleep," I joked.
I stood and rolled my shoulders. "Also—it's getting late. We should probably call it for the night."
A few of them blinked. Then Araki yawned.
Elaina glanced at the clock near the potion shelf.
"…It's 10:40?" she said, her voice somewhere between confused and scandalized. "What the hells?!"
Everyone groaned in unison as the realization hit.
I chuckled under my breath as I made my way around the room, checking on everyone's progress.
Zek handed me his mana crystal. It pulsed with a soft orange light, perfectly stable.
"Fire mana crystal, full," he said proudly.
"Great work," I said, tossing him a smile. "This'll be crucial for the ritual."
I moved over to Araki and Ark next. Both were still channelling.
But before I could inspect their work, Araki asked, "What have you been doing?"
I smiled and said, "Working on some enchantments and figuring out the best magic circles to use, and now I want to go about it.
Plus, I have to think of multiple plans and how to adapt them depending on what is happening at the time, along with the location, as there are pros and cons everywhere."
Araki nods, a little lost but getting the gist, hands me his crystal
Araki's crystal, the one meant for light magic, glowed faintly white, not full yet, but nearly there. Ark's was a dimmer light green, around 40% full by my count.
"You two are doing well," I said. "Especially since this is your first time channelling elemental mana into a crystal."
Araki grunted. "Not as easy as it looks."
"I think I'm… getting the hang of it?" Ark said uncertainly.
I gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "You are. We can pick it back up tomorrow after classes."
Then I walked over to the twins' workbench. Several small bottles of clear liquid lined up neatly. The straw dolls were in a messy pile off to the side, all lumpy and mismatched but functional.
I picked one up and turned to them. "You two did great. Thanks for this. I'm gonna burn through those potions quickly during the ritual—my mana capacity isn't the best."
Jethro waved it off. "Not a problem. But—"
Elaina crossed her arms and added, "—you're keeping us in the loop, right? No spirit is gonna possess someone on our watch."
I hesitated just for a moment mentally, but replied with a smile. "Of course."
They smiled, satisfied, and packed up their gear, waving on their way out.
Once they were gone, my smile faded just a little.
Orin must've noticed. He walked up beside me and glanced down. "…Something bothering you?"
I hesitated.
Then nodded. "Yeah. Just a bit of guilt."
He raised an eyebrow.
"I mean… I act like I've got everything figured out. And I do know a lot. But this—" I gestured at nothing "—this situation? It's new. Not entirely unfamiliar, but new enough to make me second-guess things. And hiding the truth about Aaron from people who genuinely want to help? It's not easy."
He nodded slowly. "You really think the twins genuinely want to help?"
I turned to him, curious. "You don't?"
Orin shrugged. "I've met people like them. Lower-ranking nobles or upper merchant families. Rich enough to matter, not enough to rule. They don't usually help others for nothing. Usually, it's for favour, reputation… or leverage."
I considered that. Then chuckled.
"You're not wrong," I said. "And honestly, I don't think they're helping just for our sake."
His expression didn't change.
I tapped my temple. "You remember how I sensed Agatha earlier, through her... intense emotions?"
He nodded.
"Well… I can also sense intent in a similar way. It's not thoughts or memories… more like standing near a bonfire and feeling the heat. Greed, love, fear, desire—they leave a burn, if you know what to look for.
I've been watching the twins. Closely. If they were trying to manipulate me, I'd know. They do want something out of this… but they also genuinely want to help. That part isn't fake."
Orin still didn't look fully convinced.
I added, "Besides… Terra wouldn't be friends with them if they weren't good people."
That got a small smirk from him.
"Fair enough," he said.
Orin moved to follow, but paused when I didn't move right away.
I glanced at him sideways. "Hey… you ever wonder what you'd do, when you finally got strong enough to dig into what happened to your father?"
His eyes flicked toward me, then away. "Sometimes," he said quietly. "But it's not always safe to go looking, you know? ... though, if you guys don't mind, I would like some help when I start."
I nodded slowly. "We all have things we want to do. All of it is tied to our past and our futures. I think all of us can agree that working with friends would probably help."
He smiled in thanks.
A moment passed.
Then I added, "I think your father might've tried to do the right thing. Trying to leave your tribe. Raiders like that aren't a great place to raise a half-human child." Then I whispered, "Especially in the red hand."
Orin froze.
Just for a second.
His shoulders tightened—barely—but I caught it.
"…what was that?" he asked, voice level.
I shrugged casually, not looking at him. "Nothing to worry about."
Another pause.
Longer this time.
"Al-" *Ahem!* "Alright then..." he said.
I turned toward the door. "Come on. Let's get some air."
The moment we stepped out of the secret entrance, the night air hit us like a soft blanket.
Cool. Quiet. Crisp.
The courtyard was still, with few lights in the academy windows, and from the dark canopy of the forest on the other side of the academy walls.
Somewhere in the woods, frogs croaked rhythmically. A coyote howled far off, joined by the chirping of insects and rustling of nighttime life.
Everything was still… alive, just in a different way than it was during the day.
I looked up instinctively.
The moon hung above, glowing pale and gentle.
Almost full.
My eyes drifted to Ark.
He was staring at it too.
His expression was unreadable. Calm, but… focused. Maybe a little sad or nervous.
I walked over and gently wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
He blinked and looked at me, slightly startled.
"It's okay," I whispered. "I've got a plan for that, too."
He stared at me for a long second.
Then nodded shyly.
We all started walking—feet soft against the stone path, voices low, heads heavy with the weight of magic and thoughts.
We got to our rooms quickly and all went to bed, with me staying in Ark's room again.
-
[Zareth's POV]
The office was quiet.
Not peaceful—just quiet. The kind of silence that came with paperwork, half-burnt incense, and a slightly overripe bowl of fruit sitting on the far end of my desk.
I had a shock when I felt something pass through the door to Jack's isolation room. Then seconds later, when I was trying to find out what it was, Jack burst out and ran off.
I think I heard him say something about his friend Ark before he left, but I'm not sure.
Then, at the peak of recklessness that I had to hide, he summoned a spirit in the middle of the city and almost caused a sonic boom.
Sigh. "That boy is just a ball of chaos and terrifying intelligence," I said.
But now that things have calmed down, I am stuck with a lot of paperwork.
...
I was mid-sip from a lukewarm mug of some type of bitter tea when I heard it.
tap tap tap
I blinked and turned toward the sound.
Tap tap tap!
A falcon—sleek, proud, and just barely impatient—was perched on my window's outer ledge, pecking insistently at the glass.
"…Swiftclaw?" I muttered, already rising from my seat.
I crossed the room and unlatched the window. The falcon hopped back once as the pane swung open with a low creak.
"Didn't expect you today," I said, eyeing the faint gleam of steel clutched in one of his talons. "You've got something for me?"
Swiftclaw let out a sharp squawk, extended his leg, and tilted it slightly.
Sure enough, a rolled parchment was gripped tightly in his claws, bound in royal blue twine with a gold wax seal.
My brow creased.
"…The royal seal?" I murmured, gently taking the letter. "That's not normal."
Swiftclaw fluffed his feathers and looked at me expectantly.
"Right, right," I said, turning and grabbing the strip of venison jerky I'd been gnawing on earlier. "Here."
The falcon snatched it with precise grace and immediately began tearing into it, satisfied.
I left him to his meal and unsealed the letter.
Eyes scanning quickly.
The moment I saw the name, my whole body tensed.
"…Kion?" I breathed. "Why in the gods' names is he the one handling Rook?"
I read it again.
Then again.
Same words.
Same signature.
Same insignia stamped into the seal—undeniable.
The King's Right Hand.
I turned abruptly and walked over to the tall ironwood filing cabinet in the corner. Third drawer from the top. Second tab in.
I slid the file free.
RESTRICTED: HIGH CLASSIFICATION – OBSERVATION ONLY
I flipped it open and scanned through a few pages, ignoring the old bloodstain near the top corner.
Kion. Officially: Sir Kion of the Rumia Royal Guard.
Colloquially (and, quite amusingly) known by most of the continent as "Kion the Lionheart."
'Bit on the nose,' I thought, flipping a page.
He wasn't a lion-hearted man in metaphor only.
He was literally a Leonin—a proud, muscular race of lion-folk native to the beast kingdom Bestia.
A warrior with a glowing record of battlefield heroics, peacekeeping efforts, and a frankly annoying habit of showing up where trouble brewed—only to solve it with perfect swordsmanship and near-divine timing.
Kind. Powerful. Just.
And deeply loyal to the crown.
But this… this didn't make sense.
"Rook is an adventurer being removed from his S-rank position. He might be an annoying and egotistical idiot, and sure, he might seek revenge against me or Jack and his friends for his situation, but this is no reason to send the king's right-hand man," I muttered under my breath.
"The guild operates separately from any kingdom, so he shouldn't have any say in this matter... unless it's because of him breaking the laws about Beastfolk... but that would only constitute a royal official of S rank working for the king."
I glanced back at the letter.
It said he would arrive tonight. Via [Gate], no less.
I exhaled sharply and rubbed my temple.
"He is coming via [Gate]. Just to deal with Rook... What is the king thinking... unless this involves more than Rook... could it be Jack? I know he has some relation to the 7th princess, but that is still no reason to send Kion."
I walked back over to my desk and picked up my pen.
The parchment was already folded neatly next to the royal seal.
I added my signature along the lower margin—authorization for access to the Raventhorn Guild Branch [Gate].
The pen clicked softly against the desk as I set it down.
"Alright," I murmured. "You've got clearance, and I will arrive there within the hour."
Swiftclaw gave a final squawk, finished his jerky, picked up the letter, and leapt into the air with a fwump of wings. Within seconds, he vanished into the horizon, heading to wherever he received the latter.
I leaned against the desk, arms folded, staring out at the city skyline.
Distant lanterns flickered on rooftops. Smoke curled lazily from chimneys. The night was still.
And I was left with a bad feeling in my gut.
"The king wouldn't waste Kion's time unless there was more to this," I muttered. "There is no way this is just about Rook…"
I narrowed my eyes at the horizon.
"…Or unless Rook's gotten involved with something far worse than I thought..."
I looked out the window at the night sky. The moon was almost full, and the stars were bright, and I couldn't help but sigh. Then I got up and put on my coat.
"I should probably get this over with now rather than later."