Aslan sighed, looking at his newly formed group… and then at Nyelle.
"I know our project is difficult," he said to her. "And let's be honest… all of us are kind of useless."
He pointed casually at Cael.
"This guy only knows how to swing his strength around. Nothing else."
Then he turned to George.
"And this one? He knows more about people's personal routines than actual alchemy formulas."
Next, his eyes shifted to Alice and Eiren.
"Phew… let's not even talk about these two. They don't know a thing."
Alice frowned.
"What's that supposed to mean, Aslan?"
Cael burst into laughter.
"Pffft—haha!"
Aslan smirked.
"And me? I'm the worst of all. Absolute trash."
Then, with a soft smile, he looked directly at Nyelle.
"Still, Miss Nyelle… we'll give it our all."
Nyelle blinked, surprised. For a second, her lips twitched — almost a smile.
Cael nudged Alice.
"He said you don't know anything. Hah!"
Alice snapped,
"Cael, if you laugh one more time, I'll kill you."
Aslan clapped once.
"Alright. Let's go around and say what each of us is good at."
George raised his hand.
"I'm good at identifying herbs."
Alice nodded.
"I'm good at making potions."
Eiren smiled.
"I've traveled through forests a lot. I know how to survive out there."
Nyelle said softly,
"I'm skilled at analyzing formulas."
Cael raised a fist.
"I know the paths in and out of the forest better than anyone."
Everyone turned to Aslan.
He tapped a finger to his chin.
"I'm good at… ruining everything."
Silence.
They all stared at him.
"…Guys," Aslan said with a straight face,
"I'm not good at anything."
The awkward silence lingered a moment longer… then—
"Alright," Aslan said, shifting the mood with a sigh.
"I'll look into what ingredients we need for the Potion of Everglow."
The group lit up.
"Yeah!"
"That's it then," Aslan said.
"We'll start working tomorrow."
He and Alice began chatting, discussing something about the potion.
Nyelle watched them.
For the first time in a while, a genuine smile touched her lips.
Later that evening, Nyelle walked alone, heading back toward her dorm.
I thought I'd end up doing the group project alone again… But these people… they're different.
Earlier that day — before Alchemy class
Some girls had walked up to Nyelle's desk.
"Nyelle, you'll join our group for the project, right?"
"Sure," Nyelle said softly.
"Yay! We're saved!" one of them grinned.
"Nyelle knows everything — she'll help us, won't she?"
"Of course," Nyelle replied quietly.
"Okay then, Nyelle — just do the whole project for us, alright?
We don't know anything anyway.
You wouldn't want us to fail, would you?"
Another girl chimed in,
"Right, Nyelle? I mean… your big sister's an alchemist. She helps you anyway."
"…Sure," Nyelle forced a smile.
She was used to it by now.
Wherever she went, it was always the same—
"Nyelle, you know everything, right?"
"Just make the whole thing for us."
They'd cheer when it got top marks.
They'd thank each other.
And whisper behind her back—
"Her sister probably did it for her."
Snapping back to the present, Nyelle's eyes narrowed.
No matter how hard I work… no one ever believes it's me.
No one ever praises me.
That's what she had thought this morning.
But now…
Things felt a little different.
Meanwhile—
Aslan was walking toward the dorms with George beside him.
George glanced at him.
"Aslan… why did you ask Nyelle to join our group?"
Aslan shrugged.
"No reason. We were short on members, that's all."
But even as he said that, his thoughts wandered back to the morning.
To when he'd seen Nyelle sitting quietly at her desk,
while her so-called friends dumped their work on her
and turned to leave, laughing like it was normal.
She didn't complain. She didn't protest.
She just… nodded.
Why didn't she refuse them?
The question echoed inside his chest.
But Aslan didn't say it out loud.
Next Day — Academy Library
Aslan handed the list of ingredients to the group.
Eiren and Alice leaned in to examine it.
"Only Dew of the First Dawn might be even slightly possible to get," Alice said.
"But the rest… they're nearly impossible."
"Exactly," Eiren agreed with a frown.
"Then why did the professor give us a project we can't even complete?" Eiren asked.
"I guess… he wants us to fail," Nyelle said quietly.
"It's not just us," George pointed out.
"All the groups got projects with ingredients that are nearly impossible to obtain. But… why would the professor want that?"
"Obviously," Aslan replied, leaning back,
"To discipline us."
"But…" he added, his tone shifting,
"There is one place where we can find everything."
"You mean… the Deep Forest?" Cael asked, narrowing his eyes.
"But going there is against the rules," George reminded him.
Aslan smirked.
"We'll break the rules… only if we get caught."
Cael grinned.
"Well, we have to win — especially against the other Circles."
This project… it wasn't just a project. It was a battle between Circles.
The Academy was split into four Circles:
▸ Moonlit Grace Circle — nobles
▸ Spirit Circle — commoners
▸ Blade Circle — knights
▸ Fang Circle — beastfolk
None of them liked each other.
Each Circle distrusted the others simply for being different.
And naturally… we didn't belong to any one of them.
We were a mix.
Eiren and Alice were nobles.
George and I were commoners.
Nyelle and Cael were noble knights.
No wonder everyone looked at us strangely.
They didn't see us as a team.
They saw us as a glitch in their system.
Maybe that's why Professor Elric gave us the hardest project.
Maybe they're all just waiting for us to fail…
because we don't fit into their neat little boxes.
Then Aslan announced,
"Cael and Eiren have forest experience.
Alice will handle the backup, and George is good at identifying ingredients.
So… tonight, the five of us meet at the forest entrance."
Nyelle spoke up.
"I want to come too."
Aslan turned to her.
"Nyelle… there's danger."
She held his gaze.
"This is a group project.
And I won't let my team walk into danger alone.
If going against the rules is necessary —
then we all break them. Together."
A pause.
Then… everyone smiled.
"…Okay."