We finally left the Hexside campus side by
side.
And honestly...
The situation still felt a little surreal.
Just a few hours ago, I had been wandering through a forest trying not to get eaten alive.
And now?
I was literally on my way to the Blight Manor with Amity.
Life was weird.
For several minutes, we walked in relative silence.
Well...
Relatively.
Because quite a few students were still staring at us as we passed by.
And some of them looked completely shocked.
"Wait... Amity Blight is with him?"
"That's the guy who got hit by the magic ball."
"How is he still alive?"
...
I was starting to hate that reputation.
Amity, meanwhile, seemed to be doing her best to ignore everyone.
After a few more minutes, she finally let out a sigh.
"You know..."
I turned toward her.
"Hm?"
"You've probably become the main topic of discussion in the entire school today."
"I noticed."
I rubbed the back of my neck.
"The magic ball incident didn't exactly help. Thanks for reminding me."
A small smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
A rare one.
And somehow...
Seeing it made the walk feel a little shorter.
We continued forward for several more minutes.
Eventually, the buildings of Hexside began to disappear behind us.
In their place appeared much wealthier neighborhoods.
Massive houses.
Perfectly maintained gardens.
Magical statues.
Fountains.
...
Good grief.
Money really existed everywhere.
Then finally—
I saw it.
The Blight Manor.
And honestly?
Calling it "huge" wasn't even enough.
A gigantic estate dominated the entire district.
Tall iron gates surrounded the property.
Immaculate gardens stretched as far as the eye could see.
And at the center...
The manor looked more like a castle than a house.
I stopped walking for a moment.
"...Wow."
Amity glanced away slightly.
"Yeah."
"You live in that?"
"Unfortunately."
...
Wait, what?
I turned toward her.
Amity looked like she had just realized what she said.
"I mean..."
She paused.
Then sighed.
"It's complicated."
Ah.
I understood.
Well...
More or less.
We finally approached the massive gates.
The moment we arrived, they opened automatically with a metallic hum.
...
Of course.
Even the gates were magical
.
We stepped onto the property.
And the farther we walked...
The more I noticed something.
The place was beautiful.
But strangely cold.
Too perfect.
Too quiet.
Like a museum.
Not really like a home.
I noticed Amity slowing down slightly.
Her expression had changed.
She looked more tense now.
More reserved.
...
Yeah.
She was clearly not the same Amity from earlier.
Then, at last, we reached the enormous front doors of the manor.
Amity placed a hand against one of them.
And stayed still for a few seconds.
As if she were hesitating.
I immediately noticed.
"You okay?"
She flinched slightly.
"Yeah."
A very obvious lie.
But before I could say anything—
The doors suddenly swung open.
And a voice echoed through the grand hall.
"AMITY!"
Oh.
No.
I knew that voice.
"AMITY, YOU'RE BACK!"
The voice abruptly stopped.
...
Amity let out a tired sigh.
"Not Emira."
Standing in the entrance was Emira Blight wearing a huge grin.
Then suddenly...
Her eyes landed on me.
Silence.
...
Oh no.
Emira's smile widened.
Dangerously.
Very dangerously.
"Oooooooh."
Amity immediately froze.
I froze too.
Bad sign.
Very bad sign.
Emira pointed back and forth between Amity and me.
"And whooooo is this?"
"No one."
"Someone."
We answered at exactly the same time.
...
Betrayal.
Emira immediately burst out laughing.
"Oh, this is going to be fun."
And somewhere deeper inside the manor...
Another voice echoed through the hallway.
"Emira? What are you doing this time?"
Footsteps began approaching.
And judging by how quickly things were already spiraling out of control...
I had a very strong feeling this visit was about to become a lot more complicated than I had planned.
Footsteps echoed through the grand hall of the manor.
Slow.
Calm.
Then a second figure appeared at the end of the corridor.
Green hair.
The same face as Emira.
But with a much more tired expression.
"I should've guessed it was you making all that noise..."
Edric Blight stopped in the middle of the hall before noticing me.
Then he blinked.
Once.
Twice.
"Wait."
Silence.
"Who's the random guy?"
Emira immediately raised her hand.
"The mysterious boy Amity brought home."
"EMIRA."
"What? That's literally what happened."
Amity's face instantly turned red.
I slightly looked away to hide my smile.
This family was exactly as chaotic as I remembered.
Edric walked closer with curiosity.
"Seriously, who are you?"
"Pierc."
"Just Pierc?"
"Just Pierc."
"Strange. I like it."
...Thanks, I think.
Emira suddenly started circling around me like a predator examining its prey.
"So."
"So?"
"How do you know Amity?"
"Emira." Amity immediately growled.
"I'm just making conversation."
"You're conducting an interrogation."
"The two are very similar."
I could see a small vein appearing on Amity's forehead.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Then suddenly—
"What is going on here?"
Another voice echoed from the upper floor.
This time...
Everyone froze slightly.
Even Emira.
Even Edric.
I slowly looked up.
A woman was descending the staircase.
Perfectly styled green hair.
Elegant clothing.
A piercing gaze.
And a presence that immediately filled the entire room.
...
Odalia Blight.
My smile instantly disappeared.
Ah.
The difficulty level had just increased.
Odalia calmly walked down the stairs before looking at Amity.
Then at me.
And finally at the twins.
"Would someone care to explain why there is a stranger inside my manor?"
Silence.
Nobody seemed eager to answer.
Eventually, Amity spoke.
"He came to see Father."
Odalia's eyes narrowed slightly.
"To see Alador?"
Her gaze returned to me.
"And for what reason?"
I quietly took a breath.
There it was.
The real obstacle had appeared.
"I have a project I'd like to show him."
Odalia remained silent for a few seconds.
Then she slowly crossed her arms.
"A project?"
Her tone made it clear that she wasn't impressed.
"And what makes you think Alador would waste his time on you?"
...
Direct.
Very direct.
I immediately noticed that Amity had tensed slightly beside me.
As if she was already worried about what would happen next.
But honestly?
After everything I had gone through since arriving in the Boiling Isles...
A difficult conversation wasn't exactly intimidating anymore.
So I calmly looked back at Odalia.
"Because I believe my project might interest him."
Silence.
Emira was watching the scene with stars in her eyes.
Edric somehow seemed to have acquired popcorn from nowhere.
And Amity looked like she was one step away from having a stress-induced breakdown.
As for Odalia...
She stared at me for several long seconds.
Then—
To my surprise—
A slight smile appeared on her lips.
But it wasn't a warm smile.
It was the kind of smile a predator shows when it spots something interesting.
"Really?"
She stepped off the final stair.
"In that case..."
Her eyes gleamed slightly.
"I would like to hear this idea before Alador wastes his time on it."
...
Ah.
Very well.
I had officially entered the most dangerous part of this visit.
And strangely enough...
I was almost starting to enjoy it.
The manor hall fell into a heavy silence.
A very heavy silence.
Odalia continued staring at me with that calculating smile that made it feel as though she was analyzing every single one of my reactions.
And honestly?
She probably was.
I took a small breath before pulling the schematics from my jacket.
"Here's the project I was talking about."
Odalia held out her hand.
I handed her the papers.
For several seconds, the only sound in the hall was the rustling of paper.
Emira had quietly moved closer.
Very quietly.
Well...
As quietly as Emira could manage.
Edric was also peering over his mother's shoulder.
Even Amity was watching the scene closely.
Then, slowly...
Odalia's eyebrows furrowed.
Once.
Then a second time.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Her eyes moved across every detail of the design.
Every note.
Every mechanism.
Then finally...
"This isn't a student's project."
Ah.
She noticed.
I kept my expression neutral.
"I never claimed to be a student."
Odalia looked up at me.
Her gaze was much more attentive now.
"Where did you learn all of this?"
A dangerous question.
A very dangerous question.
"I've spent a lot of time studying on my own."
Technically true.
I just wasn't specifying which world I'd done that studying in.
Odalia continued observing me for a few seconds.
As if she were trying to determine whether I was lying.
Eventually, she turned her attention back to the schematics.
Then suddenly—
"Hm."
For someone like Odalia...
That simple sound was already a huge reaction.
Amity seemed to notice it too.
"Mother?"
Odalia didn't answer immediately.
She continued examining the plans.
Then she calmly asked,
"This section."
She pointed to one part of the gauntlet.
"Why use this distribution system instead of a conventional central core?"
My eyes lit up slightly
Because that question meant one thing.
She was genuinely thinking about the design.
"Because a single core creates a critical point of failure."
I stepped slightly closer.
"If the core is damaged, the entire system collapses."
I pointed to another section of the blueprint
"But with multiple distribution points, even if part of the mechanism is compromised, the system can continue functioning."
The hall fell silent again.
Then slowly...
Odalia smiled.
This time, it seemed slightly more genuine.
"Interesting."
Amity blinked.
Emira blinked too.
Even Edric looked surprised.
Because apparently...
Odalia Blight didn't hand out compliments very often.
Then suddenly, another voice echoed from the upper floor.
A distracted voice.
"Odalia?"
My heart nearly skipped a beat.
Footsteps approached.
Slow.
Tired.
And a few moments later...
A figure appeared at the top of the staircase.
Messy brown hair.
Crooked glasses.
A lab coat stained with various unidentified substances.
And a look that suggested sleep had long since become optional.
Alador Blight.
Finally.
The genius of the Boiling Isles had arrived.
Alador descended a few steps before glancing around.
Then he noticed the schematics in Odalia's hands.
And immediately...
His expression changed.
Completely.
As if someone had suddenly switched a light on inside his head.
"Wait..."
He hurried down the stairs.
Much faster than anyone expected.
Then he practically snatched the papers from Odalia's hands.
"Who drew these?"
Silence.
Every head turned toward me.
Alador followed their gaze.
Then looked at me.
For a long moment.
A very long moment.
And suddenly—
"You made these?"
I slowly nodded.
"Yes."
Alador immediately looked back down at the schematics.
Then back up.
Then down again.
Then up once more.
As if his mind was running calculations at incredible speed.
And finally—
"You have five minutes."
The entire hall froze.
"Huh?" Edric asked.
"What?" Emira said.
Even Amity looked surprised.
Alador pointed directly at the schematics.
"Explain everything."
Then a smile appeared on his face.
A real smile.
The smile of an inventor who had just discovered something genuinely fascinating.
"And start from the beginning.