[Vol. 8] Chapter 3: The Journey Begins Again
The delegations from countries and academies around the world have left the Sainz city and are now returning home. Although the “World Academy Joint Exchange Conference” had many ups and downs and even suffered casualties during the unrest, it has now come to an end, more or less.
The chain of attacks during the closing ceremony, in the end, caused more panic than actual harm. Thanks to the academy city's incredibly fast response, most students and exchange participants were safe, except for a few unlucky ones. For many, it turned out to be an unforgettable event they would never see again in their lifetime.
Now that everyone is returning home, all the strange events, rumors, and scandals that happened in the academy city over the past month, especially the unbelievable powers shown by four different gods, and their divine miracles and battles, will probably be turned into all kinds of exaggerated stories and spread across the world.
As for a certain priestess, who was at the very center of these events and is now being closely watched by powerful groups, it’s clearly time for her to leave, no matter the reason.
"Well then, until we meet again, Miss Violet. I hope you’ll come back to the academy city when you have time. The students really love your guest lectures~”
Outside the [Eternal Day] Barrier, nearly a thousand people had gathered to see her off. Led by Yulia, the secretary to the head of the academy, the crowd included professors like Priscilla and Ismael, who were close to Violet, and many students who came on their own to say goodbye. The line of people stretched far, forming a very grand and touching scene.
Seeing the huge crowd behind Yulia, the priestess couldn’t help but shake her head.
She hadn’t told many people about her departure, hoping to avoid this kind of trouble. But even though she kept things quiet, so many people still came to say goodbye. She had no idea how she had become this popular…
By the way, the so-called “lectures” Yulia mentioned were actually just times when the priestess was in a good mood and randomly walked into a study room to talk about her experiences with magic. She spoke casually and without a plan, more like passing time with a spur-of-the-moment idea.
Seeing the students’ confused faces during these talks, she originally thought it was lucky she didn’t get complaints for disturbing the class or teaching nonsense.
But to her surprise, these few sessions somehow became popular. Yulia even came to ask if they could make them official. Some students studying holy magic even came with gifts, saying they had learned a lot from her talks and solved problems that had troubled them for a long time.
…She really couldn’t understand how that happened.
She waved to the crowd, which sparked the expected loud cheers. Feeling a headache coming, Violet turned her head and looked back at Yulia, who was standing as their representative.
“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely come back someday. But as for giving lectures... maybe after things have calmed down. Right now, Sainz is getting too much attention. If I stay here longer, it might bring trouble for you all.”
As the personal secretary and head maid of Princess Lucine, Yulia naturally knew many secrets. Out of sight from the others, her face briefly turned serious and she gave a small nod. But she quickly smiled again and said:
“Mia and Serna are both good girls and very loyal to you. I hope you’ll treat them well and make good use of them. Also, Her Highness Lucine asked me to tell you this, because of some sensitive issues, she couldn’t say goodbye to you in public, but she has her own way of sending you off. I hope you’ll understand her situation.”
“I understand, I understand… It’s not easy for her either.”
The girl quietly looked up at the sky. Deep within the thick white clouds, there was indeed a faint flicker of dark red light, just as she expected. She smiled softly and nodded.
“No need for more small talk, time to go!”
She waved her hand toward some unknown direction, then turned around and walked quickly toward the line of carriages that had been waiting for a long time.
“Take care, Lady Violet!!!”
Someone in the crowd shouted loudly. Many others said their own goodbyes in different ways, but the girl only raised her hand again to wave back, without turning around.
Just like always.
Above the carriages heading back to the Holy Empire’s Capital, Angel City, the graceful shapes of angels flew by. The horses neighed proudly as the girl bent down and got into the carriage that had already been prepared for her. The group began moving forward, heading out of the academy city into the wide world beyond.
“……”
Yulia said nothing more. She stood quietly in place, watching the convoy from the Holy Empire’s Holy Academy slowly disappear into the distance as people cheered and waved.
Then she looked up at the sky. Her red eyes closed for a moment and opened again. This time the red in them had become deeper, like something ancient.
Even though it seemed like a peaceful departure, it was actually the beginning of new conflicts.
She could hear the ancient trumpets of the gods echoing through the world.
The time of chaos was about to begin.
………………………………………………
A few days later—
The convoy from the Holy Empire had left Sainz. After crossing both the eastern and western parts of the Lannas Province, they officially entered the border Valandia province, which belonged to the Austre Empire.
Valandia is located at the edge of the great plains of Sainz. The land there slowly changes from flat ground to rough and dangerous mountains.
According to books, over 70% of this province is made up of high mountains, old forests, and marshes, making it very hard for people to live in. It’s one of the Austre Empire’s natural defenses on the western border. Beyond this province, heading further west, is the buffer zone between the two empires.
“The air here at the border really does feel different… Just a while ago, everything still felt peaceful, and we barely saw any soldiers. But now, as soon as we crossed the border of Lannas, strange things have started showing up~”
Not far from a resting campsite, a black-haired girl in a white robe stood by a clear stream, looking out at the long stretch of mountains ahead. Her silver-blue eyes had a faint, mysterious smile in them.
As the sky darkened, the shadows of the mountains grew deeper, like giant beasts waiting to attack. It gave off a feeling of fear, almost like a natural instinct.
But she wasn’t afraid, not even a little.
“These little bugs… they’ve made some interesting little toys this time. Hmph…”
Whoosh!
The blonde girl beside her suddenly raised her hand into the air. Her fingers formed a claw shape, and without any big movement, a sharp, fast wind shot out. It grabbed something hidden in the shadows of the night sky and the mountains and pulled it into her hand.
Zzzap!
With just a little pressure, the metal object, about the size of a palm, sparked and buzzed. It stopped moving. The dragon-girl held it in her hand and curiously poked at it, but it was clear she didn’t understand how it worked. She pouted, then casually handed it over to the black-haired girl, who was watching with a smile.
“Master, this thing was probably made by the Austre Empire. I think it’s used for spying.”