Etyna chuckled, clapping her hands together.
“You guys just got back, so go report your return to the headquarters first, then we can talk!” Enmie nodded.
“Mhm!” Etyna spun around and marched ahead, Enmie following close behind as the whole group ventured deeper into the massive kingdom.
Their footsteps wove through pedestrians and street vendors, surrounded by the bustling noise of the crowd and the loud chatter of shopkeepers advertising their wares.
Enmie’s mouth began to water, her eyes glistening as she walked past the roadside meat stalls, staring at them with pure hunger.
Etyna glanced back at Enmie.
Seeing those sparkling eyes, she couldn’t suppress a chuckle, which snapped Enmie back to reality with a bewildered look.
Wiping a tear of laughter from her eye, Etyna addressed the girl behind her, “No stopping to buy anything right now.
We have to reach the headquarters first.” Enmie flinched, her face dropping in disappointment.
“Huh—?!…” Swallowing her saliva, Enmie closed her eyes and let out a regretful sigh.
She opened them again, staring ahead with a exhausted look as she thought to herself, “I crave it so much…
I haven’t had a single piece of meat since last night…” She closed her eyes again, a small tear forming on her lashes as she let out another disappointed sigh.
They kept walking and walking, the group pushing forward until they came to a halt right before a massive gate, staring up at the colossal structure.
Etyna lowered her head slightly, closing her eyes as delicate, sky-blue light radiated from her body.
The energy drifted upward.
High on the massive gate, a blue crystal suddenly flashed to life, Etyna’s slender light wrapping entirely around the gem embedded in the wood.
The crystal slowly absorbed the radiant strands.
A heavy grinding noise echoed from the gate as the colossal doors gradually parted, the light from within spilling over Etyna’s face as they opened.
With the gates open, the interior landscape was revealed.
A completely open expanse lay before them, and right in the middle of the lush, green grass stood a large manor.
The group stepped inside, the vegetation rustling crisply beneath their feet.
Ersak fixed his eyes on the manor, his gaze then shifting over to the right.
There stood a building resembling a school with its gates wide open, connected to the inner city in the distance by a neatly paved stone path.
People wearing matching uniforms were constantly entering and exiting the facility.
The manor doors slowly swung open, revealing the bustling scene inside.
From old to young, from the first floor to the upper levels, teenagers and individuals clad in armor were talking with one another along the balconies.
Ersak stared in absolute shock, sweat breaking out on his forehead as he scanned the environment.
In his mind, he wondered, “Is this place a refugee camp or what?…” Etyna smiled, gesturing toward the reception desk.
“You guys go over to the desk and confirm your completion.” The three walked over to the reception desk, while Ersak stood frozen in place, completely unsure of what to do.
Etyna looked at Ersak, her sparkling blue eyes widening in confusion.
She stepped closer to him.
Ersak looked back at her, bewildered, as Etyna took hold of his hand.
“Let’s go find a table and wait for them.” Ersak followed her blankly, stammering, “Ah—uh, okay?” Ersak sat down on the sofa, looking over at the three of them talking to the receptionist.
The receptionist smiled and asked, “Now, if you three could give me your names, I’ll reactivate your cards.” …”Enmie.” …”Lusia.” …”Hawen.” Suddenly, Etyna propped her chin in her hand, looking at Ersak as she asked, “You must be the one they were talking about, right?” Ersak looked over, replying with a confused tone, “What do you mean?” Etyna, resting her chin on her hand, pointed at the two bands on Ersak’s wrists and said, “Well, they asked me for help regarding a certain matter with someone.” Ersak looked down, lifting both of his hands as Etyna continued, “You have Hawen’s band, so I figured they were talking about you.” Ersak looked up at Etyna, preparing to open his mouth, when Enmie suddenly marched over and interrupted with an irritated voice, “Hey, hey, what are you two talking about?” Behind her, Hawen and Lusia approached, holding their cards up to their chests before the items vanished.
Enmie stared at Ersak, who sat completely still.
Hawen suddenly spoke up, “Enmie.” Enmie looked over at Hawen, who was standing on the staircase.
“Hm?” Hawen pointed up the stairs and said, “Let’s head up to our private room first.” Beside him, Lusia held up a card displaying a room number.
Enmie walked off, with Ersak and Etyna following behind.
The group headed up the stairs, ascending to the second floor, then the third.
The room door swung open, and Hawen stepped inside.
“So you guys want me to teach him?” Etyna asked, sitting on the sofa.
Enmie sat beside her and nodded.
Etyna hesitated, “Mm…” Leaning against the wall behind Etyna, Hawen spoke up, “The school year hasn’t started yet anyway.
If possible, just consider it a training course for a new student.” Hawen shrugged and gestured with his hand as he continued, “The headquarters has already approved this request, so just treat it as having one extra student.” Etyna looked troubled, falling silent as she pondered, “Mm…” Opening her eyes, she looked across at Ersak and said, “It’s true that I received the plan from the organization, but this is way too difficult for me if I have to rush his training…” Lusia, her hair letting loose and wearing casual clothes without her armor, walked out and sat down on the rug.
She spoke up, “No matter how you look at it, giving you only a short amount of time to teach a complete rookie really is a tough ask.” Etyna looked at Lusia, replying in a low, troubled voice, “Yeah, if he were like the other students, it would be fine, but for someone at rock bottom, this is just too fast…” The space instantly fell into silence.
Everyone looked at Etyna, and not a single person spoke.
The air grew stiff and suffocating, with only the ticking of the clock echoing through the room.
Etyna looked at Enmie, Lusia, and Hawen, who had sat down on the rug next to Lusia.
Letting out a sigh, she spoke up, “Fine, I’ll try and see what I can do…” Enmie let out a triumphant laugh, wrapping her arms tightly around Etyna as she shouted, “I knew it!
Haha!!” Etyna broke out in beads of cold sweat, squeezing one eye shut as she looked at Enmie and said, “But you guys have to help me too…” Enmie: “Got it!!” Lusia and Hawen exchanged glances, then looked up at Ersak.
Ersak sat there with a clueless expression, looking across at them before snapping out of it to glance down at the two.
He lowered his head, shifting his gaze away.
Ersak closed his eyes and slowly opened them again, thinking to himself, “So I’m gonna be learning here for the time being?” He lifted his gaze, his thoughts continuing, “Am I about to learn about this world?…” Ersak looked out the window, staring toward the school in the distance as he thought, “That school, huh?”…