Before anyone could react, the girl suddenly reached for Leo's arm. Lily flinched, instinctively stepping forward, but before she could do anything, Leo calmly stepped back, slipping out of the girl's grasp.

"Whatever it is, you can talk from there," he said evenly.

"H-huh? Y-yes, yes." The girl startled, then quickly retreated a few steps, putting a clear distance between them.

Only then did Leo and the others get a proper look at her. She had light blue hair that shimmered faintly under the academy lights and clear blue eyes that looked slightly red, as if she had been crying. A matching dress clung to her slender figure, and a badge pinned to her chest bore the number 1, marking her as a fresher just like them. Lily immediately noticed something else—her clothes were damp in places, clinging uncomfortably to her skin, and the fabric itself was rather revealing.

Before Leo could speak, Lily cut in.

"What do you want?" she asked bluntly.

The girl seemed taken aback. It was Leo she had approached for help, after all. But seeing that Leo didn't object and simply waited in silence, she turned to Lily and spoke.

"M-Miss! Please save my friends!" she cried out, her voice trembling. "We were checking the surroundings of the academy to establish our territory when some beasts attacked us. T-those beasts were very ferocious… they wouldn't let us leave. I—I somehow managed to escape and ran here to ask for help. I beg you, please help us!"

Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke, her expression pitiful and desperate.

Lily was slightly taken aback. She had initially thought the girl was trying to appeal to Leo specifically, but the fear in her voice and the way her hands shook seemed genuine.

"Why us?" Leo asked, his tone calm but probing. "There are many people here."

"B-because you're freshers like me," the girl replied quickly. "I don't trust the others. They don't even help unless you give them credits…" She swept a wary gaze around the area, shrinking slightly as if afraid someone might overhear.

No one paid attention to the small commotion nearby. As she had said, this kind of thing wasn't uncommon, and people rarely helped for free.

"Please, Miss," the girl continued, turning back to Lily. "Help us. The beasts aren't that strong—if even one of you has high 2-star strength, they can be defeated. W-we can pay you credits if you want. We just don't want to be sent to the temple… If that happens, we'll fall into debt before our term even starts."

Lily fell silent, contemplating. The request didn't feel fabricated. She glanced at Leo, who gave a small nod, clearly sharing the same impression. And, whether consciously or not, the girl's fragile appearance tugged at that instinctive part of the mind that urged one to protect.

In the end, they agreed.

The girl immediately led the way, breaking into a run. Despite her delicate build, she moved surprisingly fast. Miho lagged slightly, breathing hard, but she pushed herself to keep up.

They left the academy premises after crossing the wall gates. The student in charge of guarding the gate just glanced at them and let them go.

After running nearly two kilometres, the forest had noticiply thickened and at this time Leo's phone buzzed with a notification—they had crossed the academy's safe zone and entered the mild wilderness. The danger level was low, ranging from high 1-star to low 2-star beasts. Leo remained alert, prepared for the possibility that this was some kind of lure.

That suspicion never came true.

In the distance, a pond came into view—and with it, the unmistakable sound of terrified screams.

Just as the scene began to unfold before them, Lily suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. She spun around and clamped both her hands over Leo's eyes.

"Treant! Kill those beasts!" she shouted, her voice sharp with panic.

Even with his vision blocked, Leo caught enough of the scene to understand. Two girls were trapped near the pond, surrounded by one-meter-tall bipedal frog-like monsters. The creatures spat high-pressure jets of water from their mouths, soaking the girls again and again. Some of the beasts had already closed in, clawing and tearing at their clothes, exposing far more skin than should have been visible. Every attempt the girls made to escape was crushed when a bulkier frog unleashed a powerful water blast, slamming them right back into the encirclement.

Leo, choosing to accept Lily's "saving grace," stayed still as the Treant's towering form erupted forward. The massive spirit bulldozed through the frogs, ripping them apart with ease and scattering their bodies like broken toys. Within moments, the girls were freed. Fortunately, the sky had dimmed and dulling the scene's clarity.

The blue-haired girl stared in shock as the hulking beast appeared out of nowhere, swatting away the frog monsters like mosquitoes—the same creatures that had tormented them moments ago.

"Miho!" Lily called out sharply. "Make sure they're covered!"

"Yes!" Miho replied immediately. She rushed forward, digging into her backpack and pulling out two towels, handing them to the shaken girls.

The girls remained dazed, mechanically wrapping the towels around themselves as their eyes stayed locked on the ten-meter-tall Treant that loomed before them like a mountain.

"Mira! Sylva!" the blue-haired girl cried out as she ran to them, pulling both into a tight hug. She didn't even care that her own clothes became even wetter in the process.

"Aina!"

"Aina!"

The three clung to each other, trembling.

"Aina… you came," Mira sobbed. "I thought we were done for." All three shared similar blue hair, though their outfits differed—what little remained dry, anyway.

Only after both girls were properly wrapped did Lily finally remove her hands from Leo's eyes.

Leo opened them to see two girls bundled in white towels, sitting near the pond, shivering and the back of the girl who had led them there. Beneath the water's surface, Leo sensed more frog beasts lurking, but none dared move under the Treant's oppressive presence.

The girls cautiously looked around until their gazes finally settled on the Treant, taking in its massive form in full.

"So big…" Mira whispered.

"So strong…" Sylva added.

"And it's real—cough—a spirit…" Aina muttered, shivering slightly, as if she had caught a chill.

They then turned toward Lily and Leo, who were walking over.

"Mira, Sylva," Aina said quickly, "these are the ones who helped me right after I reached Aurelius Hall. Please thank them!"

She turned sharply as she spoke, her wet clothes fluttering, the fabric clinging tightly as she moved, making the mass over her chest bounce.

"Thank you very much, Miss and Mr," the girl said in unison.

Lily clenched her teeth at the sight in front of her.

Those clothes… soaked and practically see-through!

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