The nightmares took many forms.

Some were about Shicodale himself.

Once again, he dreamed of the blood and flames in Mistmoon Forest. The once peaceful land was piled high with the corpses of Moon Elf soldiers, while his people screamed beneath the barbarians’ ravages.

His father, the king, shoved him out of the inferno. Shicodale was dressed in ceremonial finery, a princess’s crown resting upon his head.

The next instant, a charred roof beam came crashing down.

There were also dreams about Vinny.

Shicodale would dream of the days after he first enrolled, when he met Vinny. After losing his home and family and wandering from place to place, those had been the happiest days of his life.

He had thought those days would last for a long time.

Yet they had barely begun before everything dissolved like flowers in a mirror and the moon reflected on water.

He would wake in the middle of the night and open his door, only to find the room across the hall standing wide open and completely empty. Cold wind poured through its window, making the curtains creak and snap.

The sound pierced straight through the hollow shell left behind where his heart had once been.

Whenever Shicodale saw that scene, panic seized him for no apparent reason.

This enormous dormitory now held only him.

Him alone.

It was just like the days when he had wandered the world. The world was vast, yet he was the only person left in it. No one noticed him, understood him, or spoke to him.

He was alone again.

There was no one left by his side.

Only after Vinny disappeared did Shicodale realize how afraid he was of the dark, of humans, and of loneliness.

He had never expected to fit in after enrolling at Carillian Academy. He had never expected to become part of its atmosphere or make friends here.

For an elf, those things were a luxury.

He could have endured loneliness—

had he never met Vinny.

Dale, you’ve really grown a lot since you first enrolled.

The blue-haired young man’s encouraging words echoed through his mind.

Had he grown?

Staring into the darkness where he could not even see his own hand, Shicodale curled up in the corner of his room with his back against the wall. He wrapped both arms around his knees and buried his head between them.

No.

He had not grown at all.

None of that courage had belonged to him.

The blue-haired young man had given it to him.

Aside from those two kinds of dreams, there was another that felt strangely different.

Shicodale dreamed neither of himself nor of Vinny.

Instead, he dreamed of a pink-haired angel girl crying in the darkness.

She knelt on the ground with her head lowered, sobbing. Black water slowly rose over her body, staining her pure white wings black, yet she could do nothing to stop it.

The pink-haired girl looked painfully familiar.

Shicodale wanted to approach her, help her, and ask who she was, but he could not make a sound. All he could do was watch helplessly as the angel was gradually swallowed by the darkness.

His thoughts were a tangled mess.

By the time Shicodale came back to himself, he found that he was already standing in front of the kitchen counter.

It seemed muscle memory had brought him here after realizing it was time to make breakfast.

But what was the point?

Shicodale stared at the familiar knives and dishes on the counter, then at the food stored in the cabinets.

He could not summon the slightest desire to cook.

He simply had no interest.

Just as Shicodale began dragging himself out of the kitchen, a voice sounded in his mind.

Dale, remember this! This young master doesn’t teach this secret to just anyone. Breakfast is the most important meal for a real man. You have to eat it! You can skip lunch or dinner, but never breakfast. If you don’t eat breakfast, you won’t grow taller. And if you don’t grow taller, you’ll never have a shred of manliness. Understand?

In his memory, the blue-haired young man had lectured him with the confidence of someone speaking from years of experience, completely ignoring the fact that he himself had hardly grown at all.

Young people generally hated being lectured.

Shicodale was different.

More than being lectured, he feared the day when no one would be left to lecture him.

That was why he always listened seriously whenever Vinny began preaching at him, regardless of whether Vinny was spouting nonsense or spouting nonsense with a solemn expression.

At least it made Shicodale feel that someone still cared enough to lecture him.

With that thought, Shicodale stopped.

He took a slice of bread from the cabinet, held it between his teeth, and only then left the kitchen.

After walking out, he instinctively looked toward the second floor.

Normally, this was when he would go upstairs and wake Vinny.

Today, there was no need.

“Vinny, I’m leaving for class.”

After a long silence, Shicodale abruptly spoke toward Vinny’s room.

Then he picked up his schoolbag, put on his socks and shoes, and walked out the door.

Every movement was listless.

The scenery on the way to class was different every day.

The birds perched on the branches at dawn, the angle and direction of the sunlight, and the students passing along the road were never quite the same.

Today, Shicodale noticed none of it.

The familiar road to the Teaching Hall had suddenly become dull and lifeless. He did not notice how many students were coming or going, what they were doing, or what they were discussing.

He paid attention to nothing.

He resembled a withered tree whose life had been devoured by insects, reaching the Teaching Hall through habit and momentum alone.

So the walk to class feels this long when Vinny isn’t beside me.

Shicodale arrived at the Teaching Hall.

Perhaps he had woken too early, because there were still very few students there.

He did not care.

The moment he entered the classroom, his eyes went straight to the seats where he and Vinny usually sat. He walked over without thinking.

THUMP.

After placing his schoolbag on the seat, Shicodale was suddenly overcome with exhaustion. He lowered his head onto the desk and closed his eyes.

As time passed, more students gradually entered the classroom.

None of it seemed to have anything to do with Shicodale.

The constant noise of footsteps coming and going only irritated him.

“Huh? Isn’t that Dale? What’s wrong with him today? Is he sick, or did he not sleep well?”

Several students noticed that something was wrong and began whispering in surprise.

In everyone’s impression, the delicate-looking elf boy might have been shy, but he was usually quite lively. He had never arrived in the morning only to collapse asleep on his desk.

More importantly—

the accessory had arrived without the person it normally clung to.

“Speaking of which, where’s Vinny? Why isn’t he here? Why did Dale come alone?”

“Who knows? Maybe he went to the bathroom.”

“Then where’s his schoolbag? Dale only has his own bag beside him.”

“What’s so strange about that? They probably had a fight. With Vinny’s obnoxious personality, it was only a matter of time before he made an honest little elf like Dale cry,” someone said dismissively.

“You should all stop talking. Haven’t you heard about what happened?” said a student who had remained silent nearby.

“Huh? What happened? Don’t be cryptic.”

“Don’t you know the Academy has gone into lockdown?”

“So what? What does that have to do with this? Wait. You aren’t saying...”

“That’s right. One of the missing students is...”

The student lowered his voice and secretly glanced at Shicodale.

“No way. Are you sure?” A tall, broad-shouldered male student widened his eyes.

“Would I say something like this without evidence?”

The students exchanged looks, glanced at Shicodale lying across his desk, and silently moved away.

Although they normally had little contact with Vinny and could not be considered close to him, they were still classmates. They had studied together for nearly two years.

None of them could feel at ease after someone they knew simply vanished.

“You’re saying the missing student is Vinny? That can’t be right. He’s so strong. How could something happen to him?” the tall student finally asked after they reached their seats.

When the Academy first issued the lockdown order, he had not taken it seriously. He had assumed the disappearances were nothing more than some ridiculous commotion.

Only after learning that one of the missing people was someone close to him—and one of the top three students in their year—did he understand how serious the situation was.

“Who told you strong people can’t disappear? There’s always someone stronger. Besides, no one has figured out what happened yet. Enough. Let’s stop talking about it.”

“Doesn’t the class seem much emptier than usual today?”

Several male students raised their heads and looked around the room.

Among the many footsteps, one set sounded especially crisp and distinct in Shicodale’s ears.

He ignored it.

Tap.

The footsteps stopped in front of him, and the person sat down beside him.

Shicodale remained silent. He raised his eyes slightly and glanced at the silver-haired girl who had taken the seat beside him and begun removing her books.

“Aesphyra...”

“Mm.”

Aesphyra responded softly and handed Shicodale a handkerchief.

“Thank you.”

After a brief silence, Shicodale slowly accepted it and wiped the corners of his eyes.

Judging by his frail movements, it was doubtful whether he would even be able to walk back to the dorm on his own after the morning classes ended.

“Have you found any clues about Vinny?” Shicodale asked cautiously.

Aesphyra said nothing.

She merely stared silently at the blackboard at the front of the classroom.

Having received his answer, Shicodale lowered his gaze again.

Aesphyra did not offer any empty reassurance or tell him to cheer up.

She knew that when someone’s problem could not be solved, blindly lecturing them or offering hollow words of comfort accomplished nothing.

It was often better simply to accept their feelings in silence.

“The class is much emptier today,” Aesphyra suddenly said.

“He isn’t the only person absent. Someone else didn’t come either.”

“Someone else?” Shicodale asked listlessly.

Just then, an instructor entered the classroom.

It was not their teacher for the first lesson, but their class advisor.

“Everyone, quiet down.”

The instructor stepped onto the platform and called the class to order. There had not been much noise to begin with, so the students quickly turned their attention toward him.

“I assume all of you have received the Academy’s lockdown notice. Two students have disappeared on campus in the past few days, and we are still unable to determine what happened.”

“Enchanted devices designed to detect the demon race, Demon Pillar auras, and evil Spirit Souls have shown no reaction. Nevertheless, we must prepare for the worst. Please exercise caution for the time being. If you encounter anything unusual, seek help from an instructor immediately. Combat instructors are patrolling the streets, so you should have no difficulty finding one.”

“I will now distribute a badge capable of detecting evil Spirit Souls to each of you. These were hastily produced by the Academy and are single-use items. If an evil Spirit Soul wielder releases their Spirit Soul nearby, the badge will shatter.”

“Aesphyra, please come up and help me distribute them.”

“Yes.”

Aesphyra nodded and walked to the front.

“If any of you have questions, you may ask me.”

“Instructor, has the Academy confirmed that an evil Spirit Soul wielder has infiltrated the campus?” one student asked.

“Not at present. We reconstructed the routes taken by both missing students, but our evil Spirit Soul detection instruments did not react at any point,” the instructor explained.

“So you haven’t found any trace of an evil Spirit Soulcaster?”

“Can evil Spirit Souls no longer be detected? And the Academy has so many checkpoints. Everyone entering or leaving has to undergo a full inspection. Even if there really is an evil Spirit Soul wielder here, how could they have slipped inside??”

“Enough. Quiet down,” the instructor said sternly. “You may ask questions, but do not begin debating among yourselves. Maintain order.”

“This is merely a precaution and a warning. Do not panic when the situation has not yet been confirmed. Combat instructors are stationed throughout the streets. If an extreme situation truly arises, find one immediately.”

“Instructor, Isatia and Vinny are both absent today. What happened to them?” a student finally asked.

Isatia didn’t come to class either?

Shicodale lifted his head and looked around the classroom.

Sure enough, the aloof and dignified girl with long, straight black hair was nowhere to be seen.

“Regarding Isatia, she is unwell and confined to bed today. One of her friends requested medical leave on her behalf,” the instructor said. After a pause, he continued, “As for Vinny...”

“Something has happened, and we are currently investigating.”

Everyone immediately understood.

Vinny was one of the missing students.

Carillian Academy taught in small classes, so the absence of only two students was enough to make the room feel much emptier than usual.

By then, Aesphyra had finished distributing the single-use badges to every student.

Isatia took medical leave??

Shicodale and many of the other students were deeply confused.

Leaving aside the question of what illness could afflict someone with extraordinary abilities, would the meticulous and fiercely driven First Imperial Princess truly take medical leave even if she did fall sick?

What kind of illness could possibly force her to remain in bed?

The Chosen One Granted by God Tournament was approaching, yet strange incidents within the Academy were only becoming more frequent.

Although the instructor had warned everyone not to let these events disturb them too badly, many students could not help entertaining other possibilities.

The class advisor left, and the teacher for their first lesson entered.

Class proceeded as usual.

“Dale.”

“Mm? What is it?”

Only after a moment did Shicodale realize that Aesphyra had finished distributing the badges, returned to the seat beside him, and quietly called his name.

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