A short silence formed between the two.
Seraphina stared at the ground for a few moments, as if struggling with something in her mind and wasn’t sure how to answer.
But in the end, she said quietly.
"I was supposed to be in that mission too."
Lian raised his eyebrow. This was the first time he was hearing something like this. He knew that many people had signed up for that mission.
But the final list and who could participate was decided by Professor Aldric. Still, he hadn’t expected that this girl would also be among the participants.
Seraphina looked away from him and continued.
"My name was on the final list. I had even prepared my equipment and everything was ready." She paused for a moment.
"I didn’t tell you because I wanted to surprise you. I thought you’d be really happy that way..."
"But the day before the deployment... when they were reading the names of the participants, I realized my name wasn’t there. And I understood that my father had interfered." Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"He personally removed my name from the list."
Lian said nothing, but his mind started working. Seraphina’s father was not someone who would interfere in Academy missions without reason.
Especially a mission that on the surface was just a normal cleanup operation.
He knew this girl’s father. In fact, the entire Academy knew her father. After all, her father was the head of the Academy and one of the Federation’s directors.
And as far as he knew that old man, he never interfered unless he knew there was a great danger there.
"That’s when I understood something was wrong. Something we weren’t supposed to know. I knew my father wouldn’t interfere unless my life was at stake." Seraphina continued.
A gentle breeze passed through the hallway windows, and a few strands of Seraphina’s silver hair moved in the air.
"At first I thought I was being too sensitive. But the more I asked, the more they dodged my questions."
Her gaze fixed on Lian again.
"And that’s when I was sure something wasn’t right."
A few seconds of silence passed, and then Seraphina said in a quieter voice.
"I wanted to tell you. Right before the deployment... but my father stopped me." A bitter smile appeared on her face.
Lian listened quietly to her words. These words didn’t necessarily mean there was a grand conspiracy. A bitter smile also appeared on his face.
In fact, he could understand why Seraphina’s father had stopped her from telling him anything. After all, that old man hated him.
He didn’t know whether to laugh or not, but that man would do anything to keep him away from his daughter. Because he thought Lian wasn’t worthy of even being Seraphina’s friend.
For a while, when their relationship had been somewhat damaged because of what Lian had done, that old man was living the happiest days of his life.
But when he returned from the Ruined Realm and their relationship improved again, he had probably gotten angry again.
In the end, Seraphina was waiting for a reaction. Waiting for anger, waiting for blame, waiting for Lian to say that if she had warned him earlier, everything would have been different.
"It’s okay." But Lian just nodded.
Just those two simple words. No anger, no blame. And exactly that made Seraphina’s guilt grow even more.
She looked down for a moment, then sighed.
"Was it really that bad?" Her question was quiet, but it carried a lot of weight.
Lian’s gaze left her for a moment, and the images came alive in his mind. The streets covered in mist. Hundreds of sleepwalking humans. Monsters lurking in the darkness. And the Broodmother crawling on the ceilings like a living nightmare.
And that masterpiece monster that returned after every death.
The white-eyed man.
All those scenes passed through his mind in a fraction of a second. Then he shrugged.
"I guess." That was it. Nothing more, nothing less.
It depended on what was considered bad. Sarah and Andreas’s deaths were the only bad things about this mission.
Otherwise, the profit this mission had brought him was indescribable. And the profit far outweighed the loss for him. So personally, it wasn’t bad for him.
But it wasn’t like he could say these things, right?
Seraphina said nothing for a few moments, because she had understood from his tone that the truth was probably far worse than what he was willing to say.
"Where is Kain?" To break the silence, Lian changed the subject.
"He went to the Ruined Realm. Like most second and third-year students. Most of them are there now. Collecting resources, exploring, hunting monsters..." Seraphina answered quietly and then continued.
"In fact, the Academy is much emptier than you think right now."
Lian nodded. In fact, he had expected this. Now that a portal had opened, the Awakened naturally wouldn’t miss the opportunity.
And especially Kain... that guy didn’t want to fall behind him and would definitely use the opportunity.
Seraphina continued.
"The main members of the Student Council stayed. I stayed. And a few other elite students are still here."
"And of course, a lot of first-years because they’re worried about their lives." She then gave a faint smile.
"Probably when the others come back... everything will change."
Lian said nothing, but he understood what she meant. Then he asked with curiosity.
"Why didn’t you go? I’m sure you also wanted to reach your first evolution sooner."
"Honestly..." Seraphina paused for a few moments.
"I was waiting for you to come back. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." The honesty in her voice made even herself slightly embarrassed.
But she had already said it. A few seconds of silence passed.
Then Lian laughed. Not those cold, mocking smiles he usually gave. But a small, genuine laugh.
"Thank you for your concern."
Seraphina’s face turned even redder. Perhaps if any other student had been there and seen this scene, they would have gone into shock. Because no one could imagine that the cold Vice President of the Student Council could show such a face.
Then they both said goodbye, and Seraphina headed toward the girls’ dormitory. Lian also took the path to his own dormitory.
Night had completely cast its shadow over the Academy.
When he opened the door to his room, for the first time in a long while, he felt like he had truly come home.
No monsters. No deadly mist. No creature that returned after every death.
Just his own room, his own bed, and the silence he had been deprived of for so long.
He closed the door, took two steps forward, and fell onto the bed like a corpse.
The mattress sank under his weight. Lian didn’t even move for a few seconds. He looked at the ceiling and took a deep breath.
He had really missed this bed. Finally, he could rest for a while. Not too long, of course. He had many plans ahead.
The Ruined Realm was still waiting for him.
Now that most students were there, he would have to enter that realm sooner or later.
But before that... there were other things.
Things that needed to be taken care of. And one of them was the strangest of all.
His sister’s birthday.
The ceremony was in five days.
Lian stared at the ceiling. The question repeated in his mind for the umpteenth time.
Should he attend? Or not?
And while he was thinking about it, his eyes slowly closed.