Seeing the two people leave, the figure in green also got up and left through the different exit.
"Where are they going?" This mysterious person had a familiar voice.
Once outside, the stalker quietly followed her targets; they were going to a secluded alley not far from the station.
She made a sharp turn after them, only to discover that the two students were nowhere to be found.
After a few steps forward, she heard the sound of something landing behind her, followed by a voice.
"You are even worse than I thought. Care to explain why you are following us, or do we have to persuade you?" She wanted to escape into the alley, but the way forward was suddenly blocked by the other one.
Cyril vigilantly stood before his stalker, trying to get a good look at their face now that he was close.
To his surprise, Cyril was able to recognize this person.
"Myra? What are you doing?" Cyril was shocked to discover it was his own classmate.
"I knew there was something wrong with her! What a maniac!"
Upon seeing that her identity had been discovered, Myra removed the cap covering her face. "Hey, Cyril. This is not what you think."
She looked tense and awkward but didn't make any additional movements, accepting the fact that she was caught.
Seeing that this was someone known to his friend, Edmund visibly relaxed and no longer carried that fake smile on his face.
"I can explain, but I want to speak to Cyril privately, please; it's important to me." She wanted to negotiate.
Her plea caused Edmund nearby to exclaim. "Personally, I wouldn't recommend that, but it's your choice."
To his words, Cyril gave a nod, indicating his willingness to talk.
"I see that you are popular; I am kind of jealous." He sighed with emotion and continued.
"I shouldn't meddle in your affairs, so just talk this out among yourselves; I'll wait for you over there. If she does something, call me." Edmund, with laughter, went a bit further away, leaving Cyril alone with Myra.
"So, why were you following me?" He crossed his arms and, with a wary look, awaited her response.
Myra stood there silently for a few seconds, trying to find the right words. Just when Cyril was about to remind her, she finally opened her mouth.
"This may be hard to believe, but please listen. In the past, I explored a ruin and found a strange stone with an odd pattern. That stone gave me... visions of the future. In them, the entire world burns, overrun by demons, and everyone I know dies. But I also saw you—clad in knight's armor. You gave me a feeling of hope, as if you're the key to preventing this future tragedy."
Only what came next was not at all what Cyril was expecting.
He thought of all sorts of possible reasons: maybe she was in love with him, maybe she had a grudge with his family, but not this.
"Hold on, what are you talking about? You saw the future? How do you expect anyone to believe this?" Cyril replied.
He felt like his life changed in a weird direction lately; first he has someone in his head, and now his classmate claims to be a prophet.
"I can prove it! Soon, the crown prince himself will enroll in our academy, and beyond that, in our first year, they will take us to the Tower on a tour, during which there will be an attack by the demons." She spoke nervously, but also with anticipation; she really wanted Cyril to believe her.
I don't even know what to think about this. She doesn't seem the lying type."I don't trust her; that's awfully a lot of visions she had, and there is no way some stone in a long-forgotten ruin can do something like that."
His silence weighed heavily on Myra; with each passing second, her expression became more and more tense.
Finally Cyril answered her, "Alright, I don't exactly believe you yet, but I am willing to test your words. So how am I related to saving the world?"
Cyril had already encountered something inexplicable, so his mind was quite open-minded at the moment. Besides, part of him wanted to believe such a story—how thrilling that would be.
"Thank you! Well, I am not sure how you are related—that's why I wanted to follow you. Maybe you'll do something important someday, or something crucial will happen in your life? We'll surely find out." Her voice grew much more spirited; his words had brought her great comfort.
"What exactly happens in your visions? We've been fighting demons for a long time already; I don't see how they can destroy the world at this point." With the passage of time humans only became better at war and the days of fearing demons are in the past
"I didn't see it too clearly; there could be a new wave of demons coming. Anyway, we can talk in detail about this later; it's not good to keep your friend waiting." Myra said with a smile.
"She is evading the question".
"Oh, and can you please keep this a secret? I don't want to test other people's trust in me." Myra said with a sheepish expression.
"No problem," Cyril calmly replied, and then continued, "Since you're so insistent on following me, do you want to come with us? We're planning to grab some food and relax for a bit."
"You are way too casual about this!"
If by chance she is telling the truth, don't you think my 'specialness' could be you? This might help me understand my situation better—and besides, befriending someone strong isn't a bad idea.
"I would be glad to! Lead the way." Myra didn't think long before accepting.
"I don't think I am related to her delusions in any way, but I will trust your judgment."
Together, they went to find Edmund, to whom Cyril quickly explained that they now had a new friend. "Her name is Myra—my classmate. She's strong with a spear, and even I couldn't last long against her in a duel."
"How impressive! Another class I genius. Welcome aboard. My name is Edmund, from class III. Let's have some fun today." Said Edmund in a friendly voice.
He didn't let the earlier episode get in the way of this day; he looked excited to meet a new person.
The three of them went to find a fitting restaurant. They didn't search for long.
It seemed like Edmund was already familiar with this place and knew where to find a table with no hassle.
The group took a seat on the second-floor balcony overlooking a fountain.
They ordered their food and talked about their new life at the academy.
Despite how this group gathered, the conversation wasn't boring or stale; it was thanks to Edmund again, who always knew what to say in a social gathering.
Their table happened to have one place empty. Rhamn sat there, her head resting on her arms as she smiled at Cyril.
"Did you hear about the incident in our Spell Making class, Edmund?" Eventually, Myra mentioned the explosion caused by one Leo Arken during their first practical lesson.
"Of course, the whole academy was buzzing that day; that guy was way over his head. A bit ironic how the only class to have an accident like that was class I." Finishing that sentence with a laugh, he also added some new information.
"Did you know that there was a fight in the hospital after that? Turns out he has a childhood friend in Class I, a guy named Cedric. Apparently, Cedric went to check on Leo, but Leo just screamed something about surpassing him. I predict we can expect many interesting things from them in the future." His voice was filled with mischief, already imagining what sort of drama he'd hear from them next.
"Leo's mother is a very influential woman. I have a feeling she will try to interfere with our academy in some way." This was the second time Cyril heard something similar from Myra.
Could it be that she saw something about the Arken family?"Or she just knows some insider information."
"It's not like she's angry with us. And why should we worry about the Academy? Plus, I heard that our principal isn't simple either. Let's just enjoy our youth." It was clear that Edmund didn't care too much about that.
Before talking with Myra today, Cyril would've thought the same, but now he was just slightly more apprehensive of this whole ordeal.
At this moment the waiter brought them an expensive-looking bottle, along with three glasses.
"You ordered alcohol? I didn't think we would be drinking today." Asked Cyril with a half-judging tone.
"Just a little. We are already 18; what's wrong with that? We simply must have a drink for our new school life and for new relationships!" Edmund said excitedly.
Myra didn't object to that in any way. "Come on, I want to know how it tastes," and Rhamn encouraged it, so Cyril decided not to ruin this little party; he was also curious how it tasted.
And with that their conversations flowed even more smoothly; they talked and shared stories until it was already getting dark outside.
In a good mood, Cyril suggested to his two slightly drunken companions to leave.
"Yeah... but we should do this again; it feels nice to just relax and not think about anything complicated for a moment." Myra said in a quiet voice.
Cyril had to agree with her; before this, he didn't even realize how tense he was.
"Damn it, Cyril, why do you look completely fine? Did you even drink with us?" Complained Edmund.
Indeed, unlike his two tipsy friends, Cyril looked completely sober.
"I guess I just have a high tolerance; enough sitting around; let's go already and breathe some air." Cyril replied.
Edmund strongly insisted he pay for this meal since he was the one who took them here and bought the expensive alcohol.
No one objected to that, so they left the building and started walking towards the station.
To keep talking some more, they took the long path to the station through some alleyways.
At this time, there was no one else outside but them.
Under the moonlight, the monotonous grey boxes—what passed for homes in this Empire—looked almost beautiful.
I didn't ask Ed about that healer today; I can do that another time... I don't know if Myra is really seeing the future or not, but I don't think she is a bad person. I have this gut feeling that I can trust her... Today was a good day.