"So rude! I am just excited to finally visit the dream job of many mages." Rose didn't take his words close to heart.
There was enough time for her to understand that Cyril is used to speaking directly.
"Yeah, Cyril, we are just talking. Are you not at least a little bit curious about the Kingdom?" Edmund seemed interested.
Cyril answered quickly. "No, let's talk about something else." Such a cut-and-dry answer made the two more apprehensive. Was there something serious they needed to discuss?
Seeing him set the stage, Myra began, "You must remember to wear that necklace when we go to the tower." Her voice was appropriately solemn.
"Hide it under your clothes, and be ever vigilant. Who knows what might happen in there?" This was the second time they were having this conversation.
Rose and Edmund visibly tensed up; they almost forgot about this, to be honest.
"Sure, I won't joke around with my life." Rose quickly composed herself, followed by Edmund.
Seeing her two friends being so cooperative, Myra breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "Unfortunately, we can't bring weapons with us, so you must rely on your spells."
She began rhythmically tapping on the table of the gazebo in thought before saying with a serious tone, "Prioritize your own safety; don't try to risk your life helping other people in the heat of the moment."
"What a grim thing to say for a savior of the world." Rhamn naturally participated in this meeting. "But I agree with her." She mostly spent this time teasing Morpho, though.
Lately Cyril felt Morpho had grown in size slightly, a bit unusual for a butterfly.
"You win, Myra; we'll be extra careful." Finally, Edmund exclaimed, eager to change the topic to something less tense.
"Who else is going there again? Well, Clayton and Cedric for sure, but who else?" He decided to ask something Cyril didn't think about before.
The people who fought with him immediately came to his mind. They were quite memorable, "Regina and Bonzo. Did they advance in class?" They were not in class I, at least.
Regina showcased an unusual spell, increasing her speed to an impressive degree, even if it came with a cost.
While Bonzo was using poison and schemes to attack. If not for Cyril's special body, he would've succumbed to paralysis back then.
"Oh right! How can I forget?" Edmund softly hit his forehead with his palm. "I've transferred to their class recently."
His voice became infinitely more tired when talking about them. "Bonzo is such a pain in the ass. Every time he talks, I just want to shut his mouth with something..."
Edmund then pointed at Cyril. "Regina tries to ask me about you from time to time; just how are you doing in general. I never say anything specific, but she is incredibly persistent. There is something in her eyes that gives me the creeps." He sighed again.
Cyril thought it was a pity; he was interested in knowing their progress. Class I would be a lot livelier with them.
"What does she want from you?" Rhamn was focused on something else. We'll find out eventually.
Another thing came to Cyril's mind. He asked Myra, "Should we give one necklace to Cedric?" He still felt a little bad about taking the Black Tulip for himself.
Myra understood his idea. "Sure, I think he won't tell on us. I'll do that after this." She didn't mind giving away those necklaces.
Perhaps if it was possible to do so, she would've given one to every student participating. But that would be too conspicuous.
"Our professor of spell making will wait for us all to gather at the academy entrance. If you are reluctant to face danger at this time, then you can stay home; that is also a valid strategy." Myra decided to soften her approach.
Before she crossed her arms and said mysteriously, "But I would recommend you go. This could be an opportunity." This was the first time she said something like this about the Tower trip.
Cyril more or less believes she can see the future at this point, and her comment on this made him have different thoughts.
Is there something she needs in the Tower? It was a reasonable guess. Myra was strangely insistent on participating in this trip.
She can't be like Cyril, going there simply for the sake of the thrill.
"I am also concerned with your friends. They are weirdly fine with facing danger." Rhamn still didn't understand what motivated them to brave these dangers with him.
After talking for a bit more, the group decided to disband; there were still some things they had to do later.
The Black Tulip was given to Myra for safekeeping. She definitely knew a good spot to hide the thing for a day.
When he came back home, there was still someone else he needed to convince. But maybe Rhamn would be better in this situation.
No matter how Morpho flapped her wings in protest, Cyril wasn't willing to take her to the tower.
"It's way too dangerous; be a good girl and wait home. When we return, Cyril will give you something nice! Anything you want." To calm down the butterfly, Rhamn had to use certain tactics.
Cyril could only nod his head at this condition; there was no harm in gifting her something, as long as it wasn't anything too difficult. It might even be fun.
Only after this did Morpho stop harassing him and land in her terrarium.
It might be his imagination, but Cyril got the impression she was going for this from the beginning.
Still, with everything he could think of settled, he sat down by the desk and started to read some spell books.
Earlier Rhamn taught everyone some simple and useful spells for their situation, but it didn't hurt to absorb as much as possible.
He wanted to solve everything only using his spear, but, unfortunately, that won't be possible.
....
The next day, early morning
After making sure he didn't forget anything, Cyril adjusted the necklace underneath his clothes and went out.
Morpho said her goodbyes to her caretakers and stayed behind to guard the house.
There was plenty of sugar water prepared for her.
Besides, she is stronger than she looks; if anything, she can open the fridge and make herself something.
He soon arrived at the academy gates. It seems two people have arrived before him.
Myra was already there, standing with her arms crossed. There was an annoyed expression on her face.
Some distance away from her was Regina; she was standing tall and straight. No emotion could be seen on her face.
They were both turned away from each other, not interacting at all. "What is up with them?"
It seems something happened between the two.
Because of how they were standing, Regina was the first to notice Cyril.
She bowed slightly with her hands on her knees. "Hello again, Cyril Felling." Her voice was polite and respectful.
Hearing this, Myra immediately turned around and exclaimed, "You are here, Cyril!"
She walked to his side with brisk footsteps and half pointed at Regina with her palm. "I don't suggest getting close to her!"
Cyril could only keep his silence at this.
After a few seconds, he finally answered in his usual dry voice, "What's wrong?"
His calm voice brought a semblance of peace to her eyes, and she lowered her head in shame, staring at the ground.
What? He didn't even say anything particular. Why did she look like a girl being reprimanded by her parents?
At this moment, Regina came closer with silent and steady footsteps. "Myra suddenly lost her temper when I greeted her for no reason. Perhaps she lacks diligence." She was not wearing the school uniform but an unusual attire not commonly seen in the city.
Half her face was still covered with a scarf. She was wearing a vest made with dark, coarse cloth and pants of the same material.
Hearing this version of events, Myra shot her a glare and bit her lower lip. "And you lack basic human qualities, like loyalty and empathy!"
Regina shook her head in confusion. "I am not the one insulting random people. You do not know me as a person. How can you claim to know what I lack?" Her voice still carried the same politeness, but with a certain sharpness hidden in it.
Cyril thought it was necessary to intervene before the situation escalated. This was not a good time for petty squabbles: they were about to encounter demons. How can she get distracted like that?
"You should leave them alone; they can vent some energy, and we can watch a good show." If anything was certain in life, it was the fact that Rhamn always wanted to see the world burn.
Cyril's low voice was tinged with reproach. "Stop acting like kids, you two. If you have something against each other, deal with it after today."
For whatever reason, both of them seemed to listen to Cyril; they stopped bickering without complaining.
After this, the two returned to their previous state of ignoring each other. Cyril didn't complain; as long as they kept quiet, it was good enough for him.
They waited like this for a long time without anyone else showing up, which didn't help the already awkward situation.
Eventually two other students joined them. Cyril fought them before in the competition, but their strength was lacking. They didn't leave too much of an impression on him.
One had blond hair, the other brown. Their faces were spectacularly unremarkable, they looked like background extras in a theater.
Able to feel the tense atmosphere, they stood together and tried to make themselves invisible.
Next it was Clayton Fairfax who came over. Surprisingly he didn't have a whole party behind him; it was even somewhat uncanny to see him without any henchmen at his beck and call.
His face was sunny and voice soothing. "Hello everyone, I was afraid I might be late, but it looks like I was overthinking it." He completely ignored the uncomfortable feel in the air.
"We are missing 5 people, right? Oh, and our dear professor as well. Sometimes he is a bit too carefree, don't you think? Ha ha." He was a bit too sunny right now, maybe; he looked refreshed, like after coming out of a nice bath.
At this moment the two students, Cyril couldn't remember their names, had faces like they had just seen their savior.
Unfortunately for them, before they could move, Clayton briskly approached Cyril and stood at his side, which prevented them from coming closer. They were a little bit afraid of Cyril.
This confused Cyril as well; he wasn't friends with the prince; why would he do that?
When Clayton came closer, he whispered in a pleading voice, "I'll just stay here in silence; please don't mind me."
"Do you think he is using you as a shield?" Rhamn tried to guess his intentions.
Cyril came to a similar conclusion; perhaps Clayton was not as fond of attention as he previously thought.
Cyril was aware of his own reputation within the academy. For certain reasons, people believed him to have a sinister nature; few dared approach him.
Actually, this phenomenon spread to his friends as well. Rose and Myra mention in the past how people started to subtly avoid them in the academy. They didn't mind it; Rose even enjoyed the solitude.
Edmund was the same, though his case was slightly unusual. He was quite the attention seeker in the past and always wanted to befriend as many people as possible, but for some reason this changed when he enrolled in Ailanthus.
Clayton wanted to use Cyril's special 'human repellent' physique to avoid unnecessary attention, and it worked magnificently for now.