Chapter 34: Time To Get Some Sleep

For several seconds, none of us answered.

Draeus stared at us with an expression I had never seen on his face before. The shock in his eyes was almost comical, except that none of us were really in the mood to laugh. Theodore eventually nodded, and Mary followed. Arthur gave a small, exhausted nod of his own, while I simply stood there and watched our professor slowly run a hand over his face.

"You are telling me," Draeus said at last, "that all four of you entered the Realm of the Evil as Seed Cores, survived long enough to find a way out, and returned with Bronze Cores?"

"Yes, sir," Theodore answered.

Draeus lowered his hand.

He stared at us again.

Then he laughed.

It was not a particularly loud laugh. In fact, it sounded more like the short, disbelieving breath of someone who had just been presented with information so absurd that his mind had temporarily refused to process it. He looked toward the entrance of the Academy, then back at us, as if perhaps another instructor would suddenly appear and explain that this was some elaborate joke being played on him.

"You four," he muttered. "All four of you."

His gaze eventually settled on me.

"Do you have any idea what you have just done?"

I shook my head.

"Apparently not."

"That is an understatement."

Draeus leaned back in his chair and stared at the night sky for a moment. When he looked at us again, the disbelief had not disappeared. If anything, it had become more pronounced.

"In the entire recorded history of the Royal Academy, there has never been a team that entered the Realm of the Evil and returned with every surviving member having advanced their Core."

My eyebrows rose.

"Never?"

"Never."

’The protagonist’s team did so... but well it still has 10 months remaining...’

Draeus gave a slow shake of his head.

"Most teams do not even return with everyone alive. Those who do are considered exceptionally fortunate. A successful expedition is measured by survival first, achievements second, and advancement somewhere near the bottom of the list. What happened to you four is not merely unusual. It is unprecedented."

He looked toward Arthur.

"Especially considering your captain did not return."

The courtyard fell silent again.

Draeus seemed to realize his mistake immediately, but Arthur did not react with anger. He merely lowered his gaze.

"Then she really did accomplish what she wanted," Arthur murmured.

Draeus looked at him.

Arthur took a slow breath.

"She got all of us out."

There was something different in his voice this time. The pain was still there, but underneath it was something else. Pride, perhaps.

Draeus nodded.

"She did."

He allowed the silence to remain for a while before finally straightening.

"Regardless, you have all had enough for one night. You should go home."

I almost laughed.

’Home.’

The word sounded strangely comforting.

Draeus reached inside his coat and pulled out a small Academy telephone device. He turned away from us, spoke briefly into it, and gave the attendant on the other end instructions to prepare a carriage for four students. Apparently, even in a world filled with magical gates and monsters, the Academy still preferred to solve transportation problems with horses.

Eventually, the distant sound of hooves reached us.

A carriage stopped outside the Academy gates, and after Draeus spoke briefly with the driver, we climbed inside.

The interior was surprisingly warm.

Arthur took the seat nearest the window and immediately leaned his head against the glass. Theodore sat opposite him, unusually quiet, while Mary occupied the corner beside me with the same composed expression she seemed to wear everywhere.

The carriage began moving.

For the first few minutes, nobody spoke.

Then Draeus, who had accompanied us long enough to make certain we reached our homes safely, finally broke the silence.

"Where should we take you first?"

"The Eesper residence," Arthur answered.

Theodore glanced at him.

"Then mine."

Draeus nodded.

"And yours?"

Mary looked out the window.

"Count Richard June’s residence."

I turned toward her.

I nearly laughed.

I did not.

Instead, I stared.

"Count Richard June?"

Mary looked at me.

"Yes."

I blinked.

’Wait.’

Something about that name felt familiar.

Not from my memories of Edmund.

From the novel.

Count Richard June.

One of the more mysterious nobles in Valemont. A respected count with enough influence to matter but little interest in public attention. I remembered hearing about him occasionally during the early Chapters, usually in connection with some political event or noble gathering.

But there was something else.

His daughter.

The quiet daughter.

The shadowed daughter.

The girl people talked about precisely because nobody ever seemed to talk to her.

I slowly turned toward Mary.

"You are his daughter?"

"Yes."

"That explains a lot."

Mary tilted her head.

"What does it explain?"

"Why nobody knows anything about you."

Her lips curved slightly.

"That is probably because nobody has ever bothered asking."

I stared at her.

’You have got to be kidding me.’

The girl who had spent the entire first term sitting quietly among us, the girl everyone considered some ordinary noble student who simply preferred keeping to herself, was apparently the daughter of Count Richard June.

And somehow, nobody knew.

Not even me.

That was saying something.

The carriage eventually stopped before an impressive residence belonging to House Eesper. Arthur rose first, pausing at the door.

He looked back at us.

"Thank you."

Theodore nodded.

"Get some rest."

Arthur gave him a tired smile before stepping down from the carriage.

The door closed.

The carriage continued.

The next stop was the residence of Viscount Burzing Hans.

Theodore stood when the carriage came to a halt, adjusting his coat before looking back at us. His expression had returned to its usual composure, though the exhaustion in his eyes remained.

"Good night."

"Good night," I answered.

He hesitated before adding, "And Edmund?"

"Yeah?"

"You did well."

I stared at him for a second.

Coming from Theodore, that was practically a declaration of friendship.

"Thanks."

He nodded and stepped outside.

The carriage moved again.

Mary’s residence appeared ahead, far more imposing than I had expected. The carriage stopped before the gates, and she opened the door without saying anything.

I looked at her.

"So you really are Count Richard June’s daughter."

She paused.

"Yes."

"You never told anyone."

"No one asked."

"That is insane."

She gave me a faint smile.

"Good night, Edmund."

Then she stepped down.

The carriage continued without her.

For the first time since we had left the Academy, I was alone.

The streets of Valemont passed beyond the window, illuminated by rows of gas lamps, their warm light sliding across the glass as the carriage rolled deeper into the sleeping city. I leaned back against the seat and finally allowed myself to relax.

My body was exhausted.

My mind was worse.

Eliza was gone.

We had somehow advanced to Bronze Core. And Mary was Count Richard June’s mysterious daughter.

Eventually, the carriage slowed.

No. 9 Ashwell Row, Rhys Manor.

The carriage stopped.

I stepped down onto the familiar street, staring at the dark windows of the manor.

For a moment, I simply stood there.

Then I exhaled.

’Well... I guess it is time to get some sleep,’ I thought, yawning.