During the history lesson, their professor only went on a short tangent about how unsatisfied he was with the declining customs of the past.
"... Just don't forget to wear a costume. The Emperor himself can come out and say that it's safe, but I, as a mage, believe that the unseen forces act the most that night. You must be careful!"
Leaving this one last nugget of wisdom, he returned to talking about the civilization that was before the Empire.
This subject was slightly more interesting for the students.
One in their daily life can easily stumble upon ruins of old forts and castles, long abandoned by their previous owners.
Hearing about this, Cyril resisted the urge to look at Myra.
She claimed to have found a magical stone that gave her visions of the future in one such ruin.
Though, recently, her story seemed less truthful.
"She is simply a delusional madwoman. All her predictions can be reasonably explained away." Rhamn still didn't like Myra.
Don't start again. Let's focus more on the coming Hollowing... I also need to relay to Myra what I learned about Lapis...
Cyril shook off any distracting thoughts and snapped back to the lesson.
...
After the lessons he invited Myra to talk in the park, and Rose also asked to be there.
So the group was now sitting in their usual gazebo.
Cyril briefly thought about inviting Edmund. It had been some time since he talked to his old friend, but he decided against it in the end.
He seemed busy lately, training late into the night with some unusual method.
Maybe I should talk to him soon...
"I think you would only benefit from getting rid of such an annoying friend. Though I am quite curious, what is he so secretive about?
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Rose finally asked after enough sitting around. "You get absentminded a lot..."
She still needed to study later and didn't have time to simply enjoy the weather outside.
Myra didn't have such concerns. She simply sat there without complaints.
"Right, sorry." Cyril shook his head and quickly talked about what he learned during his trip.
...
"A mole..." Myra thoughtfully mumbled to herself.
"You've been out seeking trouble again?" Rose put her palm on her forehead. "I guess I should accept it already. You all are itching for something bad to happen."
"Can't she stop complaining already? She can die alone in a lab somewhere for all I care, but we seek excitement!"
Something bad did happen already, Cyril thought back to that vampire.
"That's a good find. I didn't know of that one," Myra supportively said.
Though her words caused Cyril to sigh internally. So she did know of moles already. I guess that was to be expected...
"What I am more concerned with is the Rennock Trading Company you mentioned," Myra said with a frown.
"Remember back when we were at that ruin I mentioned a company? They are that company..."
Cyril grew silent, not expecting such a revelation.
"So they are the company that tries to take over the Empire in the future? That's pretty funny."
"Be careful of that mercenary group. Who knows what they are planning?" Mira earnestly warned, then continued with a much lighter tone.
"Hey, let's postpone any investigations until after Hollowing," she said while scratching her head.
"Is there something special on that day?" Cyril quickly asked.
Rose focused on her answer too. Last time Myra was wary of a particular date, they were attacked by demons...
Myra quickly shook her head, her face flushed in a subtle layer of crimson. "No, no, no. I just..." She awkwardly looked to the side. "I am just excited about Hollowing. I've heard great things about it but never got the chance to properly celebrate it."
These were not the words they expected to hear, so Cyril and Rose kept their silence, which only seemed to embarrass Myra further.
"Is it a bad thing? Nevermind, as expected, let's focus more—" Before she could continue, she was interrupted by her friends.
"Alright, stop," "Hold on!" Rose and Cyril looked at each other, and he motioned for her to speak.
Rose pointed at Myra accusingly, "No one said it was bad. Stop being so edgy all the time. Relaxing is what we need right now. We are with you on this one, right?" She threw Cyril a glance.
He confidently nodded. This was his honest opinion.
"I am also excited about Hollowing. In the past I didn't really celebrate it," Cyril continued.
Only Ophelia tried to somewhat decorate their house, but she wasn't met with much enthusiasm from the owner of the mansion.
"Right? The academy is still keeping people in the dark about what they are planning even though it's so close," Myra quickly switched topics with shining eyes.
"Have you heard anything from the principal?" Rose asked Cyril.
They long knew that he was learning illusion magic from her.
Cyril could only shake his head in response, "She didn't say anything."
Although he had the feeling she would've told him if he actually asked. He preferred it remain a surprise.
"I've asked around. In the past the academy only set up a ball on the second floor of the castle, nothing special. Only this year did weird rumors start." Myra said with a bit of confusion.
"I probably know why," replied Cyril, which attracted their attention.
With a slightly awkward voice he continued, "It's because of the principal herself. Margaret is a... fun-loving person. She probably decided to do something new."
From what he heard, she has plenty of interesting ideas on how teaching should be handled.
"Good for us, I suppose. Though I hope that something won't take all day." Rose said with narrowed eyes, "I still want to go into the city for the Hollowing."
...
After talking for a little longer, the group disbanded. Everyone still needed to study.
In the end, Cyril didn't tell Myra anything about the Black Tulip.
I can do that another time. He decided to investigate that together with that mercenary group further.
The fact they worked for someone who will try to usurp power in the Empire didn't really rattle him that much.
"It's going to be fine~ Not like Kenneth himself wants to kill the Emperor. Besides, this way we can take the Black Tulip from them without any moral concerns!"
Cyril agreed with Rhamn's optimistic words. This worked in their favor somewhat. It's way easier to steal from someone if you think your target is evil.
Aside from that he also asked Myra if she had any medicine that could increase his mana regeneration. She said she didn't have any on hand, but will try to remember where they can find any.
Hopefully there will be some results...
As he was thinking such normal things, Cyril's path was blocked by a female student.
Surprisingly, she held Tigris in her hand. In the tiger's mouth was still some beef jerky. He was eating while radiating laziness with all his body.
"Anna?" Cyril recognized the girl. She was Cedric's friend.
Somewhat fitting to meet her now. Cyril mused and greeted her with a wave of his hand.
It was while searching for her bracelet that they discovered the Black Tulip. That was an important find for him.
"Hey!" Anna joyfully waved back, still holding the tiger with the other hand. "I've found Tigris and decided to feed him, hope you don't mind," she quietly said.
Cyril shook his head. "Of course not. As long as Tigris doesn't mind himself"
Judging by the blissful state of the mighty tiger, he really didn't raise a single paw in objection.
Anna, still struggling to look Cyril straight in the eyes, made a few steps forward and held out the kitten.
Cyril took over the kitten without any problems. In the process, Tigris only assumed a more comfortable posture and relaxed again. It seems he didn't need much to be happy...
Anna, standing in place, twirled her hair and slowly asked, "Are you free next weekend?"
What is this?
Seeing her reddening face and suspicious acting, Cyril really was getting a particular impression.
"Tell her to get lost! Some loser who can't even talk properly..." Rhamn, of course, was not a fan of the idea.
To be honest, Cyril too wasn't keen on going anywhere with her. Lately he wanted to focus on training himself even further. The defeat at the hands of that vampire was still fresh in his mind.
Perhaps Anna managed to glean something from his usually calm face, without waiting for an answer, she immediately opened her mouth again.
"Tomorrow there is a special botanical garden exhibition. I've heard they will have many exotic magic plants there!" She hastily said while staring at the ground.
Her words caused Cyril to remain silent and contemplate.
Magic plants... Maybe it's worth seeing.
He was tempted a little. Now he was much more interested in anything magic related, and seeing some unusual plants seemed like a fun idea.
At the same time, another thought slowly formed: since there were going to be exotic plants there, could there be something useful for his current problem?
"...It's possible, if we are lucky." Rhamn said with reluctance.
After thinking about it carefully some more, he finally replied, "Sorry, I am too busy recently."
It was as simple as that. Cyril really couldn't afford to spare any time, he would rather pursue other leads.
Anna's face turned slightly sour, however, she didn't retreat.
She had one last card she could play...