The next morning Cyril and Morpho woke up at their usual time. The red butterfly flew to the bathroom, not wasting any of the precious time.
He was about to follow after her but slowed down.
Tigris lay curled up on the bed, his tail hugging his head, and gently snored.
"..."
He hesitated for a second at the cute picture, then steeled his resolve.
With determined eyes he walked up to the bed and raised Tigris in the air.
"Meow?!"
The tiger cub's eyes rolled in a panic before slowly focusing on Cyril.
"Meow!"
He smiled, meowing while radiating pure positivity and joy.
"Look at him! Do you really have the heart to interrupt his cozy life?"
...Yes.
Cyril refused to look at the vertical blue eyes, staying away from temptation.
Holding the cub by the scruff of his neck, he carried him towards the bathroom.
Soon, the peace within Tigris's eyes was replaced by unwillingness.
Doing his best to ignore that, Cyril walked into the bathroom and put the cub in the shower cabin, closing the door behind him.
"Meow..." Tigris attempted one last pitiful look, his blue eyes enlarging into adorable gems that seemed to pierce the soul.
Cyril closed his eyes and turned on the water.
"Meow!"
Steeling his heart further, Cyril began the task of cleaning the tiger, making him more presentable.
In the meantime, Morpho was perched in front of the mirror, cleaning herself with her antennae and limbs.
Luckily the biggest part of her body, the wings, was covered in scales repelling most dirt. Usually it was enough for her to flap the wings frequently just to get rid of the dust.
Soon Tigris was done washing up, and after taking a spell to dry his fur, he escaped the bathroom to embrace a few more minutes of sleep.
However, they weren't done just yet.
While Morpho did her morning training in the background, Cyril stood in front of Tigris and began another lecture about yesterday.
The tiger cub could only listen with the patience of a student.
After it was over, Cyril got dressed and stood in front of the mirror, observing his uniform. He cleaned it with a spell, so there was no dirt. However, it was torn in places, and especially the sleeve was almost completely gone.
I'll have to get a new one...
Maybe I should buy something else as well?
"What a brilliant idea! We must visit a clothing store soon. I'll help you choose," Rhamn said, placing a hand on her chest with a 'leave it to me' expression.
Nothing too showy.
She didn't react to his words, nodding up and down with a smile, lost in her own world. The sight caused a frown to emerge on his face.
Cyril shook his head and walked to grab the tiger cub desperately sleeping on the bed.
Morpho quickly finished her training and jumped to his other shoulder on her own.
Now complete, he walked downstairs, where he returned the keys to his room and waited for the rest of his group to arrive.
...
"I think a suit would be appropriate. We also need something easy to move around in..."
As he was boredly listening to Rhamn while playing with Morpho, the front doors of the hotel were opened.
Myra walked in through them, saw him in the lobby, and joined him on the couch.
She melted in it completely, letting out a tired sigh.
"Where have you been?" asked Cyril with curiosity.
"I went to see what's happening to the zoo right now."
"They worked rather quickly. The wall around the zoo was reinforced, a dome barrier was conjured above it, and guards are now patrolling every corner of it."
"And Theches is just sleeping in the middle of the zoo?" Cyril asked, somewhat confused.
All of the magic creatures he has met so far possessed a high level of intelligence. It was safe to assume the powerful serpent wasn't silly. It could definitely feel these barriers being built around its territory.
Myra shrugged, her face showing helplessness and exhaustion.
"That's how it appears."
"The Empire is also evading even mentioning the existence of the serpent. In the newspapers they are just saying a few animals escaped, and the zoo owner's carelessness is at fault."
"Yeah, right. You can't be so careless that you somehow acquire for your zoo a beast capable of crushing mountains into dust."
"And no one saw the serpent from the city? It destroyed the zoo's highest buildings," said Cyril, a frown on his face.
"No one did. I specifically asked around. From the outside the area right above the zoo was covered in clouds, obstructing the view."
Myra dragged her face in frustration, her black eyes growing emptier.
"I don't remember anything like this! Things are so messed up, I don't even know where to begin unraveling how it happened."
"Sometimes, even I start doubting whether I saw the future or not. Maybe I'm just crazy..."
"A reasonable deduction."
Before she sank deeper into herself, Cyril replied, his voice steady.
"Calm down, you are just a student right now. Focus on the present."
Myra relaxed on the sofa, staring at the ceiling without moving. She didn't say anything in reply, her eyes staring into a single point, like trying to dig a hole through the ceiling.
Morpho twitched her antennae with worry at the sight but remained on his shoulder. Perhaps Myra needed some time.
Soon Rose came down as well. Her face was rather refreshed and bright.
As she walked, she stared at her filled notebook, as if it were the most valuable treasure in the world.
"Good morning, everyone," she said with a smile.
Though it soon froze upon seeing Myra's deflated state. She was like a rubber balloon without any air, spread upon the couch.
Rose cautiously glanced at Cyril, and he shook his head in response.
"Good morning..." Myra finally replied, moving her head.
Rose immediately smiled, keeping her face optimistic. She heard from her parents that happiness was like an infection, and she didn't mind being patient zero.
"We saw so much yesterday! It's a pity this zoo will close from now on."
"You know we can go outside the city if we really wanted to," Myra heavily mumbled.
"There are way more things to see out there."
"Huh?" Rose reacted with confusion, as if she never even knew such an option existed. She never imagined herself leaving the Empire before, even for a short trip.
"Is there a particularly interesting area somewhere out there?" she said, mulling over the idea in her head.
"Yes. There are Plains of Plenty to the east, further than even my village. That land is inhabited by a great variety of magic creatures."
Talking about this, Myra's face finally became a bit brighter, nostalgia coloring her eyes.
"How can magic creatures even exist so far from the manavein?" Cyril asked, partly to keep the conversation going and partly due to his own curiosity. "Don't they feel weak?"
At his words, Myra smiled mysteriously and raised her index finger. "That's because there is a manavein there! A smaller one, but still something."
A manavein!
He sat up straight, looking at her with more enthusiasm.
Cyril enjoyed his last trip outside, but the lack of mana really proved itself annoying.
"You have a heart condition! We need to have mana nearby!"
"How come no one has built an outpost there yet?" Rose asked, thinking of a certain problem.
Manaveins were precious. Only with them in place could the Empire prosper and grow. So how could they let go of one?
Myra's smile widened as she brought a finger to her lips.
"Because no one is aware of that manavein!"
"So don't spread this information to people who have no business knowing it," she whispered with a strange sense of pride and satisfaction.
Rose and Cyril nodded, their faces bearing similar excitement.
"We'll have to go there one day. Maybe on the winter break?" said Rose.
"It's October now, so it shouldn't take too long."
With that, the conversation began to die down. Rose opened another notebook, writing something down with a thoughtful look, perhaps fascinated by the idea.
Myra's face held a smile, but as the silence continued, it slowly disappeared as the look in her eyes turned darker.
Tsk.
The sight brought him a perplexing feeling.
So Cyril quickly racked his brain, trying to come up with another topic.
October...
"Isn't there some holiday soon?" He finally said, remembering some gossip he heard from the academy.
Rose put away her notebook and replied with a nod. "Yeah, Hollowing."
"Speaking of this, did any of you prepare a costume this year? I heard the academy was planning some event on that day," she said while sending both of them a glance.
A costume, right. It was something about that.
As Cyril didn't celebrate it in the past, he completely forgot about such a thing.
"What is this holiday about?"
Something about warding off evil spirits. An old church superstition.
For some time already, the Empire was trying to go away from religion. They didn't outright sever ties, but their relationship wasn't particularly close. This led to some holidays being slightly distorted or trivialized.
As a result, in recent years, Hollowing was presented to the public primarily as a festive celebration, but people liked it, particularly for its masquerade element.
"A costume... I don't have one yet," Myra replied after some thought.
"Same here." Cyril nodded.
"How about we all go together then? Sounds fun," Rose said with a smile.
Myra's face soon became brighter at the thought. She vaguely glanced at Cyril, who nodded to her, then she returned to Rose with a bigger smile.
But before she could reply, a different voice cut in.
"Go where?" Edmund said, walking up to them from the side.
They were so absorbed in the conversation, they didn't even notice his approach.
Edmund sat on an unoccupied chair nearby and crossed his legs. His hair was combed somewhat more messily today, and the dark circles under his eyes appeared more prominent than usual.
"We are going to go choose costumes for Halloween. There is nothing else to do today anyways," Myra explained, a smile on her face.
"You are in the mood to go shopping right now?!"
Edmund widened his eyes, keeping his mouth open for a moment. He observed their faces, as if making sure they weren't making a joke.
Soon he recovered and took a deep breath.
"Count me out. I'll use this opportunity to visit home..."
Edmund got up from the couch and headed towards the doors.
"See you back at the academy..."
The group waved him goodbye, then stood up as well.
Myra stretched her body, her face now a bit livelier.
"Let's go!"
"We are in the city center, there has got to be a good clothes store around..."
Rose thoughtfully scanned the high-rise buildings above them, and then, thinking of some great idea, sent a hope-filled gaze towards Cyril.
"...?"
"Cyril, do you know of any suitable place?" Due to her parents' needs, her childhood home was far from the city center. This was like a different world to her, who was only technically a noble.
Thankfully there was a bona fide one in their group. He definitely knows where to go, right?
"...Let's just walk around. We are bound to find one." Cyril calmly replied and sped up, leaving only his back to Rose.
"Oh." The disappointment in her voice was palpable.
Just like a real noble, he had never handled his own purchases before enrolling.
I would need to ask Ophelia...
"Tsk. So what? They wouldn't even be able to afford the kind of high-class establishment that has the qualifications to supply your wardrobe!"
Rhamn crossed her arms at his side, her cheeks dying a subtle red in embarrassment.
Myra quietly observed their interaction, her black eyes slowly becoming brighter. Finally a quiet chuckle escaped her lips.
The sound reached directly into his ears, forcing the corner of his eye to twitch. Still, it was somehow pleasant.