The dormitory door opened once again.
A girl clutching bedding in her arms stood shyly at the entrance, looking slightly disheveled.
"Hello, roommate! Welcome to Room 4004—I'm Hiness!"
Hiness immediately rushed over with her usual enthusiasm and pulled the girl inside.
"Look at your purple hair—you must be Leflina, second-year top student, right? I know you! I follow your Knight Girl's Adventure Chronicle in the Savant Weekly! I never miss an update!"
"Huh? How did you know it was me?"
Leflina's pretty face instantly flushed scarlet.
It felt exactly like secretly drawing risqué comics, only for your little sister to discover them—and then ask you for more.
Leflina wanted to curl up and die of embarrassment.
But Hiness didn't notice her discomfort at all. She continued chattering excitedly like a die-hard fan meeting her idol:
"Come on, don't worry about the details! So—so! What happens next in the story? Did Freya defeat that evil noble? Did the George siblings get rescued yet…?"
The more she spoke, the more animated she became, while Leflina's face grew redder and redder.
Seeing this, Hel walked over and patted Hiness on the shoulder to help defuse the situation.
"Alright, that's enough. Leflina is still holding her things—you can't just block her at the door."
"Oh! Right!"
Hiness finally realized her faux pas, though she didn't seem bothered by it. She simply scooped the bedding and luggage straight out of Leflina's arms and energetically led her toward an empty room.
With her hands suddenly empty, Leflina flushed again. She glanced awkwardly at Hel and murmured:
"We meet again…"
"Mm."
Hel nodded, giving her a quick once-over before asking curiously:
"If I remember correctly… weren't you already a senior student?"
Her meaning was obvious. Leflina was clearly a long-time member of the Ember Society—seeing her here was unusual.
"Yes… I'm a second-year."
Leflina nodded. What she didn't say was that she had joined the Ember Society during her three years in the junior academy. This was already her fifth year with them.
"But…"
She hesitated, lowered her gaze, and said in an embarrassed whisper:
"My previous roommates were members of the Society too, so…"
She trailed off, unsure how to continue.
"So you were targeted, huh?"
Hel immediately pieced everything together.
Leflina must have embarrassed Fubot, and his underlings—desperate to earn points with the Geddes family—decided to bully her.
Cold violence: hostility, isolation, exclusion. A common form of campus bullying.
But personally, Hel almost preferred when bullies used violence—it made the solution simple.
Beat them. Hard enough that they remember.
The question was whether Leflina had the resolve for that.
"…Yes. They kicked me out."
Leflina nodded, looking dejected. Being rejected by her own roommates had delivered another painful blow to her already fragile heart.
Hel patted her on the shoulder gently.
"Remember what I told you?Those who see the light first are often treated as traitors by their own people. If you want everyone to accept your ideas, the road is bound to be difficult. We can talk more about it later. For now…"
She glanced at Hiness, who had just returned carrying her plate of macarons.
"Let's taste the snacks recommended by our Miss Husky, shall we?"
"Husky? What's that?"
Hiness leaned in, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. She clearly wouldn't leave until Hel explained.
"Haha, it's nothing…"
Hel laughed awkwardly—she hadn't meant to say her thought out loud.
But honestly… the girl really did resemble a husky—boundless energy and endless curiosity.
"Oh hoh! Don't think I don't know what you mean!" Hiness huffed, waving her hands like tiny paws.
"A husky is a kind of dog from northern Knight Empire, isn't it? I heard they have tons of energy—that's accurate, I guess! But calling me a dog? That's too much! I've decided—when we eat snacks later, I'm stealing a big piece from you as compensation!"
…
A short while later, the four girls were sitting together on the sofa, happily chatting.
"By the way!"
Hiness chomped off the macaron in Hel's hand, gave her a smug look, then continued excitedly:
"Tomorrow afternoon, there's going to be a conference at the New District Church—the scholars will present their latest research on the plague. They're also calling for students throughout the city to help with some of the workload. Should we go watch?"
"Plague?"
Hel paused. She did need to check that out.
Only by disrupting the Plague Witch's ascension ritual would the witch be willing to take the risk of helping her retrieve the Restoration Witch.
But she had no idea how far the scholars' research had progressed.
What she had seen on the way here had been anything but encouraging.
Corpses scattered everywhere. Entire villages turned into ghost towns. Some nobles blaming it on a witch's curse and burning innocent women alive.
She had even seen black-robed doctors in bird-beaked masks performing bloodletting rituals on villagers.
For many reasons, this plague needed to end—soon.
…
Meanwhile, Hel's true body received a message from Witt.
"You're saying… the Dean of Skoll Academy's Arcane Department is inviting me over for tea?"
Hel wasn't surprised. Sebas had already told her the story of her grandfather's romantic escapades.
What she didn't expect was to receive an invitation from that lady on her second day here.
"Yes, young master," Witt replied.
"Viola Skoll—the very same lady who once had… history… with your grandfather."