Magic Life in the Empire

Next day the group decided to meet up in the park to catch up.

The place was fitting for an academy of this scale; it was grand.

This was the favourite place of many students, with its great variety of greenery, ranging from grass to rare and common tree species, resembling a small forest. People came to enjoy the fresh air and escape the city's grey monotony.

Occasionally Cyril saw a group of students entering this place along with a professor; one could guess there is a lesson taking place here in later years.

The reason they are gathering here is because Rose specifically requested it. She said the cafeteria was too noisy.

"So how did you spend the weekend, everyone?" Edmund wasn't in the best mood today.

He was sitting in the park gazebo with his arms crossed, awaiting an answer.

"I took this time to relax a bit; nothing special." Anyone could tell that Myra wasn't telling the truth, but no one pressed her further.

Everyone was already used to her obvious habit of keeping secrets.

"I've spent these two days mostly in the library. Our school has a fascinating collection; you can find any book you could possibly want." Out of everyone here, Rose had the most pleased expression on her face.

From time to time she would give a sidelong glance to an unusual butterfly in the vicinity.

"Right, you know what I did? I tried applying for a higher grade. At first it was great, because they agreed, but they only put me in class II. Are they blind?" There was displeasure written all over his face.

His expectations to enter class I in one go were met with a swift end, but it didn't surprise Cyril.

"Don't look at me with that smug look, Cyril. What did you do in your free time?" It seems he let it show on his face, but then again, Edmund did know Cyril from an early age, so it wasn't surprising he could tell his expressions apart.

Cyril, of course, didn't want to tell his friends he visited a den of bandits to negotiate a deal, so he decided to leave some things out from his story.

"I went to the shopping district. I got myself a butterfly, so there was a need to buy a few things." His voice was calm as usual.

Hearing her being mentioned, Morpho stopped flying around some bushes and flew over, landing on the table in the gazebo.

"This is your pet? Amazing!" As expected, Rose was impressed. "It looks a bit like a species I know, but the color is wrong." Next came her professional attitude.

She leaned over before the butterfly and looked all over it with enthusiasm.

"Hmph! That's right, be impressed!" Rhamn was enjoying her reaction with a smug look.

"You are keeping a pet? Didn't expect that from you, Cyril." Edmund reached out his hand in an attempt to touch Morpho.

Just when his fingers were about to land, "Ouch! What the...! I didn't know butterflies could bite!?"

He quickly withdrew his hand, shook it a few times, and blew on it to make the pain go away. "Deserved."

"They can't. How curious; is this really a magic creature?" Seeing another abnormality, Rose made an educated guess.

"Yes, I don't know where it came from, but it got attached to me, so why not keep it?" Cyril had already thought about what to say regarding Morpho.

She clearly was a unique butterfly with unusual abilities, so being a magic creature was a good explanation.

It wasn't really a lie either. "She is magical after all."

Magic creatures, as the name implies, were rare and unusual beasts not following the same biological rules as normal animals.

Some were capable of using magic similar to humans; some possessed all sorts of uncanny qualities, like a mouth capable of spewing fire.

Dragons were one example of such a creature, and so was Morpho.

Despite how unlikely it was for one to encounter a friendly magic creature on the street like that, Cyril's friends didn't doubt him.

"Since it's yours, you should handle it better. What if it bites some other people?" Edmund was still holding his hand in pain with a displeased expression.

"It was your fault to begin with; don't try to touch random creatures you see." Cyril mercilessly berated him.

Edmund was about to say more but stopped right after opening his mouth, took a deep breath, and calmed down.

"Alright, we are all caught up now." Since no one had anything else to say for a moment, Myra decided to start the main topic.

"Today the professor announced we will be going to the Tower on Saturday." It was indeed time; the closer he got, the more apprehensive Cyril felt about it.

This will be the first time for him to encounter demons; even if they have advanced shields as protection, it would still be dangerous.

"All of us will be going there, so I want everyone to be careful." It seems Myra decided to mention some of the danger.

Rose and Edmund looked at her with confusion written all over their faces. Why should they be careful?

"You have heard about 'Lapis,' right? There are rumors they will attack the Tower soon; it wouldn't hurt to be prepared just in case." In a light tone and with a shrug, she made stuff up.

Over this time, Myra proved herself to be mysterious but reliable. Her words made the two enter a state of vigilance.

"Remember to wear the necklaces. Also try to hide them under your clothes; it wouldn't be good if someone from the Arken family happened to pass by and recognize their missing items." The chances of that happening were slim, but not zero.

"One other thing: don't mention there will be an attack to anyone, not now, not after it happens. We don't want to attract unnecessary attention." Now there was a different kind of concern added to their faces.

The way she was talking about it changed from 'what if' to 'it will definitely happen,' and her 'don't tell anyone' made it seem like she was the one planning the attack.

Everyone stayed in awkward silence. Maybe they needed some time to absorb this information. "Myra is not that good with words, huh?"