Magic Life in the Empire

Seeing the two people leave, the figure in green also got up and left through the different exit.

"Where are they going?" This mysterious person had a familiar voice.

Once outside, the stalker quietly followed her targets; they were going to a secluded alley not far from the station.

She made a sharp turn after them, only to discover that the two students were nowhere to be found.

After a few steps forward, she heard the sound of something landing behind her, followed by a voice.

"You are even worse than I thought. Care to explain why you are following us, or do we have to persuade you?" She wanted to escape into the alley, but the way forward was suddenly blocked by other one.

Cyril vigilantly stood before his stalker, trying to get a good look at their face now that he was close. To his surprise, Cyril was able to recognize this person.

"Myra? What are you doing?" Cyril was shocked to discover it was his own classmate. "I knew there was something wrong with her! What a maniac!"

Upon seeing that her identity had been discovered, Myra removed the cap covering her face. "Hey, Cyril. This is not what you think."

She looked tense and awkward but didn't make any additional movements, accepting the fact that she was caught.

Seeing that this was someone known to his friend, Edmund visibly relaxed and no longer carried that fake smile on his face.

"I can explain, but I want to speak to Cyril privately, please; it's important to me." She wanted to negotiate.

Her plea caused Edmund nearby to exclaim. "Personally, I wouldn't recommend that, but it's your choice." To his words, Cyril gave a nod, indicating his willingness to talk.

"I see that you are popular; I am kind of jealous." He sighed with emotion and continued.

"I shouldn't meddle in your affairs, so just talk this out among yourselves; I'll wait for you over there. If she does something, call me." Edmund, with laughter, went a bit further away, leaving Cyril alone with Myra.

"So, why were you following me?" He crossed his arms and, with a wary look, awaited her response.

Myra stood there silently for a few seconds, trying to find the right words. Just when Cyril was about to remind her, she finally opened her mouth.

"It's going to be hard to believe, but please listen to me. In the past I've explored a ruin and found there a stone with a weird pattern on it. This stone gave me... visions of the future. In them, the whole world burns, overrun by demons, and everyone I know dies. I also saw you, clad in knight armor. You gave me a feeling of hope, like you are a solution to our future tragedy."

Only what came next was not at all what Cyrill was expecting. He thought of all sorts of possible reasons; maybe she was in love with him, maybe she had a grudge with his family, but not this.

"Hold on, what are you talking about? You saw the future? How do you expect anyone to believe this?" Cyrill felt like his life changed in a weird direction lately; first he has someone in his head, and now his classmate claims to be a prophet.

"I can prove it! Soon the crown prince himself will enroll in our academy, and beyond that, in our first year, they will take us to the Tower on a tour, during which there will be an attack by the demons." She spoke nervously, but also with anticipation; she really wanted Cyril to believe her.

I don't even know what to think about this. She doesn't seem the lying type. "I don't trust her; that's awfully a lot of visions she had, and there is no way some stone in a long-forgotten ruin can do something like that."

His silence weighed heavily on Myra; with each passing second, her expression became more and more tense.

Finally Cyril answered her, "Alright, I don't exactly believe you yet, but I am willing to test your words. So how am I related to saving the world?" Maybe it was because he had already encountered some unexplainable things, or maybe he just wanted to believe; he decided to explore this further.

"Thank you! Well, I am not sure how you are related; that's why I wanted to follow you. Maybe you will do something important in the future or encounter something crucial in your daily life? We will surely find out." Her voice became much more spirited; it was clear that his words brought her a great deal of comfort.

"What exactly happens in your visions? We've been fighting demons for a long time already; I don't see how they can destroy the world at this point." With the passage of time humans only became better at war and the days of fearing demons are in the past

"I didn't see it too clearly; there could be a new wave of demons coming. Anyway, we can talk in detail about this later; it's not good to keep your friend waiting. Oh, and can you please keep this a secret? I don't want to test other people's trust in me."

"No problem." He assured her and continued after a brief pause.

"Since you want to follow me so much, do you want to come with us? We plan to go grab some food and relax a bit." "You are way too casual about this!" If by chance she is saying the truth, don't you think that my 'specialness' could be you? This might help me figure out my situation, and plus, befriending someone strong is not a bad idea; it's fine.

"I would be glad to! Lead the way." Myra didn't think long before accepting.

"I don't think I am related to her delusions in any way, but I will trust your judgment."

Together they went to find Edmund, to whom Cyril quickly explained that they now have a new friend. "Her name is Myra, my classmate. She is strong with a spear, and even I couldn't last long with her in a duel."

"How impressive! Another class I genius. Welcome aboard. My name is Edmund, from class III. Let's have some fun today." Edmund didn't let the earlier episode get in the way of this day; he looked excited to meet a new person.

The three of them went to find a fitting restaurant. They didn't search for long. It seemed like Edmund was already somewhat of a regular in local places and knew where to find a table with no hassle.

Taking a seat on the second-floor balcony overlooking a fountain. They ordered their food and talked about their new life at the academy. Despite how this group gathered, the conversation wasn't boring or stale; it was thanks to Edmunnd again, who always knew what to say in a social gathering.

Their table happened to have one place empty, so Rhamn sat there with her head resting on her arms, looking at Cyril with a smile.

"Did you hear about the incident in our Spell Making class, Edmund?" Eventually, Myra mentioned the explosion caused by one Leo Arken during their first practical lesson.

"Of course, the whole academy was buzzing that day; that guy was way over his head. A bit ironic how the only class to have an accident like that was class I." Finishing that sentence with a laugh, he also added some new information.

"Did you know that there was a fight in the hospital after that? Turns out he has a childhood friend, also in class I; his name is Cedric. Apparently he went to check up on Leo, but that guy only screamed at him about surpassing him or something. I predict we can expect something interesting from them in the future." His voice was filled with mischief, already imagining what sort of drama he'd hear from them next.

"Leo's mother is a very influential woman. I have a feeling she will try to interfere with our academy in some way." This was the second time Cyril heard something similar from Myra. Could it be that she saw something about the Arken family? "Or she just knows some insider information."

"Not like she is angry with us, and why should we worry about the Academy? Plus, I heard that our principle is not simple either. Let's just enjoy our youth." It was clear that Edmund didn't care too much about that, and before talking with Myra today, Cyril would've thought the same, but now he was just slightly more apprehensive of this whole ordeal.

At this moment the waiter brought them an expensive-looking bottle, along with three glasses.

"You ordered alcohol? I didn't think we would be drinking today." Asked Cyril with a half-judging tone.

"Just a little. We are already 18; what's wrong with that? We simply must have a drink for our new school life and for new relationships!" Myra didn't object to that in any way. "Come on, I want to know how it tastes," and Rhamn encouraged it, so Cyril decided not to ruin this little party; he was also curious how it tasted.

And with that their conversations flowed even more smoothly; they joked, talked, and shared stories until it was already getting dark outside.

In a good mood, Cyril suggested to his two slightly drunken companions to leave.

"Yeah... but we should do this again; it feels nice to just relax and not think about anything complicated for a moment." Cyril had to agree with Myra; before this, he didn't even realize how tense he was.

"Damn it, Cyril, why do you look completely fine? Did you even drink with us?" Indeed, unlike his two tipsy friends, Cyril looked completely sober.

"I guess I just have a high tolerance; enough sitting around; let's go already and breathe some air."

Edmund strongly insisted he pay for this meal since he was the one who took them here and bought the expensive alcohol; no one objected to that, so they left the building and started walking towards the station.

To keep talking some more, they took the long path to the station through some alleyways; at this time, there was no one else outside but them. Under the moonlight, the monotone grey boxes that the people of this empire called home looked even slightly beautiful.

I didn't ask Ed about that healer today; I can do that another time... I don't know if Myra is really seeing the future or not, but I don't think she is a bad person. I have this gut feeling that I can trust her... Today was a good day.