Reincarnated as the Weakest Shadow Queen in the Academy-Chapter 38: A Clash In the Bastion?

Curious gazes flickered to where she and Miss Dragon were, the two beauties locked in a tight embrace.

Yet Summer’s eyes were on the gate’s entrance, where travellers and students moved in steady waves, their figures hidden in the shifting crowds.

The gate was a tall, imposing wall of black stone and metal. Its surface glimmered with a flash of grey, as magic breathed through its materials.

Ciel, despite failing to recognise the spell involved, realised why Summer’s stare was frozen.

Surprisingly, it was not troubles but rather a familiar figure that occupied her attention.

"Can you... Lower the fee to pass the gate?"

A certain elf, with her blonde ponytail and painted nails, clapped her hands together, her head bowing in an awkward plea.

The gate guard, eying the student uniform on Quia, merely squinted his groggy, overworked eyes.

"ID Plate? Adventurer license or invitation letter from the academy?"

Ciel blinked as the elf’s shoulders sprang up, her search in the skirt pocket a frantic shuffle, as if forgetting the academy invited her a few days ago.

No spellbind remained on her wrist, unlike Ciel’s that marked her as Summer’s.

A weight then settled on the little queen’s head. Ciel turned and glanced up at Summer, whose features strained as if to hide her conflicted thoughts.

Jealous? The little queen’s lips trembled, holding back a small smirk as she kept the tease to herself.

But before she could comfort the dragon, Summer’s grasp let go first.

"I still have work, so I’ll be off now." Summer gave a brief wave, facing elsewhere besides Ciel’s regretful look.

The white-haired queen frowned. With a pause, she nodded heavily.

She watched as Summer’s reliable back retreated, each step carrying her till the dragon’s tall figure blurred within the crowd.

Ciel hung her head.

Her fingers ghosted on the neck.

And the thighs clenched with an unbearable need in her stomach.

It was only when a bombastic, intrusive voice shattered her trance.

"Shortie! Hello!"

She winced, then tilted her head up to face Quia, who sprinted closer from afar.

The elf’s lips bloomed into a smile as she arrived before Ciel, the sombre space breathing with her delight.

"Were you waiting for me?" The elf’s thought was, of course, herself first. "I know I know. Can’t resist a beauty every day, right?"

Ciel gave the elf a flat look.

Summer and Quia’s beauties were equal. Unfortunately, their demeanours were not.

A light sigh escaped Ciel. "I’m glad to see you again, Miss Quia."

"Mm mm!"

A few exaggerated nods afterwards, and the elf’s hand stretched for Ciel’s head.

The palm enveloped her hair before rubbing it in broad, rough strokes, undisguised with its affection.

Ciel pursed her lips as her figure wobbled with the motion. Summer’s pat was a lot more tender, careful with restraint.

Yet she couldn’t help but lean more into Quia’s contact all the same.

"Miss... Quia." Ciel’s tone steadied as she caught the elf’s wrist. "It’s about three hours till the academy’s opening ceremony. Shall we walk the town now?"

Quia paused a little. Her keen eyes, ever so observant, caught the flicker of movement in Ciel’s features.

"Okay!" The elf nodded. "I want to heal Stella’s wing first. Let’s go to the east!"

The gleam in Quia’s voice, sudden and forced, pulsed in Ciel’s ears.

The queen followed the elf a few steps back, as a warm smile touched her lips.

She was glad the elf, worried with her own problems, didn’t ask what troubled her heart, or the matter that she was a Queen.

Ciel simply missed a certain presence, after all.

Her hand searched the gap between her and Quia before letting go with a need for distance.

The former shadebeast peeked at Quia’s hand again, smaller than Summer’s, but large enough to afford hers.

Yet she didn’t dare ask for it.

—-------

The Academy City, Witchfold’s Bastion.

It was a city spanning a vast territory, stretching so far across Lethandiel, that it was compared to the former Holy Kingdom.

Despite the palpable irony, the city’s simple policy was open, public and treated everyone equally.

Well, tried to.

Ciel and Quia, shuffling against the crowds of humans, eventually reached the eastern area.

Black stones and spires of residential districts passed by, a consistent scenery throughout their ventures.

Humans, however, dwelled in numbers, giving way to a variety of other races instead.

Lizardman. Beastmen. Elves. Even occasional faes slipped through the thinning crowds, prosperity never waning compared to where humans thrived more.

It was apparent to Ciel that even races couldn’t compromise when threatened by a shared enemy.

Quia, sensing Ciel’s unease, chattered as they strolled along the cobblestone road.

"The East and the West are like this. No worries." Quia shrugged, her back remaining firm. "Other places will attack the nonhuman races in sight. The Bastion at least gave a home."

Remarking on Quia’s comments, Ciel observed as they travelled through the Southeast side of the city.

A signpost occasionally stood amongst the cluster of stalls, its tag naming this street the ’Crafter’s Lane’.

Stalls lined the road, selling raw materials rather than processed ones. Nonhuman races occupied them, giving Ciel a weird look, as if the small white-haired person was an intruder.

In a sense, she was.

Ciel’s past self actually never attacked the Bastion before. Numerous intrusions were attempted, and the shadebeasts just gave up.

The academy, settled in the middle as the largest institution, hosted some of the finest talents, or in other words, the city’s greatest defence.

Coupled with Summer herself, ’impenetrable’ couldn’t begin to describe this place.

’Well, until the Third Generation of Queen was born.’

Queens that never fought on the battlefield.

Ciel only heard shadebeasts’ murmurs and growls for information, so she never encountered the sneaky, scheming types that were the Third Generation Queens.

And as they passed through, with Quia glaring back at the rude stall owners-

"Compensation. Now!"

A loud, rough voice shouted ahead of the duo, interrupting their peaceful walk.

Ciel’s ears perked up. From a distance, a young human with an unkempt beard pointed with his sword.

His grudge found its mark: A girl with green rabbit ears and matching hair, dressed in the academy uniform, lying on the rough floor with a scraped knee.

Behind them was a small carriage with its horses facing forward, whose left wheel was tilted at an odd angle, damaged as if it had just hit something.

Three other young men, armed with daggers, a bow and a staff, stood guard near the side of the damaged wheel, implying they were a band of mercenaries.

Ciel blinked, remarking.

The burn scar, unfading and weirdly gruesome, decorated all of their features, reminding her of a certain redhead’s flame.

As if readied, a panel reintroduced itself to Ciel.

[ Key events under the Star detected. ]

[ Quest Chain: Troupe of Dreams and Ambitions. ]

[ Current Quest: Mercenaries on Hire ]

[ Description: The stars ordained the former Shadebeast to choose the World’s fate. Every ordinary event has consequences, and every choice you make will result in deviation, just like you yourself.

Resolve the ’simple’ dispute before you, Ciel.

Remember, the Stars will be watching. ]

[ Rewards: Calculated upon the results ]