Movement caught the corner of my eye.

I turned slightly.

Jelda stepped out of the girls’ dormitory.

Her long blue hair was tied loosely behind her back today, though a few strands had escaped around her face. She wore the academy uniform like usual, but there was something different about her now. The nervousness in her movements stood out immediately.

She walked slower.

Like someone who kept expecting something bad to happen again.

We met eyes from across the street. She gave me a small wave and a hesitant smile.

I returned the wave before sitting down on an empty wooden bench nearby. The wood creaked quietly under my weight as I leaned back and opened the system menu in front of me.

The translucent interface flickered into existence.

I started browsing through quests absentmindedly. Most of them were either too far away or too annoying to bother with right now. A few combat-related ones caught my attention, but without stronger spells, diving into dangerous areas sounded stupid.

I still only had three usable abilities. Fireball. Heal. Shield of Aangr. Not exactly enough to survive getting stabbed by ten angry bandits.

"H-Hey."

I glanced left.

Jelda had walked over while I was distracted.

"Ace," she said softly.

I immediately dismissed the system window before she could notice me staring into empty air like a lunatic.

"Hey," I replied. "Jelda."

She stopped beside the bench, clasping her hands together awkwardly.

"I see you’re skipping school today," she said with a faint smile.

"Guess you could say that. What about you?" I asked. "You skipping too?"

She looked back toward the dormitory for a moment before crossing her arms loosely.

She smiled shyly. "I guess you could say that."

For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.

The blacksmith’s hammer rang in the distance. A cold breeze swept through the circular street. Then she looked at me again.

"Thank you for the other day," she said quietly. "You helped calm me down."

"It’s fine," I replied. "I’m just glad you’re okay."

"Mm." She fidgeted slightly with her fingers before asking carefully, "Are you really Ambly-blessed?"

I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat.

"Can you keep that secret?"

Jelda gave me a tired look.

"After Professor Kroua announced it in front of half the courtyard?" she asked. "I don’t think it’s a secret anymore." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Fair point."

I rubbed the back of my neck. This whole blessing thing was becoming a bigger problem every single day.

"Hey," I let out a quiet breath. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"This morning," I said, "Null and that S-class student were arguing, right? What was that about?"

"You mean Null and Eselin?" Jelda asked. "Yeah. Though it was mostly Eselin yelling while the student council president stood there listening."

"Eselin," I repeated. "That’s her name?"

"Mhm." She nodded. "She was accusing the student council president of covering something up. Well... not exactly him, but the boys’ dormitory."

I frowned. "The boys’ dormitory?"

"She thinks the person who attacked me came from there," Jelda explained.

"You said the attacker had some kind of history with you," I said. "Is there anyone in the dormitory who fits?"

Jelda hesitated before shaking her head. "I know a few people there, sure. But I don’t think it was any of them." She paused. "The attacker had a light beard and sounded... older, I think."

"Hmm."

So that was what the argument had been about.

"That wasn’t the only reason, though," Jelda continued. "Eselin was also demanding more guards around this street. Especially this side of town."

"And Null refused?"

"Not exactly." She exhaled. "Null can’t make that decision alone. But if he brought it up to the headmaster, there was a chance something could change."

"Then why didn’t he?"

"Silver," she said simply. "More guards means more money."

"Ah."

Only then did I notice she’d been standing the entire conversation while I sat there like an idiot.

"Oh. Hey," I said quickly. "You can sit down if you want, Jelda."

"No, no, I’m fine." She smiled faintly. "I should head back anyway. I still have homework."

"Alright." I nodded. "Goodbye, Jelda. Take care of yourself."

She started walking backward, giving me a small wave. "You too, Ace. Bye."

I watched her head back toward the building. Just before disappearing inside, she glanced back and waved one last time.

Once she was gone, the street finally fell quiet. Good. Now I could check the system again.

I still remembered the spell I’d seen in the Shop earlier. Buying it was probably the smartest move right now.

I focused, trying to summon the system but before the screen could appear, the sound of wheels echoed through the street. A carriage rolled to a stop directly in front of me.

Shit. This had to be the carriage I was waiting for.

"Kid," the coachman called. He was an older man with a graying goatee. "You Ace?"

"I am, sir." I stood up quickly.

"Then get in." He jerked a thumb toward the carriage door. "We shouldn’t keep the Queen waiting. We’re headed to the Royal Place."

My stomach tightened.

"Y-yes..."

ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎

Holy shit... where even was I?

╔═══════════════╗

Location Discovered!

─────────────────

Name: Royal Palace

╠═══════════════╣

Region: Toakwood

Objective:

○ Find the phantom chest.

╠═══════════════╣

Gained EXP: +20

╚═══════════════╝

The carriage rolled up the final hill, and the view ahead made my brain completely blank for a second.

The royal estate stretched across the landscape like something torn straight out of a fantasy painting. Massive white walls surrounded the entire property, easily three times taller than the city walls around the academy district. Gold-lined banners hung between the towers, swaying gently with the wind, each embroidered with the symbol of the kingdom, a silver crown wrapped in thorned vines.

The palace itself was enormous.

Tall ivory towers rose into the sky, their pointed rooftops covered in dark blue tiles that shimmered under the sunlight. Huge windows lined the structure from top to bottom, each one framed with carved stone and colored glass that reflected light like crystals. Some balconies curved outward from the upper floors, wrapped in black iron railings twisted into elegant patterns.

The entire building looked ancient but impossibly well-maintained.

Like history itself had money.

"Damn..." I muttered under my breath.