Aqua had spent all day following Hikari, making sure no evil had been committed by a true slave of divinity. I need to keep Azu and Sheira safe. Someone this powerful has to have a reason for being here.
However, Hikari acted as if she were a normal student and not one of the most disgusting creatures that walked the world.
[Beyond the Veil] shrouded her, obscuring her from even a greater blessed child's senses. However, no matter how long she observed the girl, there was nothing out of the ordinary.
You must be up to something, filth.
Hikari approached her table and pulled out the chair. She placed the book on top of the table and took a seat. Her purple eyes scanned over the pages, and Aqua carefully observed the book.
Nothing suspicious, just studies. Her mind refused to believe it, any blessed child other than Azure or Sheira was evil, and it only took a matter of time until they proved her right. No matter how innocent they looked, the appearances were deceiving.
After multiple hours of stalking, Aqua failed to find any suspicious activity committed by the blessed child. She exhaled and teleported to the front of the academy building, leaving Hikari to her own devices.
"I will just need to keep monitoring her." A sigh escaped her lips. The covert enemies were by far the worst beast she had to tackle. It would be so much easier if they were as evil as the Supreme Parasite.
She stepped toward the entrance. Nothing in the world was as evil as the Supreme Tyrant. The gods were annoying pests, but nowhere as oppressive as the supreme trash was.
Her steps led her deep into the academy halls. Today she had to choose which classes she would attend. Most were primitive and far too basic for her, but there were some that even she could use.
If she were to attend an institution of learning, then it was prudent to learn something.
Her steps sped up, and she passed the marble halls, the large windows let the gentle sun's rays wash over her skin. Soon, she arrived at the glass-encased counter.
"Good afternoon, Candidate." The man behind the glass spoke courteously. His brown eyes pierced through Aqua.
"I am here to pick the classes."
The man nodded and slid her a parchment. On it were subject names, with a single numeral on their left side. On the pages were listed specializations.
She quickly signed the document, and her eyes scanned the contents.
Academic, Martial, Magical, and Diplomatic. Under each section was a long list of possible subjects.
She ignored most of them and quickly chose an Academic pursuit.
Under the academic section, she saw history and religion. Two of the subjects she wanted.
Hm, one needs to know both their enemy and the ally.
She quickly took the quill from the man and picked history. Her new home was still unknown to her, it was a sad state of being that she needed to rectify as soon as possible. She quickly selected the religion.
While religion was not as important as the history of her new home, it was still an integral part of the elven lives, and having access to professional tutors, albeit primitive, would prove to be invaluable.
What else?
The paper stated that she needed three specialization subjects and two sub-specialization subjects.
She tapped her cheek, "History, Religion, Math, Magical Theory, Practical Casting." She mumbled and slid the parchment back to the man, who quickly looked over the document.
"Very well, welcome to Onost Academy, Lady Aqua." He stashed the parchment into a stack of others and smiled. "Best of luck!"
"Thank you." She smiled and turned on her heel toward the entrance. As she was about to approach, she noticed a familiar white-haired elf waving at her.
"Aqua!" Azure rushed to her and hugged her. "Where were you?! I was getting worried!"
She stepped back, balancing herself and absorbing Azure's pounce.
"I had something to do."
She quickly separated and tilted her head. "I thought you were avoiding me."
"I would never do that." She grabbed Azure by her shoulders and smiled. "You are my dearest friend after all."
The champion's face turned bright red, and she averted her gaze. "I wanted to pick the same classes you did, so it's good I caught you."
Aqua chuckled. "I picked Academic specialization, History, Religion, Math, Magical Theory, and Practical Casting."
Azure nodded a long. "Everything I am bad at… no matter! Wait here until I finish. You better not disappear on me again."
"I promise, I will stay right here." She leaned against the wall, Azure dashed away toward the counter, and quickly gripped the parchment, making sure to select every subject Aqua had taken.
Her eyes glanced back at the heroine. Soon, she signed the paper and gave it to the clerk.
"Welcome to the Onost Academy, Lady Azure."
She ignored the man and swiftly approached Aqua. She grabbed her by the hand and pulled her to the entrance. "That Hikari ruined the moment… I need a different opportunity now."
So adorable. She let herself get dragged out of the building, her mind drifting between the future Academy classes and Hikari, a despicable Blessed Child who lived right under her nose. Her brows furrowed.
Agh! I really shouldn't think like this. I wanted to rest.
Instead of falling deeper into paranoia, she turned her attention to the woman who dragged her around the campus grounds.
"Where are we going, Azu?" She tilted her head, yet she didn't resist, her body relaxed, and her feet followed Azu's.
"Anywhere there are no people around." She grumbled, and her eyes wandered from one side to the other. There were stray students everywhere. "You would think this school accepts everyone by the number of staff and students."
The comment made Aqua chuckle.
"Azu!" Sheira waved at them.
Her stride slowed to a crawl, and her glare drilled into the princess's soul. "What do you want, Sheira?"
"I know you wanted to spend time with Aqua, but the headmaster practically begged me to ask you to visit him."
"Why?" She let go of Aqua's hand and crossed her arms.
"Don't murder me. He just asked for you, that's all I know." The princess stepped back, her hands raised in front of her.
"You should go, it might be important." Aqua smiled warmly and patted Azure's back. "We can hang out later."
Azure turned her head and stared at Aqua with pleading eyes."Promise you won't disappear again?"
"I promise." Aqua placed her hand on her breast and bowed slightly.
"Good! I still have to say something to you. This better be important." She turned and made a mad dash toward the headmaster's office.
Aqua and Sheira's gazes met, and the two girls chuckled. "I see you picked your classes. May I ask what you picked?"
"Academic specialization, History, Religion, Math, Magical Theory, and… " She crossed her arms. "And practical casting."
"Shame… We only share one class."
"Ah, you didn't get to choose?"
"Nope, I am a victim of bullying." Her lips puckered, and cheeks puffed. "Everyone is so abusive toward lil ol me~."
Aqua placed her hand on her mouth and suppressed a chuckle. She stepped forward and raised her hand above Sheira's head. She let it hover for a moment, then gently placed it on top of her. "Such a poor thing, you are really living a terrible life."
"I know!" She leaned against Aqua. "At least mommy treats me well."
After a couple of moments of peace, the duo separated. "Aqua, Avaros wanted to ask you some questions about aether too, and I also want to listen if it's no problem."
"Of course not, Sheira. Let's head out." However, before she could head out, her blazer was grabbed by Sheira and pulled.
"No, we need to wait for Azu. You promised not to disappear on her. The last thing I want is her being angry at me." The princess crossed her arms and puffed out her chest. "Don't break promises."
"Didn't plan on it."
"Well, I can see you are thinking about something, so you probably didn't mean it, but Azure panicked all day yesterday when you went out. Please tell me what happened."
"Hmm…" Aqua hummed.
"Don't hum at me, Mommy!" Sheira leaned forward and stared into Aqua's eyes. "I am Azu's friend, and i wanna know where and why you disappeared on her."
"I…"
"Spit it out."
"I followed Hikari."
The information made Sheira blink in surprise. "That purple-eyed nerd?"
Aqua nodded.
"Why?"
"Because she is a blessed child, I had to make sure she didn't do anything dangerous."
"Blessed Child? Like Azure?!" Sheira gasped.
"Yes, and even more powerful by sheer amount of divinity compared to Azure." Aqua sighed, her shoulders slumped forward.
"Eh, I guess I will take it, but come on you know how much Azu likes your presence."
"I know… I like her presence too."
"Great, let's just wait for her and do something before the first class tomorrow."
"Sure, three of us should visit the library, I need more information."
"Sure thing, mommy~."