Phainon shook his head.
"Nope."
Beside him, Cyrene couldn't help laughing.
"Phainon, you're terrible at this whole riddle thing."
Phainon glared at her.
"What did I do?"
"You ask someone to guess, then the moment you give them a hint, you practically hand them the answer."
Cyrene shook her head. "A real Riddler leaves people completely stumped. The more they think about it, the more confused they get."
She looked at Arthur and pointed to herself.
"Like me."
Arthur looked at Cyrene.
Her expression clearly said, That's right. I'm the Riddler.
Phainon sighed beside them.
"Fine, fine. You're the best at it, Cyrene. Anyway, you'll find out soon enough.
"Mydei and I will come sit at your table later so we can watch the surprise together."
He turned to leave, then remembered something and looked back at Arthur.
"Oh, right, Arthur."
"Yeah?"
"It's a good surprise, so don't worry."
With that, Phainon left, leaving Arthur and Cyrene sitting where they were.
Cyrene watched his retreating figure with a smile.
"Such an honest guy."
Arthur nodded.
"He really is."
The two fell silent for a few seconds.
Then Cyrene spoke.
"Still, I'm pretty curious about the surprise Professor Tribios brought."
She looked at Arthur.
"Did you figure it out?"
Arthur thought for a moment.
"I have an idea, but I'm not sure."
"Then when they reveal it, we'll see if you guessed right."
In the distance, Phainon walked over to Mydei and whispered something to him.
After listening, Mydei glanced toward Arthur.
Then the two of them walked over together and sat down beside him.
"Here we go."
Phainon lowered his voice, unable to hide his excitement. "It's about to start."
Before Arthur could ask what he meant, Anaxa's voice rang out from the center of the hall.
"Everyone."
All eyes turned toward Anaxa.
"Today is a special day. Old friends have gathered again, and we've welcomed some new ones as well.
"Professor Tribios prepared a special gift for everyone."
His gaze swept across the room.
"Come. Raise your glasses."
Everyone lifted their drinks.
Then Arthur saw it.
The first streak of fire shot up from the ground, followed almost immediately by countless others rising from every direction.
They intertwined and converged across the night sky.
Cries of amazement erupted throughout the hall.
"Wow!"
Stelle was the first to leap to her feet and rush to the window.
"That's gorgeous!"
March 7th ran over too, tugging Nattia with her. "Look, look! Nattia, fireworks!"
Nattia stumbled as her older sister dragged her along, but when her gaze landed outside the window, even she froze for a moment.
Herta stood beside the window, watching the fireworks with a slightly raised eyebrow.
"The propulsion trajectories and detonation altitude are interesting."
Screwllum stood beside her and nodded.
"Indeed. There is a considerable amount of technical sophistication involved."
Cerydra's gaze swept across the fireworks.
Hysilens stood beside her and murmured, "Beautiful..."
Cerydra nodded.
"Mm."
Castorice tilted her head back, countless streams of light reflected in her eyes, her face filled with wonder.
Polyxia glanced at Castorice, then at the fireworks, and the corners of her lips lifted slightly.
Phainon grinned and patted Arthur on the shoulder.
"Well? Surprised enough for you?"
Arthur simply stood there, staring at the fireworks filling the sky outside, unable to speak for a moment.
"Those are rocket fireworks Professor Tribios developed herself. She spent a long time researching them."
For once, Mydei spoke up on his own.
"Professor Tribios..." Arthur murmured.
"She spent her whole life researching classical literature and mythology," Phainon continued.
"But who says someone who studies mythology can't build rockets?"
"She said stories from myth deserve to be told in the most dazzling way possible."
Arthur fell silent.
He watched the fireworks continuing to bloom outside and suddenly remembered something Professor Tribios had once said in class.
When humanity looks up at the stars, what we see is not only the stars themselves, but also the light within our own hearts.
"Arthur, did you guess right?"
Cyrene looked at him with a gentle smile.
"No."
The fireworks continued to bloom, one after another.
Familiar faces, laughter not heard in years, people who had scattered into the sea of humanity only to gather together once more.
All of them were looking up at the same sky, watching the same fireworks.
"A toast," Anaxa called again.
Everyone raised their glasses.
"Cheers!"
Time passed quickly.
As quickly as the fireworks outside, brilliant for an instant before fading away.
Stelle and March 7th sprawled in their chairs, clutching their stomachs with expressions that were equal parts agony and satisfaction.
"I can't. I seriously can't eat anymore..."
Stelle groaned. "One more bite and I'm going to explode."
March 7th nodded beside her. She couldn't even manage words anymore, only a series of muffled sounds of agreement.
Nattia stood nearby, expressionlessly watching her older sister.
Her eyes clearly said, I knew this would happen.
Herta stood not far away, looking at her own student.
Her expression was exactly the same as Nattia's.
When Stelle met her teacher's gaze, she shrank back guiltily.
"Teacher, I-I only ate a little too much."
"A little?" Herta raised an eyebrow.
Stelle immediately shut her mouth.
Hyacine was about to keep chatting with everyone when Mydei stopped her.
"Clean up the restaurant."
His voice remained calm, but there was no room for argument.
Hyacine's face fell.
"I haven't talked to everyone enough yet..."
"You can talk next time."
Hyacine sighed and obediently followed Mydei away.
Cerydra rose to her feet and straightened her clothes.
"Bannerlord."
"Mm?"
"I plan to stay in this city for a few days."
Hysilens paused, then smiled.
"What a coincidence, Caesar. I was planning to stay a few days too."
The two looked at each other and smiled, sharing the kind of unspoken understanding only old friends could have.
Phainon stood at the entrance, warmly saying goodbye to everyone as they left.
"Come again next time!"
"Remember to keep in touch!"
"Take care on the way home!"
He kept smiling and calling after them until everyone had gone through the door.
Then he turned around, looked at the mess covering the tables, and took a deep breath.
"All right. Time to clean the restaurant."
Professor Tribios was the first to leave.
As she passed Arthur, she stopped.
"Were the fireworks beautiful?"
Arthur nodded.
"They were."
Zandar was also preparing to leave.
He stood at the entrance and exchanged a few words with Herta before waving to everyone.
"I'll head back first. I still have some work at the lab."
Herta nodded.
"Senior, don't forget about the computer."
"I won't."
Zandar smiled and walked toward the taxi waiting outside.
Screwllum left as well, still as composed as ever, his steps elegant and measured.
Anaxa stood at the entrance, looking over the now-empty hall, and let out a faint sigh.
"A little disappointing."
Aglaea stood beside him.
"What is?"
"I never got to perform my magic trick."
Aglaea laughed.
"Mr. Anaxa, isn't it because you couldn't top Professor Tribios?"
Anaxa looked at her.
Then he smiled too.
"Then at the next gathering, I'll put on a grand magic show."
Aglaea looked at him, a hint of surprise in her eyes.
"Really?"
"Of course."
Anaxa turned and started toward the door.
After taking two steps, he stopped and looked back at her.
"When the time comes, Seamstress, don't you dare cry."
Aglaea froze for a moment, then laughed.
"Fine. I'll be waiting."
Once the crowd had dispersed, only Arthur and Cyrene remained standing outside the restaurant.
Cyrene turned to look at him.
"What about you? How are you getting home?"
Arthur thought about it.
"I'll walk. It's not far."
Cyrene nodded.
"Then... want to walk together?"
Arthur looked at her.
"Sure."