In high school, we studied Su Dongpo's "Red Cliff Rhapsody". It's quite suitable to describe the mess on the table in front of the four people.

Ding ding.

Tiran pressed the service bell fixed in the corner of the dining table, and the waiter quickly came out and handed her the bill. The consumption level in the Academy City was not low, but for Princess Tiran, who had withdrawn a large sum of money from the castle treasury before leaving, it was nothing at all.

"Sigh... it seems like I ate too much tonight... I need to exercise when I get back, or else I will gain weight again." The girl worriedly touched her abdomen that was not actually bulging, muttering to herself with a troubled face.

Although she had tried her best to hold it back, she eventually let out a slight burp. Petra covered her mouth lightly, her face blushing, unsure if it was due to shyness or the effect of the glass of wine she had just drunk.

In comparison, Feilin seemed more relaxed - well, she even slowly tore open the white bread used to accompany the steak and mopped up the remaining sauce on the plate, then happily put it into her mouth.

"Ah... Demon is so lucky, no matter how much she eats, her figure stays perfect." Petra looked at Feilin enviously and sighed.

"Uh, that's not entirely true. When I was little, I was always afraid of being hungry, so I always wanted to eat everything until I was full..." The fiery demon girl paused for a moment, then became a little shy. After taking a few bites of the leftover bread and wiping her mouth clean, she put down the napkin and delicately sipped on the remaining wine.

"And speaking of who doesn't need to worry the most, it should be Aya, right? He transformed himself with Dragon's shape-shifting ability, so no matter how much he eats, he doesn't have to worry about it with his original appetite."

"Yeah, that's right."

"Hey, why are you looking at me like that! I'm only eating so much because I'm in a bad mood!" Aya looked at the stack of dishes piled higher than the others on his side and coughed, saying.

"We're done with the bill over here. Shall we go back now? Do you need me to say something to your dormitory over there?" The princess, who had come back after paying the bill, was very considerate and asked.

"It's okay, I already talked to Flina, who is in charge of the access control, before we came out." Petra quickly waved her hand to indicate that there was no need to worry.

"And besides, it's rare for us to ignore the curfew, we definitely need to stay outside a little longer to make it worthwhile." Feilin followed up with a thumbs-up.

Hey hey, why are they acting like those guys who used to skip class and climb over the walls!

Aya was speechless for a moment, glanced at the cup in his hand. Well, now that I think of it, the drinks in this shop can be refilled for free...

"Then let's stay a little longer."

...

Did you know? If time could go back, I would definitely go back one hour and slap that guy who said we should stay longer in the face until it swells up.

One hour later, Aya was filled with regret.

...

After an hour of chatting, it was already midnight.

Petra was slightly drunk. Although she drank fruit wine, it still had alcohol content. After so many glasses, it couldn't be helped. Aya and Feilin, due to their races, weren't affected by such a small amount of alcohol.

As for Tiran, who would get drunk even from low-alcohol beer...

In front of her was a glass of grape juice.

"It's not fair, it's not fair! Why does the headmaster get to drink fruit juice!" After drinking, Petra, who was originally gentle, also let loose a bit, leaning on the table and staring at Tiran's glass, complaining softly.

"Because I'm not of age yet," Tiran said seriously - of course, it was nonsense. Although he was only seventeen, according to the customs of the Western Continent, fifteen would be considered of age. It seemed even earlier on the Eastern Continent, where girls could reportedly be married at fourteen...

The real reason, of course, was his terrible tolerance for alcohol.

"Huh... huh huh huh?! Wait, so the headmaster is younger than me?!" Petra froze for a moment before exclaiming.

"Seventeen, a few months short of eighteen... I think," Tiran was startled by the sudden increase in the girl's voice.

"What... what?!" Even Feilin couldn't stay calm now. Although they had heard of the Silver War Maiden's reputation and seen how young Tiran looked, seventeen was still too exaggerated.

Though Petra had a gentle personality and was generally easygoing, as one of the Tier 3 [Ten Knights], she naturally had her own pride. It was indeed an impressive record to become a Great Knight at nineteen, but the girl in front of them had already tamed a dragon and killed a Holy Rank monster at just seventeen.

"Can you please consider my feelings when you talk like this? Thank you." Aya had an expression of annoyance on her face. Why suddenly focus on age? Where am I supposed to put my face as an old one who has been struck down by a sword at two hundred plus years old? Moreover, I am not even old! According to a dragon's lifespan, I am not even an adult yet!

Click.

Meanwhile, the mechanical wall clock in the shop had already pointed to twelve o'clock, and the clanging chimes rang, signaling the arrival of a new day.

Although an hour of conversation didn't yield much, they had chatted about various irrelevant topics, but they also learned quite a bit about the students' daily lives, which would be helpful for the headmaster's work.

After midnight, there was basically no one on the streets outside, and the lights in the windows were mostly extinguished, leaving only the street lights. If they didn't go back now, they would probably be exhausted when they got up in the morning.

The atmosphere in the shop became somewhat silent, as if they had exhausted all the topics to discuss.

Most importantly, the owner of the restaurant, a middle-aged man who should have been quite handsome in his youth, was leaning against the wall beside two tables. He had his arms crossed and was impatiently tapping his foot on the floor. He was probably fed up with this last table of customers who refused to leave, forcing him to stay open.

Tap, tap, tap.

"I say... the boss's expression could kill someone. Shouldn't we leave first?" Aya couldn't stand the feeling of being stared at with daggers in her back.

But just then...

"Hooray! Finally found a place that's still open!"

The girl who pushed open the door laughed cheerfully and let out a sigh of relief, patting her chest as if she had thought she might starve tonight.

When the four of them saw the girl, they all stood still at the same time.

She appeared to be about the same age as little Angel, around fifteen. Her figure was still slightly immature, but her style in the blue-gray Mage's robe seemed out of place. Her long blue-gray hair was neatly tied up on one side.

And this face... why does it feel familiar?

Aya suddenly widened her eyes and instinctively shrunk into her seat.

"Headmistress Sylar?!"

Petra couldn't help but directly call out the identity of the long-lost girl in front of them.

Holy crap, it really is!

"Oh no, did you recognize me?" The former headmaster, or rather ex-headmaster, was a bit surprised. After all, it was already late at night, and the students should have returned to their dorms by now.

"Uh, yeah, I did." Feilin nodded earnestly, but didn't show too much surprise or reverence.

"So you're... Petra from the third rank, and the weird first rank mentioned by Lucius, right?" The girl clapped her hands, finally recalling the two individuals.

"Although that's one way to put it, I hope the headmaster can call me by my name..." Feilin pouted.

"Hold on, isn't it past curfew? Why are you still in the academy city? Freyana won't let you off the hook."

"Well, that's because..." Petra was about to explain, but suddenly realized that the situation seemed a bit problematic. After all, Silva had taken the headmaster position from Princess Tiran, and she probably wouldn't be too pleased, would she?

But it seemed a bit too late to figure that out now. In the blink of an eye, Silva and Tiran locked eyes.

"It seems like I have an idea. This little one's face seems a bit familiar, reminding me of a certain bastard named Granzon. You must be Princess Tiran Elysian, the second princess mentioned by Lucius, right?"

"So headmaster Silva actually knows my dad?"

At this moment, Tiran had completely forgotten about taking the headmaster's position and simply rubbed his chin, looking curiously at the girl in front of him. "By the way, isn't Silva supposed to be a mature and attractive older sister with a great figure? What's with this?"

"Groan!"

Silva's expression immediately stiffened when Tiran touched a sore spot. Now she could be sure that this little girl was definitely the daughter of that Granzon fellow. The lack of manners at such a young age was simply a copy of her father!

"You really have no manners at all. Did Granzon not teach you the etiquette you should have when facing your superiors?"

"I guess... he did, but I really wanted to fall asleep at that time and didn't listen." The princess furrowed her brows as she recalled her etiquette lessons from the past. It seemed like there weren't many lessons she had paid attention to. Even several palace teachers had been annoyed with her.

Silva didn't know what to say for a moment, but in the end, she sat down in a nearby seat, rubbing her temples. "Forget it, I won't hold it against you since you've handled the academy's affairs quite well these past few days."

"I think someone who's been a slacker has no right to evaluate my work." Tiran pouted, retorting unhappily. According to all reasoning, he should've established a good relationship with this Holy Rank powerhouse who could provide him with protection. However, for some reason, he was inexplicably annoyed when Aya mentioned the girl's past and their little "affair"...

Hmm, it was like... using a harmonious analogy, finding out that the toy you cherished was actually a second-hand item that someone else didn't want anymore?

"Hey, Aya, why didn't you mention this before?" Tiran asked in their contract.

"Huh? You didn't ask about it either..." Aya had been trying to blend into the background, but she was startled by Tiran's sudden questioning.

However, Ciella seemed quite hungry and lost interest in continuing the banter with Tiran. She sat down and waved to the boss they had been watching for a while.

"Boss, bring us the whole menu here!"

Ah, I don't know if it's an illusion, but it always feels like there are pulsating veins hiding beneath the kind face of the boss.

Three seconds later, a Holy Rank, a quasi-Holy Rank, and three experts with at least a high-ranking knight level were unceremoniously thrown onto the street by an ordinary restaurant owner.