Meanwhile, far away at Egisia Academy on the Eastern Moon Continent.

These past days, Yumigawa Nozomi, Yumigawa Senki, Elyar, Eastern Moon Aixue, and Faya carried heavy moods, worry pooling like rain-soaked clouds in their chests.

Ten days ago, Xinuo and FrostyLily Dream rushed off; their footsteps faded, and they still haven’t returned.

Worse, the Dark Demon, who should’ve gone quiet, began stirring restlessly. They sparked skirmishes across the Eastern Moon Continent and kept needling Egisia Academy like gnats.

It all felt like a storm brewing. A weight of unease pressed on their hearts and wouldn’t lift.

Only Hill, that simple loli-dragon, sensed no anomaly. She lived each day happily on a full belly, a sunbeam chasing shadows. She minded Xinuo and FrostyLily Dream’s sudden exit, then forgot it quick.

Inside the dorm room.

“Qianji Sister, do you think Sister Xinuo and the others ran into trouble? It’s been so long.”

With a table of fragrant dishes laid out, Yumigawa Nozomi had no appetite—no mood to taste anything; her chopsticks lay still like fallen twigs.

“Xinuo Miss absolutely won’t get into trouble,” Yumigawa Senki said firmly. “I think Xinuo Miss hasn’t returned because something’s entangled her.”

“Anything that can entangle Sir Xino… must be major trouble,” Elyar muttered, face shadowed. A few days ago, the Elven Queen sent her bad news—Dark Demon’s reach was edging into the Elven Realm. No big moves yet, just petty harassment. No matter how many Dark Demon branch guilds at the realm’s gates were wiped, they reappeared the next day, maddeningly, so she was told to stay alert.

By rights, after all their branch guilds in the Dragon Realm were erased and they lost the divine race’s backing, Dark Demon should have been crippled. Yet their power is swelling fast lately, stirring trouble worldwide. It’s truly strange.

Elyar couldn’t see their aim. Don’t they fear public outrage? Do they really think they’re the world’s number two, beneath the Mizumi Clan?

“This Dark Demon is weird. Did they find a new backer?” Faya said.

At that, Yumigawa Senki felt a headache drum in her temples. She’d thought they were mere stage clowns; now the shadow looks larger—maybe a looming problem.

“No doubt they found a new backer!” Yumigawa Nozomi huffed. “Without one, Dark Demon would be hiding in a hole, not strutting out.”

“But if their new backer…” Eastern Moon Aixue hesitated, then joined in. “When the divine race backed them, they weren’t this brazen. They grew in the shadows, stayed low key. Could it be…”

“Aixue, you mean their new backer is stronger than the divine race?” Yumigawa Nozomi asked.

“I don’t dare define it. It’s just a quiet thought in my heart,” Eastern Moon Aixue said, shaking her head, wishing it untrue.

“Now I’m curious,” Yumigawa Senki said. “If they’re backed by something stronger than the divine race, they’d outmatch the other three great races too. What power could that be…”

Beyond the four great races, only the Mizumi Clan came to Yumigawa Senki’s mind.

“Hold it! Keep talking and lunch will go cold.”

Seeing the Dark Demon talk spool on, Faya cut in. “Thinking won’t help right now. Let’s fill our stomachs first.”

“Yeah, let’s eat.”

Accepting Faya’s blunt truth, they sighed and let the topic drift, though the unease rose inside them like a slow tide.

“Little me’s back! Today’s another big harvest!”

Right then, Hill pushed the door open, arms piled with snacks. As an irresistibly cute loli-dragon with a bright, simple heart, she was Egisia Academy’s mascot wherever she walked. Staff and students kept slipping her treats.

So every lap around the academy netted her a heap of snacks. For a foodie like her, it was pure joy.

“Hill, you’re late. Come eat lunch, or the dishes will go cold.”

“Put the snacks down and wash your hands.”

At Hill’s innocent glow, half their gloom lifted like mist in sun, and smiles bloomed. Honestly, letting Dark Demon sour their mood was pointless. They’d ask Xinuo and FrostyLily Dream when they returned.

“Littlesky, Qianji Sister, you’re worrying about Dark Demon again?” Hill asked, returning to her seat with clean hands.

“Mm. Not long after Sister Xinuo left, Dark Demon went high-profile. Hard not to mind.”

“Littlesky’s right. Most of all, Xinuo Miss rushed off ten days ago, and we haven’t heard a single word. It gnaws at you.”

“Don’t worry! There’s absolutely nothing in this world that can threaten Master,” Hill declared. “She’s just delayed by something.”

“Besides, Dark Demon’s small fry. They can’t stir real waves.”

By the time Hill finished, half the dishes were gone. Her cute cheeks bulged, stuffed with too much food.

“Hill, thou eat’st too fast! Our portions are almost gone!” Elyar yelped, frantically piling dishes into her and Yumigawa Nozomi’s bowls.

“What? You lot fret over Dark Demon and can’t eat. If that’s the case, let little me finish all this delicious food!”

“Hill, that’s sophistry! It’s your appetite that’s huge!”

“Keep bickering and Hill will eat everything! Move, people!”

Yumigawa Nozomi and Yumigawa Senki dove into the battle for the dishes.

Seeing that, Eastern Moon Aixue and Faya traded a glance and laughed. “Whatever else, the priority now is to eat our fill.”

“Exactly. And you keep debating Dark Demon endlessly—what a waste of time.”

“Ahaha, sorry, sorry.”

—The dining table returned to its usual lively clatter.

…