23 Chapter 21: Principal Adels Decision (2/2)

Carmine entered our room with twinkling eyes.

”Ah, ah~” she faked sorrowful look on her face, ”You're so lucky Glow! You get to have actual roommates and not share a room with a certain sibling.”

”Thank you for pointing that out.” I replied, laughing a little bit, ”Poor you.”

”Yeah, woe to me.” She grinned and then we both began giggling.

”You're always getting into trouble everywhere you go. I was worried, but now it feels meaningless, seeing you laugh like the baby you are.” Carmine showed maturity, which honestly surprised me.

”Here. A present from mom.”

She cheekily smiled.

”Wow, really?” I gladly accepted.

The wrapping was done with such grace that it couldn't be anyone else but Serene... I was so touched! I'm even starting to miss her demonic lessons from hell.

”I'm going mad.” I thought, embracing the soft (?) present tightly to my chest.

”Hehehe, surprised?” Carmine exclaimed, ”Its a cloak imbued with magic.”

”... AGAIN?!” I practically jumped up.

”Yep. Mom was very persistent to send this, y'know? Anyways, before I forget, let me tell you this cloak's three specialities. Invisibility, Adaptability and Single-Owner.” Carmine continued, looking all smug, ”Invisibility allows you to be completely invisible for about as long as an hour. Adaptability allows the cloak to adjust to whatever temperature, both outside and inside. And finally, Single-Owner means that the cloak will have only one owner until it is destroyed or the owner dies... but that's not all this ability does! Since you are the cloak's only master/wielder, if you happen to be separated from it, it will automatically get back to you.”

”Whoa. That's a lot.”

”Hmm... I think she mentioned a few more things, but... oh well.” Carmine's forgetfulness made me anxious for some reason.

”Ye-yeah.” my fatigue returned.

”Well, that's all, so if you need anything... anything at all, Elder sister Helen and I are in R:002, okay?”

”Alright.” I nodded with a fake smile.

The door closed and I jumped onto my bed, trying to slowly forget about everything.

”But still... she's become slightly more mature now... how long... has it be..en...?”

Exhausted, I dozed off into slumber.

_______

___

Everything was covered in complete darkness when I woke up. I heard Analise snore and Lucy gritting her teeth while they slept.

”Hahaha,” I thought to myself, ”they didn't even confirm whether I was alive or not, silly girls.”

It was a funny feeling, knowing just how peaceful, yet dangerous this world was... just like Earth. Being alive, felt mysterious somehow.

After relieving myself in the washroom, a random thought crossed my mind. No need to call myself a genius, thank you.

”That's brilliant!” I gave myself a pat on the back, while searching for that cloak. However, something unusual happened just before I turned on the bedside lamp.

”Strange... even in the dead of the night, why is everything so vividly visible?” a strange, almost nostalgic sensation overcame me. ”May be it's something related to my powers growing?”

”A-Anyway! I'll just search for the cloak first!”

I decided to dive deeper into this situation later on. If I think about useless things now, I might not get a second chance for this awesome beyond brilliant plan of mine!

It had to be tonight. If what Charles had written was indeed the case, then I needed to confirm the truth as fast as possible.

”To the principal's office.”

I wrapped myself in the cloak just like I'd seen in a movie back on Earth, 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'.

Too bad I never got the chance to read any of the books or see any sequels of this movie later on. Once Vel knew me watching a movie like that, he never let me have a single day off.

”Magic itself is a mystery. But the thing called 'fantasy' doesn't exist. If you watch illusions, your head will be full of nothing but useless thoughts.” - Vel would put it in a sweet voice, but a ferocious facial expression.

It was weird. No matter how I thought about it. Almost as if he wanted to prevent me from realizing something... since Vel was never an individual who lost his cool.

...

”If you have something to say, then please say it, Miss Windstorm.” Principal Adel exclaimed with a soft chuckle.

I stopped still on my tracks.

”Even if you hide, I'm afraid you do not know how to fully function your... 'device'.” She smirked, seemingly confident in her detection skills.

”Ahem!” I coughed out loud a little, before unfolding myself from the cloak. ”How did you...?”

To my baffled face, she giggled a bit, until her outright laughter filled the room. I felt I saw a clown in myself, being showcased in a circus.

”Miss Windstorm,” she warmly stared at me, our eyes affixed to each other's.

”Please, call me Gloria. Otherwise it feels foreign, hahaha.” I interrupted her, trying to get the tension off the atmosphere.

”Very well, Miss Gloria.” The principal beamed with satisfaction. ”It seems like you have slowly grown accustomed to MTS's rules. I am proud of you.”

My cheeks flushed and there were butterflies fluttering in my stomach. ”Is this how it feels to be complimented?” I thought to myself with a foolish simper plastered all over face.

It's not as though I've never been complimented by my parents, but I wonder why this situation fills me up with pride and joy...?

”Perhaps.” I replied proudly, not completely understanding what she meant. After all, I didn't really ready past the first 25 rules in the handbook.

”Well I'm glad.” The principal nodded and hinted at me, offering me to sit.

”I wonder why she's here so late at night?” I thought to myself, though it didn't seem right to pry into anything too deeply.

She was the principal after all. Maybe there were too many tasks all day and she had to do overtime? It's not impossible. I mean, Charles was always in the his study back at the Castle unless he was sleeping or training with the knights.

”There are better ways to use a cloak rather than using it as a blanket.” Miss Adel pointed out, ”Please allow me to show you.”

As I sat on top of the chair, the principal casually walked behind me and carefully adjusted the cloak on me. The way she gently fixed the cloak around my neck, sort of reminded me of my mother, Serene.

”The golden buttons in the middle should be pinned to each other like this. They are each, a half. Once co-joined, the shape becomes from 2 to 1.” The principal explained.

”O-oh.” My mind returned from homesickness.

As soon as I heard a 'click' sound, wind mana enveloped me and everything felt as light as a feather.

”Interesting.” The principal, who was still hugging(?) me, commented, ”This cloak doesn't seem to be a blood bound, so you are safe. Oh, but it is rare for an Invisibility spell to be of such high quality!”

”Is that so?” I dodged the question, pretending to be foolish.

”If you open the golden pin, then the Invisibility of your cloak will be finished and you will be seen by the naked eye once more.”

”Wow.”

”Now, miss Gloria,” the principal went back to her seat and gave me a confident stare, ”must I ask the obvious, or are you willing to admit it yourself?”

”I came here with a purpose in mind.”

Miss Adel's confused stare gave her away. She seemed taken aback, but quickly returned to a more calm and collected behaviour.

Since I couldn't tell her everything, it was better to tell some truth, but keep the rest of it hidden. The principal is witty and wise, so I'm pretty sure she will not question me of unnecessary details... hopefully, so let's roll with this idea for now and see how things end up.

From where I'd left, I continued on, ”As you might already know, I am probably being targeted by some people.”

The principal nodded.

”I require your assistance in this matter.” I landed straight to the point.”

”Why?” The principal snickered.

”She's testing me.” I guessed.

”Miss Principal, do you care for your school?” I asked her.

”Are you threatening me?” Her eyes turned dull, as though the topic became boring all of a sudden.

”Well,” I dismissed negative thoughts and continued on my previous plan, ”This is not a simple matter regarding Felue Kingdom only... but the continent as a whole. More importantly, there's a possibility that MTS might be in danger-”

Miss Adel's hands slammed loudly on the table as she stood up immediately, her eyes filled with a spark.

”So you see-” but before I could continue, Miss Adel raised her hand and stopped me.

”Very well.” She suddenly agreed. ”I cannot fully back you up, as I am the principal of this school and everyone is equally innocent until proven guilty. However, I may be able to show you something that you might or might not find useful in the near future.”

She caught on fast. Charles was right to trust her, I suppose. No wonder she is the principal of a chaotic school like MTS!

”Here,” the principal went towards the sconce.

”...?”

I stared at it, then to Miss Adel, not sure whether she was in her right mind or not.

The sconce was dimly lit and if you didn't notice carefully, anyone from Earth would be easily tricked into thinking this was a normal wall-lamp provided by electricity... but no, it was possible because of fire magic.

”How convenient.” I thought to myself.

On the back of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder how fantastic it would be if magic and science (from the 21st century) were combined together... it's not impossible for further discoveries, but people in this world seem uninterested, or rather, they don't bother about these things.

”Such a shame.” I muttered and sighed.

The principal had a smug look on her face. She took hold of the sconce and turned it to the right, twice. The fire in the sconce flickered and made a 'hzz' sound, before the wall slid out of the way to reveal a secret passage behind it.

I stood up, flabbergasted.

”Surprised?” The principal chuckled, ”This passageway leads directly to the front gate of the school. However, it is not the only passageway... there are more. Some of which even I don't know about.”

”Is it alright for me to know this? I'm pretty sure it's meant to be a secret.” I asked, feeling skeptic.

”Yes, it is. After all, other than myself, only the royal family know of this. No one else.”

The tone of her voice was quite strict, despite sounding gentle and polite.

”I understand.” I nodded.

My intuition screamed loudly inside me that this was not a secret, but more likely a burden placed upon my shoulders. I couldn't fight back that thought.

”Also,” the principal continued, ”I'll be allowing you to use this seal. It is meant to allow entrance to the Upper Section of the school's library. You can use the secret passages to go to the Upper Section any time you please, but just in case you get caught and I'm not available, use this seal for justification.”

”Why are you helping me like this?” I caught the seal and began my interrogation.

It was weird right from the start. She didn't question me for trespassing and didn't even hear me entirely. It was as if she knew exactly what I needed.

But most is all, something felt off about this situation and I didn't like it. How did she know that I'm suspecting an inside man? Whether or not it's the Secretary or someone else... I haven't yet told her anything. Being clever was one thing, but reading someone's mind without a spell was impossible, even for her.

”Do you really take me for a fool if you think you'll just hand over some royal secret and I'll suddenly be grateful?” I smirked, looking down on her.

I felt disappointed and upset that she took me for some kid who would melt away at the sight of candy.

”My, my,” principal exclaimed with a broad grin, ”it seems I've truly underestimated you, dear student Gloria... you're indeed as clever as he stated.”

”Who was that?” I felt my blood boil. If by chance she says the name I'm thinking... then what?

”Here,” Miss Adel handed me the envelop that contained the royal seal, ”His highness, the Crown Prince of Felue Kingdom sent this to me. I cannot show you the letter due to certain issues, but I do hope you get it. I'm not your enemy.”

”Eh?” My mind went blank, ”O-oh... I see.”

I couldn't help sighing in disappointment. I actually believed that the principal was somehow connected to my brother. That's crazy.

I wanted to omit this thought out of my mind.

”Hmm? Why, were you hoping for someone else?” Miss Adel asked, curiously eyeing me from head to toe.

”No! Not re-really.” My nervousness increased. ”Thank you, Principal.”

”Your welcome, child.” Principal Adel stated with a very gentle and warm smile. ”You are a student here. Need not behave like an adult... someday you will end up missing these childhood years, so please remember to relax. This school is here to protect its students from any harm. Now go back and sleep.”

”Ah, yes. Of course!” I said, somehow feeling embarrassed all of a sudden.

”Honestly, she's very sweet. And reminds me... reminds me of my mother back home...” I thought to myself, waving good night to the principal and leaving via the secret passage. ”Maybe I should write a letter to Serene? I feel so homesick these days!”