“Alright, this is far enough. From here on, Lady Vanessa will have to disguise herself again,” Luna stopped walking. “Lady Vanessa needs to transform back into Winnie now.”

With that, Luna handed Vanessa the male outfit she had brought earlier from the villa.

Vanessa took the male clothing offered by Luna.

Luna really thought of everything, she’d even brought her a change of clothes before leaving, so she could switch back easily. After all, it was Winnie, not Vanessa, who held the student identity at Carillian Academy.

Otherwise, would he really have to keep wearing women’s clothes after transforming back?

Vanessa took the outfit from Luna and walked toward a nearby patch of bushes. The three of them stood guard as a soft cherry-pink glow gathered, accompanied by rustling sounds. Soon, a blue-haired young man dressed in formal attire emerged from the foliage.

“How incredible,” Fanya said, eyes wide, even though she already knew, witnessing it still left her stunned.

No matter how many times she saw it, it remained utterly unbelievable.

The blue-haired young man before her was actually the same person as that graceful, dignified, and virtuous Saintess.

Still, maybe it was just her preconceived notions, but seeing Winnie again, Fanya couldn’t help feeling there was a faint resemblance in his features to Lady Vanessa.

Perhaps it was simply because she now knew that this ‘young man’ named Winnie was, in fact, the Saintess herself.`

“Miss Fanya, you mustn’t show such a shocked reaction again later,” Luna said to Fanya, then glanced at Amisa. “The same goes for you, Miss Amisa.”

“Yes, yes, don’t worry, Lady Luna. We’ll keep that in mind,” Amisa, holding her staff, nodded, then turned to Winnie. “Winnie, I look forward to working with you from now on.”~

“Likewise, Miss Amisa and Fanya,” Winnie reiterated solemnly, nodding.

The group caught up with the main Carillian Academy contingency ahead.

“Huh??” The rear-guard instructor immediately noticed the three girls and one boy approaching. Upon seeing Luna, he recognized her. “Horaleth?!”

“It’s me, Instructor. Luna Horaleth. We’re all students from Carillian Academy. We’re requesting to rejoin the group,” Luna said.

“Are all of you alright? If anyone’s injured, there are nuns and priests from the church in the center of the formation,” the instructor inspected them closely. Seeing them appear unharmed and freely, clearly not injured, he moved in relief, but still cautioned them.

“Thank goodness you’re safe. Still, what happened to your school uniforms? Why aren’t you wearing them?” the instructor asked, puzzled.

“Instructor, after escaping danger, we were lucky enough to find a villa nearby that belonged to my family. We changed clothes and took a bath there,” Luna explained.

“I see. Regardless, I’m glad you’re all unharmed,” the instructor nodded, understanding why they bore no injuries, he’d nearly forgotten that Luna’s soul armament was [Holy Envoy].

“Ah, honestly, our academy’s been through so much lately. Last semester we had the [Bronze Blood] outbreak and the Pillar of the Demon God incident. I thought this semester might be easier,” the instructor sobbed deeply, resigned. “Who would’ve thought something like this would happen again.”

Easier? Probably not. Winnie had always felt there was something off about Carillian Academy’s luck. It was the same in his past life, though touted as the safest place, it always managed to spawn all types of monsters. Likely because the Chosen Ones were all gathered there, distorting the local spiritual field.

“Instructor, can you tell us exactly what happened now? That strange space, and the Rubik Cube?”

“Yes, we all saw it. Every student and instructor on this educational trip witnessed it, and got pulled in,” the instructor’s expression turned instantly serious. “We have theories, but nothing confirmed yet. Until we have results, no one can say for sure.”

“Enough about that. Let’s catch up with the main group quickly and get out of here. I’ll mark your names down,” he said, pulling out a roster.

After reporting their names, the group rejoined the formation.

Just as Winnie scanned the crowd for any familiar faces, a voice called out to him.

“Brother Winnie, is that really you?” The voice brimmed with disbelief.

“You’re, Fred??” Winnie turned in surprise, his gaze landed on a disheveled young man, messy hair, ragged clothes, almost unrecognizable.

“It’s me, Winnie! You’re, you’re alive?!” There was no sarcasm in his words. Fred seemed as if he’d just seen a ghost. Ever since being rescued after the cube’s collapse, he’d been in a daze.

Winnie could tell just by looking that his mental state was severely unstable, like he’d been scared beyond reason, or witnessed things utterly unimaginable, things that shattered his worldview. As if he’d just crawled out of hell itself.

“Yeah, Fred. Are you okay?” Winnie knew the answer didn’t need asking. Just looking at him, Fred’s condition was clearly awful. But seeing Winnie had lifted his spirits somewhat.

Without a word, Fred rushed forward and hugged Winnie tightly. “Winnie… you’re alive. Thank goodness. I thought… I was the only one left. Haha… hahaha…”

His laughter carried a hollow, desolate tone. Winnie had no idea what Fred had seen in that cube. Surviving catastrophe, yet his half soul seemed to be left behind.

Yeah.

It wasn’t just Fred, Winnie himself had barely escaped death.

But unlike Fred, who faced nameless horrors, Winnie had come face to face with the mastermind behind it all. He hadn’t died in the cube, but he’d nearly been killed by the Church of Radiance instead.

Had Luna not arrived in time, both he and Fanya and Amisa would have been erased from existence.

The imprisoned Vanessa would have replaced Winnie, while Fanya and Amisa, those who refused to obey the Church, would have been eliminated.

The ordeal they’d gone through was likely the most difficult among all Carillian Academy’s staff and students. But that didn’t mean the others had it easy.

Watching the two interact, especially seeing them embrace, Fanya hesitated, feeling uneasy.

The male student hadn’t done anything wrong, but… the Saintess was, after all, a girl, wasn’t she??

“Winnie… Brother Winnie.”

“Yeah? What is it, Fred?” The slow formation advanced as Winnie supported Fred.

“Winnie… Andre… he… he tried to save me…” Fred’s face twisted with sorrow.

“Andre? You met him in the cube? What happened? Did he get hurt trying to save you??” Winnie felt a bad premonition.

“He…” Fred didn’t continue, but at that moment, silence spoke volumes.

Winnie fell silent.

Andre, another member of their card-playing crew. The same guy who’d played fake matches with him last semester.

Always a bit eccentric and unserious, but a truly good person.

In Winnie’s book, anyone who valued themselves and didn’t judge him based on rumors was a good person, and he cherished them.

Luna and the others listened quietly, silently observing Winnie’s emotional state.

“Come on, tell me what happened! Don’t leave it half-said, what happened to him? Did you see him get hurt??” Winnie frowned.

“He… he tried to save me, but those eye-covered vines dragged him away!” Fred bit his lip, still unable to compose himself.

“Vines covered in eyes?!”

“Yeah… I don’t know what they were. I’ve never seen anything so horrifying, nothing that extreme even in storybooks,” Fred said dejectedly.

The things he’d seen in the cube seemed to have shattered his sanity and worldview completely.

“Did you report this to the instructor?” Winnie asked.

“I did. But the cube’s already collapsed. They said they’d wait for updates, search the surrounding area, and do their best. They told me not to blame myself,” Fred lowered his head.

“So you didn’t actually see anything happen to Andre, right?” Winnie raised an eyebrow. “Then why assume he’s dead?”

“Then…”

“No buts. Wasting time here won’t help. You can’t do anything, can’t help him,” Winnie sobbed softly. “Try to stay positive. Andre might still be alive. Don’t just declare him dead like that, okay?”

“I understand,” Fred remained silent for a long moment, then nodded.

“Fred, after you came out, did you see any other familiar people in the group?” Winnie continued.

“No. You’re the first person I’ve recognized,” Fred shook his head. “Thank goodness you’re safe.”

“Luckily, you are too,” Winnie shook his head.

After enduring such a calamity, facing utter despair, meeting another survivor truly stirred complex emotions.

At that moment, Winnie realized he always thought the Chosen Ones were in a league of their own. But wasn’t he the same?

Besides the instructors, everyone on this trip was a first or second-year student. In this group, Winnie’s abilities ranked upper-mid to outright top-tier. Students barely average or below would’ve felt even more hopeless.

Still, these were Carillian Academy students, among young Artisans, they were already in the first tier when it came to quality and crisis response.

As Winnie comforted Fred, his eyes swept over the other marching students. If this group were an army, morale was extremely low. In a real army, desertions would be rampant.

He didn’t spot any other familiar faces.

Indeed, if Shikondell were here, Fred would’ve recognized her.

Soon, the group reached the empire’s border. After a brief discussion between the lead instructors and the border commander, the gates of the Tyrell Empire opened.

One by one, the Carillian students entered the border. Many visibly breathed sigh relief upon crossing, after all, they’d reached safety.

They’d probably never want to return to the tribes again. Although the tribespeople were likely just as confused, unaware of why they’d suddenly been caught in the storm.

Seeing this, Winnie silently clenched his fist.

It was all the doing of those beast-hearted, human-skinned Church of Radiance elites. Just to cover up their deaths as an accident, they’d triggered this absurd catastrophe.

Demons were terrifying, but some humans were worse.

Carillian Academy gathered the new generation of nobles from various countries. If they dared target Carillian so brazenly, what mercy would they show ordinary people? They just didn’t want to, yet. But if profit was involved, did these people have any at all?

And that was just what he could see. What about what he couldn’t?

Even if not for himself, Winnie now firmly believed opposing the Church of Radiance was the right thing to do.

They waited at a station near the imperial border. Soon, a familiar unicorn-drawn carriage descended from the sky.

Seeing the carriage, everyone felt as if they’d seen their ticket home, overjoyed.

“Fred, let’s get on. It’s over. Time to go back to school,” Winnie helped the despondent Fred onto the carriage. Luna and the others followed closely behind.

They could all tell Winnie was deeply troubled. But compared to his former self, this Winnie was clearly better at hiding his emotions, not showing them outwardly, because he knew his feelings could affect others.

After all, he’d only found one familiar face so far. The others, including his most worried-about roommate, were still missing.

Luna and the others knew Winnie was actually a kind and sensitive person. Right now, he must be suffering. So they didn’t disturb him, silently watching his state.

They’d expected the journey back to be longer and heavier, but it passed surprisingly quickly, almost unnoticeably. It felt like no time had passed before they arrived.

Perhaps because everyone was lost in their own heavy thoughts.

After all, this was supposed to have been a pleasant, relaxing educational trip. No one had expected it to turn out like this.

After a week-long journey, they returned to the familiar grounds of Carillian Academy.

The academy arranged a medical check-up for everyone, but allowed them to return to rest early that day.

Winnie returned to his familiar dorm room, instinctively knocking on the door.

As usual, he expected to hear quick footsteps from inside, the door opening to reveal Shikondell peeking out, apron tied, full of energy as she greeted him.

Winnie hoped that’s how it would be this time too, that silver-haired figure had actually returned long ago, anxiously waiting and worrying for him at home.

Only when the door remained closed for a long time did he dazedly take out his spare key and open it himself.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep