"Why does everyone look so glum?" Mathilde asked, still approaching Adam.
Yet the other students just continued to walk away, their ears clogged by the ultimatum threatening their scholarships, and their faces too tense to belong to teenagers.
Adam shrugged. "They told me how they lost access to the mana pool."
"Oh... that." For a moment, a grimace twisted Mathilde's features before she shook her head. "There is no use burdening yourself with our old problems, at least, not before attending your first class."
Sarah nodded, a soft smile tugging at her lips, and a sliver of hope brightening her youthful face. "Trevor, Jonathan, Nadia—I'm sure they'll come up with a solution." She turned toward Quintella, who hugged her plushy. "And with the two of you reinforcing us, our chances have multiplied."
Quintella raised an eager fist. "They multiplied by seven million!" Then she tilted her head, her pink eyes trailing toward the ceiling pensively. "Chances for what?"
