Going back to the cruise ship.
After the ending of the play, something unexpected happened. At least for some of the guests. Those with enough power could already predict that something like this might happen.
After all, everyone with influence knew that a silver legend was not something that should be performed in public like that. It was almost a miracle that most of the story had been told. Only the final sentences had been blocked.
The captain of the vessel apologized to the guests and announced that, by the end of the day, the event would come to an early end.
After some time, a farewell party was held. One by one, the special guests entered the teleportation circles and left.
Anka watched as her guests disappeared into the air, her face filled with relief.
This scenario is finally over.
The many secondary missions and six arcs involved in this scenario had exhausted her.
Not to mention the unexpected situation of entering someone else's body while sleeping, her duties as a servant to a high-ranking race, or her fights in the shadows against other humans...
All of that was enough for her.
After every guest had left and only the crew and human servants remained aboard the ship, the captain personally came to thank the humans.
"Thank you for helping me with this event. I have already sent the payment to the System. If there is a next time, I would be honored to meet you again."
With those final words, the System took the humans and returned them to their home planet—Earth.
Anka was finally back home. She decided to rest for a while. After falling asleep, her mind slowly became conscious again, and her senses returned.
Oh, am I in that phoenix girl's body again?
No.
Her vision was blurry, as if she were underwater, but she could still recognize some of the things in front of her.
She was in a huge room.
It was so large that she couldn't see the walls anywhere.
The pillars supporting the ceiling were made of wood, and strange symbols and letters had been carved into them.
Her body seemed to be positioned on a higher platform, raised above the floor in front of her. It was still possible to reach it through several stone steps.
The floor below was made of dark wood. Somehow, the wood itself seemed almost alive.
Between every pillar stood a statue.
They were different sizes, genders, and races. There were so many that Anka couldn't see all of them from where she was.
Once again, her body refused to obey her.
Body? Why does this one feel so strange?
She tried to move. Nothing.
I can feel the sensation of having a body, but... I can't feel my limbs.
I can't even tell if I'm breathing or blinking. This body feels stiff. Like stone.
A noise suddenly caught her attention.
Below her, four people were kneeling.
They were facing her and seemed to be praying, but their attention wasn't entirely focused on her.
…..
"This must be the best solution for now."
"But what if he betrays us for real?"
"He wouldn't. He likes power, and he loves Her Majesty."
"I still think we need a second plan, just in case. Listen to me. I want to send my closest subordinate, but he already said that his son is inside."
"The son of Rahu?"
"Oh, yes. I forgot about him. His power annoyed me every time..."
"But this might actually end well."
"Who could have guessed that this would happen? The Academy has been planning this for so many years, and we didn't notice..."
"The Goddess will punish me!"
One of the figures bowed rapidly before Anka, but the movement didn't seem particularly humble.
Then it happened. A red light suddenly filled the entire space. Anka stared around in confusion.
The four figures below suddenly looked toward her. Their expressions changed. Disbelief. Shock.
"Our Goddess is back!"
Goddess? Why are they looking at me?
This time, all four bowed deeply.
Anka still couldn't see them clearly, but something about their movements told her that she was definitely the person they were addressing.
Her mind was suddenly pulled backward. The image of the enormous room grew distant. Then everything disappeared into darkness.
She woke up in her room at home. This dream had been more exhausting than the entire mission she had just completed. After realizing that, she turned around and tried to sleep again.
This time, her sleep was normal.
...…..
At that exact moment, at the Academy, Csendez discovered that Tenin and Fahim were sitting at the table in front of her.
She immediately regretted agreeing to help Uituba. Her mind already understood what kind of play the elf girl wanted to perform.
Next time, I will ask for more information first.
I was foolish to trust her. What is done is done. She owes me now.
Csendez had suddenly appeared from the road with Uituba, immediately catching the attention of the two men.
One of them remained composed, wearing a warm smile.
The other simply stood there, his entire face hidden behind a mask. His black hair, threaded with golden strands, looked elegant under the sunlight.
Csendez never allowed her true feelings to show on her face. So she continued walking toward them as if this were an ordinary meeting.
Csendez from the Academy has never spoken to them.
I haven't even seen them since the opening ceremony.
So I must act like I don't know them.
The two girls soon reached the covered area. Uituba immediately began her act. Csendez simply watched.
"Hello! I am the one you contacted. My name is Uituba. This is my friend Csendez, and together we organized the meeting you were absent from. We came to inform you about it. We can answer your questions, and we would like to ask for your cooperation if possible."
Uituba looked at the phoenix girl at the end of her explanation. Csendez simply nodded once. Her eyes remained indifferent, but she continued watching the two men in front of her.
Tenin quickly took control of the atmosphere.
"Of course! We're sorry we couldn't participate, but we had a schedule outside the Academy, and sending messages back wasn't allowed. But we did read your message, and we discussed it as well. We don't have anything against the idea, but we don't know much about the lessons or even our class. We were too busy somewhere else..."
Uituba didn't seem bothered by it.
"I knew you probably had a special situation. After all, I... we didn't see you on the island even once after the ceremony. Was your appointment successful? Is everything okay?"
"Yes, yes. We finished even a day earlier. After we returned, we decided to inform ourselves about the discussion. But we didn't know many students, and since we haven't used the Koutiul much these days, we didn't know how to ask anyone. So I decided to answer your message late."
So that's why Uituba contacted me so suddenly.
She probably just received his message and didn't know how to handle it.
So she needed my help to prepare a 'meeting' where they could discuss things and... connect with this elf.
But what is more intriguing... how did that cruise ship event end early?
Did something happen there?
I'm curious, but I don't have any reason to ask why or how it ended.
I'm not even supposed to know where they were this week.
Csendez continued thinking while remaining focused on the conversation.
"We were on a cruise ship," Fahim suddenly said. "It was a siren event where many celebrities and important people were present."
Csendez looked slightly confused. It was an act, of course, but one she needed to make. Uituba wasn't shocked by the revelation, but her eyes turned toward Fahim with curiosity.
Then the elf suddenly realized something.
"Oh my God! I forgot to introduce ourselves!" He hit his forehead and then pointed at himself. "I am Tenin, a professional Ludus player in the team 'Frunza'." Then he pointed toward his friend. "He is my best friend, Fahim. A dragon and a famous author."
After a short, embarrassed pause, he continued.
"We were invited onto that ship by the captain, and the Academy gave us permission because of that. The captain is an important figure in the political world, so it was a really important event. A siren like him really supports peace in a very interesting way, hahaha."
Csendez looked at him with an imperturbable expression.
Uituba knew that Csendez didn't know these two men. She wasn't interested in sports and knew almost nothing about politics, so she believed it was her role to maintain the conversation.
The phoenix girl was only there to support her. So the elf answered.
"Oh, I've heard sirens are very good hosts. Did you have fun?"
Fahim answered before Tenin could even think. "Yes. Their hospitality was something else." He paused. "What was more surprising was that one of the servants there looked exactly like your phoenix friend here. Csendez, was your name?"
The atmosphere froze.
Then Uituba remembered something she had completely forgotten in her hurry. Dragons and phoenixes were deadly enemies.
I brought a phoenix to meet a dragon...
Uituba suddenly went speechless.
Am I stupid? How could I forget something this important?
The elf girl panicked internally, but Csendez didn't give her the opportunity to speak or think of a counterargument to ease the atmosphere.
After a second of silence, Csendez answered calmly.
"Oh, she was a phoenix? Maybe a cousin of mine. I didn't know how to serve someone properly. What a funny coincidence."
She paused.
"But I doubt that it was a phoenix."
It was a normal response.
The elves at the table were taken aback by the question and the answer, but when nothing bad happened, each of them relaxed.
They weren't going to fight. In a 'normal' situation, dragons and phoenixes took every opportunity to pick a fight.
But these two seemed indifferent. They simply exchanged words like ordinary people.
Fahim was impossible to read because of his mask, but he didn't seem surprised or confused. He looked as if he had simply asked an innocent question and received an equally normal answer.
After that episode, Uituba began explaining how to choose the optional classes.
"You need to enter that classroom group and vote in these questionnaires. Like this..."
Tenin was only half-listening to the explanation. The other half of his attention remained on his sister. His eyes kept drifting toward her.
Csendez noticed.
She then looked between Uituba and Tenin several times, trying to appear curious about their relationship.
The only things Csendez knew about Tenin were what Uituba had told her: that he was a Ludus player and an elf with a rebellious attitude on the field.
She also knew that Uituba was his fan. But they were supposed to have never met before the Academy. Her confusion was therefore a 'normal' reaction.
As her 'friend', Csendez needed to show at least some confusion about Uituba's relationship with him.
After all, the way they communicated with each other was far too natural for two persons who were supposedly meeting for the first time.
Csendez managed to act slightly curious, but no one at the table seemed particularly interested in her reaction.
After all, the two elves were still discussing the optional lessons.
Uituba now explained each field they could choose and the benefits of each one, while Fahim peacefully drank his tea.
Csendez looked at Fahim, already bored.
"Your mask is kind of unusual. Why do you wear one?"
The dragon remained silent. Perhaps he was going to ignore her. Csendez waited for a moment. When no answer came, she stopped trying to communicate.
I'm not exactly a conversational person either, so this ending is probably better.
Anyway...
She took out a book and started reading. It was the unfinished book about plants she had picked up on her second day. Her recent studies of history had left it untouched.
A perfect opportunity to finally finish it.
And so, at a table in the middle of nature, two young elves chatted happily about lessons and classes, a dragon with a mask listened while drinking tea, and a phoenix girl read quietly.
A peaceful picture…
… and, at the same time, completely wrong in so many ways.
At least, that was what it looked like to a student casually passing by.