[The Grand Hall]
Rows of tables lined the wide marble floor, each one neatly draped in the academy's crest-embroidered cloth, with signs indicating the clubs that were either long-established or newly formed.
Students streamed in from every corridor, papers in hand, eyes darting between signs as they whispered to their friends which club to choose.
At one side of the hall, a pair of girls sat at a table stacked with embroidery kits and colored threads.
Grassia, quiet but sharp-eyed, rested her chin on her palm.
Beside her, Lumi sat upright, practically glowing with excitement, her hands folded neatly like a polite assistant waiting to greet customers.
The space in front of their table was… empty.
Professor Melissa arrived not long after, her arms full of rolled-up embroidery cloth, small wooden hoops, and a box of brightly dyed threads.
Her pale hair, tied up neatly, swayed as she moved.
She placed everything down on the table carefully and let out a small breath.
