The next day the first thing that greeted Cyril upon waking up was the bright red wings and the compound eyes filled with joy.
"Good morning, Morpho." Cyril raised his body, the butterfly flew up, making circles in the air.
His unfocused eyes scanned the room, his mind in a haze for a few seconds.
I've been dreaming... A lush forest flashed in his vision, with dangerous monsters hiding in every bush and on top of every tree.
Must've been affected by Myra's story.
"Exploring the world seems like a fun idea." Rhamn appeared standing in front of him, her bright red eyes focused on his.
Not for me. Cyril shook his head, his surroundings gradually becoming clear.
At this moment Morpho happily circled around Cyril, eager to begin the new day.
"Did you really have to wake up that early?"
The corners of Cyril's mouth made a slight arc. Glancing at the clock, he discovered it was two hours earlier than usual.
The butterfly landed on his shoulder and twitched her antennae, completely guilt-free.
"You don't have to sleep if you don't want to. I can get rid of that pesky need completely."
No, I am fine. Sleeping is a human habit I want to keep. It helps mentally too.
...Though I won't mind if you get rid of this sleep-deprived feeling.
With a reliable nod, Rhamn theatrically snapped her fingers, and Cyril soon felt like new.
Thank you.
"There is no need for thanks between us." Rhamn gave a thumbs up with a shining smile.
...
Since the opportunity presented itself, Cyril decided to go for some morning training, and Morpho followed him on his shoulder.
There were almost no students outside at this time of the morning.
Ailanthus was an academy of magic, and most mages preferred sitting late into the night holding a book. They didn't have time for a healthy morning routine.
So Cyril peacefully reached the castle's entrance and went through its grand double doors. However, not long after, he exited them with a frown on his face.
He was denied entrance by a staff member, citing how you can't bring beast companions inside without a permit.
That's silly.
Cyril sighed as he changed his course to the field outside instead.
Morpho is so small, why does it matter?
The insect on his shoulder was no longer as eager. Instead, she guiltily lowered her wings, now in a bad mood.
While Rhamn desperately tried to bring her spirits up, Cyril thought about the solution.
I need to enter some club focused on beast taming for it? But that's only available next year...
Ailanthus had many clubs related to magic for its students to join, and they offered many benefits to their members. But freshmen who don't know many spells can't join them right away.
When he reached the field, there was no solution obvious to him, so Cyril gave up on thinking about that for now.
Morpho, feeling a bit better now, flew down from Cyril's shoulder as he lightly stretched in preparation for the exercise.
Then Cyril grabbed a spear from a weapon's rack nearby and began practicing, sometimes using a mannequin, sometimes simply waving his spear in the air.
Morpho silently observed the training, and as she did, her antennae occasionally twitched as joyful curiosity soon returned completely.
On a playful whim, she flew up and moved towards another dummy nearby. Somewhat copying Cyril, she began using her butterfly agility to swiftly move across the mannequin's 'body.'
As she got used to the action, her speed increased, and to any possible onlooker, it might've even looked like a red blur quickly striking the dummy. Though her insect legs didn't do much damage.
When Cyril took a break and noticed what was happening to his side, a slight smile involuntarily appeared on his face.
"Our Morpho is a martial arts genius! That must be it."
Right. At least she seems more interested in this than in Spellmaking. Cyril shook his head and returned to his next exercise.
Together they trained like this for a while. Whenever Cyril started doing something else, Morpho would try to imitate it to the best of her abilities.
After some time, when more and more students started appearing on the academy grounds, Cyril was finally done and headed back home with a tired butterfly lying on his shoulder.
Her small insect legs couldn't hold her body, but her spirit stood tall as a feeling of satisfaction could be felt from her.
"Good work."
Thankfully, she managed to recover once they reached home.
During breakfast, Morpho was eating one of the snacks bought yesterday.
Cyril quietly observed a butterfly gradually consuming a piece of beef jerky.
"Don't worry, don't worry. Remember, our Morpho is special."
Cyril could only accept such an explanation and return to his own meal.
While Cyril brushed his teeth, Morpho sat in front of the mirror and removed dust from her body using her legs and antennae. Even though someone claimed she wasn't actually a butterfly, Morpho kept many of the insect's habits.
In total, this was a much more lively morning than Cyril was accustomed to.
Fully prepared for the day, he said his goodbyes to Morpho, who couldn't get into the castle, and went for his studies.
...
The first lesson of the day was demonology. From what Cyril had heard, this was already the favorite subject of most students.
"Today we will talk about another common type of demon, catchers. They closely resemble the storm eagles, but like ghouls, they are deformed and possess few of their counterpart's abilities."
The cold voice of the professor paused here, allowing a question from the students.
"It seems like all demons share a resemblance with already existing beasts. Does that mean that demons came from ordinary creatures being corrupted by something?" Asked one curious student.
"This is indeed one of the theories. However, demons themselves don't spread anything malignant that could cause a similar effect, nor was such a process ever witnessed by humans."
She explained and went on with the lesson.
"Who cares about small-fry? I can defeat them with closed eyes. When will we learn about the archdemons?"
"You think yourself a knight? There is no knowledge that will help against an archdemon at your level. Small-fry learn about small-fry, seems fitting."
"..."
Two bored students whispered to each other, their words loud and clear in Cyril's ears.
I need to grow strong enough to kill one.
"That won't take long. Soon all of them will tremble at our feet!" Rhamn sat on Cyril's desk as usual, her head raised high.
...Hopefully.
He turned his head away from her and sighed.
...
After the lessons, Cyril went to the academy's park, not far from his dorm.
It was a favorite spot among many students. Its lush greenery even made it seem like a small forest.
People came here to enjoy the fresh air and escape the city's grey monotony.
Occasionally Cyril even saw a group of students entering this place along with a professor.
He sat inside of a gazebo alongside three humans.
"So how did you spend the weekend, everyone?" Edmund said, his arms crossed, his leg shaking up and down.
"I took this time to relax a bit. Nothing special." Myra shrugged.
"I've spent it mostly in the library. Our academy has a fascinating collection." Out of everyone here, Rose had the most pleased expression on her face.
From time to time she would give a sidelong glance to an unusual butterfly in the vicinity.
"Right, you know what I did? I tried applying for a transfer to a higher class. The application went through, but they only put me in class II." Edmund disapprovingly waved his hands with a deep frown on his face.
Unsurprising, Cyril stared at his old friend.
"Don't look at me with that smug look, Cyril. What did you do in your free time?" Edmund pointed at him with a frown.
It seems he let it show on his face.
"Went to the shopping district. I got myself a butterfly."
Hearing her being mentioned, Morpho stopped flying around some bushes and flew over, landing on the table in the gazebo.
"I've seen it before, but your butterfly is really beautiful," Rose said, then continued with a bit more professionalism. "It looks a bit like a species I know, but the color is wrong."
She leaned over before the butterfly and looked all over it with enthusiasm.
"That's right, be impressed!"
"You are keeping a pet? Didn't expect that from you, Cyril." Edmund reached out his hand in an attempt to touch Morpho.
Just when his fingers were about to land, "Ouch! What the...! I didn't know butterflies could bite!"
He quickly withdrew his hand, shook it a few times, and blew on it to make the pain go away.
"Deserved."
"They can't. This is a magic creature." Rose calmly explained.
Cyril only nodded in confirmation.
"Since it's yours, you should handle it better. What if it bites some other people?" Edmund was still holding his hand in pain with a displeased expression.
"It was your fault to begin with, don't touch others without their consent." Cyril mercilessly berated him.
Edmund froze, the dark circles under his eyes becoming a bit more prominent.
...
After no one else spoke for a while, Myra cautiously started speaking, "Now that we are all caught up with each other..."
She continued once everyone turned to look at her, "Three of us will be going to the Tower this weekend. What do you feel about that?"
Edmund slumped over the table at her words, "Do you need to rub it in?"
"Ha! Not bad." Rhamn nodded at Myra with approval.
"Sorry, I didn't mean it that way!" Myra hastily waved her hands in denial.
Rose, not paying attention to the two, mumbled with a distant look in her eyes. "I can't wait. I even had trouble sleeping last night."
"...Anyways!" Myra exclaimed, once again capturing attention. "What I wanted to say was another thing!"
"Thinking about going to an important place like that gives me a bit of anxiety."
She reached into her pocket, pulling out a small box from there.
"It might seem silly, but..." Myra opened it, inside were 3 necklaces.
"Wearing a protective magical item usually helps. What do you think?" She asked with a smile.
Everyone stared at her in silence for a bit.
"You want us to wear one as well?" asked Rose, noting the number of necklaces.
Myra nodded, her smile unchanged.
"Don't be silly. The Tower is the safest place in the whole Empire." Edmund waved his hand in dismissal. "That's the last place one would need a magical item in."
"He is inviting misfortune with words like that."
"I worry these necklaces might have some other spells in them, like something for tracking our position."
We can check them later for ourselves. I see no reason to refuse a magical item. After our last shopping trip, it feels like I might need one.
Cyril reached out and grabbed one of the magical items from the box, putting it in his pocket for now.
Following him, Rose silently got one as well, observing it in her palm first.
"It's a simple design, but not bad." She nodded and immediately wore it around her neck.
Edmund observed their actions, sighed, then leaned into the bench, melting into it.
"Could be your 'friendship bracelets,' I guess," he jokingly said in the process.
Myra, as if struck by something, quickly reached into her pocket, pulling out a bracelet with the same design.
"Take one too," she said with a nod.
Edmund slowly grabbed it, saying a quiet thank you at the end.
"You can't be too careful these days~" Myra cheerfully added.
The group continued talking to each other after this some more before eventually everyone went away for their studies.
The few days before the visit, Cyril decided to spend his time earnestly studying.