"Wait, what? You're going to study at Olifandor next?"
"Count me in! There must be tons of young, beautiful girls at the academy, right?"
"What do you mean an archer like me doesn’t belong in a magic academy? I know a bit of nature magic too! I can make a bed bloom with petals in an instant—girls love that trick..."
With Aina around, Liyana wisely refrained from getting too intimate with Xia Lun.
Back during their adventuring days, Aina had been icy and aloof, usually responding to their questions with just two words... unless it was to argue with Xia Lun, which was the only time she’d say more.
After marrying Xia Lun, Aina had changed quite a bit, though she was still... difficult to get along with, at least in Liyana’s opinion. Only someone as naturally kind and straightforward as Xia Lun could keep her in check.
But now...
Liyana couldn’t reconcile the image of the woman before her—trying to feed Xia Lun fries mouth-to-mouth—with the Aina she used to know.
"What’s wrong, Xia Lun? Not hungry?" Aina asked, holding a fry between her lips as she smoothed her hair.
"Ahem... Liyana’s here," Xia Lun muttered.
"She doesn’t mind," Aina said, casting a glance at Liyana.
"Aina!" Xia Lun plucked the fry from her lips and stuffed it into his own mouth. "Liyana might feel awkward. We shouldn’t make others uncomfortable with our behavior."
"Fine."
Liyana shifted uncomfortably, feeling like she was sitting on pins and needles around the two of them.
Eager to change the subject, she blurted out, "By the way, Xia Lun, how did you come back to life? Was it really like those weirdos said—using death to condense a Flower of Life...?"
Liyana knew full well that resurrecting the dead defied the natural order.
Truthfully, even Xia Lun wasn’t entirely sure what Aina had done. Earlier, she’d skillfully diverted the conversation with actions rather than words.
Aina was keeping something from them, but since she wasn’t ready to talk about it yet, Xia Lun didn’t press her.
He trusted his wife. When the time was right, she’d tell him the truth.
"Weirdos?" Xia Lun’s gaze sharpened as he recalled what Wolund had mentioned earlier.
"Yeah, a bunch of guys in gray-yellow robes calling themselves Apostles of Twilight," Liyana replied absentmindedly, licking salt from her fingers. "They were spouting all kinds of nonsense about resurrecting some legendary hero... They even tried recruiting me. Honestly, it was surprising they knew I used to be part of your team. I ignored them, and they left."
Xia Lun and Aina exchanged a glance.
They hadn’t expected a lead to drop into their laps so soon.
"When did you meet them?" Xia Lun pressed. "Is there any chance we could still catch up to them?"
"Oh, about a decade or so ago," Liyana said casually, making Xia Lun’s eye twitch at the timespan. "Not too long, but they’re probably long gone by now."
The concept of time for long-lived races really wasn’t the same as for humans.
Still, this confirmed that those people had been scheming for over a decade.
Yet they’d only started acting recently.
Liyana licked the last of the seasoning from her fingers. "So, since you’re asking about this, I’m guessing your resurrection wasn’t tied to those Twilight Apostles?"
"Xia Lun’s resurrection... was my doing alone. No one else was involved," Aina stated coolly. "Whatever those so-called Apostles of Twilight are trying to bring back... it’s definitely not Xia Lun."
"Resurrecting the dead is already mind-boggling enough, and now there’s another round of it..." Liyana muttered. "Xia Lun, you’re just that popular, huh? Even in death, people can’t let you go."
What a strange way to put it.
Xia Lun glanced at Aina, relieved to see she wasn’t upset.
"I don’t get all that magic stuff... but hey, you’re back, and that’s what matters," Liyana said, clapping her hands as she stood up. "So, are we going after those Twilight cultists next?"
"No. We’re heading to Olifandor."
Aina raised a hand, and her magic coalesced into a lifelike blood bat, which she released into the air.
"Xia Lun, you’ve been looking forward to campus life, haven’t you? Just enjoy yourself—leave the rest to me." She gently cupped his face. "I’ll prepare the stage for you. A hero only needs to make his grand entrance at the critical moment."
Xia Lun nodded. He trusted his wife unconditionally.
"What about me?" Liyana pointed at herself.
"You can come too. I’ll have Wolund arrange an identity for you," Aina said with a light laugh.
"Hell yeah!" Liyana cheered. "Wolund, the prodigy of the magic world? The youngest headmaster in Olifandor’s history? I had no idea you knew him, Aina..."
"But if you go around seducing female students, I can’t guarantee what kind of punishment Wolund might dish out," Aina warned.
Liyana shrank back. "Uh... I’ve heard some pretty terrifying stories about that guy..."
---
Somewhere in a remote castle...
Four ornate coffins stood around a massive round table.
The lids creaked open, releasing a chilling mist that dropped the temperature in the room. From within, four crimson-robed vampires emerged—a petite, adorable girl; an elegant, mature woman; a strikingly handsome young man; and a stern-faced middle-aged man.
"Lady Aina has new orders," the girl said, eyeing the blood bat resting on the table.
The handsome man snatched it up and, without hesitation, swallowed it whole.
A look of ecstasy crossed his face. "Ah... Lady Aina’s divine decree..."
The other three watched with undisguised disdain.
"Xie Lun, if Lady Aina knew about your disgusting habit of absorbing her magic, she’d punish you without question," the girl, Niya, said coldly.
"Nonsense, Niya. You don’t understand. Lady Aina would never punish me for something so trivial," Xie Lun retorted. "She was the one who chose me personally, granting me the title of Vampire Duke..."
"Enough, little Niya. Don’t waste your breath on this creep. Lady Aina will cut off his delusions sooner or later," the woman, Feina, said bluntly. "She just hasn’t noticed this disgusting worm yet."
"I know, Sister Feina," Niya replied. "Everyone knows Lady Aina is already married. I just can’t stand this pervert... I’m a firm believer in pure love."