Class Suspended

In the outskirts of Lundria, inside an abandoned house.

Mabus and his lackeys had tracked the ring all the way here. He had obtained that ring by chance, and whenever he wore it, his mind became exceptionally clear. It was definitely no ordinary item, so he had to get it back!

"Damn it, how did it get to Lundria so quickly?" Mabus felt like coughing up blood. The ring had only been lost for one day, yet someone had already taken it into the royal capital. It was ridiculous.

One of the lackeys asked worriedly, "Boss, the royal capital is heavily guarded. Won't we get caught if we go in?"

"Yeah, Boss. It's just a ring. That noble we robbed yesterday had a whole box of jewelry. Why do we have to look for one ring?"

What the hell do you idiots know!

Mabus was just about to curse at them.

Bang!

Scorching flames burst from inside his body. In an instant, Mabus turned into a human torch, the dazzling firelight casting terrified expressions across every lackey's face.

"Boss!"

"Big Brother!"

"Ahhh! It's so hot! Save me, save me! Water! Water!" Mabus screamed frantically and rolled on the ground.

The lackeys cried out in alarm and hurriedly tore off their clothes, desperately beating at the flames. It was useless. There was no sign of the fire going out, nor did it ignite anything else. Instead, their boss's screams gradually grew weaker within the flames.

Only when their boss stopped struggling did the flames silently die out, leaving behind a charred corpse.

The lackeys looked at one another, their faces filled with utter confusion.

They could not understand what had happened at all.

"Ghost!" one lackey shouted in terror before immediately fleeing.

The rest followed suit and scattered.

Hekate continued casting Fire Curse Technique on Mabus until the spell lost its target.

"He should be dead." She opened her eyes, then dizzily collapsed onto the bed. Mabus had been quite far away, so casting the Fire Curse Technique had consumed more magic power.

She slept until the next day.

When she went downstairs, she ran into Natasha. Natasha seemed to be in much better condition, but the string of setbacks she had suffered in such a short time had left her looking dispirited. Only when Hekate appeared did she force a smile.

As she was preparing to head to school, a noble-looking young girl appeared outside the door.

"Hekate, good morning." Betty greeted her with a smile.

She must be here to reveal her identity and make me her Personal Knight.

Hekate calmly nodded. "Good morning, Betty."

There were many more hurried passersby on the road to school, but none of them prevented the two from reaching the Academy.

Not long after they entered the Academy, Magic Messengers flew out from the Central Tower one after another and landed in the students' hands. They were notices informing them that war had broken out at the border.

The students immediately erupted into an uproar.

Hekate calmly finished reading the letter. It said that many teachers had gone to the border to resist the enemy, so the Academy could only suspend classes temporarily. However, students could still use the Academy's facilities for self-study.

So many teachers had gone to the border. Could this war be on a massive scale?

Betty grabbed Hekate's hand and pulled her into a small grove. It was quiet here, away from the noisy students.

"Hekate, my true identity is that I'm a princess of the Uruk Kingdom. Do you want to become my Personal Knight?" Betty asked seriously.

"No."

Since Hekate had already known Betty's identity and what she intended to do, her answer came a little too quickly and flatly.

Betty was instantly crushed by that attitude. Her eyes widened as she asked incredulously, "Why?"

It was her first time revealing her identity, yet she had received absolutely no emotional response from the other person.

I'm a princess! Shouldn't you treat me with even more respect after hearing who I am?

Even if you don't believe me, you shouldn't be this indifferent!

"Because I only want to train, and I don't like being someone else's knight. Princess Betty, why do you want me to be your Personal Knight?"

Betty's gaze turned blank for a moment. "I... I don't know either."

Hekate smiled helplessly. "There are many geniuses at Grants Academy. Your knight does not have to be me. I also won't tell anyone your identity. I'm going to train now."

Betty watched Hekate's departing back, stamped her foot, and said angrily, "Roxy, why do you think she refused? If she became my Personal Knight, her family would be protected by the royal family!"

The maid behind her gave a bitter smile. "Princess, I don't know either."

Since Teacher Ivin was absent, Hekate now had a perfectly legitimate reason not to attend school. She trained at the Academy anyway, and she could train at home just the same.

Hekate turned around and went straight home, informing her father about it along the way. He surely knew about the situation at the border as well.

"In that case, don't go out for now. Wait until the Academy says it's safe before you return to school," Count Fortes said.

"Alright, Father."

After returning to her room, Hekate continued meditating and training. It was a chaotic time, so the idea of the Magic Crystal Phone had to be put aside for now. Training was more important.

The next morning, Hekate emerged from Meditation State and performed a Daily Fate Draw.

Duang~

Gift of Fate: Choose one learned skill and raise it to the mastery level. Hair shortens by 10 centimeters.

There was actually a Gift of Fate like this?

Hekate's eyes lit up. She accepted the gift and chose to raise Projection Imaging Magic to the mastery level. Her shoulder-length hair instantly became neat, refreshing short hair.

I should grow my hair out from now on. Otherwise, if I get a gift like this next time and have no hair left to trade, I'll be in trouble.

She touched her slightly prickly hair and silently thought to herself.

When she went downstairs for breakfast, Natasha saw how short Hekate's hair had become and asked in surprise, "Hekate, your hair..."

"I wasn't used to having long hair, so I cut it short." She smiled slightly.

"Does it look bad?"

Natasha blushed faintly. "It looks good. Very handsome."

At breakfast, the whole family was somewhat surprised by Hekate's sudden change in appearance, but no one said much. As long as it did not damage the Carilance family's image, it was fine.

After a while, Puli came to visit Hekate with a cheerful grin.

Ever since Hekate had told Puli that her family had all come to the royal capital, Puli had wanted to visit. However, she had never had the time. Now was perfect, since there was no school.

"Hekate, are you home?!" she shouted outside the door.

Hekate happened to be in the second-floor hallway. She looked down through the window and met Puli's eyes, flashing her a bright smile.

Natasha nervously tugged at Hekate's sleeve and asked, "Who is she?"

"A friend from the Academy."

Hekate went down to the first floor and opened the door to let Puli in. "Why did you suddenly come to visit?"

"Hehe, since there's no school, of course I have to find a classmate to play with! I brought pastries from Magic Rabbit. Do you want some?" Puli happily lifted the box of pastries in her hands.

"Come in first." Hekate shook her head.

This girl really was an optimist. No one even knew how the war at the border would turn out, yet she still had the mood to come play with a classmate.

Natasha stepped out from behind Hekate, watching Puli with a wary expression.

Puli asked, "Is this your sister?"

"No, she's a friend I met in Yarn City."

Just then, Betty arrived as well. Her carriage stopped outside the entrance, and when she stepped down, the three girls' eyes met for some inexplicable reason.

Hekate was a little puzzled. It felt as though the air had suddenly frozen, and even the mischievous Puli had fallen silent.

She asked curiously, "Betty, why are you here too?"

"Um... I was passing by, so I wanted to come see you."