The Real World.
In midsummer, the hot wind carried the freshness of dawn as it gently swept across the enormous city.
The droplets on the windowsills of Iketerite Academy's buildings were traces left behind by last night's light rain.
Loren returned to the academy alone.
His air was still as gentle as ever, much like that of his student Lanchi. The slight difference was that Lanchi naturally carried a certain dignity, while Loren was more approachable, making it difficult to tell that he was a powerful man.
He walked alone along the woodland path. Birds occasionally swooped past, and the shifting light filtering through the branches clung to his face, making his figure alternately bright and dim.
"..."
Even in summer, the white-haired, silver-eyed figure was as pure as falling snow. She stood in the distance, observing Loren from afar.
She could not make out the man's expression.
Although rashly approaching Loren, or even watching him this closely, was an extremely dangerous thing to do.
Perhaps one day, she would slip up.
But she knew that some things could only be accomplished by herself.
Rather than secretly keeping watch on him like this, she might as well go over and chat with him as though nothing were wrong.
After taking a deep breath, the Ice Witch composed herself.
Her movements seemed both fast and slow. With only a few steps, she appeared not far from Loren.
"Loren."
Her voice rang out, and Loren immediately looked as though he had been startled. His steps even faltered slightly.
He then turned his gaze toward the Ice Witch Almirs, who had walked up beside him.
"Miss Almirs, you're at the academy too."
Loren spoke as though he had just heaved a sigh of relief deep in his heart.
Perhaps because he had no