Guests Due to Arrive Soon

"Good evening, Miss Danist."

At 9:21 p.m., Shade appeared on a chair in the central circular clearing of Saint Byron's Grand Library. The librarian sat on the sofa opposite him. After bidding Miss Danist farewell, the students who had helped conduct the ritual rose and left. This time, there had been one male and one female student. The older male was human, while the female had scales on her face. Shade did not know what race she was.

"Her grandmother was a half-mermaid."

Miss Danist noticed Shade's curiosity and spoke only after they had walked away.

Miss Danist was as she had always been, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and holding a book. Even at this late hour, she was full of energy. Shade very much wanted to understand, from an academic perspective, how mermaids and humans produced offspring, but out of politeness, he did not ask.

"Are there still many people in the library this late?"

He had noticed young students sitting on the floor between the bookshelves, holding books in their hands.

"I thought a boarding school like Saint Byron's would have a curfew and lights-out time at night, just like ordinary schools."

"The lower grades do. Upper-grade students may move around the castle until eleven at night, provided they do not violate school rules. They may stay overnight in the library. The Astronomy College's autumn event has just ended, but the matter of the Star Sea Whale and that Shattered Light Path in the sky has caused quite a stir. The students all want answers from the library."

As Miss Danist explained, Shade pretended to be curious.

"I also heard news about Middlesburg in Tobesk. Miss Luvia Annette, a Ring Arcanist from my group, observed the Star Sea Whale on Wednesday night as well. I heard that Middlesburg experienced