Spring was mild and the scenery bright, with jade-green waves rippling.
In a place shrouded by misty rain stood a private school.
Jingle, jingle—the bell rang in a steady rhythm across the little courtyard. A group of children who had long since grown restless gazed eagerly at their teacher. She smiled, set down the book in her hands, and said, "I know you're all eager to go home. You'll be back in three days, and I'll be checking every one of your assignments, so don't forget."
The children, their hair tied into round buns, grinned as they grabbed their schoolbags and lined up to wait at the gate with the school's matrons, who would see them off to their parents.
The area was reasonably safe, and these students all had the aptitude to cultivate, so they had little to fear from ordinary dangers. But they were children, and their teacher didn't trust them to make the trip to and from school alone. The students assigned to clean up stayed behind, while the others said their goodbyes to their teacher one by one.
The teacher also gave the matrons time off for the holiday.
The private school soon fell quiet.
The teacher lay dozing for a while in a deck chair in the courtyard. At the faint rustling by her ear, she scoffed. "Hmph. What little thief is sneaking around?"
A burly figure dropped down from the eaves.
The man was dressed like a fisherman, and his imposing build made the space feel cramped just by standing there. Any nearby resident would have recognized him as the boatman who had ferried people along the river for years. He loved fishing, though unfortunately, he rarely caught more than a few fish all year. Some commoners who made their living traveling between the