His teacher still wore that familiar smile as he casually handed over the slip of paper, holding the second volume of Lily and the Seven-Headed Demon Dragon in his other hand. Everything about him was relaxed and easygoing.
But that was not how Ruger saw it. He had never expected another slip of paper. He had once hoped for one, but after several attempts to probe indirectly had yielded nothing from his teacher, he had given up, believing it would be difficult to get any more clues from him.
He reached out to take it. The moment it touched his hand, he confirmed that the neatly folded sheet was a page from the Notebook-or, more precisely, half a page.
When he looked up again, his teacher had already buried himself in his book.
He seemed utterly unconcerned about the paper.
Ruger raised one eyebrow, leaving one eye wider than the other. Leaning back in his chair, he slowly unfolded the paper in his hand, taking great care not to damage it in the slightest.
A string of familiar handwriting came into view. The passage was neither particularly long nor particularly short, and as he read it, his other eyebrow rose sharply.
-There is something you will need, which I will give you when the time is right. But I cannot be sure whether something unexpected will happen, whether I will be able to hand it over properly, or whether you can wait until the right moment. So remember: when you believe you are facing a danger you cannot resolve, you may take it out with your own hands ahead of time. It might offer a way out. When you believe that moment has truly arrived, but I have not given it to you, you may also take it out with