Chapter 27: Late Night Story Session (1)

Sal and Natiavida’s conversation didn’t last much longer.

After Vivian signaled that she had finished making the bed, it was time to wash up.

The bathing process went much more smoothly than Sal had imagined.

She thought she’d have to deal with her two “temporary roommates,” but they were surprisingly calm.

They didn’t use the excuse of “building friendship” to insist on helping Sal wash or scrub her back.

Instead, they just told her the basic rules of using the bathroom, handed her a prepared bath towel and pajamas, and then shut the door.

That was unexpected for Sal.

But it was a good thing — now she only had to overcome the urge to look at her own body to finish her bath.

Although there were several times when Sal nearly failed to resist the temptation to let her hands wander where they shouldn’t, she constantly reminded herself to focus on her surroundings, and thus made it through safely.

When she finally came out wrapped in a towel and entered the bedroom, she was greeted by a round of teasing from Vivian and Natiavida, who were already in their pajamas, lying in bed.

“Sal, do you usually wrap your towel like that at home?”

“Looks like our little Sal is pretty confident in her figure! That’s a good thing!”

Wrap a towel? Was there a right way to do that?

You just wrap it around the waist once and tie it, and—

Wait.

Wrong!

Following their amused gazes downward, Sal suddenly felt a cool breeze on her upper body that confirmed her mistake.

Girls don’t wrap towels that way, you idiot!

Realizing her blunder, Sal hurriedly turned her back, yanked at the towel to pull it up — but since she had never worn one this way before, her hands fumbled clumsily under their watchful eyes and embarrassment.

In the chaos, she accidentally stepped on the towel’s edge, performed what could only be described as a full Thomas spin, and crashed to the floor, unable to get back up.

Utter humiliation.

Meanwhile, Natiavida and Vivian, who had been laughing nonstop, immediately rushed out of bed when they saw Sal lying there pretending to be dead from shame.

One comforted her, while the other quickly helped her fix the towel.

Only after tucking Sal into the freshly made bed did they finally consider the matter settled.

Yet, what seemed like a silly accident only strengthened Natiavida’s initial suspicion about Sal’s identity.

Her reasoning was simple: if Sal didn’t even know how to wrap a towel properly at fifteen, then that meant she had probably lived a life where such tasks — even bathing — were handled by servants.

Natiavida remembered her own first days at the academy, living alone in her dorm.

Back then, she hadn’t handled things nearly as well as Sal just did.

To be fair, compared to the pampered noble boys and girls who had first entered Cantoria, Sal was actually quite independent.

After all, she could wash herself and come out of the bath in one piece.

Once Sal was tucked in, and both Natiavida and Vivian had climbed back into bed, neither of them seemed ready to sleep.

Anyone who’s ever lived in a dorm knows: “lights out” and “bedtime” are not the same thing.

The difference depends on how long the students can stay up.

Which meant it was now…

Girl Talk (a.k.a. Gossip Time)!

“In short, that stinking man from the Alchemy Department — I kicked him straight into the arena fence in three punches and two kicks.

He couldn’t even get up afterward, and they found alchemy potions on him meant for sneak attacks!”

“Well, guess you got lucky, girl.

If one of those potions had splashed on your face, it wouldn’t have been just a duel loss.”

“Exactly!

That’s why, Sal, you have to join our Magic Department.

With me and our No.1 magician here looking after you, you won’t have to pull all-nighters like those poor Alchemy students!”

“Hmm… true.”

In the dorm room, Vivian was animatedly recounting her day’s adventures.

Natiavida remained her usual elegant listener, occasionally offering sharp commentary.

Sal, on the other hand, looked completely uninterested.

She had come here to see new things, learn about human magic, and better understand modern human society.

Instead, these two were gossiping about trivial, unrelated nonsense.

The fact that she stayed awake at all was already polite.

Vivian noticed it right away — Sal’s tone when replying was too flat, too detached.

(So she wants something more exciting, huh?)

Vivian exchanged a meaningful glance with Natiavida.

Years of friendship made the silent communication instant.

(Your move?)

(Go ahead.)

(Just what I was waiting for.)

With that unspoken agreement, Vivian smoothly shifted the topic.

“By the way, that rumor’s been spreading again lately.”

“That one? It’s starting up again?”

Vivian led the conversation; Natiavida followed up immediately.

Both of them wore mysterious expressions, like they were about to share a forbidden secret.

“Yeah. One of the three eerie legends of Cantoria Academy.”

At the mention of “eerie legends,” Sal finally perked up.

Her ears twitched slightly, and her expression turned serious.

Vivian noticed at once.

Since the topic had caught Sal’s interest, she went all in.

“Sal, since you just got here, you probably haven’t heard yet, right?

Perfect time for your big sister here to enlighten you.”

Vivian cleared her throat dramatically, mostly as a signal to her friend.

Natiavida caught it and dimmed the magical lamp’s power slightly — just enough to set a spooky atmosphere.

Once the lighting and mood were perfect, Vivian lowered her tone and spoke slowly.

“Let’s start with the one closest to our Magic Department.”

“In Class Two of the third-year division, there’s a student whose behavior is… quite strange.”

“Her name is Lucia — female, half human, half dragon.

From her appearance, you’d think she’s just like any other dragon-blood hybrid.”

“Dragon-blood hybrid?”

The keyword instantly caught Sal’s attention, and she leaned forward eagerly.

“Yes… that’s right, a dragon-blood hybrid.”

Vivian didn’t know why that word struck a chord with Sal, but it didn’t matter — she had her audience hooked.

“No one knows how she got admitted to Cantoria Academy with her mixed-blood status, or who recommended her, but—”

Before she could finish, Sal raised her hand to interrupt.

“Then, big sister, you must be a half-elf, right?”

Vivian: “?”

“Then how did you get into Cantoria?”

“Pfft—”

From her bed, Natiavida completely lost it.