Lone exhaled a sigh of resignation as he slumped into his bed in his diamond suite at Madame Cortelle's Palace of Rest.

He had Kyuubi sleeping on his lap as he hugged Garadia and Soph who were laying next to him, the latter moaning in pain even as she slept.

"I'm gonna need to ask for a leave of absence from The Academy, aren't I?" Lone asked Garadia.

"Gao?" she asked back.

"Good question," Lone answered. "Well, for a start, I'm gonna have to prepare for the stupid ball in 2-months for that noble archduke or whatever rank he had."

Garadia tilted her head in confusion. She hadn't asked a question, only roared cutely like she always did. 'Has Daddy gone crazy? Mommy's situation must really be stressing him out... Poor Daddy...'

"Between then and now I need to make sure my shop doesn't get robbed and that my employees still have a roof over their heads and food in their bellies. Right after this stupid ball, I need to keep finding ingredients for Divine Cauldron. I mean, I could go and storm Infa's home and kill all of the Rock Dragons there and hope one's old enough, but chances are, that won't make Infa happy and it probably won't work," Lone said with a sad sigh.

"I'll have to use Sarah to see if she can find me someone who already owns a million-year-old corpse. And not just any old Rock Dragon's corpse, no, of course, it has to be an Elder Rock Dragon which is an even rare species of Rock Dragon than your regular one already is," Lone complained.

"Gao..." Garadia roared in an attempt to console him.

"I mean, yeah, I did get her to tell me the other ingredients too just so I could try to get them all at once but fuck me are they all just as convoluted and hard to get as the Rock Dragon corpse is," Lone claimed.

"This next year is gonna fuckin' suck. I'd be surprised if my hair doesn't go grey from all of the worrying," he said as he closed his eyes and hugged Garadia to his chest.

"Gao," she replied as she got comfy and tried to be as supportive as she possibly could.

"I am sorry, Lone, but I cannot give you an indefinite leave of absence," Headmaster Erion answered Lone's request sternly.

Lone smiled wryly as he sat across from the powerful mage. "I kind of figured. I'm a bit of an important student after yesterday, huh?"

Headmaster Erion. "Quite so. I can't let you leave indefinitely, but I can give you a different offer."

Lone raised his eyebrow in interest. "I'm all ears."

Headmaster Erion chuckled. "Your ears are rather large, aren't they? Regardless, how does week-on week-off sound to you, Lone? I can make arrangements with Vice-headmaster Milos to teleport you back and forth from your location at the start and end of each week so you can come back to partake in your classes every second week."

"... Soph's situation is dire, Erion. I... Can't you bend the rules a little bit like you did with Swind?" Lone asked in a pleading tone.

Erion shook his head. "I, sadly, cannot. Your presence is required to show the other schools, the various royal parents of some of our more racially charged students, as well as some Divines even, that you are very much so a student of The Academy and that your power is a result of your training here."

"I understand that, I really do. It'd only be for a year or two and I'll be staying here for another 2-months before I leave," Lone claimed.

Erion wore a warm smile. "Lone, Lone, Lone, Lone... You need not worry as much as you are. Both Soph and Sophie will be fine. I know what you are capable of. Trust in your master, hmm? I am not called Divine Time for no reason."

Lone felt bitter. He had no room to complain here. Erion had done him so many favours already and now all he was asking was for him to split his time between searching for the ingredients for Divine Cauldron and acting as The Academy's poster boy.

"... If Soph's condition worsens, I will have to leave The Academy. Permenantly," Lone compromised.

Erion nodded. "I understand and I can assent to that. If you need any help in your quest, please, do not hesitate to ask me or Vice-headmaster Milos. We are both your magical masters and, hopefully, your friends."

Lone smiled wryly. "Thanks. I'll, uh, consider it."

After a short farewell, he got up and exited the office, leaving Erion on his own.

The man leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes. "Poor boy. He doesn't know what I know. His worry and depression will fade as all things will, but it is certainly not pleasant to see him like this."

A smile worked its way onto his face. "It won't be long now. Just a few more years..."

"... And that just about sums it up, Infa," Lone said to the large dragon.

Blinking his stony eyes in thought for a moment, Infa nodded slightly. "I understand, Foxkin Lone. When you do embark for my trib-, no, my former tribe, I wish to be with you."

A sad look emerged on the massive dragon's rock-covered face. "I know not if they will try to immediately kill me or if they will listen to me, but if you go alone, doubtlessly they will try to destroy you in both body and soul. Dragons are not a friendly people to those not of their kin... Even to those of their kin they share no love in some cases..."

Lone could sympathise with the young dragon. "I wouldn't have it any other way. I mean, asking for a corpse is kind of awkward no matter what you do, haha."

"Is that so?" Infa asked. "I have never done it before so I am unaware of the customs related to such a thing."

"Your innocence is refreshing, Infa, that's for sure," Lone chuckled. "Anyway, I'll leave you be. You have enough rocks to snack on in here, right?"

Infa nodded once again. "Indeed. The small purple one provides me with more than enough sustenance."

"Her name is Eolande," Lone said. "Small purple one rolls off the tongue surprisingly well though..."

"I see. I shall try to recall that name in the future, but it is hard for me to remember those I am unconnected to, even more so when my body and mind insist I must not trust anyone, not even Radiance Sister," Infa explained.

"I know, dragons are fuckin' awkward. Anyway, thanks for understanding. I'll talk to you soon. I have to put up a request in the guild then go find that dumb woman who wants to teach me some etiquette," Lone complained more for his own sake than he did for Infa's.

"I did not understand most of those words, Foxkin Lone, but I wish you luck in your endeavours," Infa said as he formed what Lone could only assume was a smile.

"Thanks. I'll need it to put up with yet another snobby noble," he joked in response before leaving The Glade.

The next 2-months were bound to be busy for him and he was dreading it, quite honestly. 'Why can't I just peacefully learn magic at my own pace like a normal person might be able to? Soph's in pain 24/7, the mystery with Sarah's old summoned hero will be solved if I dance to an archduke's tune, the great barrier is close to collapsing and a fuckin' Ancient is on its way to level The Academy and everyone and thing related to it. Man, I fuckin' hate magic and mystical shit sometimes.'

He thought back to his life on Earth and how depressed he was when he was nothing more than a bullied teacher who played a silly little MMORPG throughout the nights and weekends.

"Haha, well, though I hate it sometimes, it's nothing if not exciting," he mumbled before making his way towards The Adventurer's Guild.