Kira sat on her bed and expressed silent thanks that, while the dorm had become a comfortable place to live, it wasn’t home. She didn’t have posters or pictures on the wall, she didn’t have knick-knacks or figurines or toys or clothes scattered around. Packing mostly involved moving the clothes Brigit got for her from the dresser and wardrobe into her Inventory.

Leaving should’ve been easy. So why was she hesitating? It was for the best, after all. Leaving meant protecting her friends, her classmates. Without her around they’d be safe. Hesitating was selfish.

Kira hugged herself and sniffled, trying to hold back tears. Then a growing warmth inside her chest drew her attention, along with a System notification.

Her grimoire was ready for a Hidden form. The news was so sudden and unexpected that it chased her gloomy thoughts away in an instant, curiosity and a bit of anticipation blooming on top of sorrow and resignation.

She patted her chest to calm the complex knot of emotions, brushing it all aside for later dwelling, then read the notification in full.

The instructions were simple: summon the grimoire, and while holding it, imagine the form she wanted it to have while moving mana into it. Bigger or more complex forms took more mana, so it was recommended by the System to start with something small and simple. She could give it more mana to alter its form later.

Kira thought for a moment. Initially she wanted to leave right away, rip the band-aid right off, because anticipation was horrible. But a Hidden form for her grimoire… A little friend to take with her…

Suddenly, she thought of something, and she knew exactly what form to start with. Kira summoned her grimoire and placed it on her lap, resting her hands on its cover. Then she remembered her gloves, and put those on. They really helped with feeling mana and its flow, and she wanted as much help as-

“Safirite!” Kira gasped, and pulled it out of her Inventory. The chunk of bright blue rock was placed carefully on the bedspread beside her, instantly filling the room with the refreshing feeling she was starting to associate with copious amounts of atmospheric mana.

Finally ready, Kira took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She thought of the Porins, the cute little creatures that were her companion in the Training Gate for apparently hundreds of thousands of years.

Small, round, fluffy, with eyes like marbles. Porin eyes were black, but she thought it should have eyes like the magma gem on her grimoire. Its silky fur would be the same lavender as the cover, as soft as Ribbon’s fur, and it would have horns like Brigit, but purplish-black instead of dark blue in order to better match the fur.

Cute little paws hid under the body so it looked like a fluffy ball of fur with stubby little horns and pretty eyes, at least until it opened its mouth. Just like Porins, its mouth would basically split its little body in half to show a maw with razor sharp teeth - for the Porin, it helped them eat the hard vegetables of their homeland, but for the Hidden grimoire, it was just funny.

She hoped it could eat, sharing snacks with her grimoire sounded like fun. She also kind of hoped it would make noises like the Porin did, using cute chirps and trills to communicate. It was cute.

Mostly, she just hoped it would be friendly. Vanessa said grimoires developed their own personality using the owner as a base, and she… didn’t feel very good about that. Not because it was creepy or anything, because it wasn’t. It was a piece of her soul, of course it’d resemble her! But she didn’t like herself very much, and was a little afraid that’d mean the grimoire wouldn’t like her either.

Kira kept careful control of her mana flow while keeping the image of the grimoire’s Hidden form in her mind, forcing away gloomy thoughts to focus on her task. The going was slow since she maintained a balance between the usage and regeneration of her mana, wanting to avoid another 【 Arcana 】 incident.

Minutes ticked into hours. The room darkened as the false suns outside dimmed into twilight. Above the book in her lap appeared a cluster of energy that slowly shifted and morphed into the shape she desired, changing bit by bit as she funneled more mana into it.

Finally, when it was so dark she could barely see, Kira held a fluffy little creature in the palm of her hand, just a bit smaller than a baseball. For the first time in what felt like forever, she grinned. “Hey there little guy,” she said, petting the creature’s head with her finger.

To her surprise and delight, the grimoire creature blinked, then chirped and half-closed its eyes in what Kira recognized as a Porin smile.

“I’ll just call you Pip for now, until we can pick a proper name for you. Alright? After you can, like, communicate your gender preference and whatnot.”

The grimoire creature, temporarily nicknamed Pip, chirped again and bounced on her palm.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Kira smiled and put Pip on her shoulder. It had little claws on its little paws, since despite their appearance Porin were capable climbers, and it was able to attach itself firmly to her clothes.

Kira put her grimoire book away, then glanced at the window. It wasn’t quite dark yet, so everyone was probably still having fun at the Trials, right? And thanks to 【 Trifling Presence 】, unless they were specifically looking for her, even if someone was hanging around the dorm common room…

They wouldn’t notice her leave.

She tried not to feel sad about that, as without a word, Kira slipped out of her room.

The common room was empty. Kira’s chest felt tight as she glanced around for the last time, at the mismatched couches and seats where her classmates would gather to discuss magic while sharing the occasional meal. Sometimes they’d do homework together, especially since Ribbon and surprisingly Dani were meticulous note-takers. Simon would bring coffee for everyone, with a hot chocolate or a smoothie for Kira depending on the day’s specials at their usual stand. Chen was really good at explaining complicated subjects, which was important for both Kira and Asim.

They were nice people. Even the twins were tolerable. Kira kinda wished she’d gotten to know them all better since they all had cool stuff going on, but plucking up the courage to ask people to hang out was difficult. Especially when they were all busy adults, and she was just some annoying kid they had to deal with. She took up enough of their spare time with the magic studies.

Kira bit her lip and left the common room for the last time.

People were still enjoying the festivities outside. Apparently the monster attack on the arena didn’t affect them much. A surge of resentment and anger made Kira’s mouth taste sour, and she clenched her fists while struggling to suppress the feeling. Pip, nestled securely against her neck, chirped in comfort.

“I’m okay,” Kira whispered after a moment, petting Pip’s soft little head with her fingertip.

It wasn’t fair getting mad at them. She knew that. She was angry all the same, and stomped hard on the ground with her bare feet as she walked toward the teleportation hub. The Atmont Academia was in a Shard, which meant it existed in a little pocket dimension separated from reality by a thin veil. The only way in or out was through teleportation magic.

Kira wasn’t sure how it worked, but she knew how to find out. She just watched other people using the hub, quiet and unnoticed at their side, until she understood how to work the visitor terminals. It would log her passing through, but no one would know she was gone until at least the next day. With that much of a head start, she’d be long gone.

Her heart ached again. Kira activated the visitor’s terminal with shaking hands, and teleported herself into the city of Atmont.

She never did get to explore the place. Even though she was curious about what kind of shops and businesses would be around, it felt like she was always busy at the Academia with little time for outings. Breaks were snatched where possible, pockets of calm between trying to learn everything.

Having the books available at the library was convenient. Having a Training Dungeon where one couldn’t just up and die was convenient too. Her own dorm, her own bedroom, her own bathroom. Her own money, free meals.

Yeah, she’d been spoiled. She was getting a little too comfy in her new life, just like she had at the Hawthornes. She’d left then, too, though the Hawthornes were pretty persistent in getting her back.

She never did figure out why, since back then they barely knew her. She hadn’t done anything to earn goodwill or affection yet! They really took a silly gamble. Especially since she ran a few times after that, yet they brought her back each time.

Did they think she ran again? When the Gate appeared and she got stuck inside the Training Dungeon with the Porins. Did they think she left them behind?

She wondered about that sometimes, when she was lying in bed unable to sleep. Kept awake by nightmares or gloomy thoughts, she’d think about the people who were so bafflingly kind to her. Until it became hard to breathe, a mixture of anxiety and grief and regret pressing in on her from all sides.

Kira fought back tears and opened her System Map, to retrace the steps she and Brigit had taken their first time in Atmont. It was the only path she knew to the city’s one land-based entrance and exit, and she wanted to hurry. The more she lingered, the harder it would be to leave.

‘Tear off the bandage. Don’t be a coward,’ Kira reprimanded herself. Being scared of monsters and death and other scary things was reasonable, but being scared of leaving? She’d done it plenty of times! How many homes did she leave before she met the Hawthornes?

It was better for everyone if she left. She reminded herself over and over as she hurried through the streets of Atmont, keeping her eyes on the ground instead of looking at the shops she never got to visit, the places she’d never see.

Hopefully Plank wouldn’t be too mad at Brigit when Kira missed her next check-up. Ailsa was definitely gonna be angry, and Mister Karl was going to be so disappointed. Maybe she could message them once she reached another town.

System Messages didn’t have an indefinite range - ‘settled’ areas like Atmont, the Academia, and bigger towns created a kind of network that the System Messaging linked into, but for people in the wilds service was limited. It had something to do with the magic barriers people used to establish and build big settlements, but Kira didn’t know all the details. It was one of those things people mentioned vaguely because it was common knowledge to them, and she hadn’t found a book explaining everything yet.

She hated asking for longer explanations from people unless it was important, since it meant interrupting whatever that person was doing, thinking, or saying, and that often made people angry or irritable. It wasn’t worth dealing with just for the sake of her curiosity.

Kira sighed, pushing rambling thoughts out of her mind in order to navigate the streets of Atmont quickly.

Crossing the bridge linking Atmont to the mainland wasn’t a big deal when heading out. People only had to check in with guards if they were entering the city, leaving was simple. No one stopped her, or asked her any questions, or checked if she had a guardian. People’s eyes slid right over her, incapable of noticing her existence.

【 Trifling Presence 】 was powerful. Then again, knowing adults, they probably also didn’t care enough to notice.

When her feet touched the road on the other side of the bridge, Kira paused to look back at Atmont.

Tall mountains obscured the horizon in all directions, protecting a vast shimmering lake. Atmont was a tiered city with countless tall buildings, suspended above the lake by unknown magic. Neon lights and floating lanterns filled the skies alongside drifting airships. A few sailing ships still dotted the lake, personal vessels for pleasure rather than business, as all the fishing ships were already docked in a small harbor to the left of the floating city. Leading into the city was a single wide bridge protected by towers and a massive wrought iron gate, one which only closed when monsters were sighted.

Despite the evening hour, traffic still flowed around her. People on foot, riding mounts of all kinds, beast-drawn carriages or even some things like the trucks and cars. All going either to or from the city depending on which side of the road they used. Kira made sure to stand off to the side of the road by a good few feet, so she wouldn’t get ran over by someone who didn’t see her.

It was a pretty city.

Her gaze lowered, vision wobbling as unwanted tears rose to the surface.

And then she froze. She blinked a few times in disbelief, then struggled with herself as she wondered if it was better to run, or to try and hide behind a passing wagon.

“Kira!”

Too late.

Kira hunched her shoulders and shrank in on herself sheepishly as Brigit, carrying Ribbon on her shoulders, sprinted across the bridge and caught up with her. Both were wearing large backpacks which struck Kira as instantly suspicious.

Brigit hunched over, hand on her knees, panting for breath. Ribbon hopped down from her shoulders, landing with a grunt, and adjusted the straps of her backpack before looking up at Kira. “We’re coming with you,” Ribbon said simply, neither her tone nor her expression allowing for any back-talk. Such a sassy attitude was really unusual for the timid little Kobold, and it struck Kira speechless.

“I… What?” Kira managed to mutter, glancing from Ribbon to Brigit, who apparently sprinted all the way across Atmont to catch up, judging by how exhausted she was.

The Drakke straightened, putting her hands on her hips and towering over Kira with an imposing air. “You’re leaving, right? We’re coming with you.”

“Wha- no… No!” Kira’s voice rose, unusually loud for the quiet girl, and she stomped her foot to express a welling of anger and frustration. “You can’t!”

“We can and we will. Even if we have to follow along behind you, we’re coming too.”

Kira looked at Brigit, then Ribbon, who both seemed resolute. The anger and frustration building in her chest became a writhing black mass that crawled up her throat and spilled out before she could stop it. “I don’t want you to! You’d… You’d just be… a burden! You’re both weak… weaker than me, you can’t come! You, you… you’ll just die!”

“Then we die,” Brigit shrugged off the insults, completely unconcerned. Ribbon trembled a little, but she nodded along.

“No, that’s…! You…! That’s not…! Argh!” Kira bellowed with angry tears rolling down her cheeks. “That’s not right! It’s not…”

Brigit exchanged a knowing glance with Ribbon. She took a step closer to Kira, speaking softly but firmly. "Kira, we understand that you're scared and you want to protect us. But running away alone won't guarantee our safety, and it won't solve the problem."

Ribbon nodded, her eyes gentle as she added, "We’re a Team, and we’re your friends besides. We support each other and come out stronger, together."

Kira's explosive anger flickered, her brows furrowing as she struggled to understand. "But... but why? I'm just… Those people, those awful… They're after me, not you!"

Brigit reached out, placing a comforting hand on Kira's shoulder to bridge the gap between them. Kira flinched, but didn’t move otherwise. "We care about you, and we don't want to see you facing these dangers alone.”

Tears continued to stream down Kira's face but her anger was waning, replaced by a mix of vulnerability and fear. Her hands shook as she raised them protectively in front of her chest. She took a deep breath, struggling to find words. "But what if… What if something… happens to… to you because of… of me? I couldn't… I can't…"

“No one wants you to carry the weight of the world,” Ribbon said, patting Kira’s knee. “Our lives are our own responsibility, but we aren’t supposed to bear it alone! Friends face danger together, and we protect each other!”

“Besides, even if something did happen, it wouldn’t be your fault.” Brigit pulled Kira in for a warm hug. Kira’s whole body shook, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she hid her face in the leather cuirass Brigit wore. “You’re the victim here, Kira, you and whoever might get hurt because of those people. You aren’t to blame for their actions.”

“Somethin’ which proper adults be well aware of.”

The Dwarf wore a hooded cloak to keep from being recognized in public, but her voice and accent were unmistakable. Kira nearly jumped out of her skin upon hearing Ailsa speak, immediately scooting around Brigit to use the Drakke as a shield against her Mentor.

“Oh no ye don’t!” Ailsa grumbled, gently pushing Brigit aside and grabbing Kira by the arm so the girl couldn’t escape elsewhere. “C’mere ye right git.”

Kira opened her mouth, fearful and apologetic in the face of her Mentor’s oncoming fury, only to be struck speechless again when the Dwarf pulled her in for a hug instead. “Uh?”

“Didja really think, in that lil smooth baby brain of yers, that any of us lookin’ after ye with such care like yer our own darned precious cub, would let ye go runnin’ inta the wilds on yer own with nary a fuss?”

“Well,” Kira mumbled, only for it to turn into a grunt when Ailsa squeezed her with enough force to crack her back. “Oof!”

“Ye can leave if ye really wanna leave,” Ailsa said, patting Kira’s back. “Ye ain’t a prisoner, we won’t stop ye from goin’ where ye wanna go. But ye can’t stop us neither, from comin’ with ye if that’s what it takes.”

“We’d rather you didn’t, though!”

Another familiar voice. Kira’s eyes narrowed, and she glared accusingly at Ailsa. “How… Did you all find me? So fast?”

“Yer life’s in danger and ye really thought we ain’t got ye under surveillance?” Ailsa scoffed, averting her gaze. “That scale- Karl’s had ye under bodyguard watch since the beginnin’.”

“Ah. He told… them?”

“We followed Mrs. Reid,” Simon said proudly, then put a hand to his heart and wobbled dramatically as though he were about to faint. “You didn’t even try to say good-bye?”

The whole class was with him. Even the twins! Kira glanced at them all, then hid inside Ailsa’s cloak - an impressive feat, considering Kira was taller than her Mentor, but she did her best. Ailsa suppressed an obvious chuckle but let the girl hide.

“We already knew you were Human,” Dani said, her voice softer than usual so it wouldn’t be heard by the passerby on the road. “And a Clanless ⟪ Relic ⟫ besides. I mean, not all along, obviously. I had suspicions because of your smell, but nothing concrete… Until this morning, before the Trial started. It was in a magazine, we all saw it.”

“Made sense considering the story you told us about yourself,” Asim said. He reluctantly supported Simon through his ‘fainting episode’, lifting the dramatic Elf with one arm. “Still kind of a shock, though.”

“And we don’t blame you for hiding it,” Chen added, leaning on Asim’s shoulder. “That’s a big secret! It must’ve been scary, right?”

Kira hesitated in silence for a long moment. Then she peeked out of Ailsa’s cloak, and slowly nodded.

“The attack that happened earlier, they were trying to get to you?” Meriandra asked, though her tone made it clear that she already knew the answer. In response, Kira nodded again, shrinking back into the cloak just a bit. “Then it’s even more important you don’t leave.”

That was the last thing Kira expected to hear from one of the Arvex twins, and she was even more shocked when the other twin nodded in agreement.

“There’s safety in numbers,” Minthe said, avoiding Kira’s intense, confused gaze as she spoke. She looked embarrassed but sincere.

“They likely won’t be able to pull such a big stunt again,” Meri said. “At least not for a good long while. Too many eyes upon them now. All they’ve done is reveal their intentions. But if you leave… They’ll have succeeded. You’ll become an easy target for their schemes.”

“If we stick together we can protect each other!” Simon chimed in, leaning around Ailsa to give Kira a warm smile. “If you leave, we’d just all worry about you. And then we couldn’t help if something bad happened. We’d rather you stayed at the Academia with us, for lots of reasons.”

“The free food from your scholarship is nice,” Dani said dryly, making Kira snort in amusement. “And letting us use the upgraded Training Zone with you is pretty nice too.”

“I enjoy our talks about magic,” Chen said, elbowing Dani who unapologetically shrugged. “You’ve got great insights.”

“And you work as hard as the rest of us, if not harder,” Asim pointed out. “We’ve seen how you train first-hand and done those obstacle courses right beside you! You’re one of us, no doubt about it.”

“No one wants you to leave, Kira,” Simon said softly. “Maybe some of our reasons are silly, but you’ve grown on us, kid. Like Mrs. Reid said, you can go if you really want to, but… I don’t want you to ever be thinking we’d consider that a good thing.”

“You’ve been dealt a rough hand,” Dani spoke more seriously than before. “You don’t deserve to punish yourself for the bad it might bring.”

“See?” Brigit said, sounding unusually smug. She and Ribbon were listening to their classmates with an odd look of pride on their faces, like they were the ones being praised.

Kira sniffled. She honestly didn’t know what to say, what to think, what to feel. Everything was going so differently from what she expected. From what she even dared to hope. Tears poured down her face, her hands shaking. “I… I… thought… It’d be best if I… If I…”

“It’d be best if ye stayed with people who care about ye.” Ailsa gently wiped Kira’s face with the corner of her cloak. “Karl and Pappy already be makin’ sure the Academia’s safe fer ye, both be fumin’ mad about what happened. Pappy in particular’s out fer blood, he’s on a warpath! And Nessie be lookin’ forward to havin’ lunch with ye again ta talk about plants. We ain’t just obligated ta help ya, kiddo. We outright like ye. We want ye around.”

“Is… Is it… Really okay?” Kira whispered, her voice just a bare croak. The barest glimmer of hope peeked through all her anxiety and gloom, fighting for its freedom. “If I… stay? You… You won’t… Hate me?”

“Nah, like I said, we like ye too much.” Ailsa gestured to Brigit, who hesitantly and shyly moved in to hug both Kira and her Mentor. Ribbon did too, her tail wagging, hugging their legs until Ailsa hefted her up on one arm.

Then Simon moved in to join the group hug, earning a glare from Brigit which he gleefully ignored. “I love hugs,” Simon explained. “And I like to be included.”

Kira snorted through her tears, barely holding back a giggle. She felt a little squished in such an enthusiastic hug, but it felt kind of nice too. Pip, quiet and hiding against her neck the whole time, finally had enough. It chirped in protest and broke free, jumping onto Kira’s head where it could breathe.

“Oh my goodness it’s darling what is that!?” Simon asked breathlessly, pressing his hands to his cheeks.

Kira looked at Ailsa, then Brigit, Ribbon, then each of her classmates in turn. She didn’t want to lie anymore, not when everyone was being so kind after having discovered so many truths. One more couldn’t hurt, right? “It’s Pip. My grimoire.”

Silence.

Then Mint threw her hands in the air, an exasperated expression on her pretty face. “Of COURSE it is!”

Meri groaned, but the rest of their classmates burst into laughter. Even Ailsa had a good chuckle, as she looped her arm in Kira’s and patted the girl’s hand.

“C’mon lass. Let’s head back and get some dinner in ye.”

The people coming after her were a problem for the future, one she didn’t have to run away from. She had people who cared about her, just like the Hawthornes once did. People who’d stand by her side regardless of potential dangers, so of course she’d do the same for them.

She wasn’t alone anymore.

Kira nodded, a slow smile spreading across her tear-stained face. “Okay. Let’s go back.”