The Festival of New Students and the Weight of the Past

After passing the assessment, Celia, Aurora, and Isha officially became students of Ruen Academy.

As they left the freshman reception with uniforms and IDs in hand, Aurora hugged hers tightly and murmured, “From today on, we are Ruen Academy students!”

Celia tucked away her own uniform and ID. The three headed toward Celia’s dormitory, planning to drop off their things before visiting Feinstreet.

“The Festival of New Students…” Aurora recalled the senior sister’s words. “Maybe there will be lots of surprises.”

Ruen Academy offered dormitory arrangements, but Celia wasn’t satisfied. Since she was paying rent herself, she did as before—lavishly renting a four-bedroom villa. After tidying their rooms and unpacking, they left together for Feinstreet, eager to see what surprises the senior had mentioned.

Before they even got close to Feinstreet, Isha sniffed the air, drawn by something. She suddenly bolted forward. Celia and Aurora exchanged helpless glances and hurried after her.

Isha’s focus had locked onto street food. Spotting her target, she charged without hesitation. Celia quickened her pace to keep up. She and Aurora were startled by Isha’s behavior but followed her to a barbecue stall. Isha paid, grabbed a skewer, bit down, and let out a satisfied sigh.

She added regretfully, “Too bad this isn’t at the academy. I’ll definitely suggest to Headmaster Anne and Headmaster Isa next time that we add these to the school menu!” She remembered she could propose it to the principal and see if they could help.

Celia and Aurora exchanged helpless glances and urged Isha to finish her skewer. They continued deeper into the festival, finally stopping after a long walk.

Isha pointed at a booth sign. “This looks so familiar.”

Celia glanced at Aurora, signaling her to read it aloud.

Aurora looked at the sign that read ‘Silverbloom Fan Club’ and murmured in confusion, “Silverbloom Fan Club? What’s that?”

“It’s the recruitment booth for the Silverbloom Fan Club,” a voice answered. The three girls turned to see a senior sister named Anne. She smiled and asked, “Do you know anything about the Silverbloom Sword Princess?”

Tillya hesitated. “Uh… a little?”

“A little is fine. You’ll learn more soon,” Anne assured them.

“Why is that?” Tillya asked.

“Ruen Academy is where she trained. Naturally, traces of her are everywhere. Even if you know little about her now, you’ll definitely hear about her exploits often during your next few years of study.”

Tillya’s eyes sparkled. “Wow! So she’s really that amazing?”

Anne nodded. “Of course. Otherwise, how could she be the strongest adventurer of her time?”

She cleared her throat and continued. “Our club was originally founded to cheer for her, but now… well, it’s changed. Now we aim to follow in her footsteps and become adventurers like her. That’s the real purpose of the Silverbloom Fan Club.”

“But is that kind of fan club really cool?” Tillya asked, intrigued.

Anne shrugged. “I know. Compared to other fan clubs, it’s more like a group of like-minded adventurers. Recruitment is tough, but…”

At the mention of the Silverbloom Sword Princess, Tillya lit up. “I’ve always admired her! I want to become an adventurer like her, to save people in distress…”

Anne’s eyes widened. “You… are you a fan of the Silverbloom Sword Princess?”

“Yes!”

“Then you absolutely should join the Silverbloom Fan Club! Here, you’ll learn all her secrets!”

Tillya couldn’t hold back a smile. She had wanted to know more about the Silverbloom Sword Princess for a long time but had been too focused on training. Now she had the chance, so why not?

Anne turned to Isha and Aurora. “And your friends?”

“We’re fans too,” Isha and Aurora chimed in. They naturally wouldn’t miss this opportunity.

“That’s wonderful! Welcome to the Silverbloom Fan Club!” Anne beamed. She handed them registration forms, and after recording all the information, she carefully gave them three Silverbloom Fan Club badges.

“Here, these are your badges. Make sure to take good care of them,” she said.

Tillya accepted the badge, looking at the silver flower on it. A strange warmth welled up in her heart.

As they left the recruitment booth, Tillya asked with interest, “Does the Silverbloom Sword Princess know about this fan club?”

“I’m not sure, but I can tell her,” Isha replied.

Aurora chuckled at Isha’s answer, imagining the Silverbloom Sword Princess blushing. “If she finds out, she might really blush. I saw the signboard—that profile portrait of her is nice, but I bet she’d be so embarrassed she’d burn it.”

Celia smiled faintly.

Time passed, and evening fell on Feinstreet. Just as Tillya was about to head back to the dormitory, she felt a probing gaze from the corner of the street.

A woman with burn scars on her face stood there, arms crossed, staring unabashedly at them.

Even after being noticed, she didn’t leave—instead, she walked toward them.

Staring at someone’s burn scars is rude, so Celia only glanced briefly.

“You are Celia, right? I’m a teacher at the academy. I need to talk to you alone,” the woman said, pulling out her teacher’s ID card and handing it to Celia.

Celia took the ID with some suspicion but didn’t respond immediately.

“Don’t worry,” the woman assured them. “I have nothing to do with Count Lai’an. This is purely because of the academy, and it’s easy to get caught if we cause trouble here.”

Her explanation somewhat allayed Celia’s concerns. After a brief thought, Celia nodded and agreed, asking Aurora and Isha to go back first.

She followed the woman, whose name was Starfire, to a tavern on Guien Street.

Unlike the messy taverns in Vidona, this one was clean, with marble floors and luxurious golden chandeliers—a high-end establishment.

They sat down at a corner table. Celia asked first, “What does Teacher Starfire want to talk about? We’ve never even met before, have we?”

Starfire didn’t immediately answer. She ordered two glasses of wine, took a sip, and then said slowly, “I investigated the Fiona family. The one who really holds the power now is a steward named Orl. Your parents have been gone from the family for a long time now—no one knows their whereabouts.”

Celia narrowed her eyes, her wariness rising again.

“No need to be nervous. I said I won’t hurt you,” Starfire said, pushing a glass of wine toward Celia. When Celia didn’t drink, Starfire smiled slightly and continued, “From what I know, you don’t even know who your parents are, do you? Doesn’t that bother you?”

“No,” Celia replied flatly.

“No? But you’ve always cared about them. Otherwise, why would you get so angry when Lai’an insulted you?” Starfire’s words made Celia’s heart skip a beat, a dangerous feeling spreading through her.

She realized that aside from herself, only a few teachers present knew about Lai’an’s insults—meaning Starfire had been there too. This raised her alertness to maximum. How long had this teacher been watching her? Coming directly like this seemed off.

“What exactly do you want to say?” Celia demanded.

“Have you ever heard of a spell called ‘Return Dream’? It can bring back memories from your early childhood, even fragments. Based on those, it wouldn’t be hard to infer what your parents looked like.”

Starfire fell silent, watching Celia with interest, waiting for her response.

The magic could revive long-forgotten memories of her parents, showing her what they looked like—even if she had seen them as a child. It could tell her who they were, and whether they truly abandoned her.

The impact stunned Celia. She couldn’t articulate her feelings—nervousness? excitement? fear? Her mind went blank. She wasn’t sure what to do.

She downed the wine in her glass. The cool, slightly spicy liquid trickled down her throat, clearing her mind a little. After that, she grew suspicious and asked coolly, “What’s the price? I can’t believe you’d cast such a spell for free.”

“You’re right. The cost is considerable, but within my means. However, I’ve been having trouble with another research project recently, and I’d like you to provide a little ‘dream consciousness’ from your dreams.”

“Dream consciousness? What’s that?”

“Just a small token. Extracting it won’t harm you,” Starfire explained without further detail. She waited patiently, confident that Celia wouldn’t refuse.

Through her investigation, Starfire had seen that Celia had always longed to know about her parents. She had no leads all these years. The longer it went, the stronger Celia’s obsession. Right now, she was like someone drowning in a lake—if someone offered a helping hand, she’d cling to it desperately.

But Starfire was wrong.

With a sharp squeak, Celia pushed back her chair and stood up, bending slightly. “I’m sorry, I refuse.”

She turned to leave, but Starfire grabbed her wrist. “Celia, don’t you want to know? This is a golden opportunity.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, Teacher Starfire. I have no desire to know who my parents are, and your proposal holds no appeal for me.”

Celia pulled away, trying to free herself, but Starfire held firm. “Celia, you might fool yourself, but you can’t fool me. You’re refusing because you’re afraid of the answer—afraid it might upend your life. You know you’re not supposed to be weak at a time like this.”

Starfire stared into Celia’s eyes, as if seeing into her soul. But Celia kept her gaze averted. “Teacher Starfire, you think too much.”

Starfire let go. “It’s alright. I can give you time. However long it takes. Because I believe you’ll come back to me soon.”

“Maybe,” Celia said, and walked out of the tavern without looking back.

Starfire, alone now, chuckled softly and finished her drink.

Back at the rented villa, Isha had laid out the dinner she bought. “Celia? You’re back? What did that teacher want?”

“Nothing important. Just some trivial matters,” Celia replied, avoiding their eyes and slipping on her slippers lazily. Without glancing at the dinner, she walked straight to the stairs leading to the second floor.

“Aren’t you eating? It’s still hot,” Aurora called after her.

“No, I’m not hungry. Go ahead.” Without waiting, Celia climbed the stairs, leaving only the slow, heavy sound of her footsteps.

Isha bit on her fork in confusion. “What’s wrong with her?”

“It must be something that teacher said,” Aurora sighed.

“Huh? Could it be about Lai’an?” Isha guessed.

“Probably not,” Aurora replied thoughtfully. “But what should we do? Should we go comfort her?”

“Our comfort won’t help,” Isha said, turning back to her plate and picking up another piece of meat. “Let’s just eat and not worry too much. Besides, Sister Lena is here; she should be fine in a few days.”

Even as Aurora said that, Isha remained uneasy.

Back in her room, Celia’s mind was still echoing Starfire’s words. The teacher could tell her who her parents were, at the cost of some ‘dream consciousness’ from her dreams. She didn’t understand what that was, but it seemed tempting. She had thought she would agree, but when it came to it, she held back.

It wasn’t just suspicion toward Starfire; it was more that she didn’t know how to face the truth. Were her parents alive or dead? Did they abandon her willingly or under duress? If she knew, should she stay in the academy or set off to find them? Countless questions troubled her.

The evening glow faded outside her window, and a bright crescent moon climbed into the starry sky.

She couldn’t sleep.

Lying in bed, she pulled at her hair, unable to find answers. Her breathing and heartbeat were loud in the quiet room, irritating her. She turned over, trying to distract herself. The Silverbloom badge in her pocket slipped out and fell onto the bed.

Carefully, she picked it up. The silver flower shimmered with moonlight, seeming sacred and pure.

Staring at the emblem of the Silverbloom Fan Club, her restless heart began to calm. A warmth filled her chest, and she held the badge tightly against her heart.

No matter what her parents were like, the Silverbloom Sword Princess would always be there to help her through tough times, wouldn’t she? Someone that strong must know what to do next. And Sister Lena was always so gentle—she would surely support her.

To her, those people seemed more like parents than the strangers who gave birth to her and probably abandoned her.

A sense of resolution settled within her. She closed her eyes and gradually drifted into sleep. Golden strands of hair brushed softly across her cheek, but they couldn’t conceal the blooming smile on her face.