Amy stood at the gate with a sad smile watching her classmates climb into the carriages. They are all bright faced and energetic now that the day has come. They waved goodbye at her as they took off.
"Bye! I'll call you when I get there!" Viola yelled from the window.
"Ryllis!" Leon shouts from his window, "Next time we meet will be the Tournament! When we get back together, you'd better make this year a year we wouldn't forget!"
Amy can't help but smile confidently at that statement. That's right. When they come back, the preliminaries would have started.
"I'll be the one to beat you, so you better train your asses off!" She yelled back. Prick
Leon laughed loudly alongside Rufus. She could see Melissa's arm pulling the boys back inside so they wouldn't make an even bigger scene.
She watched as the carriage gets smaller and smaller until she couldn't see it anymore. "Stay safe." she whispered before heading to the cafeteria.
She is terrified for Viola. After Getel's attempted kidnapping a few years ago, she has warned Rufus and Melissa about it, giving all four of them items for their own protection.
Ramiro then flew to Amy's side and land next to her. He is getting too big. He isn't big enough for her to ride on but is big enough to no longer use her arm as a perch anymore. In fact, he could probably lift her up in the air if she wanted him to. Earlier, she saw him bring back a Minotaur calf from several miles away. Amy berated Ramiro to return the calf back to its mother after that.
After getting inside, she got herself a second helping of breakfast, heavier than the last. She already did her morning jog before they left and now, she has to get ready for classes.
While eating, Amy thought back to a few things. She intends to expand her Hollylock set to include the weapons she learned and picked up from Ran. She wants to train to be better proficient as a weapon's specialist and master. The iron she had to make the metal scales came from the mines of the Arcus territory. The elves in the isles are more tolerant when it comes to their services than those in the continent, so they commissioned the indestructible steel scales from the iron she provided them. Like all elf-made products, they have a personality and respond to her thoughts and needs.
Next is Hecate. She already upgraded Hecate adding more versions of it to it. The issue is that her latest upgrade is imperfect and would take much practice to get right. If and when she gets this right, she will have the greatest arsenal in the world.
Spatial magic is the most difficult art to master and while she got the basics done, that doesn't mean that this is the limit.
"We just have to hope and make sure things would get better."
*
And so, months have passed, Amy dutifully focused on her studies, work on her projects during her free time and train whenever she can. Sometimes, Professor Donovan ask her to demonstrate her usage of foreign weapons to the first years.
It has been noticeably quiet though she gets news from everyone and talks to Viola over the scrying ball. Although, she has been getting strange news.
It started off fine for the first month and then it got all weird.
*
"Are you still working on that project of yours?" Viola says over the scrying orb while Amy is working.
"It'll be done by tomorrow. So, Is Leon acting all weird again?" Amy asked.
Viola sighs heavily, "Yeah, he keeps hanging around that girl way too much to the point that he's almost neglecting his duty. He might get held back at this point. At first, I thought she just loved the attention but now it's just annoying."
Leon got himself a girlfriend named Jennifer Lovefield during his time in Getel. She is the daughter of a Baron in Getel and a 4th year. That name alone wanted to make her laugh and it was funny at first, but everyone has expressed worry because this is the first time that Leon actually went steady with someone. They had all tried their way to get him to pull himself together.
He has changed and now he is alienating himself from the rest and is stubborn to listen to reason because the only person he is capable of listening to is her. Apparently, the girl also tried to get close and friendly to Rufus, but he threatened to kill her if she gets too close to him, so she stopped trying. That put a dent on Leon and Rufus's friendship.
Viola noted that she is too overly friendly with everyone and publicly shames them if they refuse. Rufus is still charming and polite on the outside, so he still gets along with the students in Getel on the surface although he is close to boiling because of the girl. Melissa may not show much emotion on the surface, but she is feeling the stress of the gossip comparing her to Jennifer. There are even rumors that he asked Jennifer to come with him to Solin once their time in Getel is over. After trying to get him back to his senses, they realize he may be lost at this point and report it to the queen.
Even Amy hasn't seen Leon's face over the scrying ball in months now. He doesn't even write back unless he asks for something. The last letter she got from him is a cringey three-page letter listing almost nothing but praise over his girlfriend who is super cool, cute and amazing along with a request to make her a birthday gift which is a pearl inlay jewelry box, which she provided in exchange for something from him. She even got a picture of her. She has the typical anime-esque cute girl appearance with red hair and blue eyes. She is adorable, Amy will give her that, but her beauty is easily seen through and superficial.
"Did you get a response from Her Majesty yet?"
Viola shook her head.
"I'm afraid not, Amy. But I wish you are here."
"You have class tomorrow. We can talk later." Amy said softly, noticing Viola looks tired.
"Alright, night sis." Viola yawned then the ball turned off.