Volume 2, Chapter 1 – Felicia's Slightly Strange Behavior

The textbooks had been distributed, and I flipped through the one titled Fundamental Language Systems.

It was an introductory volume outlining the language families of the entire continent—essential for anyone beginning linguistic studies.

After going through a few pages on my own, I realized that the human language on this continent—namely, the Common Tongue—was somewhat similar to Latin from my previous life. At the very least, the phonetic systems and characters were strikingly alike.

However, perhaps due to prolonged separation, or maybe fundamental cultural differences to begin with, there were some discrepancies between the Common Tongue of the Whiteglass Kingdom and that of the Empire—differences in both spelling and pronunciation.

The demihuman languages were quite similar to human language, hinting at some degree of ancestral cultural exchange between the two races. Yet it was evident that both had sprouted from the same root—Ancient Imperial Tongue—before evolving in completely different directions.

As for Elvish, it was a wholly unique linguistic system. The Elvish language stood alone in its family.

As I continued flipping, I found that right after Elvish came High Demon Tongue.

High Demon Tongue?

According to the introduction, this language seemed to share many words with Elvish—some even identical. Its grammatical structure bore a strong resemblance to Elvish too.

The author speculated that this was likely a coincidence. Another possible theory was that the Elves and Demon Race had once been connected in ancient times. But considering the Elves’ reclusive and reserved nature, combined with the current irreconcilable enmity between them and the Demon Race, this latter possibility was nearly zero. Hence, the author leaned toward coincidence.

Elvish and Demon Tongue...

For some reason, linking those two terms together triggered a stabbing pain in my brain—as though pierced by a needle—sharp enough to make me wonder if I had imagined it.

I left my room and headed to the second floor. Glancing into the study, I saw Felicia tutoring Wenfu with her homework. The tiny kitten was perched on the desk, nodding along while Felicia gently explained the problem-solving process. Bathed in the soft glow of the lamp, the scene looked quite warm and cozy.

It had been nearly a month since the semester began, yet Clarity of Sun and Moon still hadn’t finalized our semester project.

Unlike other academies, semester projects at Coleman Academy had to be related to the Demon Race to be considered valid. Other assignments could earn points too, but their benefits wouldn’t even be enough to fill a tooth gap.

Accepting missions like finding lost cats, dogs, or rabbits from the City Adventurers’ Guild could count as projects. Coupled with the Freshman Tournament victory bonus, it would be enough to scrape by. But doing so would be disgraceful.

Even mediocre teams would look down on such tasks. For a top-tier, full-spec squad like ours to take them on? It’d be laughable. Utterly shameful. A waste of face.

Naturally, we all turned down Felicia’s suggestion—it was too dangerous. Even though we were the top first-year team at Coleman Academy, the Demon Race was still the Demon Race.

They were a force that even the Empire couldn’t resist. Roaming around their periphery might be fine, but venturing deep into Ruglian solo? Forget it.

Just then, Felicia said something to Wenfu and stood up, walking toward the door.

“Ah? Isn’t this Miss Teresa?” Upon bumping into me, Felicia smiled.

“Could I ask you a favor?”

“What is it?”

“I was supposed to tutor Wenfu tonight. Would you mind taking over for me?”

“I’ve got something to handle,” she added.

“No problem. You go take care of your business, Felicia.”

“Thanks. I’ll cover your turn next time.” With that, Felicia left.

I watched her figure descend the stairs, pondering.

Felicia had been acting oddly these days. She spent very little time at home, always running off even outside of training hours. I had no idea what was going on with her.

As the team leader, I felt it was my responsibility to be concerned when a teammate had problems. But since she wasn’t talking, I couldn’t press her—not when our team was still in the adjustment phase. Asking personal questions too early could trigger resentment.

That night, Wenfu seemed especially dense. I lost count of how many times I explained things. I nearly revealed the answer outright before she finally caught on and solved the problem.

This girl...

Even I was getting a headache.

It wasn’t that Wenfu lacked learning ability—she simply wasn’t interested. Her heart wasn’t in it, but she also didn’t want to disappoint us. The result? She fought off sleep while forcing herself to stay focused, making her learning woefully inefficient.

At Clarity of Sun and Moon, Wenfu was undeniably a problem child. Dylin had even created a plan: after finishing homework each night, the other four of us would take turns tutoring her to prevent her from falling behind.

Everyone had agreed to it.

Speaking of which, Felicia had never missed her tutoring rotation—tonight was the first time.

Did something important come up?

I glanced at the wall clock. It was nearly 11:30.

We had class tomorrow. Time for bed.

As I passed Felicia’s room on the way back to mine, something struck me. I knocked on her door.

As expected, there was no reply. Through the door crack, I could see that it was pitch black inside.

She still hadn’t returned by 11:30?

I gave up on sleeping and headed downstairs to wait in the living room.

At around 12:30, I heard a faint beep-beep—the gate unlocking. Then, someone crept quietly into the courtyard, opened the door, and froze upon seeing the lights still on inside.

“Miss Teresa, you’re still awake?” Felicia was surprised to find me sitting in the living room with a cup of tea, clearly waiting.

“You’re awake too,” I said, glancing at the wall clock—my meaning obvious.

“Sorry, I came back a little late.”

“You weren’t out training, were you?” I asked just as Felicia was removing her boots and changing into slippers.

“Mhm, I just had something to take care of,” she replied vaguely.

“What kind of thing could make you skip training?” I pressed, tea in hand, unwilling to let the matter drop.

“I was at the training grounds,” Felicia said calmly, though a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.

“The training grounds, huh.” I looked at her—her clothes damp with sweat, suggesting strenuous activity.

I got up, stepped over, and lightly grasped her wrist.

“......”

“How are you feeling, Felicia?” I asked, noting the subtle wince she tried to conceal.

She instinctively tried to pull her hand away, but my fingers remained firm.

“You usually wear training gear back from the grounds. But today, you’re in an overcoat. Isn’t that strange?” I dropped my smile. “Felicia, it’s not cold in the house. Take off the coat, will you?”

“...........”

“Or is it that underneath that coat... there’s something you can’t let us see?”

“...........It’s late. We have class tomorrow. Miss Teresa, you should get some rest.”

“No rush,” I said, unmoving. My emerald eyes fixed on her. “You’re injured, aren’t you?”

“.........Getting injured during training isn’t unusual,” she insisted, still trying to deflect.

“Oh? That’s funny. Not even Astrid can hurt you. Are there first-years stronger than her hiding in this school?” I lifted her arm, attempting to roll up her sleeve. “How did you get hurt?”

“It’s none of your business!”

Her raised voice stunned us both into silence.

“...Sorry, I lost my composure.” Realizing she’d snapped, Felicia apologized hastily and hurried upstairs. “Miss Teresa, please get some rest. I’m fine.”

“............” I was left alone in the living room.

Replaying the scene in my mind, I remembered that flash in Felicia’s eyes as she raised her head—gone was the usual gentle nobility of the Whiteglass Knight Princess. What replaced it was vicious hostility.

Though we’d only been teammates for a month, I was certain: that was not how Felicia was supposed to look.

What had happened to put her in such a state?

I recalled her odd behaviors this past month.

At the start of term, Felicia had been unusually belligerent. She proposed we enter the freshman tournament immediately, and when opponents kept backing out, she grew increasingly irritable, constantly seeking sparring matches with me or Astrid.

I thought it was just her personality.

But now...

Could it be frustration over not fighting to her heart’s content during the tournament?

Where had she gone tonight?

Sigh...

We already had one problem child in the team. I didn’t want another one emerging while we were still in the adjustment phase.

I had to uncover the root of Felicia’s abnormal behavior. But judging by her reaction, she’d never tell me directly.

Let’s just hope this was all due to her being in a bad mood lately.

After all, girls do have those few days a month where their tempers flare up for no reason.

The night passed.

The next morning, I got up on time, had breakfast on time, and brought Dylin down with me.

“Wenfu, why is there still a portion for Felicia?” I asked, seeing the untouched breakfast at Felicia’s seat and the empty chair.

“Eh? Didn’t Felicia eat yet?” Wenfu, just coming out of the kitchen, poked her head out and froze at the sight of the untouched plate.

“You don’t know whether she ate or not?”

“Felicia usually wakes up early, so I prepare her portion ahead of time for her to take with her,” Wenfu said, surprised. “She didn’t eat today?”

While we puzzled over this, slow, dragging footsteps came from upstairs.

It was Felicia.

I narrowed my eyes.

This morning, she was acting extremely strange.

She normally woke early to train, never once late, always radiant with energy—the very image of the Whiteglass Knight Princess.

But today, her eyes—usually sharp and brilliant like polished onyx—were dull and vacant. Her uniform was sloppy, collar unturned, skirt crumpled.

Even Astrid and Wenfu noticed something was wrong.

“Felicia-sis, are you okay?”

“Not feeling well?”

“No, I just didn’t sleep well last night. Thank you for asking.” It took her a second to realize Astrid and Wenfu were talking to her. Felicia forced a weak smile, nodded, then glanced at me and gave an apologetic look before dragging her stunning amber hair over to her seat and slowly beginning breakfast.

She seemed too embarrassed to speak to me after last night.

A strange tension hung over the breakfast table.

I said nothing. Dylin, of course, was completely silent. Astrid clearly sensed something was off, but perhaps felt she had no right to pry into Felicia’s privacy. Felicia had said it was just a bad night’s sleep. Wenfu simply focused on her food.

The entire team had entered a bizarre, unnatural atmosphere.

Too unnatural.

Felicia, disciplined as she was, had never skipped her morning training.

If I had harbored any hopes yesterday that it was all a misunderstanding—today, I was certain.

Something was definitely wrong with Felicia.

But she refused to speak. Refused to explain. I couldn’t do anything to get through to her.

A few more days passed, and the Class Team Match arrived.

The so-called Class Match was an internal event, where multiple squads from the same class engaged in simulated combat to ensure students didn’t fall behind on training.

Although Divine Children and Divine Princesses attended separate classes, our class numbers were the same. Everyone participated—no one could sit out.

The Class Match used a free-for-all format—not one-on-one. Within Class A, three squads faced off as separate factions, with the other two considered enemies.

But this year’s rules were different.

Previously, elimination meant your entire squad had to be wiped out. The last squad standing would win. But to foster team cohesion among freshmen, a new rule had been added.

At the start, one member would be randomly designated the Commander. If that person was eliminated, the entire squad would be disqualified.

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