Volume 2 – Chapter 29: Return

"Last time, the report you submitted to the Academy received a direct response from the Headmaster," Astrid said, brushing aside all the strange thoughts still lingering in her mind and handing the document she was holding to Dylin.

Dylin flipped through a few pages casually. The report mostly confirmed that his submitted findings about the ruins laboratory in Ruglian had caught Headmaster Diderlay’s attention. He promised to dispatch professionals to Ruglian for a formal investigation and instructed them not to disturb the site until then to preserve its original state.

The rest of the letter expressed concern for their expedition and reminded them to prioritize their safety above all else, even above their coursework.

A fairly standard administrative reply.

The incident at Ruglian’s lab was closed for now, with the Academy taking over. Though, Dylin didn’t expect them to uncover anything truly useful.

He didn’t press further. Right now, treating Felicia’s condition took priority. If they let that sadistic princess continue unchecked, who knew what new chaos she’d cause.

He glanced at Felicia, who had retreated a few steps but still kept sneaking looks at him—her gaze unreadable.

After a day of rest, the Clarity of Sun and Moon team set out again.

Learning from their last outing, Teresa had no choice but to come along this time. Given how dangerous the unknown land could be, they needed to strike with the full strength of the team.

That morning, Teresa stood in front of her mirror, fully dressed for the journey.

With her butterfly hairpin in place, she looked spirited and poised, returning to that confident, capable image—as if the disgraceful incidents in the secret realm had never happened, or as if they’d happened to someone else entirely.

Wearing the Academy’s official field uniform, she strolled from her room to the main hall with elegant ease. The others were clearly already prepped for departure.

Felicia was dressed in a revealing, athletic outfit. Her lightly defined abs, pale and firm, showed beneath her top.

That faint musculature wasn’t off-putting—in fact, on Felicia, it added an alluring edge.

Even Astrid wasn’t in her usual school uniform. Instead, she wore an Elven-style outfit: a short ice-silk skirt resembling layered lotus petals, semi-sheer black tights, and open-toe high heels. On top, a sleeveless silk blouse with a cut-out back.

All for mobility’s sake.

Don’t ask how high heels count as “practical.” Elves aren’t bound by the laws of science. After seeing the two photosynthesizing Elves in the secret realm, Teresa had already given up on questioning anything.

"Eh? Huh…"

“Mmgh…”

When Teresa descended the stairs with her bow slung across her back, she noticed something… odd.

For some reason, her teammates kept looking her way. Their eyes sparkled with curiosity, like they were seeing her for the first time.

"Teresa-sis~"

"What is it, Wenfu? You’re looking at me like it’s our first meeting." Teresa leaned in and poked Wenfu’s dainty nose.

"It’s not that… it’s just, you seem different today."

“Different?”

Looking at Wenfu, Teresa noticed the other two silently nodded in agreement.

“And what exactly is different?” She ruffled Wenfu’s fluffy head.

“Umm… I can’t really put it into words. But it’s like you’ve… I don’t know… refreshed? Like a new version of Teresa-sis!”

Refreshed?

Teresa thought back to everything that had happened in the secret realm. Since returning, she had sensed changes in her body.

Her human form had already changed quite a bit—not to mention her Elf form.

She could tell her human body had become more feminine, but she couldn’t really tell if anything changed with her Elf body. Was it that she’d gotten so used to it, she couldn’t notice subtle changes anymore?

But… What exactly had changed?

Tilting her head, Teresa cradled her still-wobbly snow-white chest and fell into thought.

Could it be… this?

"Why did you immediately jump to that?!" Wenfu exclaimed, puffing out her cheeks in frustration.

She drank milk, she ate well—her nutrition wasn’t lacking! So why…?

Wenfu looked down and easily spotted her own toes. Her measurements had remained perfectly stable since last month.

But looking at Teresa—maybe it was just her imagination—she was sure Teresa’s size had gone up again.

Why?!

The more she thought about it, the more unfair the world seemed. Why would some people grow just by drinking water, while others tried every method and still saw no results?

Watching Teresa’s unreserved behavior, Astrid glanced over—then stared at the snow-white "landscape" and blurted out without thinking, "You’ve grown. Probably by one or two inches."

…

Silence fell. Three pairs of eyes turned toward Astrid in unison.

“…Just an estimate,” she said quickly, regretting her words the moment they left her mouth. Realizing how revealing that comment was, she averted her gaze and added nonchalantly.

“With that much confidence and such precise numbers, you must’ve done a lot of ‘research,’ huh, Astrid~?” Teresa said with a flowery smile.

No matter how composed she tried to be, Astrid’s cheeks flushed. Whether it was embarrassment or something else was unclear.

Even Astrid herself thought she was mostly just flustered—but what she failed to realize was that, more than shame, it was excitement.

She shot Teresa a mildly reproachful look.

Miss Teresa—always teasing her like this.

Felicia, meanwhile, watched the exchange with great interest. She suddenly remembered that Astrid might have feelings for Dylin...

This was getting interesting.

After breakfast, the four of them set off.

Learning from last time—when they had to flee separately and left their supplies behind—they decided that Felicia would carry all the baggage herself, while the others only needed to bring their weapons. It’d help burn off Felicia’s extra energy, too.

“Isn’t Mr. Dylin coming with us this time?”

“He has other tasks. He’s finishing the report on our last investigation.” Of course, that was only the official reason—Dylin had finished the report days ago.

Unlike the project proposal, which could be filled with fluff, the field investigation report needed real content—actual observations, experiences, and conclusions drawn from on-site work. No copy-pasting, no nonsense—just facts.

This wasn’t idle theorizing. If you had lived through something—especially something life-threatening—then you always had something meaningful to say.

“Oh, right—Teresa.” At the edge of the Coleman Forest, Felicia handed her a crystal chip.

Teresa recognized it immediately. This was the chip that had dropped from that monstrous chimera they’d defeated last time.

She had felt a strange connection to it even then—a sense of familiarity from the very first glance.

“I doubt this thing is ordinary. I kept it for you. Pretty sure it belongs to you.”

Teresa took the chip. As expected, the moment it touched her skin, it reacted. She opened her internal interface—and saw that the numbers had changed.

The Divine Authority consumption for [Sovereignty of All Forests] had decreased, and its usage frequency doubled from once to twice a day. At the same time, a gem identical in shape to the chip appeared in one of the slots on [Sacred Oblivion]. Everything felt… natural, like it was always meant to be that way.

Additionally, her authority recovery rate had increased.

The crystal’s glow dimmed slightly—though Teresa couldn’t be sure if that was just her imagination.

Clearly, this gem wasn’t some coincidence. It had a connection to her—maybe even to the former Teresa.

But why?

Since entering Lanine Academy, she had acquired two stones that seemed tied to her former self—in less than half a year.

If they truly belonged to the original Teresa… wasn’t that too coincidental?

She hadn’t been “Teresa” for very long, yet these stones were practically throwing themselves at her feet. Were they… alive somehow? Seeking their master now that she had returned?

Not impossible. This was a world of magic, after all. She knew little about these stones—and probably no one else did either.

If anyone might know, it would be Bilodis.

But for now, Teresa couldn’t ask her—and honestly, she didn’t want to see her again either.

If it wasn’t fate, then what were the odds?

It all felt like she was walking a path someone had carefully prepared for her. That level of convenience felt… unreal.

Regardless, Teresa kept her guard up.

She used Divine Appraisal on the chip.

Myriad-Wood Crystal Stone: Said to be leftover “raw material” from when the Elf Mother Goddess created the great forest. Seems to contain divine power from the Mother Goddess.

One short line. But the information it held was staggering.

A leftover from the forest’s creation, imbued with divine essence.

Even if it didn’t carry a god’s full power, the archaeological value alone was priceless.

But instead of clarifying anything, it just raised more questions.

Why would someone embed something that valuable into a monster?

Was it meant as the energy core keeping the chimera alive?

Then why leave the monster—and the gem—in a lab? Was it a reward for whoever defeated the creature?

From what Teresa observed, whoever built that lab was clearly not mentally stable. There was no way they’d create such a gift out of goodwill.

Not only that—they seemed to have planned for someone to enter the lab later.

If the goal was to bury the lab in secrecy, there were far more efficient ways to do it than leaving behind an unkillable final boss.

***

Thousands of miles away, at the far end of Ruglian, amidst the ruined fortress cities.

A petite, wheat-skinned figure abruptly opened her eyes atop a throne of skulls and beast pelts.

Her blood-red irises shimmered as she stared into the distance—something unplaceable flickering in her gaze.

Long silver hair flowed across the floor. The girl with horns and wheat-colored skin stood from her grim throne. Her black-tipped fingers curled—lightning crackled down from the heavens, splitting the storm clouds.

“…Is it you?” the silver-haired, horned girl whispered, eyes locked on something far away. Her voice trembled with a potent mix of obsession, longing, and hatred.

Her eyes—part Elf, part demon—held countless emotions: joy, confusion, hatred, longing… a storm of contradictions.

Then, with a hoarse cry from her childish voice:

“Te…re…sa…!”

Unable to draw any solid conclusions, Teresa tucked the chip close to her chest and followed behind the group with her bow in hand.

“Mm…” Behind her, Wenfu clicked her tongue softly, then pretended not to see anything and followed.

Good development was a cheat in itself… like carrying a fourth-dimensional pocket.

They arrived at Ruglian. The moment they stepped in, even the sunlight seemed to chill.

Just like before, Ruglian hadn’t changed. Except for the weather worn sign at the edge of Coleman Forest, it almost felt like they had never left Kaleburn.

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