B4 - Chapter 37 - Arrival

With the impending disaster thankfully averted, the students began gathering as the teachers took charge to maintain order. While they waited for further instructions, Lily looked around and saw that the courtyard they were in was probably built specifically for flying carriages. One reason was that, at the far edge, multiple other carriages were stationed out of the way, each with a different design. Not only that, but shortly after they arrived, another group was about to land in royal blue and gold.

Stremweth…

While Lily was interested in potentially scouting out the competition, unfortunately Headmaster Fabrelis and the accompanying professors were asking them to follow to make room for the new arrivals. At the same time, someone from Tresnia took charge of their carriages and was moving them off to the side and out of the way using a levitation spell.

As they left the arrival area, they were greeted by the sight of the city, where they saw almost as many ordinary people as students or adults wearing Tresnia's signature silver and emerald green. It really gave the impression that they had arrived in the wrong place, although when the welcoming committee came to greet them and show them to their lodgings, that doubt thankfully subsided.

Lily tried her best to overhear what was happening at the front, but the noise overlapped too much, so her usually precise ears failed her. Still, she caught a glimpse of the man Headmaster Fabrelis was talking to, and judging by their smiles, they were on good terms. She guessed he was probably Tresnia's headmaster, but his soot-covered apron made him look more like a blacksmith.

Although a magical blacksmith being the headmaster of the best crafting school would make sense…

"Excited?" Rose asked, gently nudging Lily.

"Yes, I've never been in a city this big… Also, I'm wondering if I'll get to see Theo, or if Margit and Miss Camilla will be able to make it."

"I'm sure Margit will try her best, although that does depend on that old witch, though. I can imagine her not wanting to come because she couldn't afford to not be open for business for a few days, or something like that."

Lily sighed, easily imagining Camilla saying those exact words. Her only hope was that either Margit pressed hard enough or the old woman had somehow sniffed out a profit opportunity. Looking at Tresnia, Lily thought the latter might actually be quite possible, as this was like a merchant's paradise.

Instead of being set up in school dorms, the Regarth group was led to what looked like a large, multi-story inn, and judging by the lack of guests, they had the place reserved for them. More importantly, they smelled dinner cooking as soon as they entered, prompting several sniffs and even some drooling from the students.

Over a delightful dinner, it was explained how the next few days were to progress. The tournament itself wouldn't start for two days, since not everyone had arrived yet, including guests and competitors, so tomorrow would be a tour of Tresnia's public facilities. After the tour, the students were free to explore as they wished the following day, as long as they checked back in at the inn before curfew.

After that, it would be the opening ceremony and the official start of the actual competition. It would start with the first years and was planned to end before the end of the day, with both duels and non-combat events. From there on, each day would be for the next years' students, usually starting with the professions in the morning, with the afternoon and evening dedicated to the duels.

Once that was over, they would hold an awards ceremony and announce the final event, which would take place the following day. Lily honestly hadn't expected them to stay this long, since even Regarth's own festival had only taken place over a long weekend, while this sounded like nearly two weeks of activities if you added it all up.

Everyone was expected to support their fellow students, especially during finals, which was pretty much mandatory, but they could roam around Tresnia as long as they stayed out of trouble. They could even arrange to participate in some classes if they wanted, or do some self-study. For students who took their electives seriously, this was a golden opportunity to gain extra knowledge from Tresnia.

When it was Regarth's turn to host, the benefit was obvious: access to the dungeon, but Lily struggled to think of what the other schools might offer when it was their turn. Then again, maybe a different view on similar subjects was a good enough compromise instead of needing an outright specialty course.

After dinner, Lily and friends gathered to talk about what they'd just heard and share their thoughts. However, their group had a strange addition to their numbers—Clarissa.

"What's she doing here?" Lotte asked bluntly.

"I invited her," Thomas admitted. "We are all on the same team while here, after all."

"I can leave if you prefer," Clarissa offered.

"No, Thomas is right," Lily quickly agreed before anyone else could send her away.

Unless Clarissa went to find Alice, who had disappeared to who knows where, she was basically alone here, at a different school, and she didn't even have her butler. Lily certainly wouldn't want to be in her shoes, so she decided to offer an olive branch.

While Lily wasn't exactly the leader of their group as a whole, they accepted her acceptance. After all, Lily had the most reason to reject Clarissa, so if she was fine with it, they couldn't really complain. Hana might have said something, but she also seemed fine with it, despite their family rivalries.

Garet and Wallace were here too, though they were included as part of the "boys team" rather than the friend group. Rose probably would have loved to be here, but they took her away with the rest of the second-years and one of the professors, most likely to discuss important tournament stuff.

And yet Alice ran away… Do they just not care about us first-years, or does she feel we don't need any prep talk?

"This sucks, I can't believe they expect us to do schoolwork while here," Arthur whined.

"This is a good opportunity, though," Thomas countered. "When else can you see the crafters of Tresnia in action?"

Arthur frowned. "But I'm not a crafter. This feels like punishment for me not picking one."

"Not necessarily," Lily replied. "Even if you don't have a profession-based elective right now, you could use this as a scouting opportunity. Find one that maybe interests you and pick it up next year, or maybe even the year after that."

"Lily's right," Hana agreed. "We didn't even have access to most of the electives as first years. No forging, no enchantments, and so on."

"Well, with one notable exception…" Lotte said, looking at Lily.

"I had a head start with glyphs before I got here. If I waited another year to start, then I'd be wasting Professor Ollie's time," Lily explained.

"It was originally a first-year subject; it's just that the failure rate was so high that it got pushed back," Clarissa surprisingly added.

"So look around and see if anything catches our eyes," Garet said with a firm nod. "I like the sound of that. Maybe I can see if my flames are suited to smithing."

"So I guess it's just me then who's got nothing to look forward to…" Arthur sighed.

"What about flying enchantments?" Lily suggested.

Arthur's face paled at the suggestion, and as always, when Lily brought it up, he quickly rejected it, shaking his head frantically. No matter how many times she proved how useful glyphs were to her friends, they always turned them down as too complicated.

The rest of their conversation went about as you'd expect; Lotte expressed interest in seeing their alchemy labs, and Lily was in agreement. Of course, in the same breath, she admitted the obvious: she wanted to see their enchanters, and to see just how ruthless they were.

Camilla's attitude toward enchanters had left a strong impression on Lily, but meeting Professor Ollie had greatly diminished that image. If anything, she was more concerned about a certain alchemy professor who would probably make her draw glyphs every day if he could.

Speaking of Tresnia… I wonder if I'll meet that tester again?

He'd left quite an impression on her because of the rather ludicrous offer the school had sent her. Ultimately, she had rejected it for Regarth, and after seeing what the dungeon had to offer, she knew she'd made the right decision. She hoped he didn't hold it against her, and if anything, she almost wanted to thank him for being one of the first to argue for her worth.

When they ran out of things to really talk about, they headed to their rooms, which were surprisingly spacious despite being shared by two. Lily thought she'd end up staying with Rose, but apparently the dragon wasn't going to have her way, so she ended up staying with Lotte instead. Unfortunately for Hana, she drew the short end of the stick and was paired with Clarissa, who protested and tried to buy her own room in another inn. When she was unsuccessful, she stuck it out and eventually settled down, much to everyone's relief.

As for Lily, the first thing she did when she reached her room was take Arakil out of her pocket, wanting to give him some fresh air for the first time since this morning. Of course he didn't really need it, but Lily felt like the gesture mattered. Thankfully, with Lotte as her roommate, Lily wouldn't have to worry about anyone snitching on her Familiar being out.

{How are you feeling?}

[No complaints. The trip here was interesting enough, and I'm curious to see how this mage-merchant city works. If they are supposed to be the cream of the crop when it comes to magical crafters, then I'm expecting to be blown away. However, I have to say that the environment is absolutely dreadful.]

{Dreadful? Do you not like cities? I wish there were maybe a bit fewer people, but it seemed fine.}

[Oh, apologies, I didn't mean the city itself or its people; I meant the actual environment. The ambient Mana here is even worse than Ceedale, and I'd grown rather accustomed to the slightly elevated levels around Regarth.]

{Is that because of the dungeon?}

[Correct, a minuscule leak, but it's made the area around Regarth slightly more palatable. We won't be casting any spells with it anytime soon, but even a hint of moisture is better than the barren desert.]

{That makes sense. Can I offer you more of my Mana to compensate?}

[N—Actually, that would be appreciated. Thank you, Lily. But before you do, remember to do your nightly ritual with the stars.]

Lily sighed and donned her cloak, causing Lotte to give her a confused look.

"Sorry, I need to meditate for the solar cycle."

Lotte blinked in surprise. "Uh… Good luck with that? Are you going to stand on the street, or maybe climb onto the roof? Do you need my help?"

Lily chuckled and shook her head. "No, I don't need to do any of that, thankfully. My cloak can copy the stars above, and I can just meditate with that."

"Well, that's useful. Does that mean you don't need to stay out late anymore?"

"I'm not entirely sure… I get the feeling that the real thing will almost always be better, but as a substitute this is perfectly fine. Watch, and then look out the window."

Lotte nodded and watched as the stars on Lily's cloak gradually shifted. Not only their layout, but the colors and arrangement changed quite a bit from how they looked when they first manifested. When the movements finally stopped, she stuck her head out the window and looked up, then glanced back at Lily.

"Okay, I feel like I've been tricked somehow. You didn't even look outside, so how could they look pretty much the same?"

"Only pretty much? It should be identical; otherwise, I've somehow messed up," Lily admitted.

Lotte looked again and shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe it's the light pollution? Tresnia is quite a lot brighter than Regarth's castle."

"Could be. Anyway, I didn't copy it; I'm reflecting it, and I can use this as the medium for my focus. Although I still have no idea if this solar cycle is a thing, I guess we will see next year."

"Well, don't stay up too late, or you won't be ready for tomorrow. I think it's gonna be quite exciting. Anyway, I'm heading to bed early, so goodnight."

"I won't. Goodnight, Lotte."

As her friend turned off the light and crawled into bed, Lily let out a soft sigh as she focused on her cloak. Even though she had it mirroring, she made sure to portion off an extra section specifically for the Lantern.

Sorry I couldn't have you with me during the flight, but I didn't want to get into trouble.

Whether the constellation accepted her apology or not, she had no idea, but at this point she was willing to try anything if it meant invoking it even a few minutes sooner.

Just two days until I have to make my debut… Let's hope it all goes well.