Chapter 24

Due to the major unexpected situation, the illusionary barrier was opened ahead of schedule, and the survivors were taken out by the school’s mentors and their families.

Even so, handling the young children who perished here, dealing with the outside public opinion and family pressure, was still an extremely tricky and difficult task for the school.

After a night of discussion, the school’s senior management decided to immediately seal the barrier and repair the cracks.

“Repairing the cracks is not an easy task. It will be impossible to complete it without at least a month. During this time, I’m afraid all the trial activities at the school will have to be suspended.”

“That’s not the main issue.”

Around the round table in the conference room, the participants looked grim, and the atmosphere in the room was oppressive.

“…The important thing is, how are we going to explain the events of this incident to the outside world?”

“Who would have thought that the magic beast that had been imprisoned would suddenly go berserk, break through our restraints, and tear the barrier to enter the illusion realm?”

“If it wasn’t for it, the barrier wouldn’t have been destroyed, and those… strange beasts wouldn’t have crawled through the cracks, causing this disaster!”

“In my opinion, the Fred family should bear at least half of the responsibility! The magic beast was already hard to control, and Theresa brought it to the school just before the start of the term. It nearly injured someone before the trials, and now this… What do they say on their end?”

“The Witch family has said they are willing to take responsibility for all the risks, losses, and compensation. But the condition is… the reason for the barrier’s collapse cannot be exposed.”

“Ha, still thinking about the Saintess’ reputation, huh?”

“But I’ve heard that the reason there were no more serious casualties is because of Fred family’s second daughter—she’s the one they brought back from the countryside. After the few unconscious students woke up, they cried and told me that it was the goddess who appeared riding blue flames that saved them. They said things like that in a dazed state.”

“…I think they must have been delirious. How could one student have the ability to deal with those strange beasts that even we haven’t fully figured out yet?”

“That’s true… But we searched everywhere, and we couldn’t find that girl.”

“What does the Witch family say?”

“They also sent searchers inside, but they found nothing. Now, we’ve sent higher-ups to negotiate with the Fred family to seal everything…”

Bang—

The door was suddenly flung open!

A blonde girl appeared at the door, her lips pale and panting heavily. She leaned against the door frame, her face flushed from the intense running.

“How could you… leave Talli there all alone!?”

Her voice was soft, almost in a sob, but filled with disbelief. Her eyes, wide and teary, were filled with shock, and her whole body seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

The members of the school board at the round table exchanged looks.

“She saved us!”

Theresa’s wounds were not fully healed, and her weak voice finally grew somewhat sharp. “It was Talli who saved all of us, but before you found her, you wanted to seal the barrier!!”

“What are you trying to do? Trap her alone in the illusion realm!?”

The council members began to take action.

“Who let her in?”

“Quick, take the Saintess back! She should be in a hospital bed, not here.”

“Theresa, please listen to us. We’ve already searched again, and we haven’t even found a trace of your sister…”

Several female mentors moved forward to support the weak Theresa. What was meant to be support was, in fact, a way to restrain her movements and lead her outside.

Theresa struggled, her face flushed, but her frail body gave her barely any strength to resist. “Let go of me… Don’t touch me!”

“We’re doing this for your own good!”

“That’s right. After thorough searches by both our academy and the Fred family, we couldn’t find anyone. Your sister has likely met with misfortune.”

“We still haven’t completely ruled out the threats in the illusion realm. A lot of things happened in the illusion that even our senior management can’t explain… If we don’t seal the barrier immediately, not only will it hinder the repair of the cracks, but our academy will also be unable to face the immense public pressure. Please understand our situation…”

“—Saintess, please return right away. And our decision has already been approved by your father!!”

Theresa, who had been struggling, froze when she heard the last sentence.

A look of disbelief appeared on her face.

“You said… what?”

The mentors exchanged glances and steeled themselves to say, “We’ve already sealed the barrier first, and your father has signed off on the repair of the cracks…”

Theresa’s face turned pale in an instant.

She swayed unsteadily, and was barely able to stand with help from those around her. She seemed confused and whispered in disbelief, “How could… How could Dad do this…?”

Seizing this opportunity, the mentors led her out of the council hall and called for the Fred family’s servants to escort her back to the infirmary.

“This matter started because of her magic beast. It’s normal for her to feel guilty…”

“The Saintess is truly kind-hearted.”

“However, in order to protect the Saintess, the Fred family seems to have cast aside their second daughter as a pawn, huh?”

—

On the other side.

The blonde youth slowly woke up from the hospital bed. His head was wrapped in bandages, and one of his arms was in a cast.

He groped around the bed and sat up, still trying to figure out where he was. Before he could make sense of it, the pain from the injury on his head flared up. He covered the pain and leaned back against the headboard, realizing that his memories of the illusion realm were fragmented.

After entering the illusion with his sister, they had originally made great progress, but in the second half of their journey, they experienced strange weightlessness, and he got separated from his sister. Then chaos broke out, and unknown monsters nearly wiped out their team, which had been the strongest during the trial…

Finally… finally…

Right.

Carl slapped his head, wincing in pain, but then he quickly remembered something. He jumped out of bed and hobbled as he walked.

Talli… it was Talli who saved them!

In the final moments, that girl was like a hawk darting through fire. She rode a blue fox, merging with the blue flames, glowing so intensely and brightly in the darkness. She stood out, using her bow and arrows to almost effortlessly kill that terrifying and bizarre monster!

At that time, he could hardly tear his eyes away from her.

It was like a quiet, gray little bird suddenly spreading its wings and revealing its sharp beak.

Although it only lasted an instant, those remarkably bright eyes left an indelible mark in his heart.

She saved everyone.

If it weren’t for her, they would have all died in that damned illusion long ago.

Carl realized this.

He leaned against the wall, pressed the handle to open the door, and hurried out.

“Young master, young master… Where are you going?”

“You’ve been injured badly. The school sent you home to rest. Your injuries haven’t healed yet. You can’t just go out!!”

Several maids hurried to catch up.

“Don’t bother me!”

Carl impatiently swatted away their hands as they tried to support him. Struggling, he made his way toward the courtyard and asked, “Where is your young lady?”

“Miss… Miss Theresa’s injuries are lighter. After being treated in the school infirmary, she said she had some things to attend to and insisted on staying there…”

Carl froze for a moment.

He turned around. “I’m asking about Talli, your second young lady.”

“…”

The maids immediately showed panic, exchanging uneasy glances.

“Y-Young master, we’re not too sure about that either… Why don’t you go back to your room first? The wind is strong outside, and your injuries aren’t fully healed…”

“Useless,”

Carl cursed, irritated, and turned around, “Don’t follow me, go away!”

Judging by the situation, Talli wasn’t at the estate right now. Was she at the school?

Carl pushed the maids aside after a cold rebuke, determined to head toward the estate.

But then a voice called out to him.

“…Young Master Fred.”

It was the familiar voice of a young man.

Carl turned around and saw a young man in a white robe, his clothes and hair neatly arranged, standing in front of him.

“…Priest.”

Out of politeness, Carl forced himself to speak. “Welcome to the Fred estate. May I ask what brings you here?”

“You…”

Ryan hesitated before speaking. “I thought you might not know yet.”

“…What?”

“I originally thought you knew about this,” Ryan took two steps forward, “There was a crack in the barrier this time. The Imperial Academy is going to seal the barrier and won’t reopen it until the crack is repaired.”

“…So, what are you trying to say?”

“Miss Talli…”

Ryan pressed his lips together, lowering his lashes as if hesitating over his words. “…Miss Talli… she is still trapped in the barrier and has not yet been found.”

After he spoke, the air became heavy and stagnant.

The priest raised his gaze.

—It was the first time he saw such an expression on the young man’s face.

Carl’s face darkened. He lowered his head, his bangs falling to cover his eyes, making it impossible to see his expression. His tightly clenched fist trembled slightly.

“…I’ll go find my father now.” It seemed as if he was using all his strength to suppress something, speaking in a controlled tone, each word carefully enunciated.

Carl said this, then turned and walked toward the main hall door.

After walking a few steps, he stopped but did not turn around.

“It seems the priest forgot to mention the purpose of your visit to Fred today.”

“…”

Ryan pressed his hand against the broken gemstone brooch. It had once been sharp enough to cut skin, but now it was wrapped in a soft, white handkerchief, concealing its edges, quietly lying in the pocket of his robe, fragile and pitiful.

“It’s nothing.”

Ryan said.

He would wait until Talli was safely out before personally handing it to her.

“I see.”

Carl continued walking. “I thought you were here to see Sister Theresa.”

Ryan froze.

Long after Carl had left, Ryan finally snapped back to reality and turned around.

He extended his right hand and pressed it against his chest, his expression showing a hint of confusion.

—It seemed like he hadn’t thought about going to find Theresa for a long time.