After Eva woke up and wasn't fully alert yet, Ard immediately took her outside, then escorted her back to her dorm.
"Huh... what just happened, Ard? Why did Prince Abel make us sleep?" Eva asked, confused.
"It's nothing. I'll tell you later. You need to go back now, it's still dark out," Ard answered.
"Uh... okay, I'll go in then," Eva replied.
"Yeah, good night," Ard replied.
Eva stared at Ard for a moment, then suddenly stepped forward and kissed Ard's cheek, before immediately running into the dorm. Ard froze, holding his cheek.
"Huh... was that... real?" Ard asked in his heart.
After a moment of contemplation, Ard finally turned to walk toward his own dorm. He looked up at the ceiling and saw the moon had shifted slightly toward the east. Just as he was about to step through the door, he glanced toward the girls' dorm, which was far off in the distance, and saw a flash of a golden shadow slip out of the dorm.
"Huh? What was that?" Ard asked.
Curious, he walked toward where the shadow seemed to be heading, which looked like the direction of the horse stable.
"Ace, come out," Ard said in his head.
Ace immediately emerged from his shadow, then perched on Ard's shoulder. Ard paused for a moment, and then "Cawwwww," Ace instantly flew into the sky, following the shadow. Ard could see what Ace, the griffon, was seeing from the air.
He watched the golden shadow shoot past the horse stables, then turn and enter the forest, not heading toward the dragon stables. Ard opened his eyes, then ran toward the horse stables, while Ace continued to follow the golden shadow from the air.
After running for about fifteen minutes, Ard finally reached the edge of the forest. Ace landed back on his shoulder. Ard then walked step by step into the woods, keeping an eye out for any wild animals. After walking deep enough, "La... la... la... la," he heard someone humming a very melodious song.
Growing more curious, Ard walked toward where the song was coming from. In front of him, he saw a small lake with a waterfall, illuminated by the moonlight, making it look incredibly beautiful. It seemed the lake was connected to the river flowing through the city.
But what surprised and intrigued Ard was seeing a girl who appeared to be bathing while dancing in the middle of the lake, her body covered only by a thin, wet cloth, illuminated by the moonlight. "Gasp," Ard saw that the girl had blonde hair, yellow eyes, and long, pointed ears.
"Huh... an Elf? Why is there an Elf here? I've only met an Elf once... she was one of my adventurer party members in my fifth life... I should leave this place. I don't want to disturb her," Ard muttered in his heart.
Ard backed away, but "Crack," he accidentally stepped on a branch, creating a loud noise. The Elf immediately stopped dancing and turned toward Ard. Naturally, Ard instantly turned and intended to leave, but suddenly "Shing," a sword tip was right in front of him. The Elf was already standing before him. Ard raised his hands and smiled, then he glanced down because he heard a growling sound and saw a small Cerberus next to the Elf.
"Huh... a Cerberus?" Ard asked in his heart.
"Ard ? what are you doing here?" the Elf asked, but she immediately covered her mouth because she had blurted it out.
Ard looked again at the Elf's face. He immediately recognized her. The Elf woman in front of him was named Pyria Wysacaryn, who, in his fifth life, was his party member when he was an adventurer.
"P... Pyria?" Ard asked.
"Huh... w-why do you know my real name?" Pyria asked, confused and becoming wary.
"Ugh... um... I just do, hahaha," Ard replied, unable to explain and giving a vague answer.
"I knew it. No wonder I was drawn to you in class. It's true you can see my true form," Pyria said, smiling but looking annoyed.
"Hah... we're in the same class? Sorry, but you're wrong. I've never seen who you are in class," Ard asked.
"Oh... is that so... then how do you know my real name?" Pyria countered, her body looking very sexy as it was only covered by a thin, wet cloth.
"I... I can't explain it to you... I just suddenly knew," Ard replied.
Pyria stared at Ard as if studying his face, her yellow eyes looking into Ard's blue eyes.
"To be honest, ever since we gathered, I was drawn to your eyes... and Princess Eva's eyes... your eyes are deep like the ocean... you look like people who have lived for a very long time... like my grandmother, who is almost 1,000 years old," Pyria said.
"Seriously... how could a human live that long," Ard replied.
"Yeah... I know. I was just making a comparison," Pyria replied.
"But who are you really? Why did you say we're classmates... and your familiar... wait a minute... are you Patricia?" Ard asked.
Pyria immediately fell silent, her beautiful face blushing slightly. Then she closed her eyes and withdrew her sword. "Swoosh," suddenly Pyria changed into Patricia, who had long, braided black hair.
"Yes... I'm Patricia," Pyria replied.
"Haaah... so that's it... no wonder you said we were classmates," Ard replied, rubbing the back of his head.
"Y-Yes. Please keep this a secret. Only you know that I'm actually an Elf," Patricia pleaded.
"Wait... during introductions, you said you were from Orhus. As far as I know, the Elf forest is on the border between the Fredonia and Hellios Kingdoms, right?" Ard asked. "Pyria told me a long time ago that her village was in the Elf forest," Ard muttered in his heart.
"That's true. My village is in that forest, but I've been in Orhus for a long time, so... I just said I was from here," Patricia replied.
"Hmm, I see," Ard replied. "Okay, one more girl from my previous lives is added to the list. It turns out Patricia is Pyria... she said the same thing back then, too, that my eyes look deep like the ocean. I wonder what that means... hopefully, this won't get complicated and my brother won't find out," Ard muttered in his heart.
"Why are you here, Ard?" Patricia asked.
"I saw a flash of a golden shadow come out of the girls' dorm, then I followed it... um... don't you want to put on some clothes first?" Ard asked, turning to look the other way.
"Huh," Patricia looked down. Her face instantly turned red when she realized her body was only covered by a thin, wet cloth, revealing everything.
"Snap," Patricia immediately hugged her own body and turned around, then crouched down. She slowly turned her head to look at Ard.
"D-Did you see?" Patricia asked.
"No... don't worry," Ard answered. "I saw everything, right down to the details... thanks for the show," Ard muttered in his heart.
"Liar... you did see, didn't you?" Patricia asked, pouting.
"Honestly, no," Ard replied, still looking the other way.
"If you really didn't see, swear an oath," Patricia countered.
"Ugh... that... is hard," Ard replied, confused.
"See, I was right, you saw my body," Patricia replied, pouting even more.
"Fine, I apologize for looking, and thank you for the view," Ard replied, bowing his head.
"Slap," suddenly Patricia stood up and instantly slapped Ard, making Ard fall down sitting up. Then she ran to the edge of the lake, leaving Ard sitting on the ground and holding his cheek.
"Caw?" Ace asked, tilting his head and looking at Ard with his round eyes.
"Hehe... it's okay... at least I feel relieved," Ard replied, stroking Ace's lower beak.