Chapter 13 – Heroine
[ System ]
[ Saving the heroine ]
[ Sub-Quest: "Walk the Heroine to the Dorms" ]
[ Reward: Unknown ]
[ Penalty for Failure: None… probably ]
What?
'Heroine?' I thought, staring at the floating text only I could see. 'Since when do I have a heroine?'
[ System ]
[ Tag Applied: "Route Character – Lyra Feld" ]
…Route?
I glanced at Lyra, who was walking just ahead of me, carefully matching my pace.
She was humming under her breath, so softly I almost couldn't hear it. Every time a group of older students passed by, she shrank a little, as if trying to make herself invisible.
'She doesn't look like a "heroine",' I thought. 'More like… a frightened rabbit.'
Still.
[ Saving the heroine ]
The words lingered in my mind.
"Um… Erynd?" Lyra's voice pulled me back.
"Yes?"
"I, um, I really am grateful," she said, looking straight ahead this time. "Those boys… they've been bothering anyone with a cheaper staff or sword for a while. Most people just pretend not to see."
"I see."
My hand rested on the hilt at my waist out of habit.
"They'll probably be more careful after today," I said. "Bullies don't like pain."
She nodded, then hesitated again.
"And your sword… I've never seen anyone move like that up close," she admitted. "It was like… like you were dancing, but also… cutting people."
"That is one way to describe it," I said. "My father trained me."
"He must be amazing."
"He is." I looked at the cobblestones. "Annoying, sometimes. But amazing."
That earned a small laugh from her. It sounded like something fragile, finally allowed to breathe.
***
The path to the dorms wound between trees and smaller buildings, away from the busy training fields and main towers. The academy noise—shouting from the Sword fields, distant explosions from Staff practice—faded a little with every step.
Soon, two long stone buildings came into view, facing each other across a shared courtyard. Both were three stories tall, with wide steps leading up to their main doors.
Above the entrance of the building on the left, carved into the stone arch, were the words:
[ First-Year Dormitory – Girls' Hall ]
The one on the right had a matching arch:
[ First-Year Dormitory – Boys' Hall ]
Around us, other students were trickling in—Sword red, Staff blue, Divination white, all mixed together. The only real separation here was gender.
"That's the first-year dorms," Lyra said, pointing ahead. "All three campuses share them. Boys on the right, girls on the left."
"I see," I said. "So they only separate us by gender."
"Mm. Apparently it was simpler than building three different dorms," she said. "And cheaper."
We crossed the courtyard together. Luggage was scattered here and there—trunks, bags, even one poor crate that looked like it had lost a fight with a staircase. Older students with armbands marked *Residential Aide* were moving around, directing confused first-years toward the correct building.
We stopped where the path split: right toward the Boys' Hall, left toward the Girls' Hall.
Lyra pointed to a board just inside the open door of the boys' building.
"There," she said. "Room lists should be posted inside each hall. Boys' rooms in there, girls' rooms in mine."
"I see. This is more organised than I expected."
"Apparently people got lost a lot in the early years," she said. "Some even slept in the common room because they couldn't find their beds. So they changed it."
I stepped up into the entryway of the Boys' Hall. The air inside was warm, the stone walls lit by softly glowing crystals at regular intervals. Just inside, on the right, a large wooden board was mounted to the wall.
Rows of parchment were nailed to it, covered with room numbers and names written neatly in columns.
I scanned the list.
It didn't take long to find it.
[ Room B-203 – Erynd Milton (Divination) ]
Rion's name was just above mine.
[ Room B-202 – Rion Aldes (Divination) ]
"So we're neighbours too," I muttered.
Good. Easier to check that he hadn't wandered into the wrong building at night.
"Did you find it?" Lyra asked from behind me, standing just outside the door.
"Yes. Room B-203," I said, turning back to her. "What about you?"
She pointed across the courtyard, toward the Girls' Hall.
"I haven't checked yet," she said. "But my name should be on the board over there. Girls' rooms are all in that building."
"I see. Then we part ways here."
She nodded, then took a small breath, as if gathering courage all at once before it could escape.
"U-um," she said quickly, "if you ever need help finding the training grounds or… anything involving Sword campus, you can… ask me. I know the layout near the practice fields pretty well."
"That goes both ways," I replied. "If anyone bothers you again, tell me or Rion. He's loud enough for three people."
"Rion?" she repeated.
"A friend from Divination," I said. "You'll recognise him. He looks like someone always regretting his last decision."
She laughed again, a little more freely this time.
"I'll remember that."
We stood there for a moment at the point where the paths split—Boys' Hall on one side, Girls' Hall on the other, the courtyard between us like a small border.
"Thank you again, Erynd," she said, bowing her head slightly. "For earlier. And for walking with me."
"It's nothing," I said. "See you around, Lyra."
She smiled, small but real.
"See you."
She turned and walked toward the Girls' Hall, red coat swaying lightly behind her as she climbed the steps and disappeared inside.
[ System ]
[ Sub-Quest: "Walk the Heroine to the Dorms" – Completed ]
[ Reward Granted: Relationship Flag – "Lyra: Grateful" ]
[ Minor Luck +1 for next Divination roll ]
I stared at the text for a second.
"…What is a 'Divination roll'?" I muttered under my breath.
The System, as usual, refused to answer.
I shook my head, turned fully back into the Boys' Hall, and took another look at the board, just to fix the room number in my mind.
B-203. Second floor.
One step at a time.