Chapter 156 - 1

Six months had passed since the students had studied at the Piqmentia Grand Academy. They should be given a midterm exam. But considering the successive incidents that occurred in the Dwarven Kingdom and the Elven Kingdom, they were exempt from the test.

Every semester, students and teachers will have a vacation together. They didn't choose to go outside the human region because they still couldn't forget the earlier incident. After Merlick had a meeting with the teachers, they decided to take a vacation to the Cirlus Kingdom territory. An archipelagic kingdom whose most of its territory is the sea. King Raghnall was happy to receive their visit to his kingdom.

The students should be at the academy as they will be leaving for the Cirlus Kingdom for a vacation together in a few days.

In the morning, Princess Iris and Clara were walking in the hallway of the girls' dormitory. They had just returned after finishing their morning exercise.

"Yawn..." Princess Iris covered her small mouth. Ever since they left for exercise, she looked very sleepy. Clara caught her yawning several times.

"Iris, what happened to you? Did you not sleep well last night?" Clara asked her with a worried face.

"Hmm… I don't know what happened to me. Ever since I came back from the Elven Kingdom, I've had weird dreams." Princess Iris explains the cause to Clara.

"Weird dream? What kind of dream is that?" Clara became curious after hearing Princess Iris' explanation.

"That… I remember when a girl died sacrificing herself for someone. But I can't remember the person's face or name. I don't even know the gender." Princess Iris smiled bitterly and shook her head.

"Maybe it was just a dream, so you don't have to think about it too much. You should continue your rest after this." Clara patted Princess Iris' shoulder and tried to calm her down.

"Thank you, Clara." Princess Iris smiled and her tired feeling slightly disappeared. Princess Iris and Clara bumped into Kyouka and Megumi in the dormitory hall on their way back to their room. They looked like they were going out.

"Good morning, Miss Hero." Clara and Princess Iris greeted them politely.

"Good morning, too. Please don't call us by that nickname. For some reason, it made me feel ticklish. Since we're both academy students, you guys can call me directly by my name, right Megumi?" Kyouka stopped walking and glanced at the Megumi beside her.

"She's right. We are classmates, so you guys don't need to be so polite to us." Megumi nodded vigorously in agreement with Kyouka's words.

"But..." Clara still hesitated to do what they said.

"You can't say but… yawn… ah, I'm sorry for yawning carelessly." Kyouka suddenly yawned while refuting Clara's words.

"Did something happen…Kyouka?" Clara ventured to ask her in a sentence that sounded stiff.

"I…" Kyouka wanted to say she was fine, but Megumi cut her off first.

"Ah, Kyouka has been having weird dreams lately and can't sleep well at night." Megumi answered Clara honestly.

"Hey, Megumi! I didn't give you my permission to say that." Kyouka was annoyed with Megumi. She unhesitatingly told her problem to others. But Megumi ignored her complaint.

"Weird dream?" Princess Iris and Clara looked at each other.

"Yes, that's right. bizarre dream." Megumi nodded seriously.

"May I know about the dream?" Princess Iris became curious about Kyouka's dream. She felt Kyouka was in the same situation as her for some reason.

"That's... all right. But we'd better talk about it somewhere else. If we keep standing here, then we will disturb other people passing by." At first, Kyouka wanted to refuse Princess Iris' request. But seeing her put on a solemn face, Kyouka finally accepted it.

"OK!" Princess Iris and Clara nodded in agreement.

The four of them moved to the garden behind the girls' dormitory. There was a shady spot and chairs usually used for girls to chat and drink tea together.

"So, what dream made Kyouka unable to sleep well at night?" Princess Iris immediately asked after sipping her tea. Right now, she was addressing Kyouka without any honorifics like what they wanted.

"It started when we came back from the Elven Kingdom..." Kyouka started to tell the contents of her dream and when did she experience something like that.

Princess Iris and Clara were shocked because when Kyouka started dreaming and what she dreamed of was the same as Princess Iris.

"Are you the only one who dreams like that? Or is Megumi going through the same thing?" Princess Iris is getting more and more curious about the dream. She felt all this was not a coincidence.

"I didn't experience it. Why do you ask like that?" Megumi tilted her head when she saw Princess Iris like that. She looked earnest, asking it.

"Ah… I also experienced the same thing as Kyouka." Princess Iris answered honestly.

"What!?" Megumi and Kyouka were shocked after hearing Princess Iris' statement.

"Are you serious? You're not joking, are you?" Kyouka asked Princess Iris with a serious face.

"Iris did have the same dream you had, Miss Kyouka." Clara answered Kyouka's question. She still couldn't call Kyouka casually.

"This…isn't a coincidence, is it? The timing and content of the dream are the same." Kyouka trembled after hearing Clara's answer. She felt that something was wrong with their dream.

"I feel that way too. So, what should we do now? This dream is quite disturbing to me." Princess Iris's face suddenly became cloudy.

"What's going on, Iris?" Clara asked worriedly after seeing her expression.

"I feel like I have an unusual relationship with the person in my dream. I always cry after dreaming about it." Princess Iris answered honestly so as not to make Clara more anxious.

"That… I also experienced the same thing." Kyouka also admitted it.

Megumi and Clara looked at each other and were confused by the situation of their friends.

"So, is there anything we can do to stop this dream?" Princess Iris couldn't bear it if she had to dream like that while sleeping at night. Even though it didn't happen every night, the dream made her chest ache.

"For now, I still haven't found a way. But I will try to find a solution. Once I find it, I'll let you know as soon as possible." Kyouka also felt helpless with her current situation. She had tried all sorts of magic, but it was useless. The dream still comes in a certain period.

"OK. I will wait for good news from you." Princess Iris should endure it for a while until Kyouka can find a way to get rid of the dream. They finished their tea and returned to the activities they wanted to do before.

***

Inside a cottage in the forest area of the academy, Ziel was enjoying a cup of tea after he finished his routine morning practice. Besides Ziel, there are also Kalya and Princess Freya. After returning from the Elven Kingdom, Princess Freya and Ziel's relationship became closer. Not only with Ziel but also with Kalya. She even came every morning to the cottage with the excuse of morning practice and drinking tea together.

Currently, Princess Freya has not hidden Ziel's existence from Princess Aishia because she already knows it. When they returned to the academy, Ziel told her everything about it.

Princess Freya was not surprised to hear that. She knew one day Princess Aishia would find out. But right now, she wasn't afraid because she had already made her place beside him. Princess Freya and Princess Aishia seem fine when they are at the academy. However, the students could feel the rivalry between them when they were in the classroom. Princess Freya also realizes that Princess Aishia wants to prove that she is better than Princess Freya.

"Have you prepared your needs for the holidays later?" Ziel asked Kalya and Princess Freya, sitting on the right and left.

"We bought it together yesterday." Princess Ferya answered it with enthusiasm.

Ziel raised his eyebrows after hearing Princess Freya's answer. He felt that Princess Freya had changed after Ziel accepted her in the Elven Kingdom. It's not a negative change, but the opposite. She smiled a lot more often at the academy. Previously, she struggled to maintain her elegant appearance in public, but now she has become more honest with herself. Even Prince Fritz was confused by Princess Freya's sudden change.

"Hmm... what exactly have you bought there?" Ziel asked Princess Freya. After the announcement about the academy vacation together, Kalya and Princess Aishia often went out together and left Ziel alone.

"This is a secret. You'll know when we get there!" Kalya spoke first before Princess Freya answered. She knew that Princess Freya wouldn't be able to lie to him.

Ziel just shrugged his shoulders after hearing Kalya's answer. He didn't ask any further if they didn't want to tell him.

"By the way, have you ever been to the Cirlus Kingdom? Do you know what the situation is over there? Until now, I have never once visited that kingdom." Princess Freya suddenly asked curiously. Merlick and the teachers must have considered many things before deciding on the best vacation spot for the academy students.

"As you know that part of the Cirlus Kingdom's territory is the ocean. So we can enjoy the beautiful beach view there. The cities look modern, and the development of magic tools there is the most developed compared to other kingdoms in the human region, although not as advanced as the Dwarven Kingdom. Apart from that, I don't know the other situation of the Cirlus kingdom. You should probably ask Princess Rinne for more detailed information." Kalya explains everything she knows to Princess Freya.

"I can't wait to get there soon. This will be our vacation together. Isn't that right, Ziel?" Princess Freya smiled and rested her head on Ziel's shoulder. Since returning to the academy and having the opportunity to be alone with Ziel, Princess Freya does all the same things Kalya did when she was alone with Ziel. He was always spoiled when he was around him. Kalya just smiled at her and leaned on his other shoulder.

"I'm also looking forward to the same with you." Ziel stroked their head gently.

***

Time quickly passed, the day of their departure for a vacation to the Cirlus Kingdom had finally come. Currently, the academy people are on the magic train heading to the Cirlus Kingdom, and the trip will take approximately three days.

The magic train currently used by the academy looks a little different. Each row had three seats. Currently, Ziel is sitting with Clara and Princess Iris. Ziel intended to sit on the side by the window, but somehow Clara suddenly asked him to sit in the middle and made him flanked by Clara and Princess Iris. Princess Freya had complained to him, but Ziel couldn't do anything because this was Clara's request.

"My lady, wouldn't it be better if I sat beside by the window? I was worried that Princess Iris would be uncomfortable if I sat in the middle Ziel suggested to Clara to switch places with him. But before Clara could answer, they were startled by the voice of Princess Iris.

"I don't feel uncomfortable at all! quite the opposite…" Princess Iris argued in a slightly high-pitched voice that drew the attention of the surrounding students. When Princess Iris noticed it, she sank and lowered her voice in shame.

"You heard yourself, didn't you?" Clara smiled sweetly after hearing Princess Iris' answer. Ziel could only shake his head and follow what Clara wanted.

The two girls would fall asleep at night and make Ziel their pillow. And strangely enough, Princess Iris didn't have that weird dream for three nights straight while asleep. She can fall asleep soundly and wake up with a refreshed face. The following day, the magic train finally arrived at the Cirlus Kingdom.. The academy people were greeted with a cool breeze from the coastal area, making them impatient for their vacation.