"Mom... Are we really hiking on that mountain?"
As Sophia's voice echoed, they were standing at the bottom of a mountain that was so high up they couldn't even see the tip.
"My leg is kinda exhausted walking all the way here... My period cramp is starting to hurt now."
Mary added, with Sophia and Mary quickly following in her footsteps by bending down as if they had the same cramp.
"Obviously, no. We don't even have any climbing gear... I'm just going to teleport us to a secret hideout I have there."
As Katherine brought the three down a small hill to avoid the people walking down the trail, black smoke began appearing around them.
By the time they could see again, they were in a completely different place.
"Wow... Are we really in the same place?" Sophia murmured, with the other kids looking just as shocked.
They were surrounded by flowers and a small stream of water that went down to a little corner.
There was also a rock ceiling that arched upward all the way to the very tip, forming what was seemingly the peak.
Yet, right in the middle of this cave, there was a giant tree along with a small little gap in the ceiling to allow sunlight in.
It was almost like someone dug up a giant hole, expanded the inside, and threw in a bunch of plants inside.
"Yep, we are just below one of the mountain's peaks... Do you all feel the mana a little different here?"
As the three kids relaxed and felt the mana around them, they could feel it much more active than anywhere else.
"Who made this?"
Alex curiously asked, still unable to believe how drastic the outside and inside were.
"This is actually one of my capstone projects for my 6th-grade mage-level graduation..."
All three of the kids looked shocked upon hearing Katherine's answer, especially as they hadn't seen her full magical capability.
"What are you all putting that face for?" Katherine questioned as she rolled her sleeve.
"Nothing!"
All three of them nervously replied, shyly looking down before changing their face into full of admiration.
"Anyway, you all can sit down next to the tree and meditate. It should be where all the mana is the most active."
All three of the kids quickly ran over to the tree and sat down below it before entering into a meditation state.
Meanwhile, Katherine headed to the end of the water stream and pressed her hand on one of the rock walls.
A table and a chair suddenly appeared out of nowhere across from where the three kids were meditating.
As Katherine sat down in her seat, she looked at the papers on the table.
It was full of words in her handwriting, documenting various types of mysterious methods that made the big cave possible.
Right at the bottom of the various documents was her signature, with another signature next to it.
"Where are you, teacher?"
Katherine murmured as she picked up the pen on the table before opening a notebook on the side.
---
After what felt like forever to the three kids, Katherine woke them up and eventually forced them out of their meditation.
You all can just put me into another room instead. I can sleep where my daughter is sleeping."
As Meiya sobered up a little and apologized, Katherine didn't really seem to mind it.
"Don't worry about it..."
Seeing Katherine drinking a glass of wine alone, Alex started to realize she was drinking it for some other reason.
"Let's all cheer again one last time! Cheers!"
---
After the celebration meal was over, the maids quickly ran up to help each of them back to their room.
Except for Katherine, which the three kids decided to carry by themselves instead.
"Hm... I'm not drunk. I can drink one more shot!"
As Katherine yelled out in the hallway, it reminded the three of them of the past, where she drank nonstop after the tragedy.
"Mom is so drunk today..." Sophia murmured as she turned the door nob.
"Yeah. Why is so drinking so much?" Mary murmured as they entered Katherine's room.
"I got no clue... Something seems to be bothering her."
Seeing Alex's inability to generate an idea, both of them had already given up trying to come up with one.
With Katherine lying down on the side of the bed, the three of them remained in the room, as they didn't know what to do next.
"Alex, what do we do now?" Sophia asked as the two of them both looked over to him for an idea again.
"I'm going to stay in this room and take care of her... I need to go get a towel."
Just as Alex headed inside the restroom, Mary suddenly ran over to the other side of the bed.
Stopping by the desk, she picked up a small little little thing.
"My hairband! I was wondering where I lost it. Oh, hey, look! Wasn't this mom's backpack on the holiday trip?"
As Sophia walked closer to check, she nodded in agreement before taking a step back.
"Yeah, it is. Anyway, let's go back to our room——"
"Aren't you curious what is inside it?"
Mary's suggestion made Sophia freeze for a second before she quickly shook her head.
"Why would I be curious about what's inside it? We shouldn't be going through Mom's stuff without permission."
As Sophia walked away, Mary had already unzipped the backpack to check what was inside.
"Ooo, a book... Huh? What are these words on the cover——"
"Mary! Why are you checking someone else's stuff!"
Sophia ran over and grabbed the book away from Mary's hand, which made Mary a little angry.
"I'm just too curious, okay? Besides, Mom checks out stuff. Why can't we check her stuff?"
Mary's argument made Sophia fall into silence as she didn't have a way to argue back.
But she knew what Mary was doing was wrong, so she kept the book in her hand.