Chapter 56 - Eira's Arrival

The hooded girl took Eira up the stairs behind the counter. She unwillingly paid three gold pieces and regretted every instant of it. The first floor came to seemingly pop out of nowhere. There Eira stood, before her, three light bulbs with only two of the first one working. The yellowish ray it cast down didn't help for the hallway felt gloomy and dark. There were seven rooms in total, four on one side and three on the other where the stairway merged with the first floor. The third light bulb did, in fact, work for it would sharply light up at uneven intervals and then die out. The sound it made felt awful, it was as if crushing insects.

With a rather hard tug, the girl led Eira to the first room. The door was brown and looked decent enough but the edges surrounding it began to rot. The door handle; out of every door in said hall, was the only working one. A sluggish click made itself apparent as she opened the door. Inside, the room wasn't even big enough to fit two people. It bared a bed which reeked, the curtains were torn, you could see the starry night. Few steps in, the toilet was spotted on the left side, with a look of discomfort, Eira just averted her eyes and made way to the bed. It smelled bad but didn't look the part. That was the extent of it, no furniture, nothing, just a bed, and a toilet.

"I wasted three gold coins on this…" she contemplated her foolishness; it was out of spite that she threw those coins. As she stared at the floor, the little girl approached her and gently tapped her rosy cheeks. "How may I help you?" Eira hid her foul mood and spoke gently. As experienced earlier on, Eira thought that her reply will fall on deaf ears and the girl would back away or plainly leave the room. To her surprise, she removed her hood; and revealed fox ears. Behind her, what seemed to be a ball of fluff fell out of her clothes. Staring up at her with bright brown eyes, the girl closed her eyes and let out a big smile. Faintly you could see her cheeks make dimples.

"T-thank y-you f-for staying." Her head unwillingly went into a bow. A subtle drop of tear fell to the floor as she stared down. The sound it made would usually go unnoticed but inside this pin-drop silent room; the tear she shed got Eira's heart racing. Almost like a big sister, she knelt and hugged the girl who now cried. As she gently patted her head and slyly played with her brownish-blond ears that matched her hair, the little fox let out an *awh*. Embarrassed, the tears stopped and she covered her face playfully.

"I'm Eira, what's your name." She tried starting a conversation.

"I-I'm Mai Circos," after saying her name, as if it was taboo, her eyes filled with fear. It looked lifeless.

"Nice to meet you, Mai." After uttering her name; the girl's persona changed. She became more silent than before; it was as if she had turned into a robot. She slowly put on her hood and left the room without making any noise. The way she walked felt mechanic. "Is she possessed?" Eira asked while getting ready to leave. In no way was she going to sleep in this filthy room. Grabbing a blanket that looked fairly clean, she leaped out the window and climbed the roof. The chilly air didn't bother her, and it was there that she fell asleep.

Miles away from both Eira and Staxius who now both slept. The silver guardians also slept. The temporary camp they set up was being guarded as each one took time to rest. Their journey was half-way done. To their amazement, the truck they borrowed made it some ways before nighttime befell. Fenrir, on the other hand, had already reached a third of the way there, they rested close to Brisnet heights.

Daybreak came faster than anticipated. The sun's ray awoke Eira. She slept the whole night on the roof. Today was the day she had to meet up with the director. Facing the sun who rose alongside her, she stretched, yawned, and clapped her hands together. Effortlessly, she climbed back down from the roof only to see the young lady from the night before unconscious out on the floor. Worried, Eira rushed to her side to find only that she slept as peacefully as a baby. Not wanting to disturb her slumber, she tucked her in the same bed she refused to sleep in and left. While rushing down the flight of stairs; she picked up on some strange whispering oozing through the walls. Sadly, she didn't have the time nor patience to stay another moment in this so-called palace. Without so much as saying good morning; she left the building.

The door to the outside opened, a gust of wind nearly took her hat away. Holding tightly the hat, a quick glimpse revealed the vacant streets. Most of the shops were closed apart from bars and inns.

A strange rumbling made itself known, slowly and surely, it got closer. Her car approached from the left side. The scheduling could not have been any better, with a frown on her face, Eira got inside the car and drove away.

"Would it cost you that much to say good morning?" Red spoke.

"Would it cost you that much to stay quiet?" she fired back.

"Someone is in a foul mood today." Red sarcastically added, "-I hope you realize your acting like a brat."

"Did I ask for your opinion?" She drove out of the city and made way to Claireville academy's town.

Few minutes into the drive; she realized being angry over something so childish didn't bode well either for her nor her new comrade.

"I-I a-apologize for lashing out earlier, Red."

"Don't worry about it. Anything else on your mind?"

"Wow, I'm impressed, you do have the ability to be compassionate," Eira let out a quick chuckle.

The massive C-shaped building came into view from afar. Eira passed through town without ever realizing that her father once helped people here. With the scenery blazing past, she reached the hill on which rested Claireville academy. The roads got bigger compared to the town. Out on the pavement, students were seen climbing the same hill. Some laughed, some joked around, and some held hands. They all looked rich, their uniforms practically sparkled. Paying them no attention, Eira accelerated. Everyone's breath cut short. Many of them recognized Red-fury, it was considered a national treasure - in the eyes of the Order and sorcerers anyways. The lesser people couldn't have cared any less.

The C-shaped building came into view, the massive fountain stood out. Taking a left turn, Eira parked her car. "Red, guess it's my time to go shine, please don't stand out."

"It's a bit hard, master, look outside, people are already eyeing you down. They all are curious to see who will exit this piece of jewelry."

"Don't flatter yourself, Red, I'll be back soon."

"Take care." The door opened on its own once more. "This is the place where I'm going to spend four years of my life." Eira stepped out, as opposed to wearing a fancy dress like the other nobles of her age, she wore tight pants and a buttoned-up shirt with a scarf and the black hat which she at the end left inside the car. Her style closely resembled Fenrir; a teacher, but she added a bit of her own charm to it. There was a specific reason why she wore such an outfit, maneuverability. A few hours had gone by since she left the P.u.s.s.y Palace. The sun was out and shining, the trees rattled.

Eira finally stood on the same ground Staxius once visited. Her ruby eyes closely examined everything; her guard was up. A few breaths in, she made way to the office building. Even though it was her first time here. Earlier, Red gave her a quick tour of the layout using a map they borrowed. Eira walked as gracefully as a butterfly; everyone's gaze fell onto her. That white hair and rosy cheeks of hers truly made her a snow angel. Most of the students who saw her exiting, Red, were baffled.

The majority of the nobles here couldn't even dream of affording such a vehicle. Some were jealous while others just mystified. Fondly enough, gossip spread like wildfire.

"Have you heard of the new girl who just arrived?"

"Some say she's a princess."

"Yeah, the car she rode in was one of the six of the Xerxes series."

"Don't they go for like a fortune? I last heard that one was sold off to another kingdom for ten million gold pieces."

In that same manner, gossip filled the campus, throughout the hallways, into the upper classes as well as lower classes. Eira obviously didn't know that she pulled in so much attention. She stood out like white on black. Her walk concluded when she arrived at the office building. With a deep breath, she entered. Her walk continued confidently; the director's office was in sight. Suspended by a nail and some string, a metal plate read, 'Director's office.' Three knocks followed, "enter." A deep voice answered.

"Greetings Director," she closed the door behind. The room in which she stood wasn't that big.

Bookshelves on both sides, pictures about students winning some competition hung behind the man who sat. His arms rested on the brownish table, his hair white and short accompanied by a mustache, he smiled courteously.

"Greetings to you too," his posture relaxed, "-you must be the new student who shall be joining our academy starting today. Honestly, if I had the authority to stop any mid-year transfer, I'd gladly do it. However, since the Order and some other high-end personalities have pushed forward your admission, I can't help but agree. I hope this will clear things between us."

"Excuse my rudeness Director, but I was also sent here against my own will."

"Guess that makes two of us. Sadly, we can't but accept their decision. I'm Josiah, director of this academy."

"My name is Eira," she took a quick pause. "-Eira Haggard, daughter of Staxius Haggard." She smirked. The director's face slightly turned pale, "Staxius Haggard you say, isn't that man dead? Why would you use the Haggard name, the whole kingdom knows that said name is cursed and unholy."

"Excuse me but I'd humbly ask for you to not tarnish my good father's name with your prejudice.

He did speak highly of you before sending me here and has told me to send you his regards. And yes, my father is very much alive."

Josiah's eyes squinted, he wasn't fazed, rather, he was suspicious. "Is that so, do you have any proof to back that? I've met that boy years ago and let me tell you something, you don't resemble him in the least."

"I agree with you on that front, sadly, I'm not related to him by blood, however, Staxius Haggard took me in when my traitorous parents, their faces, their identity who still remains a mystery, abandoned me after enjoying the carnal pleasures. I almost forgot, father told me to tell you that I'm his prodigy. I have no clue why he would do something like that but I've accomplished my job."

"I see, well then young Eira, you shall first go through the examination to determine your rank; then we'll assign you to a class. If you would," he got up, "-follow me."

"That boy is still alive; I shudder to think that that monster still draws breath. Sophie, he lives." Their walk continued; Josiah finally stopped after they reached the training hall.

"Here we are young Eira, please get in, we shall see how strong you are." Nonchalantly, Eira walked through the door which was used as a detection device as well. A faint beep was heard, her mana capacity was evaluated, the monitor displayed B-rank. "Is that your so-called prodigy," Josiah let out a sigh of relief. He now stood in the viewing booth that overlooked the training grounds. Eira stood dead in the center, she stretched and watched as students from all over took their seats.

"If ever things go bad, I want you to break the seal and something magical will happen. However, it's only a one time use thing, I'll leave it to your own discretion." A flashback from a conversation she had with Staxius passed her mind. "No, I shall never break that seal father, I'll make it on my own terms."

"Eira Haggard, are you ready to start your evaluation?" With a thumbs-up, she signaled yes.

Immediately afterward, four mechs shot out the extremities of the stadium. They didn't look that menacing but had a big S engraved on their chest. "Defeat those S-rank mechs and then I'll allow you to stand amidst the elite." The training dummies he had brought forth were almost never used, the highest rank a student had to fight during their evaluation was A. Gossip filled the entire stadium, "what is the director thinking?"

"S-rank isn't possible for fourth-year student much less a beginner."

"That's the girl everyone has been talking about, right?" A guy bearing blond hair spoke. "Yes, that's her, the one who drove in with one of the Xerxes car series. This will show her, her place among the pecking order. An unknown noble like her shouldn't be allowed to even transfer during

this time of year." A girl beside him spoke in turn, she bore red hair.

"Don't you think S-rank is a bit too much, the first years can't even hope to fight against a D-rank much less A. And us third-year students must use all our reserves just to scratch that bloody A-rank. She's definitely going to die; the director is insane."

The door to the viewing booth broke open, "uncle, what the hell are you thinking?"

"Shut up and watch, I'm not doing this out of spite. If that girl is truly the daughter of the man I know, then this will be a piece of cake. After all, there's only one student in the whole history of Claireville academy who single-handedly took down an SSS-rank mech, and this girl right there is his prodigy as well as her daughter."

"You don't mean that boy, do you? The one who you've constantly ailed me about for the longest time." With a big smile on his face, Josiah nodded.

The mech took their fighting stance, Eira stood in the middle, her breathing became more controlled. "Father, my journey starts today, thanks for teaching me even though you weren't here."

With eyes burning with flames as dense as the void itself, Eira held a grin. *Shadow element activate; Shadow-step.*