Adrian Heather lay at the bottom of the lake, watching as small air bubbles slowly escaped from his nose and mouth, growing larger as they drifted up to the surface. The Gold Dragon’s weekend plans were entirely devoted to the greenhouses in Ordinas.
The water was comfortably warm, and schools of fish occasionally brushed past his face. Adrian reached out and gently swept aside the seaweed swaying near his cheek, stirred by the currents. Light from the lake’s surface shimmered across his pale face.
The skin beneath the Gold Dragon’s eyes was perfectly white. Down here, he didn’t need any pigment to breathe. He was still a freshman, still alone—there was no risk of getting caught. A simple spell was more than enough. Naturally, he also cast magic to keep his uniform from getting wet.
This is happiness. The Gold Dragon’s radiant eyes glimmered as they floated underwater.
A massive water serpent slithered silently across the lakebed, its body brushing through the sediment.
The Gold Dragon had decided to focus on the present instead of reflecting on his nutritionless past life. Right now, what intrigued Adrian the most was that strange door. And looking ahead just a little further, it was figuring out how to fool the all-seeing Eye they’d been given at the entrance ceremony and somehow advance to the second year. Other than those two things, nothing else was worth his attention. With that mindset, the Gold Dragon slowly rose to his feet.
The water, matching his body temperature, lazily flowed around his pale blonde hair. Adrian sliced through it with a sudden stroke, swimming swiftly.
There were more tasks involved in maintaining the herb garden and this greenhouse than one might expect.
Splash—The Dragon emerged lightly from the lake.
He snapped his fingers, casting a simple spell. With a crisp, satisfying sound, his soaked clothes and hair dried instantly. Magic makes things this easy, so why don’t they just use it? Adrian clicked his tongue and shook his head at the Alchemy students’ stubbornness. Thankfully, while managing the greenhouse on his own, he could use magic freely and comfortably.
Adrian walked with slow, heavy steps toward a tree spreading vibrant green leaves under the warmth of the greenhouse, then plopped down comfortably beneath it. Nearby was a journal for the herb garden, which he had briefly borrowed from Kyle upon entering the greenhouse.
“Let’s start by focusing on the clues I already have.”
The Dragon muttered to himself as he flipped to the first page of the journal.
Rustle—The soft sound of pages turning and the gentle trickle of the lake outside filled the quiet greenhouse.
Adrian lay on the grassy lakeshore, peacefully reading through the herb garden journal he had received. Since it had been managed by first-year Academy students, the handwriting in the journal changed multiple times, even within a single volume. Its contents were nothing more than what amateurs might jot down.
- ──── ·????· ──── ·
January 15 (Mon)
Spotted a swarm of small candle jellyfish
Worked on planting 20 Kevish saplings (Please let it work this time!)
· ────── ·
February 9 (Tue)
Merlein leaves fully grown → Harvest season soon!
Fed Tilren berries to the deer
· ────── ·
February 29 (Tue)
Transplanted the Diéna colony under research
· ────── ·
October 20 (Mon)
Just in case, planted 34 more Kevish saplings
· ────── ·
The Kevish saplings appeared on almost every page.
“They sure planted a lot of them.”
But as Kyle had said, their efforts always ended in failure. The Gold Dragon flipped through the later pages of the journal with little care, skimming past everything that wasn’t related to the day of the earthquake.
- ──── ·????· ──── ·
April 1 (Sat)
Merlein leaves turned red; harvested a handful
· ────── ·
April 2 (Sun)
Need to repurchase Kevish seeds
All because of that damned earthquake!
· ────── ·
“April 2nd.”
Adrian Heather swiftly pulled the pen he had tucked haphazardly into his Academy uniform top and marked the date in bold across the journal. It was the day the earthquake had struck, the day the Kevish had died.
- ──── ·????· ──── ·
October 20 (Mon)
Harvested Traconius herbs
Planted just 10 Kevish saplings—barely, with the tiniest sliver of hope
· ────── ·
.
.
.
- ────── ·
September 9 (Mon)
Merlein leaves turned red
· ────── ·
September 10 (Tue)
There’s no more hope for this club…
· ────── ·
“And September 10th.”
He marked that date, too, with a bold stroke. His fingers flipped through the pages of the herb garden journal faster now. The thinner the stack of remaining pages grew, the duller Adrian’s expression became.
So many dates written in this journal… Adrian tilted his head slightly and re-checked the spots he had marked.
Then he roughly estimated the intervals between earthquakes in his head. Ten days, fourteen, two, then twenty. No pattern. No rhythm. As expected, today yielded nothing useful.
With a click of his tongue, Adrian slammed the journal shut and tossed it aside without care.
That’s when it happened.
Sssht—
The Gold Dragon gave a quiet warning. At some point, rabbits had crept up on him, now playing around on top of his uniform. One side of the freshly pressed fabric had been dirtied with mud. Even at his warning, the rabbits merely gave a flick of their long ears and casually kicked their hind legs, thumping against the grass and his shin.
“Enough.”
He waved his arm dismissively to push away the rabbits tangled up near his legs, clearly annoyed—when his gaze froze on something.
That was…
Softly rounded leaf tips, short stems, and red speckling. Adrian stared blankly at the small Merlein colony nestled among the grass and weeds. Then he snatched the journal he had tossed aside.
He rapidly flipped through the pages, scanning the days just before each earthquake.
Every time, without fail, the Merlein leaves had turned red the day before.
This sensitive herb was known for detecting sudden external changes faster than anything else. Small red spots dotted the narrow leaves of the Merlein. Normally, the proper method was to wait until the entire leaf had turned red, then carefully harvest it while wearing soft gloves.
Adrian brushed a finger lightly along one of the crimson-tinted leaves, frowning slightly.
***
Every weekend, Mikhail Luce Inehart enjoyed reading fencing manuals at his leisure and training by himself. This weekend was no exception.
Though he couldn’t access the training grounds without Tilon, the forest surrounding Basamiel Academy was a decent enough substitute. After fencing class, Professor Taric had personally handed him a wooden practice sword, only after confirming the prince was satisfied and prepared to run drills on his own. He was told he could use it until he recovered or replaced his lost blade.
He had just finished getting ready for bed and laid down in light, comfortable clothes when the clear voice of Adrian Heather pierced through the quiet of the dorm.
“What’s the schedule for tomorrow?”
“…Why do you care? Nothing special.”
Mikhail’s voice reverberated slightly, likely because he was turned toward the opposite wall. Tomorrow’s schedule was the same as today—more fencing drills. Is he offering to spar? No way. The prince slowly opened his eyes, skeptical.
“Hm… If my theory is correct…”
Adrian spoke while lying in his dorm bed. A theory? Half-asleep, Mikhail rolled over to face the bed next to his. In the darkness, he thought he could see the prince’s red eyes glowing faintly.
“That door might open again tomorrow.”
“What?!”
Mikhail shot upright in bed.
“Are you serious?”
Adrian shrugged in reply, his tone casual. The Gold Dragon had expected this kind of reaction and made sure to leave himself some room.
“Don’t just hear what you want. I said ‘if my theory is correct’—remember?”
“How do you kn— Never mind, that’s not the point. Good.”
The prince’s crimson eyes lit up like fire. His gaze fell on the practice sword resting beside the bed. The arrogant Salamander’s face flashed through his mind. Good. I’ll catch that bastard and—
“You’re going in, right?”
Adrian’s voice brought the prince back to his senses. Mikhail looked across to his roommate’s bed. His ordinary brown eyes somehow seemed to glow like moonlight in the darkness.
“Of course.”
The Gold Dragon grinned wide, as if he’d been waiting for that answer.
