In the dining hall, the children had finished eating. Some were clearing plates. Others were running around, chasing each other between the tables.

Kyle leaned back in his chair, finally full.

Virgo walked by with a stack of plates — neat and precise, as always.

"You missed a spot," Kyle said, pointing at a crumb on the table.

Virgo froze. Looked down at the crumb. Then back at Kyle.

Her cheeks turned pink.

"I did not miss it," she said. "I was about to wipe it."

"Sure you were."

She glared at him. Then grabbed a cloth and wiped the crumb aggressively.

Kyle smirked.

`Too easy.`

Across the table, a boy with long white hair like snow and red eyes with a faint goat symbol within.

He was Capricorn.

He was arm-wrestling with a heavier boy with dark skin and brown hair. He had a faint bull symbol in his eye.

He was Taurus.

Obviously, Taurus was winning.

"Give up," Taurus grunted.

"Never," Capricorn wheezed.

Near them, a girl with long blonde hair and twin ponytails. She had eyes with different colors, one blue and the other yellow. Yet both of them had a faint twin symbol in them.

She was Gemini.

She was talking to both Leo and Pisces at the same time, switching between conversations like it was nothing.

And next to them — Libra.

Kyle narrowed his eyes.

had noticed Libra before. The boy had soft, white hair and golden eyes, with a scale symbol in his pupils. He was around eleven, maybe twelve. But he didn’t act like the others.

He sat still. Hands folded on the table. His expression was neutral—not bored, not interested. Just... present. While the other kids laughed and shouted, Libra observed. Like he was processing everything at a different speed.

`Creepy kid,` Kyle thought. But not in a bad way.

Sagittarius — the elf girl with green hair — was at the far end of the table, drawing on a piece of parchment.

There was a boy beside her eating fruit while watching her draw. He had gray hair and gray eyes with a faint bucket symbol within.

Aquarius.

Cancer and Aries were helping Scorpio clear plates.

They were all here. All twelve.

Kyle still didn’t know them all. But he was trying to get close.

At the same time, Lilian was about to say something — her mouth opened, then stopped.

Kyle noticed.

"What?"

Lilian didn’t answer.

Her head was turned toward the door. Her blindfolded face was perfectly still.

"Master?"

She held up a hand. Silent.

Kyle’s hand moved near his belt. He had hidden his dagger there. He could not let his guard down anywhere.

Then — CRACK!

The door opened.

A man stepped inside.

Tall. Broad-shouldered. Gray hair, messy, falling past his ears till his shoulders. A faint stubble on his jaw. Dark coat, worn at the edges.

In his right hand — a waterskin. But from the smell that followed him inside, it wasn’t water.

He looked around the dining hall, grinning.

"Well, well," he said. "The gang’s all here."

Then his eyes landed on Kyle. The man’s smile faded slightly.

"Didn’t expect to see a new face."

Kyle didn’t move. His hand was still on his dagger.

The man looked at Lilian. "Who is this?"

Lilian’s voice was calm. "My student."

The man’s eyebrow went up.

"Student?" He looked back at Kyle. Studied him. "Since when do you take students?"

"Since I found someone worth teaching."

The man was quiet for a moment. Then he shrugged. "Fair enough."

Kyle stared at the man for a moment.

`Who is he?`

It was clear that he was not an enemy, based on Lillian’s behavior with him. But Kyle would never let his guard down.

The man walked further into the room.

The children were staring.

Then—

"Uncle Darian!"

Leo ran toward him. Aquarius followed. Then Scorpio. Then Aries.

The man, Darian, laughed and knelt down, opening his arms. The kids piled into him, nearly knocking him over.

"Missed you too," he said, ruffling Leo’s hair. "Missed you all."

Kyle watched. His hand slowly relaxed on the dagger.

`They know him?`

Darian stood up, still holding a kid on each side. He looked at Lilian.

"Long time no see," he said.

Lilian nodded. "Welcome."

Darian looked at Kyle again. He walked over and extended his free hand. The other hand still held the waterskin.

"Name’s Darian. Don’t wear it out."

"Kyle."

He raised his hand to greet him, but at the moment he was about to touch his hand, Darian pulled his hand away.

Then he started laughing out loud.

Kyle’s eye trembled slightly, and his hand was still in mid-air.

Some children started laughing at Kyle and mocking him. As for Virgo and Lillian, they sighed at Darian’s childish behavior.

"Sorry, sorry." Darian took a sip from his bottle. "Relax, kid. I’m not here to cause trouble."

He walked over and sat down. Took a drink from his waterskin. Then wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"Place hasn’t changed," he said, looking around. "Still creepy. Still cold. How do you live like this?"

"We manage," Lilian said.

"Barely, from the looks of it."

The kids gathered around him. Aquarius climbed onto his lap. Darian didn’t seem to mind.

"You came alone?" Lilian asked.

"Would you prefer I bring company?" Darian grinned. "The others don’t know I’m here. Don’t worry."

Lilian was silent for a moment.

"How long?"

"A few days. Maybe a week. Depends on how much wine I have left." He held up the waterskin. It was half empty. "Not long, I guss."

Kyle’s eyes narrowed.

`The "others" don’t know he’s here... He came in secret.`

That meant something. Either he was helping Lilian against the organization, or he had his own reasons.

He stood up, making the kids groaned.

"I’ll play with you later," Darian said, ruffling his hair. "Promise. But first, I need to talk to Lilian. Adult stuff."

"Already?" Leo whined. "You just got here!"

The kids didn’t look happy, but they shuffled out of the room.

Virgo was the last to leave. She paused at the door and looked back at Darian.

"You smell like alcohol," she said.

"It’s called perfume, little one."

She frowned and left.

Lilian stood. "Darian follow me."

He nodded.

Lilian turned to Kyle. "Stay with the children. Make sure they don’t cause trouble."

Kyle didn’t argue and simply nodded.

Lilian and Darian left the dining hall and the door closed behind them. But just moments before leaving, Kyle summoned his status screen.

He smirked. `Now let’s see who you are.`