Loogam.

A lot of things changed in the time that passed but the change of seasons remained the same.

Even if two years passed.

The cold and depressive winter slowly retreated, making space for the spring to come. And the arrival of the spring would also announce the upcoming graduation ceremony of the current third-years at the academy.

"L-look! It’s them!"

"Woah... Just looking at them makes me shiver...!"

"I wonder if I can approach them, hehe..."

"Idiot! You may be a red-class student but the gap between us and them is immeasurable!"

Students instinctively stepped aside, paving the way for a small group of white-class students.

"So that’s the greatest white class in the history of Loogam, huh...?"

"To think that we were given the opportunity to see them from up close..."

The students around that group admired them.

"A lot of time has already passed but I don’t seem to get used to all that flattery..." the petite girl said.

Her brown silky hair reached to her shoulders and her dark green eyes seemed bored.

"Don’t get shy or else, you will embarrass yourself in front of the juniors, Rachel." the bulky guy replied firmly.

It looked like he was twice the size as the girl, be it height or width. His black hair reached to his shoulders, too, and his deep blue eyes were directed to the front.

"Harik...! Rachel...! The others can hear you two, you know...?" the other brown-haired girl in front of them whispered as she looked back at them.

Her long hair was tied into a ponytail and her round yellow eyes constantly glanced at the other students.

"Is there really a need to put on an act, Lisa...?" the black-haired boy sighed.

The boy walked beside her.

His black hair was slicked back and he had closed his red fierce eyes as he massaged his forehead with his fingers.

"Could you please move away? You’re blocking the way."

"A-ah, yes! O-of course!"

The girl leading the group cleared the way to the bulletin board of the academy. And as she walked past the students, her long blonde hair fluttered in the air.

"I think I’ve fallen in love..." a random student muttered stunnedly, looking at the blonde girl’s spotless and beautiful face.

"..."

With her sharp red eyes, the girl apathetically glanced over to the student who had just said that before focusing her attention on the bulletin board again.

And after going through all the quests, she reached out to a few quests, revealing a black bracelet on her right wrist which resembled a handcuff without its chains.

"Guys, let’s-"

"Lily Hayth!"

Suddenly, another white-class student appeared. He had black hair and fierce yellow eyes. His smirk was filled with enthusiasm and arrogance.

"I’ve come here to challenge you to a duel!" that boy declared vigorously.

"He again...?" Harik sighed tiredly.

"..."

Rachel frowned at the sight of that boy. Mostly because his appearance resembled a dear person of hers.

"Ugh... It’s him again."

"What’s his name again?"

"I think it was Bakil Melar..."

Bakil pointed his finger at the group.

"This time, you won’t win so easily against me!" he declared boldly.

The girl stepped out of the group, heading to him.

"You’ve won against me zero times, whereas I stopped counting after my 100th win. What makes you think that this match will be different?"

"Tch..."

He was grumbling.

"If I manage to land a hit on you, then tell me the reason for punching me on the day of my enrollment!"

"One hit? Aren’t you setting the bar too low for yourself, considering that you’re the representative of the second-years?" she remarked.

Soon, everyone gathered themselves behind her.

She sighed.

"I, Lily Hayth, accept your challenge." she stated sternly.

Then, Bakil charged his fists with lightning and dashed toward Lily in a heartbeat.

He was considered the strongest student in his year and his speed could even rival that of an S-rank teacher, however, all of these achievements did not matter in the presence of an even more overwhelming might.

"Uwaaah!!!"

Students screamed as a loud explosion occurred.

Lily used her fire magic to blow Bakil away.

"..."

Despite the two of them sharing the same title as white-class students, the battle ended one-sidedly.

The burnt Bakil lied motionlessly on the floor.

"I will leave first. I have an appointment." Lily stated, unbothered by the duel.

"Sure..." Lisa replied slightly taken aback.

"It’s that day of the week again, right?" Harik said, sounding somewhat pitiful.

Lily, who was not just a prominent figure inside the academy but also outside of it, wandered on the streets of Loogam where the people gazed at her in admiration like the students.

Two years ago, every district in Loogam was destroyed and the civilians were killed due to the invasion of demons. However, Loogam was quickly restored and people began to live here. And after some time, the number of residents increased and everything returned back to the way they were before the invasion.

"..."

She ignored those gazes and headed towards a certain building.

It was a small house near the borders of Loogam.

The walls around Loogam were higher and thicker than the previous ones. Even the level of security and defensive mechanics took a leap.

"I’m back." Lily announced.

She took out her key and opened the door.

"Welcome home, Lily."

The first sight after opening the door was her mother, Lena, who sat at the table without any lights being turned on.

The whole living room also appeared empty with only the essential furniture being there.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"..."

Lena, who used to be a cheerful person, turned into a gloomy existence with her skin being paler and her body being thinner now. She had deep eye bags and her lips seemed dry.

"Give me a minute. I will prepare something quickly." Lily stated indifferently.

The whole Hayth family changed two years ago.

It started with Lily losing her friend Sylvia who was swallowed by Leviathan and continued with the Malnor incident which entailed the mass slaughtering in the Avagan palace.

She only learned about it through the newspaper, which stated that Norman Milar, the former king of Malnor, was in cahoots with demons and was also the mastermind behind the invasion of Loogam. Apparently, Lucio Graymen caught Norman after investigating the Loogam incident and judged him on the spot.

And after days of fierce discussions, Lucio was crowned the new king of Malnor, declining the compensation for the incident Norman caused. In other words, the higher-ups in Malnor had to choose between compensating Lucio with a gigantic sum, from which they could not recover for the time being, or handing him over the throne.

Because Lucio was already an influential person, the people were not averse.

Still, there were a few people who were vigilant towards him.

And Lily was one of them.

She did not know the full truth yet but on the day of the Malnor incident, her father was inside the palace.

He died while protecting Norman Milar from Lucio.

It may sound brave but the public slandered him and his family for protecting a wicked king.

The Hayths lost everything they had in Avagan and decided to move to Loogam where Lucio offered them a home to stay at.

Lily lost her best friend, her father, her home and a part of her mother, who was depressed since the death of Louis.

And on top of that, Mika did not appear a single time during those two years. There was not even a sign of him in the newspapers.

"..."

While she cooked dinner, her hand instinctively started to form a fist.

She bit her lower lip to suppress her anger and frustration. Her eyes remained dry because she had shed enough tears years ago.

Since she resolved herself, she focused every day on getting stronger and completing more quests, earning money for both her and her mother. Soon, she saw the results and received the corresponding rewards, titles and praises.

If it was just her strength, then her past self would be proud of her as she had actually reached a level she could not even fathom back then. However, her past self would be speechless if she were to know about the other aspects of her life.

"Eat without me. I’m in my room for a while." Lily said after placing food on the table for her mother.

Following that, she went upstairs and entered her practically empty room where only a wardrobe, a table with a chair and a bed existed.

She sat at her table and unpacked her bag.

Among books and other documents for the academy, there was a letter addressed to her.

Lily opened the letter and read it.

Based on the emblem on the stamp it was concerning work but this time, it was just a short letter and did not contain anything serious. It was just a greeting.

"The captain will visit Loogam soon, huh?"