Chapter 445: Chapter 444 - Different from Home!

For a while after Luca’s question, neither of them spoke immediately.

The evening atmosphere around the academy had grown calmer now, the golden hues of sunset gradually deepening into softer shades as the sky slowly shifted toward night. The pathways beneath their feet stretched quietly ahead while distant student voices occasionally echoed from farther parts of the campus, muted enough to feel almost peaceful rather than noisy.

Sylthara walked silently beside Luca, her silver hair swaying gently with the breeze while her golden eyes remained fixed ahead, thoughtful and distant as though carefully searching through emotions she was not entirely used to putting into words.

Luca did not rush her.

He simply walked beside her quietly.

Eventually—

Sylthara spoke.

"...It’s very different," she said softly.

Her voice carried neither complaint nor excitement.

Only honesty.

"The Dark Elf clans within the Elven Forest are... quiet places."

As she spoke, her gaze lowered faintly, as though old memories had surfaced naturally within her mind.

"There are no crowded streets," she continued slowly. "No loud groups talking everywhere... no constant movement like there is here."

The corners of her silver eyes reflected the fading light as she spoke.

"In the forest," she said quietly, "everything feels slower."

Luca listened carefully.

"Our villages are hidden deep within ancient trees," Sylthara continued, her tone growing softer the more she spoke about home. "The nights are quiet enough that you can hear the wind moving through the leaves from very far away. Most people know each other... and life follows the same rhythm every day."

A faint pause followed.

"There is comfort in that."

Luca could almost picture it through her words.

A hidden settlement deep beneath silver moonlight and towering ancient trees, untouched by the noise of kingdoms and wars.

"It sounds peaceful," he murmured honestly.

Sylthara nodded lightly.

"It is."

Then, after another brief silence, she added quietly—

"But it is also closed."

Luca glanced toward her.

Sylthara’s expression remained calm, though there was faint complexity hidden beneath it now.

"The clan did not even interact with outsiders," she explained. "All the dark elves spend their entire lives surrounded only by their own people, their own traditions, their own beliefs."

Her fingers tightened faintly around the sleeve she held lightly against the evening breeze.

"So coming here..." she said softly, "...was overwhelming at first."

The academy grounds stretched around them as she spoke, students of countless backgrounds crossing paths freely beneath the evening sky.

"Humans speak loudly," she said suddenly.

Luca blinked once before laughing lightly.

"...That’s true."

"And they ask too many questions."

"That’s also true."

Sylthara continued calmly, entirely serious.

"Dwarves are louder than humans."

"That is extremely true."

"And all of you seem incapable of walking normally without running somewhere."

Luca nearly laughed harder at that one.

"...You’ve adapted surprisingly fast."

A faint trace of amusement finally appeared within her expression.

"But..." she continued after a moment, her voice softening slightly again, "...different does not mean bad."

The words lingered gently between them.

"Sometimes it feels uncomfortable," she admitted honestly. "There are moments when I still feel out of place here."

Her gaze drifted briefly toward the academy buildings glowing beneath the fading evening light.

"There are too many people," she said quietly. "Too many personalities. Too many customs I do not fully understand yet."

Then she paused.

"But..."

A small breath escaped her.

"It is also... interesting."

Luca looked toward her again as she continued speaking.

"In the academy," Sylthara said softly, "everyone comes from different places, yet they still walk together."

There was genuine wonder hidden in her voice now.

"Humans, elves, dwarves,... nobles and commoners... people with completely different lives and beliefs all studying side by side."

The breeze lifted strands of silver hair across her face as she looked ahead quietly.

"In the forest," she murmured, "I never truly realized how large the world was."

Luca remained silent, allowing her to continue.

"I think..." Sylthara said slowly, carefully choosing her words, "...that staying here has made me understand many things I would never have learned inside the clan."

Then, after a brief pause, she looked toward Luca directly for the first time since the conversation began.

"And having people here willing to speak to me normally helps as well."

Luca blinked once before scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"...You make it sound like we adopted a lost forest spirit."

Sylthara tilted her head slightly.

"...Did you not?"

Luca stared at her for a second before laughing helplessly.

"...You know, sometimes your deadpan replies are actually terrifying."

Luca stared at Sylthara for a moment after her completely serious response before laughter finally escaped him helplessly, the sound breaking naturally into the quiet evening air.

"You really said that with a straight face," he muttered while shaking his head.

To his surprise—

Sylthara laughed as well.

Not loudly.

Not very dramatically.

But softly and genuinely, the faint sound carrying warmth Luca had rarely heard from her before. The usually calm and distant dark elf lowered her gaze slightly while the corners of her lips curved upward, and for a brief moment, the heaviness she normally carried around herself seemed to disappear entirely.

The atmosphere between them grew lighter after that.

Comfortable and natural.

The kind of silence that no longer felt empty.

They continued walking slowly beneath the fading evening sky while the academy lights gradually began glowing one by one around them. Somewhere in the distance, students laughed loudly near the dormitory buildings while the cool wind moved gently through the trees overhead.

After a while—

Sylthara spoke again.

This time her voice was quieter and more thoughtful.

"...I think," she began slowly, "it would have been much more difficult if I had been alone."

Luca’s expression softened slightly as he listened.

"When my home...the elven forest was destroyed..." she continued carefully, the earlier warmth in her eyes dimming faintly beneath old memories, "...I did not know what I was supposed to do anymore."

The evening breeze brushed softly through her silver hair as she walked. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"For most of my life," Sylthara murmured, "the forest was everything I knew. My clan, my home... the place I thought would always exist no matter what happened."

Her fingers tightened faintly around her sleeve.

"And then suddenly..."

A brief silence followed.

"...It was gone. All of it just disappeared."

There was no dramatic sadness in her voice.

If anything—

That quietness made the feeling heavier.

Luca remained silent beside her.

Not interrupting.

Not offering empty comfort.

But just offering an ear.

"At first," Sylthara admitted softly, "everything felt uncertain."

Her gaze lowered slightly toward the pathway beneath their feet.

"I did not know where I belonged anymore. I did not know how to live outside the forest... or what I was even supposed to do next."

The fading sunlight reflected faintly within her silver eyes.

"And honestly..." she added after a small pause, "...I think I was afraid."

Luca glanced toward her quietly.

Afraid.

Not of enemies.

Not of battle.

But of becoming someone with nowhere left to return to.

Then slowly—

Sylthara’s expression softened again.

"But..."

A faint warmth returned to her voice.

"Things changed."

Her eyes lifted slightly.

"Lilliane stayed beside me from the beginning from when I entered the academy" she said softly. "Even though she is quiet herself... she still tried to help me feel comfortable here."

A small trace of fondness appeared in her eyes.

"Kyle talks far too much," she continued, causing Luca to snort quietly beside her, "but he never treats me differently."

"And Selena," Sylthara added after a moment, "understands silence better than most people."

Luca nodded slightly at that.

Then Sylthara’s lips curved faintly once more.

"Eric is strange," she said calmly.

"That’s an understatement."

"But..." she continued, almost amused now, "...he tries very hard to make everyone feel included."

Luca could not even argue with that.

Then—

Her voice softened again.

"And most of all..."

Sylthara looked toward him directly.

"You."

Luca blinked slightly.

"You were the first person here," she said quietly, "who treated me normally."

The words were simple.

Yet sincere enough to make Luca pause.

"You never made me feel like I was someone strange or difficult to approach," Sylthara continued. "Even when I did not understand this place... or how to interact with people properly...and especially after how our first interaction happened.."

A small breath escaped her.

"You stayed."

The evening wind moved softly around them while the academy lights shimmered faintly in the distance.

Then slowly—

A bright smile appeared on her face.

Gentle.

Warm.

Beautiful in a way that carried no pretense.

"When I first came here," she said softly, "I thought everything I loved had disappeared."

Her silver eyes reflected the fading light of evening as she continued.

"But now..."

The smile on her face deepened ever so slightly.

"...It doesn’t feel so sad anymore."

Luca looked at her silently for a moment after hearing those words.

And before he even realized it—

A smile had appeared on his own face as well.