Just as the white hippopotamus, Sophie, was about to come ashore, the Headmaster of Barbatos Academy appeared, as if sensing their presence.
As a Saint, it was very easy for Alexander to know if someone of the same rank was approaching his domain. However, he never expected that the Saint that he sensed was not an enemy, but someone very dear to him.
"Mother?" Alexander asked. "Is that really you?"
"Yes, Alex," Vera replied. "It is me."
Lux, who expected that his Stepfather wouldn't immediately recognize Vera, sighed in his heart. He had never seen what his Grandma looked like when she was young, so he thought that Alexander would be the same, unable to identify his mother due to her current appearance.
What Lux didn't know was that aside from the hair color, Vera looked exactly the same as when she was younger.
Just like the other descendants of the Kaizer family, Vera's former hair color when she was young was blue. Now, it was silver.
And yet, it didn't diminish her youthful beauty that Alexander remembered the most.
"But, how?" Alexander inquired. "Also, you have regained your power as a Saint. How is this possible?"
"I'd like to answer your question in a more comfortable environment," Vera replied. "Lux and I have traveled from the Wildgarde Stronghold, and it would be nice if we chatted while sitting on a couch, don't you think?"
Alexander, who had completely forgotten that they were on a riverbank, massaged his forehead before nodding his head.
"I'm sorry," Alexander stated. "It's just that when I felt the presence of an Unknown Saint, I thought that they were planning to attack the Academy, so I came out, ready to fight. I just didn't expect that the one I would see would be you, Mother."
Vera nodded in understanding and ordered Sophie to walk to the usual entrance they used every time they visited Barbatos Academy.
Alexander gave Lux a grateful glance, knowing that Vera's changes could only be credited to his stepson, who helped his mother get a full recovery.
Although he didn't know how Lux did it, he was very grateful because his mother had regained what she had lost decades ago.
As soon as they entered the Academy grounds, a worried Alicia met them in the hallway.
Her gaze landed on Lux for a brief moment before going to the silver-haired beauty who was walking side by side with Alexander.
The two were talking in casual tones, and the look of affection that Alexander was giving the beautiful lady made her feel a stinging pain in her chest.
'C-Could it be?!' Alicia felt as if the sky had fallen above her head.
She had been courting Alexander for the longest time, and the Headmaster neither accepted nor rejected her advances. Alicia thought that since she wasn't rejected, as long as she spent time getting to know Alexander better, she would eventually win his heart.
The beautiful secretary didn't expect that a woman, whom she was only seeing for the first time in her life, would be able to talk to the man of her dreams in a casual manner.
Also, just a single glance was enough to tell that the two of them were really close, which made Alicia feel her legs start to go weak.
Lux, who noticed Alicia's pale expression, hurriedly walked up to her and supported her arm.
"Are you alright, Alicia?" Lux asked. "You look very pale."
"I-I'm alright," Alicia replied. "I'm just a little tired from work."
The secretary's dispirited tone didn't escape Lux's intuition, so he glanced back at his Grandma to ask her something.
"Grandma, Alicia doesn't feel well," Lux said. "Maybe it's that time of the month. Do you have any medicine in order to make her feel better?"
Alicia's body stiffened after hearing Lux's words. At first, she felt embarrassed because the Half-Elf thought that she was on her period and asked a stranger to help relieve her symptoms.
It was her heart that was in pain, and it didn't affect the function of her ears, so she caught the word "Grandma," which made her look at the silver-haired beauty, who was also looking at her with concern.
"L-Lady Vera?" Alicia asked with trembling lips. "Is that you?"
"Yes," Vera replied before walking toward Alicia to hold her hand and using her fingers to feel the pulse in her wrist. "Nothing seems wrong except for your fast heartbeat. Has my son been dumping all his work on you?"
Alicia felt as if the world had regained its colors, and the pain in her heart disappeared without a trace.
There was simply no way that she could feel jealous of Vera, who was Alexander's mother.
The beautiful secretary had a very good relationship with Vera, and the kind lady even encouraged her to pursue her son, whose heart had remained closed ever since Iris' mother had died many years ago.
"We don't have much work to do today, so take the day off Alicia," Alexander said. "Your health is very important, so make sure to rest properly."
"I'm fine, Headmaster," Alicia replied in a heartbeat. "In fact, I feel better now."
As if to prove her point she flexed her arm like a bodybuilder, making Lux scratch his head.
'Girls are weird,' Lux thought. 'One moment they look as if they were about to collapse, the next moment they're more lively than people injected with chicken blood.'
Lux then paused a bit because he realized that there was someone missing in the picture.
"Where is Iris?" Lux asked.
Alexander and Alicia glanced at each other before looking at the Half-Elf who was looking for the blue-haired princess of Barbatos Academy.
"She just finished her breakthrough and is currently resting inside her room," Alexander said with pride. "Just like you, Iris is now a Ranker as well."
"That's wonderful news!" Lux was genuinely happy that his fiance had become a Ranker. "The last time I saw her, she was just in the Initial Stages of the Initiate Rank. She really is a lucky girl."
"That, she is." Vera nodded her head in agreement. "I'll have a chat with Alex and Alicia for now. Why don't you and Eiko visit Iris first? Just make sure that you don't wake her up, okay?"
"Yes, Ma'am!" Lux playfully gave his Grandma a salute.
"Nanma!" Eiko did the same, making Vera smile.
As Lux and Eiko went to find Iris, Vera glanced at Alexander and Alicia before telling them that they should go to the Headmaster's Office to talk about important things.
"There is something of great importance that I must discuss with the both of you," Vera said in a serious tone. "It will be best if you bring the Rowan Tribe's Patriarch, Maximilian, to this discussion. This will save me the effort of telling the story twice."
Alexander nodded and took out an artifact to contact the Saint of the Rowan Tribe, who had left the Academy grounds a day ago to look for an ingredient for the pill he was making.
He could sense that whatever his mother was going to tell them was of grave importance, so he made sure to obey her words and asked Maximilian to return as fast as he could to discuss something that might affect their futures.
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