Aurora sat beside Sera with unease, as Sera delved deeply into the book she was reading. Glancing at her, Aurora felt a bit more relaxed. In the end, her negative thoughts were wrong. Sera was clearly interested in the book. 

However, Aurora couldn't help but wonder if all her efforts were worth it if it ended up making Sera cry. Was the book causing her sadness or something?

Aurora couldn't help but hate herself in this moment. Not only had she been feeling down for too long, but her mind kept drifting towards negative thoughts. She wasn't the most optimistic person she knew, but she usually had better control over her mind. 

I guess I'm tired, Aurora thought to herself. 

She didn't feel like reading at the moment, so she sat silently, watching as Sera flipped through the pages of her book, the sound of the paper rustling filling the room.

Sera closed the book, having finished reading it quickly. It wasn't surprising, considering the book wasn't particularly thick and it was targeted towards children, with lots of illustrations inside.

Sera looked satisfied and said, "Thank you for showing me this. I thought I would never be able to read it again."

Aurora smiled, "No problem. Does that mean it's not your first time reading it?"

"Yes," Sera said, smiling reminiscently of her past. A tear fell from her eye, which she quickly wiped away.

"Do you mind if I ramble for a bit?" Sera asked.

"Sure," Aurora said simply.

"I believe this is the reason I like mystery books a lot," Sera continued. "My grandpa owned a copy and he used to read it to me. He then taught me to read it myself, and it became a habit for us to read it together every week."

"I see," Aurora said, wondering why such a backstory wasn't included in the game.

"I guess my grandpa is the reason I love books too," Sera continued. "But unfortunately, he passed away when I was eight."

"Oh," Aurora said, feeling unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Aurora was always confused about what to say when someone told her news about someone's death, especially if she didn't know the person who died. It never felt right to say sorry.

"It's fine," Sera said. "I do miss him though."

Sera looked like she was going to cry again, but then she said, "My grandpa left that book for me. It was my memento from him. But around two years ago, an accident happened in my place, burning most of my stuff..."

Aurora gulped. "So the book...burned?"

Sera nodded. "When I tried to find another copy, it turned out it was a rare book. I tried my best to find it, but I never did. Until today. It's almost like a miracle."

Sure, Aurora thought. If miracle means threatening a famous merchant who has a lot of connections to find it.

"If you're going to call it a miracle," Aurora said. "Then why don't you keep it?"

"Wait--you're giving it to me?" Sera said in disbelief.

"Yes," Aurora said.

"But this is a rare book...and it must be expensive..."

"That's what makes it a worthy gift then," Aurora said.

"No, no, no, I don't think I can accept this," Sera said in panic.

"I've already read it," Aurora said. "Even if I keep it, I'll most likely just put it on the bookshelf and forget about it. Isn't it better for you to keep it? You're the one who actually cares."

"But..." Sera began to protest.

Aurora picked up the book and pushed it towards Sera. "Just take it." 

Sera hesitantly took the book from Aurora, still unsure if she should accept it. "A-are you sure about this?" she asked, looking at Aurora with a mix of gratitude and guilt.

"Yes," Aurora said with a smile. "I want you to have it."

"Thank you," Sera said, her voice filled with emotion. "I'll treasure it forever." She hugged the book close to her chest, a tear rolling down her cheek.

***

The following day, Ruby was absent. Aurora didn't get the full story, but it seemed like Ruby had something important to do and needed to head home. Luckily, Marina had returned from the Magic Association lab, so Aurora had someone to chat with.

After class, Aurora invited Marina to join her for a cup of tea.

"Tea, huh? Sure," Marina said with a smile. "And I'm guessing you've got something you want to talk about, right?"

"Well, a bit, I suppose."

Aurora admitted. 

A few days ago, Aurora and Marina had made a deal: Aurora would provide Marina and the Magic Association with a steady supply of cheap Kroma herbs, and Marina would act as Aurora's personal potion maker.

When they reached Aurora's room, Lyra, Aurora's maid, quickly set everything up. In no time at all, Aurora and Marina were sitting with warm tea in hand.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Marina asked as she took a sip of tea.

"So, I was going through some old notes at home the other day and I came across this recipe for a potion," Aurora said. "I was wondering if you could give it a try and see if it works?"

Of course, that was a lie. In the game, there was a mini-game for potion-making, and it would be pretty boring if the only potions you could make were the ones that could already be bought easily in the shops. So, the mini-game included a lot of unique potions that didn't yet exist in this world.

This is one of them. 

"What kind of recipe are we talking about here?" Marina asked, curious.

"Hold on a sec," Aurora said as she reached for a pen and a book. She quickly scribbled down some notes and drew a rough sketch. "I'm not exactly sure of the exact measurements or how much mana is needed, but these are the ingredients."

Aurora tore out the page and handed it to Marina, who quickly picked it up and read through the list.

"What? " Marina exclaimed. "Most of these ingredients are pretty rare, you know! I'm not even sure the Magic Association lab has all of them. And even if they do, I wouldn't be allowed to use them."

"Relax," Aurora said with a reassuring smile. "Of course, I'll provide you with the ingredients. Lyra, bring that box over here."

The maid nodded and quickly brought over a box, placing it on the table in front of Marina.

"If you need more, just let me know," Aurora added.

Marina opened the box and found it filled with herbs of all shapes and colors.

"Wow," Marina said, her eyes wide. "Where did you even get all of this stuff from?"

"I know a merchant who's really good at finding things for me," Aurora replied.

Marina let out a nervous laugh. "You really are something. So, do you even know what kind of potion this is going to become?"

Aurora smiled. "An invisibility potion."

***

Aurora walked into the library, planning to borrow a book to read later. But for now, she wanted to greet Sera first.

Aurora scanned the table where she last met Sera, but to her surprise, her friend was nowhere to be found. But since the library was not locked, she figured Sera must be around somewhere.

As she walked around, looking for her friend, she spotted a girl taller than her tip-toeing and trying to put a book on the top shelf of a bookcase.

"If I were taller, I would offer to help you," Aurora said.

"Aurora!" Sera exclaimed, almost dropping the book in surprise. "You came!"

"I'm trying to keeping my word," Aurora said with a smile.

"P-please wait a second," Sera said. "I'll finish this quickly."

"It's fine," Aurora said. "Take your time."

As she watched her friend finish putting the book on the top shelf, Aurora noticed that Sera was also holding a few more books in her other hand.

Just as Aurora was waiting for her friend to finish her task, she jumped in surprise, as if something had startled her. She looked around confused.

"Anyway, I just remembered something urgent I need to do," Aurora said in a hurry. "Don't worry, I'll come back soon."

Aurora quickly left the library, leaving Sera behind, looking dumbfounded.

"But you just came," Sera said, disappointed.

Meanwhile, Aurora was running towards the academy garden. She had just heard someone whispering, a voice that was familiar, telling her to meet him in the garden.

It must be magic, Aurora thought to herself. Specifically, wind magic.

As she reached the garden, Aurora tried to catch her breath. 

She then said, "Dante."

Suddenly, a whirlwind appeared behind her, and when she turned around, she saw a young man with purple hair standing there.

"So it was really you," Aurora said.

"Nice to meet you again, Miss Starlight," Dante smiled, bowing at her.

"I thought it was impossible for outsiders to enter the academy, with the magic barrier and all," Aurora said. "But I guess those things don't matter to you."

"Not at all," Dante said. "Even for me, I needed a high-grade item to be able to infiltrate. That thing was expensive. Not to mention if I show any killing intent, I would be punished automatically. But all these pains in the butt are worth it if it means I can meet you directly."

So this place is still the safest, at least as far as outsider attacks go, Aurora thought to herself. No wonder they only allow students to bring one person to accompany them, and usually it's a maid. A knight isn't really needed.

"If you're going to such lengths for me," Aurora said. "Does that mean you fully believe me now?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Dante grinned. "Anyway, I didn't expect you to make a move so fast. Thanks to you, I lost all my informants around your house."

"It might be surprising," Aurora said. "But I don't like spies hanging around my house."

"Fair enough," Dante said. "Let's talk business then."

"You brought a map?" Aurora asked.

"Of course," Dante said as he pulled out a folded map and pen, tossing it to Aurora. "But what do you want from us for payment? I doubt it's money, considering your family's business is doing great."

Aurora caught the map and pen perfectly, and then began marking the map with the positions of the remaining secret hideouts of The Black Knight.

"I want you to keep an eye on Nova Wilder," Aurora replied. "And give me a report every week."

"Nova Wilder, eh?" Dante said. "The daughter of the duke. Sure, that can be done. But why?"

Aurora finished and tossed the map and pen back to Dante.

"You'll figure it out anyway, so I don't mind telling you," Aurora said. "Nova hates me. One way or another, she will try to kill me."

***