The return of the Twelve after their all-out, two-in a row mission in both Larkovia and Prelurèsia roused the excitement of the student body.

Apparently, the story of the locked-in city of Loquin became a hot topic of discussion between your everyday civilians, even catching the attention of the nobles. However, the true findings were kept confidential and the official citings of what truly happened during the seige and rescue was just about to be conducted.

After their sudden arrival, those who conducted the Sonar with their familiars crashed in their rooms and holed themselves up in their bed to take proper rest. The others who went with the ride were fairly tired themselves because of the stressful chain of events that ate at their schedule. Though fun, the entire duration of series of missions they performed took out a lot from each member.

The sight of the familiar living room made a few mewl in happiness. Tamara was not able to wait and ended up throwing herself on the sofa. In an instant, snores erupted from her mouth while everyone else were too weary to try and escort her to her sleeping chamber. One by one, they carried themselves up to their rooms, crowding the stairs.

"Damn, so tired . . ."

"Finally."

The choir of voices continued, eventually disappearing along the pitter-patter of footsteps accompanying them. Valeriana had chosen to sit back in an armchair to take a breather before eventually standing up and following the flow.

"Valeriana." Corvan's voice halted her on the spot and nudged her to turn her attention at the guy who stood before her.

"Yes?"

Despite answering, the first-ranker seemed to have trouble trying to open his mouth as he was silent. After spending the next few moments awkwardly, he turned away and shook his head.

"If this is about the carriage stuff, I'm sorry." She beat him to it. "I just thought that it'll keep on dragging the group down if I don't make it clear to the guy--"

"No." He cut in. "I apologize for having unnecessarily raised my voice. Your reasoning is logical and I have been insensitive." A pause rang in a deafening intensity. "I don't know what came over me."

"Oh." The atmosphere made her want to run upstairs and curl up under her bed. "Um . . . sorry again, for delaying the departure and not actually being able to ride Avaro back."

"Forget that. There'll still be a lot of opportunities to make up for it." With that statement, he willed his feet to move him forward and carry him up the flight of stairs.

"You mean . . . there's a next time?" Valeriana had a goofy smile at the thought.

"That depends entirely on the future. If it wills it, then so be it." He replied, never stopping from his tracks. Once he entered the point in which he would disappear from Valeriana's view, he spoke again. "See you at breakfast tomorrow."

"You too."

Valeriana never wished for a better closure of her day. As she entered her bedroom, she collapsed on the comfortable mattress and thought back on the recent developments and discoveries she made about herself. This trip brought about huge changes. If first, she left the academy feeling confused, now, she got a vague sense of direction.

Holding up Cifaro's soul crystal, she held it against her chest, close to her beating heart. It finally regained its brilliance.

Tomorrow, as usual, changes would be on their way. With this thought in mind, she closed her eyes and allowed her dreams to lull her in.

The morning rolled in sooner than anyone expected. They rose from their beds and started their daily routine in a slightly, dazed manner as though experiencing a hangover.

When everyone had gathered in front of the table and the meal was served, Keelan wolfed down his entire plate like he hadn't eaten properly for a year. The activity resumed in unusual silence.

"Felt like I hadn't done this in a year." Elfre commented, staring at the first, proper breakfast she hadn't gotten for ages.

They were all silent.

A knock disturbed the awkwardness of the atmosphere. Like a grown habit, Valeriana wiped off her mouth and stood to get the door. Her chair scraped against the carpeted floor, the sound muffed by the fabric.

"I'll answer." She told them.

The dining room was not that far from the front door. It only took half a minute to get there. Pulling on the knob to meet their first guest since the last time, the headmaster's unusually austere stature came to greet the current fifth. Behind him was Courtney, who looked somewhat troubled.

"So it is true." He said, the pinkish hue of his eyes was a lot darker than its normal shade. "The Celestial Twelve has returned."

"Headmaster." The girl bowed her head in respect to Kylon and made way for him to enter. "Sorry we arrived so suddenly with no prior notice. It was unexpected . . ."

"So I heard--how you all emerged out of nowhere just before the designated night hours. Pray tell, how is everyone, Valeriana?" He questioned, his tone strict and firm compared to the commonly gentle one he used to speak.

"We're having breakfast right now . . . do you wish to join?"

"No." The albino simply shook his head and gave out a sigh. "I apologize if I came in the wrong time and if it seems abrupt. However, do forgive my rudeness and ask everyone to gather around immediately as important matters are to be discussed."

Valeriana delivered the news to those dining and had them all come out. The entire Twelve took their places in the lounging area, throwing themselves on the sofas and loveseats. Some chose to remain standing and listen in without having to be so close. The girls, however, all chose to sit side by side.

"Now, let me start with this." Headmaster Kylon reclined on his chosen seat and rested his laced fingers atop his crossed legs. "I have only given you permission to seek out the brother of the king and not on other missions."

"Uh-oh." Keelan sounded.

"And in this unapproved assignment," he drammatically paused. "You brought along two, non-ranking students with no license."

Namely Courtney and Zion.

"I chose to come with them." Courtney said.

"Oh, no." Valeriana whispered.

"The highest mission you were allowed to get was a D-class." He added. "But you took one lingering between the A and B."

"It was actually something in between B and C." Charles tried to reason out.

"Even so!" Kylon exclaimed, his voice reaching a higher octave. "It was prospectively either A and B and even if it was B and C, students--not even the Celestial Twelve--are not allowed to take on a mission above D-class unless given special permission by the CDD. That special permission, if you don't already know, requires further examination and a class clearance given only to proper knights and graduates!"

They all were unable to speak up against what they were told. Like rebellious teens caught in the act, they hung their heads and remained quiet from where they were.

"It was my doing." Charles bravely confessed. "I handled the negotiations with Lord Lienhard and accepted on behalf of the entire group."

"It was not only him." Corvan said, stepping forward. "I, myself, was already well-informed of the assignment status but I did nothing to stop it. The others were dragged along and kept in the dark."

"That's not true." Tamara countered. "I knew full well what we were doing. We wanted it."

A chorus of agreements came in. Valeriana voiced out a yes along with everyone else, although she was not really quite . . . informed they were going against the rules. Well, all for one and one for all. She did not exactly regret anything they did. To be quite frank, she even enjoyed it.

The headmaster seemed to be in deep thought. "It's no use covering up for one another." He told them. "Out of all the batches of rankers, you lot are the wildest."

They smiled at this.

"And I do not find it amusing." He quickly stated, giving each and everyone a glare which instantly wiped the grin off their faces.

"Headmaster," Rowe started calmly. "Now that our offences have been made clear, what sort of punishment do you wish for us to endure?"

"The punishment?" He smiled, the suddenness of which instilling anxiety into the Twelve. "How about this? You all know that the Summer Festival is coming."

Groans erupted followed by mutters of complains.

"And I want you all to organize the--"

"No way!"

"Not happening! Not happening!"

"I'm not finished!" Kylon bellowed. "The academy this time will be responsible for hosting an open-house festivity that will also stand in for . . . recruiting new students. Since you guys are currently the best example of what being a student in the academy can make you into, I want you to spearhead the entire occasion and try to encourage people into joining our community."

"But, headmaster." Zevlin began.

Genevieve continued for him. "The academy is already experiencing overcrowdedness. People wait for at least three years to get a chance to enter and now we're recruiting? Isn't that unnecessary?"

"Oh?" He cocked his head to the side, showing his confusion. "So you weren't informed?"

"Informed of what?" They chorused.

"Celeste Academy will be opening five new branches, one in each continent."

"WHAT?!"

"REALLY?!"

"These branches will be responsible for screening the freshmen." Kylon explained. "Offering two years that will help determine whether they've got what it takes to push further. If they graduate and finish those two years from their branch schools, they will be given the opportunity to pursue their training here, in the main campus." He gave them a few moments to take in what he said before continuing. "It will also improve the accessibility and find potential talents. Don't you agree?"

While everyone had seemingly sunk into a sea of thoughts, a new visitor came by to join in the crowd.

"Seraphina." Kylon's smile turned winsome and even more brilliant as his pink eyes landed on the lady knight. "I was just telling them about the new branches."

"Not to mention he was scarier than a demon a while ago." Somebody murmured.

"Wonderful." She replied, going further into the room while closing the door behind her. "I came by to say hello since I heard you all came back."

A harmony of greetings mainly of 'good morning' and 'welcome' was sounded in reply to the woman. Valeriana, however, seemed dazed at the sight of her.

"Valeriana." She started. "How was your trip?"

"Lady Seraphina!" Came her enthusiastic exclamation. Her legs immediately shot forward, carrying her along as she dove in for a hug. However, she avoided fully closing in to prevent her unwantedly tapping into things.

"I missed you too. Has something happened on your trip? And why are you wearing gloves?"

They broke away.

"Let us just word it this way . . ." Raziel spoke slowly. "Valeriana is not exactly the Valeriana she was before she left."

"What exactly happened?" Seraphina queried, taking her seat on a lone, vacant chair offered to her by Charles. "Thank you."

"I think this will last quite a while. This story isn't quite brief." The fourth commented. "We haven't had breakfast yet and we'll be late for class."

"Classes are suspended to start at ten. Shortened periods are implented for this week to allow necessary preparations to be done for the Summer Festival."

"Awesome!"

"And we'll have time to help adjust Valeriana's schedule, especially to settle her issues regarding power control."

"Why do you need to?"

"Because, to start it all, we just discovered Valeriana's actually a Direct Controller."

To say one could not paint the expressions on their faces was a total understatement.