In a random seat within the lecture hall, Hazel sat calmly, waiting for the professor to arrive.

Just then, she heard the cadets sitting behind her whisper amongst themselves.

"Hey, did you hear? That terrorist group that’s causing chaos within the empire, Nebulous Veil. Apparently, they attacked more noble houses last night. There was even a marquis family among the victims, too."

"What? Have they started attacking marquis families too? Just what the hell is going on in the empire?"

"I wonder how long it’ll take for the empire to capture this organization."

"I don’t think it’ll take too long. After all, what’s a mere organization in front of the great Valcarion Empire?"

"The empire will probably slaughter every single person connected to the organization once that happens."

Chills ran down Hazel’s spine, and her forehead became sweaty.

’N-No, calm down.’

But there was no way she could calm down. After all, she was one of the core members of said organization, carrying the codename Haze.

She stood up from her seat and quickly left the lecture hall with her head lowered.

Her steps became more hurried the more she walked.

She left the building, and after a while, she reached the dormitory and quickly entered her room. Locking the door, she jumped onto the bed and buried her face in the pillow.

’Why is this happening to me?!’

She didn’t ask to join that organization; she joined because she didn’t have the option to refuse. And since she knew so many secrets related to the organization, there was no way they would allow her to leave.

She would be killed if she even tried.

But if she didn’t, then the empire would hang her in the middle of the capital once her connection to Nebulous Veil was discovered.

She buried her face even further into the pillow.

’It’s all your fault, you stupid sword! I should’ve never picked you up back then.’

The sword attached to her waist vibrated.

[As if. How is any of this my fault? I have repeated this to you several times, but you were the one who picked me up without me even asking, so it is entirely your fault. Don’t blame your problems on the innocent me.]

She clenched her teeth in frustration.

"Ughhh!"

After spending several hours lying motionless on the bed, she gradually calmed down.

’I should just stop worrying at this point since there is nothing I can do.’

And if the worst were to happen, then she could always just run away and turn into a hermit. With her mind somewhat calm, she got out of bed and turned to look at the window.

The sky outside had turned dark.

She let out a sigh.

’Just why is the organization attacking the noble families? They must know that it won’t end well for them.’

Despite being such a core member, she didn’t know what the goal behind the attack even was. All she knew was that it was something the organization had been planning for a long time.

She glanced at the sword attached to her waist.

’Hmm...’

She knew that the sword was a fragment relic, but it didn’t really have a function. Aside from being abnormally sharp and sturdy, it was an ordinary weapon through and through.

’Maybe its function is that it can talk? That has to be it.’

After all, she had never heard of a talking weapon aside from the few mentioned in some random local legends.

She gave the sword a doubtful look and asked after some hesitation.

"Hey, how come you can talk?"

But instead of answering, the blade vibrated and threw the question back at her.

[How come you can talk?]

She tilted her head.

"What do you mean? I can obviously talk since I’m a human."

[And I can obviously talk since I’m a sword.]

She furrowed her brow.

"What are you saying? Swords can’t talk."

[And humans can’t talk either.]

"No, humans can talk. Stop with the nonsense."

[You should stop with the nonsense as well. Swords can talk.]

She pressed a hand to her temples.

’Ugh, what the hell.’

Arguing with the stupid sword felt like it was messing with her head.

’Maybe my guess was really correct, and its function allows it to talk. And since it can talk, it is probably assuming that all other swords can also talk. Well, whatever.’

After stressing over the matter related to the organization, she didn’t have any energy left to think about anything else.

Letting out a sigh, she lay down on the bed once again and closed her eyes.

’I need some rest. Good luck, future me. It’s all in your hands now.’

After twisting and turning a few times, she finally drifted off to sleep.

***

Hazel slept soundly, filling the dormitory room with the sound of her snores.

But then, something strange occurred.

Mana began to release from the sword that was still attached to her waist. It was small at first, but it slowly grew larger, enveloping the girl’s body completely. Moments later, it was absorbed into her.

And then... the girl moved.

She slowly sat up and glanced at the sword attached to her waist.

[...]

Her demeanor, her expression, the atmosphere around her—it was all different from before.

Her face was expressionless, and her gaze was as calm as a lake.

Standing up, she walked calmly towards the door and left her room.

As she walked through the corridors of the dorm, nobody seemed to notice her passing by. Even the caretaker working nearby didn’t notice her.

The girl took the stairs and reached the highest floor. Stopping in front of the door at the end of the corridor, she knocked a few times.

Not long after, the door opened, revealing a boy with deep, jet-black hair and piercing grey eyes. His face was expressionless, just like Hazel’s, and he looked at her with a silent question in his eyes.

Hazel calmly opened her mouth and asked.

[May I come in?]

***

Adrian narrowed his eyes as he looked at the girl standing in front of his room’s door.

He had seen her a few times in the lecture hall, sitting beside Evangeline. The two of them were probably friends. He glanced back, looking out of his room’s open window.

The sky had turned completely dark, filled with stars. A full moon hung high above as its ethereal glow entered through the window. It was nearing midnight, and this girl was asking him to let her enter his room.

He spoke plainly.

"Hazel, was it? It is against the rules to enter someone else’s room at this time. I would rather not get into trouble. If you have something to talk to me about, then come again tomorrow."

For a while, the girl simply looked at him without a reaction, then replied calmly.

[It won’t be a problem; I can guarantee that.]

Her voice sounded abnormally confident.

Adrian narrowed his eyes even further.

’Something... isn’t right with her.’

Adrian had never interacted with the girl, so he didn’t know her all that well. But from what he had observed, she used to give off the same airhead vibes as Evangeline. But right now, the atmosphere around her was completely different.

She felt like... a completely different person.

After thinking for a bit, he nodded.

"Fine, you can come in."

The moment he gave permission, the girl calmly entered his room and ‌sat on the chair by the table. He locked the door and sat on the bed, facing her.

"Now then, why don’t you tell me your business?"

He had initially thought that the girl was here because she was worried about Evangeline. Being her fiancé, Adrian was naturally the closest person to her, so it was natural that a friend of Evangeline’s would come to him to know more about her current state.

But that didn’t seem to be the case.

Just then, Adrian heard Alisardarc’s deep abyssal voice in his head.

[There is something strange about this girl. I can sense foreign mana circulating within her body. And I can sense the same mana from the sword attached to her waist. I believe that the girl’s body has been possessed by that sword.]

Adrian frowned internally.

’Possessed? How can a sword possess someone? Does it have consciousness somehow?’

[It’s most likely a Grade Three fragment relic. They all have their own consciousness. You can think of them as living objects, Feeble One.]

’Grade Three...? There is something above Grade Two as well?’

That was quite a significant piece of information, but he didn’t have time to process it right now. There was a more important matter at hand.

Adrian tensed his muscles and channeled his mana into his arms, ready to activate Shift at a moment’s notice.

Seeing that, the girl let out a sigh.

[So you noticed, huh? Well, it’s a good thing. It saved me the trouble of explaining everything to you.]

Adrian spoke in a measured tone.

"What do you want with me?"

His reaction may have been a bit extreme, but that was better than being caught off-guard. He didn’t know the details, but something possessing an academy cadet’s body had come to meet him in his room when it was almost midnight.

’That sounds like trouble no matter how much I think about it.’