The Banshee?

“Isn't that Senior Sevis?”

“He's so handsome!”

“Look! Senior Erylin is there too!”

“Outstanding people always gather together, don't they?”

“Who's that guy sitting next to Senior Sevis? He looks pretty handsome too...”

“That's just Ain...”

“Oh, Ain... Tsk! That Ain...”

Ain had absolutely not expected so many people to gather together for a meal.

Counting him, there were a total of eight people at the table.

It was just enough to fill every single seat.

“You're the one from that day!”

Erylin covered her mouth in surprise.

No one present was ignorant of Sevis's name.

Not to mention, as the primary contributor to resolving the recent incident, he was already highly famous and was even about to receive commendation from the main seat at the end-of-term ceremony.

“Hello, everyone. I'm here to find Ain, I won't take up much of your time.”

Sevis replied politely.

A trace of hostility flickered in Lillian's eyes as she replied with some dissatisfaction, “Ain isn't very close to you either, is he?”

The girl thought he was still holding a grudge over what had happened on the combat platform.

How can this guy be so petty!

Under everyone's puzzled gazes, Sevis replied with a smile, “We can't exactly be considered strangers...”

“He is my Swordbearer, so we'll probably be working together for the rest of our lives... You don't have a problem with that, do you, Ain?”

Ain nodded.

Lillian could no longer hold the fork in her hand steady.

Swordbearer?

For life?

Putting aside the fact that this Sevis guy had made things difficult for Ain on the combat platform before, he was clearly a man! What was with this vibe of having some sort of affair with Ain?!

Lillian suddenly felt as if something of hers was about to be snatched away.

Hearing Sevis's words, everyone present was shocked.

So Ain actually had this kind of connection?

“I originally planned to look for you at your dormitory, but I didn't expect to run into you here.”

Sevis looked at Ain with a warm expression, but Lillian's face grew cold. She knitted her brows, her face practically writing her displeasure.

“Do you want to head to the south with me? My family just happened to ask me to handle some matters there, so it shouldn't be too busy.”

“Anyway, thank you for helping me with the incident this time.”

“If not for you, there's a high probability I'd still be staying in the interrogation room right now.”

Sevis laughed easily, looking in a much better state than before.

The others naturally couldn't understand what Sevis was talking about.

Sensing the surrounding gazes fixed intensely on him, Ain could only manage to reply, “About that... let me think about it.”

Seeing that Ain didn't agree immediately, Sevis also noticed his embarrassment. He waved his hand and added, “It's fine, you don't have to give me an answer right away. Just let me know once you've arranged your schedule.”

“Oh, right, there's actually one more thing. Didn't you tell me before that you needed to get that document from my father? I only recently found it in his office. Here, I haven't opened it yet.”

Sevis pulled a folded piece of white paper from his pocket and handed it to Ain.

A document?

Ain suddenly recalled that there indeed seemed to be such a matter.

Back in Sevis's office, a student was originally supposed to hand a document over to him, but it had been snatched away by Wesley who was standing nearby.

At that time, that student had even mentioned "Knight."

Although he hadn't managed to obtain that document as desired back then, following the clues all the way down, he had already roughly guessed its contents.

It was Lillian Knight, after all.

After the events of that night ended, he had forgotten about this matter too.

“This? It's not of much use anymore. You can just throw it away.”

“Didn't you say back then that it was very important?”

“Uh... then just give it to me.”

After placing the document into Ain's hand, Sevis waved to him and then turned to leave.

After Sevis left, Ain slipped the document into the inner pocket of his coat, and then silently went over the subsequent developments in his mind once more.

He hadn't objected to joining the Typhon Chain in the beginning precisely so that he could stand on the same starting line as Erylin, which would help advance the upcoming main storyline.

After all, Erylin had always been a member of the Typhon Chain.

But now, plotlines that had never occurred in the original work had appeared, and the Typhon Chain had also made its move.

According to what Emil said on the way, this mission seemed to involve traveling to the south as well.

In the second vision Lola had shown him, although Sevis's figure didn't appear, his name had still been mentioned.

And now, Sevis also happened to plan on taking him to the south.

Was that where he would meet Imeve?

If so, then everything would connect perfectly.

This summer vacation, Lillian, Erylin, and Sevis would all head to the south, and he would also happen to experience the scene from the vision at that time.

The plotlines related to Act Three would most likely play out ahead of schedule.

As Ain ate, he tried to recall information about Grace.

This was also a scene that would occur within the next three months.

It was daytime, and they were at a church in a forest. There was no one else around, and it looked very remote.

Ain carefully recalled every detail.

Although he didn't remember much, the surrounding woods looked... rather special. They weren't the common green, but instead carried a bit of fluorescence, seemingly possessing some special magical effects.

Grace was lying in his arms, a longsword thrust into her abdomen.

There was some dust on his body, and his clothes showed signs of being scorched, looking as if he had just been through a battle, yet the surrounding scenery showed no signs of destruction...

Had he fought a battle with the owner of that longsword?

Although he hadn't encountered an opponent using melee weapons yet, the profession of "Sword Saint" did indeed exist in the original work.

If he had chosen a different build in the game back then, the game's plot might not have unfolded in the Golden Branch Academy.

Grace's original ending was being killed while competing for the holy spear in the ruins.

Was it because he had changed the plot?

Why did Grace in the vision mention Lillian's childhood birthday banquet?

Could it be that on the day Lillian first unleashed her power, Grace had also been present as a guest?

Ain couldn't help but sigh.

“I really don't get it...”

Hearing Ain muttering to himself, Lillian thought he had made his decision and stared at him with eyes full of stars.

“What is it? Have you made up your mind?”

Lillian held immense trust in Ain.

She firmly believed that among everyone present, she was the only one who truly shared a soul bond with Ain from beginning to end.

“For summer vacation, I'll still go with you guys.”

Ain glanced at Lillian, then at Erylin.

“You actually dare to go? If you have any weird thoughts about Erylin, I'll definitely cut you down!”

“Ain! I'll give you whatever you want next semester! Just help me out this time! Those experiments... I really can't finish them on my own!”

...

The scene was a complete mess.

Just as everyone was arguing, Ain suddenly felt something unusual by his side. Looking down, he saw something slipping out of his pocket.

Bending down to pick it up, he realized it was a Card of Canal.

How did I forget about this too!

Did I forget to take it out when washing my clothes earlier?

Once the ceremony is over, I'll see if I can find Lola and return this card to her.

With that in mind, Ain picked up the card and stuffed it back into his pocket.

That Card of Canal was precisely the ninth Spirit Card...

The Banshee.