Just past midnight, the flying ship of the Brynhildr Academy soared high above the clouds, gradually disappearing from view.
Professor Barret, who was controlling the flying ship, sharpened his senses, just in case of an ambush.
Although they had not informed anyone about their departure, there was still a possibility that their enemies had laid a trap around Nightfall Academy to prevent them from returning to Brynhildr Academy in one piece.
Richard stood beside Professor Barret, vigilantly observing the surroundings as well. As a Magistratus, he specialized in detection and stealth missions as people in his profession usually infiltrated the camps of Rogue Cultivators who harmed the innocent.
The Magistratus had used a stealth spell to hide the Flying Ship from sight, which gradually depleted his Magical Reserves.
Even so, he deemed that this was a necessary measure in order to successfully leave the academy unnoticed.
Rowan and Ethan were tasked with guarding Henry, who was still unconscious.
Luna’s older brother was the strongest student next to Henry.
Ethan, on the other hand, was recognized by Professor Rinehart and Professor Barret as the strongest First Year.
Aside from the two of them, there were no better bodyguards to protect Henry.
The rest of the students were currently resting, but they were ready to help just in case something unexpected happened during their journey.
An hour later, Richard took a deep breath and canceled the stealth spell.
They were now several miles away from Nightfall Academy, and he deemed that this was enough of a head start to shake off any pursuers.
He had already expended half of his magical reserves, so he decided to drink a potion to help him increase his magic recovery.
Richard could have kept the stealth spell going, but he knew that draining his magical reserves was a terrible idea.
Professor Barret also understood this as he was the one who personally taught this to his Disciple in the past.
He kept the flying ship high in the sky and used the clouds as a cover to hide their presence.
Although the return trip to Brynhildr Academy was filled with tension, it passed uneventfully, and they didn’t encounter any ambushes throughout their journey.
What they didn’t know was that, although their rival academies were expecting them to return to the academy to escape their pursuit, they didn’t expect that Professor Barret would do it so soon.
The spies whom they had sent to observe the temporary residence of Brynhildr Academy had all been knocked unconscious and put to sleep by Professor Barret and Richard.
Because of this, the Professors and Headmasters of the other academies thought that Professor Barret was planning to wait for Henry’s recovery before making their escape.
They only noticed that their targets were gone when morning came, and by then, it was already too late.
In the middle of the night a few days later, the Flying Ship landed safely at Brynhildr Academy.
They were greeted by Professor Rinehart, Professor Ophelia, Professor Galena, and a beautiful young lady who had already been informed by Professor Barret about what had happened in Nightfall Academy.
Professor Barret had used a special artifact that allowed long-distance communications. With this, Professor Rinehart decided to be more discreet and only invited people who would certainly keep this matter a secret.
When the Headmaster found out that Henry was in a coma, he decided to keep this matter under wraps and personally escorted the unconscious young man to the Dud Manor.
The beautiful young lady who was waiting alongside them was none other than Irene Campbell.
She was Henry’s fiance and a powerful healer in her own right.
After arriving at Dud Manor, Professor Galena, who was the best healer in the academy, checked Henry’s condition.
“His injuries are recovering very slowly.” Professor Galena frowned. “Whoever attacked him was very powerful. They also left a residue of power inside his body, which is getting in the way of the potions and healing spells that should have allowed him to fully recover by now.
“However, aside from that, his vital signs are stable. I estimate that he will be fully recovered in a week. But whether he will wake up before or after his body is fully healed is still uncertain.”
Irene, who was using a healing spell on her fiance’s body, had the same opinion as Professor Galena.
Although her spell was definitely working, the recovery speed was abysmal.
A single glance was enough to show how anxious she was, and the sight of her helplessness made Ethan sigh in his heart.
Clearly, Irene loved Henry very much, and from the looks of it, she had no intention of leaving his side anytime soon.
“Let us let the patient rest for now,” Professor Rinehart said softly. “Irene, are you staying here for the night?”
“Yes, Headmaster,” Irene replied with a determined look on her face.
Professor Rinehart nodded. “Understood.”
Ethan glanced at his Head Prefect one last time before leaving the room along with the Professors.
Sebastian and his Other Half assured him that Henry would recover from his coma once his body was fully healed.
Since he knew that his two advisers had no reason to lie to him, he felt a little relieved knowing that his Head Prefect would recover in time.
“You should rest, Master,” Lilith said as soon as she jumped out of Ethan’s shadow after the handsome young man closed the door of his room. “You look very tired.”
Ethan nodded his head in agreement.
During the journey, he barely got any rest because he was constantly on high alert.
Only after leaving Henry’s room did he start to feel the fatigue that had accumulated over the past few days, and it made his body as heavy as lead.
Removing his robes, Ethan went straight to the bathroom in order to take a quick shower.
As he was so used to being alone, he had temporarily forgotten that Lilith was in the room with him.
The Black Cat was quite happy with the eye candy right before her eyes, and she even thought that her Master might have not taken her seriously because she was always in her cat form.
Perhaps, Ethan subconsciously thought of Lilith as a Magical Beast like Selene instead of a young maiden, which explains why he didn’t mind being seen by her.
A few minutes later, he left the bathroom and dried his body with a towel. After pulling on his underwear, he laid down on the bed, not caring that his hair was still a bit wet.
Soon, the handsome young man fell asleep without a care in the world.
The Black Cat approached her sleeping Master in order to check if he was really asleep.
After confirming that he was in deep sleep, she transformed into her Beast Kin form and covered his body with a blanket.
‘Should I do it?’ Lilith thought as she looked at Ethan’s defenseless body.
After a minute of silence, she shook her head and returned to her cat form.
She then jumped on top of the bed and snuggled close to Ethan, falling asleep beside him.
Lilith originally planned on hugging Ethan in her Beast Kin form as she slept with him, but she deemed that this was an inappropriate thing to do.
Also, there was a chance that Ethan might hate her for taking advantage of him in that manner.
So, in the end, she decided to play it safe and simply snuggled beside her Master in her cat form.
While the handsome young man and his Protector were sleeping together, news of what happened in Nightfall Academy started to spread among the circles of the other academies.
As to whether this would bode well for the students of Brynhildr Academy or not, they would find out a few months later, when the Academy’s Mission Hall opened for the second time.