<h4>Chapter 280: Quite a Chilly Night</h4>


    The spar session ended after 30 minutes, and it was pretty tiring for Elysia. She returned to her friends only to receive their giggles. They found the spar between Elysia and Hannah quite funny and unique for many reasons. Even Rosie came just to congratte her withughter.


    After that, Hannah insisted on a mock battle with Ariel, and thetter only agreed after being persuaded by E.


    Truly a spirited battle between two fully armed Saint-level knights. Ariel even used her other armament to parried Hannah''s brutal attack. The golden spear and gold chain shed with the dual greatswords.


    Victory went to Ariel and the defeat for Hannah. What could Hannah do with that? She was pretty exhausted just because of Elysia.


    Hannah asked for a rematch at another time, but Ariel ignored the ck knightdy as if she didn''t hear anything. The holy knightdy had other responsibilities after all.


    It waste afternoon, they decided to return to the mansion for several reasons from various parties. Based on many considerations, Fran and Hannah were not allowed to be in the same carriage with the Elysia group.


    "Ely, can I be as strong as you? I mean, our levels are close, but why are the differences between our strengths so far apart? May I learn from you?" Evelyn fiddled her fingers with a bit of nervousness. She was afraid if it sounded presumptuous and her best friend would turn it down.


    "Un, we don''t mean to be presumptuous and cross the line... But, is there any secret behind your skills and abilities, Ely? If you don''t mind, is it possible for you to share a little hint with us?" E supported Evelyn''s request and asked politely without any other meaning than curiosity.


    "Let''s talk about thatter at the right time. As you can see, we are not in the right situation for that." Elysia gave neither a yes nor a no, just a postponement on Elena''s suggestion.


    E, Evelyn repeatedly nodded because they understood. They were still in the carriage after all. However, it was not only them who responded like that... Rosie was the same. Meanwhile, Maximilian and Ariel were just curious, but they didn''t say anything.


    "What are we going to do after this? Any ns?" Rosie proposed a vote.


    "I have some ns in mind. Do you want to hear?" Elysia raised her hand a little.


    "I''m all ears, please." Rosie represented the other girls for it and gave an open palm, asking Elysia to continue.


    "Return to the mansion, take a warm bath, have dinner, then rest. We''ll leave early tomorrow morning, right after breakfast. Hum, the academy days will return the day after tomorrow. I wonder what will happen at that time." Elysia nced up at the sky in the distance, quite cloudy at the sky that was starting to turn orange.


    "Ah, the time has passed, and we''ve been gone for almost two nights. It reminds me of that girl named Serena. She was so cunning as to steal Ely''s tinum card. May she be enlightened and be a good girl from now on." E sped her hands in prayer and hope.


    "Humph! That Serena girl is receiving her punishment for the good of the world. Hopefully, she will be deterred and repent. But if she tries to find trouble with Ely and me, hmph... Regret is thest word for her to say." Evelyn squeezed her hand into a fist, determined to unleash the power of retribution.


    "Well, if you talk about that... Our academy is going to have the retest for student cards and privileges cards. Hopefully, that Serena hasn''t bragged about that tinum card, or she''ll get a little bacsh and trouble from her ssmates. Besides the punishment given by the principal, of course." Rosie rested her cheek in her hand, wishing good things woulde for the girl in question.


    "It''s great if Serena gets into trouble. She was bragging about her tinum-grade talents like there was no tomorrow after all. I have no doubt whatsoever." Evelyn gave a dismissive hand wave. She had no interest in wishing Serena good things.


    Yet, she became curious about what punishment the principal gave to that hateful girl. "Uhm, what kind of punishment did that girl get? Do you know, Rosie?"


    Rosie patted her chin as she tried to remember for a moment. "Well, I heard about that while I was taking care of some matters as student council president so I could take three days off. Serena was given a fine of around 500 gold coins or 1000 gold coins, hmm... I forgot a bit, but that''s what I heard."


    "Huh? So ugly andme to be called a punishment. That girl is from the Duke Family, right? It''s easy for her to get 500 gold coins with no effort." Evelyn lifted an eyebrow with a disgruntled expression.


    "In that case, I don''t know any more than that. Let''s find out more when we get back to the academy." Rosie gave a half shrug, but her words received an affirmative response from Evelyn and Elysia.


    "Ely, what do you think about Serena? Do you harbor something like dislike or hatred?" Evelyn wanted to know her best friend''s point of view before anything else.


    "Hmm, even if you ask that... Maybe, nothing?" Elysia felt a little confused on her own and answered, but it sounded like she was asking back. Even Elena did a facepalm because of Elysia''s response.


    Evelyn nced at E and vice versa. Rosie also joined the bewilderment. They actually felt quite stunned to hear that.


    "You''re too kind, Ely." Evelyn stated that, but she and E rubbed Elysia''s back with aprehension gaze.


    After that, they changed the topic of their conversation until they arrived at the mansion. Like Elysia said as the activity n, they took a shower with warm water then had dinner together like the previous one in the afternoon.


    Finished with all of that, Elysia invited her friends and those who would leave tomorrow morning to rest because it was already night. They just did this, that, and yada yada yada... Yet, time passed so fast to turn the evening sky into the night sky.


    "Ely, want hot, fresh tea?"


    Elysia was looking out the window, lost in thought, and a pleasant voice rang out from behind. She turned around, and E was there, handing her a ss of hot tea.


    "Thank you, E. Shall we have tea before bed? Isn''t that bad for our teeth?" Elysia epted the ss of tea with minor concern. They just brushed their teeth, right? She nced at the other two girls in the room, and they were sipping their tea in peace.


    "Ah, that... Please don''t worry. This is just in tea without sugar, honey, or other sweeteners." E gave a reassuring smile and sat back down on the sofa.


    "Mm, I feel calm hearing that." Elysia also sat on the sofa, next to E.


    "E, you are good at brewing tea. No wonder grandfather loves to drink tea every day." Evelyn conveyed a sense of praise and admiration.


    E brewed tea using dry tea leaves and formted with a particrposition to produce the best-brewed tea. Unlike her, who only knew how to brew tea only by dipping one little tea pouch, it was sold in many stores anyway.


    "Ah, this tea is different from what my grandfather often drank. This tea is called Warm Thunder, perfect for drinking when it''s cold like this time because it will make you warm from the inside. To be honest, this is the same tea Rosie''s mother gave you this afternoon. Eve." E raised her index finger in exnation.


    "..." Evelyn stared at the tea in her hands with aplicated gaze. She drank thunder?


    Elysia just smiled with amusement while sipping her tea. Then, a white cat came next to her suddenly. Vanessa requested a ss of hot tea.


    "Umm, why is this tea called Warm Thunder?" Evelyn took another sip of thunder tea, but she only had a slight bit of bitterness which was pretty good.


    "Uhm, I don''t really know about that. But if I may assume, maybe because when it''s brewed, the color of tea will dominate like falling lightning." E scratched her cheek gently. She could only guess but without knowing the truth.


    "E, can you brew one more for Vann? At that point, you can show us the falling thunder while brewing tea." Elysia submitted her cute little cat request, albeit she was curious about the thunder in question.


    "With pleasure." E put down her ss and brewed tea on the table. "So it''s like this, see? Thunder, bang~"


    Just like E''s assumption, the tea descending into the hot water did look like falling thunder. But Evelyn just giggled at E''s joke. She wouldn''t be afraid of the descending thunder if it had such a pleasant voice, and that form was nothing more than tea.


    "Here''s tea for you, sweet cat. Please be careful because it''s still hot." E handed the cat a cup of tea, and Vanessa climbed onto the table to drink it.


    For a few moments afterward, they had warm and pleasant conversations on lighthearted topics. Ariel, who was just sipping tea in silence, was dragged in to join the girls'' conversation.


    Then, the sleepiness came over, and they decided to sleep... Two beds, one for two people. This time, Evelyn asked to sleep together with Elysia, and no one objected to that. As for Vanessa, she decided to sleep on her master tummy.


    It was quite a chilly night. Elysia closed her eyes after the girls wished each other goodnight. Elena was asleep, and Elysia immediately followed into sleep. Perhaps, another dream woulde again besides that one.