### Chapter 90: The Story of Old Friends (Part 1)
In that one moment, it felt like the entire world around Sara suddenly fell into absolute silence.
She stood there, with her mind blank and no idea why. It wasn’t anything earth-shattering, yet she couldn’t help but feel completely frozen, like a wooden puppet, as she stared at the girl who had appeared out of nowhere in front of her.
Moments later, the first to react was Daisy, who had been trailing behind her.
“Is… is that…?”
Once she clearly saw the familiar face of their long-lost roommate, Daisy’s already large eyes widened even more. Her body jolted as she couldn’t tell whether her reaction was one of surprise or fright. It was instinctive; she shouted, “Peilo!”
Her voice wasn’t loud, but as she stepped into the dorm room, her shout of “Peilo” seemed to snap Sara out of her daze, and with a “bang,” she slammed the door shut, vigorously blinking her eyes.
And there they were, two girls standing at the door, caught between entering and retreating.
“… Uh.”
In that moment, they weren’t the only ones bewildered.
The girl was too.
“Um….”
Dressed in a dark purple gown that hugged her waist just right without being constrictive, adorned at the hem yet not cumbersome, the girl stood there looking mysteriously elegant and strikingly noble. She gazed at the two girls at the door, hesitating for words, and shyly scratched her cheek, smiling at them.
The smile held an air of apology mixed with shyness, as if she wanted to say something but didn’t know how, and then furrowed her brow, pondering for a moment before letting out a “ha” of a sigh, as if giving up on an explanation.
“Hey! Sara, Daisy! Long time no see! Did you miss me?”
With a casual wave of her hand, the girl smiled sweetly, as if she had just come back from a delightfully boring vacation and was now pleasantly surprised to see her amusing roommates.
Totally casual.
“Let’s keep our voices down. My return needs to be a secret… Um… Actually, there isn’t much to worry about… But if others find out, it might… perhaps… maybe cause you a bit of trouble?”
She rambled on, unsure if she even understood what she was saying herself.
“Is it really you…?”
After a moment, Daisy covered her mouth: “But last year, the papers really said, they even held a funeral for you! We all believed it!”
“Ah…”
The girl opened her mouth, wanting to explain, but her cheeks puffed up instead. Tilting her head and glancing upward, she tapped her chin, probably pondering for a moment.
“Heh heh.”
Not coming up with anything coherent, she just broke into a silly grin: “You can’t just believe what’s in the papers!”
Clearly, she didn’t want to elaborate on that matter.
Sara noticed right away.
“Hey, you two are just staring at me… What’s up?”
“Sara, why are you looking at me like that? Is something on my face?”
Suddenly, Sara moved. Without saying a word, she walked straight to the girl and, in the midst of her bewildered expression, hugged her tightly.
And then came the silent sobs.
Sara couldn’t say a word.
Not knowing what to say, her eyes, nose, and throat were all overwhelmed with emotion. Tears slipped down her cheeks, dripping onto the girl’s fluffy head, soaking her forehead.
The sudden display of “over-the-top” emotion caught both Daisy and the girl off-guard.
“Okay, okay…”
The girl gently patted Sara’s back, intending to comfort her, but as she was hugged tightly, her face buried in Sara’s chest, her toes couldn’t help but point up, still unable to peek out of that not-so-large but soft chest.
“Don’t… don’t do that…”
The girl’s voice became a bit muffled: “I’m not… I’m fine…”
“Sara…”
Daisy hurried to comfort as well.
Daisy hadn’t planned on crying; this situation didn’t tug at her heartstrings. But seeing Sara so emotionally stirred, mouth open in soundless cries, struggling to breathe, Daisy reached out to touch her back, murmuring “Don’t cry, don’t cry.” Just a few words in, her eyes got red too, and her voice choked up.
“Hey…”
Finally, the girl broke free from Sara’s embrace. She took a step back, looking at her two former roommates, their eyes red and wet, and a warm flutter spread through her heart.
At the same time, she couldn’t help but find their situation somewhat amusing. She had never seen Sara cry before, and right now, it struck her as quite the spectacle—Sara closed her eyes, mouth wide open but not making a sound, drooling a little.
“Sara, guess what I brought for you!”
The girl turned around, lifted the wide-brimmed hat off the table, and picked up a long black box beside it, handing it to Sara. “Catch it with both hands and see what’s inside…”
“What… what is it?”
Still sniffling, Sara obediently took the box and opened it.
“Ta-da!” The girl hummed a cheerful tune, “The latest precision steel sword from the Central Workshop! The best steel, the finest blacksmith! I had them engrave your name on the blade. Do you like it?”
She spoke in a tone as if she were sweet-talking a little girl.
“Like it?”
Sara held the sword, tears replaced by joy. Her red eyes sparkled, “I could just d*e from loving you right now…”
This sword had been crafted by Pasifal for the Sword Demon and was something extra that had been ordered during the forging. The requirements were naturally not as strict as the Sword Demon’s. She had only mentioned that it was for a girl, so it should be lighter, more delicate, and easy to handle.
The girl had tossed the sword and her belongings into the dragon’s lair in White Horn, intending to bring it to Sara, having promised her a long time ago.
If she didn’t give it now…
Well, there might not be another chance.
She thought to herself as she watched Sara’s excitement, stroking the sword as if it were her beloved, blowing warm breath into her sleeves to carefully wipe the engraved emblem of the Central Workshop on the hilt.
She had likely completely forgotten why she was crying earlier.
“Daisy, Daisy, this is for you…”
The girl then pulled out a book from her robe and handed it to Daisy: “An abridged version of ‘Herbology Summary’ by Clacronde! It’s a handwritten copy I stole from my dad’s bookshelf! Hehehe~”
Her tone was quite smug.
This book was highly regarded in the herbology field. Although the academy library had one, it wasn’t a complete rare edition.
Daisy knew how precious it was and, hearing the girl say it was “stolen,” was startled and immediately tried to refuse: “Ah, this… how can I accept this, Peilo…”
“Relax!” The girl continued waving her hand, stuffing the book back into Daisy’s hands, “You think my dad will notice a book missing from his shelf in three years? That guy’s just pretending to be cultured…”
With two gifts handed out, there was just one last item left in the bag. The girl looked around and curiously asked, “Huh, where’s Sophia?”
Clang—
Sara, unable to hold back any longer, had already drawn the glistening sword from its sheath and, pouting, said, “Sophia is super busy right now, you know, with her fancy status and all. How could she have time for us mere mortals?”
Upon hearing this, the girl became a tad curious and, after some questioning, learned that Sophia’s father was now a minister of justice.
“Well, in that case, that’s that.”
The girl didn’t think much of these matters, feeling a bit regretful that she couldn’t see all three roommates today, but there was nothing she could do about it.
“Please help me pass on Sophia’s gift.”
The gift for Sophia was a gem necklace that just by glancing at it screamed “expensive.”
Glamorous and noble.
In her mind, it was the perfect gift for Sophia.
She handed the necklace to Sara, not worried in the slightest about anything going wrong. However, Sara froze upon hearing the girl’s words.
“You…”
She hesitated for a moment, the look of joy on her face instantly faded.
“Are you leaving already?”
