### Chapter 92: A Long Goodbye
Bright sunlight poured down from the sky, illuminating the snow piled up at the edge of the training ground. The pristine white snow sparkled like silver, while a chilly wind swept low, scattering a few stray dead leaves off the mound.
The well-fed girls strolled leisurely along the path, chattering nonstop as they walked from the training area to the outside. After a while, as they passed a snow heap, Sara stealthily picked up a snowball and shouted, “Hey!” as it flew straight into the back of the short girl.
The young woman suddenly turned around, feigning anger. She glanced around to ensure no one was watching and, with a mischievous glint in her eye, grinned while muttering, “Let me show you my skills!” With a flick of her finger, several fist-sized snowballs lifted into the air and, with Sara’s startled yelp, zoomed toward her.
“Wait, that’s cheating—”
“Who’s cheating?!”
“You’re not allowed to use the Power of Order!”
“When you ambushed me, why didn’t you say anything?”
“Ahhhh!”
“Ouch…”
“Darn it, I’m going to retaliate…”
After a playful tussle, a snow-dusted Sara, still unsatisfied, called out to Daisy, who’d been conveniently spectating the whole time: “Daisy! Why aren’t you helping me? You’re just there laughing!”
“You’re far too brave, Sara.”
Daisy chuckled, “I certainly wouldn’t dare to fight with Pope Knight!”
“Pfft.”
Sara pouted at this, looking dismissive. “Pope Knight, so what? I can’t throw a snowball better than her. If she dares to come back to the dorm later, I’ll just tickle her…”
“I’m no longer scared of being tickled.”
The girl boldly declared, pretending to be unfazed, although her eyes were glued to Sara, clearly wary of a surprise attack—a stark contrast to her bravado.
But Sara was just teasing. The girls resumed their walk along the wide path.
After a moment, Daisy suddenly spoke up, “Sara, you actually knew a long time ago that Peilo was a Pope Knight, didn’t you?”
“… Uh-huh.”
Sara nodded dumbly.
But she couldn’t help but explain, “Well, not really a long time—maybe just a bit before you guys found out… mostly because, Daisy, remember that year there was a bloodbath in Royal City? I happened to see that little girl fighting monsters while wearing the Pope Knight’s cloak.”
“Wow…”
The little girl’s eyes widened in surprise. “That happened?”
“Yup! And I think I mentioned it to you!”
“Did you?”
“I don’t really remember…”
“……”
“By the way.”
After a long silence, Sara suddenly asked, “I’ve had a question bothering me for years, so I wanted to ask you, Peilo.”
“What is it?”
“Is it true that the more the Pope Knight eats, the stronger they become?”
“Pfft…”
The girl rolled her eyes. “What a silly question…”
“Just answer me!”
“Do I even need to say it? Of course, that’s true!”
“Seriously…?”
“Totally. Don’t underestimate how much I eat every day. Compared to some stronger people, it’s nothing. I’ve seen Sword Saint Ryan swallow whole cows, in one bite, downing eight of them without even catching his breath.”
“Yikes…”
“Sara, Peilo.”
Daisy, walking nearby, couldn’t take it anymore: “What are you two talking about?”
“……”
“… Ah.”
After a moment of silence, the girl suddenly pointed at the white snow along the roadside. “Looks like the snow’s starting to melt.”
At this point, the academy was somewhat deserted. Besides the upcoming vacation, this was likely due to the unexpected heavy snowfall this year. The cold weather made students prefer hiding in their dorms under warm blankets after lunch.
This made the wide paths feel a bit lonely and empty. The three girls’ shadows stood out starkly against the snow, and their laughter and chatter seemed to carve a clear memory of this deep winter afternoon at Royal City Academy.
Soon, the girls arrived at the library, pausing under its towering shadow.
“Speaking of which…”
Squinting at the slightly glaring sunlight, Sara narrowed her eyes at the small girl caught between them. “You haven’t been to a place like the library in ages, have you?”
“Yeah.”
The girl thought for a moment; indeed, it had been a while since she last visited.
“Did you know they have a biography of Pope Knight Sylvya now?” Sara continued.
???
The young girl was filled with question marks: “Who wrote it?”
“Some guy named Jake; I think he’s a cleric.”
“A cleric?”
“Yup.”
“I don’t know him. How could he write about me?”
“Maybe that’s exactly why he could write it,” Sara commented, her tone suggesting something deeper. “Anyway, it’s a silly read, very fake. I couldn’t get through it, and I advise you not to bother.”
She quickly shifted gears: “Speaking of Pope Knight—”
“What?”
“Why did such an impressive little character like you sign up for the academy in the first place? Bored?”
“Remove the ‘little.’”
The girl shot her an annoyed glance: “Of course, it was for the food here! Why are you asking such dumb questions today?”
“……”
Sara fell silent for a moment. “But this time, you’re here to drop out, right?”
Ah…
That hadn’t crossed her mind.
“Pretty much.”
The girl thought it over and replied, “I probably won’t be coming back to take classes anymore.”
“True…”
Sara felt a bit dazed, followed by a long silence.
“… Hey, what’s up?!”
After a bit, the girl suddenly looked at the two, noticing their solemn expressions. She rolled her eyes and elbowed Sara’s side hard: “Why the long faces? It’s like you’re never going to see each other again.”
“Uh…”
Sara winced at the sudden jab and retaliated, but the girl easily dodged it.
“Hey! I really will tickle you now!”
What followed was a playful chase until Sara, breathless, finally stopped, leaning against Daisy’s shoulder. She lazily raised her eyelids, gazing at the girl who was still on high alert, no matter how hard she chased, never managing to graze her coat.
Sara blinked and suddenly erupted into laughter.
“That’s right,” she said. “Knowing you’re still alive is enough for us. At least now I feel secure. We’ll have plenty of time ahead…”
“Uh-huh, said like a true optimist.” The girl nodded eagerly.
“Peilo…”
Daisy suddenly interjected, her tone soft: “What do you plan to do in the future?”
“Plans, huh…”
The girl tilted her head, tapping her chin as if pondering deeply: “Maybe k*ll a hundred Abyss monsters? Save the world and all that?”
“Uh…”
“Impressive…”
Her answer left the two girls glancing at each other in confusion.
“What do you mean…?”
“So, is this the ideal of a Pope Knight?”
Sara mused, then suddenly frowned. “No way, you’re just messing with us.”
“Of course not.” The girl shrugged. “I’m being serious.”
“Ugh…”
“I think Peilo can actually pull it off,” Daisy suddenly chimed in.
She said this with an unprecedented seriousness: “You always dare to do things we can’t even imagine… I envy you, and it’s not just about strength.”
“Ah…”
The girl looked a bit bashful, scratching her face: “Daisy… you suddenly praising me seriously is making me shy…”
“Daisy is still leaning towards herbalism, right?”
“If you ask me, a couple of years from now, when we call Daisy, we’ll have to add ‘Herb Master’ in front of it.”
“No way, don’t say that…”
“What about Sara?”
“Two years later, your ideas still haven’t changed, right, Sara?”
“Yeah.”
“And you’ll probably surprise me in a year or two, won’t you?”
“Really…?”
“I don’t believe it…”
“Believe it, will you?!”
…………
Until the loud “thud thud thud” of iron hooves passed by the front of the library, and the creaking of the War Chariot faded into the distance, Sara and Daisy remained, watching the company take the princess away, until the sight of the War Chariot vanished completely. They slowly turned their gazes back, but their figures still stood firm, unwilling to leave.
“Guess it’s gone now,” Sara said.
“It’s gone…” Daisy sighed softly.
“But we’ll probably see each other again soon, right?”
“Yeah, maybe…”
“Daisy.”
Suddenly, Sara frowned: “Why don’t you talk to her about your matters? I’ve reminded you several times already.”
Upon hearing this, Daisy pursed her lips and said nothing, merely smiling at Sara before turning to leave, seemingly planning to head back to the dorm.
“Sara, I’ve made my decision.”
However, two steps later, the girl leisurely placed her hands behind her back and said, “I want to try facing this… on my own.”
