By the time they reached Forest Hidden the next day, the academy looked almost offensively peaceful.
Martin noticed the contrast as soon as the familiar forest paths came into view. After hours inside the Sunken Belfry, where every bell had become suspicious and every road required verification, the trees surrounding the academy seemed too normal.
Branches moved in the wind, birds called somewhere beyond the path, and nobody was trying to lure a child into a tunnel with a stolen signal.
Alexandra walked beside Kumoe a few steps behind Martin. Mireva and the elderly Sairren followed together, while the route-keeper spent most of the approach studying everything except the road directly in front of him.
Rias carried the evidence records they had agreed to reveal, while Cassandra walked with them too. She had never suggested that she should stay behind, and Martin had never asked her to.
The group slowed when they reached the point where Forest Hidden's territory began.
