I've first attended Professor Ursula's magic astronomy class today, and there I saw such amazing magic being performed. The professor, young as she is, is surprisingly brilliant when it comes to astronomy based divination magic. She reminds me of Michelle in that way.

"That's the north star, Polaris, that'll be the one you always follow", the professor says. With a flick of her wand, the glimmering stars all move from their places, all except for one. "Make it your guide in divination, a stepping stone for your every move", she adds.

The students stare at the stars surrounding them, awed and amazed by the beautiful magic being performed. A star floats next to me, captivating to the touch and brilliant to behold. I try to reach for it, but as soon as I make contact, the star twirls and whirls around me, before leaving to join the other stars in the constellation.

Another class that has amazed me was the basic white magic class. White magic has never been something that's within grasp. It's more of an advanced form of magic that requires better attunement to magic.

Something that caught my eye in that class was a girl who used spirits to mend objects, it's something I've read but never seen been done.

The last class that left a good impression on me was magic history class. There're so many things so interesting with the history of magic, I've always found fascination within them. The proud, honourable, and enduring history of witches, from tall tales of old to accepted historical records, they've always fascinated me.

In all those class sessions, there're numerous moments I could've and would've answered the teachers' questions but never did so, all because one girl in particular keeps answering them before I could even think. Diana is terribly gifted, it's something I brought up almost every time one of the students chooses to talk to me, and every one of them has given me the same answer: she's from a line of great witches and she herself might be her family's most gifted. Most I talked to refers Diana as 'the pride of Luna Nova', and I don't particularly refuse that idea. Some even believed she's the most gifted student in all of Luna Nova's history, but I'm quite sure there're exaggerations to be found in that claim. Nonetheless, Luna Nova is blessed to have such a valuable student.

But then, there's that girl.

Kagari Atsuko, or Akko for short, she's anything but impressive so far. She seems to lack any sort of talent in any form of magic, yet she's still slacking off in classes and shows no real interest in them. Seeing her, I begin to wonder how in the world could a girl like her got accepted to this prestigious school.

But, then again, I'm here.

—

The first day of class went well, more than I'd anticipated. I'm honestly enjoying the atmosphere the school has and the dynamics within it. This day is almost fit to be called a good day, but it's not, chiefly because of one single deterring reason.

"WHAT, THEY DIDN'T COME?!"

"You didn't notice?" Michelle asks and pause her meal to talk to me. "There weren't any in the opening ceremony, so either they're late, or they changed their minds. Either way, they won't be attending this school because of it".

Michelle's answer was plain and simple. She shows no real concern over this new predicament, a complete contrast to me. I stammer, "But… I'm already… but that means…"

Michelle ignores my incoherent words and takes a bite of her sandwich. Between chews, she says, "Of course, if you think about it, this was to be expected. Aspiring wizards wouldn't want to waste their money experimenting on joining an expensive, formerly all-girls school. They'd rather waste them on already established expensive wizarding schools".

Her all too familiar answer convinces me the Headmistress told her the same thing she told me back on the first day I arrived. It's like she programmed Michelle to answer this once asked that.

"I heard that from the Headmistress, but they can't just do that!"

Michelle shrugs. "I mean, they can and have, apparently".

"Michelle, I'm already here! So if they didn't come that means I'll—"

"Be the only male student in the whole school?" Michelle finishes my sentence, a joyous smile on her lips at the thought of that and the misery it entails me.

"Yes! Correct! And you see no problem in this?!"

Michelle promptly loses her smile at this. She puts a finger to her chin, and after a good moment of thoughtful silence, she nods and answers, "Administrative problems".

"Administrative problems", I repeat slowly, not believing what I hear.

"Administrative problems". Michelle reaffirms with a nod. "Look, you'll be fine being the only male student. It's not like the other students are going to lynch you up for it".

I feel like I'm genuinely cheated, yet I couldn't say anyone actually crossed me. The school's already accepted the applicants, and it's those applicants' own decision not to follow through. The school was not at fault for this predicament, and having nothing and no one to blame makes my situation all the more stressful.

Realizing there's no argument to make, I sigh and say, "Just when I thought I'm starting to like this place".

"If this is any consolation, the staffs are males", Michelle points out.

"Very helpful, Michelle".

Michelle says nothing and just shrugs. She finishes her sandwich quickly, gets up, crumples the wrap in her hands and, without a word, throws the wrap into the air. The rubbish immediately combusts in mid-air, the last pieces of the sandwich wrap turns to dust and ash before it could even land on the grass.

Michelle raises an eyebrow at my judging stare and asks. "What? There's no rubbish bin around".

She already changes the topic before I could make an argument on that, "Anyway, the labyrinth".

I reluctantly agree to this, only because it's actually a worthwhile topic to switch to.

"What of it?"

"Have you prepared for it?"

"For that treasure hunt event?" I ask back, earning an affirmative nod from Michelle. "I just read a few stuffs about what treasures might be in there, but really, there's not much to prepare with when it comes to that generally undocumented place".

"The place itself is sparsely documented, but its content isn't. I did a bit of reading as well, and I'm surprised to found some documentations of all kinds of things residing in the labyrinth, living and not".

I pause for a moment. "Is this your way of telling me to be careful down there?"

Michelle turns and walks away, she then offhandedly says with a wave of a hand, "Maybe, or this is my way of telling you to prepare and get a good grade there or go home.

She stops halfway out the courtyard and turns around and cries, "And don't forget to bring me what I asked you to earlier!"

—

I still find it hard to believe that I'll be the only male student here. The things that entail this fact begin to dawn on me, and I feel weighted down on it at every passing second. This 'only male student' thing is going to weight on me for as long as I stay here, the amount of pressure that status will bring!

I tighten my hold on the wooden crate on my hands. The nameless vials of potions and alchemy tools inside clink at my every step, what any of them are for I've yet to know. Michelle had asked me to help bring this to her, and I'm wise enough not to refuse. However I disliked being a pack mule for her to order around, I'd thought that fetching things for her and going back and forth in a new environment will help me get to know the school's layout faster, so I agreed for once. Now I find myself walking from one point of the school to another with a hefty crate on my hands and a small stack of books atop of it, books borrowed from the library as Michelle earlier had also told me to. Pollux this, Pollux that, these are the books I found in the library about the ominous labyrinth.

'As she told me this, as she told me that'. I'm no less than a fairy for Michelle at this point. Not that there's anything bad about fairies, of course.

As I round the corner of this still unfamiliar corridor, I saw a blur of blue and brown rushing towards me. I couldn't move away in time, it runs into me and makes me lose balance that one of my borrowed books slide off and fall down to the floor. The world seemed like it slowed down as the book made impact with the floor. I could see, terribly see, its pages gets folded and crumpled as the book falls to the ground.

The person who ran into me quickly withdraws and says, "Oh, gosh! I'm so, so, sorry!"

Despite myself, I try and stay polite. "T-that's fine".

I was about to pick up my book but the girl got the upper hand. In an effort to mend the damage she'd done and be polite, the girl picks up my fallen book for me. It would've been an endearing gesture, but the way she carelessly picks up the book and making it hang sends me into mild alarm.

I gasp inwardly, and judging from the oblivious reaction to the girl—who keeps a rather easy smile and attitude—I'm doing extremely well masking it.

The girl says, "Sorry about that, I wasn't looking! I was on my way somewhere fast so sorry for running into you. Here's your book, so sorry!

Still in an inward shock, I quietly eye the state of my book once I've taken it from her hand—its pages have seen better days.

I scream inwardly.

"T-thank you very much", I say with a light smile.

"Oh, I think I haven't met you before", the girl suddenly says, and then she continues to introduce herself, as if running into a someone and damaging his book warrants a friendly introduction.

"The name's Kagari, Atsuko Kagari, but my friends call me Akko".

"Yes, Akko", I reply. "I've heard of your name—".

"Really? How? Who? Did you hear good things about me from someone?" Akko interrupts me in a spectacular shift of attitude, her eyes are practically lighting up with enthusiasm. I almost feel bad when I answer.

"—In class, Akko".

"Oh, right". She says, losing her enthusiasm immediately.

Though to be honest, Akko, I've yet to hear any good things about you from anyone.

Two girls run up to Akko. The first one has lively blue eyes hidden behind a large pair of thick, round glasses. She has a neatly cut, short, ginger hair. Her most prominent features are the freckles that adorn her pale cheeks.

When it comes to the second girl, the first thing I notice about her is her terribly pale skin and her droopy, almost, sleepy eyes, one of them being covered completely by her smooth and long mauve hair that goes down to her back. She's taller than both Akko and the ginger haired girl, and she has a lither figure compared to the two.

Among the girls, the former is the only one that seems worried about the two of us, as evident from what the latter voiced the first time they catch up on us.

"See, this is what happens when you're being stupid", the girl says with a monotone and apathetic voice.

"Akko!" the ginger haired girl exclaims worriedly. She has many more to say, but her breathing was erratic so she had to stop just to take a breather before continuing. I can only imagine just how far these two had to run after Akko.

"I told you… to slow down", she says in between draws of breath.

"Sorry, sorry!" Akko nervously laughs and scratches the back of her head. She's not giving off an impression of being fully apologetic to neither of us. "But anyway! I ran into…"

Quite literally…

Akko turns and looks at me quizzically. She asks, "What's your name again?"

Something about her and her attitude makes me pause and think—she seems to lack any reactions.

Do these three not know that I'm a male student, the male student? The one that's recently just revealed that will be the only one in the entire school? I'm not asking for one but I expected some reaction, at least more than this. I'm pretty sure news that there's only one male student should've spread by now, but there's a possibility that it hasn't. Perhaps the school doesn't want to lose face at the fact that the bulk of the male students changed their minds so they try to not mention it or even hide it?

Or, maybe, all this is happening for a much simpler reason. Either way, there's one way to figure out which is which.

I try to think of a girly name and answer, "Aldia".

"Nice to meet you", the ginger haired girl is first to say. With her energy returned, she found the strength to give me a polite smile. "I'm Lotte".

"Sucy", the pale one says plain and simple. I take it she's not the most talkative one in this group.

That nearly confirms it. They think I'm a girl, hence why they don't question the name. Despite these trousers I'm wearing, I suppose, I don't strike out as someone that masculine.

I'm not that surprised though, this shoulder-reaching long hair of mine and my honestly not too masculine looks does make me often times confused as a girl in the past. I suspect that prime of this misunderstanding is the fact that there're far more witches than wizards, so commonly, normal folk's first thought when looking at a person draped in wizardry attire is that they're witches—females. And apparently, revealed to me just now, that idea is extended to even among witches.

"Hey so… sorry about running into you, it's nice meeting you I really gotta go!" Akko says, already ready to leave me. "Lotte, Sucy, let's go!"

And just like that, Kagari Atsuko leaves the conversation and skips down the hallway. A small wave is the only thing I return.

Her two friends were about to follow her but I stop them, "Wait, she's not going to leave my book like this, is she? There's a bit of a tear on the page when she got hold of it".

Sucy frowns. She makes no attempt to hide her impatience as she says, "We're not the one who did that, ask Akko to repair it for you".

"No thanks!" I immediately interject. "I saw her trying to do mending magic like a day ago in white magic class and I don't think I'm…"

I don't need to finish my sentence to make my point. Lotte chuckles nervously while Sucy groans but nods in agreement.

With a polite smile, Lotte steps forward with her wand raised. "Let me fix it for you then, I'm quite capable in white magic".

"I'm terrible at it", I say, and add after a few moment of pause, "So thank you, I guess".

Lotte apparently uses spirit calling to do her mending spells. She uses it to fish tan earthy brown coloured wisp out into existence atop my book. She then leans closer to talk to the spirit, "Hey, my friend is wondering if you can you fix this thing".

She refers me as a friend—me, a complete stranger! She's already high up on my book.

With a nod, the spirit begins to mend the book back to its original condition. The folds and tear it received from the accident is slowly shaped into its original state. With the mending done, Lotte thanks the spirit and puts her wand back into the belt and a satisfied smile quickly made its way to her lips.

"Would that be enough?"

I take the book and inspect it. I note how the small chip at one page that I earlier noticed had already been there before Akko damaged it is also mended. It goes to show just how refined the spirit mending magic Lotte just used.

"That's incredible. You're amazing with white magic".

"Pleasure's all hers", Sucy answers impatiently before Lotte could. The girl's impatience shows even more when she leaves me without waiting for her friend, not another word for either of us or as she leaves.

And Lotte is left to catch up to her, not before waving a small goodbye and warm smile my way.

"Nice meeting you!" she says.

"L-likewise!"

What a pleasant person! She feels like a breath of fresh air after meeting her other teammates.

With that pleasant ending to the encounter, I carry my stuffs and move on.

—

This is the first time I've ever stepped foot in the botanical garden, and to my dismay, my expectations for it were too high. Chiefest killer of my expectation is, unfortunately, the first thing any visitor would see when they enter the garden; a sad decaying tree, sitting at the centre of the garden. I expect any visitor would be as unimpressed as I am.

Michelle, along with Miss Holbrooke and Finnelan, a stern professor I've come to know from one of my classes, are currently inspecting the same sad tree, yet aware of my arrival.

"I brought the things you asked", I say, announcing my presence.

Upon turning around, Michelle beams and playfully elbows her senior professor's side. She says. "Hah! See? Told you he's like a personal fairy"

Miss Holbrooke, indifferent to the two teacher's conversations, approaches me and takes the supplies from my hands. "Thank you, Mr Franklin"

I look past the headmistress and towards the decaying tree—none of them seems to show any initiative to mention it anytime soon. Awkwardly, I scratch the back of my head and ask, "So… are we going to address the Oliphant in the room?"

"Elephant, in the room", Miss Finnelan corrects me.

"Elephant, not Oliphant", Michelle too, corrects me.

Miss Holbrooke turns to the decaying tree. "This is the Jennifer Memorial Tree", she explains sombrely. "Sadly, its time seems to be passing now…"

As her explanation goes on, drowning me with endless information relating to botany, I can't help but have a voice at the back of my head pop a ridiculous question to what otherwise is a serious and emotional conversation.

Do trees die of old age?

"…And so, that's why we needed the supplies you brought. Is everything understood?" Miss Holbrooke finishes her explanation with a smile.

"Absolutely".

Michelle is already working on inspecting the tree, using odd magical potions and the likes brought here by yours truly, to search for any ailments while Miss Finnelan aids her in the process, using some sort of divinity magic to guide her through. Despite this, Michelle still has the room to divide her attention for me.

"So, found any books?"

"Only got this", I answer, waving the book that Lotte fixed earlier around. "I swear there's a lot yesterday, but apparently, just earlier today, someone borrowed a lot of the books about the labyrinth, leaving none for the others".

"Someone's dedicated", Michelle remarks.

"I suppose that would be Diana", Miss Finnelan points out.

I reply, "Funny, that's what I said to the librarian. But she said it wasn't Diana, just some other student I probably haven't known yet".

Being in the same room, it's eventually inevitable that I'm forced to help the two teachers' endeavour. The work involves lots of dirty, unpleasant handiwork, and I'm glad that Michelle is the one that does all the digging instead of me. That appreciation grew ten-fold when I spot a millipede writhing in the soil Michelle just dug with a trowel.

I stay in the safe, helping Miss Finnelan collect the samples Michelle extracted.

We're at the back side of the tree, itself blocking our view towards the garden's entrance, so we fail to notice the three girls that just entered the room. From the voice, however, I'm made aware and could already tell who one of them is.

"The Jennifer memorial tree has been reduced to such a sorry state…" the girl spoke sombrely.

I peek from behind the tree and do find Diana, accompanied by two of her friends I haven't met. Michelle caught me being distracted and tugs me back by the sleeve of my shirt.

"It is so, Diana". Miss Holbrooke, the only one in the room engaged in conversation with them, replies. "This memorial tree is already advanced in years. Perhaps, it is finally reaching the end of its lifespan".

So… they do die of old age?

"We're working to figure out just what's happening to it", Miss Finnelan says. She'd stopped her work and now joins the conversation.

As if on cue, Michelle sticks her hand out from behind the tree and gives a brief thumb's up. And just like that, she returns to her work.

I stick my head out of the tree. "Hey, Diana".

"Oh, you're here. Are you helping the teachers deal with this?" Diana asks.

"I was just doing some errant, brought in some potions and whatnots", I answer, still behind the tree.

"Collecting samples, then?"

"Helping, I help collect the samples". I answer. My attention is already divided as Michelle tugs me by my sleeves again. "I'm pretty busy with helping now, so I got to get back to it, okay?"

One of Diana's friends stops me from returning to my work when she says, "Hey, we haven't known each other yet, right?"

The girl that stopped me has long, flowing auburn hair that she tied to a ponytail with a yellow ribbon. Her skin was a warm pink and her eyes are sharp and hazel in colour, those coupled with her sharp lashes somehow gives me the impression she's a firm attitude, and that she's the kind I wouldn't want to see when angry. Her most prominent feature however, or at least for me, are her thick eyebrows.

"I'm Hannah", she introduces herself.

"Barbara", the other, that being Barbara, says.

This one has long, straight black hair that flows down to her waist. She's of average stature, perhaps a few inches taller than Hannah and her skin is considerably paler than Hannah. Her eyelashes are highlighted on the lower part of her eyes and her eyebrows are almost as thick as Hannah's. The two of them wears sashes of the same colour as Diana's, indicating that they're in the same team of three.

"Jericho, Jericho Franklin Jr.", I introduce myself and get back to work.

The next 15 minutes are spent helping Michelle with her sampling; taking dead tree skins and roots, while the girls of the blue team talk with the Headmistress and Miss Finnelan. I overhear some parts of the conversation between them, they're mostly discussing about the state of the tree and the further implications of its depressing fate, reaching as far to it being the possible sign of the end of magic. Some parts of their conversation also discuss the recent decrease in students even. All interesting bits of conversation, but one that catches my full attention from there isn't among those.

"Hey, isn't her name a bit odd?" Barbara remarks.

"Who's name?" Diana asks, puzzled.

"Jericho? That doesn't sound like a girl's name at all".

I sort of accidentally snapped a root with a root hearing this. Michelle didn't notice and continues humming a tune. But the conversation continues, and despite myself, I keep eavesdropping, inching closer to the edge of the tree to better hear.

"That would be because he's not a girl", Miss Finnelan explains, amused at the reaction she's receiving.

The two girls, Hannah and Barbara, went silent after that. And then, I hear rushed footsteps coming close and I immediately quit my eavesdropping and return to my position of collecting samples.

Hannah and Barbara's heads pop into view, their bodies hidden on the other side of the tree as they peek from there to see me. Before I could look back at them, they're already on their way back to their little group. I couldn't make up the hushed whispers they're saying after.

—

"Skins, roots, and leafs, or what's left of them", Michelle says as she makes her way to the headmistress and Miss Finnelan. "Done, done, and extra done".

"I helped", I say from behind Michelle, her body covering me completely from the teachers.

"That's very good, Michelle", Miss Holbrooke says with a smile. "Now we just need to figure out what to do after we find the data. I believe we should consult with Professor Ursula next".

Hannah and Barbara approach us. There's a peculiar look of defeat in their eyes and equally in their voice.

"Miss Holbrooke, we're leaving for a bit", Hannah says.

"We're grabbing things for Diana", and Barbara adds.

"Of course", the headmistress says with a soft smile. "You don't need to ask permission just to leave, girls".

The girls doesn't return the humour and says nothing else as they went their way out of the botanical garden, they hang their heads and their eyes still hold the same defeat when they pass by me and not bothering a look. I only address this once the door close behind them.

"What was that about?"

I receive no immediate answer from both Miss Finnelan and Michelle. It was Miss Holbrooke who smiles, with a bit of chuckle even, and answers, "Oh, dear, they're just disappointed when they realize you're the only male student that's attending this school".

I could feel, exactly feel, I'm not the only one that choke on my words after hearing her answer. Michelle and Miss Finnelan both needed a second to register what the headmistress just dared to say.

"What?!" I cry, my voice definitely cracking.

"Miranda…" Miss Finnelan says as she messages her temple.

"I know that old people are blunt, but I didn't know they're this merciless". Michelle jokes, though humour doesn't reach to her tone or expression.

"That's what they said, though", miss Holbrooke innocently says.

Michelle exhales audibly at the Headmistress's innocence. She's probably surprised that someone in the room is blunter and more merciless than Miss Finnelan.

There was a momentary pause then. Not four of us know what to really say. So Michelle rests her hands on her hips, whistles for a bit before finally breaking the silence.

"So, anyway, on the other news, shouldn't we go?"

Miss Finnelan nods in agreement. She clears her throat and says, "You're right. This might be an… interesting conversation, but time isn't our luxury at this moment".

So the two of them decide to leave, Michelle places a hand on my shoulder as she passes me and says, "The sun's going to start setting pretty soon. I don't want to make Ursula wait".

After a smile, Miss Holbrooke follows the two outside. "Have a nice evening, Mr Franklin". She says, and it almost sounds like a mock when you take into account what she just said seconds ago.

Watching the professors leave, Diana comes up beside me. She clears her throat, but I already whip my head towards her before she finishes doing it, surprising her.

"Can you believe it?!"

Diana blinks for a moment before answering, "You're not that distinguishable from some girls, with the way you have your hair". She pauses momentarily and briefly glances at the sash I wear. "And the colour you chose for yourself".

It's pink, if you're wondering. Yes, I like that colour and no one can think me otherwise.

I take a breather after Diana's level-headed response. "No, not that… I'm talking about the part where they said they're disappointed, ring any bells?"

"Truthfully, I don't quite get what they're on about as well, but I believe they're holding a strong belief of 'quality over quantity' after they heard that the other male students declined, and that you broke that belief once they saw you".

"Excuse me?" I exclaim, putting no effort to hide my offense.

But Diana says, "Don't take offense, they have very high standards".

I throw my hands in the air in defeat, "Oh, I don't know, that's mighty hard to do when some girls just say that you're disappointing, Diana".

I pause and wait for her reaction with narrow eyes, but Diana's currently pausing as well, though hers is much more of a silent and calm contemplation as she assesses me and what to say to me. The contrast between the two of us is almost comical as we're locked in a somewhat odd staring contest.

Then, Diana finally says, "If this is any consolation, then I don't find you as lacking as those two girls think".

My brows tighten to a frown and I narrow my eyes even further. "That's very helpful, Cavendish".

Eventually, Hannah and Barbara returns to the garden and made us put a stop to our conversation. I hate that they came in such a crucial part of our conversation, but I say nothing when they arrive and just wait out the interaction and see how things go.

"We brought the stones like you asked us to do, Diana". Barbara says, held in her hand is a bag full of strange green rocks. "Will these be enough?"

Diana takes one of the rocks and nods. "I believe so". She turns to me and asks. "While you're here, do you mind helping me?"

Diverting the topic, I see what you're doing you bastard.

"Depends", I answer nonetheless. Bear in mind, I'm still and most likely will stay sour and salted with a bit of onion cream at the change of topic.

I add, "But if it's anything weird, I won't help".

—

This isn't strange, but this isn't exactly normal either.

Rocks, out of all things, we're setting them in a circular formation around the decaying tree. However, judging from the formation that Diana had instructed us to make with the rocks, I don't question the motive of her request, knowing that, anything it is she's planning, it won't be as mundane as it seems now.

One thing does however peak my curiosity and made me ask. "Why does the tree have a face, anyway?"

"I've heard that, according to legend, Jennifer, a renowned, powerful witch, transmitted her spirit to this tree to see how Luna Nova will evolve. Perhaps that'll explain why it has a face", Diana explains, she herself pausing her work to look at the shape of the tree's face.

I pause for a moment before making my response. "That's… terrifying. It must be boring having to be a stationary tree for like… years"

"Thousands", Diana adds.

"That's even more boring…"

A few more stones set and we're basically done. Hannah and Barbara themselves had done their work on their side, and so Diana takes out her wand and prepare her spell and consequently revealing me her intentions.

"So that's the plan?" I ask the girl, "revitalization magic?"

Diana nods. "Provided enough nourishment, large plants can be brought to life again. This is a secret art passed down through generations of the Cavendish family".

I gulp, her explanation is much more intense than I'd expected. And taking note of what she said, once Diana raises her wand, I turn my head away.

Hannah notices this and raises a brow. "What are you doing?"

I turn to her. "I-I thought she said secret?" and she replies with an exasperated sigh.

Diana begins to draw out her magic. Magic swirls around in the room, as palpable as the cool air that blows through the room and as firm as the ground beneath our feet, they gather around and into Diana as she harnesses them for her spell. With a deep breath, the witch of the Cavendish family makes use of the abundant magic around her as she waves her wand and chants.

"Louperial Ral!"

Soft, glowing lights of revitalization magic materialize around her figure. They fly out and home towards the stones we've set and immediately they spread through them all like fire, bright green and roaring, yet serene at the same time. Green, lively colours bath the tree and sparks of life, quite literally, can be seen nourishing it.

The effects are immediate. Its once leafless branches begin to sprout new, healthy and verdant groups of leaves, recovering the tree's lost crown. Its old and rigid barks begin to shed its old skin and reveal new, livelier and healthier skins. And its trunk returns to its former strength, or even surpassing it, as it now stands evem taller than it's ever been. The tree looks far better than it was mere seconds ago.

With a proud smile, Diana sheaths her wand and announces, "The flow of nutrients should now be restored".

Hannah, Barbara and I are equally awed at what just unfolded, but being the one who've spent the least amount of time knowing Diana and her abilities, I'm much more awed compared to the two. They've already collected themselves before I could even pick up my jaw from the ground.

"You've done it, Diana!" Hannah praises her friend, and Barbara is already about to leave the botanical garden.

"Let's go inform the teachers!" She says excitedly, and her friend soon follows with similar excitement.

I'm awed by a lot of things at this moment, but the feeling of awe begins to be eclipsed by one budding question. Once the surprise wears off (which takes a good amount of time), I ask Diana. "You have this spell in your head and none of the teachers know about that kind of spell?!"

"It's a secret art after all", Diana replies coolly, "exclusively known only to my family".

"That's not the surprise, but the fact that there're spells as great as this unknown to the public is".

Diana nods and after a brief silence says, "I understand what you're saying. The world of magic is indeed very vast and deep. Some spells are hidden away for safety or even greed, and some others are even forgotten, intentionally or unintentionally".

"Fair enough", I say after seconds of pause, though I still hold the idea that it's quite unfair that some exclusive groups of people have access to such spells that, as Diana just shown, is capable of such great effects.

All things considered, I believe there's some truth in Diana's words, that some spells are better left secrets than publicly known, for better or for worse.

A sudden noise takes my attention away from our conversation. I discovered it's made by the sprouting of a root from the ground next to me. The nourishment seems not only powerful but astoundingly stable as well, it's been continuing even during our conversation which makes me realize just now how adept Diana is with her magic. Knowing a secret spell only known to her family is one thing, but to execute it so well and perfect to achieve this kind of result truly shows Diana's individual quality. Seeing this, I begin to understand the respect Diana Cavendish commands.

An opening on the soil reveals another healthy growth of roots. With how well the spell is going, I just hope the roots don't upturn the soil too much.

But once again, the universe defies my hopes. The root keeps pushing out the ground and parting the soil, this begins to worry me. I kneel next to the growth and inspect it. "That doesn't look so good, might trip someone in the near future".

Diana, however, doesn't share the same humour as me. She eyes the growing roots carefully and out of my notice, she stays silent after.

It's only after a good amount of thoughtful silence does she finally open her mouth, eyes fixed on the roots still. "This is but a simple after effect, the nourishment simply triggered growth, and it's what's happening. No reason to be alarmed".

The moment she said that, one of the roots rises even higher as it grows, nearly reaching knee level. It was quick and happened right beside me, sending me into mild alarm.

"E–eh, it's getting bigger? Part of your spell, Diana?"

Diana furrows her brows and doesn't answer immediately. This is the first time I saw hesitation in her—its unnerving. "That's odd…" she mutters.

And the roots, the tree itself, begin to show unexpected development.

"E–eh, its glowing, the roots all glowy! Diana, is this part of the spell?"

"This isn't—"

Before Diana could finish her sentence, a wild growth of the roots caused one to jut straight out the ground, it rises as tall as our heads, uplifting dirt and soil as it continues to grow.

"Is this really part of the spell?!" I cry, officially freaked out.

Diana's eyes search the tree rapidly and it's clear as day this isn't part of her spell and that she too has no idea what's going on. She then turns to look at me, but I make it clear I'm as clueless as her.

"I didn't touch anything, I swear!"

We both hear the sound of hurried footsteps coming from the entrance. I was terrified that it was the teachers and was planning to blame it on Diana and hotfoot out of here but I'm relieved to find its just Akko, Sucy, and Lotte.

Regardless…

"What's going on here?!" Akko cries.

I speak before Diana could say a thing. "I didn't do anything it was Diana, I swear to God!"

I didn't get to check what the blonde's reaction was to my betrayal as all our attention suddenly shifts when we hear Lotte's cry. Beside the girl, a root has grown right out of the ground and reaches head level, but that alone doesn't guarantee our surprise, it's the odd object attached to it that is. Before any of us could register what it is, more roots start to sprout from the ground around us, and along with them, are attached the same odd objects.

Sucy studies one carefully and breaks our stunned silence with her out of place level voice. "Pupae, and they're not the ordinary ones".

"Not ordinary…?" I ask rhetorically. Meanwhile one of the pupae-controlled roots sprout from the ground and straight up to the ceiling, cracking a few glasses and sending them raining down the ground across the room. "…no way".

Diana's eyes quickly search each of the pupae. "These are parasites! They've been lying underground all this time attaching themselves to the roots. This is why the tree got sick".

As if to prove her point, the pupae begin to pulse and the nutrition of the roots they've attached themselves into begins to drain away and flow towards them. Their previously healthy colours turn pale white and subsequently, the parasites' colours grow livelier.

The memorial tree's very life is being sucked out of them with each passing second!

"Then your spell! They must've consumed it for themselves instead!" I conclude, earning a tight-lipped nod from Diana.

"We need to exterminate them!" Diana commands "Only then will nutrients get back and the tree is saved!"

"Right, I'll search for a pesticide, while you…"

Before I could finish my sentence, a bolt of magical energy flies past me towards one of the pupae. It hit its mark and immediately burns the pupae's magic and killing it.

I retract a finger back. "…murder the pupae".

"Use your spells!" Diana instructs without looking back, already engaged in the fight and too busy preparing her next spell.

I quickly unbuckle my wand and pause to draw a deep breath to level myself. There's no time to think of any fancy spells, anything that could hit hard enough will do.

I follow Diana's stride and cast a hefty amount of Murowa at the pupas. Though compared to hers, mine are terribly meagre, both in strength and frequency. I'm otherwise relieved to find they're enough to do the job, as one hit was enough to kill the pesky parasites.

A nearby root grows near me and a clear target presents itself. I aim my wand at it but before I could fire away, something tackles me to the ground. The impact knocked the air out my lungs and I accidentally fire off my spell. It flies off its mark and to the glass ceilings above us.

"Akko, I swear to God!" I yell once I have a clear view of my assailant, "What's wrong with you and ramming into me?"

My stray Murowa hits the glass panels and bounces off to another, over and over again it bounces here and there, onto one wall to another and gaining speed as it continues to bounce around the room. It reaches an alarming speed and it nearly took my head if I didn't duck quickly enough. In this chaos I've created—and Akko co-authored—I lost track of the girl while I'm too preoccupied with dodging my own attack and having a panic moment.

That panic is multiplied by seven when the stray spell hits a lantern and spills it's still burning oil into one of the roots and setting it on fire.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" My screams are louder than anything in the room. "Water spell, I-I don't know any water spells!"

In my moment of panic, a ball of water suddenly appears above the fire like a miracle from god above and falls onto it, effectively extinguishing it. I look next to me to find Sucy, her wand aimed at where the fire used to be.

She gives me a sidelong glance. "Trust me. This isn't the first time she set fire to the school".

"I didn't stop her for nothing!" Akko cries. "These pupae… I think… we're not supposed to kill them off".

I say nothing and observe Sucy's—the girl who definitely knew her better than I do—reaction instead. She says nothing too, held in a thoughtful silence as she's actually taking in what Akko is saying.

A sound made her stop think and look across, towards Diana who just used another murowa spell to exterminate a couple pupas.

Sucy looks back to her friend. "Whatever brilliant idea you think you have, don't try to stop Diana's by doing anything—"

And Akko immediately runs and places herself between a pupae and Diana's raised wand.

"—stupid, like that", Sucy finishes, just barely in time.

"What are you doing?" Diana hisses, her wand still trained at Akko's direction. "These vermin need to be exterminated!"

"These might not be vermin!" Akko cries and stands her ground. "I think we're not supposed to kill them, Diana!"

With time against her, Diana didn't have the luxury to waste precious seconds arguing pointlessly with the pig headed girl, so she aims her wand to another pupa and quickly fires off another spell.

"Murowa!"

And Akko instantly moves. She makes a run to the pupae and throws herself in front of it. Diana's spell hit her right on her back, and Akko lets out a painful scream as magic courses through her body, burning her senses as if a million needles just pricked all over her body.

Everything felt slow at that moment. I could see everything unfolding so clearly, but I couldn't react in any way. I only watched as Akko's lively face contorts at the pain and she falls to the ground hard.

It was Lotte who first to react among us, she cries her friend's name but receives no reply and she runs to her while we all stare, wide-eyed at the girl now lying unconscious on the ground.

"She took the full brunt of that spell …" Sucy says as she inspects the incapacitated and sickly pale Akko, her head resting weakly on Lotte's arms. The pale witch that normally wears a passive and inexpressive mask now shows genuine worry for her friend. "…It doesn't look good".

Diana stands furthest away from the girl. All that single-tracked focus on eradicating the pupas is now overridden by an unbearable amount of guilt, as evident in her eyes that's transfixed on Akko.

I kneel beside her and touch her hand—it's unnaturally cold.

I say, "This is bad. We should get her to the infirmary immediately".

I look up to Diana but found no response from her. She doesn't meet my gaze. From her silence and that rare look of uncertainty in her eyes, I could guess she won't make any responds anytime soon.

My thoughts are cut off as I notice some cards scattered on the ground next to the unconscious girl. One of them immediately catches my attention and I reach to it.

Akko tackled me and allowed my spell to nearly burn the tree just to save one pupae. She explicitly stated her disagreement with Diana, and threw herself into the crossfire that ultimately injured her. Did she do all that because of…

"Papiliodiya…" Akko's eyes slowly open when she notices me studying one of the cards. She continues to speak in whispers, "…hatch once every 120 years. It's a magic butterfly that…"

"…gives hope to those who see it", I finish her sentence, earning a weak nod from Akko.

A light at the edge of my vision catches my attention. Laid on the ground is a sceptre, medium-length with golden ornament at the end and seven blue crystals spread around its body. I note that the positioning of those crystals resembles the big dipper constellation, and each of them is glowing brilliantly, living up to the name its owner dubbed it.

"Shiny Rod" Akko whispers almost inaudibly.

"Shiny… rod", I mumble its name. I remember it now, she's been carrying this everywhere and I heard most people think it's useless, me included. None of us speaks a word as we see the magic swirling around the rod that had been otherwise thought to be useless.

It was Lotte who breaks the silence. She pushes herself up, takes the card from my hand and shows it to Akko. "Akko, why don't you cast this spell?"

"The papiliodiya spell…" Akko reads and, having regained enough strength, nods eagerly. "Yeah!"

With the help of her two friends, Akko picks up the sceptre and gets up. Diana and I step back to give them room, the latter left wondering what power pushed Akko's pain away and gave her the energy to send her back to her former self.

I hold up the card and read it. "I think it says… Papilio fil…. Papilio fil…"

"Papilio Fillio Nymphodya" Diana finishes my sentence. "It's the correct pronunciation".

I'm left more uncertain than ever. Did Diana saw the card earlier? I didn't believe she did, and she couldn't possibly see it now that it's held in my hand. So how did she know the spell?

Regardless, Akko now knows the spell, and that's what matters most. So she thanks Diana and returns her focus onto her sceptre. With Sucy and Lotte by her side, she closes her eyes and starts.

"Papiliodiya that can fly across five continents, spread your wings, magic butterfly, fly towards hope!"

The seven gems on the sceptre begin to glow even more brilliantly with green light. And Akko opens her eyes as she casts the final part of the spell. With a mighty swing, she raises the sceptre up and down and shouts.

"Papilio Fillio Nymphodya!"

Her voice echoes through the entire room, and great streams of magic bursts out of the sceptre in a spectacular show of colour. The magic connects with the pupas and they remain like a river of pure magic that keeps flowing, giving nutrition to the pupas. The once withered pupas suddenly return to their healthy colours. Its once limp spikes straighten again, and dead skins are replaced with fresh ones waiting underneath.

And then, finally, a resounding crack fills our ears. We turn to see where it originated from, but another crack makes us turn to follow it instead. And the cracking noise keeps appearing again and again, increasing in amount until we see each and every pupas has cracked open, revealing within them small, humanoid figures, each no bigger than a raven. I see one of them outstretches its hands, 4 in number, and spreads its beautiful golden wings, consequently, and literally, spreading light around the room. And it's not just a single incident, the rest of the pupas follows suit, revealing themselves in the same majestic manner.

The room is now bathed in the butterflies' golden light, they glimmer and shine around us like golden starlight. Then the butterflies begin to take flight, exiting the room through a crack in the ceiling made earlier by one of the rampant roots and flies into the sunset sky undisturbed. The whole scene paints a picture I never knew I'd see in my life.

"Papillio Fillio… Nymphodya", I mutter to myself as I take in the view, awed. I glance at the card in my hand and realize the striking similarity.

Then I look at Akko, who still stands between her two friends, all three of them still captivated in the moment. One question left budding in my mind.

How did she do it?

Author's Goodbyes: I admit, pretty basic and slow on this chapter, sorry! I promise things will get more interesting and eventful in the next, so stay tuned!

Next time on JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Hannah gets super pissed off at our beloved OC, and I mean SUPER pissed off.