The Field Trip

The next day...

Lyra was woken up by some noises outside her door. It sounded as if both Beatrice and Ace were speaking, But she could not figure out who they were speaking to or what they were saying.

She decided to go see for herself what they were doing, so she got out of bed and quickly got dressed and then rushed to the door but opened the door slowly.

Outside of her room, she saw Beatrice and Ace, as she expected, but she also saw Leo. Leo was the only one who recognized her presence, the other two were looking in the opposite direction, towards Leo.

Leo decided not to point out Lyra to them, and instead decided to say his purpose for coming directly to all three.

"Today we are having an abnormal schedule because of the special class. We are going on a field trip."

This caught Lyra's attention. What does he mean by field trip? But Beatrice and Ace seemed to understand what he meant.

"A field trip?!" They both said in unison.

Leo laughed. "Of course!" He said. His smile seemed to carry a trace of unexpected joy that made both Beatrice and Ace shiver.

"Wh- Why...?" Beatrice said without making any eye contact with Leo. She stuttered, "I- I don't think L- Lyra is ready f- for a field trip..."

"Right! Definitely not..." Ace added. He also seemed just as terrified of this field trip as Beatrice was.

"Oh." Leo said, knowing that they were just making excuses to escape the field trip. "But someone else certainly thinks otherwise. Right, Lyra?"

Both Beatrice and Ace turned around in horror to see the young girl standing behind them. They had no idea she was even there.

"I think I'm ready for it." Lyra said. They both gave her an angry glare. "I'm not sure what the field trip is for, but if you believe I'm ready for it, then I must be ready for it."

Leo chuckled at her response. "Oh?" He asked, amused, "why do you say that?"

Lyra looked at Beatrice's horrified face and then looked at Ace's, and then she looked directly at Leo. "You're our teacher. You won't make me do anything I am incapable of doing."

Leo laughed after she said that. "You're right! You're completely right. During this field trip, you are just tagging along and you don't actually have to do anything. Beatrice and Ace in the other hand..."

He turned towards the two of them and his face became serious. The two of them both stopped giving a horrified expression and stood stiffly and completely straight, as if they wanted to avoid an awful punishment.

"You two will be taking care of everything. You also are responsible for protecting Lyra. If you fail to do any of this..."

His eyes turned dark, and now even Lyra was beginning to feel scared.

"You know the consequences."

Ace and Beatrice shivered for a bit, and after he finished speaking they began to relax, but he gave them no time to do so.

"You have twenty minutes to pack your things. This field trip will last for two weeks."

The horrified look reappeared on both of their faces, but Leo payed them no extra attention. He turned to talk to Lyra, and the two ran off to pack their things.

Leo's gentle smile returned as he spoke, "since you are a new student, I will help you pack for this trip. Also, I need to talk to you privately about something."

Leo and Lyra both entered Lyra's room. Leo quickly grabbed a few things and stuck them in the suitcase. "Here is everything you need for the trip."

"Is it enough?" Lyra asked. She never went on these trips before, so she did not know what to bring.

"Yes. It's more than enough."

Then Leo gave Lyra a mischievous grin.

"What are you thinking about now?" Lyra asked.

Leo said, "for this trip, you are not going to be sitting around doing nothing. I know your abilities; you will secretly protect them and allow them to gain experience at the same time, and also, you will report everything that happens to me."

"Why?" Lyra asked, "aren't I supposed to be a student?"

"Yes you are..." Leo said, "But you needed to hide your abilities from everyone. I can't let you act like you already know all the material. Also, the field trip involves fighting demons, something you're very skilled at, second to none. It can get very dangerous. And..."

Leo paused for a while before he continued. He did not want to say the last part, as it could trigger some reaction in Lyra, but he realized that Lyra needs to know.

"The Queen of the Demons might soon revive. If the demons become more active, I need to know immediately to protect the people. I..."

"Don't want to let any others die because of her."