Preparation

"Yes, it will be no one other than me. The mission you have been given is also the hardest among the first year students, so I'm the best pick for the job. Although I might have had my hand in the mission assignment as well", a voice coming from behind us said, of course belonging to Mr. Black.

"I will follow you along to grade and protect you. The region you are going in is near the one where we have stayed last week; Lisa chose the place because of that. Although you should be safe there, some stronger demons are known to hang around there from time to time. The school only decided to for such a dangerous mission because I will be following you. No other teacher would have agreed to join."

With my suspicion on them knowing the exact details of the mission all along confirmed, I asked: "So how will you be following us then? You can't just hop in our carriage to join us, or can you?"

"Well, being a strong fighter isn't my only strong point nor is it my main one. In reality I'm more trained to act as an assassin rather than fighting head on. I'm able to follow you without either you or anyone else noticing thanks to my celestial skill", Mr. Black answered.

"What's that? I haven't heard of the term celestial skill before. Do we learn about that later on?" Iris asked before I could.

"A celestial skill is at the same similar and different time to magic. It can only be learned by a small amount of hybrids and not even all regular celestials. Its effects can appear like magic but the celestial skill is fitted more to the user, whereas magic is rather general. For example, fire magic is basically the same no matter who uses it expect the difference in firepower. A celestial skill on the other side is unique and only rarely two people have the same one. Mine allows me to travel in shadows, I learned it despite not being a hybrid thanks to the treatment I underwent", explained Mr. Black but he obviously avoided talking to much about his past. We heard his story before, so we could understand him in that regard.

"So how can we find out if we are able to use one of those?" I asked this time, cutting in before Iris.

"You will sort of feel it if you are able to use one. It awakens randomly and there is no certain process to force it. The stronger you get the more likely it is for you to get a grasp of it. Usually it awakens while fighting a strong opponent, like a trump card your body has ready for you. Of course all of that only applies if you actually have a dormant celestial skill. Most humans and hybrids don't even know of them, this just shows how rare they really are. So don't be too disappointed for not having one", Mr. Black answered.

With that our short question and answer session over, we didn't actually learn much more on our mission. Not that we could figure out any more questions for it anyway.

We decided to split up to make the last preparations for our mission. Tomorrow morning we would start our journey to give us as much time as possible.

Iris headed for the school administration to borrow a carriage, Emilia and Althaia went shopping for some supplies and the two boys prepared other necessities like blankets for sleeping and barrels to store water. I, on the other hand, visited Lisa to say goodbye to her.

I walked towards the training hall and entered the room where we usually trained. It also served as a sort of office for Lisa. She didn't use the one at the regular school building for whatever reason. Every time I tried to get to know more on this, she changed topic immediately.

And as expected, she sat at her table and did some paperwork. I stepped into the room and waited for her to finish the work.

"Hello Yoru, what can I do for you?"

"Nothing really. I just wanted to thank you for all you have done for me so far and to say goodbye to you. We will be leaving tomorrow morning and we won't be seeing each other for quite some time."

"Oh, you did not need to come here for this. I planned to see you kids off tomorrow morning by myself. But at least this way we can have a small chat. Please, try to not get too reckless and avoid getting into trouble with the locals. Mr. Black may help you out if something too troublesome happens but that will affect your grade negatively if you were the cause for it happening. The most important thing however is this: Promise me to come back save with the rest of your team. You all have a bright future ahead of you, you don't have to worry if something doesn't work out as planned. Having a bad grade won't get you kicked from the school. The attention you kids are drawing from the military might also deplete, so having a bad grade will affect you positively as well."

Lisa told me as she stood up from the chair and came toward me. She opened her arms and embraced me. By the look on her face I could tell, she didn't exactly enjoy us leaving for a while. I understood her feelings. All the time spent together made her like a mother to me, a mother I never had before.

"I promise, I will make sure everyone returns safely." I answered her demand and also embraced her with both my arms.

I nearly suffocating from how hard Lisa pressed me against her chest and after a while of struggling she realized her wrong doing.

"Sorry, you are just too cute not to cuddle", she proclaimed with a happy smile on her face. Her mood had brightened up again.

I went back towards the dorms and got right into bed. The others had also gone to bed already, everyone wanted to be in their best possible form tomorrow.

And so after a good night of sleep, the day of departure arrived.