After completing their identification, the two girls were officially Hermandry students.
Naturally, their first stop was the dormitory.
Since they were both girls, they were placed in the same dorm, along with four others. At Hermandry, first-years shared dorms in groups of six. Second-years got a little upgrade—four-person rooms. From the third year onward, it all depended on your department—students could opt for solo or duo rooms.
Their dorm had an elegant name: The Rose of Thought.
On the way there, Withney couldn't stop pointing things out.
"Is that a lake inside the campus?!
Hermandry is way crazier than I thought!"
Maylyn, ever the walking encyclopedia, smiled smugly.
"Actually, Hermandry is packed with wild stuff. They have one of the biggest libraries on the continent—only the National and Royal libraries are bigger. Multiple sports grounds. They're even directly connected to the Hiddleston Wilderness. It's insane."
"You know you're such a know-it-all, right?" Withney joked.
"Of course. That's my specialty."
As they walked, Withney's gaze was drawn to a strange group walking nearby.
A white-haired boy with pale skin in a dark green robe led the way. Three other boys followed—red-haired, blue-haired, golden-haired—alongside two black-haired girls. All of them wore matching robes, with a golden sun emblazoned on the back.
"Who are they?" Withney asked, voice hushed. "Who wears robes like that anymore? Only clergy wear stuff like that. And even that's rare."
Maylyn glanced over, eyes narrowing slightly. "Followers of the Golden Sun. It's a big religion on the Stroven Continent—some people call it the Southern Continent, but Stroven's the proper name. I think they're even building a temple near the campus. Pretty close to the Church of the Mother."
"A temple? Like... a church?"
"Yeah, same purpose. Architecture's different, but it's still worship. It's been causing murmurs."
"Huh. Are more people switching to temples now? Also… aren't people from the Southern Continent supposed to have darker skin? And building so close to a church—that won't sit well with everyone."
"They usually do, but with all the traveling and intercontinental marriages, appearances blur. Like people from beyond the Turnovest Mountains. And teo your second question, only time will providethe answer. Lets see what happens."
"Don't those people have long, pointy ears, milky skin, and long hair?"
"Yep. But those features are fading. You really only see the originals in the Elven Kingdom now. It's been hundreds of years… the world softens even the sharpest edges."
While they spoke, Withney caught one of the black-haired girls in the robe group glancing their way.
Nothing ominous. Just a glance.
Still… it lingered longer than it should have.
Soon, they arrived at the Rose of Thought.
The dorm was massive, with a towering mural of a blooming rose stretched across the front—almost 25 meters high. Its petals seemed to shimmer faintly in the light, like they moved in the corner of your eye when you weren't looking straight at them.
It had 9 floors and 20 rooms per floor. As they neared the building, Withney saw the same two black-haired girls enter.
She thought nothing of it. Every first-year girl had to stay here.
Interestingly, while first-year boys had three dorm buildings, the girls only had one.
That said a lot about how hesitant families still were to send their daughters to schools. It had only been a couple decades since women were given the same rights as men. In cities, people were more accepting. But in the countryside... old beliefs clung like rot beneath the surface.
"I heard they're building another girls' dormitory. Is that true?" Withney asked, gazing up at the massive mural with awe.
"Yeah. Should be done by our third year. With Hermandry's money? Definitely. Look—there it is." Maylyn pointed to a construction site behind some trees.
"Huh. How'd I miss that?" Withney muttered, eyes drifting over the half-built stone walls.
The duo stepped into the dorm.
Inside, the ground floor was a lounge. Dorm rooms started from the first floor. Each room had six beds, each with personal space, a private bathroom (with a tub, mirror, and basic items), and a keyed door. There were also public bathrooms on every floor.
"We're in 2-06," Maylyn said, reading her card. "Second floor, room six."
"I feel bad for whoever's on the eighth floor," Withney chuckled.
"Haha, yeah. I can't imagine climbing all those stairs every day," Maylyn replied.
On the way up, they passed the two black-haired girls from earlier entering a room on the first floor. As Withney now got a good look at their face they had nearly the same face with some differences in the nose bridge area. They both had deep brown eyes and one had a higher nose bridge while the other had it a little lower.
"Looks like they got first floor," Withney noted.
"Hm." Maylyn's response was quiet. Thoughtful.
"I wonder who our roommates are gonna be?" Withney asked, half-nervous, half-excited.
"We'll know when we get there, genius," Maylyn teased.
When they reached room 2-06, a girl was already unlocking the door.
Withney walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hey! Did you also get assigned to this dorm?" she asked brightly.
The girl jumped and turned. Her deep blue eyes widened—not with fear, but something sharper. She hadn't expected company.
"Y-Yeah! Are you my dormmates?"
"Yep! I'm Withney, and this is Maylyn—the know-it-all. What's your name?"
"I'm Cynthia. Nice to meet you." Her voice was quiet. She had long, straight blue hair, pale skin, and wore a pretty little seashell pin in her hair.
"Nice to meet you too, Cynthia! I hope we can be friends. Right, Maylyn?"
Maylyn studied her closely before asking, "Say… Are you from the Sea-Faring Nation? Atlantis?"
Cynthia blinked. "Yeah. How'd you know?"
"Your sea-blue hair and eyes gave it away. I've seen that exact shade when I visited with my dad. It's really pretty."
"Oh, thank you." Cynthia smiled, but the corners of her eyes didn't quite crinkle. "You guys are really pretty too."
Withney clapped her hands. "Okay, enough flattery you two! Let's go inside!"
They were still standing in the hallway like dorks. Cynthia quickly pushed open the door, and the three of them stepped into their new dorm.
Unseen, down the hallway, the light above the first floor flickered once. Just for a moment.
And then all was quiet again.