The third month was over. All classes were done. The deadline loomed.

  Right now, they were on the rooftop terrace restaurant—a place for higher-ranked apprentices or those with enough Contribution Points. Their choice.

  “With your permission.” The server—a beautiful Live Iron Golem with finer features than most nobles—spoke with a clear, pleasant voice. At Pandora’s nod, she gracefully picked up a small dish and slid a golden pat of butter into the sizzling black iron pot on the table.

  A rich, creamy aroma bloomed in the air.

  Pandora’s attention drifted from the perfect Living Iron Golem server back to the table. Elsa sat quietly beside her. Across from them were Aurora and Betty.

  It was the last stretch. The final day of the three months. Tomorrow, they’d be outside the campus walls.

  That tight, nervous feeling wasn’t visible on her or Elsa. But across the table, it was plain—especially on Betty. She’d followed Aurora on purges, gotten her share of Corpse-Red Mist. Her aptitude was decent among the freshmen. But forcing herself to adapt to near-daily, high-intensity violence in three months had stretched her thin.

  Stretched or not, she’d had to adapt. That was the Demon Hunter Academy’s brutal style.

  But today was the last day. Tomorrow meant the real thing. So today wasn’t for more training. It was for something lighter.

  Like a good meal. Sukiyaki.

  The server’s silver chopsticks placed thinly sliced Wagyu beef into the pot. The marbling looked like fine frost. The butter had melted. The rich creaminess mixed with the savory-sweet smell of soy and mirin, spreading across the terrace.

  “Ready.” The beautiful server smiled softly.

  Four pairs of chopsticks dipped into the pot at once. Each pulled out a slice of perfectly cooked beef, slightly curled by the sauce. They dipped it into individual bowls of beaten, golden egg yolk, coated it evenly, and brought it to their mouths.

  A soft, collective sound of pleasure followed.

  The meat’s richness, the perfect sauce, the silky egg—it all exploded together.

  A look of pure, captive bliss washed over Betty’s face. She closed her eyes, savoring it. “Mmph… If not for you, Lady Pandora, I… I’d probably never taste something this good in my life…”

  Aurora nodded emphatically beside her.

  Their Contribution Points had been bled dry by training, materials, and recovery potions. The scraps left could only buy the bulky, bland food at the bottom-level cafeteria. That stuff had nothing to do with “delicious.”

  So even this meal—just decent Wagyu sukiyaki in Pandora’s view—was a feast to their starved palates.

  Pandora enjoyed it too. Among the freshmen, only she’d spend her big initial points on what others saw as pointless luxuries.

  But… how was enjoying life pointless? Feeling happy, tasting something good—that was the point.

  Good times always end fast. Soon, the pot was more than half empty.

  Aurora elegantly swallowed her last slice. She composed herself, then looked at Pandora, her eyes clouded with uncertainty about tomorrow.

  “Pandora… we leave campus tomorrow. You’ll find a place to stay first, right? Where… are you planning to go?”

  Where?

  Pandora instinctively looked into the distance. The rooftop gave a clear view. The campus, built in an old industrial zone, was far from the true city center, but there were no tall buildings blocking the sightline here. They could see a stretch of urban streets in the distance—broken down, but still showing traces of old, careful planning.

  Normally, that was where freshmen went first after leaving the campus’s protection. The buildings there were generally rough, but because of that, the survival competition for a still-weak freshman was a bit lighter.

  But the place she had in mind wasn’t there.

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  “Kamiyama Front. Tsukimidaira. Sakura Road.” Pandora named them softly. “…Probably one of those three.”

  All three were in the famous “Mokuhaku Ward,” known for its beautiful homes. Stand-alone houses were common. The buildings in these districts were generally well-kept. You wouldn’t get drafts, leaks, or collapses. Their value was just below the mansions of great families or those high-end apartments once leased to elites.

  But the competition for housing in those three places was fiercer than in the freshman zones. Basically, only apprentices who’d made it to second-rank had a shot.

  For Pandora, that wasn’t a problem. As long as she wasn’t facing third-ranks directly, she had nothing to fear.

  Across from her, Betty had no real idea about those places. In her simple plan, she’d formed a small team with a few like-minded freshmen. She’d follow the group. The planners would handle the details. She didn’t have many thoughts on Pandora’s personal plans.

  She just mumbled vague agreement and dove back into the food, saying nothing more.

  But Aurora was different. She hadn’t formed a team. Since entering the Academy, she’d always relied on herself. So she’d learned the basic state of the city’s districts through every channel she could find.

  Names like “Kamiyama Front” and “Tsukimidaira” weren’t just familiar—she knew the housing there was decent, but the density of mutated zombies was just as high. Those districts were mostly held by established seniors, at least second-rank. She knew that too.

  But… if Lady Pandora had made her choice, didn’t that mean she had the strength to back it up?

  Aurora was stunned. The rich, savory broth now tasted faintly bitter on her tongue. She’d thought that after three months of near-torturous training, her improved strength meant she was keeping pace.

  She never imagined… she’d likely already been left behind.

  The confidence from her growth, the eager anticipation for the outside challenges—it shattered in that moment.

  Aurora felt the bitterness deep down. She shook her head inwardly, mocking her own presumption. If she wanted to be the Lady’s Knight… she had to work harder. Much harder!

  Unconsciously, she clenched her fist under the table, completely unaware that Elsa, sitting beside Pandora, was watching everything.

  Truth was, Aurora’s improvement was solid. That Black Bear-type Live Iron Golem that had nearly killed her before? She could take it down alone now, without much danger.

  In contrast, Elsa’s knowledge and skills grew daily, but her raw power didn’t show such obvious leaps.

  Yet…

  Elsa’s gaze settled on Pandora, who was happily finishing the last udon noodles soaked in rich sauce. Her own heart, tightened by Aurora’s turmoil, slowly relaxed. She smiled softly.

  Then, right in front of Aurora, she reached out with her chopsticks. She picked up a piece of perfectly stewed, broth-soaked tofu from the pot and placed it elegantly, naturally, into Pandora’s bowl.

  Pandora nodded and ate it without a second thought.

  Elsa glanced, seemingly unintentionally, at Aurora. Her smile grew even gentler.

  Aurora fell silent. She didn’t even notice her hand under the table had clenched into a tight fist… A sharp pang of envy hit her. Wild thoughts crashed through her mind.

  She wanted to do that too. She wanted so badly… to feed Lady Pandora a bite with her own hands!

  ………………

  The sukiyaki dinner, even with double portions, finally ended. When the last vegetable was gone, Aurora and Betty hurriedly stood to leave. They wanted to use these last hours for final prep.

  Pandora and Elsa stayed on the terrace a while longer, quietly soaking in the last moments of peace within the campus.

  Until sunset faded and moonrise began. That huge crimson Moon-eye with its long, sweeping lashes climbed slowly into the deep scarlet sky.

  Pandora gazed back at that gentle, descending gaze for a long time. She quietly felt the bloodline fused with a single drop of Witch’s Blood churn repeatedly under the “Moon’s Gaze.”

  Half an hour later, it gradually calmed. In that rise and fall, the power from the Witch’s Bloodline grew silently, bit by bit.

  Satisfied, she was ready to return “home.” This was the last day. Tomorrow, outside the campus, there’d be no water, no electricity, no comfort like this.

  She wanted to indulge one last time.

  But Pandora’s idea of indulgence was simple. She just wanted one final night in this soft, fluffy bed.

  So she slept soundly until dawn.

  When she opened her eyes, the familiar, comfortable ceiling greeted her. Right beside her face, a Palmfiend—shaped like a delicate girl’s palm with an eye on the wrist—was staring at her, unblinking.

  Pandora slowly sat up, glancing at the red warning schedule flashing on the Palmfiend. Today was indeed the final deadline to leave.

  “Elsa, time to prepare.”

  “Of course, my lady.”

  Elsa was already standing quietly by the bed. To a stranger, she might seem unchanged. But Pandora saw a trace of deep excitement in Elsa’s calm eyes. No surprise there.

  Pandora smiled. She knew what Elsa was looking forward to. Honestly, she felt the same.

  “Everything is ready.”

  Pandora turned to see a bulging backpack of survival supplies standing neatly in the corner. On top lay a neatly folded, stylish set of women’s casual wear, tailored for easy movement.

  “Alright then. Let’s go.”

  ………………

  Today’s weather seemed to hold a grudge against the freshmen. A hazy, gray-white mist filled the air, adding another layer of desolation to the already broken streets.

  On the roads, a few apprentices with the same freshman aura were visible, but not as many as expected. Some, to avoid the daytime crowd, had left early in last night’s darkness.

  That choice wasn’t necessarily the smartest. Night might make you harder for the “Hunters” to spot, but for these ruins outside campus, the experienced seniors knew the territory better. Darkness might actually give those “Hunters” cover.

  Yes.

  The first real hurdle after leaving campus was the apprentices from the year before. The Academy had rules against seniors directly preying on freshmen—no outright slaughter. But it tacitly allowed last year’s graduates to give the newbies a “plundering” baptism.

  Of course, to keep it somewhat fair, the Academy had set some limits. But in the end, the seniors’ experience, combat sense, and abilities were far more seasoned.

  That was the first thing they’d have to navigate.