Just then, Martin’s words resounded in her mind.
[The Cascade Valley is such a great place for Angel. Look how big she is! I can freely let her swim here, and she can even build her own nest sowhere! I’m so happy we took it!]
He had been so happy, so excited, so eager to see what more could co from the Cascade Valley.
Martin’s excitent carried no calculations. He saw the valley as a ho for Night Espresso, a place where Angel could swim freely and their guild could gather without worrying about anyone else.
For Cassandra, the valley had imdiately beco pressure points, supply routes, monster floods, and political leverage. In Martin’s voice, it beca Angel’s new ho, everyone laughing together, and the simple pride of saying they had taken that place as a guild.
He wanted to build a guild house and more, perhaps even a beach or so sort of island for a beach episode, as NukEncore had said.
When was the last ti I was in a swimsuit?
Cassandra thought to herself before sighing.
The fact that this question had survived among her calculations about ecological warfare said more about Martin’s influence than she wanted to admit.
She leaned back against the bench and watched the Light Tree’s radiance drift through the air.
For a brief mont, Cassandra let herself imagine the Cascade Valley through Martin’s eyes. Water, sunlight, guild mbers, ridiculous conversations, and Angel swimming freely beneath the surface.
The image settled in her mind a little too easily, and that was the problem.
Cassandra looked over her shoulder and spotted one of the elders watching her from the headquarters’ window. His face said it all: he was wondering what this demon woman was plotting.
As soon as their eyes t, the elder whistled and looked off into the distance. Of course, his ego would not allow him to simply turn around and leave, because that would an admitting he had been caught.
Cassandra smiled, stood up, and entered the headquarters.
The inside slled faintly of old wood, herbs, and warm tea. Sunlight filtered through wide windows shaped between living branches, spilling across carved tables, stacked scrolls, and hanging charms made from polished monster bones.
Wisdom, tradition, and calm judgnt were woven into every corner of the headquarters.
Cassandra’s arrival disturbed all three at once.
The elder coughed and paled. He stepped away from the windowsill and hurried toward the others inside, his long green robe swaying around his ankles.
Like most elders of the academy, he carried the dignity of soone who had spent decades guiding hunters, protecting the forest, and speaking on behalf of ancient traditions.
Unfortunately, none of that dignity seed useful whenever Cassandra Selfmore was involved.
"Cassandra is here!"
The room froze.
Several elders looked up from their scrolls. One thin elder with silver-streaked hair slowly lowered his teacup. Another, broad-shouldered despite his age, closed the book in his hands as though accepting his fate.
"You noticed her first, so deal with her yourself!" another elder said. "It’s way too early in the morning!"
"Are you serious right now?"
"I am completely serious."
"That is not how responsibility works."
"It is today."
"I think so too," another elder added without sha. "Deal with her yourself."
The first elder stared at them while his fellow elders suddenly beca very busy.
One inspected a scroll upside down. Another reorganized a stack of papers that had clearly already been organized. A third looked out a different window as though the forest had beco deeply fascinating.
In the end, the elder raised the white flag and went to et the worst player dwelling in his academy.
He straightened himself, checked the folds of his robe, and arranged his expression into sothing calm and indomitable. Inside, however, he was furious at his fellow elders.
"What have you co for, Cassandra Selfmore?" he asked.
"Aren’t you going to invite to the table? Not the Forest Table, but a normal one, as a show of courtesy."
The elder smiled. "I was aning to after hearing your answer."
The two of them sat at the table.
Cassandra did not rush to speak. She let the silence settle first.
The elder sat across from her, maintaining a calm expression. However, his fingers tapped once against the edge of the table before he stopped himself.
Naturally, Cassandra noticed.
The Light Tree’s glow slipped through the nearby window and brushed against Cassandra’s dark hair. It softened the sharp confidence in her eyes without making her look any less dangerous.
She placed one hand on the table and kept the other relaxed on her knee. Her posture was calm and graceful, yet there was nothing passive about it.
Every small movent carried the quiet certainty of soone used to being watched, listened to, and obeyed.
The elder had invited her to sit, yet the longer he faced her, the more the eting felt as though it had shifted onto her terms.
Then she laid out her request.
"I want to extend the Light Tree’s light toward the Cascade Valley, which has been conquered by my guild and is now in my hands."
At first, the elder was confused.
Knowing Cassandra’s reputation, he had expected tricks. Perhaps pressure. Perhaps a demand wrapped in courteous words. She could have used the academy’s current weakness as a bargaining chip or smiled beautifully while placing a knife against their throats in the form of a contract.
Instead, she had co with genuine interest in cooperation.
Of course, it was great news. For the sake of the world and their own ho, it was best that the owner of the strongest guild in their academy wanted to work with them.
Still, the elder could not fully relax.
He understood the aning beneath her courtesy. Cassandra had already decided where Night Espresso was going, and this eting was the academy’s chance to stay close enough to matter.
If the Forest Table refused, she would find another route. The elder was certain of that.
"Understood," he said carefully. "That is a matter for the Forest Table’s discussion under the supervision of the Light Tree, but I can tell you myself that it is highly possible. You’ll need to fulfill a chain of quests first, but that won’t be an issue for Night Espresso."
"Naturally."
Cassandra crossed one leg over the other and raised her chin, the faint light catching the curve of her smile.
For a mont, the elder had the uncomfortable feeling that he had not agreed to guide her toward a chain of quests.
He had rely opened another door.
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