It truly had not felt like a win to her and the fact that the branch head did not stop making mention of Hal’s talent and that many other Alchemists who had been present at the Royal Academy entrance exams testified to the fact that Hal was also a Runemaster did not help in any way.

Nicole knew all this but was not about to act sympathetic to Adeline’s plight and instead rolled her eyes,

“You got to meet the Emperor… Surely, you can’t think Hal’s absence is all bad. Without it, you might not have even won the convention” she said.

Adeline sneered while noticing out of the corner of her eyes that the sparring Sapphirine guild members were separating,

“Might not have won? Haha, you’re still going to hype his skill so much in his absence. I worked my ass off in the months leading to the convention and by the time it began, I was already a mid Sixth rank Alchemist.

I would have won even if he was present.

*Groan* The sort of attitude is why I am upset with him. With him not being around, his ability becomes so greatly exaggerated.”

At that point, one of the two ladies that had been sparring walked up to Nicole and there was something about her poise that was respectful.

In the Sapphirine guild, the years you might have spent in the Academy are of no use in terms of seniority, at least not when the founding trio of the guild ere involved.

There had been attempts at insubordination in the past but Melinda, who had the ready cooperation of Nicole, Valerie, and Suri had squashed them it all into nonexistence.

Indeed, Melinda might not have Hal’s impressive means of ascertaining loyalty from all of his men (men here being a general and gender-neutral term), but she was more than capable of keeping her people in line.

If there was one thing about the creation of the Sapphirine guild that was undoubtedly a success, it was that it had helped Melinda grow into her own as a capable leader.

The leadership of the Sapphirine guild was one that she had worked for on her own and not one that had just simply been granted to her because of her man’s favor.

That was not to say she disliked being the leader of Hal’s legion but that her guild leadership had helped her prove, mostly to herself, that she could lead without being given handouts.

Anyway, she and the trio that she considered Lieutenants had worked hard to endure the guild was the cohesive unit that it now was while also making sure their leadership of the guild did not turn into some form of dictatorship.

It was why this guild member, despite having more years of attending experience in the Royal Academy, still had a respective look in her eyes when looking at Nicole.

As she approached, Nicole already knew the reason and simply said with a light smile,

“Leila, It’s time, isn’t it?” 

Leila nodded with a smile,

“They’ve probably started already by now” she said.

Adeline looked between Nicole and Leila,

“What has started?” she asked and for the first time since she walked over, Leila acknowledged the presence of another individual that was not Nicole.

Leila carefully observed Adeline’s dress before she spotted a silver ax embroidered on her chest,

“The Silver Ax Guild” she said with disgust and an expression that was clearly meant to ask what was Adeline’s business in the Sapphirine guild.

This was not Leila’s first time seeing Adeline in the guild but it was her first time actually conversing with her. If this could be considered conversing, that is.

Also, the fact that she ignored Adeline’s Silver hair and eyes that made it more than clear that she was a Silva was her subtle way of saying she did not care who she was.

And why should she?

While the status of Leila’s family, while impressive, could not possibly contend with that of the Duch-ruling Silvas, the fact that she and Adeline were together in the Royal Academy made them equals in the lady’s eyes.

And that was without involving the fact that she had an edge in experience within the Academy.

Anyway, the only thing Leila considered of note as they were within the Royal academy grounds was the guild Adeline was a part of.

Leila had very little patience for the Silver Ax guild.

Although to be fair, that was true for a considerable number of guilds in the Royal Academy.

Adeline caught the tone and also noted the disregard of her family name and she sneered.

Meanwhile, Nicole actually liked the tension but didn’t let things escalate and proceeded to introduce the two to each other or more accurately, she introduced Leila to Adeline as Leila actually already had a pretty good idea of who Adeline was,

“Leila, this is Adeline Silva, an… An acquaintance of Melinda and me. We were in the same group at the first stage of the Entrance exams.

Adeline, this is Leila Crene. A respected member of the Sapphirine guild.”

Adeline rolled her eyes at the introduction and instead asked Nicole,

“What has started?”

“Valerie’s duel. It’s been on the cards for two weeks now. It’s all for the gaining and possible losing of momentum for the Guild war. Surely, you knew about it. It’s one of the topics most trending in the Academy at the moment” Nicole said.

Adeline shrugged,

“I’ve been away from the Academy for three weeks. Dealing with matters of relation to an Alchemy Master such as myself.”

Leila rolled her eyes aggressively before turning around,

“I’m going on ahead” she said and walked away.

Nicole smiled at the slowly distancing back and then she chuckled at the look on Adeline’s face before she tugged the Silva lady’s arm, 

“Come on”

***

Nicole had not been exaggerating.

The duel had indeed been the talk of the Academy for a while now.

And part of the reason for this was none other than the Sapphirine guild.

For the past months after they had established their structure, the Sapphirine guild had been making a name for themselves to the point that Guilds that had previously laughed at their formation now genuinely expected them to prove to be formidable foes when the Guild war begins.

And yet, for the most part, members of the Sapphirine guild had refrained from duels, not due to a mandate from the guild leader but a consensus made by the guild members in general.

They mostly took on missions outside the Academy and took full advantage of the guild bonus which would see an increase in points gained upon completion.

Missions were rarely action involved.

Missions given by the Royal Academy were usually to offer services to nobles in the Imperial city. Services like escorting a noble traveling group, or assisting in the preparation of events planned by noble families.

And in the case of those who had Elders, their missions usually come in the form of serving those elders.

In all honestly, with the Imperial city being the convergence of the Haron continent’s excellence, it was densely populated with nobles and as long as Royal Academy students were willing, they would always have missions to attempt.

Now, there were cases where there would be danger and fighting would be involved, especially in the case of escorting travel groups.

With success in their missions and with the full advantage of the guild bonus and so far mostly refraining from duels while winning ninety-five percent of the duels they actually did participate in, the Sapphirine guild was racking up points.

Miscellaneous points or not, they showed that they had a chance.