Lancet did not move for a while after reading the card.
He kept it low, half-hidden against the desk, his fingers resting lightly over its edge as though that alone could keep it from being real.
Around him, the classroom had already shifted back into its usual rhythm. Chairs scraped softly. Papers moved. Voices settled.
Miss Maecil was at the front again, bright and composed, already transitioning into the day's lesson as if nothing unusual had happened.
"Pay close attention to the board, everyone," Miss Maecil's voice rang out clearly from the front of the classroom, snapping Lancet's focus back to reality for a brief second.
She tapped her pointer against the blackboard, drawing a complex diagram connecting two circles. "Today, we are discussing Tethering Fatigue. Many amateur Summoners believe that as long as they have the Grace, they can keep their Summons manifested indefinitely. This is a fatal misconception."
