Chapter 382: I Smell Something Fishy A sigh escaped Alex’s lips, prompting Fran to raise her head from their alchemy project and look at him. "You’ve been sighing since earlier, Alex," Fran commented. "What’s wrong? Did I make a mistake when I mixed our ingredients?" Her question brought Alex out of his reverie and he responded with an apologetic smile. "I’m sorry, Fran," Alex replied. "I just have a lot on my mind right now." "So you can’t concentrate... Was that why you asked me to mix the ingredients this time?" Fran asked. "Yes." Alex nodded. "It’s a bit hard to concentrate." The young lady smiled faintly before shifting her gaze toward the little bun throwing a few ingredients into their cauldron while perched on top of a small wooden box. Since Alex was not in the right state of mind to participate in the alchemy lesson, Dim Dim happily took his place and helped Fran with their group experiment. Fran watched as Dim Dim tossed a spark flower into the cauldron, causing a small, fiery eruption to rise from it. A moment later, it tossed some snow grass inside before using a small stick to mix the ingredients well. The Alchemy Professor for the First Years, Professor Zanna Noxley, broke into a smile as she passed over Alex’s and Fran’s table, amused by the sight of Dim Dim tossing a few more ingredients inside the cauldron. Since the little bun liked her Alchemy lessons very much, she started treating Dim Dim as one of her students, allowing it to participate in alchemical experiments. "You’re doing a good job, Dim Dim," Professor Zanna praised. "Unlike some other students who are busy daydreaming in my class." The Professor adjusted her glasses, which made Alex cough lightly. However, since Dim Dim was having fun, he didn’t make any move to get in its way. Fran smirked as she handed the next batch of ingredients to Dim Dim, letting it finish what it had started. By the time the Alchemy Class was about to end, Alex’s group had perfectly created a Cold Bane Potion, to everyone’s surprise. This potion increased the consumer’s resistance against the cold and was hence perfect for expeditions in icy and snowy places. Some even claimed that with just a vial of this potion at hand, one could survive even a blizzard. "You’re amazing, Dim Dim!" Fran exclaimed, prompting the little bun to raise its body with pride. "Ahem!" Dim Dim looked very smug as everyone gave it a round of applause. Professor Zanna also complimented Dim Dim and even gave it a pouch of cookies as a reward, which Dim Dim happily accepted. As they left the Alchemy Room, Evangeline paced herself alongside Alex and Fran and congratulated their group for getting the top marks in the class. Fran was quite surprised, for this was her first time seeing Evangeline take the initiative to approach and talk to someone ever since the latter transferred to their class. The young lady never really spoke to them or any of their classmates, but she would reply if someone talked to her. Many thought of Evangeline as a beautiful lady with a cold personality. Even if they wanted to befriend her, they believed it was hard to get close to her. But seeing Evangeline take the initiative to talk to Alex and congratulate their group, Fran started to think that her impression of Evangeline needed some revisions. "Thank you," Alex replied. "But it was mostly Fran and Dim Dim who did everything during class." "Ahem!" Dim Dim stood straighter, eliciting a giggle from Evangeline. However, she didn’t expect that her giggle would freeze her classmates in place. "D-Did you see that?" Chuck asked Charles. "Did Evangeline just giggle?" "She did," Charles confirmed even though he couldn’t believe his eyes and ears either. "I have never seen this side of her before," Chuck muttered. "Maybe she is changing so much because she became our club member. This means that it’s all thanks to me that Evangeline finally has friends. I’m so awesome!" "..." "..." Without exchanging a single word or glance, Nessia and Charles agreed to move away from Chuck and pretend they had absolutely no idea who he might be. Evangeline and Eleanora had joined their club yesterday, but anyone attentive enough could tell that Alex wasn’t too thrilled with this development. Nessia, ever the astute observer, had noticed that Alex was fine talking to Evangeline but refrained from interacting with Eleanora. As someone who had been working closely with Alex for the sake of their club, she made sure to talk to him in private to ask if Eleanora was a bad egg or not. Within Endless Horizon, Nessia was Alex’s confidante. He trusted her enough to tell her his secrets, especially when it came to future events that would require her assistance. And just as always, Alex told her the reason why he was wary of Eleanora. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎 He believed that he needed someone else to monitor the movements of their newest member, especially when he wasn’t around. Nessia happened to be perfect for that role. "Eleanora is the spy of one of the Executives of the Demon Worshipers. No matter what happens, don’t get on her bad side." This news alarmed Nessia, and she immediately asked Alex why he hadn’t reported Eleanora to the Professors or the Headmaster. Alex told her that Eleanora was mostly harmless, but kicking her out of the academy or, worse, imprisoning her would be more dangerous than letting her stay in their club. If Eleanora were to be imprisoned inside the academy, Evangeline’s father wouldn’t take it lying down. Eleanora was relatively close to him, and he treated her like an adopted daughter who had always served him loyally. (A/N: Let’s take this time to offer a silent player to our boy, Chuck. May he rest in peace.) After a discussion, Alex and Nessia came up with a plan to deal with Eleanora. As much as possible, Alex would not interact with her. He’d even actively avoid her unless the situation called for it. Contrary to his aloofness, Nessia would befriend her so she could better keep a closer watch on the vampire girl to make sure she would not sabotage their club. Alex was confident that Nessia would be able to deal with Eleanora if the two of them ever ended up clashing with each other. And now that she knew that her opponent was a vampire, Nessia decided to start making talismans that would counter her powers. If the time to neutralize Eleanora ever came, Nessia would be at an advantage. "Is it just me or is she acting too friendly with Alex?" Lavinia asked Lumi, who was carrying Latifa in her arms. "I smell something fishy," Lumi replied. "They’re not this close before." Lavinia nodded because this was indeed the case. However, she could also feel that Alex seemed guarded against Evangeline, who looked determined to be his friend. Latifa slowly opened her eyes and glanced at the young lady who was walking beside Alex. ’She’s not a fish,’ Latifa thought. ’She’s a Dhampir.’ Among the members of Endless Horizon, Latifa’s senses were the sharpest. Her sensitivity far surpassed even Beastkins. She already knew that Eleanora was a Vampire and that Evangeline was a Dhampir. Latifa was also starting to think that the two new members intended to make Alex their blood bank. However, she still gave them the benefit of the doubt since it was Chuck who’d invited them to join their club. Still, she did not fail to notice the tender and hopeful way Evangeline looked at Alex from time to time. Although Latifa slept most of the time, she had also been paying close attention to the newest additions to their club. The moment the two ladies decided to sink their fangs into Alex, Latifa would be alert and ready to deal with any threat trying to steal and endanger her property.