Celestia Academy

16. Once in A Millennium

I pulled the last piece of chicken off the final skewer and set the remaining stick back down into the box. I only ever had regular Chicken-Mushroom Skewers in the dining hall, and Kaeya's Fruity Skewers were so much better.

"My compliments to the chef," I offered. "Now, what do you know about the treasure?"

"Not so fast," he pointed to his mouth. "You've got something right there."

I licked my lips. "Did I get it?"

Kaeya shook his head and pulled a small handkerchief from his breast pocket. He leaned over the table and reached out to my face with the cloth, wiping at one corner of my lips. My heart stuttered.

"I can do it." I swiped the handkerchief from his hand, dabbing at the spot and hoping it covered the warmth I felt flooding my cheeks. "You didn't have to do that."

"How could I be so sure you would return my handkerchief?" he asked. "They aren't easy to come by."

"Here," I held it out to him before snatching my arm back just as fast. "Wait, I'll clean it first. I'll make sure it is carefully washed and pressed, even. Only the best for you."

"I sense you may be mocking me," he scoffed. "Did I not just offer a peace treaty?"

"Oh right," my bad. "I don't think I thanked you for those yet, so...thank you for the meal."

"Anytime," he leaned back into his chair. "As for details on the treasure, I have collected information and stored quite a bit of it up here," he tapped his temple. "But if we want to get into depth, we'll have to go to my room."

"Your room?" My eyebrows shot up. At this time of night? "Why?"

"Well, I can't let my intel fall into the wrong hands, now can I? My room is the most secure place at the Academy to store the documents I've gathered. I don't trust anywhere else or anyone else to not leak my sources."

"Except for your partner, me," I narrowed my eyes. "Right?"

"But of course," he nodded and motioned for us to stand. "Now then, shall we get going? I see you have your own secretive research going on, so unless you want to continue with that...?"

"No, it's alright." I gathered the material in my arms. "These books weren't of much help, anyway."

"Really?" Kaeya picked up a few and helped me return them back onto the shelves. "Whatever you're searching for, there's a chance I might know something about it, don't you think?"

"I doubt it."

Kaeya shrugged. "If you're certain."

After putting the books away, I walked with Kaeya back to the student dorms and we bounced ideas off each other on what the treasure could possibly be. I thought Kaeya was referring to literal treasure chests that one would find in the open-world—possibly a highly coveted one—like a luxurious chest. Kaeya, however, was a firm believer that the treasure was something more than material.

"You'll see," was the only reasoning he gave when I questioned his standpoint.

Once we got to the dorms, we entered a stairwell and I grew to have a newfound appreciation for my first-floor Visionless House. The Cryo House was located on the seventh floor of the building, and while the Academy definitely had enough funds to install automatic lifts like one I've seen at Wangshu Inn, apparently they prefer students to suffer through the extra exercise.

At last, we completed the final flight of stairs and entered the Cryo House corridor. For the most part, the interior looked the same as the first floor did. Same carpeting, same walls, same sconces...everything but the temperature.