High Guardian Spice Twice

Ch. 11 - Infinite Thought, Finite Feeling

A few days before traveling to Burniston, the girls were almost ready and completely motivated. There was nothing that could go wrong, or so they thought.
Parsley had learned enough about runic weaponry and the best ways to craft it. Even Vanilla watched her as she offered recommendations to make the runes function more efficiently.
They weren't as intricate as the complex runes of the Runic Empire, but it was a start. Salthyer had asked Vanilla to try to understand the runes used in the seed that caused the blight in the forest—especially to keep everything secret, even from the Triad. However, despite her efforts, Vanilla couldn't decipher the runes. The only thing she discovered was that within each rune's tracing, there were more hidden runes. It felt like a puzzle.

Olive continued patrolling the halls whenever she could. Laziness sometimes got the better of her, but if it was an order from Salthyer, she had no choice but to follow it to the letter. After all, that's what the Royal Crown decreed.
One afternoon, while patrolling, she came across the group of girls snooping around somewhere the younger students had been warned about countless times... the Infinite Hallway.

Olive reverted to her human form to reprimand them, as they were throwing objects into it.

«Don't you think the professors and the Triad will be upset about what you're doing if I tell them? Hmm?» she said, raising an eyebrow. Rosemary responded.
«Oh, come on, Olive. Are you telling me you're not even a little curious about what's inside the Infinite Hallway? After all, you're still a cat. Where's that curiosity of yours?»

Olive bristled at the comment, making the entire group take a step back as the fierce side of her awakened.
«I won't allow you to compare me to other cats! Did you hear me, Rosemary? That's the worst thing you can do!»
«But am I wrong?»
«Well, you're not wrong... Curiosity is eating me up. What all have you thrown in there?»

Amaryllis then began listing the things they'd thrown. Her ultimate plan was to throw Parnelle in, but the others had firmly said no. That didn't stop Amaryllis, though, and she went to ask Parnelle himself. Even he said he'd rather be eaten by a dragon than wander into the infinite.
Among the objects thrown were school supplies, books, a suitcase, and a chair.

From Parsley's hair emerged a small crustacean-like creature that caught Thyme's attention.

«Pars, what's that Trabber doing in your hair?»

«Oh, it's a little friend I met one day. Since then, it's stayed with me, and I try to take care of it as best I can. Its name is Bluebber.»

«Wait, was it your fault there was a Trabber infestation that one time?» Thyme asked, anticipating a sincere answer

«What? No... Although, now that you mention it, maybe they did find a way into the academy that day. Wow, maybe it was partly my fault...» Parsley admitted, sounding a little disheartened. She received a pat on the head from Thyme in response.

«Luckily, no one knows who's responsible... and no one will,» Thyme said with a smile, motioning with her hand to keep Pars's secret, earning her the dwarf's deep gratitude.

Before they could continue talking, the Infinite Hallway released a gust of wind that blew the girls backward.
Bluebber bounced against a wall and landed near the hallway's entrance, beginning to levitate and seeming distressed by what was happening. Slowly, it appeared to be sucked into the hallway. Parsley screamed for her tiny friend, and without much thought, Rosemary leaped to catch Bluebber mid-air.

«Don't worry, Pars! I've got him; everything's fine—» Rosemary said, but before she could finish, she began to be pulled into the hallway herself. No matter how much force she used to resist, it was like sliding on ice.