# The Imperial Capital of Vermgard The fortress city of Vermgard, with its countless green spires, breathed with its usual regularity that morning. In a hallway where the morning sun streamed through, a girl in the uniform of Alchemie Academy descended the stairs. Deep green jacket, dark gray skirt. There was nothing unusual about her appearance—just another student you could find anywhere. But if one looked closely at the color of her shoulder-length hair, one would notice something amiss. Silver-gray. It was clear that the color had been artificially changed with dye. At the roots, hints of a different color peeked through faintly. The girl's name was Reina. Sixteen years old. A noble sorcerer apprentice in her third year at this academy. Her eyes were a deep amber color. Yet no one had ever seen that color. The silver ring on the ring finger of her right hand—the Ring of False Eyes—always concealed her true eye color. Its effect as a magical artifact was negligible. But that si