Walking to the window of my dorm room, Astrid turned to face us before pointing at therge courtyard below.


    Since my dorm was facing the forest, you could see therge field used for student evacuations quite clearly as it was an area without any trees.


    Following Astrid''s finger, I saw countless students ying games, eating on a nket, or taking their pets for a walk.


    ...this is literally a college campus, isn''t it?


    Looking up at Astrid, I asked.


    "So what''s your point?"


    Looking out the window, Astrid said.


    "It would be too obvious if the djinns went into the ballroom to attack students...that would be too expected."


    "Even the academy security should have sent enough heroes to fully block off all ballroom exits."


    "I mean, it''s obvious that with so many entrances into the ballroom, it would be the best ce for the djinns to infiltrate."


    "A little too obvious..."


    "The djinns know that the principal and other powerful heroes will be guarding the ballroom, so they would be stupid to attack there."


    ?


    Didn''t she say back in the warehouse that the main reason she was worried about the wall was the amount of entrances into the ballroom?


    Was she just going back on her pointpletely?


    Ignoring her contradictions, I nodded my head, prompting her to continue with her theory.


    Gazing at therge courtyard in the distance, Astrid continued.


    "That''s why the djinns won''t attack in the ballroom. Instead... they''ll lure everyone out to the courtyard."


    "In such a big space like the courtyard, it''s not the quality of the heroes that matter... but that quantity."


    "If they''re only ten heroes and over a hundred djinns, there''s nothing the heroes can do, no matter how powerful they are."


    "They can''t just nuke everything or randomly attack, as then the students would be hit in the crossfire."


    "With so many djinns and so few heroes, the courtyard will essentially be a yground for the djinns where they can cause chaos with little to zero casualties."


    As Alya began listening intensively, seeming to understand what we were talking about and why the ballroom was involved, I grabbed a cup of water.


    Using the cup of water to cover my expression, I grimaced.


    This scenario was a bit familiar...wasn''t it?


    It was!


    It was the exact same n that the djinns would use in the incident, which was a few days before the winter ball, to rob the vault.


    As Astrid stared at the two of us, waiting for our reactions, I further frowned.


    What were the odds that she came to the exact n of the djinns?


    I mean, how did she go from signing documents all day under the watchful eye of my crow toing up with this insane theory?


    Had she been thinking of ns while signing the documents?


    What kind of multi-tasking!?


    Pretending to think about her idea, I ced a hand on my head and put down my cup of water.


    Looking downwards, I watched as the ck cat finished his bowl of steak before scurrying across the floor and jumping onto my bed.


    Instead of sprawling down on my bed like usual, the ck cat walked to the very edge before raising its paw and throwing it forward at another window, which was right by my bed.


    Looking out of the window and the clear blue sky, I recalled something.


    "...my crow!"


    If Astrid had done anything besides signing my documents, the crow would have seen it!


    Although I might have been in the body of the crow at the time, I could still transfer the memories of my crow to me.


    From there, I could go through the crow''s memories to discover how Astrid hade to this conclusion.


    Was it truly out of pure coincidence... or something deeper?


    Slowly nodding my head, I pretended to agree before asking.


    "I''m going to use the restroom; give me a minute. You can give the rundown to Alya meanwhile."


    Opening the bathroom door, I ensured that I was out of sightpletely before leaning against the sink.


    Letting my consciousness drift, I epted the weird feeling of my body, instantly feeling my surroundings shift.


    Closing my eyes, I wasn''t surprised when I found myself no longer in the bathroom but yet again perched on a tree branch, staring downwards.


    However, that emotion quickly transformed.


    Why was my crow still here?


    Didn''t I order it to follow Astrid, no matter what?


    Calming my mind, I looked downwards and almost fell off the branch upon seeing Astrid sitting on her desk, mindlessly signing documents.


    What...was going on?


    I had confirmed that she was Astrid with my eyes...yet with my crow''s eyes right now, I was seeing something else.


    There were two Astrids?


    "...no this one has to be the real one."


    If my crow was following this Astrid, then no matter what I saw, this one had to be the real one.


    But.. then, who was the Astrid currently in my dorm room...?


    How had she perfectly mimicked Astrid''s movements and behavior to a tee?


    Staying my crow''s body for seconds longer, I dived off the tree branch, catching myself as I approached the height of the window,


    Levitating by softly pping my wings, I looked straight through the window, confirming that the Astrid was real, just in case.


    And her sitting posture, way of signing documents, and signature were all the exact same as the one imprinted on my mind.


    Keeping the crow on the "real" Astrid signing documents, I returned to my body, finding myself already on the floor.


    Rubbing my head, which had banged into the sink, I quickly picked myself from the floor.


    I had only expected to be in the crow''s body for a second or less to transfer memories, so I had just leaned against the sink, thinking I could catch myself.


    Anyway, there are more important matters to deal with right now.


    An intruder was now in my dorm room.