Chapter 13: Preparing for Feline Tower
"I’ll earn enough money here first... then I’ll come find you!" said Aster with determination.
Shani wasn’t easily swayed. It took nearly half an hour before she was finally convinced that Aster wouldn’t do anything reckless just to follow her.
"Tell me when your flight is. I’ll come with you to the terminal," Aster said before stepping into the elevator.
Shani nodded with a faint smile.
She returned to the apartment to organize her belongings, especially the food. After all, she was still a broke girl.
At that moment, her smartwatch rang. Instructor Cole was calling.
"I heard you’ve been admitted to Feline Tower." A deep, dignified voice filled Shani’s quiet room.
"I’ll be flying to Aurelis the day after tomorrow. Thank you for everything you’ve arranged, Instructor Cole. I wanted to thank you in person, but Instructor Thorne said you aren’t in Aurelis right now," Shani replied sincerely.
"You don’t have to. I’m only repaying the kindness Instructor Rowan once showed me." From Cole’s calm voice, Shani could tell he meant every word.
At the same time, she couldn’t shake the feeling that his voice sounded strangely familiar.
’Could it be because he visited the orphanage when I was still little?’
The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became. After all, Cole was also from Galesend and Cedric had even invited him to come to the Rowan House.
"As for your scholarship... I’ve already taken care of everything. Your tuition, dormitory, and meal plan are fully covered. You’ll buy your uniform and learning materials with Nevie tomorrow."
"I originally planned to give you your allowance for this semester in person, but since we won’t have time to meet, I’ll transfer it to you after this call."
Shani already knew Cole had awarded her a scholarship, but she hadn’t expected it to be this comprehensive.
’He’s like a father... Well, maybe not. He sounds too young to be someone’s father.’
Completely unaware that Shani’s thoughts had wandered elsewhere, Cole continued,
"The academy only allows tuition to be paid one semester at a time, not for all six years. So I’ll also give you this semester’s allowance for now."
Shani guessed that rule existed because many students either dropped out or were expelled after each semester. Nothing was guaranteed.
Cole likely hadn’t expected an F-Rank student like her to last much longer, anyway.
Whatever Cole was thinking, it didn’t lessen Shani’s gratitude.
After thanking him and listening to a few words of advice, many of which sounded remarkably similar to Cedric’s, the call ended.
A few minutes later, a notification from her digital wallet appeared.
"Transfer Received: +10,000 Credits. Balance: 10,050 Credits"
Shani’s eyes widened so much they nearly popped out. "Are instructors this rich?!" she blurted out without realizing it.
Another message from Cole arrived immediately afterward.
"If there’s ever a field trip that requires additional expenses, let me know. Although there probably won’t be any during your first semester."
Now Shani’s jaw truly dropped.
She had expected him to say he’d accidentally added an extra zero. Instead, he was offering to send her even more money.
It took several minutes for Shani to count the digits in her balance.
Maybe her eyes were blurry. Maybe her brain had stopped working.
But no matter how many times she checked, Cole had really transferred 10,000 Credits.
After finally calming down, she replied,
"I’ll be living in the dormitory, and my meals are already covered. The academy also provides resources for baby beasts. Why did you send me so much? I’ll return it."
Cole quickly replied,
"Raising a baby beast isn’t as simple as feeding it and giving it a place to sleep. After you buy your learning materials tomorrow, you’ll understand. You won’t think 10,000 Credits is a lot anymore."
Shani shivered. She had a feeling that raising a baby beast would cost an astronomical amount of money.
In her previous life, the Ashbournes had supplied everything her baby beast needed. She knew little beyond feeding it and performing Beast Energy Regulation every day.
Her heart pounded. Partly from nervousness. Partly from anticipation. In the end, she decided not to return the money.
At least, not until she understood just how expensive raising a baby beast really was.
...
The next morning, Shani and Nevie headed straight to the mall to buy her uniform and other school supplies.
Grand Novabeast Academy had its own official store that sold everything students needed.
The two women stopped in front of a display mannequin wearing the academy uniform.
It consisted of a white dress shirt beneath a black blazer embroidered with snowflake patterns on both collars and sleeve cuffs. On the right shoulder was an emblem of five swords pointing outward, while the matching tie bore the same five-sword insignia.
Male students wore white trousers. Female students wore white skirts.
The elegant black-and-white design, combined with shimmering embroidery, gave the uniform an expensive and distinguished appearance.
"The red embroidery represents Avian Tower," Nevie explained, pointing at the first display.
She then led Shani past several other uniforms, each distinguished by a different embroidery color, until they stopped before one embroidered with silver thread.
"This is the Feline Tower uniform."
Shani instinctively clenched her fist. The uniform was painfully familiar.
In her previous life, she had often seen Vivienne wearing it.
"Ugly, isn’t it? The Avian Tower uniform is definitely the prettiest," Nevie whispered in a gossipy tone after noticing Shani frowning.
Hearing that playful comment washed away the anger in Shani’s heart.
She chuckled. "It’s a shame I’ll be wearing this one."
Nevie laughed along with her.
After buying the uniforms, they continued shopping for the remaining school supplies.
"Everything’s been ordered. They’ll deliver it directly to Feline Tower once you’ve been assigned a dorm room," Nevie said, clapping her hands together as though she had just finished a major task.
Shani nodded. That was much better than having to carry everything herself.
In truth, all of these school supplies could have been ordered online, but Nevie wanted an excuse to take Shani out.
...