A new, very recent revelation had come from the discovery of a chicken coup not too far outside the barrier, just past the crowded metropolitan area.

 

The story of how it had happened was almost like a joke and it went like this:

 

A chicken farmer and his chicks entered a barrier.

 

That was it. That was the story in short.

In the longer version however, the man and his family had been making their way to the sanctuary on a truck when he was close to running out of fuel. He was lucky enough to be spotted by the patrol team, who had then pushed the truckload of chickens into the barrier for a refill in exchange for some of his poultry.

 

The man, of course, had agreed; needing the fuel to make the journey even if it was enough only for a one-way trip. He unloaded some of his chicken to make space and in exchange received a few extra gasoline barrels to carry with him, thus, the transaction was sealed.

 

It had been good timing that the farmer had arrived right when the cusp of their inventory had been running out of poultry products. The people, by a miracle, finally get to eat chicken meat and eggs again.

 

Hannah was outright sobbing into her plate as she ate for the first time since yesterday, having fasted through the entire day upon hearing the news of fresh eggs incoming, and today she had made absolutely no sense in her chewing-mumble during breakfast.

 

"Hm! Hngrhnhh! Gnhnhnhn!!!"

 

"Yes. We know it is very good. Please don’t choke."

 

Sariya had had a milder reaction, though no less grateful to be able to taste fresh produce again with the competition for vegetables decreasing.

 

Ayu, meanwhile, was laughing away at their comedic antics happening at the table. "She’s right, Han, please eat first before you talk…"

 

"Mhmm..."

While munching on her food, Tira watched as the cafeteria gradually started to become less crowded in the mornings. She could finally see normal people, those unpowered and not blessed by Dias, coming and heading eagerly for food, trickling in numbers she was more or less used to during her normal school days.

 

Not having Dias around so early in the day for so long had normalized the ecosystem between the usual breakfast goer, and the night-patrolling staff who wanted to get some quick meal before returning to their humble abode to rest. 

 

The cooking club was both relieved and ecstatic about this. She was sure of it because they no longer looked as if the head of the underworld’s kitchen was breathing down their necks. Just by walking by, she could see their smiling faces looked a lot lighter than previous days.

That being said, she rose from her seat a bit earlier today than she usually did. In hand she carried a box of sandwiches and excused herself from the group as she made her way to the main entrance.

 

Just in time to intercept the duo today before they went out of their way to inspect the newly built chicken coop. Stopping them with only a glance, she took her time to make her ways as Dias waited in place.

 

Armand had raised his bushy brows upon seeing her coming closer, a marginal improvement from anyone else within the core council who tried to actively avoid her or her gaze.

 

She handed each of them a paper bag. "For breakfast on the road, don’t skip it."

 

"Thank you." Dias took the bag with a grateful look, gave her a brief smile, and continued on his way out.

 

She also turned back inside, not dawdling around to see the two off like a maiden sending her man off to war. There were many things she needed to do today. It was just too busy of a time that there was no room for much sentiment.

First on her list was the venue of the wedding. As the couple had picked the other available gymnasium a bit further away, it had taken some time before the place was finally cleaned to resemble a sparkly new state to look appropriate enough to be used for where the ceremony would take place. 

 

The reception itself would take place at University B since they had more free lawn space for an outdoor and indoor party, not to mention the availability of their props for the occasion, which consisted of having many load-bearing desks and chairs stored away in their warehouse, which, according to Lydia, was what they usually used for festivals.

 

As for the students from the art university, barely any sweat had been shed by their members as they transformed their place into a party palace. They had worked quite fast too, only taking two days at most to complete the layout of the reception venue.

 

The only problem was the heavy winds or rain, both of which could be mitigated by the barrier if they desired due to Dias' control over it. Although Sariya had somehow assured that there wouldn’t be any rainfall for the rest of the month, during their last book unpacking. 

 

Both passed the checking yesterday. Thus, she took the time to visit the library this morning instead.

"Now this finally looks like a library!"

Felicia exclaimed with a grin as she walked into the library. The front door had been left open purposely for air circulation and had attracted someone by accident, though thankfully, it was someone they knew. "So this is what you two were doing the entire time?"

 

Tira nodded, answering for Sariya, who was currently drowning in her emotions after sliding the last book on the shelf and would not be disturbed until she came out of it herself.

 

"Just the important books we could collect around a one-kilometer radius, though later on, we made another trip and now the bookstore from the mall is part of the collection." Tira gave a brief tour to the visiting senior, who, technically, would be the second-ever visitor to the fully furnished place.

 

She watched as the senior scanned and took in the massive library, awe coloring her face with each passing second, and looked as if her jaw was about to drop to the floor from its sheer overwhelming size.

 

It was then that she noticed something rather new in the guest's appearance. "Did you cut your hair?"

 

"Huh?"

 

"Your hair, did you cut it?" Repeating the question was of no problem since it was clear that Felicia was distracted. "I remember it being long before, around chest length?"

"Ah." 

Felicia’s face fell as the breath escaped her, sadness filling her eyes as she glanced away. "So you noticed."

 

That was an unexpected reaction to a haircut. Especially a lady's haircut.

 

"I’m going to go ahead and assume this wasn't a willing change in style then."

 

At least not with that kind of answer, that regretful look as she holds the shorter hair with almost longing eyes...

 

"What happened?"

 

A sigh was pushed out between her pursed lips as Felicia took a moment before she finally seemed willing enough to talk. "It was my… power. You know how it works, right? I get to create things from raw materials, sometimes, transforming one material to another, totally unrelated thing."

 

Tira nodded to show she was following so far.

 

"The thing is, nowadays, we don’t have the appropriate raw materials for certain items, and there’s not enough rubble and stones left for me to transform into another thing. But I found out that if I ran out of material,"

 

Felicia stopped touching her hair and shrugged, "I can use my hair…as a replacement."

"Hair?"

Felicia laughed wryly. "Yeah, head hair, specifically. I tried with my plucked brows, but the transformation only held temporarily, before it reverted to eyebrow hair."

 

"And the thing I made with my hair has become somewhat…stronger? They are a lot more long-lasting, like a chair made out of wood that will possess the strength of a metal. "

"And would I be correct to assume that this example comes from actual testing?" Sariya piped in, finally getting herself together to join the conversation.

 

Felicia nodded.

 

Sariya stroked her chin as she went over to get a closer look at the older girl. "Fascinating. Seeing that your hair is getting shorter instead of getting thinner, the hair doesn't need to be taken from the root, then?"

Felicia gave a firm shake of her head. "I did try to experiment with a hair taken from the root, one that fell naturally when I brushed it in the morning."

 

"And the result?"

 

"Incomparable," Felicia noted grimly, her face had a mixed expression between hesitant and awkwardness, "as an example, if I made a wooden chair from that hair, it would become as dense as tungsten steel. Maybe even more."

 

Hissing sounds came from Sariya sucking in breath through her tongue that her lips almost whistled due to the sudden force of it. "Does anyone else know?"

 

"Just you two for now."

 

"Good, let’s keep it that way."

 

Sariya peered towards the door, though there hadn’t been anyone outside since Felicia had entered and closed it with a click. "I can tell you value your hair highly, and I know it sounds morally wrong, but letting yourself go bald to help the community at the cost of your most prized possession isn’t worth it."

 

"But..."

 

"Felicia, do you want to go bald?"

 

That question immediately shut Felicia down from refuting as shock overtook her expression.

 

"What sis Tira was saying is not that they’re going to work you to baldness, but you can never tell with other people and their intent, especially with the fact that you can make a wooden furniture turn to the strength of a tungsten merely at the cost of a strand of hair." 

 

Sariya explained while softening the blow. "Who knows, maybe you hold a power equal to that of a nuclear warhead on your head. It’s just too dangerous for people to know, since your transmutation ability is already a big thing to begin with."

"That… makes more sense." Felicia frowned as she touched her hair again, though it soon morphed into a look of understanding and acceptance. "I’ll keep this to myself, for now, and you two will too, right?"

 

"Not even Hannah." She reminded the senior.

 

"Why would I..." 

 

Felicia’s words trailed by the end, although she ended up shaking off whatever it was that had confused her, and gave the two a determined nod.

 

"Yeah! Not even her," Felicia gestured with her pinky. "I promise!"

 

Exchanging glances with Sariya, she went and fetched a hammer and a bucket containing several wood plates in it. "Your secret is safe with us. Want to help us with the plaques?"

 

Felicia shot them a questioning look. Tira had fetched another hammer and a bucket of nails from the side to add to the offer.

 

"The old-fashioned way."

 

That got Felicia to laugh and accept the tools, rolling back her sleeves as she joined them for the rest of the day to hammer in plaques and fill the room with whines and giggles.

 

Their hands and backs would be sore tomorrow, but at least, she knew their hearts wouldn’t be.