In the Harvest Orchard at Sword and Roses University.0

Mifa stepped out of the treehouse in her work uniform, ready to begin her shift. She squinted at the sun, only to find it glaring back down with shameless intensity, turning the entire orchard into its domain. It was scorching. The weather station had clearly reported partly cloudy skies for today, but the Cailleach's clouds, like its rebellious nobles, had wandered off since morning, leaving her exposed.0

The orchard's glass walls blocked much of the heat, yet Mifa still found working under such bright light draining. Her hometown, renowned as the City of Fruits, came with the price of being exposed to nearly twenty hours of sunlight each day. In her first few nights on Cailleach, she would lie on the lawn to watch the stars, often drifting off to sleep under the vast, uninterrupted sky. Sleeping without light prying into her eyes felt like a luxury she had never known.0

After exchanging greetings with the other student workers, Mifa took her place at the tree counter. Before her stretched rows of fruit trees, but instead of fruit, their branches bore crystallized fluorite that held sealed spirits.0

The glass-encased orchard held hundreds of such trees, each cradling at least twenty spirits. Among them were high-level spirits, some with two or even three wings. This was the Spirit Trading Center of Sword and Roses University, the Harvest Orchard.0

As with the Sylvan Library, the university had never built a conventional trading center. Instead, it designed the space as an orchard, allowing students to...0