During homeroom, Andrew sat upright, his back ramrod straight, His hands clasped together in the very picture of studiousness. 

He’d wanted to make a good impression on Ms. Sevinc because while the professors of the other classes were largely temporary, the homeroom teachers were much more permanent. 

One could remain in a particular homeroom for eight years at the minimum and while the homeroom teachers generally didn’t ‘teach’ anything, the role they did play made them into dire enemies and useful allies. 

Andrew’s goodie two-shoes act lasted until his second period class, where his interest in what was going on in the classroom started to wane, and despite his highly improved physical states, his back began to grow tired. 

By the third class of the day, Andrew started thinking to himself, “hey...do I really need to know all this stuff?” By the fifth period of the day, those thoughts had progressed to the stage of, “None of this is really important in the real world.” 

Finally, came the sixth period where Andrew found himself dozing. His head in his arms, his cheek pressed against the cool surface of his desk. He couldn’t help laughing at himself and how quickly he’d fallen into his old routine. 

“Mr. Oddvar? Mr. Oddvar?” said the professor for the sixth period class. Professor Stoneflame. A balding old dwarf with a beard full of gray. 

“Y-, Yes, Professor?” said Andrew. Jolting up right from his slumped over position. 

“Can ‘you’ tell me what the Subterranean Alliance’s response was when the Stygian Collective’s Deathlord fleet laid siege to planet Oberon XI?” said the Professor. 

Naturally, Andrew couldn’t since he’d been more or less asleep up until a second ago. However, that was the good thing about being him, He didn’t need to read a fact, or have it told to him, to know things. 

The current Andrew was a being that kept its feet soaking within the waters of the collective unconscious. If enough people knew about a thing, or felt a certain way about a thing, he’d know about the thing too and understand the public’s opinion on the thing. 

This was ten times more true when it came to matters involving the shedding of blood and the loss of lives. Meaning at the very least, passing history class was a certainty. 

“They evacuated the populace and planted a neutron bomb in the planet’s core. This would be only the first of several sacrificial players the Novem Empire and its allies would have to make in their war against the Stygian Collective’s forces.” said Andrew. 

The old dwarf eyed the young human in front of him. Then he nodded begrudgingly. 

“Very good. You may sit down. Please try to stay... conscious, Mr. Oddvar.” said Professor Stoneflame. 

“Y-, Yes, professor. My apologies professor.” said Andrew. Blushing abashedly as he sat back down. Then falling back to sleep less than ten minutes after. 

Instead of directly going to the seventh period class, the students adjourned for lunch. Filling out of the classroom and into the hall. Andrew was no different. He stood and drudged out of the lecture hall that had hosted the imperial history course. 

Just as he stepped outside into the hallway, he heard a familiar voice calling after him. 

“Hoheit, would you like me to show you around the campus later?” said Sophia. 

Andrew winced feeling another downpour of hostility thud against his shoulders like hail. He half-considered saying no but decided against it because he honestly wanted to look around the campus after not getting the chance to do so while he was hiding out. 

Plus, he didn’t really care what the people around him thought. Or rather he didn’t care enough to let their feelings stop him from doing what he wanted, with whoever he wanted.

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“Sure… Are we doing that now or…?” 

“Well, these human bodies seem to require sustenance quite often so I imagine you’re probably hungry now, hoheit. So let’s leave the tour for later.” said Sophia. Holding her satchel in front of her. 

“Nh… You’re right. I ‘am’ pretty hungry. Where’s the canteen in this place?” said Andrew. 

“Ah, I’ll show you. Consider it a brief prequel to the main tour I’ll show you later.” said Sophia. Sounding earnest and excited to the extent that Andrew could practically see her tail wagging. 

“Heh, okay.” said Andrew. Chuckling. 

Sophia led the two of them out of the school building, down a walkway, into a large brick and tile structure that had students constantly filling in and out of its doors.

 As soon as they walked inside the building, Andrew was immediately assailed by the scent of steaming hot food. The myriad smells all worked together to stimulate Andrew’s appetite. Reminding him of how very dangerous he could become if he didn’t keep a certain part of himself in check. 

One appetite awake meant ‘all’ appetites awake. That was the kind of creature eidolons of Abwickeln were. Hungry, thirsty, horny, greedy, creatures of infinite vice and desire.

 This was the reason that Abwickeln had been so hellish and the reason Andrew had been so desperate to escape before his psyche collapsed under the realm’s influence. 

The two youths made it inside the canteen proper. A large open space, partial lit with most of the light coming from the sky light. The moment they stepped inside, more than a few eyes found them. Impressing Andrew with how high profile Sophia’s identity was. 

Most people ignored the two of them, but there were still more than a few eyes that immediately began to track them as the two moved around the dining hall. 

Their gazes were hot with desire and admiration for Sophia. As well as boundless animosity for Andrew simply because he was standing next to Sophia. It was getting annoying, and Andrew had to work hard to keep himself from doing something rash. 

He tried to focus on something else and instead found himself fascinated by the explosion of colorful and bright emotions playing through the dining hall. Floating through the room like dancing stars. 

It was interesting how active a mind could be. There was something about how beautiful it was to watch, feel, and taste their emotions. 

The minds here were different compared to minds he’d seen back in Abwickeln. In Abwickeln all the minds were broken and not just in the sense of being extremely mentally unwell. Mentally unwell people were still people after all.  

The minds of the denizens of Abwickeln were different. Their minds were broken to the point of not being minds anymore. The denizens of Abwickeln were broken to the point of becoming something completely alien. 

It was an unsavory thing to witness. Like seeing a flayed body and watching it somehow not die. Or seeing a cockroach scuttle around without its head.

Sophia broke Andrew out of his reverie by prodding him lightly on the shoulder. 

“Hoheit, what would like to eat? I’ll pay, I’ve become quite wealthy, you know?” said Sophia. Taking the chance to casually boast in the hopes of getting the chance to impress her hoheit with her achievements because even eidolons liked to look good in front of their favorite people. 

“Really? Well, if you say so, sure. Do you think they have chicken nuggets?” said Andrew. 

“I… Probably? I think it might be included in one of the meal sets.” said Sophia. Suppressing a sigh as she wondered if her hoheit wasn’t clear about what she’d been hinting at when she’d said she was quite wealthy. Her mind imagining the number of delicacies the school’s five-star cooking staff could prepare. 

“Cool. Then I’ll have an order of those.” said Andrew. 

Sophia led them towards the lunch line where the meal sets were served. A quick look at the menu that was printed onto a plastic placard and mounted onto one of the walls, informed them of the meal set that came chicken nuggets. It was meal set H. Chicken nuggets with a side of sweet potato fries and a light salad. 

“Are you sure this is all you want?” asked Sophia. 

Andrew considered and then his gurgling belly made his mind up for him. 

“Nh, I’ll order three of those, and three meal set C’s.” said Andrew. Nodding towards the meal set which featured a hardy boneless rib sandwich. 

Sophia nodded and then led Andrew through the process of ordering. 

“Oh, this is one of those places that takes meal cards. I probably should get one of those.” said Andrew. Watching as Sophia paid for the food. 

“No need, hoheit. I can just give you my spare.” said Sophia. 

Andrew’s first instinct was to say that it was fine and he could totally get his own, but there was a warning in Sophia’s gaze that made him swallow his words. 

“Th-, Thanks.” said Andrew. 

“Not a problem, hoheit. Where would my honor as your attendant be if I allowed you to go hungry?” said Sophia. A small smile spreading across her face like warm sunshine on a cold winter’s day. 

They collected their food. Sophia’s meal was just a duplicate of Andrew’s order. They found an empty table and then proceeded to sit down and eat in silence. Occasionally breaking that silence with pleasant nothings. 

Around the end of the meal, Andrew asked, 

“What are the last classes of the day like?” 

Sophia looked up from her food. Her expression troubled. 

“For me, I have one lecture on the occult sciences, a class on this world’s version of basic magical theory, an advanced biochemistry lab, and an advanced martial training course. For you… I’m not sure. The curriculum for individual students becomes a lot more specialized during the second half of the day because the second half of the day is mostly electives. Since you’re a new student and you haven’t gotten a chance to choose your electives, I’m not sure what classes they might have chosen for you by default.” said Sophia. 

“Nh… Bummer. I guess I’ll figure it out.” 

“If you’d like, I wouldn’t mind taking a half-day to help you figure out your classes.” said Sophia. 

Andrew shook his head. 

“Nah. You do you. Having to figure out your schedule and where your classes are is one of those experiences that come with being a student.” said Andrew. Smiling and eating the last of his nuggets.