When you get to know her, Praede reveals herself to be the total opposite of her seemingly timid self, even, she gets very expressive. We talked about anything and everything during the whole playtime and you would be surprised by the number of things a child can talk about. She doesn't exude a child's aura very much in my opinion, more the one of a mature teenager.

Maybe children are just different here? That would explain the lack of reactions about my not-very-much-child-like behavior.

I indeed read a few books but all were about history and mechanical engineering, so aside from these matters I still don't have a proper grasp on the common sense of this world. Always having my nose between the pages of a book while staying at home instead of being here in Urald sure didn't help I admit.

After the pause, which felt very short thanks to all the fun I had with Praede, we did the same singing thing than before but with numbers. Even though Ciro looked a bit severe before the beginning of the class, he is quite kind when it is time to teach.

Although the lesson itself is a bit boring, it is enjoyable. Truth to be told, it feels more like a game than a lesson which I guess is a perk of being a child as the lessons are tailored for them.

It seems everyone here is staying at the dormitory. I say that because we are all following a woman, the person in charge of the dormitory Ciro told us, guiding us to it.

"Your rooms are not assigned so choose the one you will stay in. Plus, rooms are not individual so you have to choose your, 3 minimum." The woman explained to us as we walked under the crimson sky.

I believe it's safe to assume Praede will be one of my roommates, I just need to find the last one. There are 7 boys and 6 girls in our class so we'll just take the one who's not in the other group.

I don't think I will have to wait too much anyway as the groups are already roughly formed given how we are all walking in little packs.

3 girls are giggling with each other in front of us. Guess things went faster than I thought. I don't see the last girl though, is she behind us?

She is, indeed, I confirm with a look behind my shoulder. I didn't pay much attention to the kids beside Praede in class today so I don't know who she is exactly but what I know for sure is that she is the introverted kind. I can feel it from the expression her eyes give between her bangs, I had it so many times in the past and maybe even now as well.

This expression you have when you live inside your head, your thoughts.

Well, there is no use waiting. Let's ask her directly if she wants to come with us, though she doesn't really have a choice.

I warn Praede about what I'm about to do with a whisper and turn back to face the chubby girl.

"Hello, you heard what she said, do you want to join us?" I asked her with my thumb pointing Praede who stopped walking.

Without uttering a word she looks at me straight in the eyes, as if she was analyzing me. Not the shy type I see.

She simply nods as an answer and resumes her walk, as Praede and I do.

The dormitory is not very big, about the same size as the kindergarten, or maybe a little larger. All in wood like everything else here. The sandy lights placed on each side of the doors give the whole edifice a certain aura of home which is almost relaxing.

The inside is what you would expect from this kind of place, doors and corridors all over the place. A bit cramped though.

It's surprisingly well lit considering the lack of lamps whatsoever. I can see magein flowing everywhere in the floor and walls, maybe they are the light sources? It's the only reason I can think of.

The woman who guided us cleared her throat. "I will now explain how it works here so listen well and ask questions if you have one." She waited for a few instants before resuming her speech. "On the ground floor, there are the bathrooms you can find at the end of the left corridor and the canteen on the right. On the first floor, you will find the personnel's rooms, teachers included, so if you need help you can always find someone there. Lastly, students' rooms are on the second and last floor. The left side when coming out of the stairs is reserved for the girls while the right side is for the boys. You can find toilets at the very end of each side. Any questions so far?"

As no one has said anything, she continued.

"Now about the rules. Lights out at 21, a member of the personnel will always stay near the stairs so don't go around. Your room must be kept clean, there will be random inspections. To make your laundry there is a device available on your floor you can use to clean your clothes. When you have chosen your room, you are not allowed to move into another one unless told to. Finally, unless you are accompanied by an adult and have an authorization, you can't go outside freely."

21? I guess it's because we are young but that's quite early, I'll have to find a way to sneak outside or something unless I want to be bored in my bed every night. The other rules seem pretty normal, I expected more of them to be honest.

She made her way to the stairs, beckoning us to follow her with a wave of the hand. "We will now go to the second floor to determine the rooms you will stay in, then we will take dinner after a shower. Discuss among you and the groups how you will distribute the rooms."

The wooden stairs don't squeak under my feet no matter how hard I press on them, which feels a bit weird with how old the wood look. Well, it's not wood per se so I guess I'm the only one surprised here.

When we reach the second floor we are greeted by the scene of a starry sky. One side of the narrow hallway is full of windows giving a great picture of the scenery behind the school. From here we can see a great part of the city, I didn't even know it was this big, and with no buildings in the way, the view of the sky is very clear and... mesmerizing.

Every kid around me, even the silent one of our group, gasp with amazement and glitter in the eyes. From the corner of my eyes, I can see our guide snorts a smile in silence as she claps her hands. "Hop hop, your rooms will not fill themselves."

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

Everyone stopped looking through the windows and the 4 groups moved quickly. Surprisingly there is no arguing children could have in this kind of situation, in a matter of minutes every group found its room. We are in the second one.

The room is bigger than I expected. There are 4 beds, not bunk beds but regular ones and pretty big at that. Each bed has a small desk at its side with a single lamp put on it. Opposite to the door, there is a window too, with a view on the school garden and the castle.

I claim one of the beds near the window for myself, the left one, and throw my belonging under it. With only clothes in my luggage, so there is nothing to break.

Praede lays a ton of stuff all over her desk as she hums a melody I don't recognize while the other girl is just waiting sitting on the edge of her bed, looking at Praede with interest.

It's a good opportunity to get to know her a bit, her name at least.

"To be honest I didn't listen to the presentations earlier in class, could you tell me your name?" I questioned her, scratching one of my cheeks with one finger.

"Ersha Lon"

Not a talkative one eh.

"It's a beautiful name. In case you don't remember, mine is Silvia Quel, and the girl there is Praede Jeola. I hope we will get along this year." I smiled with an outstretched hand she shook, an interrogative expression on her face. Maybe handshakes aren't a thing here?

Someone knocks on the door and our guide tells us to come, time to clean. Today was pretty eventful compared to usual so I'm a bit sweaty, a good shower will do me great.

Everyone seems more relaxed than before, noisier too, that nice to see. Our guide still has a serious expression on her face though.

The showers are, at my great pleasure and surprise, individual. There is only 6 so we have to wait in turn to get in. Luckily I was one of the first to go.

The shower itself is quite interesting, to get the water flowing you have to press a button on the wall. When you press it, a sort of circle materializes above your head and water appears out of it.

I'm quite amazed at how magei is used and really curious about how it works.

It feels nice to have some water running through my back. I can't seem to control the temperature of the water but that's fine as it is, the warmth is perfectly balanced. That's magic for you!

There's even a body dryer! It's so efficient that even my doubt I've taken a shower just a few moments ago. I like the feeling of having my hair a little while I'm in my pajamas but that's cool too.

When everyone was clean and tidy, we finally headed to the cantine with grumbling stomachs. With the whole heart thing, I don't feel hunger as much as I used to but right now I could eat a lion.

If we don't take note of the big light sphere hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room, this place isn't really what you would expect from a canteen as she called it. I mean, the only furniture in the room are 2 very long tables with benches as long as they are on each side, it's more a refectory than anything.

One of the tables is already waiting for us with plates of foods and water pitchers. I hope we are not the only ones to use this place because even with the fourteen of us it feels quite empty.

This is the first time I eat something like this but it's very tasty and from the faces of my comrades I can say they like it too. It's a salad of somethings with a grilled steak of an animal unknown to me. I especially appreciate the salad and its creamy sauce, spicy but not enough to be unpleasant. The steak is a bit overcooked to my taste though, I prefer them rare.

I like this atmosphere around the table, it really shows how food can brings people together. Even Ersha has a small smile on her face as she chews a piece of meat.

Just like that, the dinner was already finished and we were all laying under the blankets of our beds. Pretty comfy but kind of useless for me though.

Ersha didn't wait for us to fall asleep I see, or should I say hear if I hear well this soft snore I perceive coming from her direction.

"Hey, Silvia… you're awake?" Praede whispered.

"Yes. Do you need anything?"

Still keeping her voice low. "I just wanted you to know… thank you for being my first friend, today was fun!"

"Thank you too Praede, thank you too. Have a good night."

"Good night!" She beamed, her eyes closed.

Only a few seconds and she's already in the depth of slumber. I know people who would pay a lot to fall asleep that fast.

Well, now that everyone is sleeping, I should use the time I have to think. Today is the dawn of a new life for me and I realize I still don't know what direction I want to follow.

The fact is, I have already accomplished everything I wanted to do, every dream I had, back on Earth. I was the best and the worst in every single domain, the poorest and the wealthiest, the worst criminal and the kindest altruist.

In this life, I'll set my goal as something I have never done before. Yes, I know that even if I had a career in something I already did before like blacksmith or cook, I would, without doubt, learn new things as my knowledge is after reflection useless in many ways but wouldn't it be a bit boring to do that again when there is a whole new world of possibilities in front of me right?

It doesn't take a genius to see the obvious path I must follow, mageister! It's the only profession that I'm pretty sure didn't exist at all on Earth. Magei and magein are unchartered waters, the extent of which I still don't understand.

And truth to be told, the only fact it's about magic is enough of a reason for me to pursue that prospect. Who wouldn't want to do sick magic things? Not me!

Although, I have to admit I don't really know what you and can't do with magei. I mean, yes, I know you can create lamps and make things float, which is already nice, but that the extent of my knowledge. I hope there is at least a spell or something to clean myself in a finger snap otherwise I'll be a bit disappointed.

That decided I'll be a mageister! Mortals will cower in fear at my glorious sight and lands will shake under my feet!

About today, I have to say I'm quite surprised at how... mature kids are, here. I mean, the only moment someone talked to us like we were children was during the songs of Ciro. Otherwise, we could have been teenagers or even adults and the situation would have seemed normal any way, like how the guide talks to us for example.

Maybe the kids of this world develop faster? Or is it just about attitude? I mean, maybe talking to children as if they were "normal" person lead them to get mature faster? Who knows?

On another matter, I should look into why there are people with swords on the streets. With the little time I had on the roads, I can say for sure that I never saw something like a dangerous animal or "monster" so I don't really understand why weapons are needed. Well maybe I'm wrong but I hope I'm not.

It's not that I'm not confident in my fight skills, it's just that there is a difference between practicing for sport in a safe environment and a fight to the death. All the skills I have are destined to be used against humans and not even all of them are useful in a real fight. Plus, I suspect that Earth's fighting skills are pretty weak compared to the ones of here. I mean, in stories you have those physically impossible techniques like cutting people with a sheathed sword or punch which make people explode, mine pale in comparison.

Well, I can still look into the matter later, I'm in no hurry. At worst my expertise should be at least a little useful and I bet I'll be able to defend myself with magei, I hope.

On a more serious note… lately, I've been thinking about me or I should say "I". Some people think that one's personality, identity, is formed through memories, experiences, and I obviously agree with that, but in that case, what formed me? I don't have the memories of only one person but billions and not only people but other animals too! Am I merely the sum of all these memories? Then why aren't I more subject to "bad" things such as greed, jealousy, pride? Or maybe am I and just refuse to realize it? I'm lost.

I want to know, no, I need to know. Am I really me or is this one the identities in my head talking through me? I will never be at peace until I have the answer but will that day ever come? I bet there is no one else like me.

I hope there is someone else.