「…Now you look really sharp, Straf.」

Cycelia remarks, looking Straf over head to toe again. With his hands casually in his pockets, he looks back at her with an indifferent, cool expression. Now buttoned up, his muted lime green blazer has two, shield-shaped metal emblems on its collar and its breast, both depicting the same black silhouette of a castle on a light blue background. It suspiciously resembles the silhouette of the Academy, although the castle is apparently on a floating island of some sort.

「Right. Work on a new backstory, too. It won't work if you tell everyone you're the queen of this place. At best they'll think you're a loony, at worst the Magic Federation or whatever is going to kick you out.」

Straf cautions Ms. Lia as he heads for the door. He briefly pauses to look at his sheath and potion belt on the bed.

「Mage Federation…」

Cycelia meekly corrects him.

「Whatever. Hmm… I suppose I should take these, but…」

He mulls over the sword as he walks back to the bed and picks it up, looking at it intently.

「…Whatever, I'll just keep them on hand… I mean, who's going to show up here? He, who shall not be named… For copyright reasons?」

Straf scoffs with a shrug at her, and throws both of the belts into his [Portable Storage]. He heads for the door again.

「…The demon lord?」

Cycelia asks, anxiously fidgeting with her medallion.

「Lia, that is awful specific. And also anti-cliche, so fat chance. Nobody is after your life anymore, Lia… I hope, at least. I'm just taking the sword with me in case someone here is a thief, and has a deathwish.」

Straf replies as he opens the door, stopping momentarily between sentences.

「Where are you going, Straf?」

She asks, taking a few steps after him.

「To do some stuff… Take things in, so to say… Mostly gold.」

He turns around, and spreads his hands as he puts emphasis on his words. He then shrugs, and places them back in his pockets.

「Gold?」

Cycelia lightly tilts her head.

「Yeah. It's just waiting to be picked up around here, Lia. You're telling me you wouldn't pick money up?-」

Straf grins, quickly shrugging his shoulders.

「Wait, don't answer that. You're rich enough to actually say yes.」

Just as Cycelia opens her mouth, he stops her by throwing his palm out at her. Her shoulders slump.

「…Don't wander around too long, okay?」

She glumly requests, sitting back down on her bed.

Cla-clack! Cla-clack!

The latches on her large baggage make a loud noise when she opens it.

「Yeah, I'm just going to go here and there. Relax, Lia. Let's agree to always be back here by nightfall, alright?」

「Alright…」

She peeks out into the entry from beyond the wall at her bed, gently nodding her head.

「Alright. Well, put your uniform on… Or don't. Do what you want. You don't want to find out it's too big for you when the term starts, though.」

Crrr- Creaaak…

Straf cautions, and closes the door behind himself. Cycelia looks at the uniform on her bed, thinking heavily…

…

A few minutes later, in the dormitories' stairwell…

As Straf descends the spiral stairs, he notes the runic automata speeding past him along the central column. His hand snaps to it, and he plucks it off the wall. The little golem's legs go into overdrive, whipping about faster and faster as it seeks solid ground beneath itself, before abruptly freezing, with its spindly metal legs still in their walking motion, but halted.

「…Did I break it? What is this thing, anyway?」

He thinks out loud, descending down the stairs to the ground floor. He inspects the dark yellow cube closer. It really has the appearance of a spider, albeit possessing only six legs, and no joints to speak of. The thin, solid metal legs appear to flex at its will, without the need for joints. Shallow golden grooves cover nearly the entire surface of the automata, and tiny inscribed runes coat the rest. Walking a few steps into the hallway, Straf stops, examining the cube all around.

《How did they engrave this? It'd be impossible to do by hand-》

「Ah. Yeah. Of course… Magic.」

He finishes his thought out loud, and his mouth slants.

「Put the automata down! What are you doing!?」

A commanding female voice calls out to Straf. A middle-aged woman stomps over to him, with a comically huge black wizard hat on her head, and a leather belt wrapped around its pointy, bent cone.

「Huh? I was just checking this thing out.」

Straf shrugs with one hand in his pocket, and other on the frozen automata. She looks at him with an angry grimace on her gently aged face. Despite her age beginning to show, she is dressed quite shamelessly in low-cut robes of the same color as her hat. Her cleavage is exaggerated further, when she crosses her arms in frustration.

「Stop interfering with the Academy's inner workings! How did you even catch one?」

She demands, looking up into Straf's eyes with a sharp gaze of her hazel eyes. There are two small beauty marks beside her lips, and below her eye. While most men would agree she is still attractive, she must have possessed killer looks just a decade or two ago.

「I just picked it up, they're free. If they're not, you should have said so if you didn't want people to taking them.」

「Just picked it up!?」

She echoes in incredulous outrage, as Straf casually presents her the automata. They look at each other with both of their mouths aslant, but she ultimately ends up taking it into her fingers. She places its spindly metal legs on the wall, and waits a second. The automata once again starts wriggling its legs, and she lets go. The little cube on legs zaps away along the wall, quickly disappearing behind a corner. Her gaze returns from the automata back to Straf.

「…Are you a new student? Has the exam ended already?」

The woman asks with a voice and expression full of distrust, taking a step closer to his side.

「I'm a bodyguard, and I dunno.」

「Bodyguard?… Don't know? What do you mean, you don't know? What are you doing here, then?」

She asks, quite conspicuously furrowing her brows in outright suspicion.

「I mean I dunno. The headmaster guy took us right here from the exam. Why don't you go and check?」

Straf asks, and they look at each other in brief silence, once again staring at each other with their mouths aslant.

「…If you are a bodyguard, then where is your ward?」

She asks with a light smirk, as if she just figured him out.

「In her room. He told us to get accustomed here, so I was doing just that… Until you interrupted me.」

Straf bluntly replies, still staring at the woman, while she stares up at him from beneath her hat's brim.

「Hmpf. What a rude boy… Youth these days haven't any manners.」

The woman lets out an amused scoffs, lightly shaking her humongous hat in disapproval.

「And sassy teachers being a pain in the ass seems to be an universal constant. Am I under arrest, am I free to go?」

Straf asks, spreading his hands.

「So, you were getting accustomed… Was it?」

「Oh boy, I'm being detained, huh? That's a new one.」

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

He rolls his eyes and throws his hands up. On their way down, they noisily make a pat full of disappointment against the sides of his legs.

「If that's the case, why don't I show you around?-」

「He already did.」

Straf bluntly replies to her proposition. Her brows jump up in surprise.

「Oh.」

She utters out, with a somewhat disappointed tone.

「…Are you not aware that the boys are not allowed into the girls' dormitories without a good reason?」

She asks, smugly smirking at him.

「I've heard. And he made me an exception by placing me in a girl's room.」

He replies, more and more frustrated at the big-hatted, big-breasted woman.

「…Oh.」

She utters out again, even more disappointed than before.

「Is that so?… I'll have to ask the headmaster about it. He will corroborate your story, correct?」

She asks with a vaguely threatening tone, staring into Straf's eyes.

「…Yeah? Unless he's a lying fucker.」

Straf replies, shrugging his hands.

「Tsk. What a- Tsk.」

The woman clicks her tongue, says something, but then interrupts herself with another click of her tongue. She slowly shakes her head in disapproval, with her widened lips pressed together.

「Language, boy. This is an educational institution, not a port… How incredibly rude…」

She chides Straf while she walks past him towards the stairs. Before she makes her first step up, she grabs the brim of her hat at its sides, and squeezes it in with a strained grunt.

As she disappears in the stairwell, it seems that the effort required to make it to the seventh floor and the headmaster's office will be gargantuan. Like her hat. Straf shrugs, and carries on…

…

An hour later, Straf exits the money changer with a huge grin on his face. He walks a few steps down the junctioning hallway, and inspects a large gold coin depicting a rather dull-looking old man in a crown. Straf chuckles, and flicks the coin into his [Portable Storage] off his thumb, and places his hand back in his pocket. He backtracks the way Corvus lead him through, glancing briefly at the Cursefire Brazier while he passes by beneath it. At the entrance, he takes a turn for the cafeteria.

A few moments later, he arrives at a wide, open room with tall ceiling reinforced by thick stone columns. Long, dark oaken tables and benches fill the walking space nearly entirely. The cafeteria at this moment is relatively empty, with only a few students sitting at the tables, and wearing the same uniform as Straf. Surprisingly, there are some children present as well, all wearing the uniform. Their ages range from about as young as 10, to as old as late teens, perhaps 17.

「Huh. I thought this was a magic college… Guess they have a magic primary school too. Gotta start this ride of torment somewhere.」

Straf thinks out loud, and he approaches the selection of food while the idle cooks talk behind the table.

「Fuck. Me.」

He blurts out while looking at the prices painted on little wooden blocks.

《I might be eating for free thanks to the greatest magic trick, but what the fuck is up with those prices? They're worse than the capital! And the capital was already fucked up!》

He stares in disbelief, calculating the price of a mediocre meal in the Academy.

《…It'd run me like 25 of these medium gems for a completely normal meal of a pork cutlet, some mashed potatoes and a lemonade-》

Straf thinks, glaring in shock at one of the cooks. The cook looks at the others, then back at Straf.

《Ah. It's made from those fucking fantasy lemons. Figures.》

Straf rubs his chin, furrowing his brows while he idly looks over the random students at the tables.

《…That's still like 10 to 15 of these fucking gems, depending on how hungry you are… Of course the Academy is free! It's a fucking loss leader, and it's ripping people off right here!》

He shrugs his hands, shaking his head as he's staring at the food with his mouth ajar in outraged shock.

「…Can I help you?」

The cook hesitantly asks with his arms crossed. Straf's eyes snap to him.

「Too late for that.」

He replies, and walks to the exit. The cooks look at each other with their brows furrowed, and all shrug at the same time…

…

An hour later, Straf is exploring the inner walled area outside the main building, looking left and right with his bored eyes as he takes the environment in. Workers in blue overalls are raking the golden leaves on the grass. Although the amount so far is relatively scarce, soon enough, all the trees within the walls will litter the ground. It's cold outside, but the blazer Straf is wearing offers a decent protection. The more and more he walks around, the more obvious the architectural inspiration becomes.

While the Academy building strongly draws from Gothic architecture with its spires, buttresses and tall windows, it also has a hint of classical architecture. The rule of threes is respected, almost as if it were the law, and ornate support columns are ubiquitous, even if they do not support much. Moreover, various bird heads and gargoyles sit atop the more angular corners here and there, almost reminiscent of Art Deco…

「What a mess…」

Straf remarks, looking at the imposing Academy building in the distance. He shakes his head, and continues onward. He makes it back to the fountain, and two female students are sitting on the rim of its basin, talking about something, idly splashing the water with their hands.

「Hmm. Nice.」

He hums out, looking at their thigh highs that end just beneath their green, pleated skirts, and leave a narrow band of skin exposed. The contrast between the yellow ribbon tied under their white shirt collar, and the green blazers is rather large, but ultimately ends up harmonious and tasteful. Eye-catching, even.

With his hands casually in his pockets, Straf approaches the magical gate. Just as he thinks to stop and wait for it to open, the grand doors begin to slowly part before him, just fast enough to not force him to slow down for the gate. Once outside, he looks both ways, shrugs, and goes the opposite of where the exam was, or is still taking place. Circling the Academy's city-sized perimeter is a time-consuming task, and at least an hour and some passes, before he makes it to the other side of the Academy.

Straf continues onward, heading towards the small forest in the distance that has pulled his attention. Behind him, on the other side of the Academy's perimeter, mages are still noisily blasting the targets with all forms of magic. An indescript shout, followed by an explosion, or the likes. Straf glances behind his shoulder, and a handful of mages are whipping the mountain of ice with a steady stream of fire ejected from the space before their palms.

「Heh.」

He scoffs with a grin, and turns his head back to the forest. He approaches the treeline, and stops to take a look around. Though it's not apparent at first, the ground is pockmarked by numerous explosions, and the woods are nearly entirely silent, if not for a few discordant insects noisily buzzing away their mating calls. Though Straf can't quite put his finger on it, the space in the forest is different. The sensation only became apparent to him, when it disappeared. Almost as if a presence was constantly hanging over him while in the Academy, and this supposed presence is gone here.

「Hm.」

Straf quietly hums at the revelation, and shrugs. The dim forest is otherwise unremarkable, and he turns around to walk back to the distant Academy.

「Man, that was a waste of time. I thought there would be a plot progression here.」

He sighs, looking aside at the landscape. Not too far away, the hill slopes downward, and a massive, majestic mountain range stretches far in the east.

「…Is this hill natural, or did a wizard do it? It's kind of too gentle to be a natural plateau… Or maybe it's a failed volcano. Dunno, I'm not a fucking geologist-」

Straf rubs his chin as he thinks, looking the other way down at the grass on the relatively flat ground.

「Hm?」

He stops in his tracks. He feels the presence again, and while unexpected, it's a familiar sensation. Just a second later, he feels another presence. An unfamiliar one. He looks left and right with a sharp, cautious gaze, then shrugs and continues onward.

「Whatever. Magic.」

He shrugs his hands, and places them back in his pockets as he makes his way back to the gate…

…

A few hours later, back in Cycelia's room…

Crrrrreaaaaak…

The door noisily swings open, then shuts.

「Ah! Straf! Did you see anything interesting?」

Cycelia smiles at him, peeking out of the corner.

「Nope, just nerd worldbuilding- What the fuck did you do to the room, Lia?」

Straf asks, looking around with his brows furrowed.

「I… Unpacked?」

「Yeah. Your entire fucking room.」

Straf nods, spreading his arms as he looks at the decorations from Cycelia's room cluttering the sole flat surface they have, and her normal clothes folded on her chair.

「More importantly… How do I look, Straf?」

Cycelia jumps out of her bed and shows her uniform off with a smile, holding her fingers behind her back. Her pleated skirt swings hypnotically as she partially turns left and right to let Straf get an all-around view.

「…Nice.」

Straf snaps his fingers, looking at her skirt ending just above the knee, and her partially buttoned up green blazer. The yellow ribbon under her white collar provides a nice accent to the full picture.

《Okay, I'm a sucker for school uniforms. Who's going to fucking blame me here? Who?》

He thinks as he grins, looking Cycelia over while he nods his head.

「You think so?…」

She asks, and her smile widens.

「Yeah. So it's not too big? Fits you fine?」

「Well, actually… The shirt is a little too tight.」

Cycelia replies, looking down at her bed as she toys with her medallion in her dainty fingers…