“That’s really nice,” Arnos remarked, staring at the chandeliers on the ceiling.

“Taken aback by the decor, huh? Step aside if all you’re gonna do is gawk,” Mabel teased, mimicking Emily’s tone from earlier.

“Wow, that was a surprisingly good impression," Arnos said, his voice laced with sarcasm.

“Shut up, idiot,” Mabel retorted.

Just as they were doing this a voice called out, “Who’s there?”

The voice came from the stairway, a young girl, presumably their senior, with really long waist length pink hair, walked down with a neutral look. She had yellow eyes and was slightly taller than Mabel and Arnos. She wore a yellow coloured hair band and it was in a ponytail. She had a lean hourglass figure and was wearing a long, yellow, half-sleeve, knee length dress.

“Wait! Don’t tell me you guys are newbies who came to see our dorm.”

“No, miss, we forgot our way and ended up here,” Mabel said without missing a beat.

“We did!” Arnos responded unconsciously to Mabel’s lie. “Ah, yes, we did, ma’am. Can you please tell us where the main building is, miss?”

There was a disappointed look on the girl’s face.

“You lost your way, huh? That’s sad. I thought we were finally getting some newbies who came to visit us.” Sighs. “Well, whatever. Lemme show you the exit,” she said as she walked towards Mabel and Arnos.

Mabel glanced at Arnos, and they both nodded, looking at each other.

“Actually, we wanted to see Ares dorm,” Mabel said, looking slightly scared since she had revealed that she had just lied to her senior.

“Wait, you do?” the girl replied with a loud voice.

“Why did you hide it then?” she added with a curious look.

“We thought we might be intruding, and you would be angry,” Arnos added.

She rested her hand on her chin, adopting a thoughtful posture. “Hmm, I see. That makes sense. I mean, I know where your doubts arise from.” (Disgusted look) “I’m pretty sure other dorms do not allow students to check out their premises until their so-called introduction ceremony or teasing, to be precise.”

“Wait, I didn’t know about that!” Arnos added with a shocked expression.

“Teachers don’t usually tell about this stuff,” she added with a serious expression.

“They ignore it?” Mabel asked curiously.

(Nods) “Since most of the time, kids here have a lot of influence, most of the time surpassing the teachers they are rather reluctant. Not all teachers, of course. Like, the headmaster would probably burn any student who tells him what to do. And senior teachers, too, have such influence since they can’t be removed without any serious reason. But the rest? Well, they are kinda, you know... scared.”

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

But we don't get many visitors, and as you all might have heard in your life, "choosers can't be beggars," she said, chuckling and elegantly hiding her laughter with her hand.

"Ah, I’m pretty sure it’s begg—" Arnos tried to speak but was cut off by the senior.

"So hey, I am Seras Victoria from the Victoria household. I am actually from a branch of the main family, and I surely am not a big shot, so yeah, that’s that." She smiled. "What about you two?" she asked, curiosity flickering in her eyes.

"I am Mabel Webbles. I am from a commoner lineage, and my father works as a farmer. We have our own small farmland, so that’s a plus." Reflexively, her hand went to the back of her head as she gave a chuckle.

"I see, that’s cool. What about you?" Seras asked, still in a good mood.

"I am Arnos. I am not from any noble lineage as well. I was raised as an orphan in the Alcia City orphanage, which was run adjacent to a church."

"An orphan, huh?" Her expression shifted to a sorry one. "Well, it’s a nice achievement that you’ve made it this far, you know."

"Thanks, I guess," Arnos added in response, offering a small smile.

"So what do you guys think?" she asked excitedly. "Should we go and check out Ares dorm? I could give you all a trip if you don’t mind."

"Yes!" they both practically shouted at Seras in unison.

Seras was startled but laughed at their enthusiasm.

"Sorry," they both added for shouting.

Seras then gestured for them to follow her, and they did. She led them outside from the opposite side of where they had first entered. There were two entrances to the Ares dorm, just like Celera Institute, an east entrance and a west entrance. Previously, Arnos and Mabel had walked in through the east doorway, but this time Seras took them out through the west doorway.

Seras, Mabel, and Arnos were now standing in front of the building, the ground in front was divided into two equal parts. With the help of a pavement that ran throughout the ground to the boundary of the premise.

Seras gestured to the expanse of land. "As you can see, we have our own personal herb garden for potions and research, and we have our own training arena. It’s training arena number two of Celera Institute, if you’re interested in that name, by the way."

"So you guys have your own training arena?" Arnos spoke in a really excited tone.

"We do, sure," Seras replied with a proud grin.

"You could make your own magic potions?" Mabel asked in an equally excited tone.

"We sure can." Another proud grin appeared on Seras’s face.

"You could train anytime on the training ground, and there aren’t any restrictions," Arnos said, shooting another question with a curious look.

"We could. Isn’t that cool?" Seras replied with her third proud grin.

"That’s awesome!" they both said in unison. Arnos looked at Mabel.

"You know what, Mabel? I don’t think I want to rank down anymore," Arnos added with a smile.

"Wait, what do you mean by you don’t want to rank down anymore?" Seras asked with a puzzled look.

Arnos looked at her. "Ah… you see, I was kinda reluctant about being in Ares dorm since it’s at the top and all. It’ll give me a lot of unwanted attention. So, I was thinking about not trying my absolute hardest in the tournament."

"Wait a second, have you been allotted Ares dorm?" Seras asked, her tone filled with a mixture of curiosity and excitement.

"Yes, I got Are—"

Before he could complete his words, Seras stepped forward and hugged him.

"That’s really good! I was thinking we weren’t going to get any juniors this year." She turned to look at Mabel, still hugging Arnos. "Are you allotted Ares too?"

"No, ma’am, I’m not, but don’t you think you’re choking him to death?"

Seras looked down at the boy she was hugging. Realizing her grip, she broke the hug, and Arnos fell to the ground on his back.

Coughing, he said, "I saw heaven’s door just now."

Mabel kicked him in the back with her leg. His balance shifted, and he fell forward onto his face.

Quickly, Arnos jumped up and moved five steps away from both Mabel and Seras.

"And what was that for, Mabel?" he asked, shooting her a pissed glance.