When the train disappeared from our field of vision, a silence began between the four of us. Without Noru around, I had a feeling that something was incomplete, as if John, Hugo and she were thirds of a single entity. Hugo, in particular, was standing still, looking at the rails with an empty look. I think this is the first time he and his sister will stay away for so long. If so, I can understand his feelings, because I also felt that way five years ago, when John joined the Academy. In this case, it is better to leave him alone, so that he can reconcile his feelings calmly.

In two minutes, Hugo sighed and turned around, with his back to the tracks. He seemed to be ready to at least leave the station. Approaching John, Hugo put his hand on his shoulder, took his face closer to John's ear, and spoke discreetly:

“You will have a lot of work from tomorrow. Don't forget to rest for the rest of the day.”

“Don't worry, I will”, John touched his hand and smiled.

After saying goodbye to John, Hugo passed by Erina and me and told us:

“The same goes for the ladies. Things won't be easy for you both.”

We both swallowed dry.

“Hugo...”, John, who had noticed our reaction, murmured, as if he wanted to give a sermon on him.

Hugo, in turn, let out a slight laugh and smiled.

“Sorry. I'm sure you two will do well.”

With this, Hugo turned his back on us and continued his steps. Without Hugo's look, Erina and I were calmer, especially her, because as soon as her fears dissipated, she threw herself into John's direction and hugged his arm again.

“John, could you take us to the dorm?”, she asked sweetly.

Hugo, when he heard Erina's mellowed voice, turned around and came across my friend hugging John's arm, almost rubbing her face on him. Hugo stared at Erina with a certain intensity that seemed more disapproval and I felt chills with that look. I tried to say ‘Let him go’ with my lips, but Erina didn't even look at me.

“E-er, yes, I can, Miss Erina... Hum?”, John had noticed that Hugo was looking, “Something wrong?”

Hugo remained silent for a few more seconds, looking at the shameless Erina and the completely oblivious John, until he decided to speak.

“... No, nothing.”

And he was finally gone.

John kept watching him leaving, with a confused face.

“What got into him, huh?”, He murmured, scratching the back of his neck and looked at Erina and me, “anyway... let's go?”

………

The walk back to the dormitory had been quiet. It was the perfect opportunity for me to assimilate all the information I heard on the day. And it was thanks to this tranquility that I could remember something I should have done first thing in the morning: I should have delivered the letters I kept in my suitcase to John! I was supposed to give it to him as soon as I saw him, but the scene that Erina made by throwing herself into his arms the moment she saw him made me forget completely!

Therefore, as soon as John left Erina and I in the dorm, I asked him to wait a while and ran to my room. As I remembered which suitcase I had put the cards in, it didn't take long for me to return and deliver them to him. There were three letters of congratulations for the new job, one from Mom, one from Dad and one from Elbern.

Elbern was a family friend. A handsome traveling elf with salmon-coloured hair and water-green eyes who was very good of magic, but terrible of potions. That's why he went to my parents and asked to be their apprentice. I was three years old at the time. When I first saw him, I thought he was so beautiful that I took advantage of my age and nicknamed him "Pretty Elf". And the funny thing is that he turned red whenever I called him that, so I didn't stop. In addition, I would often invade his room to dig through his grimoires while he was learning potions with my parents. In my defence, he had books that I had never seen before, not even dead would I miss such an opportunity!

However, our relationship was not limited to just me teasing him and taking advantage of my age to get out unscathed. When I was 5 years old, Elbern was ready to leave our house and continue his journey of knowledge, but I begged him to stay to teach me magic. In fact, teach me and John. After much insistence, he gave in and stayed, this time not as the apprentice of Cyrus and Ninfa Phenis, but as a tutor of Amaris and John Phenis. He stayed with us until I was eight years old and ended up becoming a family friend.

When he received the three letters, John smiled happily for the attention he received, including from Elbern who, according to him, was closer to me than to him. Satisfied, John was ready to leave and, to say goodbye, I gave him a very tight hug. After the hug, John said goodbye and went to the employees' dormitory. I sighed, seeing him get further and further away. Starting tomorrow, we'll have to pretend we're not family, so we certainly couldn't hug each other for a long time.

“Oh, it's a shame that we'll have to pretend that we've never seen him in our lives”, Erina, who was behind me, sighed with her face resting on one hand, interrupting my thoughts, “If competition appears, I won't have an advantage!”

“Don't worry, just like you, your ‘Competition’ will have no chance.”

“Ouch, how sharp!”, She laughed in response.

Still laughing, Erina held my hand and took me to her room under the pretext of trying on the uniforms. Obviously, I had to go to my room first to get my uniform. When we entered her room, Erina took the small package in her suitcase and opened it, taking out of it the Avalon uniform and bringing it with her behind her folded screen to change clothes. I waited for her while she changed, listening to her giggles of excitement.

“I'm ready!”

She announced, coming out of the screen with her clothing.

The uniform was a set composed of the following pieces: a white blouse with a wine-red tie; a dark blue blazer with the Academy coat embroidered on the chest and with the edges of the sleeves and the collar beiges; a dark graphite-coloured skirt that was just above the knees; socks were the student's choice and Erina chose white socks that were just below the knee; and brown short boots.

“How do I look?”, Erina asked me, making a twirl.

“Wonderful!”

Erina smiled and went to the mirror she had in her room. She was experimenting several poses to analyze the uniform from various angles. Having liked the result, she started to touch her golden hair.

“How should I style my hair?”, She pondered, “Of course I'll have to tie my hair in practical classes, but it won't be all the time, so I have to choose the best hairstyle for everyday life!”, a smile full of ulterior motives formed on her lips, “After all, now I have Mr. Reignia to impress too!”

I almost choked on her bold statement.

“H-him too?!”

“A powerful protagonist and the Modern Imperial Dragon...”, Erina murmured ambitiously, “Yes, yes, they both have to get into my harem!”

I sighed and went after Erina, gluing my hands on her shoulders, ready to throw some truths at her.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t have such high hopes, because, at the station, when you threw yourself at John, Mr. Reignia looked at you with a very distasted face!”

Erina, however, misrepresented my speech and took her hands to her cheeks like a lady in love.

“I wonder if Mr. Reignia felt jealous that I was clinging to John?”

“I'm pretty sure he found your behaviour inappropriate for an Avalon student!”, I replied.

Erina laughed at my reaction and continued to touch her hair, still thinking about the ideal hairstyle.

“Hmmmmm...”, she murmured, “I'm thinking of leaving my hair loose and wearing a red tiara... What do you think?”, she turned to me.

This time she was asking sincerely. This went beyond simply looking for boys for her harem, she was thinking about her image in front of the public.

In this case, it's not bad for me to answer honestly.

“I think you're going to look beautiful!”

“Perfect! It's decided!”, She joined her hands satisfied and turned to me, “Now it's your turn!”, She held my shoulders with her above-average strength and began to push me back, towards the folded screen, “You have to change too! Go there, go!”

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Without any effort, Erina took me behind the screen and left me there. There was no reason for me to refuse to change my clothes, so I took off my dress and put on my uniform. I was wearing the same clothes as Erina, but the difference is that I had chosen long black socks. It was evident that the fabric was of good quality, because its feeling against my skin was very comfortable. Being properly dressed, I came out from behind the screen and went to the mirror, being enchanted by my own reflection. Never in my previous life have I worn a uniform as beautiful as this one and look that I had already studied in a private school at that time!

“Wow...”, I sighed involuntarily.

“I know, girl! You look beautiful!”, Erina exclaimed, holding my arm and shaking me, “And with your hair braided like this, you look so cute!”

She spent a good few minutes talking about how beautiful we look and how elegant the uniform was. And I felt the same excitement as her. Being in this dormitory and wearing this uniform created me a sense of optimism that was very contagious and engaging.

There were still a few hours left before we had to worry about dinner, so after fantasizing for a few more minutes, we put on our previous clothes and decided that we would start tidying up our rooms. Before I left for my room, Erina whimpered, saying that she brought too many clothes and that she didn't know if they would all fit in the closet. She would have to decide which ones she would wear the most - which would be difficult, because she would wear the uniform almost daily - and leave the ones that would be used less in the suitcase. On the other hand, when I went to my room, I didn't have the same problem. I had considered that I would wear the uniform often and that I would probably find new clothes that I would like to buy, so I took the minimum of casual and formal clothes - whether for the heat or cold -, shoes, boots, slippers and pajamas. Because of my selection, all the clothes fit in the closet, next to the hat that John had bought for me today.

After I finished with the clothes, I went to take care of the books. I opened the bags and started picking them up, one by one, and organizing them on the shelves. Textbooks, mystery, romance, adventure and horror novels and, of course, grimoires. Finally, I got my favourite book: the Grimoire for Support Magic. It is a thick book with a leather cover with golden details on its edges. Its pages are made of a very resistant parchment, made to last countless decades, and in them contained spells of healing, protection, buffs and even debuffs, from the simplest to the most elaborate. It's basically the sweetheart of any fan of support mages. This precious grimoire had been a gift from Elbern to me, which made it more special.

I started flipping through the grimoire, remembering the knowledge I learned and thinking about the ones I will learn. When I opened a random page, I almost dropped the grimoire of fright. A rectangle of paper had fallen from him. I lowered myself to get the rectangle and realized that it was actually an envelope and on it was written ‘To: Amaris, From: Elbern’

I was curious. What would a letter from Elbern be doing there? When did he send me this letter? Since it was for me, there was no problem opening it, so I went to the desk, took the letter out of the envelope and started reading:

"My dear Amaris,

I hope this letter finds you in good health - and as the newest student of Avalon Academy.

I am writing to congratulate you on your acceptance. Although when this letter reaches your hands I will have already given you my congratulations personally, but there are feelings that are best expressed in written form.

We've known each other for a long time, haven't we? I remember the day I went to your house to ask to be your parents' apprentice. You were just a little child with a whole life ahead of you. You were inconsequential and acted in favour of your own satisfaction, but it was possible to see that you had the potential to grow.

When the day of my departure had come, you grabbed my leg and asked me to teach you magic. At first, I was afraid, because I had never been a tutor before and I knew there were more qualified people, but then you told me "Please stay! I want to become a powerful mage and it is you who will help me! Please!" At that moment, I felt that I should comply to your will and said yes. And I don't regret that decision. You may have been one of my first students, but you are a student to be proud of.

We've known each other for 11 years. For an elf, this is like a drop in the sea, however, seeing you grow and develop in the blink of an eye made me feel the time from the same perspective as humans.

All right, I think that's enough talk about the past. Just by writing, I'm feeling like an old man. That's too early for me.

I will be honest with you: when I received the news of your approval, I was not surprised. I'm sorry I can't give you the wide and bright eyes of surprise, but, considering your progress and determination, it was more than evident that you would be recognized and enter the Academy. So keep your head raised!

Good luck in Avalon! Do your best. Show everyone what you can do! But don't overload yourself, you need to take care of yourself. But I know you will be alright, so my conscience is at peace.

Oh, and don't go call other boys "Pretty" just like you used to call me, okay? These boys in love may end up becoming problematic for you. You are no longer a child, your words now carry more weight and not everyone is as understandable as I was.

I wish you the best!

From your tutor,

Elbern"

I confess that, when I read this letter, my cheeks were flushed. All these feelings transmitted in the text, so sweet and kind, made me feel a warmth in my chest. That is, until I read what was written after the signature.

"P.S.: I hope you opened this grimoire at class time. I would love to see your face explaining why you have a man's letter hidden in your grimoire! Hahahahahahaha"

Damn you!!! So all this was a setup! I can't believe I got emotional for nothing... But even so, it's still funny. He tried so hard in a letter with the aim of making me feel embarrassed in the middle of the classroom... Hahahahaha, in your dreams, Elbern! It will take you another 100 years to reach my level! However, I will give you credit for your creativity, you just have to improve the timing.

From the words written by Elbern I can see that I am marked in his memories, whether he likes it or not, and that itself already makes me satisfied. As much as I show interest in him, the truth is that I never had the expectation that I would be able to get somewhere with him. And it's not for lack of self-confidence or something like that, but because he is an elf, a long-live specie. Surely he sees me as a child, just like John sees Erina.

I know that I am a homunculus and that I can live as long as an elf if I take care of myself, but Elbern thinks I am human. There is no guarantee that he would not see me as nothing more than a mere servant if he knew that I am a homunculus.

Therefore, if I want a partner while maintaining my facade, I will have to focus on humans or species with the same life expectancy as a human, which is boring and limiting, but that’s life, right?

“Heeeeeyyy! Amaris? Are you alive there?”

I got scared with Erina knocking on my door and screaming. I stored the letter in a desk drawer and went to meet my friend.

“Yes, I'm alive. What's up? Did you manage to tidy things up? Do you need help?”

“I put what I could in the closet and what didn't fit was put in the suitcase. What a pain...”, She sighed, “But that's not why I came here. It's already time for dinner and we have to find a place to eat”, She took her money bag and shook it a little, “I already have the money, so let's go for a walk in the city.”

I agreed with Erina and left my room, closing the door behind me. Together, we went down the stairs, with Erina in front of me swinging the money bag in front of her face and suggesting that we should find some fancy restaurant to celebrate our first day in Norwill. She even gave the idea of inviting John, but I had to deny her promptly, because it would end up spoiling my disguise.

When we went down to the ground floor, our nostrils were invaded by a very inviting aroma.

“... It looks like it's a soup”, I conclude.

“Damn!”, Erina grumbled, “they made food and didn't even think about us! What a lack of consideration”, Her face quickly filled with determination and she grabbed my arm, “Come with me! Let's take a peek.”

We follow the smell trail to a wide wooden door. I opened it a little bit and Erina and I peeped through it. We saw long wooden tables accompanied by chairs of the same material with back support. Behind the tables, there were long windows with their curtains open, letting the moonlight enter the room. We were spying on the dining room. However, we couldn’t see anyone, so we open the slit of the door more so we can look deeper.

At the end of the room, we saw a partition that separated the dining room from the kitchen. This time, we could see a young woman with a maid's uniform with her back to us. It was Lanie. She was looking at a stove, until she turned it off and, with her hands gloved, took a large pan that was smoking and put it on the central counter of the kitchen. Because she turned around, Lanie was able to see us spying and opened a smile.

“Oh, hi, girls! Come in! You arrived at a good time!”

Erina and I looked at each other and entered the room, crossed the partition and went to the kitchen part. Because I was closer, I could see that Lanie's face was flushed and sweaty because of the steam.

“As you arrived earlier than expected, we didn't have a planned meal, but I improvised a last-minute soup”, She talked while opening a closet and taking some bowls out of it, “It's not chic and stuff, but I guarantee it's delicious! Will you want some?”

The smell of meat, vegetables and soup broth made us salivate. It was obvious what our answer was. It would be stupid to refuse good food made with so much consideration. Erina and I nodded our heads in agreement. Lanie smiled in response and invited us to sit in the dining room. In a short time, she came to us carrying bowls and cutlery and positioned them in front of our seats and in the seat parallel to ours. Then she brought the pan with a quilt and put them on the table, serving us and herself the soup.

I took a spoonful of the soup, blew it a little and tried it. The heat, taste and texture of the meat, vegetables and broth quickly touched my tongue and I tasted the food until I swallowed, giving my decree:

“Yummy!”

Erina also said the same thing. Her eyes were shining and she started eating with more excitement. Lanie laughed with satisfaction.

“I'm glad you liked it!”

We continued to eat completely delighted by Lanie's abilities when improvising was needed. The soup aroused an unexpected appetite in me and I found myself repeating the soup together with Erina. Our dinner ended without any complications. Our bellies were filled with good food and our opinion about Lanie became positive. If that had been her tactic for us to like her, I would take my hat off to her.

Followed by the meal, Erina and I went to our rooms to kill some time before taking a shower to sleep. Alone, I decided to make the preparations for tomorrow: I left my uniform ready and packed my backpack with everything I considered necessary - I didn't know if the teachers would give a subject on the first day, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Feeling that there was nothing else to be prepared, I decided to take my bath kit and pajamas and go to the bathroom. Before I went, I knocked on the door of Erina's room and asked her if she wanted to take a shower too. After my question, she asked me to wait and, a minute later, she opened the door, carrying with her the same things as me, and we went to the bathroom. Inside, we each entered a shower cabin and, while we were washing, Erina commented that she wanted to have an opportunity to be able to show off her swordsmanship skills, demonstrating to the students that she was a force to be reckoned with. I shared with her that I also had the same desire. I wanted to have opportunities to show my repertoire of healing and support spells to show the student body that I was a valuable resource that must be preserved and protected.

After we took a shower, we put on our pajamas and went back to our respective rooms. Now I could just relax until bedtime. I was torn between reading my grimoire or the book I bought today at the bookstore. In the end, I chose to read my grimoire and review its contents until bedtime. I think he has some kind of comforting power in me. When finally sleep came to me, I stored the grimoire on the shelf and went to bed, with a thought hovering my mind as I was asleep:

‘Whatever it is, a crimson demon or a magic academy, I don't intend to surrender!’