The next morning… At the tavern below the inn we chose to stay in……
"So... who's the guy from yesterday, Charl?" Anise questioned me for the nth time.
"Ugh! Th-that again...!?" I nearly choked.
"To be frank, I have never seen Charlotte reacting impulsive like that. Yes, I would like to know more." Alia nodded down.
Even Alia too!?
“Just why are you two asking anyway!?" I shouted.
" "Because we're curious obviously." "
Why are you two so in sync at this kind of timing?! Leon, help!!
"No way. I've no reason to help."
Eh!? Why do you look so discontent like that!? Are you angry? Are you mad because I left you in the dust yesterday...? Or could it be... Hn? Why is Lily hiding behind me...?
"Are you okay, Lily?" I asked to distract everyone's attention from me.
"...um... uh... that..." The girl with silver hair and ruby red eyes looked away. She was frowning... or rather, disturbed.
Why? I knelt down and offered an ear to listen.
"Wh-why is everyone... staring at us...?" Lily inquired.
"Well, about that..." I dryly smiled and glanced at the people on the street.
Wow, they were staring at us very hard. Due to us in the Intermediate Layer where only nobles and knights are allowed to live in, a bunch of commoners must be a rare sight if not displeasing sight.
In fact, we who passed the Entrance Exam with flying colors were probably seen as nuisance to the nobles. Take Anise for example. She's an Adventurer, and she's a girl no less than 13 years old. She defeated her Examiner in Knight Course test by using her fists and kicks. This caused her to receive good remarks by martial artists yet despised by noble ladies, mainly because she, as a lady, ought to have the graceful gait at the eyes of nobility.
Meanwhile, Alia was a commoner yet she was also a Mage approved by magic guild. That was shocking news. After all, those who are regarded as nobles are people with fame and gifted lineage. Even more, Alia was capable of unleashing rainstorm which, according to her, is a very advanced spell. Most examiners who were typical nobles seemed to look down on her because of their extremely high pride and superiority complex.
Then—there's this little girl looking no different than a 5 years old kid when she's already 8 years old. Lily chose General Study Course aiming for general education, trades, political discussions and historical facts of Magnis. The General Study seemed to focus on society learning and scholastic literature, a new course practically open for a year.
What’s more, Lily aced it by defeating her Examiner in a game of words chain. I was saddened by my idiocy for not taking that course but oh well. It's highly possible Lily was taught by Franz when it came to literature and wisdom. Who knew better about literature other than Traveling Minstrels, people that were known as history weavers at some point in time?
The second last would be Leon. He practically blew the Examiner the same way as I did but he simply used a flick! Dekopin rocket!! No one even dared to voice suspicion of him cheating when he sent the angry mobs away in the same manner.
Lastly, me. I caused chaos because I knocked Fei away. The Hero Raumia prided over... was blown away by a girl younger than him. Is there anything more unreasonable than this? More like, the how and why could he fly like that is also a mystery to me.
Did I awaken my true power before I realized it...? And I was still under the weather ever since yesterday...... Uuu... I must order my medicine at long last huh...?
Of course I received more hatred than I wanted, but most of the men when looking at me fluttered in the air at the first glance. Just why are you smitten by a raw display of power…?
"Well. Let's just stay ignorant of the matter. They won't hurt you anyway, Lily."
"R-really...?"
"The anxious Lily is so cute...! Let me hug you!!"
"Anise, you'll just suffocate her so no cuddling."
"Aww... stingy Alia...!"
...well. I guess I seemed to have avoided the worst possible outcome. Phew.
" "So? Who's the guy from yesterday?" "
"Starting over again!?"
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"Hm... so this is Leimburg Academy......"
Anise's comment was filled with awe. Well, it was obvious because what stood in front of the five of us... is more or less a gigantic building with massively wide space. There was a gate with iron fences stretching to the left and right as far as our eyes could reach. The gate itself possessed two stone statues of a dragon and a bird resembling a phoenix.
Beyond the gate was a long, long path capable to let several carriages lining together. Flower gardens existed besides the path built by red bricks. And further beyond it was a castle... no, was it England parliament hall? Simply amazing how it was designed very intricately and grandiosely with marble sculpted pillars, shiny decorations and white walls similar to those which were used for the castle.
Heck, I believed that this would cost a large amount of gold coins to maintain. And the tuition fees... well, nobles have money so it should be easy enough. Anyway, when we tried to step into the Academy premise—
"Show us your purpose for coming to this place."
...Eh? Who said that? I looked around and Leon pointed at the statues......
"What is your desire for coming to this sacred place for learning?"
The phoenix statue flashed azure light from the place the eyes were located at. It's voice was that of a woman with pure clarity.
"Show us malice and you will be exterminated."
The dragon statue flashed jade green light from its eyes. The voice was that of a man with so many pressure in its tone.
"The statues talked!?" I shouted in surprise.
"Oh. Those are gargoyles right...? Or perhaps, familiars." Uwah. Miss Aqua Mage here looks very interested in them. She even had glittering lights in her eyes. "But rather than familiars... are you two spirits? The flow of mana circulating around the two of you looks to be the same so your contractor must have quite large amount of mana to bind the two of you in powerful physical vessels such as these."
There was a chuckle coming from the phoenix. "Excellent insight, child. You seem to have a bright future as a Mage. Are you a new student?"
"Yes. Is this letter the object needed for us to enter the Academy?" Alia presented the letter of recommendation in front of the statue and there was another glint flashing in the Familiar’s eyes.
"Certainly. Please present the letter in front of me should you desire to become a Mage Course Student. If you wish to learn the knighthood then please present it in front of Mister Dragon over there." The phoenix said.
...Mister Dragon... I somehow gazed skeptically at phoenix's direction and I found the dragon statue grumbled. Did he just pout? Well anyway, I walked over to him and offered the letter of recommendation.
"Ah—one who carved ways with a struggle. You seem to hold potential in the way of battle."
"Haa...? I see...?"
The dragon grunted, then the statue which stood on top of the pillar next to the gate moved as if alive! He even flapped his wings and opened his jaw.
"In the name of my Master—I shall bestow the privilege and duty of the Knight upon thee."
Light was exuded both around the dragon and the letter in my hand. It abruptly turned into crimson flakes which flew to the air before going to my right hand.
I felt prickling pain. The crimson flakes carved themselves on my skin and formed the drawing of insignia on my palm. Uh...? This insignia... it had a dragon circling a tree with a lake under its roots. The dragon was biting a hilt of a sword and the drawing of the blade went over the tree and covered the rest of the dragon's body.
"This insignia displays your validity as a student from this Academy. And you... have a good mental fortitude. Young maiden, you are one honest child." The Dragon Familiar said.
Oh. It vanished. It seemed that if I poured mana on the place the insignia was then it would appear again.
"Well… thank you but I don't think I am honest all the time." I muttered as I flicked my hand to ease the lingering pain. Ugh, now the suffering doubled…
"It is the same. You are capable of voicing what your heart feels. There is no doubt you will grow stronger as long as you continue to listen to your heart." The dragon replied as if implying something deep but I hardly understood it all. Let's just say I can stay the way I am... right?
I thanked the dragon again and he proceeded to do the same thing with Leon and Anise. Alia seemed to be done with the ceremony.... or rather, how and why could a letter turn into insignia?
"You, child, appears to be confused. However, there is no need for you to be concerned. After all, the letters you have brought to us are authentic with the headmaster's magical ink imprinted onto it. The ink by nature, contains a spell embedded into its property and once it was carved on an object the spell would also affect it."
"And—these familiars authorized the activation of the spell which then converted the letter to carve their selves in the form of insignia. Though the sequence of the spell seemed to have differences depending on the Course you are assigned to."
"That is the gist of it." The phoenix giggled along with Alia.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Uwah… Ignoring the synchronous responses I received, I’m totally stunned. I heard that alchemy could turn lead into pure gold but I doubted it could be so easy, and in Magnis, magic was a rare talent capable to restore chopped off limbs if not death.
"Wait... what if someone faked the letter?" I raised a question.
"We are spirits. Our eyes cannot be fooled so should impostor showed up then we will simply demolish them." The Familiar imaged from an Immortal Bird said.
"Aah... no wonder we were told to treasure the letter before going to the Academy."
Once again, I realized I might have walked on a thin ice for not guarding the letter properly. I simply forgot because I was at the worst condition due to my period last night. And it's also because of Baka Fei whispering nothings in my dream. I’m so going to hit him for sure the next time we meet each other.
"But wait a second! What about Lily?!"
"Of course... she will receive the same insignia by us."
The little girl stood between the dragon and phoenix statue. She was fidgeting all over but Dragon simply told her to calm down and proceeded by glowing. Yes, the two statues are glowing and the the light enveloped Lily's body.
"Uh—!"
"Endure, child. This will be over before you noticed it."
As the light died down, Lily dropped to her knees and huffed. I rushed to her but I noticed... there's a mark of chains... or rather, feathers and scales which looked like chains around Lily's wrists.
The Dragon sneered. "Unlike the Knight or Mage Course students, you are unfit for battles. However... wisdom ceaselessly grows and developing as time goes by. Do not forget that without knowledge, power is but an act of violence. And wisdom itself… is a powerful weapon at the correct hands."
"Y-yes......! I will work hard!!"
Both the phoenix and the dragon nodded. In accordance to their action, the gate was opened as if welcoming us.
"Then, you shall pass this gate. Raise your head, proud students of our Master. For you are now a part of the Academy the Archmage has founded for seven hundred years."
Wow, that's some incredible speech... oh well. With high spirits, the five of us entered the school premise with me following the group. However, I suddenly sensed the dragon's gaze at me.
"Is there something wrong?" I asked.
"...no. It's nothing. Go on, young maiden. An hour from now, you will have to present yourself in the auditorium hall which is located at the northeast from the main building you are heading to. There is an opening ceremony for all the freshmen who have passed this spring's exams."
"Ah, I see. Thank you very much, Mister Dragon."
"...my name is Inferno."
"Understood, Mister Inferno!"
"........."
Oops. Looks like the dragon doesn't seem to like the notion of 'Mister' before his name... better get going!
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An hour. Even though there didn't seem so much time left for sightseeing, but we were in daze once we reached the main school building.
"Huge! The pillars are huge!"
"Even the carpets are very soft and comfortable!!"
"Wow... the ceiling is very hiiiiiiigh."
"Oh, there's a stand displaying armors of knights! Awesome!! The sword looks good!!"
…like country bumpkins, we were struck in awe, and I accidentally got reeled up as well! This is bad…! I have to take control otherwise the other students will find us as nuisance!!
"Attention—everyone!!" I exclaimed.
Good! Now Anise, Alia and Lily are in line! And Leon, come here for a damn sec!! You too must join in the line! Once done, I stood in front of them.
"Listen up, everyone. We're here as students. There's no need to be overexcited and you can feast your eyes slowly until we graduate from here. But before that… Let's head to the auditorium while sightseeing!!"
" " " "Yeah...!!" " " "
"Now off we go—hm...?"
Right before we moved out from the hallway to the schoolyard situating at the center of the building, my eyes were glued by an odd sight.
There were large amount of people gathering around... and from the looks of it, there were students with brown and black uniforms and students with black and blue uniforms. Heck, they were also armed with varying weapons from a sword to a magic stave.
Huh—why are they all girls? They looked veeeerrryy excited...... Don't tell me...
"It's the student council members!"
"Oh my, isn't that gentleman a Royal knight? How graceful could he be to have such charisma..."
"Kyaah...! He looked this way!"
"No, he must be looking at me!!"
"Would you like to partake tea with me?"
........Aaah… so this again huh...? Despite everyone other than me was left confused, I could only heave a deep sigh at the wondrous sight. Then I said.
"Let's ignore them and head straight to the auditorium." I pushed my group away from the loud crowds.
"Huh? Why?" Anise raised an eyebrow.
"No questions allowed. Anyway, let's go!" I ordered.
"Somehow, I don't really like where this will go." Leon predicted.
As we crossed through the schoolyard with appropriate distance between us and the crowds, a few glances were given at us but they didn't seem to mind our presence. Good...
[/i]"Wait a moment! Hey!!"[/i]
Urgh…!? Parting away from the crowd, someone (un)familiar to me was approaching us with a little run. And its plain obvious that the person is...
"Charlotte, I've been searching for you!"
It's the damn Baka Fei!! He already recovered as if nothing happened!
Just how dense could you be!? Can’t you see the angry fangirls of yours!? I honestly wanted to punch him again but I knew that Fei was a sturdy bastard. I wouldn't be surprised if he said he died and resurrected as an immortal. Heck, a person like him is very possible to become one if time and efforts were given to him.
"Hey? Charlotte....?" Fei called out again but I was already pondering what I ought to do.
Hm... I have to think up something! I must make sure I don't get any misunderstanding and I don't want to create enemies in my first day at school...!! Even so, dizziness once again struck me and I felt my body temperature rising in a ridiculous rate.
“Ugh…!” I nearly lost my grip over my legs.
Uuuugghhhh...... Why do I have relapse only at this kind of timing... this is bad. If I don't properly say anything then I would drag things out before I collapsed. I don't want to commit any misunderstanding but I don't want to make Fei worried... Gah! Forget it! Here goes nothing...!
"Excuse me... but have we met somewhere before?" I smiled as passively as I could, and bowed as gracefully as I could. "My condolence, but I do not believe we have met before. Are you not mistaking me with someone else, dear sir?"
Fei was perplexed.
Oh my Vainticel! He was dumbfounded! What an amazing reaction!! He flinched and got his turn skipped! Th-then, here's the next hurdle!
"Though I do not know you but I believe I and my companions are in a hurry, otherwise we will be late with the entrance ceremony. Will you kindly allow us to go?"
"Uh... Ah... W-wait...!"
"Then, please excuse us. Let us be off, everyone."
I hurried away from the spot without removing the graceful manner mother once taught me. Anise, Alia, and Lily followed in suite while Leon was slightly behind us.
But once we're not in his sight—
“Haa… Haa… Uh… Looks like it went well…” I muttered as I grasped my chest. Even breathing felt hard…
“Uh…? You okay, Charl?” Anise asked.
I nodded with a forced smile. “Y-yeah… It’s just…”
“Relapse, huh?”
Ugh. Leon… Why do you have to mention that loudly…? Ah, hey! Why are you grabbing my arm?!
“Let’s rest before we go to the auditorium.” My brother suggested.
“Hmhmm…? Is this related to Charl’s condition?” Anise asked, nonetheless, still following along with Alia and Lily. The last two were confused though.
Leon exhaled, then answered. “Big sis here has a… natural disposition. Some sort of sickness.”
“Whua?! Seriously, Charl?!” Hey, don’t shout! It’s ringing in my head now!!
“Do you need water, Charlotte? Perhaps a wet cloth?” Alia, that’s… actually quite brilliant but we don’t have enough time…
“Sis, you better accept help. You won’t live long otherwise.”
Gh…! I don’t need to hear that from you of all people…! Fine! I don’t like bothering you all so this once, I shall yield!!
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"…Inferno, is there something bothering you?"
"…I'm fine. You do not need to worry, Shelka."
"It must've been a shock for you right? Who knew that there is someone like her in the present age."
"...Shelka, you noticed it?"
"I simply felt it. The child seems to be nothing uncommon, although her character… or should I say, her Soul is… unique. What's wrong?"
"...no. It's better if you don't know then."
"........?"
(...that maiden... If my memory serves right, then she is the one from five years ago... Looks like the future will be filled with unpredictable troubles.)