“I hope we end up in the same class. Don’t you?”
“Y-Yeah, I hope so too!”
“See? We really are on the same wavelength. Armand, you think so too, right?”
I slowly opened my mouth.
“Not really.”
Ignoring the two boys’ shocked expressions, I continued.
“Whichever class I end up in, I end up in.”
I was currently sprawled across my bed in the Ivory Tower dormitory.
Which meant I had been admitted despite causing that chaos at the entrance ceremony.
With one fatal problem in tow.
[Ivory Tower Student Ring (Specially Crafted)]
A ring given to Ivory Tower students. It is enchanted with various spells for life at the Ivory Tower. Without this ring, one will not be treated as a student of the Ivory Tower. It cannot be removed at will.
Specially crafted to seal the Destruction attribute.
Once the Ivory Tower learned that I was a descendant of Draco and the bearer of Extinction, which had appeared for the first time in centuries, it decided to seal my attributes.
They said it could not be helped because they were too dangerous.
No, the truly dangerous thing was my life.
What made a mage a mage was their bloodline and attributes.
If my attributes were sealed, I could not properly use magic.
Damn it.
“Hmm, it looks like Armand has something on his mind. Let’s help cheer him up.”
“L-Let’s!”
“They say chocolate makes you feel better. Lumin, you have chocolate, right?”
“Y-Yeah, I do!”
I finally raised my head and asked, “But why are the two of you making so much noise in my room?”
These two noisy boys were my roommates.
Three people lived in each dormitory suite at the Ivory Tower.
Each student was given a private room, while shared spaces such as the living room and bathroom were communal.
There was no reason for them to gather in my cramped room.
The bright blond boy sitting on my desk smiled.
“I like your room! It smells nice too!”
This guy’s name was Karl.
He was always loud, and it seemed like he would interfere with my peaceful dormitory life in the future.
“I-I’m more comfortable here too.”
The ash-haired boy sitting across from me was Lumin.
He stuttered a little, making him seem timid, but he got along so well with Karl that he was no different in the end.
Lumin took a box of chocolate from his pocket.
“A-Armand. Do you want some chocolate?”
When I stared at the chocolate, Lumin shrank back.
“I-If you don’t want any, you don’t have to……”
“Thanks.”
Lumin’s expression brightened when I accepted the chocolate and put it in my mouth.
Yes, chocolate certainly made people feel better.
My Arcane Path had been sealed, but I could not give up like this.
I would not sit still and wait for death.
Mother always said that even if his limbs were cut off, a Draco would crawl and tear the enemy apart with his teeth.
“A-Armand. If something’s bothering you, we’ll help!”
“Lumin, can’t you tell just by looking?”
“Huh?”
“Armand is depressed because he got separated from the girlfriend he was dating!”
“A girlfriend?”
I had been quietly listening, wondering what nonsense he was spouting.
“Doesn’t Armand seem like the type to have a girlfriend?”
“W-Well, he does.”
“But then he got separated from her when he entered the Ivory Tower. There might be some trashy guy beside Armand’s girlfriend, pretending to be only her male friend while waiting for his chance. He’s buying her meals and drinks, asking whether she’s lonely without a boyfriend, asking what kind of relationship they have! How could Armand not be worried?”
Was he insane?
“Th-Then! Could that male friend be a muscular man with dyed blond hair and tanned skin?”
This one was even worse.
I cut off their fantasies.
“It’s not like that, so stop talking nonsense.”
“Oh……”
“Lumin, why do you sound disappointed?”
“N-No reason!”
Thinking about living with these two made my head hurt again.
I took the entire box of chocolate from Lumin’s hands and emptied it into my mouth.
Lumin’s eyes widened.
“Th-That chocolate was expensive……”
“I’ll pay you. How much was it?”
“One silver coin……”
“I’ll give it to you later.”
“W-When is later?”
“Let’s just call it a gift.”
“Huh?”
“We’re friends, aren’t we?”
“Uh……”
“Thanks.”
Lumin blankly looked down at the empty chocolate box.
Karl grew jealous.
“What? You’re already declaring yourselves friends? Aren’t you two getting close too fast? I feel left out!”
“Ask him for chocolate too.”
“Should I? I saw it earlier—Lumin has a bunch of food hidden under his bed. I’ll go get some right now……”
“No!”
Lumin clung to Karl, who was about to dash out.
“It-It’s mine!”
“Let’s share a little!”
“No!”
I turned away from the two as they started wrestling and let out a sigh.
I had to spend my life-or-death days at the Ivory Tower with these guys. My head was starting to hurt.
“W-Wait! That’s cheating!”
Just as Karl was about to cry surrender, a voice rang through the room.
[Attention, freshmen. Please check the class assignment chart posted at the Ivory Tower entrance and gather in your assigned classrooms. Once again, freshmen, please check the class assignment chart posted at the Ivory Tower entrance……]
Lumin released Karl’s hair.
“I-It’s the class assignments. I’m nervous.”
“You coward! You grabbed my hair!”
“W-We finally get to wear our uniforms, right?”
“You pulled out my hair!”
I drove Karl and Lumin out of my room.
“Why?”
“I need to change into my uniform.”
“We can change together!”
“I’d rather not.”
I locked the door and changed into the inky-black Ivory Tower uniform that had been issued to me.
The Ivory Tower uniform was more like a military dress uniform than a school uniform.
[Ivory Tower Uniform]
A uniform given to Ivory Tower students. It is enchanted with various spells for life at the Ivory Tower. The color of its epaulettes changes according to the student’s year, and its size adjusts to fit the wearer. As an added feature, it always remains as clean as new.
Caution: Must be returned upon graduation. If discarded or sold, it can track down its owner.
That chilling warning made it an object worthy of the Ivory Tower.
After straightening my clothes, I went into the living room to find Karl and Lumin examining each other.
“The color of the epaulettes changed!”
“Th-That’s because it’s enchanted. I heard it also changes size to fit the wearer and cleans itself even if it gets dirty.”
“Just what I’d expect from the Ivory Tower. Oh, Armand, it suits you too.”
“Let’s go before we’re late.”
“Okay!”
Together with the other two, I left the dormitory and headed for the Ivory Tower’s main building, commonly called the Main Tower.
For symbolic reasons, the academy itself was called the Ivory Tower, but the name originally referred to the enormous tower in the center of Ivory Island, where most of the instruction took place.
The freshmen were already studying the notice board.
The atmosphere was awkward. Everyone clearly saw one another as competitors.
In contrast, my roommates……
“Lumin, don’t let yourself be intimidated from the start. Put some strength in your eyes and walk confidently. If people look down on you, it’s over. You don’t want to become the errand boy for the school store, right?”
“O-Okay. Like this?”
“Yeah. Let’s take over the Ivory Tower.”
“A-Are you good at fighting?”
“Can’t you tell just by looking?”
“I’m not good at fighting……”
“I’ll teach you.”
You two should be a little more awkward around each other.
According to the class assignment chart, the first-years were divided into four classes.
Lion Class, Eagle Class, Whale Class, and Frog Class.
Karl recoiled in disgust.
“Wow, what kind of name is that for the last class? I absolutely don’t want to be in that one.”
Yet, as if to make his words meaningless, Karl was assigned to Frog Class.
“No way!”
I snickered.
In my opinion, it suited Karl perfectly……
“Wow, Armand! We’re both in Frog Class!”
Damn it.
“Armand! Let’s take over Frog Class!”
Do not say the class name so loudly.
I checked again just in case, but I really was in Frog Class.
Why was there a frog among lions, eagles, and whales?
Having found his name, Lumin grabbed Karl’s and my sleeves.
“I-I’m the only one in a different class.”
“Which one?”
“Lion Class……”
“That class name is cool. I want to be in Lion Class too!”
“L-Lions are terrifying, aren’t they? It might be full of kids like wild beasts. Wh-What if they ostracize me because I stutter?”
“Then tell us! Armand and I will make sure no one can lay a hand on you!”
“R-Really?”
“Of course!”
Karl shook Lumin’s hand up and down.
“So don’t worry!”
“Th-Thanks.”
Lumin looked at Karl and me with a touched expression.
Excuse me, I had not said a word.
He was not a child. He should handle that himself.
“Let’s get to class already. I’m excited!”
We climbed the Ivory Tower’s spiral staircase and went our separate ways.
The classroom’s layout was ordinary.
Wooden desks and chairs were lined up facing the blackboard, and sliding doors stood at the front and back of the classroom. Through the windows, I could see Ivory Island’s scenery and the outline of Ark beyond the lake.
Karl stopped me as I tried to sit in the front row.
“Armand, what are you doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“You can’t slack off there! Everyone can see you!”
“No, I’m going to listen properly in class.”
“Armand, are you a nerd despite looking like that?”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Come here!”
“Wait a moment.”
I was going to sit in front and make sure I did not miss a single thing the teachers said……
“Come on!”
This guy was incredibly strong, perhaps because he was so tall.
In the end, Karl dragged me to the window seat in the back row.
“I told you the window seats are the best. You can see all of Ivory Island. Is that the famous Storehouse Tower over there? I heard there are lots of amazing artifacts inside. How about we sneak in sometime?”
“Are you already thinking about causing trouble the moment you’ve entered?”
“It’ll be fun! Aren’t you curious about the Ivory Tower’s storehouse?”
I had heard that the Ivory Tower’s storehouse held countless artifacts and precious treasures.
It was a place every mage wanted to visit at least once.
“Let’s sneak in together sometime!”
“Do we really have to sneak in?”
“That’s what makes it fun.”
“Leave me out of it.”
“Why?”
If I got even a single demerit point, I would die at graduation.
As I talked with Karl, the previously empty front row had filled up before I knew it.
As expected, everyone’s eyes were filled with fierce determination.
That was better.
Since I was sitting in the back, I would be able to see more than everyone else.
Grades were not determined by where you sat.
Looking around, I saw that Chatterbox and the red-haired girl from the entrance ceremony were in the same class too.
Chatterbox had already lost his spirit.
“Why? Do you know them?”
“They were sitting next to me at the entrance ceremony.”
“Right, Armand, you were incredible at the entrance ceremony. You shattered the crystal ball.”
“I didn’t shatter it. It broke on its own.”
“Same difference. It’ll be passed down as a legend of the Ivory Tower entrance ceremony.”
Then a group of students came in through the back door.
There were around five of them, and they already seemed to have formed their own group.
I made eye contact with the student at the front.
At first, I thought he had a foolish smile on his face, but the longer I looked, the more I realized his eyes were simply shaped that way.
The squinty-eyed boy approached and spoke in an intentionally friendly tone.
“Nice to meet you. You’re the one who broke the crystal ball at the entrance ceremony, right?”
For some reason, I did not like him.
I asked him, “Why am I your friend?”
The expressions of the group following Squinty Eyes stiffened.
But he did not lose his smile.
“We’re in the same class, so we’re friends. Aren’t we? Let’s get along from now on. I’m Marco.”
“I’m Armand.”
“So, how did you break it?”
Marco asked in a subtle tone.
“Did you use magic?”
The Ivory Tower had announced that the shattered crystal ball was an accidental incident.
They claimed that it was old and had reached the end of its lifespan.
He must have heard that. What was his intention in asking me?
“You heard the announcement then, didn’t you?”
“I wanted to hear it directly from the person involved. There may be details we don’t know. I just can’t believe it broke on its own. It wasn’t an ordinary object.”
Marco leaned in closer with a grin.
Something felt off.
After pausing for a moment, I spoke slowly.
“The crystal ball probably broke because it could not withstand my hidden power.”
“Huh?”
Marco and his group blinked, then looked at one another.
They seemed to be judging whether I was serious or joking.
Then, suddenly, Marco burst into laughter.
“Armand, you’re an interesting guy.”
The lackeys behind him began laughing as well.
“Hey, that’s funny!”
“You got us!”
“So you were hiding your power?”
“Maybe you have a Black Flame Dragon hidden inside you!”
It did not seem like I had said anything particularly funny, yet they slapped one another’s shoulders and roared with laughter.
At first, I thought they were forcing it, but one or two were genuinely clutching their stomachs and snickering.
What was wrong with them?
Soon, Marco stopped laughing. Amber eyes gleamed between his narrow eyelids.
“Armand, then perhaps you……”
Just as he was about to continue, Karl cut in.
“Funny, right? Armand is incredibly funny! I’m Karl. Let’s get along, Marco!”
When the tall Karl stood, Marco’s group had to tilt their heads up to look at him.
Karl shook Marco’s hand.
“Nice to meet you!”
“Yeah, Karl. Nice to meet you.”
“What are the names of the friends behind Marco? Are they Marco’s friends? Come on, let’s all be friends from now on!”
Marco’s group, which had been trying to create an intimidating atmosphere, was swept along by Karl and forced to shake hands with him.
One of them even chuckled and exchanged pleasantries with Karl.
“Oh, you’re from that region? I know it well. Isn’t it famous for apples?”
“How did you know? My parents run an apple farm too.”
“I traveled all over the place from childhood, so I know it well. If your parents send apples, share some with me. I really love the apples from there!”
“Of course. Hey, the apples from my family’s farm are really delicious.”
Marco watched them with a strange smile.
I noticed something all of Marco’s group had in common.
They were all commoners.
Marco showed it less than the rest, but with the others, it was obvious.
I thought I understood why Marco had approached me, so I spoke first to prevent any misunderstanding.
“Marco, my surname is Draco.”
“Draco? From the North?”
“Yeah.”
“Draco. I see.”
Marco tilted his chin.
“Draco coming to the Ivory Tower. Interesting. What reason could Draco have for coming to the Empire……?”
This guy was already showing signs of trying to tie me up in politics.
As expected, he was someone I did not want to get involved with.
“It’s not for any interesting reason. I came because it was hard to make a living. I want to live comfortably in the Empire.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It’s the Age of Glory, after all.”
“It is the Age of Glory.”
Marco smiled. His amber eyes disappeared between his eyelids again.
“Armand, welcome to the Empire. Interesting friends like you are always welcome. If you need help, come find me.”
Leaving those words behind, Marco went with his group to the corner on the corridor side opposite Karl and me.
Karl whispered to me.
“Armand, that Marco guy. We should be careful around him.”
Surprisingly, I agreed with him.
Did Karl have some awareness after all?
“He already has so many friends. He might steal my position as the most popular person in our class. Damn, I need to try harder.”
I took back what I had just thought.
“You were aiming for something like that?”
“Of course. The more friends you have, the better, right? Maybe Marco has that smile that puts people at ease. I should practice too. Look, what do you think of my smile?”
“It’s overwhelming.”
“Great!”
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
“It was, wasn’t it?”
Karl patted the back of a student with glasses sitting in front of us.
“Hey, what’s your name? What do you think of my smile? I’m Karl, and this is Armand. Armand’s expression is dark because he left his girlfriend behind outside……”
“Shut up.”
“See? He’s in a sensitive period right now.”
I reached out to cover Karl’s mouth, but the front door of the classroom suddenly opened.
A tall, gaunt man stood there, leaning on a staff.
The students fell silent one by one.
As the man walked in, the sound of his staff and footsteps rang out in a steady rhythm.
He stood at the lectern and looked over the students without a word.
Students who met his eyes trembled.
“Is that our homeroom teacher? He’s terrifying……”
Karl whispered to me, and the man immediately looked our way.
Excuse me, I did not say anything.
Only after it was quiet enough to hear breathing did he open his mouth.
“My name is Aurelius. I am the homeroom teacher of Frog Class. The subject I oversee is Understanding Ancient Magic. It is an upperclassman course, so I will not be teaching you. If you have problems with life at the Ivory Tower, concerns about your studies, or anything else you wish to ask, you may come to me at any time. I will be in the faculty office or the teachers’ research office.”
After writing his name on the blackboard, he struck the floor with his staff.
“Answer.”
“Y-Yes!”
The entire class answered loudly.
“Good. Continue answering that loudly from now on. Understood?”
“Yes!”
“Now we will choose a class president.”
The whole class stirred at Aurelius’s sudden declaration.
One of Marco’s group cautiously raised his hand.
“W-What benefits does the class president receive?”
His voice was trembling. Marco must have ordered him to ask.
Instead of answering, Aurelius stared at the student who had asked the question.
Not knowing what to do, the student repeatedly tried to lower his hand before raising it again.
At last, Aurelius spoke.
“You will receive my favor.”
The atmosphere turned icy.
Excuse me, but with that, I doubt anyone will want to become class president.
What should I do?
Since my life was at stake at the Ivory Tower, I had to judge strategically.
There were no bonus points for becoming class president, but being close to a teacher would bring many advantages.
Still, I did not want to handle everyone else’s chores.
“Candidates.”
Aurelius’s flat voice echoed through the classroom.
“If there are no candidates, recommendations are also acceptable.”
No one stepped forward.
Then, Karl’s hand moved.
I immediately grabbed his wrist.
That bastard was definitely about to recommend me.
“Don’t.”
“Wow, how did you know?”
“Just don’t.”
“You seem like you’d be good at it……”
We ended up catching Aurelius’s attention.
“You there, are you playing around?”
“No.”
“If you are not playing around, what were you doing?”
Aurelius’s expression was not good.
I did not want to make a bad impression at the start of the semester, so I immediately made up an excuse.
“I apologize. There was a student I wished to recommend, so we were briefly exchanging opinions.”
“A student you wish to recommend?”
“Yes.”
Ignoring Karl’s strangely expectant gaze, I said, “I recommend that student.”
The class’s eyes turned toward me, then focused on the person I pointed to.
The person in question’s eyes widened.
It was Chatterbox.