"Is anything the matter?"
Derek was perplexed by the question he was asked.
’You’re the one who suddenly appeared beside me...’ Derek wanted to speak, but he didn’t know how to convey his current thoughts without seeming rude.
The girl beside him cocked her head to the side, seemingly clueless about his discomfort.
"Nothing... never mind."
Derek shook his head and decided to increase his pace.
He didn’t know why, but this strange lady seemed like trouble. It would be better not to get too involved with her.
However, much to his dismay...
... He couldn’t shake her off, no matter how fast he walked.
’She’s matching my movements perfectly!’ A bead of sweat fell down his face. ’Is she following me or something? But why?’
Derek paused once again, and the young lady stopped walking.
He took one serious look at her this time, not knowing what to say about her strange behavior.
’Does she want something from me?’
"Is there a problem?" the girl asked him again, which caused him to almost jump in frustration.
’I should be asking you that question!’
Rather than get so worked up, Derek chose to regulate his emotions and quietly analyze the situation.
The girl in front of him was extremely beautiful. The dark gothic gown she wore swept the ground, and although Derek hadn’t noticed it before, he now realized she was walking barefoot.
This sight further confused him.
Although she wasn’t wearing any accessories, the gown alone appeared luxurious.
Clearly, this was a noble lady.
’But which family is she from? Who is she affiliated with? And why is she clinging to me like this?’
Derek sighed in defeat.
No matter how hard he tried to use his reasoning, he couldn’t arrive at a conclusion.
’Any ideas, Max?’
[None at all. This has nothing to do with my expertise.]
’I figured...’ Derek sighed once again.
Having no other option, he finally let his discomfort be known.
"Um, is there a reason you’re following me around?"
The girl seemed confused by the question.
"I need to get into the examinee lodge. You’re heading there yourself, right? I figured you’d lead me there."
"But there are signs around that point in the right direction..." Derek argued with the girl who was obviously an examinee like him.
Just like he did, by using the signs, she could easily find her way around the foreign environment.
Why did she have to follow him?
’Is this another scheme?’ Derek felt his apprehension rise. ’She’s an examinee, so maybe she has ulterior motives for approaching me.’
"I can’t read." The girl suddenly answered, as though reading his mind.
"E-eh?"
The reasoning was almost as ridiculous as an Inept trying to enter the Magus Academy.
"I’m partially blind, so I can’t see stuff like lines, letters, and symbols without aid. It’s also difficult to see small objects. That’s why I don’t wear shoes, so I can avoid tripping."
"Ohh..." After hearing her explain herself, Derek felt a surge of guilt.
He had completely misunderstood her.
’She likely couldn’t sense my discomfort because she couldn’t read the subtle changes in my expression.’ He told himself while sighing.
Even though he still found the girl’s action of suddenly walking up to him to be strange, especially since he couldn’t even detect her until it was too late, he found his worries easing considerably.
"Sorry. I didn’t know..." Derek laughed sheepishly before resuming his walk.
The girl nodded and followed right next to him, not saying anything more.
He would have left things as they were, but things got too awkward after some time. His guilt was also eating him whole, forcing him to open his mouth after some time.
"I’m Derek, by the way."
"Oh... okay. Nice to meet you, Derek."
"...."
They continued walking.
After some time, Derek found the courage to ask her:
"What’s your name?"
"Ivy," she replied plainly. "Ivy Logue."
’Logue?!’
Derek was a little stunned upon hearing that name.
This was the Magus Household that used to be on the same level as the Lewis Family until its members were wiped out after defending the Theocracy from invading forces of the Hollow Territory.
After that incident, the Logue Family was stripped of their title as a Great Magus Household, and the Arthur Family took its place.
The Logue Family was remembered for its sacrifice and its loyalty to the Theocracy, but not for much else.
Derek felt another heavy feeling permeate his heart.
Ivy Logue was one of the surviving members of her family, and she had likely come to the Lucia Magus Academy to revive her family.
Unfortunately, just like with Klein, with her physical impediment, she would face a lot of challenges in her journey to become a proper Magus.
Sight Impediment, unlike Speech, affected a Mage’s ability to study and apply Runes effectively.
It would surely limit Ivy’s prospects as a Runegrafter, forcing her to solely specialize in Spellcasting.
Thankfully, Spellcasting was a lot more popular among Magi compared to Runegrafting, which meant her situation was still better than Klein’s.
Derek didn’t say anything more until the two of them reached the Examinee Lodge.
Once they showed their Entrance Slips to the guards, they were separated and shown to their respective rooms.
Derek entered his and found it to be neat and cozy.
It had a single bedroom, with a designated bathroom and toilet. The sole wardrobe in the room held a fresh change of clothes that were just his size.
A study table and chair was also placed at an inconspicuous corner in the room.
It was much smaller than what he was used to, but this was only a temporary residence for the week he would be participating in the exams. Since it had everything he would need during this period, Derek had no complaints whatsoever.
[Tonight has been quite eventful, Host, but you should conserve your strength and prepare for tomorrow.]
"You’re right. But..." Raising a hand to the ceiling, Derek made a grasping motion at the brilliant overhead light and heartily laughed.
"My heart... it won’t stop racing."
.....
Within a vast and intricately designed auditorium, several essential members of the Lucia Magus Academy sat at a white table.
The right and left sides contained different instructors and administrative staff.
The latter end was empty, while the seat of honor had someone seated.
It was the Academy Head.
He looked like a boy no older than twelve, with golden hair and similarly colored eyes. His irises seemed like grains of sand packed together, and his pupils were shaped like an hourglass.
Right as he was about to speak, the door to the hall opened up and someone walked in with a lowered head.
"I apologize for being late. A certain... complication delayed me."
The man who had just stepped in was Harvey, and he gave everyone a warm, apologetic smile while adjusting his glasses.
"Since this is unlike you, and you’ve not made being tardy a habit, I think we can let it slide this once." The kid at the head of the table chuckled and motioned for him to have his seat.
As he did so, taking an empty place beside the grinning Noren, a woman spoke from the other side of the table.
"The same can’t be said for a certain someone..." Her eyes rested on Noren, who glanced at her at this point and shamelessly shrugged.
"Who might you be referring to, I wonder?"
"You wonder indeed," she scoffed. "It’s surprising enough that you came early this time, but to think Harvey was actually late. Your bad habit must be rubbing off on him."
"You could apply the same logic to my sudden change as well. Maybe Harvey has also been influencing me." Noren’s smile broadened as soon as he said this.
"As if anyone can get through to a blockhead like you. Not even Harvey can do that. He’d have better luck switching to the Spellcasting department."
"I’m sitting right here..." Harvey weakly laughed as he shook his head.
The other staff groaned at the sight.
It was not strange for them.
Everyone knew how much Annie Borris despised Noren.
The two instructors didn’t get along, even though they were colleagues who often worked together.
"Alright, that’s enough bickering..." The child in the seat of honor finally interrupted with a clap, sending the entire hall into a lull.
Everyone turned their gaze to him, including the playful Noren.
"The exams begin tomorrow. Just as with all the others before, we will be using Spell #63 on all one hundred and five participants."
The group of instructors and administrative staff nodded, many of them turning serious.
Spell #63: Lethe fell under the Imperial Grade classification, making it far more dangerous than most other Spells. It would be considered incredibly dangerous and unacceptable to use on mere examinees, but this was in line with Academy policy.
A distinction between [Lethe] and most other Spells in its grade was that the Spell specifically targeted the mind.
"Using it, we’ll erase all memories of the different tests in the Entrance Exams. That way, repeat examinees or those who have been told the details by their respective families will not have an advantage over the others."
Once again, the Academy staff nodded.
"Tomorrow, we’ll start with the Written Test. Only eleven will pass by the end of the week." The Academy Head smiled, his golden hourglass eyes shining with a degree of expectation.
"I wonder who they will be."