“Good morning, Cyril.”
When he opened his eyes, the first thing that greeted him was the smiling face of Rhamn as she waved at him.
He woke up in the morning, though later than he would usually.
There was only a little time before the lessons started.
She was still here.
Cyril half-expected everything that happened yesterday to be a dream.
“Your life is a dream come true.” Rhamn nodded with conviction.
If you say so.
Cyril quickly raised his body from the bed and headed towards the bathroom.
Say, do you sleep?
“I think so.” Rhamn tilted her head, unsure of her own answer.
…Alright, then another thing.
I understand you are always here.
However, try to leave me at least some levels of privacy.
“Of course!
Don’t worry about it.”
Cyril carefully felt his body as he moved.
Nothing appeared off, nor did he feel anything peculiar.
It appeared just like a regular morning for him.
Which was a welcoming feeling.
After quickly washing up, Cyril wore a spare uniform and stood in front of the mirror.
Reflected in it was a young man with blond hair and a cold look in his blue eyes.
The grey uniform didn’t add anything to soften the sharp image.
“You look great.
The most handsome man in the academy, no doubt.” Rhamn observed him up and down and gave a thumbs-up.
Cyril sighed, feeling tired already.
Then, he sent her a warning look.
Haunted by you or not, today is the first day of lessons, and I won’t let anything ruin it.
“How would I ruin it?” She tilted her head in confusion.
“If anything, I’ll make it a much more interesting experience!”
We’ll see.
…
After navigating the many hallways of the castle, he finally found the correct auditorium marked ‘Spellmaking.’ This was their first lesson of the day.
He casually entered, ignored the few brief glances he was getting, and picked a seat in front.
With nothing else to do, he opened the Spellmaking textbook he received ahead of time and browsed through the first sections.
“Seems simple enough.” Rhamn said, materializing on the table in front of him.
She peered down at the same book, her red eyes moving as if reading the text.
“I can’t wait for you to cast your first spell.”
They sat like this, reading.
Though Rhamn’s red eyes would frequently wander off from the book, instead staring at his face.
He tried his best to ignore her for a time, but eventually he couldn’t endure it anymore.
I told you to not interfere.
“But I am just sitting here?” She innocently shrugged.
True to her words, she did nothing but silently stare, yet it still caused him slight mental anguish.
“It’s not my fault you get embarrassed from having a beautiful woman near.”
“…”
His frown deepened as he almost let out an instinctive rebuttal, holding himself back at the last second.
Still, his somewhat hostile reaction earned him a few puzzled looks from the students near, which he also tried his best to ignore.
Rhamn openly chuckled at his reaction.
I am not embarrassed.
It is simply distracting.
“Sure~”
He let out a sigh of frustration, about to continue his defense, when a slight clamor from the other students attracted his attention.
A good-looking young man with black hair and black eyes entered the auditorium, and many people near Cyril excitedly pointed at him, whispering among themselves.
“Look, it’s him!
Remember I told you about the manarail incident from yesterday?
He stopped the Lapis members there.”
“I’ve heard his name is Cedric, no surname.”
“He is a commoner…?
”
Wait, what?
This gossip appeared incredibly familiar to him, as did the black-haired young man himself.
It was the same naive do-gooder he met yesterday.
Cyril never expected them to be classmates.
The young man from his memory was an inept idealist who couldn’t even take care of two worthless thugs.
However, the people around him seemed to have a different idea.
The students sent him curious glances, some awed, some contemptuous, but none seemed to doubt the authenticity of the rumor.
It looks like his slight achievement was taken by another.
…Doesn’t matter.
True ability doesn’t require to-
“But it’s frustrating!” Rhamn hit the table she was sitting on.
Her fangs showing, she glared at the friendly-looking young man with black hair.
“Why the hell do they think he stopped them?!
It was you!!!
They should be looking like that at you!”
Cyril ignored her furious visage, simply shaking his head.
Then, on a whim, he scanned the familiar young man once again.
So his name is Cedric.
Cedric wore a silly smile at all times, like someone who wanted to be everyone’s friend.
It was a look that elicited good will from all who gazed at him.
However, Cyril would be lying if he said he didn’t feel a perplexing degree of displeasure when looking at him.
The passengers from the manarail probably found it easier to praise a guy like him than a noble like me.
At this moment a stray thought of issuing an official challenge entered his mind.
The solution for the situation was simple.
He only had to show the people who the one with real strength was here.
As the look in Cyril’s blue eyes was becoming more hostile, from the top of the table in front of him came an enthusiastic cheer.
“Genius idea!
You will absolutely destroy him!
Let’s go!”
Rhamn raised her chin, staring down at Cedric with a look of complete contempt, like some third-rate villain from a storybook.
Cyril froze, then his face quickly grew calm.
He looked away from the black-haired young man, throwing his figure out of his mind completely.
Why do you behave like this?
“What?
I thought we were on the same wavelength here.”
Again, he was perplexed by her ability to read his mind.
He sighed once again, feeling a bizarre mix of embarrassment and retrospection.
Maybe I am too arrogant…
“Of course not!
This ‘arrogance’ is just the overwhelming strength of your spirit shining through!
It’s confidence!”
He sent her a blank stare, wondering if she was mocking him.
However, her pure expression and shining red eyes showed nothing but earnest belief.
Cyril fought back the urge to sigh, no longer in the mood to start trouble, and turned his attention elsewhere.
Instead, he decided to look around the half-full classroom.
I expected more people…
Then, upon observing the back rows, he discovered another figure from yesterday.
A strange girl with auburn hair sat in the corner, staring at him intently.
Her black eyes threatened to dig a hole through him.
Seeing him look over, she quickly averted her gaze, pretending nothing happened.
She, too, is my classmate?
The thought didn’t appear as hard to accept.
This girl was at the very least competent.
Though, the sight in front of him made that verdict somewhat questionable.
The auburn-haired girl kept throwing him sneaky glances, her face nervous.
And every time, she would look away with panic upon meeting his blue eyes.
This wasn’t an unfamiliar sight to Cyril.
Over the course of his life, he did get to participate in a few gatherings.
In them, this was a rather common sign of a weak-willed young lady.
“Who can blame her?
You are just too handsome~”
Rhamn’s melodic voice made his face darken, so Cyril finally looked away.
“However, this girl is a bit too plain for you.
Only someone at my level of beauty is worthy.” Rhamn nodded up and down.
Ignoring her voice, Cyril focused on the book in front of him.
Learning was a rather good method of drowning out the outside noise.
He sighed, surely not for the last time today, and waited until the lesson began.
…
Soon the bell rang, and a middle-aged man wearing a coat walked into the classroom.
Arriving before the blackboard, he turned to the students and started speaking in a composed manner.
“Since some might have missed me yesterday, let me introduce myself again.” He made a gesture in the air, and words made of light appeared in front of him.
‘Richard’
“Good morning, everyone.
My name is Richard, and I am your professor of Spellmaking.
I will be in charge of your group, and if you have any questions regarding the academy, you may approach me after the lesson is over.”
“Now, once I read your name, say ‘here.’ You know the drill.”
He proceeded to do a roll call.
With a monotone voice, he read aloud from a list in his hands.
Whenever a student heard their name, they stood up, looking at the classmates with a proud smile.
Particularly their heads would tilt a little bit towards the ceiling whenever their family name was read aloud, as if it gave them some kind of power.
It almost looked like a social gathering, with every noble politely introducing themselves.
Still, there were a few of those without a family name.
“Cedric.”
“Here.”
A young man with black hair and eyes stood up.
He flashed everyone a friendly smile, ignoring the few contemptuous glances, and sat back down, whispers going off as he did so.
As the rumors spread completely, most nobles here stared at this commoner with the curiosity of seeing a zoo animal.
Still, Cedric’s friendly smile never faltered in the midst of this.
Cyril looked away from him, having mixed feelings.
After a few others, a name that somehow stood out rang out.
“Myra.”
“Here!”
With a loud but somewhat nervous shout, the girl with auburn hair raised her hand, staring straight ahead.
“Ha!
She is a commoner!
Fitting identity for fitting looks.”
Calm down.
A few people sent her a surprised glance, then quickly moved on, treating her as background noise and nothing more.
As the names were read from the list in a seemingly random order, Cyril’s heart turned a bit heavier.
Eventually, his name was read as well.
“Cyril Thorne.”
“Here.”
The eyes of most of the students present quickly focused on him.
Immediately, whatever whispers had been going around settled down, soon replaced by new ones.
“Thorne?
Son of that Thorne?”
“I wasn’t informed we would be studying with him…”
“What rotten luck…”
At him they stared as if he were a zoo animal that had escaped its cage and was now walking among them.
Cyril familiarly ignored them, his face completely calm.
“They are staring at you with fear…” Rhamn mumbled, her red eyes scanning the students around.
Then she nodded.
“That means they respect you.
Very good.”
At her genuinely pleased voice, any heaviness within him was dispelled, replaced by more weariness.
“…”
In the meantime, Richard continued reading out the names in a disinterested voice.
After finishing the list of about 20 people, he eagerly dropped it on the table and motioned towards the students.
“I hope everyone here made sure their body is ready to start learning magic.
We’ve had people in the past fabricating their age and paying for it.”
“Alright, since you people were good enough to enter class I, you shouldn’t be too foolish…”
In Ailanthus, classes were decided based on the entrance results.
Based on their level of talent and prior theoretical knowledge, the students were placed in classes I to V.
Which was part of the reason Cyril was so surprised to see Cedric here.
The professor flipped open the book on his table, his eyes quickly scanning it as if it was the first time he saw it.
After a few seconds he nodded, turning towards the students.
“Open the textbook on page 4.
We will start our lesson by studying Maze’s pattern.
It is generally used in most magic circles, so-”
Despite the professor’s monotone voice, Cyril found himself engrossed in the lecture.
Rhamn was still sitting on the table, though she moved a bit to the side to let Cyril see the professor.
She was also listening and didn’t say much during this time.
After what felt like only a moment, the bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson.
“Alright, that’s it.
See you tomorrow,” Richard said, closing the book on Spellmaking.
Without any ceremony, he quickly walked out from the auditorium before any other student even managed to stand up.
Better than I thought…
Cyril nodded in satisfaction and began quietly collecting his things, his mind still lingering on the contents of the lecture.
As he stood up, on a certain whim, he glanced at the other students.
Most didn’t share his optimistic state.
With fear and desperation, they stared numbly at the whiteboard, where the professor wrote some beginner-level magic circles.
Even Cedric’s friendly smile turned more urgent.
He hastily copied down everything in his notebook, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead.
And the unassuming yet somehow memorable girl with auburn hair had it even worse.
She blankly stared down at the textbook, then nodded once and closed it, giving up with no regrets.
Before she could notice his stare, Cyril looked away and finally left the auditorium.
“I knew it.
We are pretty good~”
All the while, Rhamn had a wide and satisfied grin.
…
Mixed with the crowd, they soon arrived at their next destination.
It was time for their Combat Training.
It took place within the castle, in a wide hall with plenty of space for thousands of people.
There were arenas, weapons racks, mannequins, and everything that a martial artist could ever need in their life.
Their group took only a portion of the space, with other classes visible training in the distance.
“My name is Rendel!
Nice to meet you!” yelled their combat instructor.
He had a mean face, with a distinct scar over his left eye.
As the students were getting used to his booming voice, it came again, now even louder.
“We have no time to waste!
Run three laps around the hall now!”
The students immediately started running, as if chased by a wild beast.
Clearly not all here were physically fit.
Some students switched to walking after only one lap.
It took quite some time until everyone was finished, and by the end, most panted like exhausted dogs, and some even puked.
Weak whispers and complaints flooded from them, who somehow didn’t expect such hardships here.
“I am surprised this many of you are so feeble.
Mages need to have great stamina if they want to survive on the battlefield!”
The professor raised his fist, staring into the distance with determination.
Next he looked over at those not lying on the ground from exhaustion, obvious satisfaction in his eyes.
“Anyone with prior combat training, step forward now!”
Cyril, along with a few others, came forward.
He was particularly looking forward to what would happen next.
“At least I have you lot.
Go grab a weapon you are familiar with, choose a sparring partner, and let me see what you have!”
“Finally, something exciting.
You have to fight that guy!
It’s a perfect opportunity.”
Rhamn, who didn’t have to run before, was filled with anticipation.
Cyril glanced at the black-haired student, Cedric.
He was currently helping someone off the ground with that same friendly smile.
Maybe I will.
Even though he already reconsidered challenging him once, this was different.
It’s just a spar with a classmate, so it was only natural he would fight someone the crowd thinks is on his level, right?
So, Cyril moved towards a weapons rack near the wall.
He just picked up a wooden spear when someone grabbed another one right in front of him.
“…?”
It was that girl with auburn hair.
She familiarly grabbed a wooden spear and twirled it.
“Cyril, right?
How about we have a duel?” she said, giving him a confident look.
Or what was supposed to be a confident one.
Her black eyes slightly shook, betraying the real feelings beneath them.
Still, despite that, her stance was clearly trained.
The way she held the spear was not like an amateur.
“Myra,” Cyril carefully pronounced her name.
It felt familiar somehow.
He stared at her for a few seconds.
His eagerness to battle Cedric calmed down at this moment.
Instead, this seemingly average yet special girl captured his attention.
Myra stiffened, almost letting go of her weapon.
“What?”
“Nothing.
I agree, let’s duel,” he casually said, turning around.
With nothing particular on his face, he walked away.
Recently he felt that the world around him had changed.
Not in any obvious way, but somehow unseen.
Maybe I am the one who changed?
“I am sure your world changed for the better ever since yesterday,” Rhamn replied with a proud nod, walking by his side.
Cyril ignored her theatrics and moved to the arena for duels, Myra following him in silence.
Her gaze seemed to pierce his back as the grip on her spear became tighter.