Who cares?
When Arum and Misty arrived at the academy several people had already gathered in front of the school gate.
The uniforms of the different grades of Beralt Academy were slightly different for each grade. Thus it was not hard to distinguish a fresher from a sophomore. It was easy for Misty to discern that all the students gathered here indeed had the same uniform; they were all freshers.
All of them had accumulated at the same place to attend the ceremony.
The gate marked the location and the start time of the auditorium where the entrance ceremony was held.
“Big…”
That was what Arum’s heart said as his eyes widened in awe at the mysterious majesty of the place where he stood. For a country bumpkin like him, it was indeed a sight to behold, a structure that spoke of the strength of man.
Arum kept looking at the walls that continued sideways, altering left and right.
All the while he wondered how long this wall would continue.
“It seems that we still have a lot of time,” Misty interjected, bringing him back to reality.
“Yeah, what was the point of being in a hurry like that?”
Arum recalled how he was panic-stricken in a hurry and tried to take the wrong route in an attempt to reach the academy.
“Yes, the number of students that have arrived still seems to be sparse than what we were supposed to have.”
Noble houses range from busy homes to leisure homes. They come in all varieties and all shapes and sizes.
Keeping some of the nobles’ leisurely lives into consideration the ceremony time was postponed to a much later hour.
And Arum and Misty seemed to be the upright ones who had come at the previously determined time forsaking their laziness.
But Arum, who didn’t know how the nobility worked, could only feel deceived.
‘I was told that the meet would happen in the morning but the time written in the guide is that of noon. How is this fair?’
Arum glanced around as he glanced and took a look at his classmates who had already arrived.
That was when he saw a boy walking up to them.
“Isn’t it Misty-san?”
“Yes?”
It seemed that one of the fellow students knew Misty and walked here.
When they came in front of them, the boy bowed a little.
“I’m Lux Orrick. I believe that our parents are acquainted with each other.”
“Oh! The Orrick family. It was my first time talking to you, my name is Misty Tran Caesius.”
Misty also took a curtsy bow in a way of greeting him.
Meanwhile, Arum’s eyes traveled over the boy.
Lux too finally noticed Arum.
Lux was a blonde boy as tall as Arum, with a gentle expression on his face.
It had a nice and smooth face with an even smoother nose bridge, big eyes, and neutrality in his demeanor.
‘He is a pretty boy. I have never seen anyone like him back at my village,’ Arum thought.
To the current Arum who had grown up watching rugged men who lived their life hunting in the forest, Lux appeared to be quite feminine in appearance.
But there was no femininity in his behavior, not to mention that he had a solid posture.
“Who is this?” Lux asked.
Lux turned to Misty and asked for a referral. It was disrespectful but he didn’t believe that Arum was an important figure. He had never seen him before.
“It’s Arum for Carrera.”
But Before Misty could reply Arum formulated a suitable reply.
This was because he adhered to the advice of the villagers to introduce himself whenever he met someone new.
“Arum… sorry, what’s your family name?”
Arum shook his head.
“I am a commoner, I don’t have a family name.”
“… commoner?”
Lux was stupefied learning of Arum’s true identity.
But after learning of it Lux’s gentle expression disappeared into thin air.
‘I wonder if other fellow students also heard it?’ Arum thought.
Arum felt that the gazes of multiple people were on him at the moment. They had all turned their attention onto him, making him in the limelight of several gases.
Lux got back his composure as he continued.
“… is that so?” he held onto his chin, “I had heard that one of the students this year would be a commoner. Is that really you?”
“One of the students?” Arum squinted his eyes.
But Lux laughed it off.
“Of course, usually only nobles can be wizards. Commoner has no place here.”
“Oh, yes. I have heard that… I see… I’m alone then?”
Seeing the expression that Arum adorned, Lux couldn’t help but bloom into a smile.
The feelings that run through your heart when you are isolated. The feelings that run rampant in your heart when you realize that there is no one there for you. It is not easy to bear. Lux knew it well.
“You won’t be disheartened and drop out will you?”
Lux saw Arum with a gaze filled with pity. But in his darkest heart, a devilish smile had resurfaced.
Lux kept muttering bullshit while looking into the distance with a keen eye.
But unlike what he had thought his muttering was turned to a deaf ear.
“No, why would I? I was just thinking that I am luckier than I expected.” Arum claimed with a blooming smile.
“Lucky?”
“Oh? That’s because I got the chance to prove that even a commoner can be a wizard. There is nothing special about nobles.”
“… What?” Lux cried.
Arum’s statement couldn’t be taken lightly. It was as if a declaration of war. A disgrace in the face of nobles. It was as if he was saying that nobles had no special talents.
The arrogance that Arum bore got on Lux’s nerves.
But that was not the case. Arum was not arrogant, in fact far from it.
Arum always believed that it was unusual for him to meet his master and it could only be described as a work of fate.
A sense of gratitude always adorned his beautiful heart.
‘Thank you for everything. If not for you, I wouldn’t have been able to become the man I dreamed to be.’ Arum thought.
Lux nodded with a frown on his forehead.
“Looks like you have quite a bit of confidence.”
He replaced the word ‘Arrogance’ with ‘Confidence’ in his speech. Such was the way of the nobles. Always talking in circles to maintain their dignity.
“Confidence?”
But Arun shook his head denying his claim.
His response was indeed unpleasant to the recipient, Lux. He was an eyesore to Lux. And the eyes with which he glared at Arum already seemed to be cold.
“I’m sorry then, Arum.” Lux shrugged. “I have something to talk to Misty- san, could you excuse us a little?”
Lux’s face quickly returned to a peaceful look, mixed with unfriendly emotions.
His intentions were easy to understand. He wanted Arum to leave the seat for him.
Lux didn’t believe that a commoner like Arum deserved to sit beside Misty who was from a renowned noble lineage.
“Oops, is that so?” Arum stuck out his tongue. “Then, I am going elsewhere.”
But as Arum left, Misty turned to him with a look of conflict in her eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, no. It’s okay. There might be a lot of things in your conversation that I won’t even understand.”
Arum didn’t care about the appearance of Lux. He was thankful to Misty but he didn’t care about her business either.
Arum believed that the talk between two nobles would be irrelevant to him.
“Oh, Arum…”
“Now, Misty- san. Let us introduce ourselves to the other people over there.”
Lux knew how to play his cards. When a group of nobles introduces themselves together it is usually believed that they share similar beliefs and objectives. Thus, such an approach would only uplift his position in the circle of nobility.
But Misty thought otherwise.
“Well then, with Arum…”
Lux frowned.
“What are you talking about? You don’t have to worry about me,” but Arum rebuked.
Arum refuses her. Arum firmly believed that he could hold his own ground and introduce himself when needed. He doesn’t need a woman to shield him.
But such a response from Arum was misunderstood by the other nobles present.
“So he knows what his position is, damn commoner. Ha Ha,” such were the whispers that reached Arum’s ears.
Lux had also reached the same conclusion but he was a little skeptical since he was facing Arum himself and his attitude looked far from submissive.
“See you again, Misty.”
“Yeah, yeah… again.”
Misty waved a little.
As Arum passed through the gate of the academy, he turned back to Misty as he smiled and waved back too.
Arum did not notice that Lux was looking back at him as well with a frown on his face.
“Now, let’s learn this place from one end,” Arum whispered to himself. “I cannot afford to get lost anymore.”
Arum overlooks the academy without showing any signs of regret about parting.
Perhaps because he was lost in the city a while ago, he was enthusiastic not to get lost in the academy at the very least.
“If I get lost in school, I may not always meet a kind person like Misty… Oh, I want to use magic quickly! What kind of magic would everyone use?”
As Arum was lost in his own world of thought he strode through the academy as if he were sightseeing.
Arum didn’t care that he was treated coldly by Aristocrats.
Arum only looks forward to his future school life. He spoke of his desire to use magic quickly time and time again as if he was addicted to the very essence of magic.
For Arum, this was a paradise.
Yes, it was a paradise. It might have been riddled with many demons and satans in the form of nobles but that didn’t matter to him at all! Unlike the nobles, he had not come to the academy to build connections but to learn magic instead.
The only wizard Arum knew was his master. He recalled how fun it was to see him chant those spells.
His eyes glistened like a child budding up. It hoped that the contents of a picture book would become a reality.
It was a school of magic. A school that meets his expectations.
But perhaps he would soon realize that, unlike the picture books, good doesn’t always triumph over evil.
Who cares?
When Arum and Misty arrived at the academy several people had already gathered in front of the school gate.
The uniforms of the different grades of Beralt Academy were slightly different for each grade. Thus it was not hard to distinguish a fresher from a sophomore. It was easy for Misty to discern that all the students gathered here indeed had the same uniform; they were all freshers.
All of them had accumulated at the same place to attend the ceremony.
The gate marked the location and the start time of the auditorium where the entrance ceremony was held.
“Big…”
That was what Arum’s heart said as his eyes widened in awe at the mysterious majesty of the place where he stood. For a country bumpkin like him, it was indeed a sight to behold, a structure that spoke of the strength of man.
Arum kept looking at the walls that continued sideways, altering left and right.
All the while he wondered how long this wall would continue.
“It seems that we still have a lot of time,” Misty interjected, bringing him back to reality.
“Yeah, what was the point of being in a hurry like that?”
Arum recalled how he was panic-stricken in a hurry and tried to take the wrong route in an attempt to reach the academy.
“Yes, the number of students that have arrived still seems to be sparse than what we were supposed to have.”
Noble houses range from busy homes to leisure homes. They come in all varieties and all shapes and sizes.
Keeping some of the nobles’ leisurely lives into consideration the ceremony time was postponed to a much later hour.
And Arum and Misty seemed to be the upright ones who had come at the previously determined time forsaking their laziness.
But Arum, who didn’t know how the nobility worked, could only feel deceived.
‘I was told that the meet would happen in the morning but the time written in the guide is that of noon. How is this fair?’
Arum glanced around as he glanced and took a look at his classmates who had already arrived.
That was when he saw a boy walking up to them.
“Isn’t it Misty-san?”
“Yes?”
It seemed that one of the fellow students knew Misty and walked here.
When they came in front of them, the boy bowed a little.
“I’m Lux Orrick. I believe that our parents are acquainted with each other.”
“Oh! The Orrick family. It was my first time talking to you, my name is Misty Tran Caesius.”
Misty also took a curtsy bow in a way of greeting him.
Meanwhile, Arum’s eyes traveled over the boy.
Lux too finally noticed Arum.
Lux was a blonde boy as tall as Arum, with a gentle expression on his face.
It had a nice and smooth face with an even smoother nose bridge, big eyes, and neutrality in his demeanor.
‘He is a pretty boy. I have never seen anyone like him back at my village,’ Arum thought.
To the current Arum who had grown up watching rugged men who lived their life hunting in the forest, Lux appeared to be quite feminine in appearance.
But there was no femininity in his behavior, not to mention that he had a solid posture.
“Who is this?” Lux asked.
Lux turned to Misty and asked for a referral. It was disrespectful but he didn’t believe that Arum was an important figure. He had never seen him before.
“It’s Arum for Carrera.”
But Before Misty could reply Arum formulated a suitable reply.
This was because he adhered to the advice of the villagers to introduce himself whenever he met someone new.
“Arum… sorry, what’s your family name?”
Arum shook his head.
“I am a commoner, I don’t have a family name.”
“… commoner?”
Lux was stupefied learning of Arum’s true identity.
But after learning of it Lux’s gentle expression disappeared into thin air.
‘I wonder if other fellow students also heard it?’ Arum thought.
Arum felt that the gazes of multiple people were on him at the moment. They had all turned their attention onto him, making him in the limelight of several gases.
Lux got back his composure as he continued.
“… is that so?” he held onto his chin, “I had heard that one of the students this year would be a commoner. Is that really you?”
“One of the students?” Arum squinted his eyes.
But Lux laughed it off.
“Of course, usually only nobles can be wizards. Commoner has no place here.”
“Oh, yes. I have heard that… I see… I’m alone then?”
Seeing the expression that Arum adorned, Lux couldn’t help but bloom into a smile.
The feelings that run through your heart when you are isolated. The feelings that run rampant in your heart when you realize that there is no one there for you. It is not easy to bear. Lux knew it well.
“You won’t be disheartened and drop out will you?”
Lux saw Arum with a gaze filled with pity. But in his darkest heart, a devilish smile had resurfaced.
Lux kept muttering bullshit while looking into the distance with a keen eye.
But unlike what he had thought his muttering was turned to a deaf ear.
“No, why would I? I was just thinking that I am luckier than I expected.” Arum claimed with a blooming smile.
“Lucky?”
“Oh? That’s because I got the chance to prove that even a commoner can be a wizard. There is nothing special about nobles.”
“… What?” Lux cried.
Arum’s statement couldn’t be taken lightly. It was as if a declaration of war. A disgrace in the face of nobles. It was as if he was saying that nobles had no special talents.
The arrogance that Arum bore got on Lux’s nerves.
But that was not the case. Arum was not arrogant, in fact far from it.
Arum always believed that it was unusual for him to meet his master and it could only be described as a work of fate.
A sense of gratitude always adorned his beautiful heart.
‘Thank you for everything. If not for you, I wouldn’t have been able to become the man I dreamed to be.’ Arum thought.
Lux nodded with a frown on his forehead.
“Looks like you have quite a bit of confidence.”
He replaced the word ‘Arrogance’ with ‘Confidence’ in his speech. Such was the way of the nobles. Always talking in circles to maintain their dignity.
“Confidence?”
But Arun shook his head denying his claim.
His response was indeed unpleasant to the recipient, Lux. He was an eyesore to Lux. And the eyes with which he glared at Arum already seemed to be cold.
“I’m sorry then, Arum.” Lux shrugged. “I have something to talk to Misty- san, could you excuse us a little?”
Lux’s face quickly returned to a peaceful look, mixed with unfriendly emotions.
His intentions were easy to understand. He wanted Arum to leave the seat for him.
Lux didn’t believe that a commoner like Arum deserved to sit beside Misty who was from a renowned noble lineage.
“Oops, is that so?” Arum stuck out his tongue. “Then, I am going elsewhere.”
But as Arum left, Misty turned to him with a look of conflict in her eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, no. It’s okay. There might be a lot of things in your conversation that I won’t even understand.”
Arum didn’t care about the appearance of Lux. He was thankful to Misty but he didn’t care about her business either.
Arum believed that the talk between two nobles would be irrelevant to him.
“Oh, Arum…”
“Now, Misty- san. Let us introduce ourselves to the other people over there.”
Lux knew how to play his cards. When a group of nobles introduces themselves together it is usually believed that they share similar beliefs and objectives. Thus, such an approach would only uplift his position in the circle of nobility.
But Misty thought otherwise.
“Well then, with Arum…”
Lux frowned.
“What are you talking about? You don’t have to worry about me,” but Arum rebuked.
Arum refuses her. Arum firmly believed that he could hold his own ground and introduce himself when needed. He doesn’t need a woman to shield him.
But such a response from Arum was misunderstood by the other nobles present.
“So he knows what his position is, damn commoner. Ha Ha,” such were the whispers that reached Arum’s ears.
Lux had also reached the same conclusion but he was a little skeptical since he was facing Arum himself and his attitude looked far from submissive.
“See you again, Misty.”
“Yeah, yeah… again.”
Misty waved a little.
As Arum passed through the gate of the academy, he turned back to Misty as he smiled and waved back too.
Arum did not notice that Lux was looking back at him as well with a frown on his face.
“Now, let’s learn this place from one end,” Arum whispered to himself. “I cannot afford to get lost anymore.”
Arum overlooks the academy without showing any signs of regret about parting.
Perhaps because he was lost in the city a while ago, he was enthusiastic not to get lost in the academy at the very least.
“If I get lost in school, I may not always meet a kind person like Misty… Oh, I want to use magic quickly! What kind of magic would everyone use?”
As Arum was lost in his own world of thought he strode through the academy as if he were sightseeing.
Arum didn’t care that he was treated coldly by Aristocrats.
Arum only looks forward to his future school life. He spoke of his desire to use magic quickly time and time again as if he was addicted to the very essence of magic.
For Arum, this was a paradise.
Yes, it was a paradise. It might have been riddled with many demons and satans in the form of nobles but that didn’t matter to him at all! Unlike the nobles, he had not come to the academy to build connections but to learn magic instead.
The only wizard Arum knew was his master. He recalled how fun it was to see him chant those spells.
His eyes glistened like a child budding up. It hoped that the contents of a picture book would become a reality.
It was a school of magic. A school that meets his expectations.
But perhaps he would soon realize that, unlike the picture books, good doesn’t always triumph over evil.
