Chapter 26

As Naell woke up in the comfort of his room, he felt unusually at peace. Usually, he would wake up much earlier, as on the off chance he was still sound asleep, clusters of HOOTS or the poke of a sharp talon would easily wake him.

Yet in the past few days, Naell was often in deep sleep, dreaming without any care in the world, as Owly, the one who often pestered his slumber, was hibernating.

Due to the owl's gluttonous spree, he got way too fat and needed to go on hibernation. In return, Naell welcomed it with open arms, sleeping by the owl's side, and only moving for simple necessities.

Yet that moment was supposed to be different, as it was time for Naell to prepare for his first day as a student in Esuela Dio sa de.

As he was about to leave, he heard a familiar HOOT, and saw weak feathers that fluttered on its plumpy body. Golden eyes pitifully gazed at the young mage.

“You should rest more, Owly.” Said Naell quite bitterly, as he was jealous of the young owl’s freedom to rest.

"Please bring me some sweets from the cafeteria, HOOT..."

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As Naell was walking outside, he met the gaze of a taffy-haired man. They were both surprised as they noticed both of them had the capability to size up one another.

As wimpy as Naell was, the silver aura seeping out from the man's body scared him, but only for a moment. He was certain that within the campus, his safety was secured. Therefore, he decided it was best to just hastily go to the assembly, yet the man, before he could even leave, called out his name.

"Naell?"

Naell tried his best to speak politely. In his mind, he wasn't frightened, and it was only natural to be polite. With paler skin not because he was scared, and a quivering voice solely because his bathwater was cold, he said,

"Yes, Who are you?"

"..."

"...I guess the rumors of you getting beaten so hard that it affected your brain was true, huh."

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Naell wanted to laugh, as he knew by then, that the man meant no harm. It could be said, no matter how socially inept he was, he could still discern someone’s awful acting, and such was the case for the taffy-haired man in front of him.

So instead of feeling mad, which could’ve led to his demise, (a possibility which was still in the back of Naell's spineless head), he managed to smile and let out the warmest gaze he could possibly bestow.

"I've never heard of that rumor, yet it's plausible. My brain would often make me forget my past. Therefore, I do apologize if I wronged you in any way."

"..."

Naell waited for a while yet the man still wasn't responding. Time went by, and neither of the two was moving.

Naell knew it wasn't a good idea to be late to the grand assembly, more so for a guy like him who didn't want to stand out. So with his patience growing thin, he quickly asked,

"So, who might you be Sire?"

With the sudden question, the taffy-haired guy replied. It could be seen that he was still quite distracted from reality.

"Note... Note Raal."

*******

If there was one thing the young master was totally regretting, it was the fact that he could not get acquainted with Note; his favorite character in the novel.

Naell's first meeting with him was just a mere coincidence, as they were both quite unpunctual towards everything. Nevertheless, because of that, all throughout the assembly, the young mage's mind was far from the present.

Yet thanks to the voices of some random ladies asking if he was alright, he managed to wake up. He then saw that the assembly had ended, and students were now leaving, so in his most polite manner, he said his thanks and went to complete the mission for that day.

As he entered the luxurious cafeteria, Naell realized that his assumptions were inaccurate. He thought that most of the students would go out on their first day to hang outside with friends. Instead, it was the opposite, as most had missed the food served by the school.

Even so, he had somewhat anticipated the murmurs he was receiving. It did scare him, as he knew that the rumors of his trashy deeds spread far throughout the continent.

Yet little did he know, even in the assembly, his daydreaming look had already garnered some popularity.

Nevertheless, for the sick Owly who was craving for sweets, the young master of Beryldot had entered the cafeteria and ordered on his behalf.

Unfortunately, difficulties befell Naell, as in the corner of his eye, he saw Note sitting with the group of people he truly wished to avoid most.

‘So it was not a coincidence, but the curse of the old Naell haunting me…’ Naell thought as he realized his blunder.

It could be said that Naell’s complacency was due to his ignorance when it came to the old Naell. As a villain who supposedly vanished from the novel, Naell’s infamy was far bigger than he had anticipated. That was why, he had totally forgotten that if Note knew of him at that moment, then it was a guarantee that he would tell it to Andrew and the others.

"..."

If there was one thing that Naell could be happy about, it was his knowledge that they wouldn't openly antagonize him, as their hearts were both for justice, and for the weak. Therefore, he simply chose to ignore their gaze.

Furthermore, Naell sort of prepared before going to the capital. He had done his investigation, so he could watch out for their appearances, even more so towards Rinca whom he knew despised him the most.

However, Naell could not help but feel the irony. After all, letters between the old Naell and Rinca were kept safely in his room.

'Is the old Naell a villainous tsundere?' He jokingly thought, but just from the small glance alone, he knew why the old Naell could not find it in himself to really hate Rinca.

'Because she's really beautiful...'

A cold alluring charm, long thick hair which illuminated her already well-sculpted beauty, and her chilling eyes. Yet underneath all that, as described in the novel, Rinca was a warm and kind-hearted lady.

Still, Naell could not help but feel envious towards Andrew and the rest. He truly wanted to be friends with Note, yet it was hard to do so.

'After all, he was my favorite character...' He thought with a resolve that quickly vanished upon catching Rinca's glare. Naell knew no matter how distant they were from each other, or how socially dumb he was, her eyes were full of contempt towards him.

Nonetheless, it was not his intention to be acquainted with them. Most of all, he would not dare gamble and see if Rinca would show her kindness or cause his last breath.

That was why, with a big gulp and a fast well-worded order, Naell retreated back and was never seen again--- or so what the young master of Beryldot had hoped.

*******

"That's the Young master alright." Nonchalantly said Rizaul. Out of all of them, he was the only one who wasn't really bothered by him.

"He is pretty attractive--- Ahem..." Namiku knew she spouted a blunder, as their surroundings all of a sudden felt chilly.

"..."

{ Rinca was really annoyed. She couldn't care less about what he'd be doing in the academy, yet in her mind, 'Do something foolish towards us, and I'll be sure to end your life!' }

"Ahah, Before that happens, dear cousin, I'll be sure to end you first." Rinca was smiling, but she was truly furious, as Note could often read her like a book.

Note's face got paler while the rest could only sigh and think,

'Why make her angry in the first place...'

Luckily, with Viola's plea, Rinca calmed down as she found her friend's scolding quite cute and funny.

All of their troubles were alleviated by Viola. Even Andrew, who was feeling left aside was laughing with them.

"Why are you guys laughing at me? Are you even listening to me? Hmmmph!" said the pouting Viola whose cheeks were reddened with embarrassment.

"She's cute." Even the onlookers were all captivated by Viola's demeanor.

After they were done eating, Andrew and his friends went on and checked their names on the bulletin board located outside the main building.

Note could only complain towards them as upon looking, Andrew, Rinca, and Namiku were placed in 1A-1, while Note and Rizaul were in 1A-2. On the other hand, Viola was placed in 1M-1.

"That's so unfair! Andrew, you have Rinca and Namiku while I'm stuck with this grumpy elf."

Note was more annoyed when he saw Rizaul's unfazed behavior. Nonetheless, they did not bother listening to him whine as they were more concerned about Viola.

"Are you okay, Viola?" Asked Namiku concerningly.

Viola was the only one in the same class as Naell, therefore, they could not help but be worried about their kind and soft-hearted friend.

Classes for aura and magic were separated into the Martial arts department [A], and the department of Magic [M]. Even so, all students would find themselves being acquainted with one another through their scholarly subjects in the General department [G].

"Maybe I should have really enrolled as a magic student, rather---" Before Andrew could even finish his words, Viola placed a finger to his lips and smiled.

"No... It's okay. Besides, Lady Sarah told us to keep that magic of yours as hidden as possible."

When they last met Sarah Star, she told them that she would help Andrew with his magic training. Still, it wasn't really a secret that he had aura and magic within him.

Yet since some might get jealous of him, even the school agreed to have Andrew enrolled in the aura division, whilst being trained secretly with magic.

"You don't have to worry about Nae-- him, Viola. If he ever lays his hands on you again, I'll end him directly where he stands." Rinca often scared them, especially with her words that weren’t simply empty threats like that.

"..."

After some time, as there weren't many activities to accomplish after the assembly, all of them spent the rest of the hours chatting among themselves with cups of tea and assorted sweets. All the while, they viewed the sun's fierce light as it mellowed upon the night.

Viola's thoughts were of pure joy and it was easily seen on her face. That was why the rest of her friends were happy for her. She was still scared of encountering Naell, but she was willing to trust Rinca's words that the young master of Beryldot would surely not cause trouble in that place.

"I'll do my best!" Shouted Viola softly, making Andrew and the rest giggle, but they too were truly excited for tomorrow, as that was the start of their real adventure.