Volume 2 - CH 4

“Okay, Rille-nee? You have to contact me right away if something happens.”

I was saying goodbye to Rille-nee at the entrance of the boarding house with a lady owner.

The entrance ceremony is in the afternoon. In the morning, I packed all my belongings into a large shoulder bag, changed into the same formal attire I wore for the exam and now, I’m about ready to leave.

“You can use Chancellor Leonard’s name if you meet someone bad. I’m sure he’ll help you. Also, don’t be too nice to the soldiers. They’ll misunderstand even if you smile at them a little. I’ve told you this many times Rille-nee, but you must be aware of how cute you are and act accordingly.”

“Yes, yes.”

Rille-nee was easy-going as always. Please, don’t act cute and be more vigilant.

“Anna-san! Please make sure that Rille-nee doesn’t get deceived by a bad person!”

I called out loudly towards the kitchen that was located behind the counter, and Anna-san replied reliably, “Leave it to me, but you’re also very overprotective, aren’t you?”

Well, I can’t deny that.

It’s Rille-nee’s first time living alone even if she’s staying in a boarding house.

Rille-nee looked embarrassed. She pouted and said, “Enough, Aime.” I told you to stop acting cute…!

“I’ll be fine. Don’t push yourself and rely on your Onee-chan when things get hard, alright?”

“Yes, yes, I know, Onee-chan.”

But you know, I can easily get over any hurdle as long as you have a smile on your face.

Rille-nee’s tight goodbye hug gave me courage and I stepped out into the unknown world in high spirits.

I once again passed through the Magic School’s large gate with a large bag in my arms.

The path I was guided down led past the gardens that I had seen in the distance during the exam and continued towards the school building in the centre of the grounds.

I saw a few noble kids along the way.

Their outfits were even more glamorous than before.

The girls were dressed in brightly coloured dresses and the boys had bright colours on their scarves and pockets and they were all wearing accessories.

They looked as if they were going to a wedding reception instead of a tea party.

I was the only one carrying my luggage; they were empty-handed. I eventually reached the school building and saw a group of people carrying large western-style wardrobes.

They were carrying the wardrobes to a different place than where I was heading.

Movers? Or perhaps servants? Oh yeah, nobles attend this school so it’s quite common for them to use their own servants to carry their belongings to the dormitory before they enter.

But I think furniture is too much. I heard that the dormitory is already fully furnished with beds and desks. Why go to all the trouble of moving somewhere you’ll only be living for two years?

I was a bit shocked, but it was none of my business. People are people!

The entrance ceremony, or rather, the welcome party for the new students was held in the cafeteria.

I left my bag in the waiting room next door and the bell rang. The guide came into the room and moved the students who had already gathered next door. There was no time to talk to anyone.

There were three tables in a bright room with sunlight coming from the large glass windows. Two long rectangular tables were lined up vertically and a horizontal one was placed at the back.

There were adults in white robes welcoming the new students with applause at one of the tables.

We were directed to take our respective seats. I was placed at the table on the left, at the far end of the entrance. The lowest seat, huh.

The teachers were seated in the seats of honour.

“Welcome to the Royal Magic School.”

The headmaster, who was seated at the middle of the table and had a body like a balance ball, cheerfully delivered the standard speech and the party began.

I counted the number of people here during the speech and found that there were a total of 30 students enrolled in the Royal Magic School this term.

An unexpectedly low number.

I was hoping for that hat [1] would come out at the welcome party, but there weren’t enough people here, and I also heard that there are only two dormitories to begin with, one for boys and one for girls.

Eventually what came out were light blue robes and not a hat in sight. It was a very beautiful robe, much like the colour of a slightly pale blue sky on a sunny day.

This robe was the school uniform. We only had to wear it on top and were allowed to wear anything we wanted underneath. The students went to the front one by one, and the headmaster asked us to wear the robe.

Apprentices apparently wore light blue robes, and the white robes were for those who were qualified. It wasn’t a dark image at all.

The speeches were long and tedious but there was something interesting about it.

After the explanation of classes and daily life, one of the female teachers performed magic to welcome us to the school.

“Finnrum doull.”

As soon as the words, which I have never heard before, were uttered, the green magic stone that was adorned on her chest shone and many peach-coloured flowers bloomed in the room.

The pale, transparent illusion drifted through the air. They landed on the heads of the girls and on held out hands, and finally, they fizzled out in a rainbow.

I don’t understand the theory behind that at all!

This was the first time I had seen magic used by someone and not a magic tool. I reached out my fingertips to where the illusions had floated earlier and tried to feel any residual material, but I couldn’t feel anything.

The scientific experiments I have shown to the kids were like child’s play.

This was a terribly fascinating power since it was supernatural, mysterious, illogical and mind-boggling.

I really wanted to learn it as soon as possible.

The representative of the new students gave a brief thank you speech at the end of the welcome party.

The student who scores the highest marks in the entrance exam is usually selected to give the thank you speech, but I wasn’t asked and the one who came forward was a boy with a refined face who I didn’t know.

I was pretty confident that I had scored the highest, but I guess I hadn’t ranked first. Well, it’s okay since I was admitted into the school, though I was a bit annoyed that Giedt would act smugly because of this.

Or they might have chosen someone from a good family background so there wouldn’t be any complaints since the students here were nobles, but it might not have mattered since the blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy was sitting calmly. Yes, Alexei passed the exam too.

He even went to the exam like everyone else so he wouldn’t have gotten in through the backdoor.

He was sitting at the end of the table on the right, closest to the teachers and not in a special seat. I could see the boy, who was with him at the exam, was also there.

I don’t think they were in the waiting room. Perhaps they were treated differently.

Alexei’s seat was the furthest away from mine, so I couldn’t say, “Hey, thanks for last time!”

But he waved at me in a friendly manner when our eyes met in the middle of the ceremony.

I wondered how I should react, but then I remembered that he had said that the next time we would meet it would be as school mates.

It would only be natural that I wave back if we’re school mates.

Although I’m younger than everyone and have a lower status than them, I think I can treat them all as school mates here in school.

A senior came and led us to our respective dormitories after the welcome party. I was the only one who took my bag and followed at the end of the line.

The dormitory was located on the other side of the entrance. We left the school building and went further back. The boys were clearly separated and didn’t have a view of the girls’ dormitories.

The senior walked down the hallway with a list of names and indicated to each person, “You’re in this room, you’re here,” and so on.

There seemed to be enough room left over so no one had to share.

I glanced around and saw that it was quite spacious. It was 27m2 [2] or maybe around 36m2 [3] if you move out all the unnecessary furniture.

It reminded me of my parents’ house in my previous life. I used to lead a wealthy life and my room was about this big thanks to my parents. I miss it.

But I wonder if this dormitory was a waste of taxpayers’ money.

I waited for my name to be called while thinking that it wasn’t fair that Rille-nee was living in a small boarding room while I, who didn’t work, will live in a room like this, but my name was never called.

Finally, when no one was around, the senior pointed to a ladder at the end of the hallway.

“You’re up here.”

I could see a square entrance covered in cobwebs at the top of the ladder.

… Hah, I’m in the attic?!

I was slow to react since I hadn’t expected this.

I’m in the same situation as the little princess [4] after things started going wrong for her. I bet there are still plenty of rooms left! Why is there a disparity at a school where there is no admission or tuition fees?!

You bastards! Are you all trying to bully me?!

The senior and classmates, who came out of their rooms, were giggling. So as the saying goes, rich people tend to be jerks. The teachers are nobles too.

But an attic… It’s kind of interesting, isn’t it?

It was like a secret hideout. How exciting. It’s making my heart throb.

I climbed up the creaking ladder and found a slanted ceiling that matched the shape of the roof, a small window, a wooden bed, a desk and a chair. Wow, this is exciting.

The room made it feel as if I was being oppressed but it wasn’t that small. It was about 9m2 [5]. Honestly, it was probably bigger than when the three of us lived at Gis-nee’s place.

This was probably a place for servants to live.

All I had to do was sweep, wipe and wash the sheets.

Pfft, how childish.

Being bullied was minor if I can stay in a place where there’s a roof over my head, food to eat and where I can study. Don’t look down on me!