The next day, Almark’s daily routine truly began.
Morgan was hopeful that Tohrk would change his tune, but he wasn’t any different after what happened. He was still haughty and violent, almost as if he didn’t care at all that he’d lost so disgracefully to Almark the other day.
Since then, however, he’d stopped using scornful names like commoner, barbarian, or brute.
He’s sticking to the promise he swore on his pride.
And yet, Wollis was still treating everyone but Almark kindly, and Leila was standoffish to everyone regardless of social class. Wendy was her opposite, kind to all without regard for their status. So although Tohrk had become more docile after being put in his place, the atmosphere in class hadn’t really changed.
Almark actually brought this up to Wendy, but she just shook her head in denial.
“That’s not true,” she said. “You gave everyone courage that day, Almark. Since then, everyone stopped feeling so helpless.” She stared so hard at Almark that it made him feel self-conscious. “You didn’t just send Tohrk flying back then.”
As he saw Wendy smile, Almark remembered Nelson responding to one of Tohrk’s snide comments with a “put a sock in it, Tohrk.” He’d also noticed that Tohrk’s two flunkies, Garain and Deg, had started talking to other students.
“That’s good, then,” Almark said.
If Wendy was pleased with this outcome, then he figured there was nothing more to say. Surely things would get a bit better in class going forward. Besides, if there was one issue that currently bothered Almark, it was his magic.
It had been over a month since Almark entered the institute and, aside from that one incident, he still hadn’t used magic at all. His time during Illmis’s classes was spent meditating, and all he really did in other lessons was classroom studies—like learning the names of historical figures or medicinal herbs used by apothecaries. He memorized these things with a speed that stunned his classmates, but when it came to practical magic classes, Almark was behind not just his classmates, but even the second-years.
It got to the point where Almark started wondering if he’d be better off joining the first-years’ class for meditation. He consulted his homeroom teacher Fia about it, and she let him sit in on a first-year class and practice meditation there. But the presence of a clearly older student excited and distracted the first-years, getting in the way of their meditation, and so their teacher refused to let Almark join them after that first attempt. For now, all he could do was keep meditating and preparing his mana. Almark passed the days with that thought in mind.
One day, before morning classes began, Morgan burst into the classroom, his pudgy body jiggling.
“What’s up, Morgan?” Nelson asked, seeing the boy panting. “What’s got you so worked up?”
“A shadow,” Morgan blurted out, seemingly short of breath. “I saw a shadow.”
“A shadow?” Nelson frowned, and Almark exchanged a look with Wendy, who was seated next to him. “You’ve got one attached to your feet,” Nelson said impishly as he pointed down. “See? Right there.”
Morgan let out a yelp and jumped in the air. But the only thing at his feet was his own round shadow, cast by the midday sun.
“Nelson!” Morgan threw up his hands. “Don’t scare me like that!”
“Can you blame me? You’re the one literally getting startled at shadows,” Nelson said, bemused.
“I didn’t mean my shadow!” Morgan waved his arms impatiently. “It’s a monster, I know it!”
“A monster?” Nelson smirked. “Here you go again, you and your overactive imagination.”
“It is not my imagination!” Morgan pouted. “It’s true!”
“Is it, though?”
“Morgan,” Almark said. He suddenly approached Morgan, who looked at him with surprise.
“Wh-what’s up, Almark?” Morgan asked.
“Can you tell me more about what you saw?”
“Of course.”
Nelson smiled wryly. “Don’t take him too seriously, Almark.”
“I swear it’s the truth!”
“Yeah, tell me more,” Almark said gently, urging Morgan to go on.
Nelson shook his head, as if to say “whatever.”
“You see, this morning…,” Morgan began.
He told Almark that earlier that morning, he dozed off after breakfast in his room and had to walk from the dorms to the schoolhouse alone. There were no other students on the road, and he was hurrying to class. But then, he saw something moving behind the trees and turned to look. During spring one could sometimes see rabbits peeking out of the woods, but what Morgan saw moving from the corner of his eye was considerably larger. It was the figure of a person, taller than Morgan himself. He got closer and looked restlessly around the trees, but saw nothing.
Maybe I imagined it, he told himself as he ran down the road, realizing he was late for class.
But then, he saw the shadow move from the corner of his eye again. A shadow as big as, if not a bit larger than Morgan. He turned around, screeching, but there was nothing there.
“…And that’s how it all went down.”
After hearing Morgan’s story, Almark crossed his arms, looking confused.
“So you didn’t actually see anything!” Nelson jeered.
“I did, too! I saw a shadow for a second!”
“A monster, huh…?” Almark whispered.
Wendy peered at his face. “Something on your mind?”
“Yeah.” Almark nodded. “I mean, monsters do make their homes in forests.”
“No, they don’t.” Nelson waved his hand dismissively. “Almark, there aren’t any monsters in the woods next to the institute. And the road between the dorms and the schoolhouse isn’t in the woods to begin with.”
“Oh, right.”
Like Nelson said, there were some trees around the road connecting the dorms and the schoolhouse, but it was more of a grove than an outright forest.
“I mean, Nelson’s not wrong, but…” Morgan frowned, frustrated. “I’m telling you guys, I saw something…”
“You were just imagining things. I mean, you can be kind of skittish.” Nelson folded his hands behind his head. “Ever since I came to the institute, I’ve never once seen a monster around here, even in the woods.”
Morgan slumped his shoulders. “Maybe it really was my imagination…”
“It doesn’t hurt to be cautious,” Almark said, but Morgan seemed to be losing confidence in whether he’d even seen anything.
“I guess I’m just happy I made it to class in time…,” Morgan mumbled dejectedly as he shuffled back to his seat.
Almark remained pensive after Morgan left, so Wendy eyed him quizzically. “Is it still on your mind?” she asked.
“Yeah…” Almark gave a strained smile. “I saw a lot of monsters in the North, so maybe hearing about them made me kind of jumpy.” He then looked guiltily at Wendy. “I guess that must sound weird to a Southerner.”
“Oh, not at all.” Wendy shook her head. “It’s not weird. I want you to tell me more about things like that.”
Seeing the earnest look on Wendy’s face, Almark gave a slightly bemused smile. “It’s nothing worth telling.”
The memories of the bloodied times he spent fighting for his life in the North weren’t something to tell a lovely girl on such a fine morning.
“Sorry,” he said, and after noticing Wendy’s sad eyes, he added, “But thank you.”
Wendy smiled in relief.
The door to the classroom clattered open, and the class representative Wollis peered inside with his usual cool demeanor.
“Everyone, Professor Demitor will be late for first period, so we’ll have study hall until he arrives,” he announced.
The entire class cheered.
A few days passed after Morgan saw that shadow.
One day, Almark stayed late to do meditation training and was hurrying back to the dorm. Summer was approaching, and that meant a change in weather—case in point, his clothes under his robe were moist with sweat from the blistering sun. For a Northerner like Almark, the heat of the South was a bit much, but he appreciated days being longer since it meant more time to practice. But he still needed to hurry back before Miss Maya cleared the dinner table away.
Just then, he saw someone sprinting from the other side of the road, a lit lantern swaying in their hands.
“…Lilty?”
Almark recognized her right away. It was Lilty, a dainty girl from his class.
“Where are you off to?” Almark called out to her, which made her jolt in surprise.
She stopped, looked at him, and then sighed with relief. “Oh, it’s you, Almark.”
“What business do you have at the schoolhouse when it’s this dark out?”
“…I’m not headed for the schoolhouse,” Lilty replied feebly.
“You’re not? I mean, up ahead is…”
The only thing there except for the elementary division’s schoolhouse was the woods. The intermediate and advanced divisions’ schoolhouse was on the opposite side of the dorms, and he couldn’t imagine what she’d have to do there.
“…The woods,” Lilty said, her expression stiff.
“The woods? At this hour?” Almark frowned.
Lilty hung her head, like she was trying to make herself even smaller than she already was.
“Lilty, I wouldn’t go into the woods at night unless you have a good reason. If you have to, go tomorrow.”
Almark had no good memories of the woods at night. That was when things were full of danger and darkness, betrayal and malice. Nothing else.