All of the sudden, they noticed a man standing on the stage at the far end of the large hall.
He was eyeing Rix, who had been able to withstand the increased gravity, with great interest.
This handsome man was dressed in a black robe. He had a tall, large, and stocky build. His bronze-red hair looked like a lion’s mane, and his golden eyes shone with intellect. His appearance was immaculate. The aura he gave off made it clear he was no ordinary man, even to the untrained eye.
Seeing that the situation had settled, the man snapped his fingers.
With that signal, the gravity that had been holding down Rix and Gordon suddenly disappeared.
Then the man began to address the buzzing hall full of new students.
“I am the headmaster of Estoria Academy of Magic: Grand Master Jake Dryson!”
A murmur spread throughout the hall.
Headmaster Jake began making an announcement.
“You are young! It is only natural that you have that youthful enthusiasm! In fact, it is best to experience it fully while you are still young! For that in itself is the essence of youth!” he boomed. “However, there are many things that cannot be written off as mere youthful enthusiasm! Among them is personal fights between students, using magic! Magical combat on school grounds without permission is prohibited according to the school rules and regulations! If you break this rule, you may be severely punished. And that may, under certain circumstances, lead to expulsion from the academy! However, this is your first day, so I will make a special exception! In fact, it’s rather cute to see the boys getting all hotheaded and beating each other up! Yes, I’m glad to see you so full of vim and vigor!
“But let us move on! Everyone, please return to your designated spots! We are about to start the entrance ceremony! Welcome to Estoria Academy of Magic! Your glorious journey begins here!”
Headmaster Jake was the kind of man who was constantly giving off an air of passion with his entire body that felt almost excessive.
But one could instinctually tell that neither Rix nor Serephina, nor Gordon, nor even all the students put together, would be any match for him.
They could feel that Headmaster Jake was an enormously powerful mage, down to their very souls.
“Tch…”
Having understood this, Gordon clicked his tongue and returned to his spot with the Red Class.
As he passed by Rix, he spat a final threat at him.
“You may have been lucky this time, but I’m still gonna kill you. And don’t you forget it.”
“Heh… You expect me to remember that when I can’t even remember my multiplication tables?”
“I said don’t forget it!”
Gordon squared his shoulders as he walked away.
Thus, the situation was somehow resolved for the time being.
The entrance ceremony was nothing special.
It simply went through the standard type of ceremonial procedure that was common everywhere, part by part, in the usual order.
At the end of the ceremony, Headmaster Jake gave a closing speech.
“And so! I want you to all be conscious of the meaning and responsibility that lies with learning magic! With power comes responsibility! And those with great abilities have an obligation to use those abilities to give back to the world! And so you must not use those powers, or those abilities, in your own self-interest! Having been accepted into this academy, you already possess great power! You are brimming with a talent unknown to so many others! So while you are here at this academy, you must think hard on how you will devote yourself going forward, how you will use that power, and what type of life you want to live! As you already are aware, in recent years, a deplorable group of alumni that calls itself the Faith Faction has been building its power from within this very academy! Yes, that very same group, its members no longer worthy of being called mages, worships the evil Dusk Demon as their founder and irresponsibly seeks to use forbidden magic in pursuit of easy power!
“I implore you to hold fast to your beliefs and not give in to such temptations…”
To Rix, Headmaster Jake’s speech, given with a magically amplified voice, was just like a lullaby. It was making him sleepy.
Rix had gotten used to sleeping standing up from his mercenary days. Unable to resist his drowsiness, he was about to lose consciousness completely when—
“You… What is your goal?”
—a sudden voice from beside him woke him back up.
When he looked next to him…he saw the white-haired girl standing there.
Rix blinked in disbelief; he hadn’t expected her to talk to him. The girl didn’t bother to look his way.
“That time on the boat, you saved me and indebted me to you. And earlier, you did the same thing once again. So what is your goal? What is it you want? My body?” she asked. “Fine. If you’re okay with a plain body like this, then go ahead.”
“Heh… I’m not that kind of guy. I’ll only do that kind of thing with someone I’ve committed my future to!”
“…Hmph. Gross.”
“Guh?!”
The girl’s emotionless words pierced straight into Rix’s heart.
“If not my body, then what do you want? A feeling of righteousness, having saved the weak? A sense of superiority, having defeated the strong? To fulfill your vanity or self-esteem by standing out? Either way, how boring.”
“Um… Does it have to be so complicated?” Rix scratched his head at the girl’s twisted way of wording things. “Fortunately for me, I have some measure of power. And I saw someone I could help within the limits of that power. In that situation, is it so strange to go ahead and save that person?”
“…”
The girl stayed silent.
After wondering whether he should go on, Rix decided to say what was on his mind.
“I dunno… I sorta felt like you were saying, ‘Somebody help me.’”
At that moment, the girl’s expression wavered almost imperceptibly.
However, she immediately returned to her stone-faced expression and mumbled, “…What made you think that?”
“Just a feeling” was Rix’s vague answer. “And I’m usually right. Thanks to that, I’ve survived this long.”
The girl stayed silent for a while.
On the stage, Headmaster Jake was still giving his closing speech.
Finally, the white-haired girl responded.
“Disgusting…”
Her whisper cut sharp as a knife as it left her dainty lips. Sharper than a sword made of the finest mithril.
“You’re really gross, you know that? You disgust me. Never speak to me again,” she spat.
“Please stop… This is more painful than any wound I ever got on the battlefield…”
Rix began trembling as his eyes welled with tears.
Man… This girl is unapproachable from all angles, isn’t she?
Calling her beautiful would be an understatement. And Rix couldn’t deny that he wanted to get to know her better.
Regardless, they would still be spending the next three years together in the White Class.
He wanted to have a good relationship with his fellow classmates… That was his true, unabashed desire.
Maybe getting along with her is a hopeless endeavor… I’ll just have to find some way to keep my distance from her…, Rix thought with a sigh.
Then out of nowhere, the girl whispered something strange: “Shino. Shino Whytenight.”
“Hmm?”
“…That’s my name. You don’t need to bother remembering it. But I need to introduce myself to someone if I’m going to thank them, don’t I?” The girl—Shino—emotionlessly went on in spite of Rix’s visible bewilderment. “I’ll say it once for good measure—thank you. But I’ll leave it at that.”
She said it almost as if talking to herself, not even bothering to look Rix’s way.
With that, Shino shut her mouth. She went back to staring blankly into space, as if she had completely lost interest in Rix.
“…”
For a moment, Rix idly scratched his head while he stared at Shino’s profile.
After a while, he thought, She’s a strange one…
He was sure that if Randy, Annie, or Serephina had heard that, they’d all say “You’re one to talk!”
“And so, burn brightly, young minds!” the headmaster boomed. “Celebrate your youth with everything you have and live without regrets!”
Finally, Headmaster Jake’s long speech came to an end.