The last week of April 2021.
The day of my departure to San Lucia has arrived. I'm currently in my room packing my clothes and belongings for the trip to San Lucia. As I'm packing my things, there's a knock on my door.
*Knock* Knock* Knock
I know who's knocking on my door, so I immediately speak to the person.
"What's wrong, Irene?" I asked.
"I've already packed the things I need to take with me from my dorm, and I've also brought my bag with me. Are you still packing, Rid?" Irene asked, standing outside my room.
"Just a little longer," I said.
"Ok. I'll wait for you here," Irene said.
"Ok," I said.
I then proceeded to pack my things. After that, I immediately left my room.
"I've finished packing my things. Let's go to the academy gates, Irene," I said.
"Yes," Irene said.
Then Irene and I left my dorm. After we both left my dorm, we saw Charles and Chloe, who coincidentally had just come out of their respective dorms.
"Charles, Chloe, have you two finished packing your things?" I asked.
"Yes, I've packed mine," Charles said.
"Me too," Chloe said.
"I see. We've both packed our things too. Do you two want to go straight to the academy gates? If so, let's go together," I said.
"Yes, Chloe and I were planning on going straight to the academy gates once we're finished packing our belongings. Then let's go together, Rid," Charles said.
"Yes," I said.
Then, Charles, Chloe, and Irene all left the dorm building and headed for the academy gates.
Then, we finally arrived at the academy gate. Many students, each with their own belongings, were already filling the gate. The students, ranging from first-years to fourth-years like us, were already there. Upon arriving at the gate, we immediately looked for our friends who might have already arrived. As the four of us were searching for our friends, I heard several students cheering and encouraging me.
"Senior Rid, good luck on your exams!"
"Good luck, Senior Rid," said the female students.
Judging by the badges they wore and the way they addressed me as 'senior', they seemed to be my juniors. Quite a few female students were cheering me on as I walked through the crowd gathered at the academy gate. This wasn't the first time this had happened to me; I'd often been greeted or spoken to by female students since my second year. Most of the people who greeted and spoke to me were female, and those students were my juniors. It seems my popularity at this academy is higher than I thought, as I'm constantly greeted and spoken to by the students. Not only at the academy, but even in the kingdom, my popularity is higher than I expected, as even the new students who have just joined the academy immediately recognize me. This is all because my name and photo are frequently published in the newspapers published by Diganta, which is why my popularity is higher than I thought.
Meanwhile, Charles, noticing that many people were greeting and cheering me on, immediately spoke to me.
"As usual, every time you walk, you always attract the attention of many other students around you, Rid. Well, it can't be helped, after all, you're the most popular person at this academy, no, even in this kingdom. Your popularity even surpasses that of me and Chloe, who are the prince and princess of this kingdom. So it's only natural that you attract so much attention," Charles said.
"Are you jealous because I'm more popular than you, Charles?" I asked.
"No, I'm not jealous of that sort of thing," Charles said.
"Yeah, don't worry. You're still as popular as ever," I said.
I said that because I heard some students greeting and cheering Charles on. Charles heard that too and immediately waved to the students who greeted and cheered him on.
"Earlier, I said I wasn't jealous because I don't care about things like popularity, Rid," Charles said.
"Neither do I. Ok, let's go find Noa and the others now," I said.
"Yeah," Charles said.
Then we continued walking to find Noa and the others in the crowd of students at the academy gate. Not long after, we found Noa, Kotaro, and the others near a horse-drawn carriage parked on the road outside the academy gate.
"So you've been here, Noa," I said.
"Yeah, probably about 10 minutes ago. Did you come to my dorm to call me, Rid?" Noa asked.
"No, because I'm sure you and the others were already here," I said.
"I see," Noa said.
Then we all gathered there while waiting for our departure time for the San Lucia region.
-
20 minutes later.
We got ready because we would be leaving for the San Lucia region soon. We double-checked our belongings to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything. After that, we boarded the horse-drawn carriage, which had the names of the students already listed. I was in the same carriage as Irene, Charles, Chloe, Noa, Leandra, and Lily. The other students, from first-years to fourth-years, also boarded the carriages provided in front of the academy gates. A few minutes later, all the academy students had boarded the carriages, and they began to move towards their respective destinations.
-
The carriage we were riding in continued on. From the streets of San Estella, to the gates of San Estella, and now on the road connecting San Estella and San Lucia.
"I can't wait to see my parents again. Since I joined the academy, I haven't seen them since we're not allowed to leave the academy grounds unless we have an urgent matter," Leandra said.
"Yeah, me too, Lea. I can't wait to see my parents, too," Lily said.
"Your parents work for the Duke San Lucia, right, Leandra, Lily?" Chloe asked.
"Yes, that's right. Our parents worked as workers, and not as slaves even though we were originally bought as slaves. Not only our parents, people from races other than the Human race who worked in Lord Duke's residence also worked as workers and they all received wages from Lord Duke," said Leandra.
Lily nodded in agreement.
"Indeed, Lord Duke San Lucia is a very good person and he also wants equality with other races. Because of his actions in employing races other than the Human race and giving them wages, our mother was inspired by the actions taken by Lord Duke San Lucia. Our mother's decision to abolish the system of slavery in this kingdom and replace it with a system of workers for the human race and non-human races was thanks to the inspiration she got when she saw Lord Duke San Lucia's actions," said Charles.
"Yes, he is very kind. His daughter is also very kind," said Leandra while looking at Irene.
Irene also looked at Leandra but Irene didn't say anything to Leandra.
-
1 hour later.
The horse-drawn carriage we were riding in was still moving along the connecting road between the capital of San Estella and the city of San Lucia. As the carriage continued to move, Charles, Chloe, and the others suddenly felt something.
"The temperature and air are starting to get cold. It looks like we're entering the central part of San Lucia. For those of you who can't stand this cold, put on your jackets or thick clothes immediately, because once you reach the central part of San Lucia, specifically in San Lucia city, the air will be even colder than this," said Charles.
Charles immediately put on the jacket he had brought. In addition to his jacket, he also put on gloves on both hands. Chloe, Noa, Leandra, and Lily also wore jackets and gloves like Charles. Only Irene was not seen wearing a jacket and gloves.
After that, Chloe, who had finished putting on her jacket and gloves, was confused by Leandra and Lily, who were also wearing jackets and gloves.
"Leandra, Lily, why are you also wearing jackets and gloves? Didn't you both live at the Duke of San Lucia's residence in San Lucia City before you became academy students?" Chloe asked.
"Indeed, we both lived at Lord Duke's residence before. However, even though we lived at Lord Duke's residence before becoming academy students to accompany Miss, we're still not used to this cold temperature. Right, Lily?" Leandra asked.
"That's right, we're still not used to this cold temperature. That's why we always wear jackets or thick clothing when working and while staying at Lord Duke's residence. The other workers who aren't used to the cold temperatures in San Lucia also wear jackets and thick clothing. Luckily, Lord Duke doesn't mind us all wearing jackets or thick clothing while working," Lily said.
"Yes, that's right," Leandra said.
"I see. I thought you were used to the cold temperatures in San Lucia, so I was confused as to why you were also wearing jackets and gloves. I apologize," Chloe said.
"There's no need to apologize, Princess Chloe. It's natural for Princess Chloe to say that, as you doesn't know yet," Leandra said.
"That's true. Besides, we're not the only ones accustomed to the cold temperatures in the San Lucia region; many of the natives of the San Lucia region are also unaccustomed to this cold. Only a few are accustomed to this cold, and most of them are members of the San Lucia family. For example, Miss, she's not wearing a jacket or gloves because she's used to this cold. Perhaps 'used to' isn't the right word; rather, Miss has a resistance to this cold. That's because all members of the San Lucia family, or rather, all 'original' members of the San Lucia family, have a resistance to cold temperatures or air," Lily said.
"Yes, I already know about the San Lucia family's ability to withstand cold temperatures. So, are you also a 'original' member of the San Lucia family, Rid?" Chloe suddenly asked me.
I knew why Chloe asked me that. It was because I wasn't wearing a jacket or gloves even though the temperature and air here were getting cold.
"No, I'm not a 'original' member of the San Lucia family because my hair isn't white. All 'original' members of the San Lucia family have snow-white hair, Chloe," I said.
"Yes, you're right. But why aren't you wearing a jacket and gloves, Rid? Can't you feel the temperature here getting cold?" Chloe asked.
"I don't feel the slightest bit cold. You could say my body has some resistance to cold temperatures, though perhaps not as good as the 'original' members of the San Lucia family. You don't need to worry about me. If I feel cold, I'll immediately put on the jacket and gloves I brought just in case," I said.
"Hmm, okay then, Rid," Chloe said.
Then, we continued chatting in the horse-drawn carriage, while the carriage continued to move.
-
2 hours later.
The horse-drawn carriage continued on the road connecting the capital of San Estella and San Lucia city. Then, not long after, we saw a large city about a kilometer ahead of our horse-drawn carriage. The city was covered in a significant amount of snow, even piled on the roofs of every building. This snow-covered city was our destination: San Lucia city.
-To be continued