The Second Love Interest Has a Hidden Fin

“Do you have to be so embarrassing? You’re lucky Magrema didn’t strike you down then and there” Herianna said as the two siblings were walking down the long corridor of Magufi Academy.
“I’ve already apologized. Besides, he didn’t seem to be upset about it either” Equiron replied as he recalled the smug look on Magrema’s face during their first meeting.
The siblings were making their way towards the academy’s main hall for the morning assembly. Other students were also heading in the same direction. Some sounded excited for the new school year. Others sounded bored while complaining that they’d rather go to class than listening to long explanations that they were already aware of. It wasn’t too different from what it was like back in the real world. 
“Luckily” Herianna responded before letting out a soft sigh. “Just try to get along with people here. I don’t want you to get ostracized. Especially not on day one” 
“You’re making it sound like I don’t have any friends” 
She glanced at Equiron. “I know you have friends. But I also know that you have as many people liking you as you have people disliking you” 
That observation didn’t bother him in the slightest. He had more important things on his mind than worrying about what people here thought of him, like finding a way back to their own world. 
“Sounds like a mission accomplished to me”

The students’ chatter became louder as they entered the main hall. Hundreds of students and faculty members had been gathered for the assembly. Glancing around, Equiron noted that a lot of the students weren’t regular humans. There were fairies, elves and students with either horns or animal ears on their heads. He could even see a student who appeared to be an actual mummy. 
And I thought a dragon stood out… 
The two siblings took their seats. While waiting for the morning assembly to start, Herianna curiously looked around to see if she would recognize anyone. All the characters she had grown attached to were in this giant hall somewhere. Meanwhile, Equiron was more interested in the different beings that existed in this world. 
I wonder how different they are to humans. Do they eat the same food? Do they have longer lifespans? Shorter? 
Equiron snapped out of his thoughts once he realized that he was getting distracted from what he was supposed to be focusing on. “See anyone you recognize?” he eventually asked his sister. 
There were too many people gathered in the main hall, so it was impossible for Herianna to see everyone’s faces. That said, the important characters from the game had to be somewhere in the hall. “Not yet” she replied. 
Trying to locate the important characters in the crowded area was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Especially when everyone stood out in one way or another. Herianna’s gaze eventually landed on a student with their back turned against her. The student was wearing a purple cloak, with a hood covering their face. But she didn’t need to see the student’s face. Her eyes widened as she recognized the character from the game. 
That’s-! 
“Hey there! Is this seat taken?” 
When she heard a male voice, she looked up to see the cheerful smile of a student she didn’t recognize. His flaming red hair was the first thing she noticed - orange hair that became a darker shade before reaching the bright red hair tops. The hair was, for the most part, short. But its length was slightly longer on his left side, almost brushing against his shoulder. He was already wearing the academy’s uniform, so he clearly wasn’t a freshman. Although, he wasn’t wearing his jacket like the other students wore theirs. Instead, he had used the jacket’s arms to tie it around his waist. 
Herianna realized that this student was referring to the empty seat next to her. “Oh. Go ahead” she replied while returning the smile. 
The student sat down next to her. Herianna’s gaze instantly looked away from him to search for the cloaked figure. Unfortunately, the person she was looking for wasn’t standing by the front row anymore. 
Shoot! I got distracted! 
Oh well. Meeting the character right now wasn’t that important at this moment. She would meet all the important characters eventually. After all, she was the heroine of NoroMagi. 
“What do you think?” she suddenly heard Equiron ask. 
Puzzled, she looked at him. “Huh? About what?” 
Equiron looked at her with a rather unamused expression. “I’ve been talking to you for a while…” 
Herianna flinched when she heard that. He had? And she didn’t notice anything? Apparently, she had been so locked in that she didn’t hear a single word that he had been saying to her for the past few minutes. 
“Sorry!” she apologized. “I thought I recognized someone, so I wasn’t paying attention” 
He just sighed. Not particularly upset about it, though. It was more of a Just as I expected kind of sigh.  “What I said was-” 
Upon hearing the students urging each other to quiet down because Magufi Academy’s vice headmaster was about to start his speech, Equiron chose not to repeat himself. It could wait until after the morning assembly was over. “We can talk about it later” he murmured before his gaze moved to look at the well-dressed scholar approaching the podium.

“Honored students” the man spoke with a calm yet firm voice. “My name is Terrance Falcs. I am the vice headmaster of Magufi Academy, and I hereby welcome you all to the new school year. Moreover, I wish to extend my welcome to our recently enrolled students. Whether you hail from the deepest part of the ocean to the highest skies, we look forward to having you here while you aim to discover the true strengths of your magic, and honing your skills in subjects such as alchemy or flying” 
There was a short pause as Falcs adjusted his glasses. 
“However” he continued. “We do have high expectations of each and every one of you. In order to determine your progress, the academy has both written and physical exams throughout the school year. You will be hearing more information about each subject’s method of examination during your respective classes” 
Equiron listened carefully as the vice headmaster explained the school curriculum. This was more or less what he expected. Each class would, naturally, have its own type of examination method. Alchemy and flying were no different than chemistry and gym class in that regard. The problem was that he was completely inexperienced with magic, which gave him a major disadvantage. Hopefully he and Herianna wouldn’t be here long enough for those exams. 
“For you to complete your education here, you will have to summon your own Resica, unless you have already managed to do so prior to your arrival here. A Resica is a magical tool that allows you to strengthen your abilities. It is rather difficult to obtain one. However, it is a requirement for each student to be able to summon one. You will not be able to graduate from this academy without it” 
Equiron’s eyes narrowed from hearing about the Resica. A Resica…That’s the word Magrema said earlier. But how did he know that I don’t have one? 
“All newly enrolled students who have yet to summon their Resica will be attending a class in the afternoon, which will give you the basic introductions for how to summon your own Resica. If you were to fail this afternoon, there are extra classes during the weekend that you may apply to. Apart from this, you are to practice summoning your Resica on your own” Falcs continued. 
The vice headmaster looked over towards some students on his left side with a small glare on his face. 
“Outdoors” he clarified. A shiver went down his spine as a flashback of a previous incident entered his mind. One of Magufi’s walls on the second floor had ended up being torn down in an explosion due to a student trying to summon their Resica indoors. Falcs then cleared his throat, composing himself from the flashback. “While studying here at Magufi Academy, each new student will be assigned a room at one of our dormitories. The boys’ dormitory is located on the east side of the academy’s entrance, while the girls’ dormitory is located on the west side. To access your room, you may obtain the key from your dormitory's representative. Now, if the two representatives would stand up, please. For the girls’ dormitory, we have Ms. Jiào Yù” 
Among the seated students, a female student calmly stood up with a perfect posture. She had long dark brown hair that had been tied up into an elegant, braided bun with a beautiful flower accessory in it. 
“And for the boys’ dormitory, we have Mr. Rovien Thompson” vice headmaster Falcs continued. 
There was a short silence in the main hall. Only the sound a single student coughing could be heard in the otherwise quiet hall. No one stood up. 
“Mr. Thompson” he repeated. 
His gaze slowly turned towards the direction of where Equiron and Herianna were sitting. Both siblings glanced at each other with confused expressions. That wasn’t the name of one of the characters in NoroMagi. 
Herianna glanced at the male student who had sat down next to her before the morning assembly began. The orange-haired student had dozed off during the vice principal’s speech, much to Falcs’ dismay. 
“Thompson!” 
When the vice headmaster spoke in a louder voice, the male student nearly jolted awake. “Huh? What?” 
The second he noticed Falcs’ intense glare staring into his soul, he realized what was happening. “Oh!” he chuckled with a bright smile on his face before standing up from his seat. “My bad! Late training yesterday” 
Falcs sighed heavily before continuing. “If you have any questions about your rooms or the dormitory's rules, these are two who you shall turn to. You may be seated” 
The two dorm leaders sat down. While the vice headmaster talked about the students’ responsibilities over their own learning progress and overall behavior while being enrolled at Magufi Academy, Herianna glanced at Rovien. She couldn’t help but to feel somewhat guilty about not waking him up when Falcs called his name, even though she had no idea he was Rovien Thompson. 
“Sorry” she whispered. “If I had noticed earlier, I could’ve…” 
Rovien just chuckled at her concerns, completely nonchalant about falling asleep in the middle of the morning assembly. 
“Nah. Don’t worry about it. The same thing happened last year” 
That’s not a good thing! both siblings thought to themselves. 
“And now, a word from our eloquent headmaster - Madame Soleil” Falcs stepped aside to make way for Magufi Academy’s headmaster, who Herianna had never mentioned a word about to Equiron. An elderly woman with a very tiny figure approached the podium with slow steps. An assistant quickly rushed after her with a small stepping stool, so she would be able to reach the podium. While standing next to Falcs, it was impossible for the students not to notice that she was barely tall enough to reach the vice headmaster's knee. Once Madame Soleil was standing at the podium, she started talking in what sounded like gibberish. She wasn’t speaking loudly either. Rather, it sounded more like a quiet grumbling. 
I think her name has a French origin, but the language she’s speaking clearly isn't French. I can’t understand a word she’s saying, Equiron thought to himself. 
Once she was done speaking, all students in the main hall applauded. 
“What a moving speech” Herianna commented, satisfied with Madame Soleil's welcoming speech. 
His sister’s comment caused Equiron's jaw to drop. “Huh!?”
Am I the only one who couldn’t understand her!? 
~ 
After the headmaster’s speech, the students were permitted to leave the main hall, and go to their first classes. All new students, however, had to check the large board located next to the academy’s entrance. It contained a list of every new student, and which class they had been placed in. Herianna’s first class was alchemy. The classroom was somewhere up ahead. Equiron had history class, which was on the other side of the academy’s courtyard. Since the two of them were heading in the same direction, he decided to walk Herianna to her classroom. 
“Let’s meet at the library after class. The sooner we start looking for a way to get home, the better” Equiron mentioned as the two of them were walking side by side. 
“Sure. Will you be okay from here though?” 
The sincere question made him raise an eyebrow from confusion. “Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked. 
Herianna glanced at him. “You don’t have a phone or map to help you with directions this time” 
Equiron scoffed, mildly offended. He wasn’t that bad with directions. “As if I need either of those just to find a classroom. Of course I’ll be fine. In worst case scenario, I’ll just ask one of the professors for directions” 
“Oh dear. Are you lost?” 
Both of them flinched when they suddenly heard a female voice. They instantly turned towards her, and saw a girl with crimson hair that reached her chest. Her amber eyes had a playful glint in them. What surprised Equiron was the fox ears on her head. As if that wasn’t odd enough, she also had multiple fox tails. Fox ears and tails aside, he couldn’t deny how beautiful she was. The crimson-haired girl was looking directly at him with an amused smile. 
“No, I just- Uh…” 
Equiron could feel the dryness hit throat as he tried to speak. The words wouldn’t come out. Herianna noticed how much her older brother was struggling to form a coherent sentence. Instead of leaving him to fend for himself, she decided to jump in by offering the girl a handshake. 
“We’re new students here. I’m Herianna” 
The crimson-haired girl’s gaze shifted to her before accepting the handshake. “Astaria. A pleasure. You must be the new rookie in my class” 
One of Herianna’s friends in the original game. As a side character, Astaria was only really relevant in one of the routes. But, unlike Equiron, the vixen did at least have a full avatar sprite. 
“That’s right” Herianna replied. “And this is…” She noticed that Equiron still hadn’t moved an inch. It almost looked like he was frozen in place, fully distracted by the pretty girl with the long eyelashes. Unintentionally rude because he was technically staring, and he hadn’t even introduced himself. Herianna nudged his arm as an attempt to make his consciousness come back to reality. The nudge caused him to snap out of his daze, and offered the vixen a handshake as well. 
“Equiron. I'm actually on my way to history class. I just wanted to make sure my sister wouldn’t get lost” 
Astaria’s gaze softened ever so slightly as they shook hands. There was a certain feeling of nostalgia in those words, which she had heard far too many times in her life. The change in expression was minimal, but still enough for both Equiron and Herianna to notice it. 
“How considerate of you” Astaria replied as her playful smile returned. “But you also have a class to attend, don’t you? I’ll take it from here. I can be reliable too, you know. At least most of the time~” 
That was a good excuse for him to leave. Preferably before he would make this even more awkward. “Uh, yeah. I’ll get going” 
He wished Herianna good luck with her first class before walking away with quick steps. The two girls watched him leave before Herianna let out a sigh. “I hope he didn't offend you…He usually doesn’t stare at people like that” 
“Why wouldn’t he stare?” Astaria asked. “Just look at me” 
Herianna couldn’t help but smile at the confidence practically radiating from her.
“Besides,” the vixen continued. “I don’t blame him for being on his guard when you’re new to this kingdom. The students here can be a bit…overwhelming sometimes” 
Herinna looked over with a surprised look on her face. “How did you know we’re new to the kingdom?” 
Amused, Astaria glanced back at her. “No one from this kingdom would dare to address our infamous duke only by his first name, aside from the royal family” 
~ 
The fastest way to get to the classroom would be to go through the courtyard. But… 
Equiron looked out through the window to check the courtyard. There was seemingly no one there, despite the time of day. 
Is the courtyard prohibited during certain hours? Why is there no one outside? 
He compared the Magufi Academy’s courtyard to the one at his own school. Most students preferred being outdoors before morning class started, or during breaks. It was usually difficult to even find a spot to sit. Yet Magufi’s courtyard appeared to be empty. 
Equiron debated what to do until he noticed a tall male student entering the courtyard. The student seemed to be the same age as him, and was heading in the same direction. Something that stood out about the student was that he had a striking resemblance to the girl Equiron had met just a moment ago. Except this “fox” had only one tail. 
I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised about seeing people with animal-like features here. Fuyumi did mention that this is an academy for students who possess magic abilities, including magical creatures. Still, it’s pretty odd to see them in person. But since that guy is walking through the courtyard, it’s probably fine for me to also go through it, he thought to himself before taking his first step into the courtyard.

Magufi Academy’s courtyard was bigger than the courtyard back at Equiron’s school in the real world. It wasn’t big enough for someone to get lost out here, but it was definitely unlike any courtyard he had ever seen - even on social media. He stopped walking for a moment to embrace the scenery around him. The bushes and flowers were quite impressive. There were some strange-looking flowers that he didn’t recognize. Considering the size of the academy, they most likely had multiple gardeners who tended to all greenery on schoolgrounds. Bushes, flowers, herbs. Magufi even had a giant greenhouse behind the main building. He felt tempted to touch one of the flowers with an unnaturally tall stem. But upon seeing the flower suddenly “turned around” to “look” at him, Equiron instantly took a big step backwards out of shock.
...Perhaps touching strange-looking flowers was a bad idea. 
Eventually, his eyes landed on a figure a bit further away from him, standing next to a large fountain. A male student with long, wavy blue-green hair flowing in the wind. The hair was about the same length as Herianna’s. It was partially tied into a ponytail with the help of two dark blue ribbons, one behind his head and the other by the hair tops. Despite the hair’s length, it failed to hide his pointy ears. 
Unlike his encounter with Magrema earlier, Equiron knew exactly who this person was. He had seen this guy plenty of times before - as the background on his younger sister’s phone. The love interest she wouldn’t stop talking about. 
So…This is Siluna...

Siluna Sereni - a merman, and an exchange student from the Ocridon sea. Due to the tension between humans and merpeople, their respective governments decided to let a merperson become an exchange student at a human academy, and vice versa, to strengthen their political relationship. So, Siluna became the student to represent the Ocridon underwater kingdom. They decided to send him to Virtestas because of the academy’s impressive reputation. However, Siluna himself never had a word in any decisions. And, due to him temporarily living on land during his school life, he had no choice but to be in his human form.

Equiron could clearly recall his sister’s endless talk about Siluna prince-like and mysterious features, and how much she adored the gentle tone he spoke with. Supposedly, no one had ever seen him smile until the heroine showed up. She never mentioned what the tension between humans and merpeople was about though. 
He couldn’t deny the merman’s prince-like features. The lack of emotion in Siluna’s glance almost made him look like one of those ice sculptures that Equiron had seen on social media. His heart skipped a beat when the merman’s sky blue eyes looked at him. There was no change in the latter’s facial expression, but his eyes were more visible now. 
Siluna looked at him in silence for a moment before finally speaking up. “You are…” 
Herianna was right about his soothing voice. No wonder why girls liked him so much.
“...the one who addressed Lord Magrema by only his first name” 
Equiron could feel the corner of his eye twitching lightly. The word about his encounter with the dragon duke had clearly spread among the students. It had even reached Siluna, who mostly just kept to himself. 
“Who told you that?” the blond asked. 
“The Famare. I was speaking with them when you arrived” Siluna calmly responded. 
Equiron couldn’t see anyone but Siluna by the fountain, and the word didn't ring any bells. 
“Right…” he said, feeling skeptical. “Sorry for interrupting your…conversation. I’m just trying to get to my class” 
“In that case, you should probably hurry before the professor shows up” 
Isn’t he going to class too? Well, whatever. That’s not my problem. 
“Right. Bye then” Equiron replied before continuing to make his way towards the classroom while Siluna quietly watched him leave. Once the blond human was out of sight, he mumbled to himself "What a strange person..." before he turned back towards the falling waterdrops coming out of the fountain.