09 Age Ten – Red, White, Black, and Scruffy part 1

It's been a week since the Harvest Festival and enrolment period for Daerin Academy had passed.

All the children that participated in the Harvest Festival ceremony had to go to the academy to take a series of mandatory exams before officially being enrolled. Although, as long as the child had formed his mana roots, enrolment was a sure-fire thing.

“—Keh! You said there was a late recommendation that arrived from the wall?”

At a certain office inside of the academy, an old man wearing a thick red robe adorned with yellow embroidery was hunched over while sitting at his desk. He had a head of scruffy white hair and a short fluffy beard. His sunken yellow eyes were shifting from side to side as his right hand lazily flipped through a thick stack of papers.

“Yes, old m—headmaster. It has the seal of the head of the Vinney House, Sacha Vinney.”

In front of the desk, a woman with bob-cut black hair was standing in an upright posture, holding another stack of papers to her chest with one hand while her other readjusted glasses she wore on her face.

She was dressed in woolen slacks and a dark maroon-colored uniform with yellow-outlined hems designed for the academy's faculty. A gleam of sunlight from the window flashed by her lenses as the scruffy old man started picking his nose with his pinky finger.

“—Keh! Sacha that stinky boy. He sent that crazed daughter of his a few years ago, now he's sending in another brat?” the old man spoke complained, recalling unpleasant memories.

“Ya, old m—headmaster, you seem to be getting senile. Rivelle Vinney was among the batch that graduated over two decades ago. That recommendation is probably for a grandchild,” the woman, tipping the frame of her glasses with her left hand, replied with a sharp tongue.

“It was that long ago? Keheh, that's right, you two were quite close, weren't you? Two crazy women vying for the favor of a block of ice—“ Before the old man could finish his sentence, the heel of the woman's boot had suddenly appeared on the side of his cheek. His expression, however, remained unfazed while nonchalantly continuing to pick his nose.

“Which reminds me—“ He paused and lowered his head to glance behind the foot hovering on his right side. Set aside on his desk were two sets of papers with different seals. He raised his head and continued to speak indifferently as he looked towards the bob-cut woman.

“The last time the three Houses sent their children simultaneously was back then, huh?”

The woman lowered her stretched out leg before replying, “Right, old m— headmaster. This year, we have the youngest son of the Loeth Head, the eldest daughter of Perid, and this mailed recommendation from the Vinney Head.“

Leaning in closer to give the papers, the woman quickly took a step back in disgust as she was interrupted by a wave of the hand that the old man was using to pick his nose.

“Ya— You're not gonna read them?” she rebuked, revealing her casual tone of voice, and shot the old man a harsh glare.

“—Keh! Just toss it in with the other two.” Using his pinky finger, the old man gestured towards the set of papers with differing seals, “It's the same every time. The Vinney keep sending idiots, the Loeth keep sending blocks of apathetic ice, and the Perid send—“

Before he could finish his sentence, he deftly tilted his head to the right. The heel of the bob-cut woman's other boot just barely grazed his opposite cheek. As she missed, the woman hissed, “If I had wind magic—!”

This time, with a slightly amused look, the smirk on the old man's face implied "You're getting closer," before he continued to say, “What's the use of reading their papers? Just put them all in the same class.”

The messily arranged papers on his desk were handed over, and the woman clicked her tongue. Before she exited the room, she left him a few words of personal concern, “Ya, old m— headmaster, you look tired. You should lay down... preferably somewhere under six feet.”

The old man leaned back on his chair with disregard for her remark. His eyelids drooped as he faced the ceiling, and he spoke to himself in a voice loud enough not to reach any ears outside the room.

“The kid that Perid sent has a blessing from an earth spirit, as for the kids from Loeth and Vinney...”

In a short moment, he opened a glare and grit his teeth as the expression of indolence on his face shifted fiercely. A pair of narrow, vertical pupils had appeared within his yellow irises while his bared teeth revealed unusually sharp edges.

“—Keh! I don't need to read their recommendations. I've already been in this academy for so long but I've yet to see a brat that could commune with that infuriating fire spirit!”

He grabbed at his hair, unconsciously raising his voice near the end of his sentence. And as he noticed his slip of the tongue, he abruptly shut his mouth and focused his attention to the door. Fortunately, no one was there.

He slumped back down in relief, “—Keh! Having to spend the remainder of my time on this forsaken land...” he groaned and leaned back on his chair while raising his legs on the desk. The appearance of a slovenly old man was quickly recovered as he closed his eyes and fell into deep slumber.

A few days later, in one of Daerin Academy's many lecture rooms, students were at their seats listening ploddingly to the instructor speaking in front of the class. Included among them was a blue-eyed and ashen-haired young boy who, unlike most of the others, was earnestly paying attention.

Seated right at the front row, Urie Loeth had a giddy smile and an occasional itch at the back of his neck.