Academy Tour

After Principal Orphus delivers his closing speech, the orientation concludes.

As for my scorched uniform, the principal hands me a black coat to conceal it; he promises a proper replacement later.

All the students walk from the stadium toward the academy buildings to head to their respective classrooms. For us new students, today's schedule consists of class introductions and an academy tour.

We take our seats anywhere we choose inside the classroom. Shortly after the bell rings, a slender woman with long dark hair steps up to the podium. She begins drawing a map of the academy on the blackboard with white chalk.

“Pleased to meet you, Class 1-F. My name is Ms Kilia, the junior class mathematics teacher, and I will be serving as your homeroom instructor for this academic year.”

However, the entire room ignores her. The students whisper and cast constant glances in my direction, completely consumed by the duel I just fought against the principal.

“Class… Listen… To… Me!” She slams both palms onto the podium desk, producing a loud slap sound, instantly shocking the room into total silence. “Good… Now, please focus so we don’t waste too much time.”

A spiky-haired noble boy raises his hand. “But we’re Class 1-F, right? I heard we’re the worst class anyway. What’s the point of acting like proper students now?”

“Rankings are merely a baseline derived from your entrance examinations. You are placed in the same class with people who share similar cognitive abilities so that we can teach you using different methods. There is no best class in this academy. Isn’t this clear?”

“Yes, Ma’am!” the class choruses in unison.

“Finally…” Ms Kilia sighs, snapping open the student attendance log. “Today, there will be no formal lessons, as we will spend the day on introductions and a campus tour.”

“Adric!”

“I’m here!” The spiky, brown-haired noble raises his hand.

“Amelle!”

“Here!” The girl sitting beside me raises her hand with eager enthusiasm.

…

After a short while, roll call concludes.

“I see, all twenty-five of you are present, so no one is absent,” Ms Kilia says, closing the attendance log with a quiet snap.

“I have a question…” A green-haired boy raises his hand. “What is the deal with Luminera and the principal?”

“I’m sorry, but Principal Orphus himself hasn’t disclosed anything to the teachers regarding that matter. I cannot tell you anything.”

Clicking his tongue, he lowers his hand and stops asking questions.

“If there are no further questions, stand up and follow me for the campus tour.”

I follow Ms Kilia and the other students out of the classroom. Amelle nudges me from behind and grabs my right hand.

“Lumi! Let’s go together!”

I can only smile at her as we walk hand in hand. “Sure.”

There are three main buildings at this academy: the Junior class building located on the eastern side, the Club building situated in the middle, and the Senior class building positioned on the western side. Each class building has its own cafeteria and infirmary on the first floor.

North of the club building lies a massive field for spirit manipulation classes and various club activities. I’ve already been using the academy field for morning exercise and sword practice a few times.

The last building we visit is the central tower, located at the centre of the three main buildings. The Administration Office is on the first floor, the Faculty Room is on the second floor, and the Levre Academy library spans from the third floor all the way to the base of the clock tower. The library is surrounded by bookshelves wrapped in giant concentric circles along the tower walls, with wooden catwalk balconies spanning each level.

With the library visit, the academy tour ends. We head to the Junior class building’s cafeteria.

The cafeteria is packed with other classes who have also just finished their tours, as our lunchtime coincides with theirs. I can already see a long queue to get our lunch. Even so, there is nothing to do except join the queue.

It seems that there is a commotion as I look toward a crowd of people gathering at the end of the cafeteria…

Lucius and Nicolai walk side by side, holding their lunch trays. Nicolai actually has my mother’s and my silver-colored hair, combined with my grandfather’s blue eyes. I can't help but find the sight utterly ridiculous. Nicolai, that brat of a cousin of mine, has somehow grown up to look like a polished, dashing noble...

Walking behind them are Eliza du Lemania—the eldest daughter of the Northern Duke and my brother’s fiancée—and Lily du Beethoven, Nicolai’s fiancée, walking side by side.

It seems the two boys have become the absolute centre of attention for every girl in the hall. That prompts Eliza to stop and point her finger toward those girls with a cold expression. “Please do not ogle other people’s fiancés. Thank you.”

Of course, that makes the girls scatter immediately…

I met Eliza for the first time in the castle’s backyard. I was nine when I first met her, while she and Lucius were six. My first impression of her was that she was such a sweet and caring little girl swaddled in thick winter fur. For some reason, there is no trace of that in the current Eliza… Cold and not even smiling—what happened while I was gone?

I can see even Amelle staring at them, completely mesmerised right in front of me.

“Amelle… Both of them already have fiancées. Give it up…”

“I know,” she mutters with a quiet sigh, pulling her face away to look back down at her food. “Aren’t you even a little interested in either of those two?”

Nope… Who in their right mind would want to date their younger brother and cousin?! I scream inwardly.

“I think… I’ll pass.”

As the commotion subsides, I can now feel the piercing gazes of students directed at me. Now I begin to doubt if that duel was actually a good idea… Worse, I can’t even slip away because I am stuck queuing for my lunch.

Protecting my little brother is one of the reasons I am here in the first place, but with this many eyes on me, I am starting to doubt whether I can guard him behind the scenes as planned. I can only hope that this absurd commotion dies down as quickly as possible.

“Oh, eggs… there’s even fresh meat here?!” Amelle begins piling food onto her tray, building a mountain of portions with a hum.

“Amelle… Are you certain you can finish all of that?” Unlike Amelle, I carefully select my portions one by one. I am a princess, after all; my royal etiquette taught me to take only what I require and maintain perfect composure at all times.

“Yes! I’m starving!” She tries to balance her heavily loaded tray with both hands.

Our next hurdle is to search for a place to sit… Even when I scan across the room, every table is already filled with students.

I walk with Amelle to find someone who finished their lunch quickly so we can sit. It seems there are a few other people stuck like us. While searching for an empty seat, I can see Lucius and Nicolai sitting together with their fiancées… And I notice my little brother and Eliza don’t even speak a single word to each other, while Nicolai talks a lot with Lily. It is a dangerous contrast…

Suddenly, Amelle’s elbow jabs sharply into my side.

“Ow—Amelle? What was that for? That’s dangerous!” I wince, snapping out of my thoughts.

“Lumi… You said you weren't interested in either of them! Why were you staring so intensely at them?” Amelle squints her eyes suspiciously at me.

“No! You’ve got it all wrong!” Then I finally spot two open chairs at a nearby four-seat table. Sitting across from them is a boy with wavy blonde hair—and beside him, a gloomy-looking boy drowning in an oversized uniform. “Look, empty chairs!”

“Don’t change the subject!” Amelle shouts, but follows me anyway.

“May we sit here? There are no other places left for us,” I ask with a polite smile, stepping toward the two boys.

“D-Don’t sit near me—!” the gloomy boy blurts out abruptly, before quickly clamping both hands over his mouth. “I-I'm sorry! I shouldn't have shouted at you!” I can’t see his hair or face clearly because of the hood, but I can see a few stray strands of brown hair poking out.

The wavy-haired blonde boy glances up at us, sweeping a dramatic hand across his chest with an extravagant, aristocratic flourish. “Mon Dieu! No offence intended, fair ladies, but I say this purely for your own protection. Please, do not draw near.”

The gloomy boy in the oversized uniform flinches violently, pulling his extra-large collar up to his nose as if trying to merge with the fabric. “I-I told you... people are going to get dragged into my mess! Bad things happen whenever I'm around! The moment anyone sits close, something breaks or explodes or—”

“Allow me to clarify my unfortunate companion's panic. This gentleman trembling inside his oversized attire is Prince Ciel de Franx—second prince of the Franx Empire, Class 1-A. And I, Mademoiselles, am Seranova de Fulle, Class 1-A, tasked with overseeing the prince while he attends Levre Academy.”

“Are you really asking two frail, delicate girls like us to eat while standing?”

“F-Frail girls? You’re famous, Luminera! Facing the Red Demon single-handedly and surviving…!”

“Red Demon?” I blink, completely taken aback by that title. “Isn’t that—?”

I recall that nickname, something I only recently discovered while researching him.

“Yes, Principal Orphus!” Ciel squeaks, pulling his sleeves up even higher to hide his mouth until only his big, panicked eyes are visible. “They call him the 'Red Demon'! He's the monster who single-handedly defeated a Grand Mammoth five years ago during the western campaign!”

I remember a faint memory from before—Principal Orphus himself mentioning how he had been saved by Master Long Kai. It seems that Grand Mammoth was the creature that broke right through his lightning defence...

“Is he really that famous? Enough for even royalty from Franx to know his name?”

“Mais oui! Of course! A man possessing such terrifying brute strength despite not having any Great Spirit pact? His reputation echoes far beyond these borders.”

“Regardless of his grand titles,” I say smoothly, pulling a chair out and setting my lunch tray down onto the table, “I assure you I am quite harmless while enjoying a meal. If anything happens, I shall take full responsibility. Shall we eat, everyone?”

“R-Right!” Amelle squeaks, hastily sliding into the seat beside me while keeping a wary eye on Ciel.

“P-Please don't say I didn't warn you when something goes horribly wrong...”

A short time passes as we eat our lunch in relative peace, and nothing bad happens.

Then, without warning, high above us, the heavy iron chandelier hanging from the cafeteria ceiling creaks a few times before it snaps.