Resemblance

The knights lead me to their kingdom.

The houses are more vivid in color than my hometown.

Unlike my hometown, the mannerism in the townspeople appears modern; it’s like a mix of my previous world placed into a medieval setting.

I feel drowned by the crowd blooming upon the street, the blessing of summer’s heat, and the rocky ride to my destination.

It feels like I’m back working at the grocery store again.

It isn’t long until I reach one of the large buildings.

These people look younger, their curiosities are towards me as I arrive with the knights.

We got off the horses.

“This way…”

And the knight led me further into the buildings.

Whispers are passed among each other.

Then, their eyes and facial expression become more distorted.

Almost like they are disgusted to see me.

There isn’t much I can do.

I’m too confused to pay attention to their silly gossip.

I see more knights escorting two other people.

Their appearances are different from those students, almost like they were in the same situation as me.

As the knights gather into one area, they salute to their superior.

“I am sure you guys are aware why you have been sent here. Lady Cassiopeia is trying to prove her father wrong that peasants can stand on the same level as nobles. So now King Xirgrias is gathering only the strongest peasants in nearby villages in order to prove her theory wrong.”

He walks up to me with a stern look, hoping to get a reaction.

Nothing comes out from me.

“A selection of one-hundred peasants have been chosen, and by the first exams, ninety-seven of them have failed. If you cannot reach a good ranking on your academics, you will be exiled and branded as an enemy of Valor—”

“I have a question!” one of the selected peasants interrupts.

The group turns their heads to the curious peasant.

The captain exhales roughly through his nose.

“Your question?”

“One-hundred peasants have been selected, and ninety-seven of them failed. So does that make us the last ones?”

Silence fills the room.

The captain becomes stupefied by the brave peasant, so he releases another exasperated sigh.

“Yes, that makes you three the last ones,”

“I heard from the knights that you guys choose the strongest peasants in each village, so that makes me the strongest in my village!”

“Large pool of magick,” he corrects the boy.

“Magick, right! I have the highest magick in my village!”

“The highest in your village. You should be lucky you’ve been picked by the king’s request. Among the three of you, you have the lowest pool of magick.”

He whimpers, “Aw, I thought I had the highest…”

But that doesn’t bother him.

The peasant continues to smile despite the fact that he’s weaker than all of us.

“That’s okay, though! This is a great opportunity for me to improve!”

“Optimism will do you no good. This isn’t a playground that you can magically improve from the first day. Majority of the peasants failed on their first exam.”

“All I need to do is do well in my academics then?”

The silence returns.

And the peasant retains that confident smile.

“If that’s the case, then it shouldn’t be too hard!”

Hearing that boy talk reminds me of someone.

Brimming with confidence and optimism, he’s like a needle in a haystack.

“What’s your name, boy?”

The captain analyzes him.

He points at himself and smiles.

“Me? I’m Tsubasa Kazetani! My dream is to become a hero!”

“A hero, huh? One mishap, and your heroic dream will crumble into pieces.”

One of the armored knights approaches us, and he salutes to his superior.

“The preparation is ready, Captain Corgxis. Bring the new students to the auditorium at this moment.”

“It looks like I didn’t get to finish what I was saying. Follow me!”

We do as he says, walking in a single file, and the knights walking alongside us by the sidelines.

The hallways are bright marble floors complimenting the white walls, not a single speck of dirt is imprinted anywhere, and the doors are roughly six feet tall enough to fit a titan inside.

It isn’t the materials that are eyeballing, it’s the dimensions, the width being at least twice as large than any school I’ve ever been to.

A feminine voice echoes across the hallway, and the noise grows louder in volume the closer we follow it.

The brightness of the hallways is subpar from the auditorium, and I can see the horde of students coming in different shapes and forms.

The diversity in the auditorium is incomprehensible, ranging from elves, orcs, and minotaur.

As soon as Captain Corgxis stops his track, the other knights follow his footsteps.

We stay in our spot and listen to the lady speak among the students.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to announce that Princess Cassiopeia will be attending Ultiminia Academy!”

A particular individual steps forward, safely escorted by guards.

The microphone catches her breathing.

“Good morning, everyone. I think all of you know who I am. My name’s Cassiopeia. My dad wanted me to attend the university just to be the same as you guys, so don’t be afraid to treat me the same as you do with everyone else. I may be royalty, but here I’m no different from you guys. I’m also happy to announce we are having three new students who come from a peasant background.”

Corgxis takes that queue and leads his men towards the spotlight.

Thousands of students watch us, continuing to gossip amongst each other.

“Coming from Erfonis Village, Archie Hamon!”

She hands me the microphone.

My eyes are glued to her beauty, and my mind plays all kinds of tricks.

For unknown reasons, I start imagining Catherine as the princess.

The only difference between the two, the princess is taller.

I blink several times.

This lady can’t be one of my coworkers.

“The microphone is yours,” she whispers.

Their eyes are on me.

What am I supposed to say?

It makes it harder as the princess is near me.

Normally, it’s easy for me to speak in front of the audience.

But this time, things feel different.