As we descended the hill, Shar stopped in front of the school building directly ahead.
"This is Building D. You’ll be coming here starting tomorrow."
"Got it. Shar, you’ve been attending since April, right?"
"Hmm, in terms of attending officially, I suppose so."
Officially?
"What do you mean by that?"
"Anyone can technically attend classes here. I’ve been coming since I was a child to take the Alchemy classes I liked. So, I’ve been around for quite a while. Actually, plenty of people do that. There are about thirty students in a class, but half of them only show up for the specific subjects they’re interested in."
"What’s Alchemy exactly?"
"You don’t even know that?"
"Is it the thing where they kidnap children?"
Or was that black magic?
"Stop that... It's just normal medicine making, like crafting Potions."
"Potions, huh..."
Never heard of 'em.
"Do you want one? You should drink it if you start feeling unwell."
Shar produced a flask containing a blue liquid from thin air and handed it to me.
"...Hey, the Headmaster did this too, but what is that? Some kind of magic trick?"
The Headmaster had also pulled a uniform and a key out of nowhere earlier.
"Ah... that’s Space Magic."
Heh...
"Which class is that?"
"That’s part of Basic Magic, so I suppose you’d learn it in Basic Studies... although I think most students who come here can already use it from the start."
"I wonder if I can? Well, whatever. So, I just drink this?"
At a glance, it didn't exactly look like a soft drink... In fact, wasn't it a little too blue?
"Yes. It’s good to drink when you’re exhausted. Oh, but it only restores physical stamina, so it won’t do anything for a viral cold or anything like that."
Well, I’d just go to a doctor for that.
"Thanks."
"Let me know if you run into any trouble. I can at least offer some advice."
This girl was way too kind. Especially for someone who looked like a young lady from a prestigious family...
"Shar, you’re in Class C, right? Is it okay for me to even go there?"
"Hmm... do you have a smartphone with you?"
"Of course."
I nodded and pulled out my phone. When I checked the screen, it showed no signal.
"Out of range... I guess that makes sense. It’s a different world, after all."
"You can’t use it here, but naturally, it works over on the other side. Let’s exchange contact info. You can just message me if anything comes up."
We exchanged our details.
"Thanks. I’ll take you up on that right away—which class covers Dispel Magic?"
"Dispel Magic? That’s a third-year subject. Let’s see... the most recent one is in Class A five days from now. It’s this one called Curse Studies."
Shar produced a piece of paper from thin air and showed it to me. It appeared to be a timetable, and sure enough, Curse Studies was listed for Friday afternoon.
"Can I take a Class A subject too?"
"You can. Though not many people cross over into other classes like that."
"Heh... Still, that sounds like a dangerous class. Curse Studies... even though the goal is to dispel them."
"How can you dispel a curse if you don't understand the curse itself? There’s no such thing as a doctor who doesn’t understand illness, right?"
True enough.
"Fair point... and someone like me can actually attend?"
"Curse Studies? It’s advanced and quite difficult, you know."
Advanced, huh...
"I’m just a little curious about it."
"Hmm... is it for your family business? Well, you can attend. If you’d like, shall we go together?"
"Is that okay?"
"It’s a class I’ll have to take eventually anyway, and it doesn't hurt to see what it's like. Besides, my Friday afternoon class is Alchemy, and I’ve already cleared that credit, so I’m free."
Perks of being a genius, I guess. By the way, the Friday afternoon class for my own Class D was History.
Yep, skipping that for sure.
"Could you come with me? I don't mind going to another class, but heading to a third-year room alone is a bit much..."
I wasn't exactly the timid type, but walking into a room full of upperclassmen by myself felt like a recipe for trouble.
"You’ll see when you get there, but nobody really cares if you're in a different year. It’s actually more awkward when you go to a different class in your own year."
Are they on bad terms?
"Heh... Sorry to bother you, but could you?"
"I don't mind."
Shar really was a sweetheart.
"Then I’ll count on you. Thanks for today, seriously. You’ve been a huge help."
"No, no, it was my pleasure. Do your best. I’ll see you again on Friday."
Shar turned on her heel and gave an elegant wave as she said goodbye, then began walking back up the hill.
Wait, I’m going that way too.
Naturally, I was heading home as well, so I followed along behind her.
"............"
"............"
We walked in silence until we reached the fork in the road where the paths to the Girls' Dormitory and Boys' Dormitory diverged. Suddenly, Shar turned around, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"A-Anyway, good luck tomorrow. S-See you then!"
Still blushing, Shar gave one more elegant wave and hurried off toward the Girls' Dormitory. I watched her retreating figure for a moment before turning toward the Boys' Dormitory.
"She was an interesting girl."
I headed back inside, changed out of my slippers, and went upstairs. In the break area at the top of the stairs, I saw two boys sitting on a sofa, chatting.
"Oh? A face I don't recognize."
"True."
They both noticed me and looked over.
"I’m enrolling tomorrow. I was just getting a tour today," I replied as I walked toward them.
"Heh... so you’re a boarder?"
The blonde, refined-looking guy asked while flipping his bangs out of his eyes.
"Well, something like that."
I wasn't sure if I counted as a boarder when I was technically commuting from my bedroom at home.
"Which room are you in?" the other boy asked. He was chubby with brown hair.
"That one over there."
"Heh. So we’re neighbors."
"I’m the room across the hall."
When I pointed to my door, they both nodded. Apparently, the chubby one was next door and the refined one was directly across from me.
"I’m Tsukasa Nagase. Nagase is the surname."
"A Japanese, I see. I am Cedric Seager, the eldest son of the prestigious Seager family from England. Surely you’ve heard of us?"
The refined guy—Cedric—flipped his drooping bangs again.
"Never heard of 'em. And you?" I asked, looking at the chubby one.
"Hey... look, Cedric’s sulking because you brushed him off so easily."
I looked over at Cedric, and he was indeed slumped over in disappointment.
"Save that kind of act for the girls. Doing it to guys just makes them want to punch you."
"Is that so... You really haven't heard of the Seager family? We’re quite famous."
He didn't know when to quit.
"Sorry. I’m a total amateur when it comes to magic, so I’m not really up on the trivia. For that matter, where exactly is England?"
Somewhere in Europe?
"Are you serious... Is the academic level of Easterners really that low?"
"No, Japanese people are usually smart. Although that Akabane girl is an idiot..."
Akabane?
"Sorry. Truth is, I don't even know half the countries in the world. I know America and Australia. Oh, and I know Russia."
And France.
"...Cedric, don’t take it to heart. He’s one of the dumb ones. He has the same vibe as Akabane."
"...I’m starting to think so too."
The two of them began whispering to each other while staring at me.
"Hey, wait. I know China too. And Brazil. And Canada!"
"Okay, okay. We get it, you know the big, flashy ones... I’m Frank. Frank Hedrich. I doubt you’ve heard of us either, but we’re an old family from Germany."
Heh...
I didn't know them, but "old family" usually meant "rich and powerful."
"Cedric and Frank, huh... What are you guys doing out here?"
"We just got back from town and were bored," Frank replied.
"You guys don't go home?"
"We left our families to live here at the academy."
I guess there are people like that.
"You live at home, don't you?" Cedric asserted, pointing a finger at me.
"How can you tell?"
Cedric pointed his finger toward my bare feet.
"Ah, right. In Japan, we don't wear shoes inside the house."
"I know. There are a few other Japanese students at this academy."
"Really?"
I only knew about Toko. Though, I wondered if people even realized she was Japanese. Her face was definitely Eastern, though.
"In our year, there’s the Akabane I mentioned."
"Who’s that? Is she in this dorm?"
I’d never heard of an Akabane family either. Then again, I didn't know much about anything.
"Ah, no, she’s a girl. By the way, which class are you in?"
"They said I’m in D."
"What... then you're with us. We’re also in first-year Class D."
"For real?"
So we were classmates.
"Yeah. And that Akabane girl is in Class D too. If you see a girl with black hair staring blankly at the ceiling, that’s her."
Heh... is she a cat?
"Hmm, maybe I’ll try talking to her."
"You should. It’s good to have connections with someone from your homeland. Besides, I bet you’ll get along great."
Frank laughed. He probably meant we’d get along because we were both "idiots."
"There sure are all kinds of people here."
"You could say that. But watch out—there are some people you really shouldn't talk to."
"Exactly. There are stuck-up types who act superior just because of their lineage... Hey, don't glare at me. It was a joke!"
Cedric was so blatant about his own elitism that I couldn't even bring myself to comment.
"So, who are the actually dangerous ones?"
"There’s the Ice Princess, an incredibly stuck-up young lady. And in the other classes, there’s the Student Council President."
Wait, what?
"I don't know this Ice Princess, but I know the Student Council President. She was the one showing me around just now."
"Wait, seriously?"
"That’s insane. Wasn't she terrifying?"
Terrifying? She was nothing but kind the whole time...
"She seemed normal to me."
Mostly.
"...Is this guy going to survive?"
"...It’s a coin toss."
These guys really loved having private conversations right in front of my face.
"Hey, tomorrow’s your first day, right? Want to walk with us?" Frank offered.
"Is that okay? As a new student, I’d really appreciate the help."
"Don't worry about it."
"Indeed. We are classmates, after all."
These guys were actually pretty decent.
"Alright... I’ll count on you then. I’m still not sure how any of this works."
"Sure thing. We’ll be right here in the morning. Don't be late."
That’s right, I actually had to wake up on time...
"I’m not very confident about that. This is my first time waking up early in a month."
Getting up at seven... ugh.
"Not confident? You were a student before this, right? It’s a normal routine."
"No, I was a NEET."
Key word: was.
"............I see."
"............Coming from us, who left our parents because we just wanted to play around... you really should cherish your parents more, man."
I know, I know.
I’m well aware that I was being a failure of a son. The word "NEET" carries a lot of weight.