Today was the day of the very first orientation for the Specialized S-Class designated by Babel.
The location specified was the seventeenth floor of the Tower of Babel. One could climb the stairs, but there was a magical device with a moving platform that traveled between floors, and as a rule, it seemed to be used for transit to the fifth floor and above. I suspect it was similar to the elevators frequently found in the structures built by Daedalus, that architectural fiend.
Upon arriving at the seventeenth floor, I found the entire hallway carpeted in deep crimson. Near the entrance stood figures resembling security guards, distinctly setting this level apart from the others.
A bench had been placed before the grand double doors of a particularly lavish room, where a man and a woman in formal attire—presumably Babel staff—were handling reception duties.
As I approached, the two staff members offered a polite bow.
"Please state your name and academy."
"Hmm. My name is Kai Heinemann, a student of Ouboro Academy."
The instant I answered, the staff members' faces twisted in disgust.
"Here, take these. The room is over there."
The woman shoved a stack of documents roughly into my hands and jerked her chin toward the room beyond.
What a striking shift in attitude. My, such a refreshingly swift turnaround. Well, I had been on the receiving end of such reactions ever since my days in my homeland of Lemuria, so it was hardly surprising.
"I see. Thank you."
I am not so young as to take offense at every slight from someone the age of a child. After offering the bare minimum courtesy expected of an adult, I moved to enter the room, but—
"What is with that attitude of yours?!"
The man beside her barked in reprimand.
"Attitude? What about it?"
"I am saying there is a proper attitude to take before your betters!"
A thick blue vein throbbed on his forehead as he raised his voice.
"Betters? On what grounds are you my betters? I am neither your subordinate nor an instructor at your academy. I see no reason to revere you."
"We are Babel staff!"
"And?"
"And—you say?! To a piece of trash, an incompetent from some bottom-tier academy like you, we Babel staff are beings far above the clouds! And of all things, you have the nerve to claim you see no need for respect?!"
As the woman shrieked hysterically at the top of her lungs, curious students began emerging from the room to see what the commotion was about, observing the scene.
"Beings above the clouds, you say? I cannot fathom the slightest basis for such a belief."
"Enough! Incompetent, you are forbidden from attending today's orientation! I will personally inform the S-class head teacher that you have been placed on suspension for insolence toward the staff."
Suspension, is it? Frankly, I couldn't care less about the S-class, and even if this led to my expulsion from Ouboro Academy, it would not trouble me in the slightest. After all, I have no need whatsoever to be a student to intervene in that academy.
As for Rose's Royal Guard position, I was only a temporary guard to begin with. The matter would be settled easily enough if someone like Zack took over the post.
"Is that your final decision?"
"That's right! It's final! So get out of here right now, you filthy apostate!"
A filthy apostate. That peculiar phrasing meant she likely hailed from my homeland, the Fortress City of Lamoor. It seemed reason would not reach them, and forcing my way into the orientation hall might even lead to bloodshed. I would not mind that personally, but I had no great attachment to this so-called S-class anyway. If anything, I would welcome being spared from attending such tedious lectures.
"Is that so? Then I shall gladly take you up on that."
Just as I turned on my heel in high spirits—
"Oh? Kai Heinemann—you claim that he cannot attend this venue. Is that your assertion?"
A voice called out from an unexpected direction.
"That's right! A piece of trash, an incompetent like him has no right to attend this prestigious class!"
The male staff member hurled abuse toward the speaker, but the moment he recognized the slender, tall, handsome man dressed in navy-blue robes, he froze stiff.
"You mean to say you possess enough authority within Babel to overturn my decisions? In that case, Head Teacher, does this mean you have granted these mere puppets authority exceeding my own? In the brief time since I last saw you, you seem to have become quite important. That is truly delightful."
The handsome man in navy-blue robes addressed the middle-aged man with a toothbrush mustache standing beside him.
"N-Not at all! Perish the thought! I would never dream of such a thing!"
Letting out a shrill scream, the head teacher dropped to his knees and prostrated himself, pressing his forehead against the floor as he cried out in desperation.
"Then what is the meaning of this?"
The handsome man's tone shifted sharply as he locked a piercing, hawk-like glare onto the two staff members before questioning the head teacher.
Having finally realized who the handsome man was, the color drained entirely from the two staff members' faces, and their bodies began to tremble violently.
"You fools! Did you think you would get away with such insolence?!"
The head teacher sprang up, his face flushing red as an ogre's as he furiously bellowed at the pair.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
They snapped to attention and stammered their reply.
The handsome man, Rasputin Grahart, merely shifted his gaze toward the students peering out from inside the hall.
"The orientation will begin shortly. Take your seats."
He issued the order quietly. His voice was neither loud nor harsh, yet the students scrambled back inside in a panic.
Rasputin then approached me, placed his right hand over his chest, and murmured:
(My Great One, please forgive this disrespect. Pray, proceed inside the venue.)
He whispered in a low voice barely audible to me, then swept briskly into the hall.
While the head teacher continued furiously dressing down the thoroughly dejected staff members, I thought to myself:
"Just who is that man?"
Tilting my head in wonder, I stepped into the orientation venue as well.