The room that Jeina guided me to was spacious, comfortable, and had bedding so luxurious that it couldn’t be compared to anything in the orphanage.
“Are all the academy dorms single rooms?”
“No, usually it’s a shared room for two. This one is for those who pay extra… well, I’ll be off to the dining hall now, so please wait here for a moment.”
“Please, take your time.”
“You don’t have to say please… I’ll be back quickly!”
Left alone for a moment, I looked out the window.
‘Is that the lecture hall?’
I guessed it roughly by the shape of the building, and the various colors of the young magicians were overwhelming to my eyes.
‘This will take some time to get used to.’
It felt like looking at a mix of 100 or 200 different colored pencils only rich kids would have.
There were vibrant reds, blues, yellows, and other colors like sky blue, lavender, pastels, and more.
In this world, memorizing colors is probably more important than learning noble family crests or flags.
‘There are already several groups forming.’
The students were already walking around in groups of threes and fours, and there were very few walking alone.
Of course, I wanted to make friends too.
It was one of the most important things I had to do at the academy, both to enjoy my time here and to achieve my goals.
However, ‘That looks a little unpleasant.’
Among the groups I saw outside the window, some had clear hierarchies.
All the magicians were nobles.
Naturally, the rank of their family was reflected in their titles, and it was likely that children from families closely tied to vassal relationships entered the academy at the same time.
Even if they weren’t in such a situation, for a lesser noble, it would be advantageous to join the group of someone from a royal or ducal family, even if they had to act like a servant within it.
When such groups start to compete with each other, factions begin to form.
“…Sigh, really.”
In the original world, kids at this age would be worrying about trivial things like this.
‘Just getting along with everyone is the best way to form connections.’
Playing soldier games or organizing into lines doesn’t predict anyone’s future.
Forming factions won’t actually help your future.
They probably think they’re so mature.
‘How childish.’
The way they proudly imitate adults is the most childish thing of all.
‘Hmm?’
I noticed a student sitting alone on the grass.
‘That’s…?’
Red hair and red eyes.
I was sure.
It was the girl who showed me magic for the first time, Philia Clyford, the White Witch.
She was definitely easy to spot.
If I knew the color, I’d recognize her from 200 meters away.
‘I want to get along with her.’
She probably doesn’t realize it, but Philia is my benefactor.
If it hadn’t been for her, who knows how many days, months, or even years it would have taken to deal with Doloria.
I heard footsteps from the door.
Jeina had returned.
***
“Pant, pant…! I brought bread and butter!”
“Thanks for your hard work.”
As I took the basket full of bread, the savory smell hit my nose.
My stomach growled.
My mouth watered.
I had acted all high and mighty in the dean’s office earlier.
To be honest, I was really hungry.
I could have eaten all the snacks and cakes from the tea set by myself.
‘Please don’t let this happen every time I use magic.’
‘If that were the case, would all the calories be burned up?’
I hoped so, as I took a big bite of the bread.
The savory taste.
The aroma.
The satisfaction of the well-baked carbohydrates spreading in my mouth.
“Delicious…”
“Please, eat slowly!”
Jeina poured me some milk.
I was grateful.
The milk was delicious.
I was even more grateful.
After finishing what would have been a mukbang-worthy meal in my original world, I noticed Jeina’s eyes shining more brightly as she looked at me.
“You’re an amazing magician!”
“Huh? What do you mean all of a sudden?”
“I’ve only been working at the academy for a year, but… I’ve never seen anyone eat as much as you do, even among the staff!”
“Uh… is that so?”
‘Wait. Could that be true? If I use a lot of mana, does it also increase my calorie consumption?’
“By the way, stop calling me ‘student’ and just use my name… Oh, wait.”
I hadn’t told her my name yet.
“Call me Eli from now on.”
“Eli-nim!”
I wanted to ask her to drop the ‘nim,’ but judging by the look in Jeina’s eyes, it seemed like that would have been more hurtful to her.
If this were the military, it would be like a division commander making soldiers speak informally.
“Hm, hm… Anyway, Jeina, if you don’t mind, could you show me around the academy’s structure?”
“Me? I only know roughly what each building is… I’ve hardly been inside them…”
“That’s enough. Please.”
Although Jeina had no confidence, she did a good job guiding me around the academy grounds and buildings.
“That one and that one are the lecture halls… Over there, a bit separated, are the professors’ dorms and research labs, and those two are the dining halls… And in the center, that’s the administration building. The dean’s office where Miss. Eli was earlier is also on the first floor of that building.”
“Aha.”
As I wandered around the campus, I occasionally felt eyes on me, but no one stared at me closely.
It didn’t take long to realize.
‘They probably don’t think I’m just another student.’
It wasn’t discrimination or anything like that; it was natural.
I didn’t have the mark of a wizard family, and I didn’t have a staff or a wand either.
‘Come to think of it, do wands live here? Are there any dealers? If so, are they mass-produced or custom-made?’
I suddenly realized how much I didn’t know.
Although I had learned about general common sense and how society worked by asking the adults at the orphanage secretly, I didn’t have any knowledge about things I couldn’t know if I wasn’t a wizard.
‘Maybe I should ask Melrit or the dean later.’
I hope I can stay close with Melrit.
Apart from Dean Skaha, she’s my only ally in the academy.
‘She wouldn’t transfer or change jobs, would she?’
“And over there is the workshop… Eli? Are you lost in thought?”
“Sorry. Could you say that again?”
“Hmm… where should I start again…”
***
An unpleasant voice suddenly cut in.
“Hey. Move.”
“Yikes!?”
Jeina made a strange sound.
One of the students walking by tried to shove Jeina aside, but I caught her before she could fall.
‘Ugh, seriously.’
“It was such a childish thing to do.”
I say “one of the students” because they were walking in a group.
It was the same group of students I had seen from my room earlier, and they were the ones who would form a faction.
And the one who shoved Jeina was the leader of that faction.
In other words, it was the boy who had been swaggering at the front.
‘Are all of them just useless kids with bad attitudes?’
Including the leader, there were about five or six of them.
They all had the same look in their eyes.
It was the kind of look someone gets when they think their strength comes from the group, and they’re drunk on the power they wield by depending on the group.
It was a shallow, excited gaze filled with arrogance.
Right in front of me, an unpleasant scene unfolded.
“What’s your problem? Why are you walking right in the middle of the road, causing trouble?”
“I’m sorry!”
“Is that all you have to say, huh? Get your head to the ground. Huh? You too, if you don’t want to see her clothes being stripped off, you should join in too.”
“Ha ha ha! Lord Edwick, that would be hilarious!”
It was such a ridiculous scene that I stopped to watch for a moment, but when I saw Jeina actually trembling and about to bow her head, I grabbed her by the shoulder.
“E-Eli…”
She was so stiff, so I rubbed her a few times, and her muscles relaxed as her fear loosened.
“Whoa?”
Edwick, the boy who had been at the front, laughed.
“You’ve lost your nerve, huh?”
“…Sigh.”
I had no intention of listening to a brat like him.
“I understand that you’re mistaken, but I’m going to be a student here too.”
“…Huh? What?”
His voice faltered in confusion.
“And this girl…”
I pulled Jeina’s shoulder closer to me.
A short breath escaped from her lips.
“She’s my personal attendant.”
Everyone at the academy has attendants, after all.
If I ask the dean to assign Jeina to me, she’ll do it right away.
“!?”
Meanwhile, Jeina’s face, which was close to me, turned bright red.
“And, by the way…”
Now that Jeina seemed to have calmed down enough, I let go of my hand from her shoulder and stepped forward.
Jeina moved behind me, and Edwick remained in front.
“You, on the other hand, should apologize for causing unnecessary trouble for my attendant.”
Educating a foolish kid is the duty of an adult.