As the entrance ceremony approached, students other than the new students began to arrive one by one.
Of course, since they were all children of noble families, when a student arrived, the entire carriage they had used from home would move, and sometimes several carriages would travel together.
In one, the student would be riding, while in others, servants and maids would be riding.
If there were any new furniture to bring, that too would be carried in a separate cart.
Such processions would arrive in several groups on the same day, so the area in front of the dormitory was continuously bustling and noisy.
Ellie, in her newly assigned room, looked down at the scene and said, “There are so many people when you look at it like this.”
“Most of them are just servants and family members who finished moving in,” answered Melrit.
Even though it was confirmed that she would become a professor, Melrit still couldn’t avoid staying close to Ellie.
There were many reasons, but the main ones were that Ellie, who knew nothing about this world except for the orphanage, needed someone to teach her common knowledge, and frankly, Melrit herself enjoyed spending time like this.
“You said the dormitory rooms are basically not changed, right?” Ellie asked.
“Yeah.”
Unless there was a special issue, students spent four years in the same room.
Because of this, most students would decorate or bring furniture into their rooms as they liked.
The only limit was their allowance.
However, Ellie’s room, or rather, the room she would share with a roommate she hadn’t met yet, was empty.
It could be excused because her roommate hadn’t arrived yet, but Ellie’s side of the room only had a simple bed, a desk, and a chair.
The bed and desk were simple, and the chair was not padded with cotton; it was just a hard wooden one, with a cushion placed on it.
The desk and bed were of similar quality.
“Snowdrop Building, 5th floor, Room 2.”
Ellie repeated the room number she would stay in for the next four years.
The building was five stories tall, with the lower two floors being single rooms, and the remaining three floors being double rooms.
Among these, the second floor, which was farthest from the main entrance, was the most expensive because it didn’t let in the cold winds in the winter and had less noise.
This floor was where the wealthiest families settled.
By the way, Clea and Philia were both on the first floor.
***
Knock, knock.
The door opened, and Jeina entered.
“Ellie, you’re here? I brought some bread. Would you like some?”
“I’d like some. Thank you.”
From that day on, Jeina became Ellie’s exclusive maid.
Although she was still technically part of the academy, she had been reassigned to care for Ellie, with Skaha’s arrangement to minimize her previous duties.
For reference, Dein had apologized to Jeina the same day he lost.
Jeina had nearly fainted at that moment.
Ellie, Jeina, and Skaha had made sure to reassure Jeina several times, promising that Ellie would protect her if anything happened.
“Now the entrance ceremony is in two days, right?”
Jeina cautiously asked, noticing that Ellie and Melrit weren’t immediately talking.
“Yeah.”
Although Ellie still spoke formally to Jeina.
“Then Ellie, would you like me to prepare your clothes for the entrance ceremony in advance? I can wash and fix them for you.”
“Well…”
For the first time, Ellie looked slightly troubled.
“I think I’ll go in this outfit.”
“Excuse me?”
Jeina blinked.
Ellie’s outfit at the moment was a simple linen tunic and blue pants.
Both were made of plain material and had no decoration.
While it looked fine on her, it gave the impression that Ellie was a girl from the nearby village, not a student attending the academy’s entrance ceremony.
“That…” Jeina looked at Melrit.
She wasn’t sure of the details, but she knew that the academy, represented by Melrit, was helping with Ellie’s living expenses.
“I tried, but she just said she wants to spend the money elsewhere,” Melrit sighed, showing that it wasn’t the first time she had tried to convince Ellie.
“Don’t worry, Jeina.”
Ellie smiled.
“The most important thing isn’t what you wear, but the attitude with which you stand.”
“Well, yes, but…”
Jeina was still worried.
Even if it wasn’t their fault, people couldn’t confidently walk around if their clothes were stained.
Of course, even if Ellie was different from ordinary people, Jeina thought it wouldn’t change the fact that it would be difficult.
Jeina decided that she would try her best in the remaining time before the entrance ceremony.
***
Ellie’s roommate arrived three days later.
“Were you cleaning up? Good work.”
The girl had light green hair, tied in a ponytail.
The high position of the ponytail made it sway back and forth as she walked.
She had an elegant face, and her tall, slender body gave her a sharp, poised look, especially with her back straight like a blade.
Her orange eyes were unusually direct, and they didn’t waver.
‘A warrior?’
Ellie thought for a moment, recalling that in this world, mages were considered the most dangerous warriors and living weapons.
‘Was she from a strict family?’
“No?”
“You’re not?”
“My name is Ellie. I’ll be your roommate for the next four years.”
Ellie closed the textbook she had been reading before the semester started and walked toward her new roommate.
“I look forward to working with you.”
“…What kind of joke is this? I’ll pretend I didn’t see this, so go back to your business—”
“Flame.”
A small flame rose from the tip of Ellie’s finger, about the size of a candle flame.
The girl’s eyes widened so much that the tiny flame of the candle was clearly reflected in her iris.
Blocking the mana, Ellie turned it off and extended her hand forward.
“Please take care of me from now on?”
“…Uh, uhm. I will, I will.”
The girl still seemed confused, but she shook Ellie’s hand in a handshake.
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Stella. My full name is Blaze. You can call me Stella casually.”
‘Full name?’
A memory from a thick, difficult book she had read in the orphanage came to mind.
The book had mentioned that the king’s household was called “Jeon,” and that royal names were sometimes referred to as “jeonmyeong” (full names).
However, this was considered an old-fashioned expression nowadays.
“So, Princess Stella?”
Stella’s eyes widened again.
Ellie chuckled softly.
“What’s this? You’re surprised even though you used an old-fashioned expression like ‘jeonmyeong,’ Princess?”
“No, I… I apologize.”
“Thank you, Princess.”
“Ah, that’s enough. I already apologized.”
Stella’s cheeks were bright red with real embarrassment.
Ellie got a sense of things.
It seemed that Stella usually spoke in a very formal tone, but she was trying to speak casually since she was at the academy.
“She must come from a really distinguished family.”
Since it didn’t seem like there was any malice behind it, Ellie decided to let it go for now.
“Haha, sorry, Stella?”
“Uh, um….”
It felt like things had suddenly gotten a little too casual, but before Stella could properly feel flustered, Ellie quickly closed the distance between them.
“By the way, are you alone, Stella?”
“Y-You’re close! And yes, I’m alone. I don’t have much luggage.”
“Is that so? Sorry.”
The daughter of the royal family had come to a two-person room on the fifth floor, not even the second.
Ellie decided not to ask any further questions.
“So, is this your first time at the academy?”
“I guess you could say that.”
“Oh, then should I give you a tour? I’ll introduce you to my friends.”
“I’d be grateful if you did that.”
“Then let’s go! We’ll grab some bread at the restaurant on the way.”
“Grab bread at the restaurant?”
Stella was startled.
‘Wait, did she get the wrong roommate?’
However, before Stella could properly feel shocked, Ellie grabbed her hand and pulled her along.
“Come on, stop hesitating and let’s go quickly!”
“!?”
Stella could feel her face heating up.
‘What’s with this girl? Is this how commoners act? No, that can’t be it.’
By the way, her hand was soft.
Compared to Stella’s own hand, which had calluses everywhere, Ellie’s hand felt especially soft.
“Wait, Ellie, you don’t need to pull me like that.”
“Let’s go quickly! The bread will get cold!”
“Is that what’s important!?”
Stella felt disappointed for some reason as she followed Ellie down the stairs.
As Ellie let go of her hand once they were walking properly, Stella felt even more disappointed.
She still didn’t understand why.
As they walked toward the restaurant near the dormitory, Ellie suddenly waved her hand.
“Ah, Philia!”
Among the grassy fields of the academy, a girl with striking red hair flinched at the call.
“She’s my friend. I’ll introduce you.”
“Uh… Um…”
Upon hearing those words, Philia shuddered in fear of yet another one-sided friendship-making session beginning.
‘But what’s going on now? She’s going to introduce someone?’
‘Should I run away?’
For the first time in her life, Philia Clyford seriously considered fleeing.
But even though she didn’t want to, if she ran now, she would be running not only from Ellie but also from whoever Ellie had brought along.
That wasn’t acceptable.
Philia didn’t feel the need to make friends, but she definitely didn’t want to make enemies.
Reluctantly, Philia slowly stood up, stiffening.
“You are…?”
“You’re…?”
And Stella, who had been dragged along by Ellie, froze as well.
She had heard that Philia was at the academy, but she never expected to meet her so soon, and certainly not in this way.
“Well, this is…”
Ellie frowned slightly after asking the question and quickly figured it out.
“I see. There’s bad blood between the families, right?”