"This outfit is really uncomfortable," I thought to myself as I looked in the mirror.
For a long time, I had gotten used to wearing clothes that weren't so tight, since everything I wore was always loose. Because of this, the change to the Xyrus Academy uniform felt a bit awkward.
The uniform consisted of a white dress shirt, a gray vest, a brown cord that tied around the neck, and navy blue dress pants that fit perfectly. It also had a gold pouch attached by a chain to the chest pocket of the vest.
Without paying it any more attention, I left the place where I was staying and walked towards the academy. Generally, many of the students arrive directly in lavishly decorated carriages, guided by large horses or mana beasts.
But this happens because, generally, those who go to Xyrus Academy are mostly the children of nobles. You'll see very few students who are commoners, and even they are often bothered by the others.
"Let's see what the academy has to offer," I thought. The main reasons for going to the academy are the possibility of making contact with some important people in the storyline, since you can usually connect when certain events in the plot occur.
Therefore, the best way to find the right moment to connect is to show up during the important events of the story.
Likewise, it's also for the information I can obtain by going to that place. Since Xyrus Academy is such an important academy, the amount of information in its libraries must be extensive, or at least have something important.
Even though I don't remember the library being that important in the manhwa when I watched it, I wouldn't be stupid enough to overlook it, especially with the help of the [Great Sage], who greatly simplifies all the work of obtaining information.
The travel time wasn't long or short. Although I could have easily arrived faster, I didn't want to rush, as it was still early and I was sure I could arrive on time.
Also, it's worth noting that the campus was enormous, so entering through the main gate took some time.
Finally, upon arriving, I had a panoramic view of the place in general.
"I must admit, this place is really big," I thought, as I watched a large number of students heading towards a large white building. So, without thinking too much about it, I walked towards that place.
Inside, there was a large auditorium, which, despite its size, had almost all of its seats occupied.
"Looks like I should have picked up the pace," I thought distractedly, letting my gaze wander in several directions until I finally found an empty seat.
"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" I asked softly.
The person I asked turned to look at me, a hint of familiarity in her expression. When she turned completely, I realized she was someone I had exchanged words with before.
"Oh? Miss Kathlyn, I didn't expect it to be you," I whispered, noticing that she was sitting alone, as if not many people dared to sit near her.
"It's not taken," she said before turning her gaze back to the stage.
"Then, with your permission," I commented softly before sitting next to her, as the event was about to begin.
"I didn't think you would enter as an academic mage instead of a battle mage," she said in a soft voice, without much fluctuation.
"Really? Though I must say I was thinking about it for a while, until I realized that within the academy, the most important thing wasn't battles or fighting practice. I've been practicing quite a bit in that aspect, so it's unnecessary to do so here," I whispered as I noticed the lights gradually dimming, signaling to everyone that the speech was about to begin.
"So, after analyzing it, I concluded that the best opportunity to take advantage of this place is to learn information from the books here, since in terms of combat, there isn't much this place can teach me," I finished saying, focusing my attention on the stage.
At the same time, I could notice the small expression of surprise on Kathlyn's face.
"Likewise, from what I see, you also entered as an academic mage, so we'll be classmates from now on," I commented with a smile, a small idea forming in my mind. "It seems perhaps we're destined... I'll be in your care," I whispered, causing her to react slightly.
Beside me, Kathlyn nodded stiffly, seemingly unsure of what to say. Knowing that she isn't very good at expressing her thoughts, I found it quite interesting to tease her a bit. But sadly, even though I wanted to continue, the headmaster had appeared on stage.
Headmaster Goodsky wasn't wearing the large hat that conjurers usually wore, unlike the last time we met almost four years ago. Now she wore an elegant white circlet that matched her white robe.
Her eyes were closed, but when she opened them, I noticed that her gaze was fixed in a particular direction. Looking towards that spot, I could see my brother sitting next to Elijah, who apparently had joined as a battle mage.
Following that, I noticed her gaze fix on me. Seeing this, I simply smiled back, without looking away, as there was really no need to. She returned my smile in kind.
At that moment, many more of the first-year students noticed her presence and began to speak even louder, causing several cheers to erupt. But when Headmaster Goodsky raised her hand to the height of her head, everything fell silent.
Looking around, everyone seemed surprised, and although everyone's lips continued to move, no one could hear a sound.
"Forgive my rudeness, but I hate shouting. It's not good for my throat. No, it's not," she said in a pleasant tone of voice that, although soft, was heard with complete clarity even in the last rows. "I welcome all of you present, the future academic leaders and the powerhouses of Dicathen, to this humble Academy. I am Cynthia Goodsky, call me Headmaster Goodsky, and don't be afraid to greet me when I walk around campus."
"I'm not good with speeches, so today I stand before you, mages, to greet you and introduce you to the Student Council that represents this Academy and is part of the important decision-making alongside me. Please give them a warm welcome." With a movement of her hand, one by one, the members of the council entered the stage.
Shortly after, one after another, the student council representatives appeared on stage beside her, and among them, a rather familiar figure was shown.
"Cousin, it seems you've grown quite a bit," I thought, then noticing how the audience applauded her arrival quite enthusiastically. "Not only has she grown, but she's also become popular."
She maintained an air of grandeur and excellence superior to all the other students on stage. After giving a deep bow, she tucked her hair back behind her pointed ears. Her emotionless face made her look like a doll.
"My name is Tessia Eralith, and I am honored to be here as the president of the Student Council of this Academy."
The students of the three races, who had been cheering for each member of the Student Council, fell silent when Tess entered. The auditorium became quiet, with only the echo of her majestic steps audible, causing her silver hair to sway.
Her mere presence changed the atmosphere inside the building. As she bowed and tucked her hair behind her ear, a roar of applause flooded the hall as students of both sexes acclaimed her with admiration.
I thought the cheers wouldn't last long, but as soon as Tess began to speak, it seemed all the students had covered their mouths so they could hear what she had to say.
Thus, she continued with her speech, talking about how happy she was to be the president of the student council. She also mentioned the great importance it was for her to try to eliminate the discrimination between academic mages and battle mages.
When she mentioned this, there was a brief silence, accompanied by a certain amount of whispering from some students. Beyond that, there wasn't anything particularly interesting in her speech, although the only notable thing to say was that a person could change their specialization through a difficult exam.
Apart from that, the following members of the student council also began to introduce themselves to everyone.
Clive Graves, the Student Vice-President; Fable Kristwood, in charge of Public Works; Lilia Helstea, the secretary; and finally Jarrod Redner, the treasurer. These individuals, along with Tess, completed the 5 members of the student council.
While the presentation and speeches were happening, I was honestly quite bored, so I simply closed my eyes as if whatever was happening didn't matter. Finally, with the conclusion of everyone's speeches, a large amount of applause echoed in the auditorium, signaling to me that it was finally over.
At the same time, I felt Kathlyn's touch beside me as she gently nudged me, trying to wake me up.
"Thank you very much for letting me know," I said politely.
Moments later, we both got up to leave the auditorium, but we had to wait a while before doing so, as the hallways were crowded with people, making it a bit difficult to exit.
Once the large crowd of young people had left, we walked slowly towards the exit, neither of us speaking for the moment, which created a small silence.
"It seems your brother sat with his friends. It seemed strange to see you alone," I said, noticing Curtis ahead. He was with a group of boys his age, laughing and joking among themselves.
"Mm," she simply nodded.
At this, I could only sigh, since it seemed she really had trouble communicating, or perhaps she was just reserved. "No matter, that will only make things more fun," I thought.
"I want to apologize," she said softly.
"Huh? Why is that?" I asked, genuinely surprised by her words, as well as not understanding why she was apologizing.
"It's just... I feel like my family owes you many apologies. Also for what happened with Sebastian and Father that day at the Auction House... It's not usually like that, but he was also surprised by how things unfolded, he needed to maintain his image and..." she said, trying to explain things.
Noticing this, I simply shook my head, causing her to look at me.
"You don't need to worry about it. What happened years ago at the auction house, I had almost completely forgotten. Besides, I didn't behave in the best way either. Despite everything, I'm very protective of my close relatives, and I think that was quite clear the last time we met in the city," I commented calmly as we moved forward.
"It's even understandable that your brother has a bad opinion of me since that day, as I embarrassed him in front of quite a few people," I said, shaking my head. "You don't need to apologize, as I've behaved badly too."
There was a brief silence. I could tell she was thinking about my words, so I decided not to interrupt. But a commotion caught our attention. Looking in that direction, I couldn't help but be surprised and shake my head.
"He really likes to get into trouble," I whispered, while Kathlyn was equally surprised to notice Arthur arguing with a boy, as the student council president approached.
"Are you going to help him?"
I watched for a while and simply shook my head before continuing on my way.
"It's not necessary, he can solve these kinds of problems on his own. Besides, it's not anything too serious." I paid no more attention to the matter and walked in another direction. I had decided not to interfere much in Arthur's life anymore.
Therefore, I wouldn't jump in at the slightest problem he had. He had to fend for himself more, unless it was something really serious.
So, without thinking more about the subject, we both walked towards the dormitories. The walk was silent but not uncomfortable, although we received quite a few glances from the young people passing around us, but neither of us paid them any mind.
Halfway there, we both had to go in different directions, as obviously the boys' and girls' dormitories are separate.
"See you in class," I said goodbye to little Kathlyn and continued calmly on my way.
The dormitories for the boys were divided between beginners and veterans. Beginners were those taking general education classes. Students moved to the veterans' dormitories after finishing the general education courses and formally choosing what type of students they were going to be.
In addition, there were also rooms for lower class and upper class. So, after entering, I simply went to the upper-class section and looked for my room number.
'Room number 69'
The space inside wasn't very large, but it had enough room for a good bed, some furniture, and a coffee table, as well as a bathroom on the side.
I didn't stay in the room long, as I had some things to do, so I just arranged my clothes and a few books. Leaving the room, I walked this time towards the school principal's building. It was a large building, which was accompanied by another smaller building, which was where the student council members resided.
Knock, knock.
"Come in," a soft voice came from inside the room.
Hearing it, I simply entered. Upon doing so, I noticed that the place was very large. There were several bookshelves on the sides, along with a beautiful coffee table with two large greenish armchairs.
Likewise, a large window could be seen at the front of the room. There was the headmaster, looking at the landscape below, where several students walked around the school.
"What a surprise that you've come to see me, young Alex," Headmaster Goodsky smiled, moving away from the window and sitting calmly at her desk.
"I hope I'm not interrupting you," I said as I sat in the chair in front of her desk.
"You don't need to worry about it, a visit is always welcome," she poured herself some tea, then remained silent, waiting for me to speak.
"I heard you're trying to create a disciplinary committee," I commented, taking a sip of the tea that Headmaster Goodsky had served me. When she heard me, a trace of surprise flashed across her eyes, before returning to normal.
"I see you are well-informed, young Alex," she placed her tea on the table, looking at me for a moment before speaking again. "Does young Alex perhaps want to join the disciplinary committee? If you really want to, it's not impossible."
"I owe you a favor, so I know that soon you would come to talk to Arthur and me to ask us to join the disciplinary committee." There was a brief silence in the room.
"It seems the young man knows me quite well," she seemed to smile, but anyone with a keen sense could feel that she was analyzing me more than smiling. "Well, you are right, I was indeed thinking of asking you to join the disciplinary committee."
"I have no problem joining, but I would like to ask for your help with two things," I raised a finger. "That you allow me to attend the advanced classes on Mana manipulation," I said softly, while raising my second finger. "As well as permission to read several of the books in your library."
"Oh, I see the prince has a large appetite," she said. "Although I am flattered that the prince of the elves is interested in my personal collection of books, aren't the books in the royal palace of the elves enough for you?" she continued, but this time her gaze became more serious. "Why is the young man interested in my main library?"