"What's she doing?" the murmurs started.
"The headmaster hasn't even said anything yet."
"Is she out of her mind?"
"What do you mean 'is she?' She obviously is!"
Merlin wanted to punch himself. He should have known. Nora had been silent all through, so he should have known that some absurd plot threads were intertwining in that head of hers. But, still… He bit his lower lip. There was no way he could have expected this!
"Put your hand down," Merlin muttered, his lips pressed together as he jabbed Nora at her side, sounding like a father scolding his stubborn child. "Put it down immediately, or I swear…"
Nora acted like he was invisible, though. In fact, she turned it up a notch and stood up.
Merlin paled, feeling like he had just been struck by lightning. She was going to be the end of him.
He looked around them, and, sure enough, every single pair of eyes was on Nora. Even those to the front of the auditorium had turned around on their seats to look at her. The atmosphere on the stage was even worse. A few of the instructors were frowning, Professor Jung was no different. Despite having a sweet face, she seemed like a strict person, and Nora was acting in such a disrespectful manner.
The headmaster, on the other hand, was smiling. Nora's antics did not seem to be bothering him even a bit. And as Professor Jung tried to approach the podium—most likely to take over, reprimand Nora, and then answer whatever her question was—the headmaster raised a hand to stop her.
He then cleared his throat and leaned forward towards the mic.
"You have a question for me, young miss?" he said, quite politely, in fact.
Was he really an S-Class Mage? Merlin wondered. He had somehow come to reasoning that Mages of that Class would be more smug, acting as though they were all that. After all, they were powerhouses, and all the fame and recognition associated with it ought to get to their head. But Kim Yiseo, and now, the headmaster, proved him wrong.
However, that didn't stop Nora from acting even more disrespectfully than she already was. She went ahead to dip her hands into her blazer's pockets, angling her body to her side slightly like she was standing in an unmoving queue.
It was more than obvious to Merlin that Nora was still annoyed about the whole incident with the president's grandson. Sure enough, she usually didn't stay angry for long, but the short time she spent that way always felt like an eternity. That was because she was never one for pretending. And that was exactly what scared the life out of him. If Nora did not construct her words well, they might as well no longer be Mages. Professor Jung had just told them that the Academy didn't tolerate nonsensical acts.
Please, just manage your temper for today! Merlin begged in his mind.
"Yes," Nora replied to the headmaster. "Am I permitted to ask now?"
The headmaster cleared his throat, and still with a smile on his face answered, "Go on."
"Why did the orientation start a lot later than what was scheduled on the leaflet?" She went straight to the point. "I believe we as students have the right to know, don't you think?"
The murmurs were a lot lower now. Because the majority of the students seemingly shared the same feelings as her, they had gone from being somewhat violent towards her due to her actions to understanding in just a second.
"It seems like you have a guess already," the headmaster said. "I would like to know what you are thinking."
Nora just stared with a blank look on her face. Merlin had a lump in his throat.
"Are you trying to deflect?" she said.
Gasps. No. Roars were what sounded next.
That was a rude thing for her to have said, and an even ruder tone to have used.
Merlin facepalmed.
This was Nora. When she got angry, she threw common sense out the window. This was the headmaster she was speaking to.
For goodness sake, Nora…
"Am I deflecting?" The headmaster swept his gaze across the first years as though expecting one to answer on his behalf. Then he guffawed, surprising them all. "Nora Tyrrell, isn't it?"
"Nora Tyrrell, it is," Nora replied without a second's delay.
Merlin wasn't even surprised that the headmaster had known who she was. In fact, it would have been a cause for alarm instead if the headmaster hadn't known who she was.
"One of the only five A-Class Mages in your year," added the headmaster.
Merlin's brows jumped up; it seemed like all the A-Class Mages had gotten in.
"A-Class Mage?" a student sounded astonished. "She's one of them?" The student must have been one of the many who had been desperately seeking an A-Class Mage on the exam day, but had missed Nora.
"Hmph! Is that why she's so smug? What a show-off."
"You are curious about my guess?" Nora went on apathetically. "Well, I'm of the mind that the orientation was delayed due to an act of favoritism for a certain someone that I will not mention. Would you mind debunking that, please? But truthfully, if you will."
The headmaster nodded, this time, stroking his moustache.
"I see," he mumbled. "So that is what you think?"
"Yes," Nora replied. "I'll be honest, I don't like favoritism, and stand against it fully. So if that's the kind of Academy this is, then I'll gladly pull out right this instant."
Merlin's soul left his body. She had really gone and lost it. And every student thought the same.
He distinctly tugged at the hem of her sleeve, trying to get her to stop spilling any more of her nonsense. He knew that she was not asking him to pull out of the Academy with her; none of her words had indicated that. But, still, he couldn't just sit back and watch her do such a thing. If she tried to utter even one more nonsensical word, he would shoot up to his feet and pull her down.
The headmaster laughed even harder. He kept giving off the vibe that he was a laid-back man, but those kinds were the ones who really got going when they became angry. After all, one couldn't know what actually got on their nerves.
"There will be no need for that, Nora Tyrrell," the headmaster said. "That is because the orientation was not delayed out of favoritism. I cannot go further on the reason, but—"
"Then was it the Breaks? Were there more?" Nora cut the headmaster off, and Merlin, who had been on the verge of standing up to pull her down, hesitated.
Her question was one he was also curious about. He had been wondering why almost every student was late, if the Breaks had occurred simultaneously just like Janeth had said had been happening frequently, then that would explain the whole delay.
The headmaster fell silent following Nora's interruption. But he still didn't seem angry. In fact, his smile spread wider.
"Was it you?" he asked. "The one who aided the Consortium Mages to hold back the Troll? The alleged A-Class Mage heading to Prestige Academy?"
Merlin's gasp was not as loud as the ones from the rest of the students, but his definitely carried more weight. Because, how in the world had the headmaster found out about that so quickly?
Nora seemed to think the same, seeing as her brows fell.
The headmaster waved his hand over his face like he was trying to swat away a fly, though softly. "Don't underestimate the information network of the headmaster of the second most prestigious Mage Academy in the world," he quipped. And then Merlin's heart almost leaped out of his throat as the headmaster's gaze fell on him. "And that young man beside you is your twin brother, I suppose? The one who rescued the little girl? The Deficient Mage."
The murmurs shifted. They were all about Merlin now.
"Wait! The Deficient Mage got in?" a student sounded so surprised Merlin felt mortified. "How come?"
"And they both joined Consortium Mages to fight a Troll?"
"Isn't a Troll like a D-Rank monster?"
"Yeah. She's an A-Class Mage, so it's not really weird that she had helped in some way. But how could a Deficient Mage have been of any help?"
"He just rescued a little girl, right?" one said. "That's probably the only thing he could do."
Merlin sighed sullenly. He suddenly felt like walking up to the podium and narrating everything that had actually happened and how a Caster had been present, and the fact that he could use anti-magic. But a second later and he could see that such a thought was childish in its entirety.
"You should stand up," Chima whispered to him from the side. "It's common courtesy."
Ah. That was right. The attention from his peers had turned him into dried cement.
Merlin jumped up to his feet and bowed in the headmaster's direction.
"Merlin Tyrrell, sir," he voiced.
Someone sniggered. "Merlin? Who names their child Merlin like the world's a comicbook?"
Nora's breath hitched. Instantly, she shot a glare in the direction those words had come from, her face wrung up so much that her nostrils were flaring. She folded her arms, but that was probably as a means to hold herself back.
Merlin glanced at his sister and sighed. Her demeanor reminded him of the one she'd had back when he was being mocked for this exact same reason back in middle school.
"It's fine," he mumbled. And, thank goodness, she listened.
Scoffing, Nora loosened her visage.
"Of course I know who you are, Merlin," the headmaster continued, pretending to be oblivious to the squabble that had just almost broken out. Was this like an Academy where the higher-ups didn't involve themselves in petty tussles, or something similar? "The Caster that was present, that was your doing, wasn't it?"
"Caster? It wasn't only a Troll?" the murmurs resumed once again.
"What does the headmaster mean by that was his doing?" These words came from a girl seated behind Merlin, and they were in a whisper.
"I don't know," another replied. "Deficient Mages can't use magic, right? Did he, like, fight it with his bare hands? He looks fit if you look closely."
"Oh… You're right. Is he an athlete?"
Merlin didn't know how to feel about all the eyes on him, but he reined himself in quickly.
"Yes," he replied to the headmaster.
The headmaster nodded. "We should have a talk when you're settled. Is that fine with you?"
Merlin nodded. It was not like he could reject anyways.
"You never answered my question about the Breaks, headmaster," Nora continued before the conversation could be derailed any further.
The headmaster turned to Nora. "You are not classified to know any more than you already do," he answered. "That's for actual Mages. If you want to be let in on such information then do your very best to graduate and become a real Mage." He glanced at Merlin. "Best of luck to you both."
"I see…" Nora, on the other hand, did not push on the matter any longer. "Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions." She bowed deeply. "And I apologize for misinterpreting the intentions of the Academy. I hope you treat me and my brother with kindness."
Merlin wouldn't lie. That sounded more like a threat than an apology.
"It's fine," said the headmaster. "It's my pleasure to speak to my students. You may have your seats." Pausing, he took a moment to clear his throat. "I urge you all to take your studies very seriously. We, at Prestige Academy, will not grant any half-assed Mage graduation. As you all may know, the Dungeons and Towers are dangerous. Death is always knocking within their walls. We will not send anyone who has not proven their competence out into the world of Mages to risk the lives of their peers. It is possible for everyone to graduate, but that also means it is possible for everyone to fail. I trust you all know which you would prefer." He then turned to Professor Jung, the moods of the first years having become serious. "That's good enough for a speech, yes?"
Merlin and Nora sat back down as Professor Jung sighed. "You barely gave any, headmaster," she said.
"Eh? After all that?" The headmaster had a comically distraught look on his face. The man kept surprising Merlin and the rest of the first years.
"It's fine." Professor Jung took over. "Assigning of your Cohorts will be done three hours from now, and will be sent to your smartwatches. Once you have received it, head down to your dorm master and receive the emblem for your respective Cohorts. It should always be affixed to your uniform sleeves at all times. If anyone is found without his or her emblem on their sleeves, points will be deducted from their Cohort. And I promise, you do not want the rest of your Cohort members to be displeased with you.
"As for what courses you will be taking, as well as your classes, more information will be passed across before nightfall—along with your schedules. That is all." She smiled brightly, her stern voice nowhere to be found as she added, "I now call this orientation to a close, and I wish you all a good year."
The dampened mood of the first years vanished as though it had never existed, as a roar of cheers erupted through the auditorium. The Academy year was officially starting.