17 What the Hell!?

With the students laughing, and with Professor Noir's rude remark to Aranea's question, the red-haired girl just rolled her eyes at him as she sat down on her seat, the other students in Peculiari class looking at her with sympathy in their eyes.

"Ignore him. He has prejudice over students who have peculiar magic. But with you having no magic, he would probably pick on you frequently," Vayne said as he sighed, making the other students who heard, nod in agreement.

"That's right. He's a professor who's judgmental. We get this a lot, but don't worry. We're all in this together," one girl said, making Aranea smile as she looked at her.

"Thank you."

When Headmaster Gavin stood up, his powerful aura had gotten everyone's attention without him even trying.

He walked towards the middle of the great hall, Professor Grisham and Professor Noir stepping aside to give him space.

When Headmaster Gavin looked at all of the students present in the room, everyone silenced, giving him the signal to speak.

"Now, everyone... the ordeals this year may be a great challenge, but let us look at the brighter side of things. Challenging and difficult as it may be, it may shape us into a better mage who's equipped and prepared for the dire situations that may greet us unexpectedly. Do your best and think properly, as this will surely get you through the ordeal that you're facing."

With the headmaster giving them words of encouragement, the students didn't say a word.

They just stared at him, his words honestly not giving them a boost as the difficulty of the ordeal given to them still lingered in their thoughts.

Without even getting claps from his students, Headmaster Gavin just shook his head as he sighed, clapping his hands two times to make the food appear on their table, instantly making the students' eyes widen in surprise.

"Let the feast begin, then. Seeing how dazed everyone is, I have no choice but to lighten up your mood with food."

"Yes, finally!"

With the students' exclamation upon the food being served before them, the professors sighed as the three sat back down on their seats, a small smile appearing on their faces.

"Food indeed gives joy to everyone. Don't you agree?" Professor Gertrude said, making Professor Samuela and Professor Neesha giggle and nod in approval.

"It does! It's as if the ordeals were not discussed," Professor Kurken chimed in as they all started digging in and getting their serving of food.

The table was magically layered with trays of the most delicious food and drinks that are capable of making one's mouth water.

There was a whole roasted deer with sprigs of rosemary present on the table.

There was also marinated chicken that had instantly beckoned the students to devour it.

There was also grilled trout with lemon, smoked sausages, and a pineapple glazed ham.

Mounds of fragrant wild rice paired with potatoes and diced pumpkin were on the table as well. Also, there were countless cheeses that went with baskets of crackers and bread rolls shaped like seashells.

All sorts of varieties of salads and side dishes were present as well, along with the hot soup.

The students were before a feast indeed! It had almost made them forget how hungry they were hours ago and now that the food had appeared before their eyes, they gladly indulged themselves with the delicious delicacies in front of them, not hesitating to grab another plate of serving.

As Vayne ate a drumstick of the marinated chicken, he looked at Aranea who was completely in a daze, looking at the paper that had her ordeal written like a death sentence.

Her eyebrows furrowed as her grip on the paper tightened, almost crumpling it.

"Aranea..."

Vayne had called her attention, slightly surprising her.

"Don't worry about that ordeal and eat to your heart's content," he added, speaking as his mouth was full, making the girl beside him roll his eyes at him and elbow him.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," she scolded him, making Vayne smile at her apologetically.

Aranea sighed as she kept the paper in her skirt's pocket.

Getting the phone bought by Aurelia, she stared at the family picture from below the table, tears starting to pool in her eyes.

A sad smile appeared on her face as she continued looking at the picture where everyone was there.

Aurelia, Aranea, and Elenea were found in the middle of the picture. Beside Aurelia was Jack, and beside Elenea was Ralph.

In front of them were the children of the orphanage, smiling widely as they also made funny faces, making Aranea laugh a little as she recalled the memory.

With her uneasiness of reading her ordeal of fighting off against a certain monster, it had made her all the more nervous knowing that she had no special magic powers to fend for herself against the enemy.

She only had archery by her side and who knows if she could protect herself with the help of her arrow.

But with her being invited to Mystic Academy despite having no powers, it made Aranea remember what their mother had said that maybe a possibility that she may have something that others couldn't see.

It had given her a little sliver of courage to keep herself going despite the start of the school year giving her a cold shoulder.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, Aranea looked at the family picture as her phone's wallpaper. Remembering how they encouraged and supported her, it had calmed Aranea's worries.

She sighed a little as she lifted her phone up to kiss it--as if kissing her family members that were on it.

'I promise I'll do my best during my stay in the academy.'

As Aranea's lips landed on the phone's screen, it had taken everyone by surprise when suddenly, a light blue smoke appeared in her area, making the students of Peculiari class cough as it also clouded their sights.

Seeing this, the professors instantly stood in caution as the other students watched the smoke disappear slowly.

Aranea blinked her eyes a few times when she suddenly felt warmth on her lips.

She felt as if electricity coursed through her body when she realized that a blue-haired man was right before her...

Kissing her when she felt no presence of him at all!

'This...'

Headmaster Gavin instantly had his eyebrows furrowed. The moment he waved his hand, a gust of wind flew to their direction, instantly making the blue smoke disappear.

When the smoke was completely gone, the students gasped as they saw a man kneeling in front of Aranea, his head raised as he kissed the obviously dumbfounded girl in front of him.

'What the hell!?'

Realizing that everyone's eyes were on her and that she is being kissed by a random stranger, Aranea pushed the man in front of her, making her fall off from her seat as well.

"Wh-who the hell are you and why are you kissing me!?"

With Aranea backing away as she hid her lips with her forearm, the blue-haired man who came out of nowhere approached her, making Aranea stand up abruptly but was suddenly stopped when he knelt down right in front of her again.

He held her right hand as he kissed the back of her palm, introducing himself as he made everyone flabbergasted with what he said.

"My name is Leonel. I am your loyal familiar that you have summoned, Aranea Griffin."