Feast your eyes

"Did I do something to you for you to torment me so much?!" Crying out loud, Irea hid her face in her hands. Even though she didn't take a direct part in the registration process, she was more than welcomed to observe it.

"They started…" Hearing what his lips formed in the first attempt to defend himself, Layn almost failed to stop his hand from slapping his own face.

"They started it? And what, are you some kind of kid who just can't stay silent and polite for once?!" Flaring up with every word she spoke, Irea quickly reached her limit, past which all her anger disappeared, replaced by helplessness and depression.

"I'm so fucked, there is no way I'm not." Lamenting in a weakening voice, Irea refused to speak anything else for the rest of their trip towards the quartermaster office. Only once they passed by the threshold did she rise her head again.

"Isn't it young Irea! What brings you to our doors?" Noticing the girl, a burly man behind the counter stood up from his chair.

"Yeah, it's me. I came to vouch for the new student." At first, Layn thought that the girl wanted to point her hand at him, only to see her snatch the papers from the elder from his grasp.

"I see that you didn't forget about the formalities. Good." Grabbing the papers that the girl passed to him, the man scanned the content of a simple letter before giving it back to Irea.

"A golden thread student, huh? You truly struck it rich this time!" Muttering under his nose, the master of the logistical quarters moved to the room behind the counter. Using the opportunity, Layn cast a glance at the shocked face of the girl.

"What…" Unable to utter the right words through her tightened throat, Irea forced herself to take a deep breath before fixing her mental state. "What did you do to be assigned into the golden thread group?!"

Met with the shocked and excited inquiry, Layn didn't really know what to say.

'I threatened them?' Without a clue as to what this golden thread could mean, Layn couldn't even make a guess. 'No, that can't be it.' Even after a few moments spent solely on thinking, Layn couldn't pinpoint the reason why he was assigned such apparently high rank.

Was it his show of power? His logical reasoning? His potential backing? Maybe it was all an attempt to curry favour with him?

With so many possibilities, it was impossible to pinpoint the one that was right. And with such realisation in his head, Layn decided to drop the topic altogether.

"This golden thread thing, what does it mean?" Slightly shaken by a sudden realisation, Layn's stare turned a bit colder. "And what does it mean that you struck it rich?"

While it was clear that the girl was just as surprised by this golden threat thingy as Layn was, there was a chance that all of her affection and care so far was aimed at preserving him for this exact moment, when she could reap the benefits from the academy for bringing him in!

With his outlook at the world twisted by his past - or future? - relationship, Layn couldn't stop those suspicious thoughts from sprawling all over his mind.

"Basically, there are five kinds of students, outside of the outer and inner academy division." After releasing a long, exhausted sigh, Irea started explaining. "Starting from the stone thread through bronze, silver, gold and crystal threads. The higher classification one has, the better the resources the academy will invest in his or her education."

Looking directly at the archmage, Irea admitted. "Since I'm the one who brought you in, I will be given the preference when choosing a teacher for you. That also means I will receive all the resource necessary for me to keep up with your growth."

As she explained the situation, Layn finally understood what was actually going on.

Just like in any rational society, resources were directed to those who could make the best use of them. Instead of wasting one's wealth on those who wouldn't make a difference for anyone, it was clearly better to invest it in those who will create something of value in return.

When bringing him to the city, Irea likely even forgot about that possibility. Even if she did not, he forced himself to believe that she didn't even think about him as a way to make a killing out of the academy's back.

But ultimately, she couldn't know how high he would be scored. With even the archmage alone not knowing what were the criteria for the registration, he wouldn't be of any help either.

"Okay then." Returning back to the front desk of the office, the burly man came back while caring two huge boxes under his muscular arms. Dropping them right on the counter, he smiled towards the talking duo before opening the lids of the container.

"Feast your eyes, as this is the only time you will ever be as impressed with them as you are now!"