CHAPTER 3: Royal Academy (Part 1)

After waiting for some time, Celia came and was shocked to see my eyes. Skipping the greetings she directly asked me, "Rio, what happened to your eyes? Are you having problems seeing?"

Being overwhelmed by her questions, I kept silent for some time, and then just as Celia's anxiety was at its peak I spoke, "I don't know, they were already like this ever since I woke up today. And no, I have no problem seeing, it's the same as before."

Celia let out a sigh of relief on hearing that my eyesight is okay, but still, there is a genuinely concerned expression on her face. After a second of thinking she said, "That's good, but still. Do you mind if I were to check your eyes with my magic?", she asked for my permission, to which I replied with a simple nod.

Conjuring and magic circle, Celia placed it in front of my eyes, and then removed her hands after some time, with an expression of relief on her face as she said, "That's good, there is nothing wrong with your eyes."

After that Celia asked me some follow-up questions about how my injuries are, to which I replied as they are okay. Then we moved to her laboratory, as the academy provides one to each teacher, where she gave me some instructions for my safety as I, an orphan, is going to study with children that are nobility and rich merchants.

Taking the opportunity I also told her that I don't know how to read and write, as the original Rio became an orphan at a young age. To help me with this, Celia arranged some private lessons for me after school as this world uses a different language than what was used in my past life.

30 minutes later, we were walking down the hallways that Celia was leading me through. I followed after her quietly as I observed her frame and appearance, her frame is a little small for her age. If I remember correctly she must be 12 years old right now, but she looks like 11 years as her height is around 140 cm, just a head taller than me who is 127 cm tall.

"How does your new uniform feel?" Celia asked, looking back at me as we walked.

"It's not bad. The fabric is sturdy and easy to move around in," I replied, lightly moving both of my arms in the uniform as testing the feel of it.

"It's been custom-made based on the requests of many generations of students, after all. It can also act as a military uniform." Celia said.

"I see... So that's why the design is like a knight's uniform." I said as I thought, well it's certainly like that. Right now I am feeling like I am cosplaying. I even heard the camera clicking in the background with Tifa's giggle but I ignored it and decided to balance the score on a later date.

"Right! Isn't it cool? The girls' uniform is cute too," Celia said with a playful smile.

"Ahaha..." I laughed awkwardly. I am looking forward to seeing the girls' uniform, as the Royal Academy's uniform is stylish.

As Celia had said, the design was like that of a knight's uniform. The boys wore pants, while the girls had skirts; while there were some minor differences in design here and there, the overall functionality of each uniform was the same.

"We've arrived." Chatting while we walked, we reached Celia's classroom.

The noisy class could be heard on the other side of the door; inside, the spoiled children of royalty and nobility were enthusiastically talking to each other before the homeroom started.

This is it. I thought as I mapped the entire route to the classroom with the help of my newly organized mind.

"You don't seem that nervous," Celia noted.

"That's not true." I gave a small shrug.

"Really? You look fairly composed to me." Celia said while noting my body language and facial expressions.

"I've been told that my emotions don't show easily on my face because I lived in the slums," I answered with a bitter smile.

"Is that so... Well, alright. Let's go inside," Celia said and opened the door. A hushed silence fell over the hustle and bustle of the classroom.

"Good morning, everyone," Celia said. "A new student will be joining our class today. Rio, come inside." She walked into the classroom and stepped up onto the teacher's podium.

"Excuse me." With a quick bow, I followed Celia into the classroom. The inside of the classroom was spacious, almost like a small hall.

The teacher's podium sat at the front of the room, facing the desks that were fixed to the tiered floor that elevated those at the back of the room. There were roughly forty people in the class, with three classes each year. I stepped up onto the podium and felt the stabbing looks of all the students in the room. Whispers spread from every corner.

"Huh, so that's the orphan being admitted."

"An orphan? Someone like that enrolled into this prestigious academy?"

"Yeah, I heard from my father that he was enrolled as a reward for a commendable deed."

"...Are you sure it isn't some kind of mistake?" And so on.

The male students conversed curiously; it seemed like the rumor of an orphan enrolling had already spread. As for the female students' reactions...

"Black hair is a rare sight."

"Yes, I was wondering what kind of animal would show up, but..."

"He has a surprisingly cute face. But what's the matter with his eyes? I have never seen eyes like those ever before."

These kids kept adding more comments about my appearance in their evaluation, mainly about my eyes. Both sides were fairly ornery in their reactions, having already been instilled with the values of nobility that thrived on social standing. The looks they sent me were filled with prejudice. And I make sure to take note of the comments they are giving and attach it with their faces, as to build a database of all their personalities and other things.

"Okay everyone, quiet down. He's going to introduce himself," Celia said with a small sigh as she looked around the room.

Once the students had stopped whispering, I took a step forward. "My name is Rio. By the grace of His Majesty the King, I have been immeasurably blessed to attend this honorable learning space. I am lacking in more than several aspects, but I will do my utter best not to cause any inconveniences to anyone here. I humbly beg your tolerance."

I finished my introduction and greeting with a deep bow. It was a satisfactory introduction that bordered on being too polite for a seven-year-old, but this level of humility was probably just right when it came to introductions in front of royalty and nobility; Celia had helped me create this greeting as well.

Sure enough, mine and Celia's predictions as to how the class would react were not wrong.

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