29 Classroom of Oddities

Regulus sat alone in his room, which appeared to be ripped out of a museum, finally getting a chance to pause for the first time since arriving in Immisso.

Since opening his eyes in a foreign land, Regulus had found himself constantly on the move, attempting to understand his new environment, obtaining a weapon as well as competing against geniuses in the Karta Academy entrance exam.

Unable to find anyone apart from Aylin around the Joker house, he and Azrael eventually retired to one of the many available rooms inside the Joker house.

'Now, what do I do?'

Regulus found himself stumped about the next step forward for the first time in both his lives. In the past, his every waking moment was sacrificed for the Kingdom of Leo, yet now he has found himself genuinely free.

'The further pursuit of strength is obvious, but must it truly be as solitary as in the past.'

Regulus clearly understood the value of strength and knew his safety in Immisso rested on obtaining it. Even tonight could have been his last if the Headmaster was truly after his life.

Yet despite seeking the top once more in this life, Regulus didn't want to reach the mountain top alone. Sitting alone as the strongest was miserable. As opposed to a friend you could speak to, people treated Regulus as a guardian being who simply watched over the Kingdom of Leo.

'Maybe such people will be found here in the Joker class.'

The King, who had reached the pinnacle only to wish there were others standing there alongside him, slowly let himself be lulled unconscious by sleep

---

'Was such poor treatment seriously necessary?'

Standing in the kitchen with the morning rays of sunlight illuminating his shirtless figure, Regulus opened cupboard after cupboard only to be met with emptiness. 

Regulus's composure slightly cracked when a harrowing truth dawned on him, causing him to clench his fist slightly in anger.

'They don't even plan on feeding us?'

He was fine with a dirty house as well as a lack of maids, but having no food was touching on his reverse scale. In the Kingdom of Leo, Regulus was regarded as a great culinary, and it was the one area in which his subjects would consider him slightly extravagant.

Whilst Regulus was fighting depression that he, a King, would be skipping breakfast, two sets of curiosity-filled eyes rounded the corner once more.

Feeling eyes monitoring him, Regulus saw the two fox girls he had seen yesterday admiring his physique. Realising they had been caught, Regulus caught sight of the two fox girls running away.

'What's wrong with their tails? Some kind of mutant?'

Finally able to see the two girls cutely escaping, Regulus's mind was filled with questions. In Immisso, there are two species of fox beast-kin. The single-tailed fox is the most common, and the nine-tailed foxes are the royal family.

However, as if disregarding the rules of Immisso, the two small foxes who ran away from Regulus each owned five tails.

'Nothing in this house makes any sense.'

Still mourning over the loss of his breakfast and beginning to question the reliability of the soul doctor's memories, Regulus got ready and left for his first lesson.

At Karta Academy, the teachers were closely bound to their classes; this meant that the lessons were allocated by the teachers in the class as opposed to being shared amongst the academy.

The royal class would likely have a teacher for etiquette, combat, magic, beast-taming, etc. Conversely, the spades class would likely only have the bare necessities of general studies, magic and combat.

As Regulus was walking down the cobbled path leading from the Joker building to the main site where lessons for all classes were held.

He couldn't help but hold back a sigh of relief when looking at his clothes. The Joker class uniform consisted of a gold-encrusted black three-piece suit with a Joker card printed on the chest.

'I half expected them to provide us with rags or a clown outfit.'

While Regulus was thanking Karta Academy for providing at least the bare minimum, he heard familiar, panicked footprints approaching him from behind.

'How come this guy always appears nervous or out of breath.'

The angel who appeared next to him was gulping down air as if he couldn't utilise card energy to make his body achieve superhuman feats. Regulus almost wondered if it was a part of the angel's curse to look dishevelled.

"Regulus. Wait. Up."

Azrael, who greatly suited his new uniform, called out for Regulus to stop, who couldn't suppress a chuckle as he came to a halt. Noticing that Regulus had stopped, Azrael straightened himself, wearing a pitiful expression.

"Can you believe they don't even feed us here? I mean, are we students or prisoners?"

The duo moved as Regulus listened to Azrael's ranting in amused silence, eventually entering the main building. Despite the grandeur of the main building appearing more akin to a castle than an Academy, the two were distracted by something else.

'How dare they stare at me like some circus animal.'

Regulus frowned at the constant stares from the other new Karta Academy students following his every step. Students in other classes dressed in their own more expensive uniforms were regarding them like mythical creatures.

'Is it that unusual to see a Joker student around here?'

Lost in his thoughts, Regulus and Azrael moved deeper into the main building, taking turns further into the Karta Academy labyrinth.

Eventually, coming to a halt outside a singular wooden door with a joker card on it, the two walked into a classroom that could only be described by the word 'bland.'

Seats and desks were provided for each student, and a desk and chalkboard for the teacher, and that was where the supplies ended. Having seen the advanced facilities of Karta Academy in the third test, the difference between the two rooms was glaringly obvious.

'Where are the magic circles and training simulations? Even the Soul Doctors' second-rate academy was better off than this.'

The eyes of the students already present were examining the newcomers to the classroom. The intensity of these stares caused Azrael to squirm slightly yet unbothered; Regulus took a seat.

'What a strange lineup, as expected of the Joker class.'

Gathered inside the small classroom were six other students, each of whom was more unique than the last. Aylin sat engrossed in her ancient tome, slightly separated from the class due to her race's reputation.

The black and white-haired fox girls had pushed their two desks together, ruining the symmetry of the room as they stared at Regulus with their signature wide eyes.

In the corner of the room, next to the sole window of the classroom, was a boy whose face was shrouded by a hood and appeared to be cackling as he looked out the window.

'Is that guy crazy? Wearing a hood in broad daylight and laughing at nothing in a corner?'

Whilst the others in the Joker class were simply peculiar, Regulus couldn't help but think the boy in the corner might truly be insane. Although slightly concerned about his new classmate, Regulus could only leave it for later and move on.

Based on his appearance, a boy who was obviously a commoner sat at a desk reading a mountain of books. The stack was so large Regulus wondered how they even appeared in the classroom.

The final person Regulus saw was likely the most concerning one. In a different corner was a girl who lay passed out on her desk. Bottles of varying alcohols were littered around her as she snored peacefully. The stench of alcohol around her was so dense that the air seemed to distort from the fumes slightly.

'And the final member of the class is just a plain old alcoholic.'

While Regulus was contemplating how he ended up amongst such a ragtag group of students, Azrael was taking his seat next to Regulus.

'Even this one isn't exactly normal.'

Looking at the anxious angel seated next to him, Regulus wondered if Karta Academy was really the right place for him. Yet, he couldn't deny enjoying such strange encounters deep down.

"Do you know who all of these people are?"

Hearing Regulus's question, Azrael couldn't help but be slightly taken aback by Regulus's outrageous expectations.

"I don't have a pamphlet prepared for every single person in Immisso, you know. I can get it to you tonight."

Whilst Azrael was in the middle of protesting his request, he paused for a second before giving an answer that confirmed Regulus's suspicions that he was truly surrounded by oddities.

The whole class was still getting used to the arrival of Regulus and Azrael, yet a sound could be heard from the corridor once more as the door swung open.

"Reggie!"

A word that made Regulus's skin crawl for the first time in both lives came from the figure who emerged from the corridor.

'Reggie? Surely that wasn't referring to me? No, that would be impossible.'

Yet, despite entering a state of denial that such a nickname was assigned to the great King of Leo, a familiar girl with blonde hair and red eyes was running towards him, causing the eyes of the students to widen as they all shared the same thought.

'Ria Soleras?'