The roommate

They entered a spacious room where all the light came from the windows and filtered through red curtains, bathing the room in an incandescent glow. The woman sat behind a wide and well-organized desk, while they chose to stand in front of her.

Lince noticed the books on the shelves near the wall, all with red covers, many of which were about fire magic. Even the flowers in a vase of water were red, as if there was an obsession with this particular color. He found it intriguing.

"The director is not here at the moment," the woman informed them. "I'm the vice-director, and I'm in charge of this academy until he returns."

Lince was surprised when she revealed that she was the vice-director and started to scrutinize her. Despite being so young, she already held a prestigious position. And it was to this young woman that he needed to deliver Lord Micaelo's letter, so he wondered if they might be related, just because of the color of her hair. Lince then noticed that the small girl was even more withdrawn and was holding one hand with the other. But this time, he could understand her, as the vice-director made even him feel uneasy.

"Do you have the forms? Hand them over," the vice-director said, her voice almost like the command of an emperor.

Tuition was paid annually and in advance; the papers were just a bureaucratic way to confirm their identities. Both of them took a small envelope, stepped forward, and placed them on the desk.

Each envelope bore the seal of their families or the person responsible for covering the academy's costs, as was the case with the brown-haired boy. On the other hand, the small girl had a letter of recommendation for being a mage but feared she might not be accepted if there was a test or something similar for her to complete.

First, the vice-director glanced vaguely at the seal on the girl's letter, then opened and read it. Her expression remained the same until the end. Then she took the boy's envelope and seemed to recognize Lord Micaelo's seal before checking its contents. After that, the vice-director tossed the papers on the desk as if they were of no further value.

"You can go now," she said, her tone indifferent.

However, both hesitated for a moment.

"Is that all?" Lince finally asked.

The vice-director nodded and added, "You are now students of Camélia. More information will be provided later. For now, you can enjoy the surroundings outside like any other student."

When the vice-director finished speaking, the small girl seemed relieved.

Then, Lince took the second envelope and offered it to the vice-director.

"Lord Micaelo instructed me to deliver this letter to you."

She merely stared at the paper but noticed the red seal, which was slightly different from the first envelope, and took it in her hands.

"Excuse me," Lince said.

He and the small girl bowed together. But before they left, the vice-director looked at them with her dark eyes, which at that moment had a strong intimidating aura, and said in an even more indifferent tone:

"Seek me out in this room if you need anything else."

"Yes…"

Her words sounded vague, and although they didn't fully understand their meaning, they both nodded and responded in unison. Then they left the vice-director's office.

After reading the letter from the second envelope, the vice-director's face changed, becoming even darker.

"Uncle… you've always been good at hiding secrets," she whispered, pointing her finger at the envelope, and a small flame appeared at the tip of the paper. The fire grew into a flame and consumed the letter until there was nothing left but ashes on the desk.

Back in the hallway, the silence bothered Lince once again. The small girl kept her gaze down, but now her eyes seemed distant as well. This happened after they left the vice-director's office.

"You seem a bit worried," Lince said. "Did something happen?"

Hearing his voice, she lifted her head as if awakening from a trance.

"It's nothing… really…"

In truth, Yalanda felt an immense pressure in the presence of the vice-director. She had an energy that was neither good nor bad; it was suffocating and oppressive above all. But Yalanda couldn't say this to the boy next to her, though she was relieved to have him with her at that moment.

Finally, they reached the fountain where they had first met. The clock atop the tower marked the early afternoon. They stood in silence facing each other until it became awkward.

Lince scratched the back of his neck and his voice sounded like a farewell.

"Well, I guess we'd better each find our rooms now. You must be tired of carrying that backpack…"

"Yes…" Then she gathered her courage, turned to the boy, and said, "Thank you… for helping me…"

Yalanda thanked him with a soft voice and gave a smile that lasted briefly before she returned to her shy demeanor from when they first met.

"No problem."

He wouldn't have had the chance to meet people like the princess and this small girl if he had stayed forever in his small village. At times like this, Lince felt glad he had agreed to study at this academy.

Soon after they said their goodbyes, they took separate paths. The small girl headed for the girls' dormitory while he went to find his new room. Both carried a certain anxiety in their hearts, but for different reasons.

At the reception, the head of the male dormitory handed him a keychain with two keys and a small metal plate with a number and a symbol engraved on it.

"This is a special item; keep it with you at all times," said the dormitory head, a young man with dark, long hair, bored eyes, and a drowsy voice. "Got it?"

Lince nodded promptly.

"There's a time to leave… and to return. Delays will not be… tolerated…" He yawned several times as he spoke, so it took him a while to give the instructions. After finishing all the notices, he concluded, "Well… if you want to find your room, look on the floor above. I'm… too sleepy… to show you…," He slumped onto a pillow on his desk and fell asleep suddenly.

The dormitory manager seemed like a rather strange person, Lince thought. He decided it was best to leave him to sleep and went off to find his room alone. As he walked, he examined the keychain, unable to imagine why it was such a special item, but set the keychain aside for now and noted the number engraved on it: 99.

He then followed the numbers on the doors of each room. He walked down the hallway on the second floor until he reached the last door and found the number he was looking for.

"This is it."

He stopped in front of the door, noticed it was already open, and pushed it gently. He peered inside and saw a boy pulling clothes from a suitcase and putting them into a wardrobe in the corner of the room.

"There's already someone…"

He spoke in a low voice, but the boy heard him and looked towards the door, then smiled and said:

"Oh, you must be my roommate, right?"

"Yes…"

"What's wrong?" the boy asked, slightly puzzled. "Why are you just standing there? Come in. After all, this is your room now too."

"Yes," Lince said once more and stepped into the room.

The boy was dressed in flamboyant clothes, was a bit taller, and had a handsome face. He had curly blonde hair and green eyes, and he always had a relaxed smile.

When the boy noticed he was being watched, he gave a polite bow while his eyes quickly scanned Lince. His conclusion: the person before him was just an ordinary boy and none of his traits stood out. At least, not apparently. He maintained his impeccable demeanor as he introduced himself:

"My name is Bellard Massimille, I'm the third son of the Massimille family. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Lince Elliot… it's a pleasure to meet you too…"

He was facing a noble, so Lince tried to maintain a posture as impeccable as the boy's. However, once again, he came across as awkward, and while speaking, he felt a bit nervous and stammered in the middle of his introduction. It seemed he wasn't cut out for this, Lince thought.

"Elliot," the boy murmured.

He didn't remember hearing about a family called Elliot before. Maybe he was just a mage with a letter of recommendation, rather than belonging to a prestigious family. Either way, he would be cautious with anyone.

"You can just call me Lince, that's fine."

"You make funny faces sometimes," the smiling boy said. "So, you can just call me Bell. It's easier that way, right? We'll get along from now on, Lince."

"Yes…"

Lince hoped to find a good roommate and ended up meeting this boy, who seemed to act with spontaneity and appeared to be a cheerful and communicative person. In the end, he was relieved not to have met someone like Rude.

The boy went back to putting his things away in the wardrobe while changing the subject:

"Since I arrived here first, I took the side closer to the window. I hope you don't mind. I like to wake up early and the morning light helps me get up."

"Oh, I don't mind. It's fine."

Lince didn't care about that kind of thing, after all. Besides, they would be sharing the same space for a year, so he thought it was essential to create a good atmosphere between him and the boy. He wanted to have a friendly relationship with his roommate, no matter who he was.

After that, he took a closer look at the room where he would be living from then on. It was quite spacious, maybe three times larger than his old room, but it couldn't be compared to the chaotic space he had at home. It was divided into two equal parts, each with a bed and a personal wardrobe, as well as a desk with a magical crystal lamp, so each student would have their private space for studying. All the furniture was very shiny.

Even the magical crystals alone were worth a small fortune. At home, he had never had them to use. Even the lord didn't use crystals frequently and preferred the warmth of candles. Being the child of a noble brought all sorts of luxuries, Lince thought. But he didn't necessarily feel happy about it.

He noticed that on top of his desk there were many flowers of various types and colors, almost all of them looked fresh and picked from the academy's garden. There were also some small paper boxes which, judged by their shape and the sweet smell coming from inside, could only be delicious and expensive sweets.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. I got these things from the girls; I'll deal with it later, okay?" Bell said as if he didn't care about the gifts.

To receive so many things, Lince began to consider the possibility that the boy might be some kind of famous personality, as he flopped onto his bed. When his body hit the mattress, however, all his thoughts vanished as he felt as if he were floating on a cloud of cotton. It was such a wonderful experience that all his fatigue seemed to drain from his body immediately.

"I've never felt something so soft… it's so nice I want to sleep right now."

He had spent the last few days in a carriage, and when he had time to rest, he would sleep outdoors in the middle of the road or in small inns. His body was tired and he longed for a long night's sleep, and a bed like this was perfect for that.

Bell looked at the boy enjoying a simple bed with some curiosity.

"Did you like it? We have better beds at home…"

He couldn't forget that almost everyone at this academy was exceptionally wealthy. Lince made a note of this in his mind to avoid future embarrassments.

"All done! Finally finished," Bell said after organizing all his things.

As a final act, he took his empty suitcases and threw them to the back of his wardrobe. He closed the doors and locked them with the key, but left it hanging on the door. He wiped his hands together, turned to Lince with a smiling face, and said:

"Now I just need to prepare for tomorrow's banquet."

"Banquet?"

Bell was excited when talking about the banquet. But Lince was surprised.