Trouble on the first day

Celes sat in an empty chair in the back center. Two students can sit at the same desk. For her, this is the best chance to make friends on the first day of study. Pass this opportunity and she will become a loner. She come early so that wouldn't happen.

A few minutes later, a girl came to her desk.

"May I sit here?" The girl asked politely.

"Eh, yes, yes, you can sit here. It's empty." Celes was a bit surprised by the girl being over-polite.

Finally, Celes spoke in her mind.

The girl wore a short red dress with a sleeve and knee-length black pants. Her clothes look casual, but Celes can feel some kind of vibe emanating from the girl. Then there's her black long hair that just looks beautiful and shining.

"My name is Andrea Arshinile."

"A-Arshinile? Y-you're… an n-noble." Celes was nervous, her voice shaking.

The vibe that she had felt before was an atmosphere of nobility and authority.

"You don't need to worry about me being a noble. My teacher always told me, no matter if you are a royal family, noble, or commoner. In the end, we are both humans that live in the same world. Please don't hesitate to talk to me."

Andrea's serious expression didn't change. That made Celes even more uneasy.

Talking about the teacher, Celes remembers she hadn't seen Lumina in a week. She should go to her house next week.

"Your teacher must be a great person."

If you can't praise the person, try praising the person closest to her.

"Yes. My teacher is Stella Karnstein."

"Eh?"

Celes stopped thinking for a second. She knows that name very well. Everyone does. That is the hero's name. At this moment, Andrea is just showing off.

"I… never expected. I'd be sitting next to the hero's student."

Only now Celes notices, Andrea carries a sword on her waist. When you're rich, you can even ask the hero to become your private teacher so you could have a sword lesson.

"My name is Celesta Arcenite with a C. I might be just a normal person, but nice to meet you."

"Um, I think everyone knows Celesta used C."

"No, that's not what I mean. It's Arcenite with C!" denied Celes, full of energy.

"I see. Arcenite is it? The name is from a rock that falls from outer space."

"You know?"

"I've only heard about it a little."

This time Celes is smiling, trying to be positive. At least, Andrea doesn't look arrogant like other nobles that she knew. Keep it up like this, and they can become good friends.

"And your name is Celesta, is it?"

Andrea's expression turned sad. No, it was more like a pity face toward Celes.

"You can just call me Celes. Is something wrong with my name?"

"No, it's not that. Have you seen the board in the main square? They posted it this morning."

"Can we not talk about it?"

It is her first day studying at the academy, but the moment Celes saw the board, something broke her. Yesterday's test results were written on the board and her name was last on the list.

"I apologized if this is rude. It's not like I checked everyone's name. I am just surprised someone could enter the academy with such a low score. Naturally, I just remembered your name the moment I see that you were on the lowest list."

Celes knew Andrea didn't mean to mock her, but hearing it from someone's mouth made her feel down. Since the most important is to make friends, the girl restrained herself.

"Well, you don't need to worry about it. In the end, it's just a number. As long you put your mind into it, even you can improve yourself."

Who would ever expect someone sitting next to you would lecture you on the first day of study?

A middle-aged man walked into the classroom. Everyone immediately sat neatly in their respective places.

There are three rows of seats in the classroom, and each row has five desks. Some seats are empty. The class is filled with less than thirty people.

"Alright, since I am teaching the first year today, let's just take it easy. My name is Herald. I feel like I need to say this, but use the professor whenever you call the teacher here. Of course mine too." He sounds so proud of himself.

"You should already know, but there are two types of courses. The first one is the one you are currently in. The other is the elective course."

They already explained this in yesterday's ceremony. The main course is the one you need to take every day. So it's going to be five courses a week. Selective is seven courses a week, which is optional. At the end of the year, the exam exists just for the main course.

"My class is all about the magic circle. Let's get into the very basics of casting a spell. Is there anyone who never cast magic here?"

It was silence. If you have magic in your body, you will at least do it once by accident or not. So, it's just to be expected.

"Then how many ways are there to cast a spell?" It was another question from the Herald.

One student raised his hand. "There are 4 ways."

"And what are they?"

Prof. Herald started writing on the blackboard using white chalk.

"It's normal casting, magic circle, talisman, and amplified," answered the boy confidently.

"That's not entirely wrong."

"Eh… it is wrong?!" He got nervous.

"Don't be ashamed of giving the wrong answer. I told you, your answers are not all wrong. At least three of them are right."

Prof. Herald stopped writing and turn around to face the student who answered.

"The answer you said earlier about normal casting and amplified. You must be talking about casting a spell by chanting, while the other is just simply imagining the magic."

The boy nodded. "So, there are four ways?"

"No, it's actually only three. Many people tend to be confused about this. Both of them are actually just the same. We usually use chanting when our imagination is weak. When I said magic with fire-based, you subconsciously thought about fire. That is why people chant to make sure their minds know what to do. In the end, how much magic and what kind of magic you use, when you're chanting or not, it's all the same."

Another person raised her hand. "Then, is it possible if I chant fire-based magic, then I release water magic based instead?"

"While it's possible, I don't recommend doing it since mostly it would fail because your subconscious will be confused. Anyway, it would be much easier for me to explain if everyone keeps asking a question."

"Alright, look at this." Herald pointed at the blackboard. It's a simple image of how to cast. He divided everything into three parts. "First, a talisman. Who knows what is the difference between casting by using a talisman and the other two?"

The first one is a talisman. A piece of paper full of symbols imbued with magic.

"Talisman is made of paper. The other two aren't."

Herald let out an awkward laugh.

"It's not wrong, but that's not what I mean. Also, if someone answers with wrong or inaccurate answers, it makes me easier for me to correct them. So keep it coming!"

Herald continues with the talisman topic.

"Anyway, while its true talisman is using paper, the most important part is the symbols. You can write the symbol on a rock, tree, wall, or anything. It almost doesn't matter. However, what distinguished them is the person who will use them. You need magic to make a talisman, but you don't need magic to activate it. That way, everyone can use magic. The concept is basically the same for almost all magic devices. The easiest example is a lamp. You simply activate the lamp by touching it."

Suddenly, someone opened the classroom door. It was a familiar face, the principal.

"Sorry for interrupting your class, Prof. Heral." The principal's eyes, which initially were on the Herald, turned to everyone else. "Is there a girl named Celesta here?"

"Eh, it's me!" Celes stood and raised her hand.

"After the class is done, please come to the principal's office. That's it." The principal left the classroom.

Normally, it's a teacher who calls the student to go into the principal's office. This just made Celes more flustered.

After that, Prof. Herald continues with his teaching about normal casting, talismans, and magic circles.

After class is over.

Celes is standing in front of the principal's office. The girl tried to calm down and prepare herself. It's not even a week, and she already got called by the principal himself. Something bad must have happened.

After the class ends, most people would just go home or to the cafeteria and wait for the elective course. So, the main building is almost empty until the elective course starts later.

The door was opened by someone

"Are you dumb?! Stop standing in front of the door and get in!" It was a sharp glare from someone Celes knew.

"Eh?! L-Lumina? Wait, what are you doing here?"

"Just get in!"

Celes entered the office and closed the door.

In the middle of the office, the principal sat on his chair, then he stood.

"Alright, since Celesta is already here, I will take my leave." The principal left the room, leaving Celes and Lumina alone.

"Uh, I don't understand what happened."

"I am checking up on you, of course. Other than that, do you think I want to be in the capital?"

Lumina walked to the middle of the room. She sits in the principal's chair.

"You know, you were not supposed to sit there."

"What is the problem? It's empty. No one sits here." Lumina put both of her hands on the desk. Now she looks like she is the one who is in charge. "How is it?"

Back to yesterday again, Celes thought.

"Everything went perfectly. There's nothing trouble at all. My name is on the new student list," said she excitedly.

Celes, to be honest, never expected to be attending the academy. Now, she is just happy she can learn here.

"Well, that's good, I guess. I don't really care if you're not carrying something, but I always told you to take the talisman I gave you everywhere."

"I forgot about that. I will bring it with me next time. Also, the elective -"

The sound of the door broke Celes' half-sentence. Someone just kicked the door so hard that it shattered a bit. A girl comes in a hurry with a pale face.

The girl was Andrea Arshinile.

"Who is there? Wh—you are…!" Andrea was expecting something bad when she enters. Now that she saw it, she knew it was even more dangerous. "You are… I see. Lumina Ambrosia. The witch of destruction."

Did she know she had just barged into the principal's office? Even worse, she almost destroyed the door. How strong Andrea is? Celes questioned in her mind.

Lumina act calm as always, but Celes panicked to the point of being speechless. The girl just stood, looking from the corner of the room. Bounty hunters tend to aim at Lumina's head. So this happens more frequently. Not that the girl could get used to this.

"A-Andrea…?"

"Celes?" Andrea looked at Celes. "Step back, please. This person is very dangerous."

Andrea draws her sword. The sunlight from the window reflected on the sharp part of the sword. It was a real sword used to cut and pierce living beings.

"Eh…? W-wait!"

Celes confused. What should she do? She doesn't know. Instead of Lumina, she is more worried about Andrea.

Lumina stood, giving off a dangerous aura.

"You are annoying."

Lumina kicked the desk in front of her. It shifted rapidly towards Andrea. With her sword, Andrea cut the desk in half with ease because it was just wood.

"Wait, that is the principal's desk," said Celes in a scared tone, but no one listens.

The fight continues.

Lumina raised a hand, pointing at Andrea. The temperature dropped.

A strong, chilly wind blew through everything in the room. Next, a vortex appears, pushing Andrea so hard. The door flew far away into the corridor wall with Andrea. It was like an explosion, but without fire. Flying dust covered the scene. Because of the loud noise, many people started to gather, even the teacher.

Andrea is coughing. She stood. "Ugh…"

She moved his hand to brush the dust off her face. When she could see again, Lumina had already disappeared with the dust.

"A-Andrea, are you okay?" Celes approached Andrea.

"I am fine. The wind just pushed me back. How about you?"

Celes actually didn't get hit by anything. Lumina's ability to control magic is beyond anything.

"What is going on here?" One of the teachers asked.

Then the principal also appeared with a worried and troubled face.

"Are you both okay? Andrea, do you need to go to the infirmary?"

"Yes, I am okay. But it's her. Lumina Ambrosia appeared in your office. It seems she already disappeared."

Celes and the principal looked at each other, feeling uneasy. They feel bad for Andrea, who knows nothing about it.

The principal tried to calm the other students down. After that, he dismissed everyone except Celes, Andrea, and the teacher.

"Andrea, don't push yourself. If you get hurt, go to the infirmary right away."

The principal seems to be paying more attention to Andrea. Probably because she is noble. It is easy to understand he doesn't want the academy's reputation to fall because of an accident like this.

"How about Lumina?"

"That's our problem to handle. You don't need to think about that. Just be careful next time. If you see her again, please don't act rashly like before."

"I am sorry. It won't happen again."

"Alright, both of you can go. If something happens, try to seek the teacher."

Celes and Andrea decided to go. It would be better if they can move a little further away from the scene.

"I never expected someone would dare enough to kick a door like that."

Maybe Andrea doesn't hesitate because of her background. Noble can pretty much do a lot of things without consequence, Celes thought enviously. In the end, Lumina is the one who broke the door, so it doesn't really matter.

Celes and Andrea are walking in the outside corridor. Beside is the same field where everyone gathered yesterday. They used a small part as a flower garden and pond.

The silence disappeared when Andrea opened her mouth.

"Celes, I was waiting for you near the principal's office."

"Waiting for me? Why?"

"I was planning to invite you so we could have lunch together. However, I sensed something evil coming from the principal's office. That is why I rushed over and kicked the door."

Evil? Is Lumina really that bad? Celes always knows that Lumina is a dangerous person. The way Andrea talks seems to think of Lumina as a devil or demon.

"You sensed it?"

"Yes, I'm actually a bit sensitive to magic. It's not like I can read people's minds just by sensing their magic, but the one I feel back then is just worse and nasty. I can't really describe it since this is the first time I feel something that bad. It just… feels evil."

If she was worried to this extent. It made sense for her to barge through the door like that.

"Also, the reason I sit beside you is that I can barely sense any magic from you. It felt calm around you."

"This is the first time someone said that to me."

Celes doesn't really know how to reply. Andrea, as a noble, is too kind. She even didn't hesitate to protect Celes from Lumina.

"You want to have lunch with me, right?"

Celes change the topic by force.

Andrea nodded slowly.

"Then, let's go!" Celes started to walk faster, excitedly. "You know, I haven't checked the cafeteria at all."

"Wait, Celes." At the same time, Andrea fastens her pace.