Chapter 2 - Swallow Takes Flight (2)

A large, castle-like building with a large gate and beautiful garden greeted me as I arrived at Charles Military Academy. Arriving right before Charles Military Academy, I could not help but exclaim, "I can't believe it's that big." I stood in front of the entrance gate. It was dark and metallic, and a massive sign of 'Charles Military Academy' hung on top of it. I was about to step inside the gate when I heard an eerily loud whistle. "Halt! What are you doing?" a green-haired, cyan-colored-eyes, 165 cm tall woman came out from the small security office beside the entrance gate. "Oh, sorry. I'm a new student here. I would like to register myself in the dorm," I said. "Show it to me," the green-haired woman extended her hand.

"What?"

"The proof. Your proof of admission," the green-haired woman demanded. "Oh," I rummaged through my bag before finding an envelope. I opened the envelope, finding a badge with the large letter 'C' in the middle. Below the C, there were 'Branch Campus' words, signaling that the badge was from Charles Military Academy Branch Campus. "Here you go," I gave the green-haired woman the badge. "Hmm," the green-haired woman rotated my badge with her hand before gifting it back to me. "Looks legit. Come on then, go inside. The male dorms are to the right from here," the green-haired woman informed.

"Thank you, miss…?"

"Gloria, you can call me Gloria," the green-haired woman said with a smile. "Thank you, Miss Gloria," I flashed a smile back before proceeding toward the male dorm.

===

"Finally, you have arrived," a stern old man wearing a butler outfit with neatly combed white hair, black-colored eyes, and a monocle on his left eye greeted me with his hands behind his back. "You are late," the stern old man reprimanded. "Late?" I furrowed my eyebrows. "Yes. Your other classmates had arrived earlier," the stern old man said. Observing my surroundings, I found two other people sitting on the sofa. One of them had his body leaning on the couch, legs crossed, and arms spread. He had messy, orange hair, red-colored eyes, and slightly darker skin.

The other young man was more refined. He sat upright; his cyan-colored hair was eye-striking, shone by the sunlight from outside the window. His yellow eyes were darting toward me for a second. He flashed a polite smile at me, which caused me to flinch slightly. The two of them wore similar clothing. Dark blue blazers with the branch campus logo stamped on their left chests. White-colored shirts inside the dark blue blazers and black-colored pants completed the branch campus uniform which they wore. The difference between the two young men was that the cyan-haired young man wore a blue tie on his shirt and black-colored shoe, while the orange-haired young man did not wear a tie at all and loosened up his buttons.

"Hmm… Thankfully, your choice of attire can be considered passable. Here is your jacket. Quickly wear it and go to the building. Normally, you would need to change into your uniform first, but we don't have time for that since you arrived late. Leave your luggage here but bring your weapon with you," the stern old man explained after throwing a dark blue jacket at me.

The jacket has a dark blue motive with a white line around the zipper reaching up to the collars. Charles Military Academy Branch Campus symbol was attached to the jacket's left chest, with its iconic white and blue color. "Since he's just arrived, please show him the way," the stern old man said. "Sure, sure," the orange-haired young man stood up while sighing. "I would love to," the cyan-haired young man said as he rose to his feet. "And introduce yourself while doing so," the old man turned his back and picked up my luggage. "Yeah, yeah, we get it already, old man. Just go do your job," the orange-haired young man sighed in annoyance. "Well, shall we depart?" the cyan-haired young man said as he opened the door.

===

The cyan-haired young man and the orange-haired young man escorted me toward the academy's main building. I saw the cyan-haired young man bringing a thin sword strapped to his waist while the orange-haired young man easily carried a large, heavy case on his shoulders.

'That thin sword should be a rapier judging by the handle. And that case… Some kinds of polearm, maybe?' I pondered. "Yes, it is a rapier, in case you are wondering," the cyan-haired young man said with a small smile. "That obvious, huh?" I smiled wryly. "Yeah, well, a little bit. Oh, where are my manners? My name is Gilbert Scallion. Nice to meet you," Gilbert extended his hand for a handshake. "Oh, I am…." Before I managed to finish my sentence, the orange-haired youth approached me while scratching the back of his head. "I'm Wortel," the orange-haired young man said. After saying that, Wortel turned around while mumbling, "Now that old man will not nag at me, right?" Baffled, I did not realize my mouth was agape, "Uh, what was that?"

"Haha, don't mind him," Gilbert chuckled. "Right, I never get your name," Gilbert said. "Me? Well, I'm—"

DANG DANG DANG

Before I finished, I was interrupted by a loud sound of a bell ringing from the direction of the main building. "Oh, crap! We have to hurry, or else we will be late," Gilbert urged. "R-right," taken aback, I could only follow behind Gilbert as the two of us sprinted toward the academy's main building.