"...No problem."
Gaia answered briefly with his usual stone-faced expression. Sakika suddenly realized something and turned to Rau.
"Principal, what about my uniform and textbooks?"
Sakika was still in his regular clothes. Stella had told him they'd be provided here.
"Oh, right. They're over here."
Rau pointed to a uniform and stack of textbooks on his desk. The small mountain of books was probably due to the sheer number of subjects.
"Sorry, but could you change in that room over there?"
"Yes, sir."
Sakika grabbed the uniform from the desk and changed in the room Rau had pointed to. The uniform was identical to Gaia's. Being taller than average, Sakika had worried about the fit, but Stella must have told them his measurements beforehand. It was slightly big—probably accounting for growth spurts—but it fit just right.
When Sakika finished changing and came back out, Rau explained everything.
"The uniform you're wearing is for honor students. By the way, besides you and Gaia, there are four other honor students in your grade."
The uniform Sakika and Gaia wore was black with white and gold trim. Now that he thought about it, the uniforms he'd seen other students wearing on the way here definitely didn't have white and gold trim.
"Your class is 1-S, same as Gaia's. It's where the top students in the grade are placed. The other four honor students are in the same class too, so you might become friends."
Same class as Gaia.
That small anxiety that had been gnawing at him like a splinter was instantly crushed. If he could spend time in the same classroom as Gaia, there was nothing to worry about.
The joy that had been hiding behind his anxiety showed on his face, and Sakika smiled.
"Now then."
Rau's gaze shifted to Gaia.
"You should head to class first. I told your homeroom teacher you wouldn't be at the entrance ceremony, but if you go together with Sakika, they might mistake him for a transfer student. Though I doubt any teacher here wouldn't recognize the face of such an exemplary student."
Rau grinned mischievously. Gaia's eyebrows drew together slightly, looking somewhat irritated. Sakika was about to say something about that expression when Gaia spoke first.
"Understood. ...Saki, I'll be waiting in the classroom."
"Yeah. See you later."
Sakika waved lightly at Gaia, who had returned to his usual expressionless state. Strangely, Gaia showed the faintest smile. Sakika watched him turn and leave, then let out a small breath.
"You two are close."
Rau had spoken to him. When Sakika looked over, their eyes met as Rau smiled.
"Yes, he's like my older brother."
"Brother?"
"Yes. We've been together since we were little, and he's taken care of me in so many ways. More than a friend—he's like my brother."
Gaia hadn't always been as calm and composed as he was now. Sakika remembered how Stella used to be at her wit's end dealing with his mischievous side, and smiled softly.
"I see."
Rau chuckled quietly. His smile seemed softer and more genuine than before, though Sakika wasn't sure why.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Could you put away your textbooks? You'll definitely forget them here otherwise."
"You're right..."
Sakika nodded and stored the textbooks in his Box. They were chatting for a while when someone knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Rau answered.
"Excuse me."
A somewhat low voice spoke before a young woman in her early twenties entered the room. She had short, pale blue hair and blue eyes.
Her tanned skin and masculine features made her look like a female soldier with battle experience.
"Ms. Eve, right on time. This is Sakika Foras, who'll be joining your class. Sakika, this is your homeroom teacher, Eve Grantze."
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Sakika Foras. I look forward to working with you."
Sakika placed his right hand on his chest, his left hand behind his back, pulled his left foot back slightly, and bowed his head.
This was considered the most elegant form of greeting in this country. In the past, only royalty, high and mid-level nobles, and emperors used this refined gesture, but recently merchants had begun using it with nobles, and it was gradually becoming more common.
In response to this greeting, Eve blushed slightly and looked away for some reason. She fell silent, leaving Sakika wondering what to do. After waiting a moment, he decided to speak up.
"...Ms. Eve?"
Eve cleared her throat softly and looked back at him. Their eyes met—hers a clear blue.
"...As introduced, I'm Eve Grantze. I look forward to working with you."
Even her way of speaking was masculine.
"Yes, ma'am."
Sakika smiled, and Eve looked away again. Had I done something to upset her on our first meeting? His mood started to sink, but he told himself that was probably overthinking it. Still, why did she keep looking away?
Eve redirected her gaze to Rau.
"I'll take him to the classroom now."
"Please do."
"Yes, sir. ...Excuse me. Please follow me."
Eve opened the door and looked at Sakika. This time their eyes met properly. He felt relieved that his homeroom teacher—someone he'd just met—didn't actually dislike him.
"Yes, ma'am. Principal, thank you for everything."
Eve glanced at Sakika, then started walking. She walked fast. Her movements were smooth and graceful, like a large predatory monster. She definitely had well-toned muscles. What subject did she teach?
Sakika and Eve walked in silence. But there was no awkwardness to it. Eve didn't seem like much of a talker, and Sakika wasn't the type to start conversations without reason, so the silence was natural.
Through the glass window in the door, he could see students—his future classmates—already seated in the classroom, waiting for Eve to arrive.
"I'll go into the classroom first. When I signal, come in."
"Yes, ma'am."
He nodded.
Eve entered the classroom, and standing alone in the wide hallway, Sakika realized he was nervous.
This wasn't the sharp, focused tension he felt before battle. This was a different kind of nervousness—one he'd never experienced before, like the ground wasn't solid beneath his feet.
He was confused by this strange new sensation, but then noticed Eve looking at him, so he pulled himself together. There was no point dwelling on these weird feelings. He opened the door and entered the classroom.
The classroom was mostly white too. It was spacious for the number of students, creating a contradiction with what he'd seen from the hallway. He could sense mana from the walls and ceiling. Probably space-attribute magic expanding the room.
When Sakika entered, the slightly noisy classroom fell silent for a moment, then erupted in excited voices. Some of the boys shot him piercing stares.
He felt very uncomfortable. The anxiety he hadn't been able to shake completely bubbled up again—the fear that things might go back to how they used to be.
But when he stood next to Eve and faced forward, he met the red eyes of a boy with brilliant crimson hair who was looking at him with a somewhat worried expression—Gaia. Strangely, that brought him some calmness.
His longtime friend who'd shared so much time with him. The person who was like a brother to him, someone Sakika could rely on more than anyone.
There was nothing to worry about. Sakika was just trapped by memories of the past.
Sakika slowly smiled. He was good at fake smiles.
"Give us a quick introduction."
He'd expected her to say something like that. Sakika delivered the lines he'd thought up while walking down the hallway.
"I'm Sakika Foras. My guild rank is E. Nice to meet you all."
He bowed once and straightened up to face forward. Most of the students were looking at him with contempt. He knew why, but he had no intention of correcting them.
"What, he's a loser?"
"How'd he even get into S-class?"
"An honor student who's a total failure?"
"I bet he paid his way into being an honor student."
He could hear their whispered conversations.