Somewhere near the center of the great gray city, a manarail was speeding, taking its passengers to their daily lives.
One such passenger was a young man with sharp features, blond hair, and blue eyes.
Surrounded by the buzz of the crowd and enduring the occasional shaking of the cabin, he calmly observed the enrollment letter in his hands.
Ailanthus Academy of Magic. This is the most suitable place after all. It has enough prestige to later become a knight with no hassle, and it's far enough from the city center.
He leaned into the seat, looking around the metal cabin and listening to the hum of magic that brought it forward along the track.
Certainly far enough to use the manarail to get there. It's not as dirty here as I've heard. I see no reason why nobles shouldn't ride it.
He turned to look at the window behind him. There was the sight of quickly passing gray stone buildings that looked quite small at this height.
They were identical boring boxes that countless people called homes.
Looks worse than it really is... I hope.
Suddenly a loud screech was heard from all around.
The manarail, making a horrible piercing noise all the while, slowly came to a halt.
The people around him wore nervous faces but didn't budge from their seats, instead patiently waiting for something.
Seeing this, he relaxed as well.
Is this normal?
Soon a muffled, barely recognizable voice rang out from a metal cone in the corner of the cabin.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for the delay. For your safety, please remain seated while we switch to a backup manavein. Thank you for your patience."
You can barely hear this message. The mage who cast the spell is quite inferior...
With this announcement the people around him soon erupted into heated conversations.
"I can't be late today! What awful luck!" Someone pitifully yelped.
"It must be Lapis again… Why must they be such a nuisance!"
"The knights are usually so arrogant. How come they haven't caught these madmen yet?"
"Don't talk about that so loudly…"
Finding comfort in having a common enemy, the people peacefully passed the time complaining.
That's just great.
The young man sighed with frustration and leaned back in his seat.
Suddenly a beautiful, melodic voice called out to him from the side. "You are going to be late for the Ailanthus Convocation now. That's very unfortunate."
Was there always someone sitting there? I didn't notice…
He turned his head in that direction and was immediately shocked.
There sat a young woman in a business suit, and her face completely stunned him. With her black hair reaching past her shoulders, it contrasted sharply with her pale skin.
He took in her nose, her smile, her brows, everything was perfect.
Maybe a bit too perfect. He thought, looking in her bright red eyes that almost seemed inhuman.
Even those noble ladies don't hold a candle to her.
Is her eye color altered? It can't be natural…
"Not bad, right?" The woman brushed her hair with a satisfied look, clearly enjoying his reaction.
Even her voice appeared special, as if reaching directly into his heart. It finally shook the man from his shock.
"How do you know I am going to Ailanthus?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
The woman lightly smiled, not saying anything further.
With a jolt, he remembered that he was still holding the enrollment letter in his hands.
She must have simply read the information on it.
While feeling slight shame for asking a silly question like that, he finally put away the letter in his pocket.
What is wrong with me? I have never felt this way before.
He took a light breath and closed his eyes, regaining his calm.
Is this how love feels? There is this almost tangible connection between me and her.
No, this must be... something different. I am not someone who falls in love at first sight. That's ridiculous.
Now in a much more stable state, he reopened his eyes and looked at the mysterious woman nearby. Though it took some effort for him to continue to stay calm.
She looks exactly like my type. I didn't even know I had a type.
The woman's smile widened just a little bit more, her red eyes completely filling his vision.
"What's your name?"
"Hmm..." The woman's expression turned contemplative, even unsure.
"What do you want to call me?"
Is this her trying to be humorous? Well, no one is perfect…
"...With your name."
"Alright, then." The woman tapped her chin in thought until a flash of inspiration lit up her face.
"Call me Rhamn!"
He nodded, remembering this name in his heart.
It sounds good.
"My name is Cyril." Only now did he introduce himself.
"I know, Cyril Thorne. It's a good name."
A sweet smile returned to her face, as if saying his name was something joyful.
She knows? ...Right, she saw the enrollment letter.
I have to gather myself together and start thinking already.
To take a light break from her hard-to-endure gaze, Cyril moved his eyes away and observed the cabin for a second.
Suddenly a person sitting across grabbed his attention. It was a middle-aged man staring at him with a weird, concerned look.
"Is there something wrong?" Cyril said to him with a frown.
I am not some zoo animal.
"No, no. Don't mind me, please." The man hastily replied with some fear and turned his head to the side, looking at the scenery of countless grey buildings visible from the window.
What's wrong with him?
Cyril briefly looked over his appearance. Nothing seemed off.
"Don't mind that nobody. We shouldn't care what an average man like him does. It's beneath us," Rhamn called out, not even pretending to try and lower her voice.
Cyril stiffened, taking note of the reaction of the people around him. Nobody seemed to react to her words, though the people closer had tense faces, similarly refusing to look in this direction.
He shook his head and finally turned back to look at Rhamn.
"You really don't mince your words, I see."
She is an arrogant one.
Rhamn replied with a shrug, "I am just stating the truth, that's not being arrogant."
"If you say so." Cyril blankly stared at her, unaccustomed to her manner of speech.
Even at those evening parties, it was rare to meet a noble who spoke like her. I don't dislike this, I suppose...
Cyril was slightly intrigued by her, feeling an attraction he couldn't quite explain.
...
Eventually the manarail started again, though it took a while.
Cyril spent this time talking with Rhamn about all sorts of random topics.
When he asked where she was going, Cyril received an unexpected response.
Turns out she was going to enroll at Ailanthus too.
She is wearing a business suit to the entrance ceremony? It is one thing to dress for the occasion, but we are supposed to wear our uniforms.
With a questioning gaze, he looked her up and down.
"Do you not like it? I think it's stylish." Rhamn twisted her body, letting Cyril take a better view.
It wasn't obvious at first, but she had quite the figure.
"...It looks good."
He moved his eyes away.
"Then it's fine," Rhamn replied with a proud smile.
Suddenly, through the metal cone in the corner of the cabin, a heavily distorted voice announced the name of the station near Ailanthus.
"It's our stop," Cyril quickly said and prepared to get up.
Even though they didn't have to sit in a carriage to reach their destination like the people in past generations, Ailanthus was quite far from the city center, where the Tower proudly stood.
Coupled with the emergency stop along the way, it was already getting dark outside.
We are definitely late.
In a few moments the manarail gradually came to a stop, and the metal doors of the cabin opened on their own.
Cyril and Rhamn, along with a few other passengers, got up.
After getting out from the cabin, Cyril was greeted with the sights of the academy. The most prominent piece was the ancient-looking castle raised high into the sky.
"This place looks grand. Not everywhere in the Empire can you see something like this," Cyril mumbled out loud and turned to look at his companion.
His face grew shocked immediately.
Not because of her beauty again, during this time he thankfully managed to get used to it.
Another student happened to pass right in the place Rhamn was standing.
And instead of asking her to move or pushing her to the side as some third-rate villain, the student simply walked right through.
Without even noticing her or hitting her in the process, the student passed straight through the red-eyed girl as if she weren't even there.
Then he briefly nodded in confusion to Cyril and sped up, in a hurry to reach the castle.
"What was that?"
"What was what?"
After a delay, her red eyes lit up with realization.
"Oh, how did that weak-looking student pass through me?"
"…I don't know."
Remembering the weird looks he was getting on the manarail, Cyril reached out his hand in an attempt to touch Rhamn's shoulder.
As he feared, his hand didn't feel the warmth of flesh but passed straight through.
"Yeah, we can't touch each other. That's a shame," Rhamn replied without acting any different.
Only I can see her?
Cyril stood there, frozen on the spot.
"Isn't this quite normal?" Rhamn innocently shrugged her shoulders.
I must be losing my mind...