A week passed, and the date arrived for the registration day for final year students in the Magic Academy of Solstar.
Early in the morning, Mary had packed everything the Young Master needed into the carriage.
Mary returned to Kael's bedroom to inform him. "Young Master, the carriage is ready."
Kael nodded in acknowledgement. He looked at himself in the mirror, the academy's brown vest covering his white shirt had a militaristic style to them. The golden crest of a 4 pointed star neatly placed on his upper left. This is the symbol of the academy.
Kael looked at the rabbit who was just looking at him then at Mary. His ears flattened, as if he knew they would leave.
"Mary. Bring his bed too." Kael pointed at the pet bed at the corner.
"You are bringing White?"
"He's my familiar. Besides, I planned to train him to use magic." While it was an excuse, Kael was truthful. A familiar was also a part of a mage's strength. Since the rabbit can use magic, he was qualified to be a familiar.
Mary nodded before turning to the rabbit. "White, you are following."
Shou's ears flicked up, his eyes almost shining. He was afraid he would be left alone in this giant mansion with no one around to talk to.
Shou hopped down the bed and climbed up to Mary with skill and sat neatly on her shoulders.
"This lazy guy…" Kael's eyelids twitched slightly seeing he even used Mary as a ride.
"Don't spoil him too much." Kael reminded, but his tone hid a sense of jealousy.
"Yes, Young Master." Mary just replied perfunctorily.
Shou whispered to Mary's ears.
"Tch. He's the one who's spoiled… look he didn't pack a single thing and leave it all to you. He's the one who's lazy. He needs to look in the mirror more."
Shou snickered. Mary bit her lips, holding her laughter.
"Oh… don't tell me… he can't even wake up by himself. I had to knock on his doors otherwise…" Mary whispered back.
"Hm?" Kael felt his ears itching for some reason.
He felt he heard whispers behind him. He snapped his head to Mary without warning, causing the rabbit and the maid to be frozen silly.
Kael swore he saw Mary whispering to the rabbit.
But then again, Kael himself 'talked' to the rabbit mindlessly at times. So it's nothing, he guessed.
Seeing Kael no longer pay them any attention, their whispers continued.
"Whew… you think he can hear us?" Shou felt he was close to being caught.
"He can hear a little I feel… we need to get a little farther. Fortunately he didn't know you could talk so at most he would think I am just saying you are cute or something..."
"Hihi. This is fun actually. You know that buffoon snored last night. I can't sleep at all… I wished I could just stuff his nose with something."
Mary held her chuckle before replying. "Yes he always does… even when he was just a child he could snore… I didn't expect that…"
"Hihihi… hey had he ever wet his bed…"
"Oh… he did… I remember he was so panicked and called me. He asked me to hide it from his father and keep it a secret. Hihi… He was so afraid he was about to cry…"
While the pair was gossipping, Kael remained unaware.
Kael scratched his ears, feeling some itch there for no reason.
They eventually get into the carriage, accompanied by two guards on their left and right riding their own horses.
Shou felt a little disappointed that now he was in a closed space with Kael, he couldn't talk to Mary anymore.
The carriage started to move across the Capital City. It would only take an hour to reach the academy by the carriage so there was no rush.
Shou poked his head out the window to look outside. The buzzing city, people in various cloths of colours, and hats and dresses.
The carriages on the street would always move aside to let the Ashborne's carriage pass once they saw the family crest at the front and back.
The onlookers noticed a rabbit poking his head out and had their own questions but didn't give it too much care.
Kael glanced at the rabbit, standing on Mary's shoulder for a better view through the window.
"White, come here." Kael commanded calmly.
Shou grunted, his ears flattened into an aeroplane shape. But he still went to Kael otherwise this guy would definitely have picked him up without asking.
Kael's expression turned ugly seeing this rabbit's expression.
"Hey, I am your owner. Don't give me that face."
Who's who's owner?! I am my own person!
Shou glared at Kael, his paws crossed.
"This guy…" Kael felt like smacking this rabbit's butt.
"Come here," his voice tinged with impatience. He picked him up and placed him on his shoulder.
"Look from here."
Shou glanced at Kael with a side eye.
Ho. So you just want my attention.
He sneered, then looked at Mary. Mary saw Shou rolling his eyes and shook his head and ended it with a flick of his tongue out.
Mary turned his face away, holding her laughter.
Kael looked right and left, he felt these two seemed to be hiding something. But White was just a rabbit.
Damn this rabbit really got on my nerves…
Kael moved his hand and slapped the rabbit's butt once.
A shrill sound escaped from Shou's mouth.
"You…!" Shou almost cursed.
"What…?" Kael froze, did the rabbit just-
"Y-yuuu… yuuuu…. Squek!" Shou pretended to make random sounds.
Kael observed for seconds, and nodded to himself.
"I didn't know rabbits make that sound."
Mary had to cover her lips with her hand. It was too amusing how clueless Kael was. Shou turned to Mary, he moved his lips slowly to form the word 'stupid'.
Mary was about to burst out laughing and had to pretend to cough violently out the window.
"Mary, do you need medicine?" Kael frowned seeing his maid coughing.
"N-no. Young Master… it was just dust."
Shou giggled and made the gesture more said 'stupid' silently.
Mary was trembling to hold her laughter and had to poke her head out for air and cough covering her laugh.
The entire journey was a comedy for the rabbit and the maid. While Kael remained in the dark.
He didn't know why but he felt annoyed more than usual.
They eventually reached the gate of the academy. Seeing the crest in the carriage, the guards in blue uniform quickly opened the gates to let them in.
Shou gasped as they went into the campus ground. The different buildings with Victorian aesthetics, street lamps made of crystals. The field where people played sports, some jogging. And the tens of people practicing various magic. At the other side he saw an open field where people practiced swordsmanship.
And what was shocking he saw a vehicle made of metals, not pulled by any beasts passing by. He saw it stopped, and students wearing the same brown vest like Kael poured out of it before the vehicle continued.
Is that a shuttle? Wow…
It was probably powered up by magic. Shou wished he could see this place at night to see how the lamps would look l.
The carriage moved along the path and reached the administration building.
Kael went down first to register at the counter while Shou and Mary waited for him.
Shou saw other few carriages around them too, each bearing different crests. While Kael was gone Shou took this chance to learn more.
"Mary, all the other carriages belonged to nobles too?"
"Yes. On our left is the Cobwell. The right of us… no crest… It was a privately owned carriage. Either the person came from afar or a commoner." Mary said with a little uncertainty.
"Commoners? Can they enter too?"
"Yes, they can. But they had to be recommended by noble family members or by Imagenium themselves. I think they do search for talents once in a while among commoners."
"Imagenium?"
"It's an organisation formed by groups of mages. Most of them are of noble bloodlines too of course. Now they control the Ministry of Magic. All Magic Academy is overseen by them too. They also make policies and control over distribution of magic knowledge, and provide certification and licenses. I heard they often do talent searches among the commoners to find those with magic aptitude. If they are lucky, the commoners can get in through those."
"Oohh… so… most commoners cannot use magic?" Shou pondered and asked.
"It's illegal even. You need a license to use magic. And to begin with you need resources to practice magic, the right knowledge and of course enough talent to initiate."
"Resources? Knowledge? But I thought we just… uh… think and feel hard about it. Like that's how I feel when I move the water. You and Kael do that too, right?"
"I think you misunderstood a lot. Where do I begin… We humans do not have a natural magic core like you magic beasts do. So we created an imitation magic core in our body. Without resources and knowledge you cannot be initiated. Even the commoners that were tested for their talents need to undergo this process first."
"Huh… I see…"
"Then what about you Mary? You can use magic. You are a maid… how did you initiate the magic core thing? You study here too?"
"Hm?" Mary smiled hearing the question.
"I studied in a smaller academy. I am a noble too, technically. No surprise there. Though my father is just a baron. When I was 13 years old I was sent to the Ashborne to be a maid."
"Huh? But if you are noble… Why are you working as a maid?"
Shou, a soul from modern earth, couldn't understand it at all.
"I am a daughter, the 5th one at that too. Nobles' families are… Well, not that kind to ladies. Besides, the nobles of higher positions, like this family, do not take just anyone to be their servants. All of us need to learn etiquette and rules of high society and act like it. Taking in a random commoner that needed to be trained from nothing was a hassle and it would be deemed cheap. We had to maintain our faces." Mary answered calmly. But her eyes had a hint of bitterness for a split second before returning to its usual composure.
"Oh… I get it."
"What about you, Shou. How's your… rabbit society work?" Mary asked in a lighthearted manner.
"My kin…" Shou's ears flattened slightly when he remembered them.
"They are gone now. Humans… they came and took everything. I escaped…"
Mary gasped slightly. Her eyes softened, filled with compassion.
"I am sorry to hear that."
Mary looked at Shou's small figure, now looking down. A part of her felt sad, but also understood the reality that Shou, and by extension his family were rabbits. It was natural to be hunted. But saying that wouldn't help so she didn't say it.
"You are safe here. We are your new family now." Mary reassured him.
"New family…" Shou seemed hesitant.
"Kael cares for you a lot, you know. He never had someone he could care for like he does to you…"
"Kael does…?"
"Yes. I can tell he does. He likes your attention, for sure."
Shou chuckled hearing the last sentence.
"Hihi. Yea… I can tell."
"Besides, for me you are a friend. Not just any rabbit." Mary added.
"Mary…" Shou had tears in his eyes hearing the words. He wiped his eyes with his paw.
"You are my friend too."
"Tch. But Kael always treats me like a pet. Hmph." Shou crossed his arms, his ears turned into an aeroplane.
Mary chuckled. "Well, you can talk to him if you want."
"Hey, then we can't gossip anymore. Besides…" Shou felt a little sheepish around Kael.
After all, he kept touching him here and there, and he was so handsome. The number of times he saw Kael without clothes too. It would be a lie to say his human soul didn't feel a thing.
He was afraid talking to him would make things weirder for himself that was why he didn't tell him so far.
"Yes, you are right." Mary laughed a little, amused at the implication and the way Shou looked so shy suddenly.
She seemed to be able to see through him.
"And I want to surprise him. Hihi…" Shou seemed to have a funny idea forming in his head.
"Oh… what kind of surprise…"
"Hihi… I want to spook him." Mary's reaction inspired Shou.
Mary chuckled, already understanding what Shou would do.
"That sounds fun!" Mary herself had witnessed the horror before. The idea that the Young Master would experience it too made her feel happy.
While the two were chatting, they didn't realise that across the window, a person sitting inside the carriage next to them had turned the curtain aside and was looking straight at them. His black hair short and wild, his irises dark red.
The man looked at the rabbit with curiosity, seeing and hearing it talk was a world opener.
"Interesting." The man muttered just a word before closing the curtain of his window.
Shou didn't know that an outsider already knew his secret.
***