Chapter 12 – Academy (4)
The look on Rion's face when he stopped at the bottom of the steps was… not good.
He stood there waiting for me, eyes unfocused, lips pressed into a thin line. The expression of someone who had just been shown something and was now very stubbornly refusing to think about it.
I walked back to our row and sat down beside him.
"Rion, how was it?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
That was quick.
He slumped into his seat, staring straight ahead at nothing. For someone who had been joking about "future children" earlier, the silence was loud.
Before I could say anything else, Professor Elvard's voice filled the hall again, stronger than before, carrying a kind of quiet authority that pressed down on everyone equally.
"As you all know," he said, "what you just saw is not a chain on your neck."
The murmurs faded.
"It is not your future carved into stone. It is a *path*—one of many. A line drawn in the sand. Left alone, never questioned, never challenged… it becomes the easiest road to walk."
He stepped closer to the center, hands folded behind his back.
"But if you ignore the Revelation of the future completely, if you live without ever looking at where your steps might lead, you will simply act on it without knowing. That, my students…"
His gaze swept across us. For a second, I was sure his eyes stopped on me and Rion.
"…is what we call being doomed by your own ignorance."
The word "doomed" dropped into the hall like a heavy stone.
A few students shifted on the benches.
"So," Elvard continued more softly, "I will ask you once."
He spread his arms, like he was inviting all of us to stand.
"Are you willing to change the future you saw?"
There was a heartbeat of silence. Then someone shouted, "Yes!" Another voice followed, then another. Soon, half the hall was answering, and the other half joined just to not be left behind.
"Yes!"
"Of course!"
"I'll change it!"
Rion didn't shout. He just exhaled slowly, shoulders dropping a little, as if the question had dug into something he didn't want to touch.
I didn't shout either.
But in my chest, something responded anyway.
'Change it, huh…'
[ System ]
[ Notice: "Future Branch Notification – Active" ]
[ Tip: Awareness is the first step of deviation ]
Very philosophical of you.
***
What followed after that was less dramatic and more… normal.
"Now then," Professor Elvard said once the echoes died down, "since I have successfully frightened at least half of you, we will move on to boring things."
A few students chuckled weakly.
"First, your *core subjects* for this term."
He waved his hand, and lines of light appeared in the air over the center, forming glowing letters that everyone could read.
– Fundamentals of Recordkeeping
– Introduction to Celestial Cartography
– Basic Rites and Oaths
– Theology of Vastriel I
– General Common Classes shared with Sword and Staff
"Recordkeeping," he said, pointing at the first line. "You will complain. You will ask why. You will be wrong. Learn to write properly, to count, to sort, to remember. Empires are not run by swords, they are run by people who put things in the right place and make sure they stay there."
Some of the noble-born students visibly sunk in their seats.
"Celestial Cartography," he continued. "You will learn the patterns of the sky. Not to play at fortune-tellers, but to understand what Vastriel has already written overhead. If the heavens are a book, you must learn your letters first."
His finger moved down.
"Rites and Oaths. Words bind. Careless promises break families, cities, sometimes kingdoms. You will learn the difference between a casual word and a binding vow. Some of you will serve courts, some temples, some merchant houses. All will deal with contracts."
Finally, he tapped the last two.
"Theology. You will complain it is all memorisation. You will again be wrong. To speak to something, you must know its names."
"And as for your *common classes* with the Sword and Staff campuses… consider them a gift. A swordsman who understands supply lines is worth three who don't. A mage who knows
how taxes work will survive longer than one who doesn't. And a diviner who can at least hold a sword the right way will live to see another day."
He let the glowing letters fade.
"Now, for a few rules," he said, and the entire hall collectively sagged.
He smiled faintly.
"Rule one, do not attempt independent Revelation rituals unsupervised. I say this for your minds, your bodies, and your bedsheets. Waking up to the stars staring back at you from your pillow is not as pleasant as some of you might think."
A soft ripple of laughter.
"Rule two, the archives are open at stated hours. Removing a book without logging it is an offense. Returning a book damaged is a worse one. Returning a book dripping with soup is… a sin."
More laughter.
"Rule three, dormitory curfew is at ninth bell. The stars may watch all night, but I require you to be asleep at some point."
He went on for a while longer, explaining where our classes would be, how to find the campus offices, what to do if we heard strange whispers at night (report, do not follow). My mind drifted slightly, only snapping back here and there when something important was mentioned.
"…and for those of you with cross-enrollment from Sword or Staff," Elvard added at the end, "do not think this is a place to rest your swords or staves. Divination is not lighter, only quieter."
He clapped his hands once more.
"That concludes your orientation. Schedules for individual students will be posted at the dormitory boards this evening. Until then, explore, breathe, and do not sell your future readings among yourselves. That is for second-years and above."
The hall filled with the rustling sound of students standing, benches scraping gently against stone.
"May Vastriel watch your steps," he finished. "Dismissed."
***
Soon after his further instructions and more of his light, half-joking warnings, the orientation was truly over. We flowed out of Star-Dome Hall in a slow-moving crowd, drifting toward the courtyard like water through a narrow channel.
Rion walked beside me, quiet. The expression on his face was still there, an uneasy line between his brows.
I nudged him with my elbow.
"Still don't want to talk about it?"
He let out a breath through his nose.
"I saw… something," he muttered. "I thought I knew what path my father wanted for me, what I wanted to avoid. Then the stars decided to show me a third thing I didn't ask for."
"That sounds vague."
"Exactly." He ruffled his hair. "I hate vague."
We stepped out into the light of the courtyard. The sky above was clear, the real sun bright and steady, so different from the shifting stars under the dome.
Rion looked around, then leaned closer.
"So, uhhh," he whispered, "do you know where the dorm is located?"
"No idea."
He stared at me, betrayed.
"I see," he said solemnly. "We are doommmmed…"
He let the word stretch dramatically, then straightened up, slapping his cheeks lightly.
"Maybe I can ask a senior. Or five. Or ten." He pointed at a group of older students walking past. "Watch this. I, a noble son with no shame left, shall go beg for directions."
Before I could respond, he ran off after them like a puppy chasing the bone he dropped, shouting, "Excuse me! Seniors! Brilliant and wise upperclassmen!"
I watched him gesture wildly as he spoke with them. One of the seniors sighed, pointed toward another path, and patted him on the shoulder as if granting some troublesome child a small mercy.
'He'll be fine,' I thought. 'Probably.'
For now, I decided to do something simpler.
'I'll just head to the common area first,' I thought, turning toward the central plaza.
As I took my first step, I felt someone lightly pulling on the back of my coat.
Not hard, just a small tug. Enough to say, "Wait."
"Umm, hello…"
I turned around.
The girl with the red coat stood there, hands clutching the fabric of her sleeves. The same girl I had saved from the bullying incident before the duel.
Up close, she looked even smaller than I remembered. Red hair braided neatly over one shoulder, clear blue eyes flicking between my face and the ground like they couldn't decide where to rest.
"Hello," I said. "What do you need, my lady?"
She flinched a little at the word "lady," then shook her head quickly.
"I-I'm not a lady," she said. "I mean, not that kind of lady…"
"Even so," I replied lightly, "a lady is a lady."
Her face turned a little red.
"Th-thank you for saving me. Earlier. And the fight…" She glanced down, twisting the edge of her sleeve between her fingers. "The duel was… amazing."
She said the last word so quietly it almost disappeared between us.
"Ah. It was nothing." I scratched my cheek. "I couldn't stand by and watch."
Silence stretched out for a moment.
She shifted her weight, looking like she wanted to say something else but didn't know how. I wasn't sure what to add either.
'Okay, it's starting to get awkward.'
I cleared my throat.
"Hey, do you know where the dorm is located?"
Her head snapped up.
"Oh! Yes, I do," she said, relief immediately replacing her shyness. "You're first-year too, right? Divination campus?"
"Yes."
"The dorms for first-years are in the same building," she explained. "They're just divided by campus inside. If you like… do you want to head there together?"
"Sure," I said. "That would help."
Her shoulders loosened, as if she'd passed some kind of internal check.
She turned slightly and gestured down one of the side paths leading away from the central plaza.
"This way, um…"
She looked at me expectantly.
"Erynd," I said. "Erynd Milton."
She blinked, then nodded.
"I'm Lyra," she said. "Lyra Feld. Sword campus first-year."
Sword, huh.
The red coat made sense now. The Sword campus uniform for first-years had a red overcoat worn over the base design, while Divination had white and silver once we were properly assigned.
As we started walking, something flickered in the corner of my vision.
[ System ]
[ Saving the heroine ]
[ Sub-Quest: "Walk the Heroine to the Dorms" ]
[ Reward: Unknown ]
[ Penalty for Failure: None… probably ]
What?