Luna woke up even before the sun rises as she felt the need to arrange her things found inside her luggage. Once she opened it, a dark brown leather pouch was inserted in the corner of her folded clothes.
Her eyebrows furrowed as she didn't remember placing something like that inside her luggage. She curiously took it and opened it to see what was inside. A stack of golden coins that seemed to shine back into her deep dark eyes welcomed her.
"Who placed this money inside my luggage?!" Luna uttered.
"Wait," she continued.
Luna closed the pouch and placed it on the carpeted floor. Then she couldn't help rolling her eyes while placing all her clothes into the large maroon bed.
"Akiro must have placed it but I don't know when he did it," Luna said.
"He may really have a mountain of golden coins inside his mansion that he didn't mind giving me tons of it," she uttered.
Half an hour had already passed when Luna finished arranging all her clothes inside the cream-colored wardrobe.
"I wonder what the new students who will not participate in the contest will do," Luna thought.
She was sure that some of them might not even join after getting exhausted from yesterday's battle. After all, not all of the people in Vermillion had the same recovery speed of magic as her.
After getting a bath and dressing up herself with a simple red dress, she went outside her bedroom and found no one in the living room. A note was placed on the center table of the room.
'All of us have to do something very early so we can't accompany you today. By the way, the diner is located on the ground floor and that's where students eat whether old or new. Then, the second day for new students that will not participate in any battle can walk around Magic Academy. Though you have to go to the Elder Mage's hall to receive your points you have earned yesterday. Enjoy walking around the academy!
Also, you fell asleep yesterday and we forgot to wake you up to eat dinner as we're busy with our senior works. We're sorry!
-Ashley, Sylvette, & Lisha'
Luna left the note on the table with the paper facing the blank page to indicate that she had read it and left for breakfast.
'I can feel my stomach's grumble!' she uttered.
Luna couldn't believe that she forgot to eat dinner yesterday. She excitedly opened the door and went downstairs with hurried steps.
At the end of the stairs, she saw a familiar man in his ashen hair in a side view. He only looked her way after hearing her loud steps.
"Lady Luna!" Blair said.
However, Luna frowned her face. "Just call me Luna, okay? You don't have to be so formal," she said.
"Sorry, I'm used to calling nobles with that in mind and can't let go of that habit," he said.
He lightly scratched his cheeks after in embarrassment.
Luna didn't know how to respond. It seemed that he had quite an experience with the nobles that made him cautious around them. But there was a problem. She wasn't even a noble.
"Listen, Blair, I may have a noble-like last name but it's like a title only. A name given by my master so don't be too cautious around me," she clarified.
"So that's what happened. But your actions look like that of a noble. A commoner will be overwhelmed by the elegant and rich structures inside the Magic Academy but you look so composed the whole time I met you," Blair said.
Luna smiled awkwardly and didn't respond. No matter how beautiful the structures were, it was just something normal in most big cities on Earth. Though the quiet and innocent-looking Blair was someone she had to act in utter caution. He might be guessing around her secrets one day if she acted too carefree.
"You know, if you live in the Honorary Mage's mansion everything in here seems ordinary," Luna said.
Blair just nodded as if he understood what she said.
"Anyway, do you know where the diner is?" Luna said.
"Of course, follow me," he said.
They didn't take too long to reach the diner. Inside it, there were few students compared to the number of them that attended the arena. Most of the students inside had their auras too strong that Luna could see very clearly.
'They must be seniors or someone higher than the lower students,' Luna thought.
"H-hey Luna, the food to that part is very expensive for me," Blair whispered.
"Well, it's my treat since you led me to the diner," she said.
The diner had different tables and there's a sign of how much their estimated food was. Luna went towards a royal blue table with golden lines from the sides. It was the color symbolizing the Magus Emperor so it's not unusual if the food there would be expensive.
The sign indicated that it costs from 50 to 200 silver coins. Luna had more than a hundred gold coins in her and one of them was equivalent to 1000 silver coins, enough to buy whatever she wants.
The stares of some people at the same table as them were obvious. Luna ignored them and sat comfortably at the table while Blair felt very anxious by their stares.
And then a woman in an eye-catching fitted dress and short black robe approached them. Her light green eyes squinted towards Luna, her red dress, and her golden-tier badge that was considered low for a senior's eyes. She thought that Luna was an old student that didn't know her place.
Golden tier badges were pretty common in some older students but not to new ones.
"Excuse me, there's not a single royal blue table available except this one. As your senior, can you move away to some cheaper ones?" she said.
The woman's message had some degrading tone in it that Luna did not seem to like. With that, Luna raised her head with boring dark eyes and her right hand began to flip some gold coins for her to see.
"I'm deeply sorry Madam, but I came here first. Why don't you go find some cheaper ones like you suggested?" Luna said.
The woman tightly clenched her fist upon what she called her. The young lady really did not know her place. But she didn't seem to notice that her free time would run out if she speaks to her any longer.
'You've become so arrogant because of some measly three golden coins!' she said.
"Aren't you an arrogant little young lady? And calling me madam, are you blind!?" she said.
Luna shrugged her shoulders and act uninterested as she called for a servant responsible for taking orders.
"Oh? Why don't you go to some healer to have your eyes prescribe? It's just right for a young lady to call an elder with respect am I right? And what do I see here? A non-fighting area! How lucky," Luna uttered.
Deep inside Luna, she was so glad to see that sign. No one should interrupt her when eating. They wouldn't like the consequences she could bring.
When the servant came he give him something like a menu. Luna pointed what sounds good as there were no pictures.
"This, this, this, Do you have something you like?" Luna asked.
Blair shook his head. "You can just pick for me. I'm unfamiliar with those," he said.
'Oh, don't blame me then,' Luna thought.
The food's name looked unfamiliar to her too.
Then the servant nervously looked towards the other woman. "Mada-," he stopped.
The woman glared at him seriously.
"M-Miss, you can wait for a little while. The others will finish soon," he said.
"No thanks, My time is running and it has been wasted. I'd rather leave this diner!" she said.
Her glaring eyes stared shortly at Luna before she walked in long stride towards the door leading outside the diner.
Although Luna didn't mind it and wait for their order. Then They ate peacefully after the food came as if nothing happened earlier.
"Are you also going to the Elder Mage's hall?" Luna asked.
Blair nodded.
"I'll go there after eating. You can join," she said.
They continued eating afterward though they talked to each other from time to time about the future activities inside the academy and to their future cooperations since it would be better to have a permanent member into your team.
--To be continued--