(Phil POV)
Men.
They were all the same.
Even if I am one, I can't certainly say that I get along with them on the same level.
Especially when you have the appearance of a beautiful girl adorning on your face.
For as long as I can remember, I would always be pestered by them, with their bothersome love confessions and utter delusions about me.
Call me cynical, but I don't display it in the open. I always tried my utmost best to be kind to my fellow folk, and strive to do good and be helpful as much as I could. It's simply in my deep-rooted nature to do so.
But such kindness constantly had room for misinterpretations, especially when I would only do the simple act of smiling as a gesture of my goodwill. They would always misunderstand it as some form as if their feelings have been returned or whatsoever.
In short, I can only conclude at one thing...
Men are such simple-minded fools.
There are times when I'm ashamed to be called one, due to that one particular fact.
And even the esteemed Magus of Infinity himself was of no exception, acting like a lovesick idiot the moment when he laid his eyes on me.
*Sigh* and his reaction, while hilarious I would have to admit, brought nothing but a bitter chuckle as he was still no different from the others.
Haha, really? Fainting right on the spot, that's rather sick in so many ways.
Funny, yes, but sick nonetheless.
Their reaction, when finding out that I'm a man, would always constitute the expression of pure disappointment, wallowing themselves on anguish at the fact that their self-proclaimed pride as a man was tarnish, blaming me as a result of their deluded perverseness.
Even my other classmates shared the same reaction more or less when they found out about the truth during the first day of class.
While the men would shower their disgusting love and praises at me, the women... they were no better.
They were worse actually.
If the men were simple, then the women were bitter.
The women were perpetually jealous of my looks as they made every attempt to harassing me and making my life a living hell.
Spreading false rumors.
Bullying, primarily when they were in a group.
Talking behind my back.
Those are just but a few of their contempt towards me. There were times when the women would lash out at me in the open for "stealing" their boyfriend.
While I'm aware that it's not their fault that their lovers would fall in love with me, I can't help but cringe and be nauseated by their silly notions.
I'm a MAN, why in Zenotus's name would I want to steal your boyfriend and be a subject of your misplaced hatred?
I may look like a girl, but I still prefer women like how a man normally does. I'm straight for goodness' sake!!
But alas, I'm not sure if a normal life was possible for me. If this kept up, then I'm not sure how long I can hold on to this resentment that I've been bottling up for years.
My mother, Gaia bless her soul, would always remind me that being kind is a virtue. Even when others would drift away from the path of compassion, let this not influence and taint you in doing the same, for benevolence rewards the heart and soul in the end.
She also said that someday, someone would eventually recognize my worth and come to respect me with their most sincere intentions.
Going back to my new seatmate, Ken Bruce, I heard a groan coming from him as he appeared to have finally woke up. He then stood up from his chair and took his position in front of our table, staring at me with the focus of a lion that was prowling at his prey.
Well, here goes nothing. Let the blaming time commence.
"I'm sorry!!!"
Huh?
This... this was not what I was expecting at all.
Why was he apologizing?
Where were the excuses? The explanation of you being infatuated by my girlish looks? Or the lashing out of your man pride being crushed?
As a result, I was caught completely off-guard and I involuntarily said the first thing that came to my mind.
"Ehh!!??"
Of all the reaction that I was foreseeing from him, an apology was something that never came in my mind.
Wait, there are actually extremely rare cases when a man would apologize to me when I confessed my real gender, but it was rather insincere and came out as some kind of joke before they open up a topic to justify their fallacies.
But Ken's reaction, his face...
It was anything but insincere.
It's as if he was genuinely sorry for what he did.
Ken then raised his head shortly after and eyed me with a remarkably serious look.
"What I did was a fucking asshole move, and I realized that you must have been unnerved by it. I should have not fainted and merely have kept my cool about your gender reveal. Sheesh, what the fuck was wrong with me? I just realized how hard it is for you to be having a girl's face and the grueling ordeals that you must likely experienced because of it. Anyways, I won't be making any excuses since I was clearly in the wrong here. I hope that you can forgive me and we can start all over again... as friends hopefully, from one man to another."
Friends? With a man?
While it was a normal concept for others, the same does not apply to me.
Until this fateful moment though. Never had I thought that this day would finally come.
Perhaps I misjudge Ken Bruce. He's different from the others.
Mother... I believed that you are right after all. Maybe Ken would be the person worthy of being by my side, and as a friend no less!!
"So... uh.... friends?"
I heard Ken Bruce once more while reaching out his right hand for a handshake.
I happily accepted his gesture and gave him the brightest smile that I could muster.
"Friends. I was not that mad in the first place, so it's fine."
A lie, but my new friend should not be bothered by my pessimism any longer. With him around, I'm sure that it won't be the case anymore.
Even when he blushed a bit from my reaction, I suppose I would exempt him for today. Having a beautiful girl's face sure was a problematic affair indeed.
Baby steps, I supposed.
"Finally!!! It's about time that one of you men has realized their shortcomings!!!"
All of us turned to the source of the voice and it all came from our blonde female classmate.
What's her name again? Ah... It's Gutrid I believe.
Gutrid "Winters" Ragnirdottir, a dignified noble lady from the Northern freezing region of Jotland.
Her aura radiated with the composure of an esteemed princess. Her stunning northern beauty coupled with her radiant blue eyes and blonde bright hair styled in twin frills serve only to amplified her overall appeal, garnering the eyes of men in the hallways whenever she steps out from our classroom.
Not to mention, her prodigious wielding of her family's Ice Magic was the reason why she was accepted here in the academy.
"Such a pitiful display that you fools truly are. You all think with your cocks rather than your head."
The rest of the men were stunned by Gutrid's rather obscene taunt.
"Watch your tone, bitch, I don't like the way you speak."
The calm yet angered statement came from our serious classmate with albino-colored hair.
"Was that insult really necessary, Gutrid?"
It was Davis who responded with an unamused look.
The rest simply resigned in silence and did not even bother to retaliate, but we could also see that they were offended as striking by their irritated expressions.
"What? You gonna cry? You know it's true. You all acted like amorous lunatics at Philip when you first laid your perverted eyes on him."
The tension of the whole class rose as Gutrid seemingly made herself an enemy against the whole men of 1-S.
But I knew that it was not the case. Perhaps it was her way of standing up for me? I'm not sure.
Was it because of pity? Or because she merely loathed the sight of men being head over heels at me?
Yet the mere fact that she voiced out her concern for whatever reason was heartwarming regardless.
In the end, Alexander chose to intervene and made himself the negotiator of this conflict as he stood in the middle.
"Very well. We are recently aware of how terribly mistaken we are for hurting Phil's feelings. There's no need for a fight to ensue. As such, we are going to follow Ken's noble example and apologize to him as well."
Wait... Apologize?
Surely my ears were not mistaken?
"Make sure of it, Dragonheart."
Gutrid crossed her arms and was seemingly satisfied with Alexander's response. She then looked at me for a brief moment and I nodded my head slightly in appreciation for her efforts.
All I got was a small smirk before she finally returned from her chair.
Huh, I guess Gutrid was a good person after all, in spite of her indecent taunts earlier. At that moment, something stirred inside my heart and words can't exactly explain how gratified I felt for her.
Thus, came to the conclusion where all of my male classmates followed suit and also bow their heads at me together, signifying their sincere apologies for being lovestruck rascals.
It was Alexander who brought about his first statement.
"We deeply expressed our apologies for our thoughtless behavior during our first meeting, Phil. It appears that Ken, coupled with Miss Gutrid's colorful encouragement, have opened our eyes and made us realized the fools that we really are."
And it was followed shortly by the others as well.
"Yeah, sorry about that Phil. I wish we can be friends as well like Ken said."
"Same here. I too am sorry and hopefully, that shall be water under the bridge."
"While I don't normally apologize, I'll make an exemption this time since we're obviously on the side of fault."
My eyes widened with pure astonishment and I was merely speechless by this seemingly wholesome affair.
This had never happened before.
Was this happening?
Perhaps it was all just a dream? A cruel conjuration by a female Illusionist who desired to play some sick joke on me as some kind of revenge?
While I'm lost in my uncertain thoughts, Ken suddenly laughed and turned his attention to Alexander.
"Hahaha!! Even you too, Alex? Wow, I never would have imagined that someone like you can be a lovey-dovey dumbass like myself."
"Heh, you'd be surprised at what other hidden qualities that my oh so 'perfect role-model brother possessed."
Encouraging words straight from Anastasia Dragonheart's mouth.
Alexander's blush was inevitable and he looked slightly away in shame.
"S-shut up, you two."
Ken then looked at me and tapped my back in assurance with a huge grin.
"Isn't that great, Phil? Everyone also apologized and wanted to be your friend? Haha, this class sure is awesome, despite the crazy chick that is Nora right over there."
Speaking of the devil, Nora was also witnessed with her usual craziness from her seat, looking particularly at both Ken and I with extreme focus while scribbling down in her notes.
I can guess what's on her mind more or less. I'm not that naive, unlike the others.
Anyhow, because of two persons, namely Ken Bruce, and Gutrid Winters (for short), a smile instinctively made its way on my face.
For the first time, I can now look forward to the times that I'll be spending here with my classmates. They all seem like good people, and perhaps I misjudge too quickly with their overall character.
Perhaps the day that Mother had mentioned shall come sooner than I expected, right here at Moonlight Magi Academy...
In the Class of 1-S.