The visitor's long white hair was parted in the middle, and a thin scar ran down the side of his cheek. Despite his age, the man seemed to be brimming with life, as though he could start running a marathon without needing any training. There was, however, a faint expression of fatigue on his face.
Mr Katori stood at the corner of the room, frowning at the man slightly. There was a look of distaste on his face that he couldn't fully hide, and Nero couldn't understand it.
As Ophelia and Nero entered the room, the man turned to smile at them, and a slight chill lifted the hairs on the back of Nero's neck.
"Hey there," said the man warmly, getting up to shake their hands. "I'm Ajax, Ajax Vamoden. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," said Nero politely. "I'm Nero Verace."
"Ophelia Katori," said Ophelia. "I heard you wanted to see us?"
Ajax returned to his seat and pulled out a thick folder from his bag "Yes. I've heard a lot about you two from Headmaster Killian, and I wanted to talk to his star pupils myself."
"Star pupil? Me?" said Nero, incredulous. "No way. He caught me skipping class more than once. I didn't do very well in classes, either."
"That may be so. But Killian is a wonderful judge of a person's skills, and I choose to place my trust in the people he recommends to me."
Nero's ears perked up, and Ophelia leaned forward. If Ajax wanted to recommend something good enough for Mrs Katori to veto Pentheholm University's applications, it was definitely worth paying attention to.
Ajax took out the contents of the folder and laid them out on the table neatly - and the bold header of the foremost document jumped out immediately.
[APPLICATION FORM FOR ALCASTER ACADEMY'S ESPER PROGRAM]
"Wait," said Ophelia hoarsely. All the colour seemed to drain from her face. "You're -"
"Yes," said Ajax. "It's exactly as you first thought. Yes, I'm for real. No. Don't worry, I won't do that."
Nero looked from Ophelia to Ajax, confused. Ophelia hadn't interrupted Ajax once - the older man seemed to be having a conversation with himself.
"I don't want to sound arrogant, but I'm surprised you haven't heard of me, Nero," said Ajax. "I'm Professor Ajax Vamoden, Headmaster of Alcaster Academy."
"I've figured out the Headmaster part," retorted Nero, "but I don't really keep up to date about what happens in the esper world."
"Nero…" said Ophelia weakly. "Professor Vamoden is one of the most powerful espers in the world. He - he's a-"
"Mind reader," said Nero, the realization dawning on him. It was the most plausible explanation - from the way he answered Ophelia's questions even before they were asked, Professor Vamoden was either a mind reader, or could see into the future.
"It's not just mind reading. He's a psychomaster."
There was a world of difference between a mind reader and a psychomaster. A mind reader could read minds, and... that was the full extent of their powers.
In comparison, a psychomaster had complete control over anything to do with the mind - from rewriting and implanting memories to wiping them clean completely. Comparing the two was like comparing a violinist to an entire orchestra.
"Ah. In that case…"
Nero began writing down his details on the application form without reading anything.
"Nero, dear, shouldn't you decide after listening to what Professor Vamoden has to say?" asked Mrs Katori.
"If we rejected him, he'll just erase all our memories again and keep going until we take the offer anyway," said Nero.
"...Again? What do you -"
"Best to just sign and get it over with. Just out of curiosity," he added, glancing up to see Professor Vamoden watching him bemusedly, "how many iterations has it been?"
Instead of the frown that Nero was expecting, or the scene of himself walking back through the front door, Professor Vamoden's eyes lit up with giddy delight, like a blind child who had regained the ability to see.
"When did you realise?"
Ophelia pointed at the clock.
"It's half past seven. When Dad came to pick us up, it was five - so we should've reached here a little after six at the latest. How many times have we rejected your invitation to join Alcaster Academy?"
Professor Vamoden continued to study both Ophelia and Nero's faces, the latter of whom tried to clear his mind of any thoughts.
"I see that Headmaster Killian was right about you two," he said. "Nobody has ever figured that out. Just to let you know, it's the third iteration. And you don't have to worry, Horace, I haven't done anything else to your memories. Had you rejected me for another hour, I probably would have given up."
Nero turned to look at Mr Katori, whose face still was flushed with ill-disguised distaste. "Please stop reading my mind. It's very rude."
"My apologies, sir - I only wished to verify that I was indeed who I claimed to be."
"Are you going to tell us about the appraisal process again?" asked Ophelia.
"Of course, of course," said Professor Vamoden, happily taking out another sheaf of papers from his folder. "So - the appraisals will begin next Monday at three. The location is Alcaster Academy, of course - and if you are unable to attend the appraisals, there is a second slot on Tuesday at the same time and place.
The appraisals are free, and your results will be given to you immediately. If you do pass, and decide to enrol in our school, the full course will take four years, including an internship program in your third year. Lodging is also provided, should you wish to live on-campus, and a complimentary breakfast will be served to you every morning."
"How much does everything cost?" asked Mrs Katori worriedly. "The website didn't state the price."
"Minus the internship program, there are eleven semesters in total - which comes out to a total of… three hundred and eighty-five thousand quaths, excluding lodging. "
"For both of us?" said Ophelia, her voice hoarse. That amount was more than a thousand times their earnings from the ice cream sales today.
"Per person," answered Professor Vamoden amicably.
Silence fell upon the Katori household. The total fee for sending them to school was more than three-quarters of a million quaths. Even though the Katoris were well-off, it was far more than they could afford.
The inheritance left behind by Nero's parents wasn't enough to cover that amount either. Pentheholm University would have wiped out half of his savings, and Alcaster Academy was thrice as expensive as that.
"Well…" said Nero, glancing over at Ophelia. His heart sank - he couldn't possibly expect Mr Katori to fork out that sum of money for him. "I guess… I'll have to pass. I don't have that kind of money."
Mr Katori exchanged a look with his wife, who was likewise sullen. "We could send Ophelia to Alcaster, but what about Nero?"
It seemed strange to Nero that Alcaster would ask for so much money to train an esper. The Academy was undoubtedly sponsored by the government, and having more students was a blessing for the economy as a whole, not a boon. There was no reason to gate out potential espers by setting such a high price.
Unless… oh.