"That's all for today, everyone. I wish for everyone to have a wonderful evening and weekend!"
Another mana manipulation class had passed, one that once again had focused on manual manipulation of mana. Needless to say, it had been a complete waste of time. Because demons weren't capable of moving their mana outside of their demonic virtues.
When I had asked Dona about why she had picked it for me, she had just said something along the lines of, 'It would have been suspicious if someone like you who will become specialized in using mana isn't attending it'.
To some extent, it was fair play, but as the same time, she pretty much admitted that the class would be more or less a waste of time that only acted as a play for the masses. Thankfully, I had at least been able to use the time to practice [Pull] a bit.
Though I couldn't exactly use it to actually move my body, I could use it with minimal power to practice feeling the vectors on a 3d plane. So, even if it might have looked a bit weird to Mrs. Bright that my body suddenly started leaning towards different directions, it shouldn't have been enough for her to suspect anything.
Now, did it feel a bit bad that I was just pulling myself a bit in different directions while I could see the geniuses up ahead mold and play with their colorful mana outside of their bodies? Absolutely.
I was absolutely jealous of the fact that they would soon go on to learn different kinds of general spells while I would just sit here, wobbling to the sides like a... wobbler? Wobble? Wobblebobble? Wobblebobblewo...
"Mr. Laupier, do you have a moment?"
Taking me out of my intense moment of trying to think of a good word to describe my situation, Mrs. Bright had come up to me, timing the moment when all the other students had left the classroom. Something that I had also waited to happen as I wasn't too keen on putting myself in a cramped spot with multiple sources of blood around me.
Looking up at the old woman, her white hair and wrinkly face more than enough to give away her age, I just went along with her. After all, if there was one human in this academy that I truly didn't have anything against, it was her.
"Sure."
"Thank you. Then, please come with me to my office."
Giving me a gentle smile, she signaled for me to get up and follow her, which I promptly did.
Walking through the very traditional looking classroom, feeling the tatami mats under my feet, I couldn't help but wonder what she wanted to talk about. At the same time, I didn't think of her to be a person that I had to be wary of.
Leading me to the front of the classroom, where the small elevated platform where she usually stood when doing her lectures was, we entered a small door. Through it, we arrived at a somewhat small office that smelled of tea.
In it, there was a small desk, accompanied by one office chair standing behind it, and one ordinary chair in front. The walls were covered in different plants and paintings, and on the side of the room, a small table filled with cups, an assortment of tea and a kettle was standing in anticipation for their owner.
Making her way behind the desk, while signaling with her hand for me to sit down as well, it didn't take long until our conversation was underway.
"Say, Aarick, I noticed that you seem to be having some trouble with manual manipulation. After talking to Ms. Zito about it, who knows you a bit more than I do, she also said that you might not be suited for the more traditional course."
Although I was a bit confused about where she was going with this, I just went along with it.
"That's true. I don't think I'm suited to learning manipulating mana outside of my body. Even after trying it multiple times in class, and at home as well, it just doesn't feel like it's possible for me to do it."
Giving me a gentle smile, I could only hope that Dona had already planted some sort of thought in her mind that would save this situation. And, fortunately for me, she appeared to have done just that.
"I see. Well, there's a lot that we don't know about irregulars yet, so it doesn't seem too far-fetched that some might not be able to learn general mana manipulation. This, however, creates a bit of an issue for us."
"Hmm?"
Putting her hands together on the desk, she explained herself.
"You see, at this point, it's too late for you to change courses, as the term is already well on its way. That means we will have to figure out a way that will allow you to spend your time in my class doing something productive, so that you don't just waste your time here. Sadly, you also have to attend the class to get the credits needed to graduate, so it has to be in the classroom."
And there it was, a way that I could use the time in class to actually practice my abilities without having to hide it. Therefore, without hesitation, I gave her a suggestion.
"Then, can I use the time to practice my abilities instead then?"
"That would be just fine."
It didn't seem to surprise her that I would make this suggestion, as this was probably the most natural way to use the time barring meditation. And just like that, the small issue of what I was going to do during the mana manipulation course was solved.
There was just one thing...
"Say, Mrs. Bright. Am I allowed to bring a ball to the next lesson?"
****
[Astor's Pov]
Quickly exiting the academy, not wanting to accidentally bump into Aarick, my head was consumed by the biggest headache I had felt in months.
'Shit! Is there no way for me to stop this?'
This weekend, there was going to be a big event that all the big guilds would participate in, as well as a multitude of other influential people. The problem was that not only was my father the one that arranged it, he had also made it clear that he wanted me to invite Aarick there.
For what reason he wanted the white-haired student to be there, I didn't know. However, because of the astonishingly stupid social code of the higher echelon, he wouldn't have much of a choice but to come if he ever wanted to get hired anywhere in the future. More or less, his name would get blacklisted everywhere.
I also couldn't say that I didn't invite him, as people would still believe it to be Aarick who chose not to come, and that I only tried to defend him by lying.
Walking out to the streets of Rellea, my kept spinning as I paced onwards, not minding the ordinary people walking around, enjoying their lives.
The Loxley family... my family...
There was a lot that could be said about my household, and though most people would speak well about it, there was no way for me to do that.
In the eyes of the masses, we were the ones to make sure hunters would come and save the day, making sure all the guilds in Rellea could be coordinated and the ones to dispel any disputes they might have.
In other words, we were a family of politicians, and my father, Alexander Loxley, could be more or less said to be the right hand of the current president. Which wasn't all too weird as the Loxley household had also at one point been the royal house of Teton.
"-Mom! Isn't that the boy who was on TV?!"
Just giving the small girl walking with her mother in front of me a slight smile, I kept walking forward, not feeling like stopping right now.
Though we weren't royals anymore, our legacy still lived on in current days, and the Loxley name was still raised to the skies in a lot of scenarios, where people would turn to us in times of need.
This also meant that even though the military was supposed to be under the presidents control, it was my father who called the shots.
Turning my eyes to the sky, I already knew that I had no choice but to bite the bullet and hope for the best. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure if I could even convince Aarick to believe me if I told him that he wouldn't have a choice but to attend the event.
I hated it. I hated everything about how this world worked, and how the ones in power could keep on playing their games with no remorse for the normal people. How they could do whatever they wanted without repercussions.
'But I will tear it down... One day, I will tear their castle of sand down!'