A young boy was standing in front of me with an arrogant expression. While it got me thinking...
Who is this blatantly ignorant side character?"
"What are you looking at?" The young boy spoke in an arrogant tone, gazing at Axel.
"Well, I just wanted to apologize for bumping into you. And I got quite intrigued by your hair color." Axel responded.
"What? My hair color? You also see me as a weirdo?" The young boy spoke with an angry demeanor.
"What? I didn't mean it in a bad way. I'll be taking my leave." Axel slowly turned around and took a few steps away from the weird young boy.
Before Axel could get further away, the young boy suddenly grabbed Axel's shoulder and uttered in a demanding tone, "Wait."
Axel immediately turned around and asked, "What is it?"
"Your hair is also weird. You know that, right?" He said with a disgusted look in his face.
What the hell is wrong with this kid!?"
"Okay, thanks." Axel said and frowned in front of him.
Ugh, this is why I don't like meeting other people. Because I end up meeting troublesome extras."
"Hey wait, where are you going? Didn't I tell you to wait!?" The young boy shouted.
Axel flinched and wondered, What the fuck is wrong with this guy!?"
"What is it that you want?" Axel asked in an agitated tone.
"My name's Emmanuel Glaus; I am the son of Baron Emasquez Glaus." He said arrogantly with his head held high.
Flexing their status, huh? I guess this is what the servants from my household meant by arrogant nobles." Axel pondered, feeling a bit disgusted.
"I see. Nice to meet you, Emmanuel." Axel replied in an uninterested tone.
"What's your skill rank? Mine's a C-rank combat-suited skill called Strengthening. Awesome right?"
What the hell is wrong with this guy? Why is he flexing in front of me? Doesn't he have any friends to talk to? Ugh, Nevermind." Axel wondered and replied, "Oh, congratulations, Emmanuel. You have an awesome skill." Axel pretended to be baffled and clapped forcibly.
"Haha! That's right! My skill is awesome! Kuhaha! You have good eyes! I commend you for noticing my awesomeness... Uhh, what was your name again?"
"My name's Axel."
"Yes, Axel. You have good eyes to be able to notice my awesomeness! Kuhahaha!"
The young, arrogant Emmanuel started bursting into laughter, acting all high and mighty in front of the uninterested Axel.
Do all the noble kids act like this? If they do, I'm giving up on these social gatherings." Axel mumbled to himself.
While Emmanuel acted superior, Axel quietly left him as he nonchalantly spoke about his awesomeness.
"Huh? Where did Axel go?" He uttered after realizing that he was left alone in the middle of the hallway.
.....
....
Meanwhile, Axel returned to the ballroom and sat beside his mother, who was currently eating sweets at one of the vacant tables.
"Sweetie, Where have you been?" Alexandra asked.
"Oh, I just wandered around..." Axel responded.
"Come here and eat. Their cakes are totally delicious."
.....
....
So then, I ate the cakes my mother offered me and nonchalantly talked about trivial things.
Baron Emasquez went into the middle of the ballroom while holding a glass of red wine in his left hand.
"I sincerely thank you all for coming, and I express my sincerest gratitude to the esteemed guests that came all the way here from various different places. I gathered you all here in hopes that we could all enjoy and celebrate my eldest son's successful admission to the Helium Academy." Baron Emasquez spoke in a joyful demeanor.
The audience that was gathered started clapping their hands while Baron Emasquez continued on his speech, "On this joyous occasion, I hope everyone here can enjoy and eat to their heart's content. Let us raise a toast for my son, as a congratulatory gesture for his admission to one of the continent's most prestigious academies."
The red-haired guy, Emmanuel, proudly walked towards the center with a confident expression and bowed politely towards the guests that were seated at their tables.
I guess getting accepted in a prestigious academy is an unbelievable feat, and for the baron to host him a luxurious banquet."
Music then started playing while several people went into the middle and danced to their hearts' content. While I stayed with my mother, who was leisurely eating delightful sweets that were placed on our table.
"Axel, aren't you going to dance?" She asked.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean, go find a partner amongst those kids at the corner and dance with them."
"I don't even know how to dance, mother. How could you ask for such a thing?"
Alexandra giggled after hearing Axel's words, "Just do what they do. Your father, Damian, hadn't even learned how to dance, but he still went and asked for my hand to dance with him. He surely was bad at that time, haha~"
Do you also want to see me dance that badly? Anyway, I ain't doing it in front of all these people."
"I'll just stay here and eat with you, mother~" I said it with maximum cutesy.
"Oh dear, If you act like that. I can't help but let you stick beside me. Here, have a bite. Say ahh~"
"Ahh."
This is better, I guess, rather than embarrassing myself in front of a lot of people...."
Meanwhile, I surveyed the area and saw Emmanuel surrounded by dozens of noble kids.
He was the center of attraction after all, but I still don't like his arrogant personality..."
"Emmanuel, How did you get accepted into the Helium Academy?"
"Yeah, we also tried but failed."
"That academy sure has high standards. You certainly got lucky; you passed Emmanuel."
"Kuhaha! I just followed their instructions and showed my strengthening skill, and after that, I got accepted. Kuhaha! I guess they were amazed by my awesomeness! Kuhaha!" As Emmanuel boasted loudly.
As I stared at them, Emmanuel was totally over the moon.
Look at him boasting around other kids. Seeing him makes me want to go home and shut myself inside my bedroom."
I then gently pulled my mother's hand and asked, "Mother, what's so great about Helium Academy?"
Mother then glanced at me and explained:
Helium Academy is the most prestigious academy amongst the three known academies in the entirety of Helium. An institution for breeding-capable skill users.
The admission rate at that academy was pretty low due to their academy standards.
Their training procedures and lectures were widely known in the vicinity of Helium to be the best among the best.
Most students that graduated from that academy ended up being Helium's strongest knights and mages, and most of them even became royal knights.
Royal Knights, Trained individuals that solely serve his majesty and his royal family.
While others became influential big shots, some became high-ranking adventurers and became widely known throughout Helium.
"When you reach ten years of age, you can apply at Helium Academy if you want, sweetie." She said.
"Hmm, I guess if necessary." I replied vaguely.
"Don't worry, even if you have an E-rank skill. It won't matter once you're fully trained by your father starting next year."
In this world, children are trained when they reach the age of eight. To enhance their combat ability and hone their skills properly, I'm almost nearing my 8th birthday. There are only four more months left after winter passes.
I never had any actual combat experiences before, since all I did was get beaten continuously.
It might be a good idea to train and learn how to fight since I live in a world where fighting seems to be common.
Especially when monsters exist."
As my mother and I chatted, I noticed that the girl I'd met earlier was getting ridiculed by some noble kids around my age.
"We don't want to hang out with an E-rank skill user like you."
"Yeah, you're not like your brother. Maybe you're adopted."
The girl that was getting ridiculed stood silently, and I could see her slightly shiver while she lowered her head.
Chapter End.