"What happened!" Junko slammed her hand on her desk.
She still could not believe that Alphonse lost to Raza during the physical exam. However, her anger wasn't from the brother's defeat, but from the humiliation she faced. She introduced Alphonse as the academy's top student just for him to lose his first match of the day. If he had lost after fighting every student, then she could come up with an excuse, but this was unheard of. Alphonse was privately trained by this kingdom's top martial artists, so why did he lose?
"Big Sis, calm down, I was just having an off day!" Alphonse laughed as he scratched the back of his head.
"Don't bullshit me, Alphonse! You even dropped your sword to fight that Raza boy! What was that about, and why did it look like you had a lifetime of experience using knives!?" Junko's anger could not be described in words.
At this, Alphonse frowned. Junko only used her brother's full name when she was angry with him. It wasn't common, but it did happen a few times in the past.
"I have been secretly training with knives. I can't take a sword with me everywhere I go, but I can always conceal a knife," He reasoned. "Since Raza didn't use any weapons, I figured that it would be best to test out my skills."
Junko didn't fully believe her brother's story, but it was reasonable enough. She couldn't find any logical arguments against her brother, so she took a deep breath.
"Fine. However, if you plan on running for the throne in a few years, you can't afford to ruin your image," Junko sighed.
"I know I know," Alphonse smiled returned. "You worry too much."
"You don't worry too much. The only reason why I am supporting you is because I have no interest in the throne and we share mothers. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother."
"I know, you say that a lot," Alphonse sighed.
"And remember, there's a rumor going around that our father had an illegitimate child with someone that isn't one of the king's wives or royal concubines. If this is true, then this child could cause a national uproar and take the throne for themself," Junko cautioned Alphonse.
This time, Alphonse frowned again. However, his expression seemed almost… angry. He took a deep breath as the light in his eyes flickered.
"Big Sis, whether this bastard's child exists or not doesn't matter. I will take the throne. One way or the other."
…
Talking about illegitimate children, there's one that was avoiding everyone at all costs. Raza found the testing room and finished the exam within record time. The only reason why it took him an hour to finish was because he took a 30-minute nap. Raza thought that it would be suspicious if he finished so early compared to everyone else, so he fell asleep. He was surprised when he found out that everyone was still testing when he woke back up.
'Screw this! I'm not going to take another nap! I have better things to do,' Raza thought to himself.
He got up and handed in his exam. The teacher, who was reading a novel, looked up in surprise.
"Raza, was it? You do know that there is still another 2 hours left for testing, right?" the teacher asked with a smile.
"I'm aware, but I'm finished," Raza answered.
"You should go back and check your answers then," The teacher sighed.
"I did."
"Are you sure you want to hand it in?"
"Yes."
"Fine," The teacher Raza's test. "You can go and find an empty dorm to stay in. You will be informed later today if you passed or not."
"No need. I'm already aware that I far surpassed the required passing grade," Raza walked towards the door.
'Cocky brat!' The teacher thought to himself.
He began to grade Raza's test and soon realized that Raza was able to back up his claim. There wasn't a single incorrect answer, and the teacher was halfway done with grading the test! The teacher was convinced that Raza must have cheated somehow.
Leora perked up when she saw Raza walking out of the class. She tapped her desk in rapid succession to get his attention. When Raza turned around, she signaled him with her hands.
'What. Dorm. Will. You. Get?'
The first thought that was in Raza's mind was to lie, but he realized something. If Leora and Drifa stayed as friends, he could make his parents happy and stay home on the weekends. It was a win-win situation! Raza hand signaled back.
'East. Wing. Top. Floor.'
Leora gave a thumbs-up before returning her attention to her test. Drifa was also looking up, so she knew where she wanted her dorm to be as well. She couldn't let Leora get the upper hand.
Raza wasted no time in finding his new room. There was no particular reason for choosing his dorm, but he was glad that he did. It resembled a small apartment, and the window in the living room faced the countryside. It was a nostalgic feel for Raza. He looked around his new room until he was satisfied.
"This would indeed be a nice place to stay for the next two years. It's time to settle in," He said to himself
Raza's version of settling in consisted of three phases. A deep clean of the place, placement of all of his belongings, and organizing every single room. His dorm consisted of a half kitchen, half living room, two rooms, and a full bathroom. It was a bit small for Raza's liking, but it was still cozy.
Step one was a deep clean. Raza brought all of his own cleaning supplies. Before being reborn, he would have never thought about cleaning his living space, but Vivian taught him the importance of it. Therefore, he made sure to clean everything. The toilet, tub, windows, carpet, walls, and everything in between was cleaned. There was not a single speck of dirt left.
Now it was time to move on to phase two. One room would be used as his bedroom and place to study. He placed all of his clothes, books, pens, and other private things on the floor of his bedroom. The second room would be his makeshift workshop. Here he placed all of his tools, prototype guns, gun models, and everything related to weapons or magic tools. Again, everything was placed on the floor.
It was important to note that everything was separately wrapped or packaged so that it would not be damaged from moving. Raza also cleaned every individual item before he packed it away. The next place was the kitchen/living room. Raza put all of his cooking ware, art, and other miscellaneous objects here. The next phase was organization.
Throughout his life, Raza received lots of presents and gifts from his family… and he never threw them away or lost them. This was the first thing he organized. He hung the pictures that his sisters drew on the walls and all the dolls and plushies that were gifted to him on the window seal. Alden was concerned that Raza kept all of his kids toys, but let him since it was better than his other, more violent hobbies.
After Raza organized his gifts, he washed all of his dishes, dried them, and put them away. In the drawers, he separated the silverware by type, but he put his knives in a separate drawer. This drawer was locked. Raymond once cut himself reaching for silverware, so Raza developed this habit as a preventative measure.
The next stop was his bedroom. Raza reconstructed his bookshelf, which he deconstructed claiming it was easier to move. He then organized his books based on genre and last name. Whenever he bought a new book, he would reorganize his entire bookshelf. Raza then made his bed, folded his clothes, and wiped down the desk that was in his room. Once he was satisfied, he moved on to the other room.
Raza hung up his gun models and prototypes on the walls. The models were above his workbench so that they would serve as a point of reference. The prototypes were hung on the other walls. He then cleaned every tool and organized them in his drawers. There was also a small bookshelf in this room, but it was organized differently. It was organized by genre and required experience. For example, a book explaining basic alchemy would come before a book on how to create a Philosopher's Stone.
"A job well done if I say so myself," Raza patted himself on the back.
He planned to cook dinner and go to bed when he heard a knock on the door. Raza opened the door just to see Leora and Drifa. He was going to close the door, but Leora dashed inside.
"Finally, we finished the test!" She exclaimed
"Pardon me," Drifa bowed before entering the room.
Raza only sighed as he let them in. The two of them immediately went to Raza's room after they claimed their dorms. Unfortunately, they stayed for an uncomfortable amount of time, so Raza ended up cooking for all three of them. Drifa only stayed because she didn't want to leave Leora and Raza alone together. Leroa stayed because she lacked social awareness. The two guests stayed until Raza had to literally kick them out.