"Hello, how can I help you?" the older man asked before turning his gaze back to the papers before him.
'What an impressive but tranquil aura,' thought Aaran while observing his surroundings. It was the first of many habits Shui had ingrained in his bones for the past few years.
"Pleased to meet you. My name is Aaran, and this is Sheela. We were told to come here."
The moment Aaran finished his introduction, the elder's eyes brightened like two little suns. Immediately, his tired appearance transformed into that of an energetic and healthy individual.
"Ah, Aaran! It's my pleasure. Shui, keep prising you to the point my ears got sore! Ah, where are my manners? I'm Salomon Berks, principal and founder of Royal Academy" Salomon stood up and greeted them in such an enthusiastic way no one would expect from an old man like him.
"So, Mr.Berks, if I'm allowed to ask, why was I invited here?" Asked Aaran with some curiosity.
'Is that the gift Shui left for me in the academy?'
When Aaran considered it, Shui's connections with influential people like his grandfather and Salomon were normal. As humble as he was, Aaron knew he was far above average and didn't need any help, so he didn't see any need to use connections.
'Maybe they will give me more freedom to spend more time in the library? That would be a pleasant birthday gift.'
"Just Salomon is fine. As you know, we have three stages of education: primary school, where eight-year-old children come to learn the basics of life after Change; junior school, where teenagers heavily focus on cultivation and finding their path; and senior school, where they further their studies in their chosen direction at age fifteen. That would put you in junior school."
Aaran nodded, understanding where it was going. Seeing that, Salomon continued, "But from what Shui was saying, it seems you would just waste your time there, and we wouldn't want to waste such talent either. So he proposed to put you directly in senior school. What do you think about it?"
Aaran thought for a while but couldn't find any problems with that idea, so he promptly agreed.
"That's fine, but do I need to take some additional tests? And I'm just starting cultivating, so I don't think I can attend combat classes."
"There is no need for tests, with Shui's assurance." Salomon stopped for a second and winked, "And you being 'assistant' in creating cultivation technique, we have enough reason to put you in senior school. The same applies to combat classes; except for these, if you volunteer, you will be exempt from the rest of them."
Aaran was mildly annoyed for a second. At least four people already knew he was more than just an assistant in creating that technique, but then he brushed that emotion away. It actually saved him troubles that he would need to go through if he were to find a way to skip junior school.
'I will be known as a genius in the future anyway, so I can be more open about my uniqueness, for all it matters.'
Even while swimming in a myriad of thoughts, Aaran still focused on his talk with the principal.
"That's great; I really appreciate that, but won't I get social rejection from my classmates? After all, I'm quite younger and didn't even start proper cultivation."
Salomon's eyes brightened even more. Aaran was a genius in cultivation and adept at deeper social interactions. The biggest geniuses in history always had eccentric habits, and now he had finally found someone normal. Besides, as the only son from a noble family, he wasn't acting like a spoiled brat, which is typical for those his age in his situation.
After acting like he was deep in thought for a while, Salomon said.
"How about you make a simple presentation to show them that your level of knowledge is similar to theirs? With that, even without cultivation, they won't ostracize you, right?"
Aaran sighed in his mind.
'It's just another form of test. But then again, as long as I make it work without backfiring, it's a good solution. Not to mention that it fits with acting in a slightly higher manner.'
"Let's do it that way," nodded Aaran. "I need to finish the presentation before the first lesson, which leaves me with little time. How about letting me access the library before my school year starts so I can prepare better? After all, we wouldn't want to delay the growth of such a talent because of difficult social interactions."
Upon hearing his own words being thrown back at him, Salomon realized that his intentions had been revealed, but he didn't mind at all. If anything, he felt relieved. It just showed how exceptional Aaran was.
The principal learned a lot about Aaran from Shui. But now, he had to admit he still underestimated Aaran's will to pursue knowledge. Salomon was well aware that with this young genius's current ability, he could easily make that presentation in two weeks at most, but Aaran still asked for library access. And he couldn't even reject him after trying to test him, not that he would, but still being cornered by twelve years old felt weird.
With a peculiar face, Salomon agreed to Aarans request.
"Tomorrow, your school ID will be in the secretary's office, and you will be free to use the library whenever you want."
After exchanging some pleasantries, they were ready to leave. Just then, the silent Sheela gave a letter to the principal.
"It's from the family head."
When technology caught up with times before Change and phones weren't impossible to get, most people still didn't opt for one. For one, these things were too fragile to carry around most of the time. Secondly, they were really defective and didn't work in almost every environment. Because of these reasons, lower-level officials were virtually the sole users of phones.
Salomon didn't check it with them beside him, so they tactfully said their goodbyes and left.
Every student in the senior year had their own room. After asking for directions and finding Aaran's room, they dropped off their belongings and proceeded to explore the campus.
...
The school canteen was the first place they arrived, but since it was during class time, there were only a few people present. Aaran wasn't interested in people in the first place and came to check on the food, but when he was on his way, his gaze stopped on a blond-haired thirteen-year-old girl.
When the little girl felt someone's gaze, she turned in that direction. When their gazes met, deep within Aaran's eyes, intense, uncontrollable desire erupted. It was the first time he had felt such strong emotion, but as quickly it came that fast, it disappeared, leaving only a little ember of that said emotion.
Aaran decisively moved his gaze and continued walking toward food, leaving behind a confused girl. After a second, she returned to eating her food as if nothing had happened. Apparently, she was already used to being stared at.
Aaran started choosing and putting food that could easily be in a four-star restaurant without really focusing, his mind busy understanding what had just happened.
'First, my Chiron's influence reacted strongly to her potential, which is reasonable as she had the aura of someone with a great background even though she was young. Not having to attend lessons proves that either her background or talent is top-notch, maybe both. But that strong desire to teach her wasn't impacted by any of my skills. It was pure emotion coming from the deepest parts of my soul. That would mean my earlier conjunction was correct, and my previous lives impacted me.'
After choosing some food that looked tasty without thinking much, he took it to the table and started eating.
Seeing her young master absent-minded again, Sheela tactfully ate her food without interrupting his thoughts.
'I have already regained most of my knowledge about cultivation, so I'm positive it shouldn't have happened. That means either something went wrong in my previous life or the technique was flawed. Both options aren't good, but I can only try to deal with the second one for now. Sigh. I wanted to go past the Saturation realm and reach the Abode tempering in a month, but it seems it will be delayed.'
After a quick but fulfilling meal, they decided against exploring the rest of campus and returned to their room. All this time, Aaran tirelessly searched for clues in his knowledge, but to no avail.
Sheela, noticing her still distracted young master, started worrying slightly.
"Is everything okay, young master?"
"Uh? Oh, do you know who that little blonde girl was in the canteen?"
Sheela tried to remember for a second and thought about the cute little girl who gave a don't-talk-to-me vibe.
"That would be the youngest princess.
'The Royal family has real treasure, huh? I need to understand her better so I can find out more about that frivolous talent of mine.'