"This looks… better than expected." I mumbled as I walked in, and my eyes were studying the room quite closely.
The room looks to be about five by five meters wide, and it's complete with a set of necessities for the two students staying in it. There's a pair of beds at the two corners of the room, a wardrobe next to the bed, and a table beside the wardrobe. There is one bathroom next to the door, which was exactly what the seniors told us. At the other side of the room from the door, there's a pretty large window that seemed to be openable.
And seeing such a neat and comfy room, I am truly amazed.
"This is ten times better than the inn Nathan and I was staying at." I said without thinking, and Nyssa turned her usual blank face at me.
"So, he was your boyfriend after all--"
"What I meant was… Forget what I said! Basically, we met at this inn…" I said to try and save myself, but it seems like Nyssa's suspicion had already formed. "It's… not what you think."
"Is that so? But, I agree, the room is… nice." Nyssa said as she carefully hopped on the bed, and her eyes stared at the empty area in the middle of the room. "There's even an empty spot here. In case we ever needed space for something."
"That's true! We can definitely use this space for whatever reason."
"Like summoning pretty boys." Nyssa blurted out randomly, and I stared at her blank face blankly.
"I never understand what's going on inside that head of yours…"
"It's fine. You'll grow older one day."
"…"
Nyssa ignored my dumb blank expression and laid down, and I can't help but turn interested in the bed as well. I jumped on the bed and did exactly what Nyssa did, and I immediately drowned in comfort.
"Oh~… this is so good…" I mumbled as I hugged the super soft pillow.
"Remember, don't fall asleep. We still have to get dinner. Then, there's the evening party at the massive hall." Nyssa reminded me, and I just waved my hand at her.
"Yeah, yeah… Wake me up when it's time to go." I said, completely ignoring what Nyssa just said.
"Lily. I have… something I have to tell you." Nyssa said with a sudden serious tone, and I lifted my head up since I noticed it.
"What is it?" I asked, but Nyssa just turned her face away shyly.
"I have… problems waking up." Nyssa said shyly, and I just stared at her face blankly.
It seems… that my responsibility of having to wake up on time has doubled.
After lazing around in our bedroom for an hour, we both changed into our new academy uniform. The senior who told me and Nyssa about our dorm also mentioned an evening show that was held during the evening, so we'll be heading there after dark.
The show was about the many extracurricular or club activities that the academy has. For example, clubs like the dance club or the acting club will be showing off what they do on the stage prepared. There are also various other clubs that I'm not too familiar with, but those two are good examples.
Arriving at the big ballroom where we had our indoor tests, we noticed that the room has been shaped so differently unlike before. Half of the room was elevated from the normal ground level, and the academy turned them into seats for the students to watch. As for the other half that stayed on normal ground level, that will be the stage for the clubs to present.
"Lily! Over here!" A voice called out to me from one of the watching seats, and I turned my eyes to the source.
Sitting at a really high up position is Nathan, but he doesn't seem to be alone. I recognized the person next to him, but I didn't mind and just went up to approach them. Nyssa followed behind me since she had nowhere else to be, and we sat down right next to Nathan.
"You're here early. And why pick such a high spot? It's really far away from the arena." I said to Nathan before I sat on the chair next to him, and he only giggled while pointing downwards.
"Because I can see the whole room from up here! It's not like we have to see the plays from really close." Nathan pointed at the empty stage about twenty meters away from our position, and I just let out a sigh.
"Whatever~. Oh, and this is Nyssa." I said right before Nyssa sat down on her chair, and Nathan got up to ask for a handshake.
"Nice to meet you. Call me Nathan." Nathan got up from his seat and shook hands with Nyssa, and I can see Nyssa acting awkward since it's her first time meeting Nathan.
"Winyssa. Call me Nyssa." Nyssa spoke with her usual plain tone, and Nathan looked like he was worried if Nyssa hated him.
"Don't mind Nyssa's tone. Her voice was always so plain, even when she was talking to me." I explained to Nathan, and I turned a smile to Nyssa.
"I'm just still really tired." Nyssa complained, and I stared at her with annoyance.
"That's your fault for falling asleep."
Nathan realized that he was the only one who had not introduced his new friend yet, so he turned to the guy next to him. After a short talk, the guy sitting next to him got up and bowed right in front of me.
"Nice to meet you again, Princess Lilyanna. We didn't get a chance to greet each other all day." The son of the holy knight of the earth nation, Jonah Calfman, greets me while bowing slightly.
"It's been a while, Sir Jonah. But, since we are now classmates, you can just call me Lily." I said to him with the same polite tone, and he laughed a little.
"In that case, I guess you can call me Jonah as well." Jonah straightened his pose and turned to Nathan.
"This big guy is my roommate for some reason. Did you two know each other from the banquets?" Nathan asked, and I recalled all the faces I met at the banquet.
"Nathan. Nyssa, Jonah and I have all met during the banquets. It's just you who skipped." I said to Nathan a little sinisterly, and Jonah folded his hands.
"I thought you said you didn't come because you had work to do." Jonah asked with a judging glare.
"I was! I skipped it because I had a job as a waiter!" Nathan hurriedly said to defend himself, but Jonah and I only stared at him with judging eyes.
""Hmm…"" We both hummed while staring silently at him, and I could feel a hand pinching the right shoulder of my uniform.
I turned to find Nyssa pointing and staring at the direction of the stairs, and I noticed why she was doing so. A group of boys are currently going up the stairs, and among them is someone I remember quite well because I beat him up.
It's the person I defeated at the combat test. The one who got the highest score amongst the water origin during the capacity test. Clade Holt. He is also my new classmate alongside Nathan, Nyssa, and Jonah.
Clade glared at me quite intensely, and his group noticed that. He then advised his group to just sit at a different place, and they moved away from the stairs to a seat very far away from ours.
"The combat test was only an examination, Lily. It's not a competitive tournament." Nyssa said after reading my expression, and I let out a sigh after hearing that.
"I know. It's just… the spar did get a little bit heated." My mind recalls what happened, and it wasn't something that I liked very much.
Clade hating me was my fault. It was only a test, but I turned it into a competition because I didn't want to lose. I made sure to give it my all despite it being a test, and Clade was never that inclined on going all out against me since I was a princess. And after I beat him, he swore that he was going to become stronger so he could take revenge at another arena.
Now, I'm haunted by the bad decision I made. For sure, Clade is going to work really hard to defeat me the next time we come across each other.
"What's wrong?" Next to me, Nathan noticed my silence and asked.
"It's nothing. Don't mind it." I said to him, not wanting him to get all tangled up.
"Hmm." Nathan hummed for a bit, but then he turned away from me back to Jonah. "Then, when should we start training, Jonah?"
Hearing Nathan's words, I quickly turned my full attention to the conversation between them. I noticed that they must be talking about joint training, and it seems like it's something I can get behind.
"I guess… any time will do. I'm not really in a rush, so we can take it slow." Jonah said after thinking about it, but Nathan shook his head.
"That won't do! When it comes to training, it isn't about when we start it or when we end it. It's how we are going to do it!" Nathan said with an encouraging tone. "We should train every single day so you can maximize your fullest potential!"
Train… every single day?
"T-That's--Are you insane!? I'm not a battle maniac like you!" Jonah angrily responded, but Nathan only shook his head in a joking manner.
"Oh, my dear disciple… It's not about being a battle maniac. It's about becoming an even better person than what you are today!" Nathan said while posing with a pair of thumbs up, and Jonah only facepalmed.
"I'm not your disciple."
"Then, as my new roommate, we can surely do our best! We can jog every morning, lift weights at noon, and have a six-pack after one month!" Nathan said cheerfully, and I knew right away that he had intentions of training Jonah.
Then… I also…
"I want in!" I shouted without realizing, and both boys turned their startled gazes at me. I noticed that they seemed more surprised than they should be, and I was confused as to what I said wrong. "What's wrong?"
"It's just… the training was done to get Jonah's body fit and muscular." Nathan told me the actual reasoning while pushing his finger at Jonah's fat stomach, and the big guy only glared with annoyance at Nathan.
"Oh." Realizing what's going on, I quickly became embarrassed.
"But, if you also want to have our own practice session, then I'm fine with that! However, I think we must first see what the academy is going to offer us with their lessons. I think we might learn better from the academy than if we practice by ourselves." Nathan suggested the idea, and I realized what he said is true.
Right… we still haven't learned anything from the academy yet.
There is still a chance… for me to get better.
"I can teach you things if you want, Lily." Next to me, Nyssa suddenly chimed in, and she must've realized how troubled I was.
"Thanks, Nyssa… I appreciate it. But, just as Nathan said, I think we should just learn from the academy." I repeated what Nathan said, and Nyssa understood it.
"But, if you want to join me and Jonah on our training, then you're free to do so!" Nathan said out of the blue, and I grinned seeing him so caring.
"Then, I'll take you up on that offer. We'll join you if we're free." I turned to Nyssa, but she looked like she had the worst expression she made all day.
"If it's in the morning, then I'm not joining--"
"Oh, come on! We need to grow stronger physically, too! Who knows, there may come a time when our origin abilities are unusable! Then, we will need our raw muscles!" I tried alluring Nyssa into it, and she looked like she had a hard time battling her inner desires.
This damn sloth… I bet I'm going to have issues waking her up tomorrow morning.
After attempting for so long, Nyssa eventually agreed. I cheered from seeing her subdue her laziness, and we talked a bit more about what we are going to do. Whilst talking, the lights on the room were turned off, and we all thought there were lights out.
Turns out, it was just the show getting started. Lights on the stage were turned on and became the only source of light in the room, and the master of ceremony walked into the center of the stage.
"Ladies and gents on the seat in front of me! I welcome you all… to the greatest learning institute in all of Avenor!!
Welcome to the Elemental University of Ellennoire!!"