The sound of trumpets rang through the air, their notes echoing off the high ceilings with regal authority. The fanfare was so perfectly synchronized it felt less like a school ceremony and more like the arrival of royalty at some grand imperial banquet.
I adjusted my posture instinctively, feeling the weight of expectation settle over the crowded hall.
The massive double doors swung open with a slow, ceremonial creak, revealing the breathtaking expanse of the Grand Hall beyond. Even from my position near the back, the sheer scale of it was staggering—vaulted ceilings adorned with floating orbs of light, row upon row of polished wooden benches filled with the promising young mages of this generation.
Beside the entrance, a full ensemble of trumpeters stood at attention in crisp uniforms. At their center, a man with an exaggeratedly cheerful expression waited to make his announcement. Though he held no microphone, his voice projected effortlessly to every corner of the hall—clearly some amplification skill at work.
"Contemporary Scholars!" he declared with a sweeping gesture. "We present to you the esteemed faculty of 'Trivia'!"
+
[Some Nubeculas buzzed with excitement at the dramatic reveal.]
+
The host continued without missing a beat: "First, please pay respects to the one you all know very well—she is as formidable as she is mysterious! The Headmaster of The School of Magic and Arts 'Trivia'!"
Thrupppp thruppthruppp!
The trumpets blared again as applause rippled through the hall. I watched with detached interest while clapping like others, as a white cat of unmistakably regal bearing strolled into view, her tail held high. Not a single student showed surprise at their headmaster's feline form—these were, after all, the elite who had fought tooth and nail to enter this institution.
Hekate moved with liquid grace, her paws making no sound as she crossed to the raised dais and settled onto an ornate velvet cushion that had been placed at its center. The awed whispers of students followed her every movement.
"Marvelous!" the host continued. "Next, the man who ensures this institution remains pristine—you all know him well! The Acting Headmaster of The School of Magic and Arts... 'Trivia'!"
Trppppp thruppppp!
Applause echoed once more for the entrance of Eldrich II-hung, who waved benevolently at the students as he made his way to the stage. His polished dress shoes clicked rhythmically against the marble, each step measured and confident. He took his seat beside Hekate with the ease of long practice.
The introductions continued in this fashion for nearly half an hour—each professor and assistant announced with varying degrees of pomp before taking their assigned positions. I found myself relegated to the very back row of the faculty seating, behind Lisa. A small mercy, though it did little to stop the curious glances darting my way from both students and faculty alike.
I couldn't blame them after that disastrous introduction. The host had fumbled spectacularly when presenting Lisa:
"Next, you all already know this professor—as beautiful as she is strict! The one Trivia is proud to have, and you're all lucky to learn from—Professor Lisa Yates!"
Polite applause resounded then, but followed the audible confusion: "Unfortunately, no one has ever had the honor to be here ass—huh? cough Please welcome Professor Lisa Yates and her assistant."
The omission of my name was almost impressive in its awkwardness. Now I'd be forever known as "Lisa's Mysterious Assistant"—or worse, given the murmurs already circulating. Across the hall, Eddie's gaze burned into me with undisguised disbelief. I maintained my carefully neutral expression as Eldrich approached the podium.
"Hello, new scholars," he began, his voice warm yet carrying undeniable authority. "I am here to congratulate and welcome you to the humble place we call 'Trivia'..."
I let his words wash over me—I'd heard variations of this speech countless times in my dreams. Instead, my attention drifted across the sea of students. A flash of silver caught my eye—Ducas, sitting primly among his peers. His face lit up when our eyes met, but I quickly looked away before he could react.
The rest were exactly as expected—gifted, certainly, but ordinary compared to the individuals I truly sought. My survey was interrupted when Eldrich gestured to Hekate, inviting her to speak.
The hall fell into a hush so complete I could hear the rustle of fabric as students leaned forward. Hekate's cushion floated soundlessly toward the podium.
+
[Lower Existence isa Hart has used Telekenisis Lvl.2]
+
The white cat regarding the assembly with luminous eyes. I'd heard her speak in dreams before, but witnessing it in person would be something else entirely.
When she opened her mouth, the voice that emerged was neither feline nor human—it resonated with otherworldly clarity, each syllable vibrating through my bones:
"I look forward to seeing all of your growth."
+
[The Exclusive skill 'False Awakening' has restored your senses.]
+
The words hit me like a physical force, threatening to pull me under. Only the automatic activation of False Awakening kept me grounded—without it, I'd have been as entranced as the slack-jawed students around me. As it was, only Eldrich, Lisa, and I remained unaffected.
"Showoff," Persephone muttered behind me, her usual indifference laced with something sharper. I made a mental note of her reaction—her disdain for higher beings seemed personal, though now wasn't the time to pry.
Hekate didn't say anything else and moved back. Her cushion hovered mid-air as she surveyed the faculty. Then, with deliberate slowness, her gaze locked onto mine.
A cold sweat broke across my neck. Please don't come here. I prayed in my heart, hopefully, she would go to Lisa.
My prayers were not heard.
The cushion drifted toward me.
I averted my eyes too late. A soft weight settled on my lap—Hekate, curled neatly on her cushion as if this were her rightful place. The silence that followed was absolute.
It was over. My peaceful life in this school was over. I turned around, the scene was as expected. Everyone was looking at me with wide eyes, only Lisa was looking at me with calmness.
+
[ The Nubecula 'Raziel' comments "I still can not believe it. She is really in Lower Realm" ]
[ The Nubecula 'Hwang Jini' comments "It is very weird." ]
[ The Nubecula 'Gumiho' comments " But He is even more interesting than that." ]
[ The Nubecula 'Hwang Jini' comments "Indeed." ]
+
I don't know how to handle this situation. I exhaled through my nose. and people around me flinched. I ignored them. The damage was done—my anonymity was officially forfeited. With careful movements, I adjusted the cushion and Hekate's position, my fingers barely trembling. She permitted the handling without protest, which only made the situation more damning.
Eddie's face had gone pale. When I caught his eye and offered a mild smile, he looked away hastily. Good. Let him sit with that unease.
Since he could try to mess with me because of Lisa, I should use this opportunity to intimidate him.
Lisa mercifully broke the tension: "Sir, we should continue the ceremony."
Eldrich—who had been gaping like a fish—snapped his mouth shut. "Y-Yes, of course."
But the ritual's seriousness had been shattered. For the remainder of the event, Hekate remained on my lap, a living, breathing symbol of inexplicable favor. The weight of hundreds of stares pressed against me like a physical force.
I bore it with apparent calm, even as my mind raced through the implications. There would be no fading into the background now—not after this very public display. My plans would need to adapt.
The white cat purred softly as if amused by the turmoil she'd unleashed.
The ceremony's conclusion did little to disperse the tension humming through the grand hall. Like iron filings drawn to a magnet, clusters of professors and their assistants began converging toward Lisa and me, their polite smiles failing to mask the burning curiosity in their eyes. Eddie's absence from this pack was weird- he'd slipped through the crowd like a shadow, his usual confident stride replaced by stiff, mechanical steps that carried him out of the hall without a single backward glance. The rigid set of his shoulders betrayed the craze surely raging beneath his carefully maintained facade.
Lisa handled the approaching blockade with the grace of a seasoned general. "I have an early class to prepare for," she announced, her voice carrying just enough edge to discourage further questions while maintaining professional decorum. Seizing this lifeline, I followed her, feeling the dozens of speculative gazes burning into my back.
Inside Lisa's office. Lisa stood sorting through files with organized precision. The clock on the wall ticked toward eight o'clock, each passing second stretching the silence between us.
Bbbbrrrriiiinnnggggg...
The first bell of the academic year shattered the quiet with almost violent intensity, its echoes bouncing off the stone walls of the administration wing.
"What a mess," Lisa muttered, dropping the files onto her desk with a soft thud.
"Indeed. It was," I agreed, keeping my voice carefully modulated despite the storm of calculations whirling beneath my calm exterior.
Lisa studied me with piercing violet eyes that seemed to see far too much. "You seem remarkably calm given the circumstances," she observed, tapping one perfectly manicured nail against the desktop. "This will affect you more than anyone else here, you realize that, don't you?"
I suppressed the sigh threatening to escape. Calm? I was only calm on the outside, I know very well that I will become a new topic of conversation for the whole 'Trivia'. The ceremony had caught me in the worst kind of spotlight. First, my sudden appearance as an unknown entity - an assistant to a professor who'd famously never taken one before. That alone would have made me a subject of intense scrutiny.
I was initially planning on dealing with only that much. It was not difficult, I just had to be with Lisa in her office and help her, so that I could earn her trust.
But then Hekate herself had chosen my lap as her throne, in full view of the entire school's faculty and student body.
Even I didn't know how I would be treated from now on. I could be treated as a god or as someone, very, very, suspicious.
"There's no point dwelling on what's already happened," I said with a deliberate shrug, my tone carefully balanced between indifference and acceptance. Regret was a useless emotion - one I'd long ago excised from my emotional repertoire.
Lisa went preternaturally still, her breathing so controlled it nearly stopped.
+
[Lower Existence 'Lisa Hart' is slightly shaken by your words.]
+
The system message flickered at the edge of my awareness, it was vague at best. There could be many reasons why Lisa was shaken by my words, in fact, I probably knew the exact reason. She didn't have a smooth life, she had experienced many difficulties in her past.
Outwardly, she appeared composed, but I recognized the subtle tells - the minute tension in her shoulders, the way her fingers lingered just a second too long on the desk's edge, the barely perceptible tightening around her eyes. This was one of those rare moments when her formidable defenses showed the slightest crack.
A coldly analytical part of my mind whispered that this was an opportunity - that I could carefully exploit this vulnerability to fast-track her trust. But the thought made me inwardly recoil. Using someone's vulnerable emotion whose family I was trying to be? The hypocrisy would be laughable if it weren't so repugnant.
I moved to her desk with deliberate casualness, and her eyes tracked me with the wariness of a soldier assessing potential threats. I leaned close to her, past her shoulders, and picked up a stack of papers behind her. "It's almost time," I remarked. "I'll take these to the classroom and wait there."
Our gazes locked in that moment, and I saw something unexpected in her violet eyes - a fleeting glimpse of the woman behind the professor's mask. In that instant, she reminded me strikingly of Persephone - both women forged by hardship into beings who desperately wanted to trust but the walls around their hearts were too sturdy.
Lisa studied me for several heartbeats, her expression unreadable, before giving a single decisive nod. My answering smile was carefully crafted to convey one message: You can trust me.
The relative quiet of the hallway outside provided no real respite from the morning's tensions.
"You seemed very cozy with her," Persephone materialized at my shoulder, her teasing tone dripping with false sweetness. "Do you like her~?"
Her playful delivery didn't fool me for a second - this was her go-to deflection when grappling with unfamiliar emotions. Our time together had taught me to read her tells as easily as a Lisa's.
-You have full access to my emotional spectrum. Don't you already know if I like her?
The truth is, I did like Lisa - respected her, even. She embodied qualities I genuinely admired: the courage to pursue her dreams against all odds, the fierce devotion to her daughter, the unwavering loyalty to those few she allowed close. As a woman, she was undeniably striking, with that rare beauty that came more from strength of character than mere physical attributes. But I am not someone who is looking for romance - not now, perhaps not ever.
We maintained our light banter as we navigated the labyrinthine corridors, the sounds of students rushing to classes grew louder as we approached Classroom M-3 (Magic-3rd Year). Peering through the slightly ajar door, I noted that most students had already claimed their seats, though latecomers still trickled in, their hurried footsteps and hushed conversations creating a low hum of anticipation.
"Sir Arthur."
I didn't need to turn to recognize that voice - the particular cadence belonged unmistakably to Ducas. Since our dinner two nights prior, we'd exchanged barely a dozen words, his attempted report on the plaza incident last night having been polite but I sent him back to his dormitory room. I didn't need to know what happened.
"You're here too," I remarked, turning to take in his silver-haired, sky-eyed presence.
"Yes, Sir," he replied with that peculiar formality that never quite masked his intensity.
Though nominally a third-year class, Trivia's liberal attendance policies meant any student could audit courses that interested them.
"I came specifically because you would be here," Ducas added, his piercing gaze never wavering.
It was a weird reason to attend. But who am I to tell the person who is strongest here to tell what to do?
"Could you move out of the way, please?"
A new voice - feminine, edged with the impatience of someone running late - came from directly behind me. Why did everyone insist on approaching from that particular blind spot?
Turning, I found myself face-to-face with a vision of fiery brilliance - wine-red hair, same red eyes blazing with intelligence, and just a hint of irritation.
"Ah."
"Ah!"
Ducas and the girl exclaimed in perfect unison, their mutual shock creating a comedic harmony. Against my better judgment, I felt my lips twitch into a genuine smile.
Valerie. The brilliant, tempestuous mage I'd carefully selected to become Ducas's first genuine friend - and, if the fates allowed, potentially something far more significant to his future development.