The Listeria Magic Academy was a standout in every way
It featured a well-structured layout of buildings and magic training facilities that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Surrounded by natural gardens and greenery, it was a scene like one cut off from the magical enchanted forests in the lands of fae, blended with the brilliance of modern architecture.
"Whoa! The books didn't do this place justice at all!" Naki couldn't believe his eyes at the sight in front of him as he stretched his neck further out to view more.
Then his gaze met the students.
The girls wore cerulean formal magical uniforms paired with dark blue short capes, short skirts, and long socks that stretched to their knees.
The boys donned black uniforms with scarlet accents. They were without the short capes, replaced by a red tie around their necks.
Both genders wore a full dark cloak for those who desired extra warmth.
Some of the students were riding magically enhanced hoverboards that roamed the roads, using their magic wands as stirring wheels, while others walked the pedestrian path, chatting among friends.
Others had small magical beasts floating around them as personal familiars. These students were interestingly not keeping wands or books on their person.
"Wow... everything, everyone seems so...attuned, so in place!"
"To think I could've been one of them if not for the sigil's influence."
Naki couldn't contain the marvel of the experience, the excitement of finally arriving at the academy, somewhere he's wanted to be ever since he first heard about it when he was 5.
"When I asked to be reincarnated before, this is exactly how I pictured my life would turn out, none of that prince Nopheal power hungry facade or...this...devil's intervention."
He recalled Maya's words of 3 years ago -
"Yeah. I really wish you were joining me in the kingdom tomorrow, Naki," she said.
"Heh, that wish might just come true, Maya! Three years in and I've finally done it!"
"I've finally mastered control of my magic, I can join you now!"
Naki said with a beaming smile.
The prospect of meeting her filled his heart with excitement as he stared at his hands vibrating constantly, like they were urging him to get moving already.
He folded them into a grip to calm his nerves, then he looked around the room anxiously.
"I've got to get out there!" he paced around the room, looking for anything he could wear to blend in.
"A cloak, I need a cloak!" he informed himself.
"Surely she's got a spare somewhere in here," he left the windows hurriedly.
"Both the boys and girls wore the same cloak! I should be fine to walk around in one too. Where is a darn cloak!?"
He searched behind the blinds, on the other side of the bed, under the tables, and in many other places he was unlikely to find one.
His mind was racing at the thought of seeing Maya again, and the dream of studying magic in the academy together disrupted his focus.
Then, just as he turned around towards the door, he spotted a spare cloak on a hanger stand next to it.
"Sweet, found one!"
He vaulted over the bed and skipped to the hanger.
Then grabbed the cloak and examined the measurements immediately
"Hope it fits. Ms. Enigma and I are almost of the same height, so this should work."
Without much effort, he got into the cloak and turned around, stretching his neck back and forth to get a full picture of how the cloak fit.
"Looks good."
He started walking to the door, but paused
"...hmm, if someone spots me leaving her room, they might have questions...Questions I won't have answers to"
He quickly turned around and examined the room once more for a way out, then his gaze zoomed in on the open window.
"That should work."
He ran over to the window and grabbed the blinds, then peered outside once again; this time for a pathway out.
"Her room is somewhere up the 2nd floor... a long fall, but I'll survive if the landing is soft."
He looked below and spotted a garden just directly below
"Bingo," his lips curled into a delighted smile
"It's scary how everything seems to be falling into place right now. Maybe fate isn't so bad after all," he joked.
"Nahh, I'd say this has been coming for years now. Heh, fat chance fate is on my side," Naki scoffed and took a step back.
"Alright, here goes nothing."
Naki took a further step back for the run up, then dashed and jumped out the windows, descending from the building down to the gardens below.
He stuck the landing with style in a crouch, but not without uprooting some of the garden flowers from the impact.
"Hmph! easy"
Naki said, looking left, then right for any onlookers.
"Good, no one around saw me," he muttered, standing up and adjusting the full cloak.
He saw that his devil sigil was exposed in the process
"...hmmm, I should probably do something about this"
Naki then tore a piece of cloth from his shirt and wrapped it around his right arm like a bandage. It sufficiently covered the sigil
"(That should do it. Will probably have to get a glove or something later)" He confirmed his situation, then covered himself with the full cloak and made his way forward.
"I remember Maya saying she'll be taking the 'support mages' path when she gets here. I should probably start by asking for directions to their training facilities."
Naki walked forward, hoping to find Maya in the academy.
"I'm sorry, Habiki, my training will have to wait. For now, I have to see Maya, tell her the good news,"
He muttered, moving further away from Habiki's dorm room.
Meanwhile, in Habiki's room
She hastily opened the door, a black bag in her hand
I'm terribly sorry for the delay, Naki. Instructor Samantha is like an aunt who refuses to do anything by herself when you visit, I swear.
She complained, closing the door behind her.
"To make it up to you, I brought you something to eat."
"The food in this place is to die for, as I'm sure you'll relate shortly," she said with a cherry smile, making her way inside.
And then she discovered the room was short a headcount.
"..." She blinked, then rubbed her eyes to ensure they weren't pulling a fast one on her.
Then she walked to the table and dropped the bag
"Naki? You there? ...haha, if this is some kind of prank, I don't think we're that close enough yet, wouldn't you agree?" she said, her words mixed with excitement and concern
"Naki?" she called again, moving towards the windows.
When she arrived, she noticed the salve she prepared had turned ox-blood.
She let out a deep sigh, "Honestly, you were given one job, Naki..."
She quickly removed the salve from the windows.
Before turning away, she noticed a rough mark on the window panes, then she looked down and saw that the gardens were messed up.
Her bell glowed,
"[It seems we have a runaway in our hands, Habi. The devil child is not here.]"
"You have to be kidding me!" She frowned and hastily returned the salve to the table.
Then she rushed to the doors to grab her cloak from the hanger stand, but it wasn't there
"Oh crap...don't tell me" Habiki said, very worried
"[It appears he took you cloak. Probably to blend in. What an interesting lad.]" Keifa said, her voice bathed in amusement
"Huhhh, at least it'll keep him away from trouble, but that'll make it much harder to find him."
"[Indeed. I have a feeling he'll come back here in time. Or, if he gets in trouble.]"
"[Don't forget, he needs us]" Keifa said
"I know...But I have to find him before he makes things too difficult for us."
Habiki said, hand reaching for the door knob.
"Imagine headmaster Frowart finding out we have a devil child on the academy grounds. That'll not go down well."
"[If it were up to me, I wouldn't care less. But I know how important graduating from this academy means to you, so do what you must]" Keifa said and withdrew
"(Thank you, mistress Keifa)." With that, she left the room to search for Naki.
In the Academy Grounds
Naki was wandering, a little bit too cautiously, as he didn't feel a sense of belonging yet.
Some of the other students passing by stole glances in his direction, with a few of them laughing mockingly at the undignified way in which he carried himself.
"Move along now, nothing to see here," he whispered to himself, pulling his cloak further down his head, slightly embarrassed.
Then he heard a loud voice from a training ground ahead
"I AM THE HERO EMILE! AND WHEN I SAY BRING ME SPIRIT JUICE, THEN YOU BRING ME SPIRIT JUICE!!"
Following that was a loud bang on the ground and screams
"AAAARRGHHHHH!!!"
"(What's going on?)." Naki tightened his cloak, running ahead in the direction of the incident.
Upon arrival, he saw a group of young boys crouched on the ground, breathing heavily
On the other side, a huge boy with a decent build, thick hair, and the demeanor of a menacing giant, looked down on the young boys.
2 fierce-looking female delinquents, with sharp painted nails and dark polished eyelids, stood by his side, reveling in the young boy's suffering.
"Tsk, what is it with the freshmen these days. They just can't follow simple instructions."
"Listen here, freshmeats! While you attend this here academy, the hero's word carries even more weight than the headmaster's."
"(The hero? Is the hero actually here?)" Naki thought in surprise
"So when I, Emile the hero speak, you listen, ya hear me!!" he loudly said to the young injured boys
"(Emile the hero...could he be the one Lucille spoke of?)" Naki thought, then let out a subtle smile and muttered, "Interesting..."