Just like last Friday, classes being over didn't mean I was home free yet. If anything, people annoyed me more after classes ended than during them.
Not that anyone did insult or belittle me during classes. Even after my loss and the following pathetic showing of physical prowess when we were exercising.
But after I sit down for lunch and start eating, it doesn't take very long for someone to try and pick on me again. However. This time it's a legendary team-up. `Is this really the crossover we needed?`
Both the red-haired girl and the girl with the blonde drill twin-tai hairstyle come up to me this time. Positing themselves on either side of me with haughty looks as they begin to tear into me. "So I heard you were beaten pretty badly in your sparring duel. By a girl that didn't even use magic, no less"
The attack, as per usual pretty predictable. Of course, they were going to try and attack my pride and masculinity. But my masculinity isn't so fragile that something like that would rattle or upset me.
"Hmm. Good. You deserve it." After the blonde girl said her piece. Or rather, when I refused to react to the taunting, it was the red-haired girl's turn to rip into me. "I hope you can see now that you winning against Selvan was pure luck. You are nowhere near his level, fool."
I quirk an eyebrow at her assertion. Confused for a moment before I shake my head and reply. "Yeah. Of course, I won through sheer luck. Who do you think I am?" I ask in a rhetorical tone. Underscoring my words with the international hand symbol of "what the fuck are you doing?"
Although it sure seemed to mean the same thing in this world as it did back on earth. Based on the redhead's sputtering reaction. `I guess it's not merely an international symbol. But rather an interdimensional symbol of exasperation.`
"Yeah. Well." She stammers and stumbles over her words for a moment before she throws her hair over her shoulders with a huff. "Of course, you only won through luck, stupid. That's the same way you got into this academy in the first place, isn't it?"
"Yeah. That's not a secret either." I respond with a casual shrug. "But if you have a problem with that, take it up with the headmaster. Malrik is the reason I'm here."
The mere mention of the headmaster did give both of the girls pause. Or maybe it was just the fact that I used his first name like it was natural. But either way. The red-haired girl didn't know what to say in response. Already losing steam again.
That's when the blonde girl jumped back in. "Mmm." She chuckled lightly. "Of course. An uncouth swine like you could only enter these hallowed halls through luck. Did you oink and dance for the headmaster's amusement to get in?"
`Ohhh?` I turn to her with an impressed expression. `That one was actually not bad. I can see how someone might find that offensive.` But I'm not that person. "If only I knew why he actually chose me." I answer with a long sigh.
Turning her insult around into making it sound like a genuine question with my honest answer. Quite a simple strategy. But an effective one, regardless. Throwing a little wrench into whatever she had planned.
Her recovery wasn't bad. Or at least she didn't just stand there stuttering like the redhead before. She simply turned around and walked off with one last jab. "Whatever you did to get into this school. You won't last long here anyway. So I'll stop wasting my time with you now."
I shrug in response before turning back to the redhead. But after losing her collaborator so suddenly, she seemed small and unsure of what to do next.
"Shoo." And when I wave her away like a pesky insect, she does indeed leave.
But not peacefully. "Pfff." She scoffs. "Screw you. You're going to regret all of this soon." And only after making sure to get one last insult and threat out does she turn around and walk off.
So I'm finally left alone to finish my lunch in peace. And then I'm finally free. Or so I thought. "Adept Blackwell." Yet when I reach the prestige dorm, I hear my name being called in the foyer.
One of the staff members, a young man with slicked-back black hair and a hooked nose, waves me over the moment I walk through the doors. Holding a package in hand.
"Yeah. That's me." I reply as I walk over to him. Opening my hands to receive the package. Which must be from my family, considering the emblem on it. A circular well of black stone, rimmed with ice.
The second the staff member dropped the package into my hands, I knew there wasn't just a letter in it. It was too heavy to be just some paper.
`I hope they didn't send too much money.` I think with a sigh before I thank the Staff member. "Thank you. Do you need anything else from me?" I ask with a tilt of my head.
But apparently that was all. No signature. No nothing. The staff member simply excused himself with a bow and left. `Eww. Don't do that.` I shudder a little at the bow. But shake the disgust off and go back to my room.
So I can open the package in peace and see what's inside. I ignore the insulting graffiti on my door yet again as I open and close the doors behind me. Placing the package on my table and putting my school stuff aside for now.
"Okay. Let's see." I rummage around through the various cupboards of the table until I find what I need. The small knife that was used as a letter opener. And using it, I quickly get rid of the wax seal on the package and open it.
And out tumble multiple letters, and as I had feared, a wallet. Heavy and jingling with coins. "Huuuu."`I hope these aren't all Lunthar's.` With another sigh, I put the wallet aside for now and focus on the letters.
And the reason why there were multiple letters became clear pretty quickly. The first one I had coincidentally grabbed. It was probably also the first one written. Chronologically speaking.
The ink was slightly faded. `Probably a month or two old.` It was an assumption mostly based on the contents of the letter.
It was a complaint and demand written by my father. Marcus Blackwell. Baron and Patriarch of the Blackwell household. And it was leveled against both the academy and the kingdom of Eidralûn as a whole. Demanding to know where I am and why I haven't contacted them yet.
The writing was steady, but the letter was filled with angry words and open complaints. Clearly showing the emotions of my father as he wrote the letter.
But not as clear as the emotions shown in the next letter. The handwriting was nearly unreadable. Full of tremors and shaky lines. Signs of immense anger and grief.
Again, penned by my father. Probably written after it was announced that no one survived the airship crash and that I'm presumed dead.
And I won't lie. That letter had me a little choked up.
"Damm." I exhale. Now clearly seeing that I mean a lot to my parents. Or well. The person that had previously inhabited this body did. `I wonder how they are going to react to what I'll tell them when we meet?`
The next letter was written in response to my first letter. The letter that I had the guards write and send for me. To inform my parents of my survival. And that I arrived in Eidralore relatively unharmed, considering what I went through.
That letter was the first of the five I got, which was directly addressed to me. So I read through it carefully. There was still a slight trembling in the handwriting. But it was pretty easy to tell that it was mostly relief. And so were the words..
Though the letter also said that my Mother passed out when they received the news that I survived. "Heh." News that made me chuckle and worry at the same time.
Luckily, a few lines later, my father assured me that my mother was alright. She just fainted from relief. And that alone was enough to show me that they really did care. A lot.
A sentiment that was made clear in the next letter. It was written by my Mother. Alenya Blackwell. And unlike the letter my father addressed to me, which was fairly practical and subdued, it was overflowing with emotions again.
It read.
"To my dearest son, Daniel."
"When your father brought me your letters, my hands would not stop trembling. I feared it was a cruel joke. It was only when I traced the ink with my fingers that I let myself weep."
"You are alive."
"I have whispered those words every morning since, afraid that if I stopped saying them, they might stop being true. You are alive, and somewhere beneath the same stars I look upon each night."
"My dear, I will not ask where you have been or what horrors you endured. To know that you live is enough for now. Return to us when you can. There will be a place by the fire and a meal waiting. Your favorite, of course, though I suspect I'll burn it again from shaking hands."
"And until we see each other again. Write. Tell me you are well, or even that you are not. But write, so that I might never again know the silence that nearly broke me."
"With all the love that words cannot hold."
"Your Mother, Aleyna Blackwell."
And this time I did cry a little. "Pfffuuuuuuu." I breathe deeply. Reading the letter a few times through my blurry vision. Very much seeing my own mother in the writing. Thinking about how worried she must be.
A deep sadness and melancholy settling within my chest. But at the same time, I'm also happy and relieved. Because at least one mother was happy that her son was alright.
At least for the time being. `It's going to be so incredibly hard telling them the truth.` I sigh deeply. `But if anyone deserves to know the truth, then it's them.`
And speaking of the truth. The next letter was cosigned by both of my parents. It was about how proud they were of me. Not just for surviving the harsh situation I was in. But also for making it into Oridalis Academy. And into the prestige class, no less.
The money they sent along with the letters was both a reward and something they thought I needed, regardless of whether I'm in the prestige class or not.
It was a whole ninety Lunthar. More than some people earn while working their whole life. It was nearly a king's ransom. More money than any minor noble family could just dish out so casually. At least not without going into debt.
And the letter said that if I need any more money, to just ask and they'll send it over as soon as possible.
"Oh, for fucks sake." I grumble before I snatch up the heavy wallet and immediately store it in the small, magically reinforced safe that is in every room in the prestige dorm. "Need to give that back to them."
I know damn well that if I just sent the money back to them, it would just devolve into a back-and-forth. So I vow not to touch the money until I can give it back to them personally. That way, they can't just deny it and send it back to me again.
Of course, I also plan on never asking them for money either. If I ever feel the need to buy something, I'll go out there and earn my own money. Just as I did with the spare textbooks I bought.
"I still have four Lunthar left over anyway. That's more than most people earn in a month. So even if I do go out and buy something, I'll probably have enough." It wasn't like I was planning on splurging out on luxurious things I don't need anyway.
Luxuries was what the last letter spoke about, too. Well. One luxury. It was written by my father again. Now calm and composed.
And it was mostly about the fact that they'll arrange for personal, secure transportation home for me once summer vacation comes around. So we can see each other again without anything unforeseen happening, like on my way to the Academy.
My father also apologized in the letter that they couldn't come see me. That we can't meet as soon as possible. But they had their own duties to attend to. Just like it was now my duty to go to this school.
"Huuu."`If I tell them to relax and let me handle transportation on my own. Will they let me?`"Nah." This did mean they were going to spend even more money on me. Which I didn't want. But at the same time, I'm well aware that they won't budge on this.
"Fine. I'll let you have that one." I mutter while folding the letter back up and putting it with the others. Which I then collect and store in the safe as well. They are just as, if not more important than, the money they sent, after all.
These letters. They proved that the parents of this body are good people. They care about and love their son. And in a sense, I'm responsible for his death. `I have to tell them the truth the moment we meet.`
But that moment is still almost a year away. So even though it might sound rude or cruel to just forget about them for now, I still put those thoughts aside for the moment. `There'll be more than enough time to agonize over this later.`
With new determination and focus, I return to what I usually do. Really throwing myself into my studies, exercises, and magical experimentation over the weekend.
More sure now than ever before to prove myself worthy. Of attending this school. And being in the prestige class. So that at least in that regard, I won't disappoint this body's parents.
However. Before I do all of that. I sit down to write a response letter. Just as the mother of the boy I replaced wanted.
Or. Well. I write two. But one of them is just for myself. For my own peace of mind. It won't go anywhere. No one will ever see it.
Unless I figure out a way to send something back to Earth through magic, that is. A hope that I cling to still. Because who really knows what I might discover in this world of magic?
Perhaps it's a foolish thing to cling to. But it gives me strength. So I hold onto it. To draw forth all my strength and effort in everything I do.