Lex's POV
After separating from Leon and Nicks I headed for the dorm.
"I really need a power thing right now." I sigh to myself.
The receptionist gave me the key to my room and told me to find the way there on my own.
I sleeply dragged myself through the corridors alone. I arrived at the room I would be using for the next three years and let myself in with my key. It was a single and not exactly a spacious one at that—clean, though, and my luggage awaited me there.
I didn't even check it and just plopped down on the bed, hoping to catch some zzzs, but
*knock* *knock*
'who is that now I want to sleep'
"Jarvis please check and see who that is" I spoke still face down on the bed.
"Sure thing sir" he said as he then turned around and looked at the door.
"Sir it's Sir Raymond and Air Daniel, along with a few unregistered individuals, all males and no females." with his words I reluctantly stood up and went for the door.
Opening the door the first thing Raymond said to me was,
"We're going to a party and you're coming with us."
Hearing his tone I knew they was no talking my way out of it.
"OK" was all I said,
Taking a jacket with me I turned to Jarvis and said "you can go on that trip you said you wanted, just make sure you're not noticed as you scan, whatever it is you want to scan,"
With that we were gone,
Out side my room I asked
"Where is Leon"
Raymond turned to me while knocking on my neighbor's door and said
"What do you mean, he leaves just next door to you," ohh, I remember now the receptionist said something about that.
Leon's POV
I found myself in an upscale bar off of school grounds, dragged from the student dorm along with the other first-years by a bunch of upperclassmen.
"Uh, so…I'm truly happy to be able to welcome all the new students this year." The boy addressing us was the heir of a barony.
"Not so long ago, I was in your shoes."
Our upperclassmen hosts were all from poor, rural noble houses.
I realized all of the underclassmen were from the same background as well.
Daniel Fou Durland, stood next to me.
He looked healthy, with his finely tanned skin and short hair. His tall, muscled body also contributed to a positive first impression.
"What's the point of this welcome party anyway?" I asked him.
"Don't you know?" He tilted his head at me. "If we're a real group with solid bonds, we can consult each other when we have problems and share vital information. You know how important it is to get married, right?"
It certainly would make some things easier to be part of a group, but if a promising young lady appeared, I had no doubt a fight would break out.
When I said as much, another guy joined our chat.
It was Raymond Fou Arkin. He looked the complete opposite of Daniel; his glasses gave the impression of intelligence, but those were lies he wore them to attract the intellectuals. He pushed his spectacles up his nose.
"Even if a fight over a girl did break out, as long as she's dating a guy within our group, no one will lose their minds over it," he said loftily. "In the case of an argument, it's settled by the group. Besides, fights over women are apparently quite rare."
Once the upperclassman finished his speech, the feast began. The third-and second-years were footing the bill, or so I'd heard. That meant next year, it would be our turn to treat our underclassmen.
"I was looking forward to meeting the highly acclaimed and successful adventurers joining us this year," said an upperclassman, approaching me. "I'm Lucle, by the way. Happy to make your acquaintance. We're expecting great things from you, newbies."
He was a third-year and seemed pretty laid-back, as he'd already found a marriage partner and no longer had anything to worry about. He just had to cruise to graduation and return to his territory.
"Expecting great things?" Lex asked quizzically.
He clicked his tongue. "Come on, don't act like you don't know. We heard about the sons of Barons who became adventurers and accomplished numerous feats of derring-do before even enrolling. That's gotta be you, right?
It's not just the capital that's heard. Word spread all the way to my parents' territory."
Daniel, still nearby, seemed surprised. "Wait, We're famous?"
I glanced away. "Not like we had a choice. It was either make some money or be shipped off to marry some perverted old ladies."
That seemed to explain things. No one pursued the matter any further.
Still, it was definitely easier to talk to them than I'd expected, given how we shared the same anxieties. Honestly, we talked more about marriage than our upcoming education. We were all desperate to secure an engagement while we were in school.
I
finally decided to ask something that was weighing on my mind. "You know, the oldest son of our house graduated last year. Was he in this group, too, while he was here? His name is Rutart."
"Oh, that guy? No, he wasn't one of ours. Said he didn't accept invitations from the dregs of the school."
Rutart, you idiot, your status isn't any different from ours!
"He worked his way into a group of people whose fathers were at least viscounts, if not higher," Lucle explained. "Seemed like he was really pushing himself to fit in. But hey, to each their own. Are you three close?"
I shook my head.
"Yeah, I figured." Lucle threw back a mug of beer. "There's only a few days left until the start of classes.
I'll give you four a tour of the capital in the meantime. Just be careful you don't have too much fun and wear yourselves out."
Daniel, Raymond, Lex and I nodded.
Lucle's expression turned grim. "Also, I heard there's a scholarship student joining us this year. The academy said something about wanting exceptional students, so they're letting someone of common birth enroll."
"A scholarship student?" Raymond repeated. "In the general class, right?"
Lucle shook his head. "No, the higher class. And we already have the crown prince enrolling at the same time, which is enough of a pain. The scholarship student is a girl, or so I heard. No connections at all. No clue what the real story is. Everyone's really curious about her. If you find out something, could you let me know?"
She's going to be the center of everything at this school this year, I thought, since she's the protagonist of the game.
I wasn't surprised, but this common-born scholarship student was evidently quite the shock to Raymond and Daniel. How could she have no connections, they wondered aloud.
She at least had to be the daughter of a wealthy merchant family. Probably knew someone high up in order to land a spot at the academy. I feigned agreement so as not to stand out.
In the game, this girl was supposedly the descendant of some special bloodline. Once the nobles discovered that, they'd started tripping over themselves to get on her good side.
I'd keep my mouth shut about it, though. No one would believe me even if I told them, and I had no plans to get involved with her or the love interests anyway. The crown prince and his friends could enjoy their youth here in peace. That'd work out better for me, too.