Early the next morning, Sora was awakened by his internal biological clock. Even though this world had two moons, a day still seemed to last around twenty-four hours. Outside, the sky was gray and dim, not yet fully bright.
Sora glanced at Louise, huddled under the quilt, clutching it tightly and frowning as though she had been having a bad dream. Quietly, he slipped out of the dormitory. The other girls were still asleep.
Once outside, he stretched and began jogging around the surrounding walls, maintaining his strength and coordination with rhythmic running. Torres College was shaped like a regular pentagon, with a building at each of the five corners—dormitories and cafeterias for male and female students, living quarters for the professors, and a taller teaching building in the center. Between the central building and the five corner buildings were five squares, each side about 300 meters long.
Sora ran five laps in half an hour. By then, the sky had brightened, and the rising sun cast its light across the college. He returned downstairs to the girls' dormitory before the dormitory supervisor could wake up and quietly pushed open Louise's door.
Louise was in the middle of changing out of her pajamas when she noticed him. She froze, her face turning scarlet, eyes wide as if tears were about to form.
Sora, without a hint of hesitation, looked her over. Her skin was fair as jade, her long peach-blond hair soft and flowing, her delicate face striking. His gaze lingered on her chest for a moment—it was remarkably flat. Sora finally looked away, closed the door casually, and sat in a chair without changing his expression.
Louise hurriedly finished dressing, put on her school uniform, and angrily grabbed her magic wand, pointing it at Sora as she trembled.
"See? See what you've done?"
Sora nodded calmly. "Well, not bad."
Louise's eyes rolled, tears welling. "Forget it! Forget everything! You didn't see anything!"
Sora smiled. "Alright, just pretend I didn't see it."
"Ahhh! Death! Death!" Louise shouted, flailing her wand like a stick, striking him repeatedly.
Sora raised his hand to shield his face, silently enduring the onslaught. Eventually, Louise ran out of energy and stopped.
At that moment, her stomach growled loudly.
Sora's eyes followed the sound. Louise's lips quivered in embarrassment.
"Ahhh!" she screamed and bolted from the room.
"Hey! I haven't prepared my—breakfast yet!" Sora reached out, but she had already pushed the door open and vanished.
Looking around, he noted the dormitory was neat—just a bed, wardrobe, table, and two chairs. There was nowhere to store food.
"Huh—" Sora exhaled and stood up, deciding to ask Chuluk for something to eat. He went to Chuluk's door and knocked.
"Who is it?" came a lazy voice, seductive even in sleep.
"It's me, Sora."
Chuluk poked his head out, still half-asleep.
Sora, Louise's familiar, his disciple, yes. Chuluk slowly retrieved his wand from under the pillow, waved it, and the door opened on its own.
Inside, Chuluk's school uniform and underwear were strewn across the floor. Unlike Louise's innocent pajamas, the dark purple lace lingerie was eye-catching. Chuluk had actually slept naked—a little surprising.
"Chuluk, Louise ran off first. Can you help me with breakfast?" Sora explained.
Chuluk wrapped a quilt around his chest and leaned against the bed. "Well, the school-prepared food for familiars is made from animals and phantoms—you probably won't like it. I'll give you money, and you can buy something from the cafeteria yourself."
"Thank you, Chuluk. Much more reliable than Louise."
He smiled, happy, and retrieved his wallet, handing Sora a handful of gold coins.
Sora accepted them and asked casually, "By the way, tell me about the currency here—what it's worth and how far it goes."
Chuluk thought for a moment. "There are gold, silver, and copper coins. One gold coin equals ten silver coins, and one silver coin equals ten copper coins. Twenty gold coins can sustain three civilians for a month."
Sora calculated quickly in his head. Gold coins roughly equal 100 yuan, silver one yuan—got it.
"Thanks. I'll head off, see you later."
"See you," Chuluk mumbled, falling back into bed. The salamander by the bed saw Sora leave, flicked its tail lazily, and went back to sleep.
Outside, students were heading to the teaching building. From their attire, Sora noticed three grades: freshmen in taupe cloaks, Louise's grade in black, and the eldest in purple. Teachers were free to dress as they liked.
Everyone gathered in the first-floor lobby, where three long tables were laden with food. The grades sat separately from left to right. Louise eyed the food, but couldn't eat due to etiquette. She hunched over, trying to keep her stomach from rumbling.
Sora smirked and headed to the cafeteria.
Inside, the chef, assistants, and maids gathered around a small wooden table. The food was less lavish than in the main hall but sufficient—porridge and bread.
A large man in a chef's uniform approached. "What is a noble's familiar doing here?"
Sora held out a gold coin. "I heard familiar meals differ from human ones. I'd like to buy some breakfast, please."
The chef glanced at the others, then smiled. "Come eat. This is a cafeteria."
Sora handed over the coin, but the chef waved it away. "No need to pay—there's plenty to eat."
Other students offered him a seat. He sat down next to a maid with short black hair, smiling at him.
The chef said, "Eat well. Only when full can you have strength to work."
"Oh," everyone echoed.
Sora lowered his head, hungry, and devoured his breakfast. Since being summoned yesterday, he hadn't had a drop of water. Under amazed eyes, he ate over ten pieces of bread and drank six or seven bowls of porridge.
"Oh, what a hearty familiar!" the chef exclaimed.
"I'm not a demon—I'm human, just like you," Sora said.
The chef laughed heartily, slinging an arm around Sora's shoulders. "Exactly! Aren't we all human? Commoners, nobles—it doesn't matter!"
Others looked at Sora more kindly. It seemed he had gained favor without even trying.
After finishing, Sora lingered, chatting with the head chef to learn more about this world. Civilians unaware of magic made up the majority, working in agriculture, manufacturing, and service, while magicians held noble or military positions. The chef and staff were paid, their status higher than ordinary civilians—a privilege hard-won.
Sora realized: to truly live freely here, he had to become a magician as soon as possible.