Chapter 39
Though the heat lingered, the sky had grown unusually high, as if it already sensed the coming of autumn.
On the second day of September, the Mage Academy welcomed its new students. The schedule was no different from any other imperial institution, but the atmosphere at the entrance ceremony was bleak.
It wasn’t as though the somber mood was due to the academy’s founding purpose—it wasn’t particularly disciplined either. The small number of cadets only made the scale feel even more pitiful. The incident during the entrance exam had reduced the number of students by over ten compared to previous years.
Still, some cadets held a determined gleam in their eyes, each bearing their own resolve.
Lenart ignored the voice beside him as he searched for the Ranje sisters in the crowd.
“They might be bright-eyed now, but that won’t last. Hope never sticks around for long. The clever ones will realize by the end of this month, and the slow ones? Maybe a year.”
Ranje’s light-colored hair stood out clearly among the dark navy uniforms.
Next to her, Erna kept fidgeting with her bangs. Despite growing them out, she’d let Ranje trim them again and now regretted it.
“And what’s she so cheerful about?”
The one mentioned was clearly Ranje again.
Lenart turned his head at the comment—and was left speechless by what he saw.
The second-year cadet, technically his peer now due to being held back, had an opera glass pressed to his eyes.
Despite the academy’s lax discipline, this was the first time Lenart had seen anyone pull a stunt like that during an official event.
“Would you like to borrow them?”
“No.”
“Ah, I’m Givelin.”
“Didn’t you already introduce yourself earlier?”
Though Lenart hadn’t responded at the time, he’d remembered the name. Now, he frowned slightly.
Givelin smiled with a suspiciously pleasant expression.
“I didn’t expect Your Highness to be listening. I never thought you’d remember my name.”
It was hard to say what was more abnormal—saying that to Lenart’s face or not taking his eyes off the opera glass while doing so.
Lenart made up his mind not to get involved with Givelin any further.
He had gotten used to strange people ever since meeting Ranje this year, but this one was a whole new category—someone he didn’t even want to be associated with.
“Still, the small number of freshmen makes it easier to get a good look at everyone, doesn’t it?”
Givelin kept talking despite the cold atmosphere.
“Odd numbers… Someone’s going to end up without a partner. I wonder who’ll be the least popular, the one with the worst personality. My bet is on the tall guy at the end. He’s too tall to be interesting.”
His reasoning was so flimsy it could hardly be called reasoning at all. This time, Givelin was pointing at Heine, but Lenart didn’t even listen.
Compared to Givelin’s chatter, the boring entrance ceremony was twice as interesting. And Ranje, who kept sneaking glances his way, was worth about twenty times more attention.
As soon as the ceremony ended, Ranje came looking for Lenart. He had expected her to and had stayed behind.
As expected in such a relaxed atmosphere, classes and training wouldn’t start until the next day. Dormitory assignments were also handled here on the spot, so the afternoon was left wide open.
With no other plans, Lenart had decided to offer to show the Ranje sisters and Heine around the facilities.
“So now I can officially call you ‘senior,’ right?”
Though it didn’t suit her personality, Ranje seemed to be celebrating the fact that they were now formally upperclassman and underclassman.
Had they not met outside the academy, he probably would’ve returned to the dormitory like last year and avoided everyone.
“You’re saying that now? Pretty sure you’ve been calling me that from the start.”
“Still, it feels different. Look, we’re even wearing the same uniform…”
Ranje spread her arms proudly to show off her uniform.
She was in an uncharacteristically good mood today.
During her first school days, she had felt nothing. But now, seeing Lenart, Erna, and even Heine in matching uniforms made her excited.
Erna, too, seemed to enjoy the mood, smiling and forgetting her frustration about her bangs. Since the entrance exam incident, she had decided to drastically change her approach and didn’t interrupt the conversation between Ranje and Lenart.
But the warm atmosphere didn’t last long.
“Guess we could end up officially partnered, huh?”
“Unlikely.”
A stranger’s voice interrupted Ranje.
Until now, Lenart had usually been the one to keep Ranje in check, so both sisters turned toward the voice, surprised.
“Who are you?”
Though it was obviously a senior, Ranje kept her words short—and laced with irritation.
Givelin began explaining without being asked.
“After graduation, maybe. But within the school, only students of the same year can be officially partnered. There are joint training sessions that require synchronization. If underclassmen join upperclass schedules or vice versa, it disrupts discipline. Allocating special time and budget just for the two of you would be considered favoritism.”
He was smugly showing off, and while his tone was infuriating, everything he said was true.
Ranje pouted briefly but quickly dropped it. Givelin’s next comment was absurd enough to shake it off.
“Besides, His Highness’s partner slot is already mine. Give up on your little dream.”
From the moment Givelin opened his mouth, Lenart decided to ignore him entirely.
But when such an outrageous claim came out, he couldn’t keep his composure.
“I never agreed to that.”
Lenart spoke to Ranje first. He didn’t know why he felt the need to explain, but somehow it seemed necessary.
Givelin, however, was completely unfazed. Still wearing that smug smile, he addressed Lenart.
“Your Highness would be better off choosing me. You’ll need to select a partner eventually. If you want to chase your dreams, you’ll have to prove it with results. Doesn’t seem like you’re particularly smart, though. This place isn’t exactly a fancy academy, after all.”
“Maybe I’m not smart, but I’m sure your personality’s the real problem.”
“See that? Talking back to a senior.”
“I never acknowledged you as one.”
“That’s not up to your acknowledgment… Anyway, Your Highness, I’ll be going. Wishing you a pleasant afternoon.”
As Givelin left like a whirlwind, all that remained was Ranje fuming.
Lenart, overwhelmed by sheer absurdity, was left with a headache.
He might’ve brushed past Givelin last year, but this was the first proper encounter. Givelin had brazenly closed the distance and started talking about being partners—his motives were completely incomprehensible.
Their first meeting had been strange, but compared to Givelin, Ranje practically embodied ladylike grace.
“Senior, don’t associate with people like that.”
Ranje didn’t bother hiding her irritation.
She never flinched at Swan Hild’s provocation, but she’d clearly lost her temper at Givelin’s comments. Erna stared at her younger sister in surprise.
“I only met him today.”
Lenart felt genuinely wronged at this point.
“He’ll definitely do it again. You’re easy to push around when someone’s assertive—he’ll try to take advantage. I was supposed to be the only one who knew that… When did this become public knowledge?”
“So that’s how you’ve been treating me all this time…”
Lenart wasn’t especially shocked. He had become aware of his own passive nature while being dragged around by Ranje.
“Anyway, senior. You’re promising me, right?”
Ranje calmed down and looked up at him with a sidelong glance.
“Don’t partner with anyone else but me.”
Lenart hadn’t expected such a strong demand, so he didn’t nod right away.
He had only just realized that Ranje considered him her official partner. If Givelin hadn’t interrupted, this would likely have been her topic of choice.
Of course, it wasn’t entirely out of the blue. They’d already worked together several times in the West, proven their compatibility, and shared a bond too deeply entwined to ignore.
Still, Lenart hadn’t thought she truly wanted to pair up with him.
She had a sister she entered school with, and blood ties usually took priority over acquaintances of a few months.
Lenart glanced toward Erna.
‘Did they already talk about this?’
But Erna looked at them with no sign of disappointment.
In fact, she seemed like she’d scold Lenart if he didn’t accept—her sharp gaze said, Are you rejecting my sister? It was an oddly overprotective stance, whether Ranje needed it or not.
Lenart considered a few realistic issues before answering.
“We can still become partners later, even outside school. After graduation.”
It was common to form a partnership at school, train together, and then begin joint missions after commission. But technically, registration could happen at any time.
A partnership wasn’t permanent—it could be broken and reformed, which is why the registration process remained open.
Lenart had meant it as a persuasive point, but Ranje shook her head firmly.
“That’s too late. If you graduate first, they might just assign you a partner. That happens sometimes, right? And it’s not like you can be held back again…”
“Ahem…”
Even if he didn’t regret it, hearing it from Ranje made the repeated year sound like a disgraceful mistake.
Whether or not Lenart cleared his throat, Ranje continued on her own pace.
“Just watch. I’ll prove I’m so exceptional that they’ll have to adjust the training to us.”
But Ranje’s bold declaration… wasn’t going to come true that easily.
