[Few moments before.]
"Ugh..." My head throbbed as I attempted to sit up from the bed and...
'Prince-' a faint voice echoed in my mind, a voice I recognized well, the parasite.
"What is it!?" I grumbled, my voice laced with irritation, as I rubbed my eyes to shake off the drowsiness.
"Quite rude, aren't you?" Another voice chimed in, this time not from my thoughts but from my left.
I turned my gaze and found a bearded man seated in a chair, his expression carrying a mixture of emotions that I couldn't quite decipher.
"Headmaster?" I muttered, tilting my head in confusion. This had to be a dream, right?
I pinched my arm in an attempt to confirm my suspicions, but alas, it seemed that this was very much a reality, not a dream.
"Don't worry, you're not dreaming," Headmaster Stormborne sighed, rising from his seat.
"Why are you..." I began to ask, but my words trailed off as I caught a whiff of a strong smell—alcohol.
"Umm... so you decided to start your academy dorm life with a round of alcohol?" The Headmaster's voice held a mix of astonishment and disapproval as he regarded me with a disappointed expression.
I chose to remain silent, my mind racing to figure out why the Headmaster was in my room and where the devil was Smokeball!
He approached the desk and stooped slightly to pick up a bottle. "It seems your hangover is quite intense, thanks to the elven wine," he remarked, waving the bottle in my direction.
"Why is the Headmaster here?" I feigned ignorance, pretending not to know.
"Ha," he let out a short laugh, his tone tinged with resignation.
"Ren Hilton," he corrected me.
"Right, Mr. Hilton. I don't know if anyone has ever informed you, but alcohol and any other such substances are strictly prohibited on academy grounds," the Headmaster set the bottle back down. "And the reason I'm here is because your dorm warden reported that you've been unconscious for the past two days."
Well, it seemed I had managed to mess up quite spectacularly.
"You missed your first two days. Everyone at the academy seems to know the tale of the young first-year who drank himself into a stupor and remained unconscious for a solid two days," the Headmaster remarked, his tone a blend of both exasperation and disappointment. With a deliberate gesture, he opened the window, allowing the morning sunlight to stream into the room.
"What's the punishment?" I inquired directly, my voice devoid of hesitation.
"Are you not even a bit ashamed?" The Headmaster's surprise was evident in his tone.
"I am," I admitted, not entirely convincingly, "but that won't alter the punishment, will it?" I continued, swinging my legs off the bed as I sat up.
"Heh, true," he chuckled, "You're going to be demoted to a class one level below. I heard you were initially placed in Class A due to your impressive performance in the admission test, but it seems that decision may no longer be fitting," he paused, his gaze running over me in a manner that hinted at sarcasm.
"..." As I listened, I sensed Blaze hiding under the bed, attempting to shield himself from Stormborne's presence.
"Your pet doesn't seem to have a liking for me," Stormborne remarked, his observation astute.
"Oh, that's his style, alright," I replied with a half-smile, although the truth was quite the opposite; Blaze was hiding because he feared Stormborne, who had hunted down his entire clan.
"I think I'll take my leave," Stormborne announced, handing me a slip of paper, "This is the timetable for your class schedule." As he handed it to me, he turned and walked out of the room.
His departure seemed rather abrupt, considering he had come in person to talk to me. Why hadn't he just sent someone else? It left me pondering his intentions.
"What a fantastic way to kick off the day," I sighed, though I couldn't help but wonder if I'd been sighing more often lately.
'Is he gone?' Blaze's voice rang in my mind as he emerged from under the bed.
"You could've at least woken me up," I grumbled as I made my way toward the bathroom.
'I did, but you didn't even twitch. Not my problem,' Blaze retorted.
"Hmm, well, I'll say the same on the day the Headmaster catches up to your hiding spot and discovers you wiped out his entire clan," I replied wryly, grabbing a brush.
After getting ready, I left the room and headed downstairs. As expected, the scene that greeted me was precisely what I had anticipated.
With a few other rooms in the dorm, it was inevitable that there would be other students residing here. And considering the curse, the situation was playing out just as I had suspected.
"Tch," a slender guy wearing a robe, book in hand, clicked his tongue as he walked past me.
The girl at the far end of the common room quickly adjusted her path, her movement taking on a somewhat awkward turn.
Could this be the 0.1% impact in action?
I mused to myself, imagining that if this was only 0.1%, the situation at 100% might bring about something entirely different.
'They're going to burn you at the stake,' Blaze jested, his words laced with humor. But seriously, who was I? A witch in medieval times?
"Oh, you're awake!" The Warden's voice rang out from the side as she hurried over to me in quick steps. "I had to call the Headmaster. He's the only one on the academy grounds who can open the magic lock. But alcohol? First, you miss the opening ceremony, and now this... are you trying to establish yourself as a delinquent?" Her words flowed without pause, a torrent of frustration and scolding. However, something caught my attention amidst her reprimands.
She's the same. Her behavior yesterday and today hasn't changed much.
Could it be that the curse doesn't affect her? And now that I think about it, the Headmaster was also relatively unaffected. He did come to reprimand me, but aside from that, I didn't sense any underlying hostility from him.
"Ha, why is it that every student who takes that room ends up causing trouble?" She rubbed her temples in exasperation before continuing, "I've prepared breakfast. Eat up. The Class A lectures are about to begin."
"Umm, I'm not in Class A," I admitted, puzzled about how she knew. "I was demoted to..."
I rummaged through my pocket and pulled out the chit.
"Umm... it's Class B," I stated, offering the information.
"What!?" The Warden's surprise was palpable.
"Could you lower your voice, Mrs Penny? I'm trying to read," a girl seated on the other end of the sofa interrupted, her words dripping with a subtle sarcasm. It seemed my dormmates were astute observers.
"I apologize," the Warden replied, her tone awkward.
"No need to apologize. Just avoid wasting time on individuals who intoxicate themselves like roadside vagabonds. They're nothing but a stain on our academy's reputation," the girl remarked, closing her book and slipping it into her bag with a dismissive air.
"Uh-oh," Blaze muttered in my thoughts.
"What did you say?" I inquired, my tone calm and collected.
"Huh!?" She took a startled step back and stammered, "I-I'm not wrong. How can you drink yourself into such a state and still claim to be an honorable student of the Imperial Academy?"
"And I'm failing to understand how that's your concern," I remarked, studying her behavior.
"Because... argh!" She began to respond but seemed to stop herself, the same kind of behavior that Cecelia displayed yesterday.
"Now, now, that's enough. You both, get going. You'll be late," the old lady intervened, stepping in between us. "And you, young man, finish your food and leave my dorm," she directed toward the warden with a no-nonsense tone.
Snorting in my direction, the girl made her exit, a move that struck me as rather peculiar.
"..." Looking around, I realized that only the warden and I remained in the common room, the other dorm residents seemingly absent.
"She's not a bad girl. I don't know what's gotten into her. She wasn't like this at the welcome party," Mrs. Penny spoke as she headed toward the dining hall. I followed suit, my gaze widening as I took in the sight of an array of delicious food spread out before me. It was quite impressive.
"It seems I'm not exactly everyone's favorite here," I commented with a wry smile, taking a seat at the table. Mrs. Penny went toward the kitchen, both the dining hall and the kitchen conveniently situated side by side.
"Seems that way. Did you provoke her?" Mrs. Penny inquired, to which I simply shook my head, my mouth currently occupied with a bite of bread.
After enjoying a quiet and satisfying breakfast, I left the dorm and made my way to the main building. Navigating through the corridors, I eventually found my way to the classroom where I was demoted.
Standing in front of the class I noticed there was commotion inside as I pushed the door and all the eyes darted towards me.
The classroom exuded an air of academic gravitas, with rows of polished wooden desks neatly aligned beneath the gentle glow of overhead lights. A raised platform at the front held a professor's desk, a projection screen, and a whiteboard. The ambiance conveyed a focused academic environment, ready for learning to unfold.
"Vexa! What are you doing here? This is the wrong class again," Adam's voice carried a mix of amusement and exasperation as he addressed the girl standing before him, her expression a mixture of confusion and contemplation.
"Is that so," she replied, her gaze fleeting over the room. Her eyes briefly met mine, a momentary connection, before both of them shifted away.
"Aren't you that Ren guy?" Adam's words drew my attention.
'Seems your luck might be on a hiatus. Interested in seeing an astrologer?' Blaze quipped in my mind.
Maybe that wouldn't be a bad idea.
"Yes, I am," I affirmed, attempting to navigate past Adam and take a seat.
"Hey, hold on," Adam interjected, reaching out to stop me by grabbing my shoulder.
'Just maintain your composure,' Blaze advised.
"Remove your hand," Somehow my voice betrayed Blaze's advice.
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[A/N:ummm..... I have a patreon]
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