"I've been thinking, Alen..." Atro suddenly said.
It was the second day of the second week, and I currently found myself sitting in the academy's cafeteria with my friends.
"What?" I asked, trying to pay attention while focusing on the homework Crowbell had assigned us.
"You haven't improved all that much."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I've seen you train every day with us for the past couple of weeks, and you haven't really progressed. You still use the same few spells, and your reserves never seem to grow."
"Not everyone has talent with magic," I muttered.
"I wouldn't say someone who can cast without incantations has no talent," Theo added from the side.
The prince, unlike the rest of us, had already finished all his homework for every subject.
"I still have very small reserves. And look..." I pointed at Cecil, who was meditating in a lotus position—a rare sight. "Just by meditating for a couple hours, he improves as much as I do in days." I let out a long sigh.
"I wasn't saying it in a bad way," Atro replied, taking a bite of a large chicken sandwich the academy sold for an inflated price. "It's inspiring, actually. Even someone as strong as you still has things you struggle with."
"Even as praise, that makes me feel weirdly disappointed," I joked with a sigh.
"Mr. Alen..." Cecil suddenly broke his meditation and opened his eyes. "Would you rather—"
Theo immediately sighed, already frustrated.
"—spend an entire day with the most racist elf imaginable—late two-hundreds to mid three-hundreds in age—or spend two months in the Raychmen kingdom slums, with a chance of being adopted by a noble house?"
"What kind of question is that?" Elizabeth asked, stunned. She really was the newest addition to this group.
"This is not the kind of question you ask when girls are around," Theo groaned, covering his face in embarrassment.
"You peasants always ask these questions when I'm around," Franchesca huffed, crossing her arms.
"That's becau—" Cecil began, but Theo cut him off before he could say something stupid.
"Because... uh... you've already spent a lot of time with us, and you usually don't interact much, so it still feels like it's just the boys," Theo said, sweating bullets by the end.
"Silva is also here," I pointed out.
"She's always silent, so I forget she's with us sometimes," he muttered.
Silva nodded in agreement without saying a word.
"How big is the chance of being adopted?" I asked.
"Low. Very low. You'd be spending months to years in the slums," Cecil clarified.
"Are we really doing this?" Elizabeth asked, horrified.
"Is the elf funny racist or miserable to be around racist?" Atro asked.
"Explain," Cecil demanded.
"I mean, will I have a good time despite the racism? Or will he be angry and insufferable the whole day?"
"Funny racism. Heavy insults. Very creative."
"Then there's only one good option," Theo whispered.
"I assume I can kill anyone who opposes me in the slums," Franchesca added casually.
"Even you, Princess Von Themys?!" Elizabeth asked, shocked.
"You acquire a taste for hypothetical scenarios like this," Fran replied coolly.
"The slums have corrupt knights," Cecil continued. "Killing residents won't end well for you."
"Can I at least defend myself? Because the racist elf is sounding like the reasonable pick," I said.
"You can defend yourself, form a mafia, and even take them with you once you're adopted."
"How good is this noble house?"
"Really good. Near the highest ranks."
"I'd still pick the racist elf," I answered. "One day, no real danger, and honestly, I'm curious what he'd call me."
"Agreed," everyone nodded—except Elizabeth.
"Wait just a minute!" she shouted, pointing at the blonde prince. "You're the prince of the Raychmen kingdom—how can you just accept there's such inequality in your own nation?"
"My father works to fix the poorest areas. He hopes to close that gap in the future," Theo replied, crossing his arms. "And... we're just having having a fun time between us"
"I agree, my liege!" Cecil saluted proudly. "Now then, Miss Elizabeth—your choice?"
Elizabeth looked around nervously. "...The racist elf, I guess? It's nothing I haven't heard before."
"You've experienced racism?" Atro asked, genuinely shocked.
"Not personally. But hearing and reading what other demi-humans go through never sits right."
"You're from the U.K.T. or the Viavoule kingdom?" Theo asked.
"Tiasbes. I could never live in a desert kingdom."
"Viavoule has humans, demi-humans, and elves living peacefully, right?" Atro asked.
Silva nodded.
"Aurum Academy is also very accepting," I added. In the game's info, even if races have their own kingdoms, people live where they can. Even human kingdoms like Montanev and Raychmen had a small portion of demi-humans and elves living there.
"Yes. I've been lucky here," Elizabeth said softly.
"If you ever face that kind of person, tell us. We'll help," I told her.
"Count on us, Miss Elizabeth!" Cecil flexed in a failed attempt to look reliable.
"I suppose I'll help as well," Fran added, puffing her cheeks. "As long as you don't anger me."
"Thank you... all of you."
We returned to our homework. Atro and Silva were only hanging out with us since they weren't in S class, and Atro seemed relieved not to be buried under Kafka's workload.
He knows he'll return to this extensive quantity of content we have to work with once he climbs back up into the S class. But, I guess he does appreciate the more forgiving schedules of the A class.
As we worked, footsteps approached. I was the last to look up, but Fran's tightened grip and annoyed click of her tongue already gave away who it was.
"Hey hey!" a cheerful, tan, red-haired girl waved.
"Hi, Miss Yani!" Cecil replied with equal energy.
"Yani. Kaida. Congrats on the other night," I said. "Sorry I wasn't there to help you. I would've loved to fight against them"
Yani beamed proudly. Kaida hid behind her.
"Don't worry, Alen! We can't always be relying on you" Yani smiled at me. "Even if some of us would love for that to happen" she whispered to me while grinning and discretely pointing at Kaida.
I only laughed awkwardly at the comment, feeling Fran's killing intent building up next to me.
"You still needed a former S-class student to help you..." Theo muttered, glancing toward Atro, who was happy to see the two girls approach us.
Right. Theo and other high rankig nobles do still disliked Kaida the most because of that incident. But in the original story, he becomes one of her closest allies, so I wasn't worried. I might even be able to trigger that bond early.
"C'mon, Kaida. Tell them."
Kaida flinched but spoke.
"A-as you know... Yani and I are at the top of E class. Our performance earned us a chance to duel the lowest-ranked D class students. If we win... we'll be promoted."
"Isn't that awesome?!" Yani could barely contain herself. "We'll be moving up on the ranks!"
"It's not smart to celebrate early..." Elizabeth murmured, looking away obviously uncomfortable by the situation.
Elizabeth isn't someone who hated Kaida, so I can rest knowing that she won't be aggressive toward the main character of [Dragon's Roar]
"That's the spirit, Miss Yani!" Cecil laughed alongside Yani.
"Stop wasting our times, sinner and her friend! What are you two doing here? Just presuming about your ranks going up?" Fran finally spoke up in a cold and aggressive tone.
It was inevitable that Fran would speak up against Kaida, even when she's holding back a lot because I'm here.
"O-oh, yes! I'm sorry, princess" Even Yani was shaken up by Fran's killing stare.
"Ahem..." After clearing her throat, the red-haired finally continued talking. "We came here for two things. One is to invite you guys to see our duels" Yani explained with a smile while pointing at Cecil, Atro, Silva, and me.
"Thanks for inviting us. I'll definitely go" as Atro said that, Silva nodded along while giving a thumbs up.
"I need to learn more about duels, and yours might be good visual learning" Atro added up.
"Especially since fuels have been boring after those four duels between the A and S class" Cecil commented with the ability to smoothly join any conversation.
"We'll make sure to deliver a nice show!" Yani joked.
"I was gonna go regardless. But, thanks for the invitation" I finally spoke.
Those duels will be the perfect opportunity to see Kaida's true one-on-one fights and asses if she has been falling behind on her training.
"And what else?" Fran asked, her arms crossed and her eyes sharp.
"Huh?" Yani and Kaida quickly asked rapidly.
"I told you two, filth, to not waste our time. You mentioned that one of the reasons you two were here were to invite these peasants, and you even had the face to invite Alen!"
"Oh, sorry, princess" Yani clasped her hands together as an apology while smiling at the white-haired girl.
"The other reason was that we wanted to invite you all to come train with us as we prepare for our duel."
"Not a chance! Now, leave before I kick you out myself"