Somewhere near the center of the great gray city, a manarail was speeding, taking its passengers to their daily lives.
One such passenger was a young man with sharp features, blond hair, and blue eyes.
Surrounded by the buzz of the crowd and enduring the occasional shaking of the cabin, he calmly observed the enrollment letter in his hands.
Ailanthus Academy of Magic. This is the most suitable place after all. It has enough prestige, and it's far enough from the city center.
He leaned into the seat, looking around the metal cabin and listening to the hum of magic that brought it forward along the track.
Certainly far enough to use the manarail to get there.
It was a first time for him to use such novel method of transport. The people around his parts still preferred using the carriage, utterly refusing to share their ride with someone else.
So with this opportunity he decided to experience this relatively new technology himself. His face was completely calm, but his eyes subtly wandered around, taking in the sights.
Soon a few passengers nearby began talking openly, their voices particularly loud.
"You really think knights are on our side? Those arrogant dogs of the Emperor?"
"How dare you!? The knights are our greatest mages! They are our guardians!"
"Why shouldn't I dare!? Ever since Nostro retired, they've become worse and worse! Corruption runs rampant!"
"Have you finally gone senile, old man!? Your Nostro is the corruption! Everyone knows how eagerly he lines his pockets with money nowadays. Wake up and face the present!"
Noisy.
The young man frowned, trying to ignore the obnoxious argument nearby lest it sours his experience.
Because of him, knights no longer carry the same peerless reputation… Doesn't matter. I'll become one, I'll fix it. Just need five years in the academy first.
To distract himself, he turned to look at the window behind him. As they left the city center, the buildings around lost their height or elaborate decorations, transforming into identical grey boxes that countless people called homes.
It seems this part of the city looked particularly bleak.
Looks worse than it really is... I hope.
At leas the Tower was still visible from here, looming over the whole city and disappearing into the clouds above. This ever present landmark brought a much needed sense of familiarity.
As he absentmindedly absorbed the sights, a horrible screeching noise deafened his ears, making him flinch. The manarail slowly stopped, the vague blue lights lining it growing dim.
All the talking and arguments nearby ceased. The people around him wore nervous faces but didn't budge from their seats, instead patiently waiting for something.
Seeing this, he relaxed as well.
Is this normal?
Soon a muffled, barely recognizable voice rang out from a metal cone in the corner of the cabin.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for the delay. For your safety, please remain seated while we switch to a backup manavein. Thank you for your patience."
As the message played a few times and ceased, the people around him soon erupted into heated conversations.
"I can't be late today! What awful luck!"
"It must be Lapis again… Why must they be such a nuisance!"
"The knights are usually so arrogant. How come they haven't caught these madmen yet?"
"You want to start it again?!"
An emergency stop...
The young man sighed with frustration and leaned back in his seat.
"You are going to be late for the Ailanthus Convocation now. That's very unfortunate," a voice suddenly called out from the side. It had a melodic quality to it that seemed to reach his very heart.
"...!"
But it was strange.
Was someone sitting there? I didn't notice-
As he turned his head with some confusion, he immediately froze.
There sat a young woman in a business suit, sweetly smiling at him. She had black hair, contrasting nicely with her pale skin, and striking red eyes, rare even in today's magic-dominated world.
In his mind the slight wariness of not noticing her before was immediately replaced by simple admiration.
She was beautiful, almost to a ridiculous extent. He always thought those people losing their ability to speak at the sight of women were all simple-minded fools or liars, but now he was one as well, it seemed.
Even those noble ladies don't hold a candle to her.
Is her eye color altered? It can't be natural…
"Not bad, right?" The woman brushed her hair with a satisfied look, clearly enjoying his reaction.
Her voice finally broke him out of his shock, and he quickly spilled out the first thing that appeared in his mind.
"How did you know I am going to Ailanthus?" Was she a stalker?
"Isn't it obvious?" the woman replied, not elaborating any further.
As confusion filled him, he suddenly remembered that he was still holding the enrollment letter in his hands.
She must have simply read the information on it.
While feeling slight shame for asking a silly question like that, he finally put away the letter in his pocket.
What is wrong with me? I have never felt this way before.
He took a light breath and closed his eyes, regaining his calm.
Is this how love feels? There is this almost tangible connection between me and her.
No, this must be... something different. I am not someone who falls in love at first sight. That's ridiculous.
Now in a much more stable state, he reopened his eyes and looked at the mysterious woman nearby. Though it took some effort for him to continue to stay calm.
She looks exactly like my type. I didn't even know I had a type.
The woman's smile widened just a little bit more, her red eyes completely filling his vision.
"What's your name?" he asked the next question on his mind, which some would argue was the most important one.
"Hmm..." The woman's expression turned contemplative, even unsure.
"What do you want to call me?"
Is this her trying to be humorous? Well, no one is perfect…
"...With your name."
"Alright, then." The woman tapped her chin in thought until a flash of inspiration lit up her face.
"Call me Rhamn!"
He nodded, remembering this name in his heart.
It sounds good.
"My name is Cyril," he said, finally introducing himself.
"I know, Cyril. It's a good name."
A sweet smile returned to her face, as if saying his name was something joyful.
She knows?
Right, she saw the enrollment letter.
He subtly frowned.
…Did she see the full name?
He closely observed her face with a piercing gaze.
Immediately understanding his reaction, the mysterious woman brought a finger to her lips, shushing.
"I will never tell anyone~" Her red lips slowly whispered.
"…Thank you."
Cyril moved his eyes away from her as if escaping.
Not like I need to hide it.
Taking a break from her hard-to-endure gaze, he looked around the cabin.
Suddenly a person sitting across grabbed his attention. It was a middle-aged man staring at him with a certain concerned look.
"Is there something wrong?" Cyril said to him with a frown.
I am not some zoo animal.
"No, no. Don't mind me, please." The man hastily replied with some fear and turned his head to the side, looking at the scenery of countless grey buildings visible from the window.
What's wrong with him...? Is there something on me?
Cyril briefly looked over his clothes, but nothing seemed off to him.
"Disregard that nobody. He must be jealous of your dashing looks!" Rhamn exclaimed, giving a thumbs-up. She didn't even pretend to lower her voice.
"...?"
Cyril stiffened, taking note of the reaction of the people around him. Nobody seemed to react to her words, though the people closer had tense faces, similarly refusing to look in this direction.
It's fine.
He shook his head and finally turned back to look at Rhamn.
"Thank you for your compliment, but did you have to say it like that?"
She is an arrogant one.
"I am just stating the truth. It's not my fault if they can't handle it~"
"...If you say so." Cyril blankly stared at her, unaccustomed to her manner of speech.
Even at those evening parties, it was rare to meet a noble who spoke like her.
I don't dislike this, I suppose...
He was strangely captivated by her actions and words. He felt she could fall face first directly into the mud, and he would still find it endearing somehow.
By his side, Rhamn's charming smile twitched for a moment, before quickly recovering.
...
Eventually the manarail started again. The vague blue lights of the cabin returning as it began moving forward.
Cyril breathed a sigh of relief at the sight, then turned towards Rhamn. They were talking for some time now, but only now a certain question emerged in his mind.
"Where are you going?"
Maybe we are going to be not too far from each other?
It was a wishful thinking given the sheer size of the city, but fate was like that sometimes.
"I'm going to Ailanthus as well, of course!" That was indeed not too far.
"...Really?"
She nodded. "Yes."
Such a coincidence.
Something was quite off with her. The feeling nagged at the corner of his mind, but he ignored it under her bright red eyes.
Instead another question quickly struck him.
She is wearing a business suit to the entrance ceremony?
It is one thing to dress for the occasion, but they were supposed to wear their uniforms today.
With a questioning gaze, he looked her up and down.
"Do you not like it? I think it's stylish." Rhamn twisted her body, letting Cyril take a better view.
It wasn't obvious at first, but she had quite the figure.
"...It looks good."
He moved his eyes away. Indeed, the rest wasn't too important. They'll figure it out on the spot.
"Then it's fine," Rhamn replied with a proud smile.
Suddenly, through the metal cone in the corner of the cabin, a heavily distorted voice announced the name of the station near Ailanthus.
"It's our stop," Cyril said, preparing to get up.
Even though they didn't have to sit in a carriage to reach their destination, Ailanthus was quite far from the city center, where the Tower proudly stood.
Coupled with the emergency stop along the way, it was already getting dark outside.
We are definitely late.
In a few moments the manarail gradually came to a stop, and the metal doors of the cabin opened on their own.
Cyril and Rhamn, along with a few other passengers, got up.
After getting out from the cabin, Cyril was greeted with the sights of the academy. The most prominent piece was the ancient-looking castle raised high into the sky. Despite its distance from the center, this place still looked luxurious, grand and absolutely massive.
"...Not everywhere in the Empire can you see something like this," Cyril mumbled. He then turned to look at his new companion, about to ask something.
His face grew shocked immediately. Not because of her beauty again, during this time he thankfully managed to get used to it.
Another student happened to pass right in the place Rhamn was standing.
And instead of asking her to move or pushing her to the side as some third-rate villain, the student simply walked right through.
Without even noticing her or hitting her in the process, the student passed straight through the red-eyed girl as if she weren't even there.
Then he briefly nodded in confusion to Cyril and sped up, in a hurry to reach the castle.
"What was that?"
"What was what?"
After a delay, her red eyes lit up with realization.
"Oh, how did that weak-looking student pass through me?"
"…I don't know." She innocently shrugged.
Now the feeling that nagged at him couldn't be ignored anymore.
Remembering the weird looks he was getting on the manarail, Cyril reached out his hand in an attempt to touch Rhamn's shoulder.
As he feared, his hand didn't feel the warmth of flesh but passed straight through as if she were empty air.
"Yeah, we can't touch each other. That's a shame," Rhamn replied without acting any different.
Only I can see her?
Cyril stood there, frozen on the spot.
"Isn't this quite normal?" Rhamn tilted her head, staring at him in confusion.
I must be losing my mind...