They stood opposite the vast golden gates, near them was the nobility, often whispering to each other. The nearby trees were in bloom. Akito paid attention to nothing but perhaps the gates.
When the gates opened, Akito, Andy, and Ray entered among the first and walked straight. Everywhere were different buildings, like a small town within a city.
Everyone was in the main hall for now, sticking to their groups or people with shared interests.
A man with black hair, noble grey streaks, and sea-blue eyes stepped onto the stage. He was elegantly dressed in a dark blue suit. The man surveyed them all, smiled, and began to speak.
"Spring is a wonderful time of year when classes begin. The world revives after winter, and harmony arrives. The Drak von Cruser Academy is not just an educational institution for you; we have our own history, beginning 196 years ago when, in the Cruser family estate, their only son, Drak, returned from his studies.
He was a very handsome and intelligent man. When his parents invited guests, Drak often taught them something new.
Thus, Count Algo brought his daughter to Drak for tutoring.
He was impressed by the young man's philosophical conversations and intellectual abilities.
Soon, more and more people wanted to study, and Drak married the Count's daughter. After his parents' death, he began to transform the estate into an educational institution, and that's how our academy came into being. Today, it is one of the most prestigious academies in the country.
Now, about studies and everything else: there are many different buildings here, a couple of dormitories, and cafeterias where you can eat whatever you want. My name is Franz Cremo, and I am the current director of this institution."
The speech continued, and when it concluded, Akito was escorted to his dormitory room.
Usually, to improve relationships among students, three to four people are assigned to a room.
Akito chose a bed; it was lovely and soft. On the bed lay his uniform set: trousers, a shirt with the academy's crest, a cloak, and a winter coat. Akito quickly changed and sat on the bed.
He looked out the large window, which offered a view of the park in the center of the dormitory.
Just then, the door opened, and a young man Akito's age entered the room. He had short, slightly curly red hair, fair skin, and brown eyes. He looked at Akito and opened his mouth.
"Oh, I thought I'd be the only one here for now. My name is Kai, what's yours? Let's skip the formalities and titles; I won't remember them anyway."
"My name is Akito, uhm... How are you?"
Kai took the bed next to Akito and sprawled out on it.
"As you can see, I'm currently lying down, and I'm doing well. How about you?"
"Something similar. Kai, you seem cool. My friend said all aristocrats are two-faced and such, but you seem cool to me."
A smile played on Kai's lips. He adjusted his hair and looked at Akito.
"Well, of course, I'm always cool, what did you think?"
They spent some time talking, and then another young man entered.
He had long bobbed brown hair tied in a ponytail and grey eyes. He looked at them and threw his backpack onto the free bed. Akito got up from his bed and smiled cordially.
"My name is Akito, what's yours?"
The young man eyed him and Kai strangely.
"Scholar de Alcos, and you two look like inexperienced aborigines."
With these words, Scholar picked up a book and left the room. Kai was clearly surprised.
"What's wrong with him?"
"Maybe he's nervous, don't you think, Kai?"
"I was nervous too, of course, but he could have been more welcoming?.."
The boys continued their conversations; they even missed dinner. It was already evening.
"And Ray caught a fish that big!"
Akito waved his hands, clearly exaggerating the size of Ray's catch, but Kai laughed loudly.
"So what happened next? That's really interesting... Wait, do you hear hooting? There shouldn't be owls here."
"Remember how I told you I sometimes ran away from home at night? Well, I often heard owls hooting, so I got used to it."
"Or maybe you brought the owl here? Huh? Come on, tell the truth before I kill you, evil sorcerer."
"Okay, okay, actually, I'm an evil sorcerer and I want to take over this academy!"
They laughed and the door opened, Scholar entered the room. He looked at them with contempt.
"Be quiet, you inexperienced aborigines, I'm going to sleep."
Kai crawled over to Akito and whispered with a slight smile.
"Here's the real evil sorcerer."
Akito chuckled and lay down on his bed, his eyes slowly closing as he drifted into the realm of dreams.
He dreamed of something pleasant. In the morning, there were only two in the room: Akito and Kai. Akito woke Kai, who reluctantly got out of bed and began to pout a little.
"Why did you wake me up? The most important part of the dream was just ending. I almost defeated the evil sorcerer with Shillir's face there..."
"His name is Scholar. Let's go have breakfast."
Kai sighed heavily. They got dressed and went to the cafeteria. There was a lot of different food there. They took all they could, but both avoided some vegetables, such as broccoli and the like.
"Kai, let's go over to those two; they're my friends. I told you about them."
"The blonde one is Andy, and the black-haired one is Ray, did I remember that correctly?"
"I'm honestly surprised you remembered their names."
They approached Andy and Ray. Andy looked lively, and Ray more gloomy.
"How are you?" Akito asked them, approaching and examining their food trays. Andy had a lot of different food, seemingly well-balanced, while Ray mostly had meat and a bowl of soup.
Hearing Akito's voice, Andy rushed towards him.
"Can you believe it, there are several fencing halls! Can you imagine!?"
Kai approached them and smiled in a friendly way. Andy looked at him and smiled back, while Ray grimaced.
"My name is Kai, and I'm Akito's new friend and roommate. And you're Andy? Akito said you're energetic, and I'm interested in fencing too, by the way."
Kai's gaze darted to Ray. Ray looked at him gloomily in return.
"And you must be Ray. Akito described you as more cheerful, but maybe you're just not in the mood. Well, whatever it is, just know that troubles are temporary, and everything will eventually pass."