Chapter 9: Academy Orientation (3)

"What?" asked Oliver, confused by the sudden off-hand comment.

[How did he...]

"Based off the way you looked around the room, I'd say that's most likely where you came from. You didn't seem disappointed by the lack of space or furniture, so it was either that or the farming district. But you lack the accent, so I'd say you came from the shanty districts. Which also explains the hostile ambiance about you," inferred Dara.

Cehedia simply stared at the boy in confusion. Was it common for people in the other districts to decipher things about people they just met?

"Well? Am I right?" asked Dara, turning to look at Cehedia expectantly.

"Y-yeah..."

"Neat, isn't it? Mr prodigy over there is planning on becoming a detective specialist once he graduates. Me? Yours truly is going to be one of the next generals and end this whole war. Back in elementary school I finished a close second to him, so I guess you could call me prodigy as well," smiled Oliver.

"You were second for lack of actual competition, and even then I wonder how you managed with such limited intelligence," retorted Dara before going back to his book.

[Ehh? The blonde looks tasty, what was his name again? Dara? Yes, yes, let's eat Dara.]

"I'm guessing you t-two are f-friends then," said Cehedia, trying to create small talk.

"Yea-"

"Hardly," interrupted Dara, before staring at Cehedia.

"Your stutter will be annoying, and will probably be cause for some sort of bullying. Refrain from speaking to me outside of the room if that's the way you communicate. I'd like to make as many connections as possible, and though the reality of it is cruel, being around someone with unsteady speech will hamper that process."

"R-Right," replied Cehedia, the words that the voice in his head spoke becoming more and more appealing by the second.

"Don't mind him. I've placed your school ID and extra sets of uniforms on your bed. Oh, and since you missed out on the explanation, you need to infuse arca into your ID for it to work. If you can't then your blood will have to do," said Oliver. 

Cehedia's bunk bed seemed to be the lowest one -as he had spotted a student card with his name on top of the sheets. He picked up the ID and inspected it, it seemed like a simple piece of plastic or metal, it was sort of hard to tell due to its ambiguous texture and hard frame. It had his name and picture on the front but apart from that, there was nothing else, just a blue card.

"Hmm," with a bit of effort Cehedia called to mind his blade, but instead of it forming, all the arca had been drawn into the ID, somewhat bringing it to life. 

"Cool! I didn't know they taught you how to use arca in the shanty districts," exclaimed Oliver. 

"They don't," replied Dara.

"He must've taught himself," he continued.

"Are you a prodigy too? Perhaps they placed all the prodigies in the same room, these guys are pretty smart," said Oliver, attempting his best impression of Dara.

"Idiot," shouted Dara, tossing his book at Oliver.

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[Yeah, must be friends,] thought Cehedia as he watched the two of them bicker. He wondered to himself how people like this had gone through the horrors of fighting through the entrance exam without being traumatized. He could understand how he himself came out unscathed, well as unscathed as his already fractured mind could be -what with the voices and the jobs he had to take before coming here. He doubted that people in the other districts were ever forced into such a reality, in fact, he was one of the unlucky few cases within the shanty districts, so it was highly unlikely.

Cehedia slumped on his bed, shoving his uniforms to the side. Oliver and Dara stopped quarreling after a while, and Dara went back to his book. It felt good to be around people, it made the voice speak less, it made him feel saner. And for once he was clean, perhaps joining the military academy was the best thing he had ever done for himself. 

"So... I heard that there are no separations between girls and boys in the academy. For all we know, the next room could be filled with them," commented Oliver somewhat off-handedly. Dara went still for a moment, before paging through his book, not rebutting the comment.

"Now tell me you guys aren't the least bit interested in seeing some... boobies," continued Oliver with a loud gulp.

"Why would we? Aren't they just hunks of flesh?" asked Cehedia, truly baffled by Oliver's interest in seeing them. His job didn't discriminate, female corpses had been placed in front of him multiple times, and to him, breasts were just another chunk of flesh he had to chop up.

"Eh?! Hunk of flesh?! Ahh, I see. You poor thing, this must be the lie you tell yourself every night because you've never been around a woman. Don't worry, if you hang with me, that will soon change," said Oliver proudly, actually convinced that Cehedia was some sort of incel.

"I don't think-" Cehedia tried protesting, however, Oliver was already mumbling stuff to himself and giggling. Cehedia very much doubted that Oliver himself had ever had any female interaction.

*Meow*

"Ah there you are," commented Cehedia.

A black cat stood on the floor, staring up at Cehedia with its deep black eyes. Its long black tail swayed from side to side as it pawed at the edge of the bed, asking Cehedia to pick it up.

Dara turned to look back and watched as Cehedia picked the cat up before letting out a dismissive sound and going back to his book. A few hours passed in silence, Oliver had fallen asleep, and Dara was still reading his book. Cehedia was petting the cat as it lay on his chest when a crackling sound startled him.

{Dinner will now be served} announced a voice over the intercoms, before ending with yet another crackling sound.

"Finally, I'm starving," said Oliver groggily before quickly jumping off the bunk bed.

"Are you guys coming or what?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes.

Cehedia wasn't used to the concept of having 'dinner', so it took him a few minutes to process. By the time he came back to his senses the cat had disappeared from his chest.

"Y-yeah."

The three of them walked through the hallways, and up a flight of stairs. The corridors were packed with other students heading to the dining hall as well. 

"See, I told you," whispered Oliver as they passed by a group of girls. Suddenly, Cehedia felt his blood racing, he caught a glimpse of a girl with disheveled hair walking alone through the corridor.

"That's your type?" asked Oliver, somewhat disappointed. However, that wasn't it.

[It's her, that's the girl... ugh, I can't remember why... but... she's important,] thought Cehedia, trying hard to recall the events of the entrance exam where he had seen her.

 

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