Chapter 1: Chapter 1

If a lively crowd filled with smiles was a picture of peace, then this city is the perfect artistic representation. 

 

Passing through the streets in a carriage, you would be hard-pressed to see a single person struggling in any way. A woman can be seen walking with her husband and children into the marketplace. 

 

“I know this scenery is quite different from what you’re used to, however, I hope that you will be able to get accustomed to things here.” The woman who is sitting across from me spoke up. 

 

“People in this neighborhood seem to live very good lives.” I replied. The place where I was accustomed was nothing like this. I came from a small village off quite far to the countryside, so coming into the city for the first time is an experience that I haven’t exactly formed words for just yet. This place is quite different. The people here have far more lavish clothes than in the countryside, that’s for sure. Though, I suppose that’s just part of the prestige of being richer than those in the countryside.

 

“You must feel quite nervous coming here, since you’ve been living in a mostly isolated area.” the woman across from me spoke, then placed a hand over her chest, “Though, please ask me if you have any questions.”

 

Questions. I have so many. Though, none of the ones that I have right now have anything to do with the street around me. 

 

Oh right, I feel like some kind of introduction should be in order. The woman in front of me, Agnes von Waldenburge, works for something they call the Ministry of Magical Research. Apparently, I was invited to a prestigious magical school a few days ago when I talked to a scout who told me I had the potential to be a mage. I was already somewhat versed in magic, thanks to my caretaker who is akin to being a mother, and I already considered myself a mage.

 

Thinking back on it, I believe that she felt a bit hesitant in letting me go. However, she ultimately let me go after a bit of thinking, saying that I could learn more from going with these people than if I were to stay with her. 

 

“Umm…Where are we headed exactly? You told me that I would be attending some kind of school…?” I asked.

 

“Ah, right. You’re heading to The Arcadian Institution of Magic to apply there. You’ll be staying at the student’s dorms after you apply. Though, for short you can just call it The Institution Of Magic, it is a part of The Royal Academy Of Arcadia.” She explained. 

 

After she was done with explaining, I nodded, trying my best to process the information I was given. 

 

“Do all scouts go to remote places to look for people?” I asked.

 

“Well, not always. We usually offer scholarships to small towns or just wait for people to apply. This is a rare occasion, though not unheard of. Since there are records of people out in the middle of nowhere having incredible potential for things.” She explained. 

 

Along the way, I had many questions regarding my situation. It seems that, while I stay and study here, I will be funded by one of the Lords. From the sounds of it, there are pretty troublesome relations here, which I have no plans to be involved with, if I can help it, since I can barely process most of the things that she is saying. 

 

“Oh by the way, once you apply, you are still required to take some special examinations.” She explained further.

 

“Huh? Examinations?” I said in a worried tone, to which she replied with a smile. 

 

“Oh don’t worry, I believe you can pass it easily. Since Mister Walter said that you are very promising after all.” she reassures me, or tries to anyway. Though, I couldn’t help but feel like I wouldn’t be able to live up to everyone’s expectations. Thinking about it makes my stomach feel like it’ll churn. 

 

She places a hand on my shoulder. “Come on now, you should feel a little bit more confident with yourself since you did answer a bunch of difficult questions from Mister Walter, right?”

 

I nodded my head, albeit it didn’t help with this nervousness that I felt churning inside me. If anything, it made me feel even more nervous since there might be even more expectations because I answered those questions. 

 

The feeling didn’t subside, but I had to keep it in. 

 

Eventually, we arrived at the place which she calls The Royal Academy Of Arcadia. We both got off the carriage for now as we walked to the building that is the registry area for The Institution Of Magic where I’ll be studying at.

 

Walking there, I noticed a large statue of a man in robes, on his head was a golden crown and decorated all over him were many words. It seems pretty old, but I can make out a few words that seem to be near one another. It went along the lines of "By my power, Declared king, Gods."

 

"Hey! Come on, let's get you signed up." Agnes called out to me.

 

"R— right." I said, hurrying over to her side. "Sorry, the statue got my attention." I apologized to her promptly.

 

"Oh, right. While we're here, I guess it doesn't hurt to introduce you to this academy's and this country's founder. This is King Solomon Ars Arcadia, the man who created The Foundation Of Magic itself." She said, a hand gestured towards the statue with theatricality, her eyes gleaming with admiration.

 

Hearing this, I couldn't help but blink a few times, at the realization of what was just said to me.

 

"I– I see…" I wasn't sure what else to say, since she seems to be rather enamored with this statue. 

 

“You have probably heard of this story before! The legendary King Of Magic which banished those Tyrannical Gods from this world of ours and gave all races a future is none other than our esteemed King! Of course, he is believed to have passed away a very long time ago, but worshiping his greatness is just the right thing to do right!?” She said, all the while, letting out all her admiration for this king.

 

I have heard of this legend, yes, though I had not thought much of it aside from it being a story that the priest in the church has told me. However, it seems that the King Of Magic is quite a prominent figure. From what I understand, the Teachings Of The King Of Magic is quite popular in this nation. Every sunday, I hear the priest and a few others from my village sing praises of his achievements. 

 

Though, even they weren’t as enthusiastic as the person in front of me. “U- umm…Are you perhaps also a part of a church here?” I asked with a timid tone, since her enthusiasm is so over the top. 

 

“Ah, no, I am just an admirer of very talented people.” She replied, holding that smile that she had on her face while doing so. “Ah, I’m sorry, I must’ve scared you a bit with my grandiose enthusiasm. Anyways, let's head into the registry area.”

 

“R— Right…” I said, following behind her into the building.

 

There seems to be a line of people walking towards the registry which has a robed man sitting at a table where there are piles of parchment as well as what seems to be a large glass ball sitting on some kind of pedestal. 

 

“This is the registry. I’ll be helping you sign up.” As she said that, she pulls out what seems to be a piece of parchment which is around the size of the ones on the table. “First off, we’ll need you to fill this in.”

 

“O– Okay.” I said. Though, I didn’t know why she would only bring this up now. However, I didn’t press for answers since the paper and quill was pushed towards me. 

 

With a sigh, I did as instructed and filled in what was required of me.

While the line of students hand in their application to the registrar, two people stand to the side observing the process. After giving the registrar their application, the applicants place their hand onto the large glass ball, which upon touching it the ball glows with different colors depending on the person.

 

"There sure are a lot of applicants this year, huh?" Said the man clad in armor that's leaning against the wall. 

 

"This is mostly Head Master Myrddin's idea, since he thought that more students would be beneficial for the Kingdom's resources." Said the man in blue robes.

 

Both of these men seemingly have similar features, however they are noticeably different. They both have blonde hair, broad shoulders and blue eyes. The one thing that is different is their age, the man in blue robes is like a younger image of the man clad in full plate armor. The armored man’s cape just stops short of the floor.

 

"That being said, may I ask what one of the Royal Generals is doing in the Institution Of Magic?" The man in blue robes spoke to the general, his gaze turned to look at him briefly.

 

"Oh come now, brother! You ought to be more welcoming to me, Sir Gaheris. Besides, it's not like I'm getting in the way of anything." He said to the man in blue robes.

 

"You're dodging the question, Sir Gawain." 

 

Each of them throws one another a friendly jab in their conversation. 

 

"Okay okay, no need for hostility, sheesh." Sir Gawain said, giving Sir Gaheris a smile. "I only came here to see the applicants over at the mages side of the academy, mostly because Sir Kay said that I needn't trouble myself over there."

 

Hearing this, Sir Gaheris couldn't help but to let out a sigh. "Haaaa….Well, as you can see, aside from the numbers there doesn't seem to be anyone quite special yet."

 

"Hmm…I wonder…Since most of these applicants seemingly only have one elemental affinity so far, I wonder if we'll get to see anyone with doubles or triples." Sir Gawain said.

 

"Surely, you jest. This is the general application, where the commoners are. Those of nobility don't show up until later." Gaheris replied bluntly.

 

"Well, I hear that the scouts have brought in some promising ones. Maybe some of them are in this group, you wouldn't know." Sir Gawain said.

 

"I will know when I see them." Sir Gaheris bluntly declared to his brother in hope of shutting down his fun. 

 

It was during their conversation that Sir Gaheris seemed to have noticed a boy with particularly white hair stepped forward with a woman that seemed to be from the ministry and made everyone in the room gasp in shock.

My name is Uriel. Uriel Lux. Truthfully, I was not born with a surname. The name which I wrote in this application is the surname of my caretaker, who was as close to family as realistically possible, since I was born an orphan. It was after I recently turned sixteen that I got scouted by a man named Walter.

 

I was merely going about my day, practicing magic when he showed up. Upon a request of seeing me casting a spell, I did as requested and shocked the man to the point that he fell to the ground. Was subduing a large bear with a single spell that outlandish to them?

 

"Next." The registrar called out to the next person in line, which conveniently happened to be me. 

 

"Come on, go forward." Agnes ushered me forward from my side. 

 

After having this sudden pressure on me, I suddenly remembered the churning in my stomach, but I had to walk forward anyway since I have already gone this far. Might as well go the rest of the way and be disappointed after the examination, right?

 

"H– here." I walked forward and presented him with my application. 

 

After a bit of looking over my application, the registrar looked up to me. "Oh, you were scouted, huh? I've never heard of this village before."

 

"Well…We do live quite far away from most people. Though, we do occasionally get merchants coming into the village to trade goods with us." I replied to him truthfully. 

 

"I see. Well, place your hand on this ball and you're free to go for now, Mister Uriel." 

 

Hearing his words, I did as instructed and reached my hand out to the glass ball. I closed my eyes as my hand touched the surface of the smooth glass ball, which is when I felt a tingling sensation at the tip of my finger and the sound of loud gasping from everyone around me.

 

"What?"

 

"No way!"

 

"Amazing!"

 

Those kinds of words started to go around, which made me open my eyes to see what the reason for this commotion is. Upon opening my eyes, I can see the faces of the registrar and Agnes has a shocked expression on their faces. I turned to look at the glass ball which is glowing— No, glowing is not an accurate description of what this is. The ball changed color to a very dark shade of purple.

 

Since I don't know what exactly is wrong, I just took my hand off of the glass ball and turned to look at the registrar and Agnes. "Umm…Is something the matter? Did I do it incorrectly?"

 

It took both of them a few moments before they snapped back to their senses.

 

"Ahh…No, you didn't do anything wrong. It's just uhh…." The registrar paused for a bit, then he quickly went for a stamp with a certain seal to stamp onto my application. "You are free to go. Don't forget to come back for an examination in three weeks." He said as he placed my application to the side with the others.

 

Unsure as to what's going on, I walked to the side with Agnes who was staring at me with a strange expression. 

 

"...Is something the matter…?" I asked.

 

It took her a few seconds to respond, "I— Well, I can see why Mister Walter had high hopes for you. I never thought that I would see someone with an affinity for Void." She replied, stuttering her words as she spoke.

 

Void. My caretaker has mentioned that I was special when I was younger, though I never really let that get to my head, since whatever I did never really seemed all that amazing compared to her. I never got to know what my affinity was until now since we didn't have that kind of device, so in a way I am rather shocked by this revelation.

 

"I– I see…Well…Where are we headed from here? To the dorm?" I asked.

 

"Ah, right. We need to get you registered for the dorms, which should probably take a bit to process, so you can stay with me for now. I am the one who's responsible for you, so it's only fair that I take care of you until your dorm is ready." She replies to me with a smile.

 

“Right, thank you for your hospitality.”

 

Just like that, I have started my first day within the big city where this big academy is located. 

After signing up for the dorms, I was taken to look around the academy which took the entire day, where by the end of it all, I was left completely exhausted. Who knew a school can be so big, and it wasn't even the entire school. Though, that might be just me not used to being in such a place.

 

Eventually, we both went back to Agnes's residence, which is a large building within a district that is somewhat near the Institution of Magic. 

 

I couldn't help but stare at it in awe, since I still could not wrap my head around the fact that I will be staying in such a large place, even if it is temporarily. 

 

"Hey, come on. There's some people that I want to introduce you to." Agnes called out.

 

"C- coming!" After hearing her calling, I quit staring at the large building and headed to Agnes's side. 

 

"Maybe I should take you around town to get to know the area so you can get used to things around here." She said, reaching a hand to the door. 

 

"Oh, um…sorry." 

 

"You don't have to apologize, Uriel. In your case, you haven't been out of your town before." She said, opening the door. 

 

Once the door is opened, I am greeted by a big area which, at least to me anyways, is decorated very lavishly with some servants at each side of the large staircase that leads to the second floor. 

 

"Welcome back, Madam. I hope your trip was pleasant." A man dressed in a black and white suit, much like the other male servants beside him, but much more decorated, spoke to Agnes as he bowed his head to her. 

 

"Ah, Ryner. I see that you're well." Agnes turns to look at him with a smile.

 

"Yes, we have all been well in your absence." He said, turning his gaze towards me with a particular look. "You must be Mister Uriel. Please, call for us if you ever need anything during your stay." Despite the look he gave me earlier, his expression changed to a smiling one in an instant.

 

That reminds me of something called a masked play where actors play while wearing masks that depicts different expressions in terms of human emotions, I believe it was called a Masquerade. My caretaker had told me that there was such a thing, though I personally have never seen one before. 

 

"Right, thank you for your hospitality." I said, bowing my head down to them all.

 

"Ah, come on, there's no need for you to be like that. After all, you're someone who's quite precious to this country now." Agnes said to me with a smile.

 

Although it was said with good intentions, I can't help but feel like some other meaning could be attached to those words. Am I "precious" because I have an affinity for the void element? Or am I "precious" because I have some other factors?

 

"R– right." I replied, not pondering any longer on the thought that I just had. 

 

It was right at that moment that I noticed a figure which was running down the stairs towards Agnes. It was a girl whose flowing golden locks made her look like some kind of golden fairy gliding towards Agnes and wrapped her arms around her as well, while Agnes steps spinning while holding onto the girl that jumped onto her. 

 

"Siiiiiiiiiiisterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!" The girl said, smiling cheerfully as they held onto one another.

 

"Hahahahaha! Angeline, I'm glad to see that you're doing well." Agnes said, smiling happily. 

 

The other servants seem to be smiling at this reunion as well, while I stand where I stood, not entirely sure what to say at this moment. 

 

"How was your trip, sister?" Angeline said to Agnes, though not waiting for an answer, her eyes turned over to look at me.

 

I honestly wasn't sure what she was thinking, though it looked like she was curious.

 

"Sister, who's this boy?" Angeline asked Agnes.

 

"Right." Agnes puts down Angeline, "Let me introduce you. This is Uriel Lux, he will be taking the entrance examination for the Institution Of Magic." She explained. 

 

It was at that moment that Angeline’s distance from me had shrunken. She was rather uncomfortably close as she stared at me so close to my face. 

 

“Your eyes are really pretty.” She said suddenly.

 

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That took me off guard a little as I began to straighten up when she got so close. 

 

Without an explanation, she stepped back and smiled at me. “I’ve never seen anyone’s eyes that’s as dark as yours.”

 

“Huh?” Now that I think about it, my caretaker has always said that people with my eyes were rare or something along that line. The last person that she knew to possess eyes like mine was my late mother. 

 

“Umm…Thank you?” I replied to her with a confused tone.

 

Agnes, who has watched this until now, raises a fist and lightly hits her sister’s head. “Angeline, what did I say about getting too close to people?” 

 

“Ow…” Angeline rubbed her head. 

 

Agnes could only sigh as she saw her sister like this, but she turned to look at me with an apologetic look. “Sorry about that,” she turns to look at Ryner. “Can you please escort Mister Uriel to his room? His belongings should already be there as per requested, yes?”

 

“Of course, Madam.” He said, turning to look at me. “Please follow me.”

 

“Okay.” I said, following behind him as Angeline waved her hand at him as I left.

 

Eventually, I arrived at my room, which was located on the second floor of the building. 

 

“This is your room, Mister Uriel.” He opens the door to let me inside, then hands me a key. “And this is the key to your room.”

 

I accepted the key, then began to walk into the room wherein I noticed that my belongings had indeed arrived here at the foot of the bed. The room itself is rather spacious and very clean, with the orange sunlight from the streets filtering through the window. 

 

“Please, if you were ever in need of anything, ring that bell and a servant will come to tend to your needs.” Ryner explained. "Another thing," He spoke up, this time getting my attention. "Lord Waldenburge invites you to have dinner with the Waldenburge family. I hope you're able to attend." 

 

Despite his wording, it didn't sound like I had much of a choice. 

 

"Would it be alright? I don't have clothes that would be fitting for dining with someone as important as a Lord." Although I don't have any plans, I also don't have clothes that would be as lavish as this family. 

 

"That isn't a problem, Sir. There are clothes prepared for you in the dresser." He said, gesturing to the closet. "They are temporary arrangements before you get measured." He explained further.

 

"Ah, I see…Well, I'll be there then." I said to him, which replies with a nod before closing the door to leave me to my own devices.

 

With three weeks until the examination, it wouldn’t hurt getting to know things around me. Though, with the time that I have right now, I should get ready for dinner. And that is what I will do. 

I quite like baths. Back in the village, while there are public baths there, it’s not like we have any in our personal houses. The rich must have it easy, having their own personal bathrooms. There weren't really that many bath houses in my village either, so in a way, it can be a bit crowded on certain days. Which is why I often frequent the river, waiting for opportune moments for when no one’s around.

 

Of course, although I enjoy this very much, I will have to get out to get dressed.

 

Eventually when it’s time, a knock came from the other side of my door. “Mister Uriel, the dinner is ready. Please come to the dining hall.” A woman’s voice came from behind the door. Must be one of the servants.

 

I have been trying to tie a bow for a long while, but in the end, I failed. I walked over to the door and opened it, seeing that it was indeed a maid standing outside. “Right, I’ll be right there.” I said, just leaving the untied bow hanging around my neck. 

 

The maid seems to take notice of this. “Do you want me to help you with that, Sir?”

 

“A- ah, sure…” I said, letting her tie the bow around my neck. As she is tying the bow, I start to tense up a bit.

 

“There we go.” She said, stepping back. “Now, if you’re ready, please follow me.” 

 

“Right. Please lead the way.” I start following her to the dinning hall, which has a very long table wherein Angeline and Agnes sit to one side. And the man who's sitting at the end of the table, which I assume to be Lord Waldenburge.

 

Standing behind Angeline is the butler from earlier, Ryner, I think his name was. 

 

As the maid gestured to me to go into a seat, I complied. I sit down across from Angeline and Agnes.

 

Now that I look at it more carefully, Angeline and Agnes don't look alike much. While Angeline has blonde hair, Agnes has brunette hair. In comparison, Agnes looks more like the man that sits at the end of the table. 

 

"We welcome you into our home, Mister Uriel." The man at the end of the table spoke, his voice carrying a kind of dignity that one from nobility is expected to possess. "Before we start our meal, I would like to introduce ourselves to you." His gaze looks to me. "I am Baron Brian von Waldenburg. I am going to be the Lord who will be sponsoring you while you study here."

 

A Baron. Someone that is of the lowest rank in nobility. I know that much from his introduction. Yet, I know that he is above me, both in age and status.

 

"I— I am Uriel Lux, it's a pleasure to meet you, Lord." I replied nervously, holding up a hand to my chest and bowing slightly to him.

 

"Hahahaha! There is no need to be so formal, Mister Uriel. You are our guest until your dormitory is ready, please do not feel the need to be so tense." He raised a hand as if to dismiss my introduction.

 

"Y– Yes! I mean, of course, Lord." No matter what I try, I can't exactly help to be a bit panicky. 

 

"Hmm." He gave me a nod, then turned to Agnes. "You have already known her, but that is my Eldest Daughter, Agnes von Waldenburge."

 

Agnes gave me a smile as her name was called out.

 

"And the girl sitting beside her is Angeline Waldenburge." 

 

"Hello again!" She waves to me with a smile as her name is called out. 

 

"Y– yes, hello again." 

 

"Now, with that out of the way, let us eat! We can talk and get to know one another better while we have our meal." The Baron waves his hand, gesturing for Ryner to have the servants bring in their food, which was what Ryner did.

 

We began eating after all of our food was put onto the table, though I took my time watching how everyone else was eating before trying to imitate them, since I don't exactly know the table manners of nobility.

 

"Say, Mister Uriel, I hear that you have the affinity for the rarest element, Void. Is that true?" The Baron said after swallowing his food.

 

"Oh, you don't believe the words of your own daughter, Father?" Agnes spoke up.

 

"It's nothing like that, my dear. I simply wish to hear it from Mister Uriel himself." 

 

"Sure sounds like you doubting my words to me…" Agnes said, seemingly discouraged by the Baron.

 

"Ah– Ah! No, it's nothing like that at all my precious daughter!" The Baron spoke, panicking a bit as he was being teased by his own daughter.

 

"Geee, Father sure is easy to be teased." Angeline said while stifling a chuckle.

 

"Hahaha…" I couldn't help but chuckle a bit, albeit feeling sorry for the Baron as he is put into this situation. 

 

"Ah…Erm, yes. What Miss Agnes told you is true." I decided to save the Baron from her daughter's clutches. 

 

"A– Ah! I see! That is wonderful! That means that you must be quite talented, Mister Uriel!" The Baron said, smiling while also relieved that he was saved.

 

"I'm nothing amazing, really…" I said nervously. I didn't really see myself as anything amazing compared to my caretaker, in all honesty. Though, I do understand the base Element Theory, which is one of the Fundamentals of Magic.

 

"You're quite humble, Mister Uriel." The Baron comments.

 

"Yes, I agree. Though, I've never seen anyone whose color is so intense." Agnes added.

 

"Hm? What do you mean by intense, Sister?" Angeline asked.

 

"Oh, right, I guess it doesn't hurt for you to know about this either." Agnes turns to her sister. "What I mean is, the darker the color tends to mean the denser one's magical energy is within oneself. Added to the fact that he has the Void affinity, he is an incredibly rare case."

 

"I– is it that amazing?"

 

"That's right. Amongst all of the Five Fundamental Elements, void is amongst the rarest."

 

As she said, I began to think back on something, a lesson with my caretaker.

 

Each Element is assigned to a color, which is to generalize the appearance of one's soul. Red for Fire, Blue for Water, Green for Earth, Turquoise for Wind and Purple for Void. 

 

Among these five elements, Void is the rarest of all of them, with mostly those within the Royal Family and a few others possessed. To put in a more simple term, those that are born with the affinity of Void are natural geniuses in Magic. Though, this isn't to say that there aren't anyone with double or triple affinities. 

 

Albeit, not as rare as those with affinity for Void they are still once a blue moon. Most commoners don't naturally have more than one affinity, but it can show up.

 

There are even those extremely rare cases of with all five affinities, those people are called "Gifted Ones Monsters" which are even rarer than those with just affinity to Void.

 

However, knowing this, I really can't help myself from being nervous, but also be a bit in awe of my own caretaker's abilities. Since every time she and I had practice, she would always best me no matter what I did.

After the dinner was over, I headed back to my room. I closed the door behind me, untying the bow around my neck, I stumbled onto my bed as I turned to lie on my back. 

 

"Bwreeh…" I finally allowed myself to let out a burp that I have been holding. Who would have thought that nobility have that much food. Even back in my village, I wasn't starved or anything like that, but we certainly didn't have this much food. 

 

"Mmm…." I roll over to my side, my thoughts wandering to my old home. Ah, this must be what they call homesickness. 

 

But, I won't dwell on it. Since my caretaker, the person that is closest to being my mother, thought that I was ready enough to leave the village. 

 

I picked myself up to light the lantern before heading to the bathroom to clean myself, and dressing myself in different clothes. 

 

It's not exactly that late yet, so it probably wouldn't hurt to get in some practice, right? 

 

That was my thought. I sit down at the foot of my bed with my legs crossed, my hands placed on my laps. I closed my eyes and began to concentrate on the flow of magical energy around me. Breathing in and breathing out, I can feel the magic energy around me begin to spiral into me.

 

This routine is something that my caretaker has advised me to maintain, since this conditions my body to be well prepared for things such as Mana Exhaustion or Magical Burnouts. Those are normally caused by overexerting one’s Mana Veins.

 

My caretaker has told me that magical energy flows outward from people, similarly to a spiral that looks to be spinning outwards, releasing energy continuously. However, with this method, it causes the spiral to spin inwards, thus improving the rate of recovery. 

 

"Mmm…." 

 

Albeit, it is a bit harder to draw in as much energy as back in my village. My caretaker had told me once that our home is built atop of a Mana Stream, which flows across the world providing life to all corners. 

 

I can sense that this place is built atop of one as well, however, it doesn't seem to be of the same quality as the one in my village. Perhaps it has to do with the Pollution of the city. 

 

Pollution happens when a Mana Stream is introduced to a Foreign Energy which is different from the Natural Energy that flows through it. 

 

As an example, the Mana Stream from my village has the attribute of Water, which the source is from the underground river that flows under my village. That stream is used to give fertility to the soil, which in turn, breathes life into plants. That is how we were able to make a living, through planting and selling vegetables to the merchants that pass by from time to time.

 

I don't know the source of the Mana Stream here, but I can tell that it has seen better days. However, the cause of this pollution might be the constant use of Foreign Energy from the city, since a Stream can be very long and be used by multiple people for different purposes. 

 

Eventually, I opened my eyes to see that the dark streets had become bright. I looked at this with a dumbfounded expression, realizing that I have been doing this for the entirety of the night. The lantern that I lit up last night has also gone out. 

 

I suppose I normally don’t notice this, since my caretaker always gets me out of my focus during this routine, but it has the drawback of putting me in a state that’s similar to sleep. 

 

Either way, my joints are all stiff from sitting in the same position for so long, which makes my bones make popping noises when I try to move. I eventually got on my feet, stretching out my body as I rose. 

 

“Urgh…Right, I need to learn how to wake up from that on my own.” I said, cracking my neck as I walked to the bathroom to clean myself again. From what I can tell, the servants haven’t come in or anything yet. 

 

I probably shouldn't go for another round of that routine, since I was expecting to wake up much earlier. Either way, I will need to improve on getting out of my concentration. 

 

While I am getting dressed, a few knocks come from the door, where it caught me in a rather awkward situation. 

 

"Mister Uriel, please wake up. Breakfast is ready downstairs." the voice of a maid comes from the other side of the door.

 

"R– right! I'll be right there." I answered, meanwhile trying to wear the clothes that I brought with me. Compared to the clothes of the people living in this residence, what I'm wearing doesn't even come close. 

 

I eventually made my way down to the dining hall, where I saw a familiar girl with golden hair sitting at the table with another set of dishes across from her.

 

Strange. Is Agnes not here to have breakfast with us? And with that being said, where is the Baron? 

 

Angeline gives me a wave, I simply reply to her with a smile. Then I head to sit across from her. 

 

"Good Morning, Urie!" Angeline said, leaning in on her hands, which holds her head steady.

 

"Uh– Urie?" I said confusingly. 

 

"Yeah, we're around the same age right? Calling you 'Mister' seems a bit weird, don't you think?" She said while smiling, "Or, do you prefer me calling you 'Mister', Urie?"

 

"Uh…um…No, it's alright." 

 

"Then it's decided, you're Urie!" She said, crossing her arms with a proud expression.

 

"I…Alright.” I let out a sigh in resignation. “Um..Where is Miss Agnes and the Baron?”

 

“Oh, Sister and Father had left early. Agnes has to go to the Ministry for something and Father has to go to a meeting.”

 

“I— I see.” I said, beginning to partake the food on the table. “So, what do you have planned today, Miss Angeline?”

 

"Funny you asked," she said, her hand reaching out to me. "You're a key part of my plans today!" 

 

Hearing this, I accidentally choked on my food and started to cough vigorously. I hold my hand to cover my mouth as I do so. 

 

"Uh…um…huh?" I said with a confused tone.

 

"Hehe. What I mean to say is that I'm going to show you around today." She waited for me to calm down before explaining. 

 

"A— Ah, I see…" 

 

I wasn’t sure how I felt about it at the time, but I ended up heading out to town with Angeline after that conversation.

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