“Short speech…” Gaius and Isabelle were twitching uncontrollably, like almost everyone else who were denied the ability to sink into a merciful sleep. The thing about cliché old men running schools were that there were supplementary clichés required, like a tendency for speeches that ran for hours. His arms were numb, his ears were on the verge of shutting down forever, and Gaius was about to lose it.

Nakama, fortunately, had managed to fall asleep. Her little face quivered once in a while, but her breathing pattern was otherwise steady. She had been asleep for an hour, which was basically the entire thing.

“…continue to uphold our dignity and standing as the foremost educational institute in Orb.”

Silence followed as Headmaster Gerhardt stepped down the podium, a book’s worth of papers in his hands. Gaius stared blankly for a few seconds, like everyone else, and then the hall broke into a cacophony of applause and cheers, to which the headmaster waved his hand like a pop star or idol. The storm of applause intensified with every passing second, and the boy had an epiphany about why the headmaster didn’t have any scruples whenever he gave a long speech.

Everyone was encouraging him through applause, although the only reason they clapped was to celebrate the end of his stupidly long speech, which encouraged him to speak for even longer. In turn, that encouraged him to plan an even longer speech…it was a vicious cycle.

“Don’t clap, Isabelle,” said Gaius, stopping her from venting out her true emotions. “We’re just encouraging him. I’m willing to bet two ice-cream tubs that he didn’t speak this long in the past. Want to take me on?”

“N-no thanks,” Isabelle replied. She ruffled Nakama’s hair, running her fingers through it and straightening it out.

He raised a finger and poked Nakama’s squishy cheek. She woke up after a few pokes, rubbing her eyes blearily with a languid smile.

Well, someone sure is comfortable. Gaius poked her cheek again as the teachers revved back up to life. The assembly was over, and the teachers were beginning to take charge of their classes. Like sheep, Class 1-S filed up in rows of two, and Gaius brought up the rear as Isabelle pulled Nakama with her.

It was quite astounding to see the age difference within the students. Nakama wasn’t the youngest one here — there was a boy who hadn’t outgrown his baby-ish looks in the same class. There too was a woman, who Gaius estimated was around twenty, her eyes lost in thought.

And there was Gaius, whose mental age probably was higher than any two here combined.

It was, all things considered, a very vibrant class. But education was a lifelong pursuit, and in Orb, where studying as a mature candidate probably wasn’t an issue so long as you had enough money, many people subscribed to that.

In silence, the class filed out in order. Their teacher, a red-haired, bespectacled woman with a classy cape on her shoulders, led them into a classroom.

“Alright, students. Take your seats.”

Gaius exchanged glances with Isabelle and Nakama, and promptly found seats by the window, moving towards them before the others to grab them. He dumped his bag, which wasn’t heavy at all, to the foot of his table, and then leaned back on his chair, his fingers fluttering lazily.

“Good morning,” said the teacher. “I’m Mrs. Clara, your one and only teacher for this year.”

One and only? Unfortunately, Gaius couldn’t exchange glances with Nakama and Isabelle — they were sitting in a vertical file to occupy three seats beside the windows. Isabelle, who was sitting behind Nakama, was in front of Gaius, her watchful eye on the little girl.

“This class here is, as you might have guessed, a class for anyone who have displayed exemplary scores in any one subject,” she continued. “The top ten percent, in other words. Therefore, the focus of this class will be on more practical things, namely artificing, sigils and formations. You are, however, expected to study the basic subjects as well, on your own.”

Whispers filled the classroom, only to be shut down promptly by a series of ear-piercing raps. “Silence. I understand that some of you were aiming for the special class as it used to provide advanced studies in culture, language or math. But recent events have forced a change in our curriculum for the brightest and the most gifted.”

“And if you don’t like our new curriculum, you have until next week to submit an application to return to the normal classes,” she carried on. “But I believe you students can see where the wind is blowing. And as for why our focus of study is on artificing…”

She produced a small artifact, which Gaius vaguely recognised as something similar to the East’s Display. After operating it for a moment, a screen of light expanded behind her, displaying a cruel scene that he immediately recognised. It was the battle between Nakama and her opponents…or rather, a one-sided beatdown.

The class watched as the little girl used her Palisade, with Stone and Lightning did all the heavy-lifting. Each clip was but a few seconds long, but it was long enough for them to immediately notice that the protagonist of the clip was sitting at the front row, beside the windows.

“That’s her, right?” someone asked.

“Correct. Nakama Lorenze,” said the teacher. “Do you mind…oh. You’re a shy one, aren’t you?”

Mrs. Clara laughed. “Well then, if you want to examine her artefacts, you better learn how to talk like a decent person. I would like to remind you that her sister, a Knight, is also in this class. Do anything funny or stupid at your own expense. But back to the main topic.”

She fiddled with the display again, and this time it was the final battle between Countess Reinford and the teenager in a ripped tuxedo. Well, his clothes weren’t actually ripped yet, but since it was a foregone conclusion, Gaius was referring to him as that already.

“This is Galahad. Like Countess Reinford, he’s from the Western Holdings, but unlike the countess, he specifically applied for Class 1-A, so he’s there now,” Clara said. “This is an example of using artefacts for an overwhelming advantage, so please pay careful attention.”

Gaius swivelled his head to look at the countess’ expression, which didn’t disappoint him, and then turned back to watch the fight.