The Zennardi is composed of eight ships docked to each other. On the port and starboard sides are docked in a line formation with three ships for each side. At the center are two larger ships that served as the nerve center of the fleet. The Center-Stern is where the Academic District is, and also where the Faculty Residence is located, thereby making it the most important part of the fleet.

That's what Kayrus learned from the pamphlet he got his hands on, Living Zennardi Vol 01. Walking with Maximillian and Stefan, he's busy reading from the pamphlet and the rulebook he has.

Currently they're on the Top Deck of the Starboard-Center ship. Named after the fourth daughter of the folk tale The Eight Princesses, Katerina, the Top Deck is where the Business and Residential Area 5 are located. Splitted by a paved road, there are lines upon lines of small shops and houses on each side, all of whom attract crowds of people in the area. Most of them, Kayrus notices, also speak Redoran like him.

Kayrus learned from the pamphlet that besides the Faculty members and Students, there are other passengers that live in Zennardi. Called Resident Passengers, they tend to the various facilities on the fleet, though most maintenance is done by the army of IDs employed onboard. There are some tourists and temporary passengers as well, but almost all of them are people in or connected to the Magus Society, so their numbers are not that large compared to the students and the Resident Passengers.

"So where is the place?" Stefan asks his partner. Both of them have switched their combat uniform for jackets and trousers. To any strangers, they are just a pair of young and handsome men, instead of a Magus and a Gardes, on their way to have lunch.

"Should be...Ah, right there!" The Water Magus points to a shop, a restaurant or a cafe, the sign hanging above the door says the name of the establishment as The Instar's.

"Welcome, how many are in your party?" Greets a cheerful-looking young waitress. The place is almost full, from the looks of it.

"Ah, someone is already waiting for us." answer Maximillian.

"May I know their name?"

"Emma Slayne."

"Ah, right this way then sir."

The waitress then led them to a four-seat table inside the shop where someone was already sitting in one of the chairs.

She is older than Kayrus, but definitely younger than Charleone. Her brown hair is slightly darker than her skin tone. And she is currently wearing what can only be described as a sports outfit.

"Ah, Max! Stefan! There you are! I've been waiting for you!" The young woman's greetings exude nothing but an aura of positivity and aggressive cheerfulness. "You have a nice flight?"

"Slept through all of it." Stefan is the first to sit down, followed by the rest of the group, with Kayrus sitting beside Maximillian.

"Now, now, don't be that negative. I'm sure it's a nice flight. Ah, yes, the menu please."

“I’ll have the egg and chicken sausages set.” said Stefan after glancing through the menu.

“Ah, I’ll have the same please.” said Maximillian. “What about you Kayrus?”

“Ah, I’ll have…..” Kayrus is still deciding his choice, though he is considering it based on its price tag rather than what the food actually is.

“Don’t worry about the money, it’s her treat.” whisper Maximillian who realized the reason for his indecisiveness.

“Oh, then I’ll have the burger set please, thank you.”

“The beef steak set for me,” said the woman who pays.

The waitress left with the menu books and their order. Kayrus, however, can’t help but notice that she is staring at him when she leaves.

“So, you’re the boy huh?” the woman said, interrupting his train of thought. “I’m Charleone’s deputy, Emma Slayne. Nice to finally meet you, Kayrus.”

“Likewise…”

“I see that your uniform fits you perfectly.” comments the woman. “My guess was correct then. Cherish it, you’re going to stick with it for the next four years.”

Four years, thought Kayrus, so that’s how long he’s going to be enrolled here.

“You’re his deputy, so are you a Fire Magus like him as well?”

“A Gao? Who, me? Nah, I’m a He’at Magus, a Wind Magus.”

“A Wind Magus? But, isn’t it strange that the Deputy of an Archmagus of Fire is from a different Collegiate? That’s allowed?”

“Yes, it is strange. But so is Charleone.” Emma smiles.

“Do you know how the Archmagus became an Archmagus, and the youngest one in history at that?” asked Maximillian to the former thief.

“Yeah. He fought in and ended the Orikka War, especially at the Battle of Merino where he defeated an entire squadron of ACDs all alone. Everybody knows about him, it’s all over the papers. Even I knew that.”

“Right. Now this idiot here-”

“Hey!”

“Sorry, this lady here-”

“You’re picking a fight with me now?”

“-is the one responsible for the Battle of Merino to even happen, and be won, in the first place. Along with the rest of the war.”

“Wait, really!? How??”

“She made all the ridiculous battle plans that our Archmagus followed. She’s a genius on that front.” answered Stefan.

Kayrus gave a silent stare of awe towards her. Her laid-back appearance betrays that reputation as a battle strategist, much less a so-called genius one at that.

“Well, she might be smart at fighting and war, but she’s incredibly useless at anything else.”

“Ha, ha, very funny Max…” the genius in question gave him a snarky laugh.

“So they made you the deputy for that?”

“Not exactly, it was Charleone’s idea, and insistence. And the Magus Collegia obviously rejected that, for the obvious reason. But because of his popularity, among other things, they finally relented in the end. They did promote me as a Magus Princeps though.”

“That’s, actually…incredible.”

“Yeah, that’s our boss,” said Maximillian. “No matter the obstacle or opposition, in the end he always gets what he wants. No matter how small or large, he always gets it.”

“And sometimes even more.” comments his partner.

“That’s the truth right there.” the deputy added.

Kayrus is left taken aback listening to their conversation. He begins to think Charleone is a man one shouldn't try to mess with. He wondered though, even if he didn't try to rob him, that man would probably still manage to rope him in this strange scheme of subterfuge. That very thought sent a shiver down his spine.

"Here you go, sorry for the wait." The waitress returned with trays of food the group ordered, all fresh and hot.

As the food is distributed according to the people who ordered it, Kayrus notices again that the waitress keeps trying to steal a look from him.

"I'm sorry, but is there anything I can help you with?" Ask Kayrus when the girl is done with the plates.

"W-What do you mean?" Blush starts to form on her cheeks.

"No, it's just that I can't help but notice you kept looking at me."

"O-Oh, that…" the girl tries to cover her face with a tray on her hand. "I-Is just that your uniform."

"Yeah?"

"Are you a student as well?"

"Yeah, I-Wait, as well?" Kayrus' eyes widened. "Are you..also a student?"

“Yes!” she cheerfully smiles. “Are you also a new student?”

“Yeah.”

“Ah! I knew it! What a coincidence!” She held out her hand. “My name’s Michelle Instar, nice to meet you.”

“Kayrus, Kayrus Neumann. Likewise, nice to meet you.” he shakes her hand.

“So, what Collegiate are you in then? I’m a Faun student, which one are you?”

Kayrus is unable to answer that, for he himself didn’t know the answer. Just like all Magus in the Magus Collegia, all Hatchling or students like him are going to be enrolled in different Collegiate depending on their Elemental Affinity. But Kayrus didn’t know which one he has, for he was never a part of the Magus Society to begin with.

“Ah, he’s still waiting for his Elemental Trial.” interrupt Maximillian, saving the young man. “He hadn’t had the time for it, there was some administrational mishap.”

“Oh, I see…” the other new student seemed to buy it. “Well, whichever Collegiate you belong to, it’s nice to meet you. I hope we can meet again.”

“Likewise…”

“Well, I got to go now, enjoy your food.” she left again after giving him another cheerful smile.

“So, about that…” said Kayrus looking at the three others.

“Your Collegiate?” replies Emma. “Don’t worry about that, Charleone is handling it. You should have it in a few hours from now.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, don’t be that nervous about it. It's not that much of a big deal.”

“Well, at least from what I read it should be a big deal. I mean, isn’t a Collegiate binds you for life? I don’t know how I’m going to get used to that, especially if the result is not something I expected. You know that I’m totally clueless about all of this until a few hours ago.”

“Don’t worry about that.” said Max before he picks up a fork to start eating his egg. “Elemental Affinity is part of your life, it has been ever since you’re born and grew up. Finding out which Affinity you have is like finding your true self. You’d be surprised how much you’re going to fit with your Collegiate once you join it. At least that’s how it is in my experience.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“Worry about it later, let’s start eating before the food gets cold.” the ever-stern Stefan lectured him.

The two older people also followed suit and started enjoying their own meal. Realizing the wisdom of his words, Kayrus too began to take a bit out of his chicken sandwich. It’s better than he expected, much better in fact. But then again, he rarely eats out at nice places like this. So for now, he decided to just finish his meal, and enjoy every second of this brief respite as much as he can.

*****

When the group returns to the residence, the Archmagus is nowhere to be seen. He hasn’t returned from the meetings he has, it seems. Both Maximillian and Stefan retreat to the room they share together, while Kayrus decides to rest in the living room. He still has some books to read.

“Studying hard huh?” asks Emma, a tall glass of iced tea in his left hand. “Charleone made you do that?”

“Who else?”

Emma grinned, and sat down on a chair opposite of Kayrus’.

“You know, ever since a few months ago he said he wanted to make you a student, I always wondered what kind of person you’re going to be. I mean, picking a thief as a Magus student is not exactly what a normal person would think of.”

“Really?” Kayrus put down the book he’s reading. “So what’s your first impression of me then? Do you still see the thief?”

The woman shakes her head.

“Not exactly. You’re more like a good kid to me than a master thief.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“That’s because it is…” she took a gulp of the tea in her hand. “Tell me, has the man told you anything about the significance of making you a student?”

An expression of surprise and curiosity is formed on Kayrus’ face. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, so Charleone hasn't told you anything at all?”

“No, as far as I can remember, no.”

“Okay then…” Emma puts down her glass. “You know that man is an Archmagus right? You see, when someone is appointed as an Archmagus, they-”

“I’m back!” shouted a very familiar voice.

“Ah, speak of the Devil.”

Stepping into the living room is none other than Charleone himself. He has traded his jacket and sunglasses for his official uniform, a white robe with red motifs , patterns, and decorations of the same design as the red flag in front of the house.

“Oh, Emma, there you are. I see that you’ve met the Shadow Rat.” he grinned, teasing the former thief.

“Charleone, how’s the meeting?”

“So and so. You know what kind of man the Principal is.” he said as he walked over to the kitchen.

“And Irinna? How’s she?”

“Haven’t met her yet, but planning to.” he came back with a brown glass bottle of cold beer.

“So why are you here then? You know it’s bad to keep her waiting, right?”

“I know, I know.” he took a sip from the bottle. “But I still have a business. With you.” The blonde man’s finger is pointing at Kayrus.

“What is it this time?” ask the young man, sighing.

“Your Trial, kid. It’s time to see which Element you belong to…”