Orion Academy is huge.
The buildings alone are so spacious that it feels a bit excessive.
After finishing their meeting, Juyun and Rohan head to the classroom together, and the conversation naturally flows.
“Rohan.”
“Yes, Instructor.”
“Have you introduced yourself to the friends you’ll be spending the next two years with?”
“Thanks to Gilbert, a sociable guy sitting next to me, I’ve made some progress.”
The rest will come with time.
Juyun nods at his words and continues with advice filled with experience.
“Make friends you can trust and rely on during your time at the academy.”
“Got it!”
“These are faces you’ll keep seeing even after graduation. The world of combat is smaller than you think.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Though Juyun’s advice might seem like the usual clichés, Rohan doesn’t take it lightly.
Having someone genuinely care about your success and worry for you—
That itself is a joyful and special moment.
“Grades are important, of course. But in this world, there are things more valuable than visible scores…”
Juyun’s advice continues non-stop until they near the classroom.
Rohan feels a lot from this conversation.
Even words that might seem cold at first glance carry the emotions of an instructor and mentor.
“And… if there’s anything else you need to discuss besides part-time work, feel free to come see me anytime.”
Without giving Rohan a chance to respond, Juyun concludes the advice.
Juyun slides the door open and enters the classroom first.
Rohan follows, quickly walking over to sit next to Gilbert and placing his bag down.
“Let’s begin the morning assembly.”
Juyun’s approach is simple.
Check for absentees, confirm the cadets’ physical condition, and relay announcements.
With that, the assembly ends quickly, giving them time to rest.
“Our first session will introduce you to the facilities of Orion Academy. Rest quietly until we begin. Understood?”
“YES!”
After finishing the assembly, Juyun strides out of the classroom.
As the sound of footsteps fades, Gilbert suddenly jumps up from his seat.
“No time to hesitate—!!!”
Rohan, startled, stares at him like, “What’s wrong with this guy?”
Gilbert, who skipped greetings due to the assembly, finally introduces himself.
“Rohan. It’s a strong and powerful morning. I, a person of my caliber, forgot to greet my friend.”
“…Yeah. Your face’s shading looks darker today?”
“Thanks for the best compliment. Well, I’m—”
“I have some busy business to attend to, so I’ll be back.”
Gilbert disappeared outside the classroom, no one knew where he was going.
Along with him, a voice came from behind Rohan’s seat.
“Indeed, Gilbert Carnate. Still showing off his eccentric behavior.”
A male cadet fiddled with his horn-rimmed glasses and muttered.
Next to the glasses, a beastman cadet was taking a short nap during the break.
‘Who is that?’
Rohan asked the name of the cadet with glasses, whom he had never seen in the game.
He announced his name while keeping his hand on the glasses.
“Dick Wikitree. I, Dick Wikitree, already knew the name ‘Rohan.'”
“Dick?”
“Correct. The friend sleeping next to me is the bear beastman Lu Pei. Please be careful not to mistake him for any other beastman.”
The name of the sleeping beastman didn’t even register in Rohan’s ears.
‘How can someone’s name be like that?’
Rohan barely swallowed that remark and asked about the earlier muttering.
“Why Gilbert?”
“Isn’t he famous? I assumed that any cadet who should know already knows, so they didn’t react to his antics.”
“I’m not familiar with that side. Since we have time, tell me more.”
“Not knowing this…”
Dick shook his head as if it was really hopeless and began to explain.
“Gilbert Carnate Controversy and Incident Number 1: Wisp Ingestion Incident.”
Why does this guy talk like this?
Rohan decided to watch the nonsense unfold.
“There’s a hypothesis that wisps, monsters born from high-density magic, have cores. He once swallowed one and almost died. He was saved by emergency treatment from his family, and when asked why he did it, he said he was curious if it would make his magic stronger.”
“…”
“Gilbert Carnate Controversy and Incident Number 2: Chroma Flight School Confession Incident.”
“That flight school in the Sepia Archipelago?”
Dick nodded.
Rohan also knew about that school.
The Sepia Archipelago is a country made up of numerous floating islands. To move from island to island, they use airships or special bridges.
From Rohan’s memory, all the NPCs piloting those airships were graduates of the Chroma Flight School.
“He received a public confession from a woman known as the idol of the flight school. It was a shocking event for many male students.”
“Oh!”
“But he flatly rejected the confession and then, out of nowhere, proposed to a classmate who was watching. After graduating from the flight school, he enrolled in Orion Academy with his fiancée.”
“So, did he go to see his girlfriend now?”
At Rohan’s question, Dick hesitated.
Endlessly serious.
With a serious face, he added a footnote.
“A hypothesis derived from this suggests that Gilbert Carnate possesses a hypnosis app. Personally, I think it’s the most plausible among many hypotheses.”
“Guess he’s from the same flight school as Gilbert, huh?”
When Dick adjusted his glasses and nodded in agreement, Rohan chuckled.
Seems like this guy is also one of the shocked male students.
“Additionally, he’s involved in numerous controversies and incidents. That’s why those who know Gilbert Carnate aren’t easily surprised by his antics.”
“Understood.”
Rohan was thrilled to have found a friend more interesting than he imagined.
“But I heard there’s one person Gilbert Carnate is genuinely afraid of.”
“Who? His parents?”
Rohan could feel it.
This guy’s way of speaking is weird, but overall, he’s quite witty.
The bait he laid out was so thick that he couldn’t help but ask.
“Gilbert is the youngest in the Carnate family. According to the information gathered so far, there’s a rumor that he’s afraid of his older sister.”
“Since we’re here, should we ask the person in question?”
“What?”
Just as Wikitree was about to conclude that it was still a rumor, Gilbert turned around halfway.
Rohan’s gaze followed, and the corner of his mouth lifted.
“Gilbert.”
“What’s up?”
“Dick here has been praising you non-stop until his mouth went dry.”
The sports-haired giant, sitting with his arms crossed, turned his gaze to Wikitree in the back seat.
He extended a hand as big as a pot lid, as if to say hello.
“A new friend! Nice to meet you! What’s your name?”
“Hey, you crazy… We were in the same class for three years at flight school. Did you really forget?”
“Oh, so we’re from the same school! I’m Gilbert Carnate!”
Dick tried to say something but gave up, closing his mouth with a resigned look. He shook hands as if he was fed up.
Rohan, satisfied with the scene, called out to Gilbert.
“Gilbert.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you have an older sister?” he asked directly.
The shadows on Gilbert’s face deepened.
“My sister… She’s just a gorilla with long hair.”
“A gorilla?”
“Imagine my face with longer hair.”
It was a brutally honest statement.
How long did the small talk continue, even including Wikitree in the back?
“Attention.”
Juyun returned, gathering the cadets’ attention.
“Form two lines in the hallway, side by side. If there’s a cadet sleeping next to you, wake them up.”
The Orion Academy tour had begun.
Class 1’s first destination was the Strength Training Room.
Boasting an enormous space, it’s packed with equipment that lets you exercise using magical energy.
Just looking at it makes you want to jump in and start working out right away.
“With just your student ID, you can access the Strength Training Room 24/7. There’s an AI, so if you see any unfamiliar equipment, just ask for help. There are shower facilities inside, and if you happen to get injured during training…”
Rohan felt his heart race as he listened to the explanation.
Starting tomorrow, if he works out here at dawn, showers, and then heads to the Academy, it’ll be perfect.
“Let’s move on.”
Next, they visited the affordable Cadet Dining Hall, the Library located within the Academy, the Audiovisual Room, and more.
Step by step, they familiarized themselves with the places they’d need to know as cadets for the next two years.
And then.
Juyun always ended her explanations about each location with the same line.
“Respect each other and use the facilities without conflict.”
···
“Hmm.”
Rohan lay on a bench at the Academy, chewing on some jerky.
The morning had passed with location introductions, theoretical curriculum, and brief overviews of each subject.
But he’d heard that proper training would start in the afternoon.
He didn’t feel like eating too much, as it might slow him down.
‘Part-time job…’
Thanks to that, he was currently in the middle of enthusiastically searching for work.
‘There are more openings than I thought.’
But there were various conditions attached, making it hard to meet all the requirements.
Swish. Swish.
How far had he scrolled through the job listings with his thumb?
“!?”
Rohan suddenly sat bolt upright from where he’d been lying.
A name of a shop he knew all too well had caught his eye.
