Chapter 44: First Friends

Solomon had never seen his brother so quiet. Not even when he was literally a corpse.

For the past several minutes, no matter how much prodding Solomon did, Raizel gave him no real response.

Instead, he just stared at the young elven woman standing at attention beside Solomon.

This was the first time that the young immortal had ever really paid attention to the elven woman before.

Her black hair was bound in loose coils like serpents wrapping around themselves. In conjunction with her soft caramel colored skin, she appeared radiant even in a dim room.

Her face was youthful, as was the case with most elves. Telling her age would be rather difficult, as she could have been anywhere from twenty to ninety-five.

Solomon could tell there was some history between the two. What he couldn’t figure out was why his brother seemed so surprised to see her here if he already knew the future.

“And that’s it. Grab what you need, and you’re all dismissed.”

Solomon only caught the very end of whatever lecture he’d been forced to sit through alongside three complete strangers.

Nila and two others shuffled off towards a corner of the gymnasium Solomon had previously inspected. It was a mid-sized indoor inlet painted red.

Dozens upon dozens of wooden racks held numerous weapons for mid, long, and short-ranged fighters.

The weapons were of decent enough quality, made with only one to two monster cores each.

Their silver color had an immaculately polished gleam that could make someone like Solomon, who had an interest in weapons in general, feel even more obsessed.

Solomon thoughtlessly followed behind his three other classmates.

Unsure of what they were supposed to be doing, he watched the others first.

One young man, whom he recognized from the orientation. He was the boy with white wings who fled him at the end, leaving a trail of piss behind him.

He seemed the flamboyant, flippant type. Solomon already didn’t know if he was going to like him based on that alone.

He picked up a short sword with a thinner, sharper blade. A pattern reminiscent of a feather was etched into the cool metal.

“What exquisite craftsmanship…” He marveled.

“…” Solomon changed his mind. Maybe this guy was alright after all.

He heard the sound of something heavy moving through the air.

Looking over his shoulder, he found the elf Nila swinging around a sword that was easily just as big as she was.

Her antics ended up attracting the attention of the winged boy as well, and his expression made it rather difficult for him to hide his surprise.

Something Nila instantly noticed.

“…What? You think because I’m an elf I’m supposed to run around with daggers or a bow or something..?”

“W-What..? I would never…”

That was exactly what he thought. Solomon too.

At the back of the innlet, there was a smaller figure. Someone human, who Solomon had certainly never seen before.

They were quite diminutive, standing at no taller than 5’6, while everyone else in the group was at the very least 6’8.

He appeared to be a young man, but Solomon wasn’t quite sure. He had long, black hair that cascaded down his back in velvety waves. His crimson eyes had near-permanent bags underneath from a presumed lack of sleep.

His face was youthful and androgynous. He didn’t appear to have all that much muscle on his body, and wore a slightly oversized chestplate.

He was in the back, looking for a standard longsword and shield, but almost everything in that category would have been too heavy for him to wield.

“Eventually you have to talk to them instead of just staring at them, you know??”

The velvety voice of Jiaoying crept up Solomon’s spine and tickled his ears.

He appeared to have been the only one who heard her. He glanced behind him and found that she was still on the complete other side of the hall.

“…You still haven’t told me what this whole group thing is about.” Solomon murmured under his breath.

“Weren’t you listening?”

Solomon unconsciously glanced at Nila. “…I was a little distracted.”

Jiaoying paused for a moment.

“…You’ve only been here a day. Don’t you think it’s a little early to start developing crushes on your peers?”

Solomon unconsciously dropped a large warhammer on his foot. The sound of Jiaoying’s snickering filled his ears.

“Well, however she makes you feel, you’re responsible for her. As well as everyone else around you.”

“…Why me?”

“Call it luck of the draw. It is a probationary thing, all of the cadets will alternate leadership positions. Once a week, you and I will have a one-on-one session going over the basics your men will be expected to understand. How you teach them will be up to you.

If at the end of the week, there will be an examination. If the proficiency of your men is unsatisfactory, you will be demoted and another will take your place. In addition, a demerit will be placed on your record.”

“…I have a record?”

“Course you do. How else are the nobility going to know anything about you come graduation?”

Solomon picked up a simple long sword from a rack and grabbed the shield closest to him to complement it.

“I keep hearing all of this stuff about graduation, but no ones actually told me what to expect yet.”

“Oh, right… Well, think of this school as a catapult that will launch you into a prestigious career as a knight or court mage. Upon graduation, nobles from all across the realms send representatives to select a graduate to join their house. The hundred best students get to decide where they want to go for themselves.”

Solomon strapped his new tools of war to his back.

“…And if I decide that I don’t want to join the guard of any noble house?”

Jiaoying took a long time to respond to his inquiry. For a moment, Solomon thought he might have made a mistake and asked something unnecessary.

However, when he heard the voice of his teacher’s aide again, it was even more pleasant than before.

“You sure know how to say some interesting things, don’t you, Cadet A’Kenai?”

Solomon swallowed as he left without speaking to his temporary underlings.

For reasons he couldn’t explain, he felt as if the more he talked to the great Xu Jiaoying, the more off-kilter he felt.

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