Lyren was caught off guard and his face was close to hers and as she got closer, he wanted to pull closer but who could have thought that he would fail. He felt a warm breath on his right ear and her words came to him.
"young master, enjoy your time in the Azure Faction," she said and let him go.
Lyren was left bending forward as he watched her walk away just like that. He was left perplexed as he registered her words and he shook his head. Her red dress stood out as she made her way through the crowd and soon, she was out of his sight. It was then he stood straight and took a deep breath in and let it out as a sigh. He was now an academy student.
His grip on his sword tightened and he turned to go back to the seats and await further instructions.
HALT!
His feet stopped as he stumbled backwards. Shock colored his face as he saw Sera standing there with hands folded on her chest.
He could not see what expression was beneath that veil but her eyes told him all he wanted to know. She was mad but why? One of her feet tapping on the ground.
"Hi…" Lyren waved slowly after a moment of silence and scrutiny from Sera.
Sera shook her head as she realized that Lyren was somewhat clueless on whatever was going on. Her expression changed and she smiled beneath the veil.
"Tomorrow you will have to come find me at our headquarters so that I can introduce you to our members. Make sure you take a good rest. The academy is not for slackers," Sera said and turned away.
Lyren was left there in the spotlight as one beauty had left a few seconds ago and the other had just left. How was he being able to juggle them so easily. To make matters worse, he had even been flirting with another girl in front of Lady Sera. Did he not value his life.
Glares especially from a specific mayor's son could bore holes on Lyren. He recalled that it was because of that damned girl Claire that he had been beaten up by this fake young master. That had made him lose his prestige and just when he had thought that he had recovered it, he had been slapped in the face.
Lyren had come during a crucial moment especially after he had stolen the spotlight only for him to have it snatched from him. His performance had been overshadowed and not many could now recall the fact that he was on par with Lady Sera. He felt a hand on his hair and when he looked up, it was his father.
"That kid. You must surpass him and make sure that you end him," the mayor said coldly. Alvin clenched his fist tightly and nodded.
"I will make sure that he suffers. He already has too many enemies in the academy. I would like to see how long he is going to last. I will bear witness to his fall," Alvin replied without missing a beat. His tone carried the same coldness that his father carried.
"I will be counting on you to regain our prestige. If its resources that you want, I will give them to you. With your background, surpassing him is going to be an easy task," the mayor said and looked at Lyren once again.
He was going to make sure that those two fools who made him lose face were going to pay for it. They had brought back fake news and now it had costed him. He was not going to let any one of the go scot-free. Only death awaited them.
"Make sure to be a good boy okay?" The mayor's mother spoke out loud and Alvin looked at her with narrowed eyes.
"I am no longer a boy. I am a man," Alvin replied and his mother just shook her head. The father-son pair really were obsessed with winning. They carried malice and she sighed. But they were her family though.
***
Lyren waled back towards the seats and he took a seat at the guests section which were connected to the new arrivals. He did not know it but already a quarter of the new arrivals had been disqualified due to their poor talent. After all, the academy was a talent ground not an orphanage for kids.
Time ticked away and soon they were settled and only two elders were left. They proceeded to call out the names of the new arrivals by the same order by which they had been called before the test. Everyone was given a set of the academy uniform and a token with a number on it which was the accommodation. They were told to go back on their seats and it was time for another speech.
"You all are the new batch and we are proud that you made it. You know that not everyone could get in. The 251 of you are now going to be our new first years and we are excited to have you all. You are going to be given only one day to be free and you are going to start your studies immediately after that.
"You are going to be classified based on your elements but there are going to be sessions that you will have to study together. You will get the hung of it in time but now familiarize yourself with the academy. Finding the dorms is going to be your first mission. Along the way, those who prove that they are not capable of handling the academy life are going to be expelled.
"Go forth and find the dorms where you are going to be staying. It's written on the token we have given you," the elder said and dismissed them. They whispered to each other before they walked away and disappeared instantly from the new batch.
They were all left confused and Lyren who was seated alone was even more confused. Could it be that they were being left to go fent for themselves? How was that fair. None of them here knew the academy grounds yet they were being told to go and look for their dorms as written in the token.
He looked at his token and it only had two words on it. They were not even words but letters. S and Q almost merged together that it was SQ. That had to be a joke. Were they initials or the actual name? He grunted because it was the first day and it was already a drag. He looked around and everyone was seated and confused just as he was.
No one was standing up and looking around, it was like the older students were told not to give any information to the new arrivals because there was no one around. One could see the helplessness in them all because they actually wanted to rest. Lyren closed his eyes as his clothes rested on his lap and the token on them. His sword seated on the seat next to him to the left.
"SQ?" Lyren was shocked when he heard someone speak to his ears. His eyes opened and he looked at who it was that had spoken. He had thought that it was a girl but it turned out that it was a boy.
His hair was a reddish brown and his eyes carried the same texture. If Lyren had been there when the ceremony started, he would have realized who it was. He wore round glasses and his hair fell sideways and some on his face. He had a boyish look and he was definitely shorter than Lyren. Lyren found the boy somehow cute?
Well, those were his thought as he pinched himself for having thoughts of a guy being cute. Something was definitely wrong with him.
"SQ… yes. And you?" Lyren asked and the boy sighed after he replied.
"SQ. thank god I found you. Finding the dorms alone was going to be a drag," the boy said and Lyren sat up right and looked at the boy. Now this was an interesting guy.