Chapter 54. The Black Falcon Dormitory
Master, he said.
As it happened, that was the word Radel had heard in the dungeon.
He had a feeling that it might not be a coincidence.
"What are you doing? The potatoes are all cooked!"
Inette waved her hand, holding the marshmallow she had won from Gusto.
The sweet smell wafted all the way over here.
"Yeah, I'm coming."
Radel decided to eat the well-cooked potatoes first.
It was something he wouldn't find an answer to even if he thought about it.
If there came a time to confront it, he would know naturally.
All he could do was wait for the right time.
"Don't tell me you ate all the marshmallows by yourself, Inette?"
When Armandy and Radel returned to their seats, empty skewers greeted them.
It seemed Edward had eaten most of the sausages, and the marshmallows had long since disappeared without a trace.
Inette, looking guilty, jumped in surprise and made an excuse.
"No? The apprentice holy knight ate some too."
"I swear to the Supreme Deity, I am innocent."
"You only look for the Supreme Deity at times like this!"
At Gusto's quick denial, Inette snapped.
Then, Gusto denied it with a firm expression.
"That's a misunderstanding. The Supreme Deity is always with me. Oh, but I suppose you might not know, Princess, given your lack of faith."
"Hey!"
"Hahaha."
It was a pleasant night.
* * *
The next morning.
"So it's finally the day we move into the dormitory."
Radel packed his bags for the first time in a month.
After returning the tent, all that was left for Radel was the one bag he had brought when he left the Prince's Palace.
In front of the temporary dormitory, the first-year students who had survived the freshman adaptation period were gathered.
He could see Gusto, carrying only one bag smaller than Radel's, and Inette, who had brought a large suitcase with wheels.
Inette, seeing the late-arriving Radel, chided him.
"Why are you so late? Hurry up and get a move on."
"Maybe it's because I didn't get to eat any marshmallows. I guess I have no energy because I only ate potatoes and went to sleep yesterday."
As Radel answered nonchalantly, Inette fell silent with a guilty expression.
It was because after counting the number of skewers last night to see who ate more marshmallows, it was found that Inette had eaten an overwhelming amount.
Radel looked around, and the number of freshmen had certainly decreased a lot.
Just then, someone appeared in front of the freshmen.
An elf with black hair and purple eyes.
It was Professor Marianne Painword of Summoning Magic.
"You all worked hard for a month. There must have been many inconveniences, but I hope you all will think of it as an experience to become a good magician."
Professor Marianne introduced the new dormitory to the freshmen.
"You first-years will be using the Black Falcon Dormitory for the next four years."
Professor Marianne explained that it was a tradition at the academy for each year to use a different dormitory.
When a class graduated, the next incoming students would use that dormitory, so this year's first-years would be entering the Black Falcon Dormitory that last year's fourth-years had used.
"The Black Falcon Dormitory is also a dormitory with a long and distinguished history. The seniors who used it before you were also excellent magicians."
Although Professor Marianne spoke calmly, an undisguisable pride was embedded within her words.
"Yes, you may have noticed, but I am the professor in charge of the Black Falcon Dormitory. Let's move now."
As Professor Marianne finished speaking, the first-years began to murmur quietly.
Some were happy that Professor Marianne was the professor in charge of the dormitory, while others were disappointed.
Radel was closer to the former.
Although she had her strict side, she was the easiest to deal with among the academy professors with their strong personalities.
Compared to Professor Lilian or Professor Donton, who were unpredictable, or Professor Cailin, who exploited labor, Marianne was a normal professor.
The place Professor Marianne led the first-years to was a building made of black stone in the forest.
As they got closer, its elegant exterior was revealed.
"This is the Black Falcon Dormitory. Let me tell you the traditions of the dormitory. First, all decisions are made by majority vote. Second, if a majority vote is not possible, it is decided by drawing lots. Third, there is no fighting inside the dormitory. Fourth, a student of the Black Falcon Dormitory must never fail a single subject."
Isn't the fourth tradition a bit strange?
All the first-years thought so, but they couldn't bring themselves to ask because of Professor Marianne's firm expression.
"Professor, what happens if we fail?"
Someone courageous raised their hand and asked, and Professor Marianne nodded.
"Good question. Since I became the professor in charge of the Black Falcon Dormitory, such a thing has never happened. If it seems like it might happen……."
Professor Marianne picked up a stone that was rolling on the ground.
As she clenched her fist with the stone on it, a cool magic power shot out and wrapped around her hand.
Crack.
Didn't something just get crushed?
While the first-years were in shock, something dripped from Professor Marianne's fist and fell to the floor.
Drip.
It was a drop of water.
Professor Marianne calmly dusted off the completely crushed stone powder into the air and said.
"You've seen it. Even a dry stone produces water when squeezed. Then what about you?"
At those words, the first-years' bodies trembled.
"I believe nothing is impossible."
For some reason, Radel saw Professor Lilian's image overlapping with Professor Marianne's.
It seemed there really were no normal professors at the academy…….
* * *
Upon entering the Black Falcon Dormitory, a surprisingly cozy lobby awaited them.
There were soft black sofas, a bookshelf filled with various books, and a calm-toned table, and there seemed to be enough seats for all the first-years to rest.
Professor Marianne took out the list of first-years and the dormitory room layout.
"The Black Falcon Dormitory has single rooms. It seems one of you will have to use the top floor. Let's decide by drawing lots."
The first-years looked at the top floor, which was connected to a spiral staircase in the lobby, and swallowed hard.
It looked higher than they thought.
"Oh, and some of the fourth-years who graduated this year are still residing on the top floor, so be careful. They're on a research year, so you probably won't see them often."
Although it was common to go out into society after graduating from the academy, there were also seniors who had chosen to learn more deeply by writing a thesis under their major professors.
'They're studying even more after graduating? They must be out of their minds.'
Hearing that made the first-years want to go to the top floor, where the seniors were, even less.
But Radel was different.
Radel had memorized the floors that connected to the secret passages in each building from the map ancestor Hayden had left behind.
The secret passage of the Black Falcon Dormitory was on the top floor.
'To use the secret passage, I have to go there.'
Radel raised his hand.
"I would like to use the top floor."
He could feel all the first-years being surprised.
Inette frowned and whispered to Radel.
"Have you gone crazy after using a tent for a month? Why would you want to go to such an inconvenient place?"
"I like it. I really want to go."
He was serious.
If Inette knew how convenient the secret passage was, she wouldn't be saying such things.
However, the atmosphere was flowing as if Radel had raised his hand to be considerate of the other friends.
"I guess the Prince can't be helped……."
In the quiet, Edward's mutter could be heard from a distance.
Since it was Radel, who had saved Edward's life, who was doing this, everyone seemed to agree with his words even if they didn't say it.
Professor Marianne also looked at Radel with a knowing look and nodded.
"Understood. I'll assign you to the top floor. Everyone will remember your consideration."
Something's strange……?
But Radel remained silent.
From experience, it was better to stay quiet in times like this.
After the room assignments were finished, it was time for everyone to go to their own rooms.
As Radel, carrying his bag, was about to go up the stairs, Leon's followers suddenly passed by and said a few words.
"Ahem, but you still can't follow Prince Leon!"
"It's a shame if you wanted to receive our thanks. We were the ones who dissuaded Prince Leon from raising his hand."
"That's right. How great is Prince Leon's consideration! It is a great miscalculation to think that you have caught up to Prince Leon with something like this."
No, I never thought that…….
Radel was dumbfounded.
But something even more dumbfounding happened.
Leon, who had been quiet recently, passed by and threw a word.
"Don't talk nonsense. He did well on this one."
I'm saying I didn't do it for you guys…….
* * *
There were more rooms on the top floor than he thought.
The rooms used by the seniors had nameplates on them, and there was one room without a master.
As Radel approached the room at the very end, a notification sounded.
Ding.
[An unknown magic is interfering with the user's perception.]
[Status Effect Nullification is activated.]
[The academy's secret passage is revealed!]
Here it is.
He could see the wall at the end of the hallway glowing.
He decided to check out the secret passage later and go into his room to unpack first.
"It's pretty nice."
Perhaps because it was the top floor, he could go up to the rooftop through the terrace. It seemed that if he dried his medicinal herbs there, they would get very dry.
As Radel came down to the lobby, satisfied, he saw Inette and Gusto sitting on the sofa, holding onto a piece of paper.
It seemed they were making their first semester schedule.
Seeing Radel coming down to the lobby, Gusto spoke to him.
"How is the room, Your Highness."
"It's much better than the tent."
Inette shook her head at Radel's words.
"You really go out of your way to suffer."
"It's not that much of a hardship. The view was nice."
Radel sat down next to them and looked at their papers.
Gusto had circled Combat Magic and marked Divine Magic and Understanding of the Supreme Deity Order.
Inette had circled Summoning Magic and Alchemy, and had drawn a big cross over Social Dance.
Their preferences seemed to show.
Inette, who was filling out her schedule, asked Radel.
"What subjects are you going to take? Have you decided on a major?"
"Not yet. I have until the end of the first semester anyway."
Radel also picked up a syllabus.
During the freshman adaptation period, they had moved according to the schedule set by the academy, but from now on, they had to make their own schedule.
As Radel looked through the syllabus, there were a variety of classes prepared, more than he had expected.
A few of them caught Radel's eye.
In particular, the class called Mana Training seemed like it would be helpful for Hayden's Normal Mana Training Method.
"They say there's a course correction period, so I think it would be okay to decide after taking them."
"Still, wouldn't it be better to take the main majors in the first semester?"
Inette listened to the two of them discuss and looked at Radel's schedule.
Radel was filling out his schedule without any gaps, as if he planned to take as many classes as he could.
"What's with your schedule? Can you even eat lunch?"
"I'm not going to take all of them. I'm debating between two of them."
"What are you debating between?"
Inette had been enjoying pulling weeds recently, so if he was debating between another subject and alchemy, she was thinking of suggesting they take alchemy together.
However, the words that came out of Radel's mouth were a combination that Inette had not expected at all.
"Extreme Survival Magic and Beginner Monster Dissection."
……Were there even classes with such strange names?
"They both seem absolutely necessary. Phew, it's a really tough choice."
Where on earth would they be necessary?
Inette gave up on understanding.
He was a strange guy, anyway.