Class

Marcus patted satiated on his plump stomach while he walked out of the cafeteria. Lazily, he looked back and asked, "Was that really enough for you? If you want, we still can go back. You shouldn't worry about money! It's free anyway!"

Shaking annoyed the head, Libertas replied, "No thanks. How often do you still want to ask this question? You know, not everyone can eat as much as you!"

Uncaring, Marcus shrugged his shoulders as he said, "Oh. Well, anyway it was the last time for now. Then let's go to school now. The bell should ringing soon."

The duo stood in front of the school building. They had just reached the entrance as a bell ringed loudly. Although it was shrilling, it still sounded pleasant to the ear. After the ringing gradually subsided, Marcus gestured excitedly towards Libertas before he told, "Come, quickly. We will soon meet our new classmates!"

Chuckling, Libertas softly shook his head. Wasn't Marcus a bit too excited about his new class? Nevertheless, he still joyfully said, "Yeah. Let's go quick."

Soon they entered their class. Only a few of the seats had others sitting on it. The teacher was now still not here. After briefly looking around, Libertas swiftly chose a seating near the window at the rear near. Marcus followed without hesitation and sat on the seat beside him.

Bored, Marcus tilted the chair he sat on before he asked, "Who do you think will be in our class?"

Similar bored, Libertas glanced at his new classmates. Then he answered, "Well the girl from yesterday and that prince are both in our class."

Instantly, Marcus' shoulders slumped, his head drooped, a frown emerged, and he began rubbing his hands against each other. Hearing a heavy sigh, Libertas turned around, looking at Marcus. Then as he saw Marcus like that, he inquired worried, "What is wrong? Has something happened?"

While shaking the head, Marcus smiled weakly. He waved his hand dismissively, as his eyes absent-mindedly looked forlorn out of the window. His voice trembled a little as he replied, "Nothing. Everything is alright. Nothing has happened."

Suddenly, he vigorously shook his head before smiling brightly. Light-heartedly, he said, "What could have happened to me? You shouldn't worry about nothing."

Libertas wrinkled his nose and wanted to inquire further, but a cheerful voice interrupted it by calling his name. Frowning slightly, he looked towards the door and sighed. Maria was waving her little hand at Libertas while she happily skipped towards him. Grumbling, the prince behind her followed reluctantly after her.

Seeing this, Marcus chuckled, "You shouldn't care about me now. Look, your little fiancée is here for you."

Hearing this, Maria stomped on her feet before she stated indignant, "I am not his fiancée!"

The prince following behind her glared angrily at Marcus. Shortly after Maria, he reached the seat of Marcus and slammed his hand furiously against the table. Instantly, the attention of the whole class was on them. Snorting, the prince threatened, "Did you hear? She isn't the fiancée of a liar! Don't you ever dare to claim that again! Or else you will have to live through the hell again! Have you understood that?"

Vexed, Maria stomped on the prince's feet as she shouted, "Anthony! Stop it! Didn't you promise me that you wouldn't bother them again?"

"Yeah, but-"

Stomping down once more, Maria firmly rebutted, "No more buts! Let's go!"

She quickly bowed towards Marcus and apologized. Then she forcefully dragged the prince Anthony to another seat further away. Nevertheless, Anthony still glared indignantly at Marcus. Occasionally, his eyes darted towards Libertas.

Seeing this, Marcus burst out laughing. Immediately, Anthony's expression soured. However, before another quarrel could start, a clapping resounded from the door. A man in simple black clothes walked to the centre of the blackboard at the front.

Seeing that the attention of the whole class turned to him, he smiled gently. Following, he laid his hand behind his back before he spoke, "Children, quiet down. You shouldn't quarrel about something trivial here, speak about it calmly after class. Thank you. Now, please sit down at a seat of your choice. I would like to start class now."

Anthony snorted after hearing this, but he still moved on. Nevertheless, while he went to an empty seat, he kept on glaring at Marcus. In return, Marcus smiled provokingly back with a suppressed chuckle. Vexed Anthony clenched his fist. Seeing this, Maria pouted and quickly grabbed Anthony's hand. Then she swiftly dragged the prince away. At that sight, Libertas only shook his head with a wry smile before he turned his attention towards the man at the front of the class.

After everyone had sat down, the man grandiosely spread his arms. At the same time, a small firework exploded behind him. The sparks promptly formed the words, "Magic Academy".

Satisfied, the man looked briefly at the mesmerized expressions of the students. Then he declared, "I welcome you, the future of our world, to our prestigious Magic Academy! I will be your homeroom teacher for the next coming eight years. And as such, we should take care of each other. You can call me Mr Culpatus. Besides that, if you need any help in your studies, you can come to me any time you want."

Mr Culpatus then gestured with a hand at the students. With his other hand behind his back, he slightly bowed forward. Subsequently, he pointed at Anthony, who was sitting in the front row next to the door. Then he said, "Thanks for listening until now. If there are no more questions, we should start with the introductions. How about we start with you?"

Hearing that, Anthony stood grumpily up. While glaring at the teacher, he stated, "I am a descendant of the royal family; the second in line who will succeed the throne of my father, his majesty. My name is Anthony."

Nodding the head, Mr Culpatus spoke, "Welcome to the class, Anthony."

After saying that, the teacher gestured towards the girl beside Anthony. She nodded and stood similar up. She softly coughed before she introduced herself, "Hello! My full name is Maria Alchimia Medeis. Just call me Maria. It is my pleasure to meet you all."

Mr Culpatus' eyes widened as a frown emerged on his forehead. However, he quickly shook his head, and the frown eased up again. Then with an even gentler smile plastering his face, he slightly bowed before he apologized, "I am sorry for just now. I was just wondering a bit about your name. Your father is the leader of the Crimson Lilies Merchant Group, right?"

Taken aback by the sudden apologies, Maria's mouth gawped agape at the teacher. Then she quickly regained her wits before she promptly replied, "Yeah, it's fine, teacher. He is indeed my father. Although he relegated most of the work to others since he accompanied me here."

"Thank you for telling us that. Maria, I welcome you to the class."

After saying that, the teacher gestured towards the student next to Maria. He immediately stood up and told everyone in the class, "Hi! I…."

"Welcome to the class, …."

One student after another introduced themselves to the rest of the class. At the same time, Mr Culpatus always cordially welcomed each of the students to the class. Oddly enough, or as expected from a medieval world, all of the students hailed from one or the other prominent background.

Some had parents holding an important as a civil servant or were an influential officer in the army. Alternatively, others were only noble descendants of aristocrat families. It appeared that Maria was an exception here in the class. If she was the only exception, then did Marcus hail from an aristocrat family?

Thinking of that, Libertas curiously stared at Marcus. Subsequently, when Marcus saw Libertas gazing at him, he shivered. Then he quickly whispered after glancing at the teacher, "Hey, just you know, I am not gay…."

Immediately, Libertas' expression soured as he had heard that. Annoyed, he secretly showed his middle finger at Marcus before he looked at the current student introducing herself. Soon it was Marcus turn to present himself.

After standing up, Marcus cleared his throat. His hands were still pushing forcefully against the table as it slowly creaked under his weight. With a confident smile, he said with a deliberately careless voice, "Hello, I am Marcus, currently eight years old. Nice to meet you all here."

Shortly after saying that, Marcus plumped back into his seat. He heaved a sigh of relief, and his body relaxed, only for it stiffen again in the next second. The teacher had called him up, "You are welcome to the class, Marcus. But won't you tell us more about your family? Everyone has told you something about theirs, isn't it then only right for you to tell too?"

Exhaling wearily, Marcus stood once more reluctantly up. Silently, he glanced at everyone before sated indifferently, "I am the last heir of the Brutus Family. However, my family is currently more or less scraping by. Hence, my father is working as a butcher here in school. If you want, you can support us by buying in our shop. It is called 'Brutus Brute Butchery'. There is no need to fear any-"

Instantly, the student beside Marcus jumped hastily away. The chair slammed against the ground, and the student fell to the ground. While fearfully pointing at Marcus, he shouted hysterically, "Fucking hell! What are you doing here? Why is a savage, a mass murderer here? Scram! Fuck off! You aren't welcomed! Your family had fallen long ago! Leave now!"