Chapter 3: My brother in arm

Karl decides to follow the other students. As he walks, he takes in the sheer scale of the place. It is so massive, almost the size of a mid-scale town. Parks with unique trees, dense forested areas, and benches placed every hundred meters fill the landscape, but what stands out most is the lack of people. Only a few dozen students walk along the footpaths, an oddly small number considering the size of the school. Since yesterday, he hasn't seen a single car driving around.

After walking for some time, a large glass dome comes into view. At its entrance, students scan their watches to gain access. Karl follows suit, mimicking their actions. Inside, six enormous straight tables are aligned parallel to each other, each with a seating capacity of around 300 students. The architecture amazes Karl as he steps into the line for food.

Time passes, and finally, Karl reaches the front. The lunch lady looks at him and raises an eyebrow. Without a word, he points at the menu. Eggs, soup, and two slices of bread. She nods and serves him.

"Give me three servings of this," Karl requests politely.

"What?" The lunch lady looks baffled.

"Can't serve that much to one person?" he asks.

"No-No, wait a minute." She grunts before reluctantly loading up his tray.

Karl picks up the tray but pauses. 'These people… they're unusually quiet. It's like they're sitting with strangers, not friends. If I sit anywhere, would that seem odd? Are the seats preassigned?'

"LEONARD! HERE!" A loud voice interrupts his thoughts.

Karl turns in the opposite direction of the shout.

"NOT THERE, HERE!" Clicking his tongue, Karl follows the source of the yelling.

He finds a short, stocky boy with uneven facial hair and dark brown hair waving at him.

'I don't like this guy. He looks annoying,' Karl thinks as he approaches.

"Heyy! I heard about that cliff incident from Miss Zena. You survived an encounter with a Three-Horned Monkey? That's crazy! You know Miss Clara gave us extra homework on Mana Theory. Pretty bad, right? And, and-"

'How noisy.' Karl sits down and silently eats from his overflowing tray, tuning out the chatter.

"Sasha accepted him. Crazy, right?" The boy keeps talking despite Karl's lack of engagement. "By the way, Remi and his friends have been staring at you for a while."

Karl follows his gaze and spots a group of students glaring at them. Among them, he sees the arrogant kid from yesterday. Karl smirks, stopping mid-bite before standing up. 'Took him long him enough.'

"Umm… where are you going?" the fat kid asks, stepping in front of Karl.

"None of your business." Karl's voice is cold as he pushes past him.

"Wait—" But Karl doesn't stay to listen. He tosses his half-eaten meal into the trash and walks away.

Seeing Leonard leave, the stocky boy sits back down, looking dejected.

"Yo pig!" The group from earlier surrounds him.

"You're his friend, right?" One of them asks.

"Yes?" The boy answers hesitantly.

"Come outside for a second."

Oblivious to this, Karl continues toward a park he spotted earlier. 'They should follow me here. Let's hope they don't know any magic.'

A sudden gust of wind sweeps by, and a book comes flying, smacking Karl right in the face. He blinks, momentarily surprised, and looks around for the culprit.

"Sorry! Sorry!" A pale, thin-faced boy rushes toward him.

Karl's first thought? 'He looks so majestic.' Pretty eyes, thin lips, a perfectly symmetrical face—his features seem almost unreal.

"Did that hit you too hard?" The boy studies Karl's face with concern.

Karl suddenly realizes, he's not just pale. He's an albino.

"Yeah. It's fine," Karl replies. He waits for a response but instead gets a flabbergasted expression, the boy's mouth slightly open in shock.

"Is something wrong?" Karl asks.

"Ah! No, no. It's just… most people don't talk to me. So I was just surprised," the boy explains.

"Oh. By the way, I'm Leonard Avaritia." Karl introduces himself.

Silence hangs between them for three seconds before the boy finally speaks.

"And?"

'Shit. I don't know my middle name. Is it important to mention that? There was no mention of my parents in the watch.' Karl recalls.

"I mean, you're supposed to mention your academic year," the boy clarifies.

Karl remembers what he read on his watch and responds, "Oh! I recently had brain surgery, so my memories are all over the place. Also, I'm in my second year."

"Great Horizon! That's such a tragedy." The boy looks genuinely concerned. "My name is Ian Desouza Phirsecot, and I'm in my first year."

'First year? He looks older than me.' Karl studies Ian's height.

"Anyway, what were you doing?" Karl asks curiously.

"We're in the wind range, so I was practicing my magic skills?" Ian states matter-of-factly.

Karl resists the urge to facepalm. 'Right. Magic. Should've known.' He lets out a forced chuckle. "Yeah! Practicing magic, of course."

Ian raises an eyebrow. "You didn't know that? Just how deep was your wound?"

"I fell off a cliff trying to escape from a Three-Horned Ape," Karl explains.

Ian clasps his hands together and bows his head. "I will pray to the Sage for your earliest recovery."

A few seconds pass in awkward silence.

'Why do I feel like I'm talking to an aristocrat? This is exhausting.' Karl sighs internally as Ian finishes praying.

"So… you forgot everything?" Ian asks.

Karl nods.

"Oh! Great Horizo-"

Karl places a hand over Ian's mouth. "Please stop."

Ian quickly yanks Karl's hand away, looking away. "Don't touch me."

Karl doesn't move, staying put. Ian glances back and sees Karl still standing there.

"You… didn't run away. Why?" Ian asks in a small voice.

Karl pauses, thinking for a moment. "Because I felt like it."

Ian studies his expression, then unexpectedly smiles.

Karl feels a sudden pang of anxiety. 'Why do I feel like I just did something I shouldn't have?'

Meanwhile, Ian breathes heavily, clenching his fists. Slowly, he speaks. "Leonard Avaritia… would you be willing to be my brother-in-arms?"

Karl blinks in confusion. "What?"

Tears well in Ian's eyes. "Of-of course, you wouldn't be willing. I'm… I'm too incompetent." He crouches down, his shoulders trembling as tears fall.

Karl, more confused than ever, hesitates before awkwardly patting Ian's back. "Uh… What happened? Look, don't cry. I'll be your… uh… friend-in-arms or whatever. Just don't cry."

Ian looks up with red, teary eyes. "Really?"

"Yes."

Ian breaks into the widest smile Karl has ever seen. "Thank you so much, Leonard."

"Just call me Leo. My name's too long anyway."

"Yes, Le-Leo," Ian shyly says.

A blinding light seems to shine on Ian. Karl squints. 'Is this guy even male? He looks… adorable. Like something that needs protecting.'

Fixing his posture, Karl watches Ian, lost in thought.