Hurrying, they arrived in a grand noble manor that looked like it was from an ancient medieval period.
The manor belongs to one of the ten high nobles of the Midnight Sun Kingdom: the noble Apocalypse Household.
They both entered one of the busy halls that was labeled 'cafeteria'.
Inside were a large number of people, some were dressed in soldier armour, some in blacksmithing clothes, and others in white clothes, indicating they were doctors.
There were different types of people with different professions, eating together the same food that was served, at the same table.
As soon as Joan and Ace entered, the atmosphere of the hall shifted; all eyes turned towards the newly arrived duo.
"You are more popular than usual today..." Age speechlessly said, rigidly moving toward the food-distribution counter.
Those who had sharp eyes would be able to tell it was specifically directed at Joan.
Joan followed and replied with a helpless look.
The cafeteria hall was laid out with many long tables, but at the head of the hall was a special table laid horizontally, overlooking the entire hall.
The people who sat there were no ordinary people, and Joan knew they were people who were with him at the house's hall yesterday.
Under everyone's stare, he took the plate that contained a hard bread with a stick of cheese on the sides, a pack of fluid that was written as Nutritional Pack, and a glass of milk that seemed to be mixed with water.
Looking at the food, Joan sighed. He hesitated but cast a glance at the special table.
The Apocalypse House was one of the high noble houses of the kingdom and was by no means poor. But food was scarce in this world; everything was rationed and equally distributed.
The plates on the special table contain dried meat, high-quality bread with melted cheese, a glass of milk, and a portion of dried fruits. These were the high-quatity meal, completely different from the plate they were carrying.
The difference was worlds apart, because those in the special table were the heirs of the noble house; the sons and daughters of the head of the Apocalypse House, while people at the normal tables were people who worked for the family.
He looked at the young people seated at the table and noticed some looking at him with mockery in their eyes. He also noticed a black-haired girl at the end of the special table, beside her was an empty chair.
'Well, I have no place in this family anymore…'
After yesterday's event, he wasn't one of the family anymore.
Ever since Joan transmigrated, he had been eating the luxurious meal on the special table. But now that he had been stripped of his status, he had no choice but to eat normal food, but still, the platter in front of him could not be afforded by any normal family in this world.
"After today, I'm never coming back to this family, so I have to at least enjoy this." Joan mummering, found a place to sit with Ace, who was desperately trying to stay invisible.
The heir turns to Joan, slightly seeing him arrive late.
One of the people couldn't hold it and exclaimed.
"Haha– brothers and sisters, the 14th seems to know his place, we didn't need to remind him after all." A youth with short white hair and small eyes exclaimed from the special table.
"What a pity, Joan doesn't have the privilege anymore." A beautiful girl with a perfect symmetrical face and beautiful eyes lamented.
"At least the rare, precious foods wouldn't be wasted on someone who doesn't deserve it anymore," a slightly older person than the rest at the table commented.
Joan paused slightly, and he swallowed the food in his mouth with difficulty.
'Indeed.'
In this broken world, the privileged noble heir enjoys all precious resource thats worths more than the value of thousands of humans; the house wouldn't continue to give such resources to a useless person.
"Hey, 14th, did you miss the privileges of the noble heir? Why don't you beg us to talk to father, at least you may eat better than?"
Scarstic contained in his voice, a boy about the same age as Joan with white hair and round eyes sitting to the left beside the empty chair that once belonged to Joan.
Age gave him an apologetic look; he was a mere second-generation soldier of the house and didn't have the right to look directly at the heirs, much less talk back to them.
'Ugh, these people… can't they eat without trash-talking? Aren't they afraid they might choke and die?'
Joan grumbles, hearing their nonsense. But he didn't retort; instead, his eyes accidentally turned to the person on the last right of the empty chair.
There, a quite young woman beside him with red eyes and a jet-black ponytail turned to the young Joan. Her gaze lingered on him for a while before she went back to eating.
'Wasn't she supposed to return to her family?'
'...Heh, I'm still thinking about this now, how pathetic of me.'
Joan sighs self-mockingly, but he wasn't shy or embarrassed; instead, his eyes burned with hidden determination.
'As soon as I awaken my path…' Clenching his hands on the cutlery, he went back to eating and prepared for what was about to come.
…
"Man… the heir of the Apocalypse are all asshole! If I had been one of them, I would have inserted their head in each other's butt!" Ace, full of anger and indignation, shouted on the street.
He turned to the person walking beside him.
"Joan, how can you tolerate them humiliating you to such a degree?"
Joan stopped, and he looked at the idiot friend of his.
"Even if I fight back, what would change besides inviting more trouble?" He paused before continuing, "and I am no longer an heir; my protection and privilege are all gone."
"..." Ace didn't respond.
"Besides, shouldn't you be worrying about more important things?"
"..Like what?"
"Like– are we even going to awaken a class path?"
"..." Ace felt as if he had been struck by lightning; his teeth started chattering in nervousness.
'He is an idiot.' Joan side-glanced at him and thought.
Before long, they reach their school, where their Awakening Ceremony will be held.
A huge crowd was gathered at the square of a huge, grim-looking building.
At the front of the crowd, the professor and the people of the church were present. Some were old, some were middle-aged, solemn-looking people in robes and suits, overlooking the aspirant.