As I stepped through the gate, Garret stopped near a stone bench to tie his loose bootlaces, muttering something under his breath about his textbook. Across the expansive central courtyard lay the Northern Dorms, the massive, elegant building where the female students lived.
I left the dormitory gates behind just as Garret pulled over to the side of the gravel path, dropping to one knee to aggressively tie his heavy leather boots.
Across the beautifully manicured courtyard, separated by a massive stone courtyard and a line of high decorative hedges, stood the Northern Dormitory. The heavy iron gates of the girls' wing were open, and a steady stream of female students in identical ivory-and-gold skirts was flooding onto the main campus.
Scanning the distance beneath the rim of my protective black umbrella, I spotted three familiar first-year girls walking toward the main academic plaza.
There was Aisha, who possessed a low-grade fire spell that could barely spark a single flame to light a candle.
Amelia, who could subtly manipulate small metallic objects with her weak magnetic magic.
Cindy, whose minor healing magic could only close minor scratches. They were chatting quietly and clearly hadn't noticed me yet, so I adjusted my pace and closed the distance.
They were Josan's harem girls yesterday, they were giggling and chatting, completely oblivious to my presence.
Maintaining Zenni's playful, slum-prodigy persona, I picked up my pace, moving silently across the grass. I looped around their blind spot and lunged forward from behind them, tilting my umbrella slightly.
"Boo," I whispered loudly.
"Ah!" All three of them shrieked in unison, jumping nearly a foot in the air before turning around.
"Zenni!" Aisha squealed, her face lighting up as she immediately lunged forward and wrapped her arms tightly around my left shoulder.
"You jerk, you scared us!" Amelia laughed, throwing herself onto my right side, her movement almost knocking the handle of my black umbrella straight out of my grip.
"Good morning, Zenni! We missed you so much this past week!" Cindy cheered, crowding into my chest and clinging to my uniform blazer, completely disregarding any concept of personal space.
The sudden dogpile of girls almost tumbled my umbrella over, forcing me to aggressively brace my core to keep the black canopy perfectly positioned over my head to shield my skin from the morning sun.
The heavy display of affection didn't go unnoticed.
A group of the upperclassmen, the exact same bitter second and third-year boys who had been hurling rude comments at me in the dormitory hallway earlier, stopped dead in their tracks on the main path. Their faces twisted in pure, jealous rage as they stared at me.
"You lucky, penniless bastard! What the hell do these girls see in a pathetic slum junkie like you?!" the tall third-year barked, slamming his textbook against his thigh.
"He must be using some illegal potion! Enjoy it while it lasts, rat!" another sneered.
Before the venomous words could even settle, Aisha snapped her head around, a tiny, angry spark of fire snapping from her fingertips.
"Shut your mouths! At least Zenni has talent, unlike you old seniors who can't even pass midterms!"
"Yeah! Leave him alone or I'll magnetize your armor plates together!" Amelia threatened, glaring them down.
Cindy joined in, shushing them loudly with a sharp wave of her hand until the upperclassmen scoffed, grumbling under their breath as they hurried along toward the main lecture halls.
I just smiled smoothly under the shade of my umbrella, letting the girls lead the way. To the rest of the academy, I was the envied, arrogant slum-boy with a harem of loyal girls. But underneath the facade, my eyes remained completely cold, scanning the grand architecture of the academy grounds.
I scanned my fingerprint at the heavy, silver-plated academy gates, the mechanical lock clicking open to grant us access to the main courtyard. Aisha and Amelia took the opportunity to plant a pair of overly enthusiastic smooches right on my cheeks in broad daylight, leaving faint lip marks that had the surrounding male students grinding their teeth in pure envy.
I just laughed it off, adjusting my heavy black umbrella with one hand to keep the sun completely off my face as we transitioned into the grand, vaulted stone hallways of the academic building.
But my playful expression completely froze as we turned the corner of the main corridor.
Standing near the tall stained-glass windows, engaged in a quiet, intense conversation, were two people I never expected to see together. First was Elicia Rynd, my older biological sister, who also happened to be the prestigious Principal of this entire magic academy. And standing right beside her, dressed in tailored, high-ranking official robes, was The Archivist.
A cold jolt of adrenaline shot through my veins. The Archivist. The head of the Council . The very man who had signed the blood contract with the Eastern District Clan, and the exact person who had orchestrated the carriage explosion on the bridge last night to have Zenni's head. He was here, on campus, talking directly to my sister.
"Hey, girls, let's take the scenic route. Let's head down the eastern corridor instead." I muttered quickly, my voice dropping its playful edge as I subtly tilted my umbrella to block their line of sight.
"What? Why? The school canteen is right through those double doors! If we go the long way, all the good breakfast rations will be gone!" Aisha pouted, gripping my arm tighter.
"Yeah, Zenni, don't be lazy! We need to prepare our seats for lunch break early," Amelia added, completely refusing to budge.
I couldn't force them without breaking my carefree Zenni persona or drawing unnecessary attention to myself. Doing a sudden, panicked U-turn right in front of the Principal's office would look incredibly suspicious.
"Fine, fine. Lead the way," I sighed, keeping my head lowered.
I pulled the black canopy of my umbrella down as low as physically possible, masking my face in deep shadow while keeping my eyes glued to the polished marble floor. We walked right past them, the girls chatting happily about midday snacks, completely oblivious to the fact that we were walking mere inches away from the man who had tried to vaporize me twelve hours ago.
"Please tell me this old man is too blind to notice me," I prayed internally, my fingers twitching near my blazer buttons, ready to draw my blood sword in a fraction of a second if my cover blew right here in the hallway.
Just as the edge of my black umbrella cleared the shadow of the stained-glass window, a hand shot out with terrifying speed.
"SNATCH."
Before I could dodge without revealing my reflexes, fingers tightly clamped onto the collar of my blazer, pulling me right out from the middle of my little harem.
"Well, well, well, Zenni, arriving bright and early, and already surrounded by three beautiful girls. Aren't we popular?" a sharp, authoritative voice chimed.
I groaned internally. It was Elicia, my older sister. She stood there in her pristine Principal's robes, her hands on her hips, looking down at me with absolute disapproval. With her striking silver hair and piercing crimson eyes, the exact hereditary traits of the Rynd bloodline, she looked incredibly imposing, almost like a strict, nagging grandmother despite her high status.
She had absolutely no idea that the slum kid junkie she was currently scolding by the collar was actually her own little sister, Eirene, operating under a high-level magical disguise. To her, I was just Zenni Roy, the problematic academy freshman who had been skipping classes.
Aisha, Amelia, and Cindy immediately gasped, taking a synchronized step back and bowing their heads in respect.
"Good morning, Principal Elicia!"
I immediately shifted into character, raising my hands defensively while keeping the black umbrella tilted perfectly to block the morning sun from my skin. I forced Zenni's signature troublemaker smirk onto my face, whining playfully.
"Whoa, wait, Principal! Hold on a second, I didn't do anything wrong! They're the ones who jumped me!"
"Save it, Zenni, there is a strict policy against public displays of affection inside the campus corridors. This is a magic academy, not a dating lounge. Do it again, and you'll be spending your entire week cleaning the alchemy labs during detention. Am I clear?" Elicia scolded, releasing my collar with a firm flick of her wrist. She crossed her arms, her crimson eyes narrowing.
"Crystal clear, ma'am,"
While Elicia was busy lecturing me, my peripheral vision was entirely locked onto the man standing right beside her. The Archivist.
The cold-blooded leader of the Eastern District Clan slowly turned his head. His sharp, calculating eyes swept over my uniform, my messy dark hair, and the black umbrella I was holding. My heart thudded silently against my ribs.
"Does he recognize the uniform? Does he smell the lavender perfume covering the lotus dust?" I thought
The Archivist stared at me for two agonizing seconds. Then, he let out a faint, dismissive scoff and turned his gaze back to the paperwork in his hands.
To him, I wasn't the terrifying blood mage who had slaughtered his elite execution squad on the bridge last night. I was just a pathetic, low-life slum boy getting scolded by the principal for flirting in the hallway. A complete nobody. An insignificant troublemaker beneath his notice.
"Principal Rynd, if we could return to the council budget report..." the Archivist said smoothly, his voice completely indifferent as he ignored my existence entirely.
"Of course, Lord Archivist," Elicia responded, turning her back to me. She gave me one last warning glare over her shoulder.
"Get to the canteen, Zenni. Don't let me catch you slacking off."
"Yes, ma'am!" I squeaked out.
I grabbed the girls by their shoulders and quickly ushered them down the hallway toward the canteen doors, letting out a massive, silent sigh of relief under the cover of my umbrella. The Archivist had completely bought the act. My cover was flawless, my sister was clueless, and the phantom student remained safely in the shadows.