章 7: Ominous Feeling [Ch-6]
"You have quite the... interesting family, don't you, student Razeil?"
The attendant spoke as he attempted to stifle his subtle laughter at the recent incident.
"Haha.. Yes, it would appear so."
'Damn it Greeves!'
I replied awkwardly, my face still red as I cursed at that damn butler in my head. Though it had been a short while since he had left, the feeling of embarrassment was still there since quite a large number had heard him and were staring at me. Though oddly enough, a few of them were excessively pitying me as well.
Attempting to ignore the stares, I followed the attendant as he began to guide me towards my destination after handing me back some documents he had requested.
"It'll be quite a long walk to Gate 13."
He informed me as he tapped away at his tablet, scouring a map of the harbor.
The boarding process of entering the academy followed a process similar, oddly, to that of a commercial airport. Each student, when admitted to the academy, received a Certificate of Acceptance, and it was on said certificate that you would find all the necessary details regarding the entrance process.
'Though I disliked him at the moment, he was as meticulous as they came.'
Greeves, despite his soppy behavior, had managed to slip the necessary documents, though I don't know when, into my suitcase, which, thankfully enough, included this certificate, without which I would likely have been told to turn back and leave.
As I cursed the butler's helpfulness, I attempted to put the certificate away after hastily giving it a quick look myself. Though I caught the words 'Gate 13' on the bottom right, verifying the attendant's words; it would appear that this body had yet to completely recover from the phenomenon of ⸢True Demonization⸥ since my grip on the certificate weakend causing it to slip past the opening of the suitcase and onto the ground.
'... This frail body.'
Embarrassed again, I knelt down and picked it up, then immediately got up and placed it back into the suitcase. With the futile hope that no one saw that display, I looked at the attendant, hoping to start moving again towards my destination of Gate 13.
"... Are you sure you'd like to walk there? With such a distance, we can always take a buggy."
He asked as he pointed to a vehicle akin to a modern-day club car. It would appear that my current destination would be quite a while away; if so, taking a motorized vehicle would be advisable, but...
"That's quite alright. I'd prefer walking if that's alright with you."
I knew about certain people present in this harbor at the moment, and I myself needed to avoid quite a few of these people, including the MC himself. And since I couldn't control the path of this buggy or even who might sit next to me and accompany me, I'd much rather walk.
"O-Oh! If that's what you prefer, we can walk as well. I only suggested using the buggy given your condition."
'What?'
How did he know of my condition? I didn't recall such a character that was strong within the game, nor do my own instincts tell me that he could possibly know... Then how-
"I was informed by your butler that you had quite the heinous accident... He said that it had caused some visual impairment and partial loss in mobility. That's why he wanted to accompany you at least till you boarded and joined the academy campus."
'Greeves!'
That idiot butler! Did he not know that such explanations, though in the short term could be helpful, knowing the human psychology would just end up turning into rumors! Is that why some of the stares had an excess of pity in them?
"I-I do apologize! But despite your condition, we couldn't make an exception and allow him inside... B-But we assured him we do you that we will help you reach your destination properly! I'll help you get to Gate 13 immediately!"
Given my expression of annoyance aimed at Greeves, the attendant may have misinterpreted at whom I was mad and had provided me with an explanation, with a frazzled voice, that furthered my displeasure at the butler.
'But.. for now, I'll have to follow suit.'
The attendant had unfortunately raised his voice as he apologized, creating quite the scene with me at the center of it. Though I did nothing wrong and wanted to correct him, I needed a better reason behind the special apparatus of my blindfold to do so, which I currently did not have.
Besides, attempting to correct him now would only make it seem like I couldn't accept what this so-called 'accident' had done to me and would make this situation more of a scene than it currently was.
"I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. I'd prefer walking since it would let me move around and hence help with my physical rehabilitation."
I answered politely, with the best-sounding reasoning I could think of. Though I had played along with Greeves' lie, I still refused to ride the buggy. It was too risky.
"O-Oh! Then we should get moving immediately! Please follow me, and let me know if you'd like me to slow down or speed up! To help with your physical rehabilitation, of course!"
'I'm going to kill that damn butler.'
I was beginning to see the parts of being involved in a loving family that I disliked. Still, after cursing at the butler one last time. I moved behind the attendant as we began walking towards our destination.
***
Though as of now I had seen otherworldly scenes, talked with characters that I couldn't believe to be real, and even experienced sensations that couldn't possibly exist in my last life. This still felt surreal, as it was just a dream but not reality.
But this sensation of reality was beginning to sink in as I looked around the harbor while I made my way to my designated gate, guided by the attendant.
Throughout my walk, I had observed a multitude of families and children situated all throughout the harbor. Looking at the sheer number made me appreciate the true amount of people that were present in the academy, yet that wasn't the most fascinating phenomenon that I could see.
Though each of these families were situated in a designated lounging area, in front of the specific gates for their children, it was the antics present among them were quite unbelieveable: sparks shot out of excited family members of a certain yellow-haired student as static electricity could be felt around them; elsewhere, tree roots and branches had taken over a certain portion of a different lounging area as another family chatted away over a cup of tea.
Furthermore, I could see rainfall that was unnaturally occurring nearby as a different family prepared to say their goodbyes to their child. I believe I even spotted some families that had managed to manifest some form of animalistic characteristics as well.
'How curious...'
It really was a fantasy world. The realization finally dawned on me. It was finally beginning to feel real, that I was really stuck within a world that I was not off, but rather the world of my cherished game. Given this, it would appear that despite my efforts, surprise and wonder were easily visible on my face, since even the attendant had noticed it.
"Is this your first time seeing such a wide array of traits and abilities?"
He asked me without looking back, continuing on his path and kept walking slowly.
"Ah... Pardon me! Yes, this is my first time... I didn't get out much due to my frail body, and recently, after my accident, I've had even fewer opportunities."
I replied shortly after realizing I had been spoken too, without much thought as I continued looking around in a trance of childlike wonder.
"I see... Then it's a good thing that your parents thought of sending you here. I've worked here for barely 2 years, and I can bet that I've seen more miraculous sights than even his Imperial Highness Rosenthal!"
He chuckled as he kept talking, when, to my surprise, a random fireball flew towards us.
- Twang!
- Thud!
- Hiss!
Before it could hit us, a slight see-through material shielded the both of us, dispelling the fireball into thin air. Though I saw this happen, I couldn't help but flinch a little.
"Haha! Don't worry too much; this sort of thing happens every year! Usually we hire a few mages to keep the walkways safe and protect people against this sort of thing."
He pointed towards the hotheaded couple, who seemed to be arguing loudly, flinging fireballs at each other while their child watched as if nothing strange was going on. Though now that he saw us, he got up and bowed, apologizing for the stray fireball.
The attendant raised his hand, reciprocating, then continued talking while moving onwards.
"So just look around without much worry! Besides, if worst comes to worst and a bad fight breaks out, though I can't tell you why, this time we even have Imperial Knights on standby!"
Unlike the plethora of abilities I was observing, this I knew about. Imperial Knights were strong NPCs that would soon have a part to play since the Prologue cum Tutorial began on this harbor itself.
'Demonic Beasts will appear soon.'
Though lackluster, the appropriately leveled enemies would randomly appear at the gate at which the MC, 'Cyrus Raeford', would be present. The game would then use this sudden appearance to teach the player the combat system as Cyrus held off these demonic beasts until the Imperial Knights arrived.
'I hope he has a different gate.'
I couldn't do much else but hope that he would receive a different gate than me, since if I had the same gate as him, I would also have to be in the presence of demonic beasts. Though they were not demons, I had a feeling that nothing good could come of being near them.
"Oh my, I must have talked too much! It would appear that we have arrived at Gate 13!"
He spoke, coming to a brisk halt. I didn't realize how far away from the crowd we had gotten as I remained entranced, looking back at the collection of different families and abilities.
"Hello? Student?"
"H-Hello? A-Ah! Yes! My apologies; I was a bit distracted."
'... How can I get entranced so easily? Especially in my situation.'
I sighed, disappointed in myself as I turned to look at the attendant, who had a large smug grin on his face.
"Haha! That's fine; I can understand how you feel! I was exactly like you when I first joined this job! But I got used to it! So will you; don't worry... Now then.."
He spoke smugly as he turned to introduce me to the gate. Why did all the people in this world have such weird personalities, I wondered.
"Here we are; this is the lounge for your gate... and if you look a little further back.. There! You can see that booth; go and talk to the attendant sitting inside it for further instructions."
Though he had made it sound rather plain, he had just introduced an exceedingly lavish lounging area that was present underneath one of the strands of the humongous luminous rope that was tethering the giant island to the harbor.
In front of the lounging area was a small booth above which hovered the words, ⸢Gate 13⸥, attached to this booth was a golden gate that was part of the lengthy fence that was present between the bottom of the island and the harbor.
"Oh my, this is the fanciest lounge I have seen! You must be from some Noble Family student! Anyhow, I've done my job! Oh... Dammit, I'm late! All the best, student! Have fun at the academy!"
Looking at his watch, he quickly began to rush back as he ran and jumped on a nearby buggy that was returning to the drop-off point.
These separate gates and lounges, though might seem like a pointless hassle, from my observations had a hidden meaning. From all the lounges I had observed, it would appear that each lounge only had people from the same rung of the socio-political ladder.
Many lounges were decorated for commoners, and many for differing nobilities that were theough unwritten, were on the same level. And the reason behind this act seemed simple enough.
'You wouldn't want to worry about social formalities when you're wishing farewell to your child while celebrating their admission into the academy.'
Hence, even the placement of these gates and lounges was well thought out so as to avoid differing unwritten noble classes from being near each other, having certain 'commoner' lounges in between. Though, if you didn't look closely, you couldn't really tell; it was something I couldn't have seen in the game but made me appreciate the academies' planning furthermore.
But... In that case, why was this lounge so extravagantly fancy?
'...'
I was getting a bad feeling. My instincts were warning me of something as I scoured the lounging area. Though lavish, it was completely empty. Other than that, it looked like nothing like the humble lounge scene from the game. Then... just why was I getting such an ominous sense?
'Still, I just can't stand here.'
I walked through the lounging area, reaching the booth, which was attended by a unique-looking attendant.
'Woah!'
Suudenly, my vision felt ever so slightly hazy as I felt a slight discomfort similar akin to ⸢True Demonization⸥ but at a much, much lower scale, emerge within me.
'What is this?'
"Could you P-Please provide me your D-Documents?!"
The extremely pale woman asked with her face still lowered, though she appeared slightly different; I couldn't really tell since I was currently pre-occupied by this sudden sense of discomfort, so much so that I only barely managed to provide her with the necessary documents from my suitcase.
"Y-You're identity had been verified... Here you g-glo."
Without thinking much of it, I retrieved the documents, putting them back into my suitcase, and handed them to the attendant. Quickly looking through it, she stamped it gently before returning it to me.
"Please wait in the l-lounge until Y-Ube been called to board."
"T-Thank You."
I couldn't help but stutter as I replied to her odd manner of speech.
'Ugh..'
Though it wasn't painful, it was quite the displeasing sensation, due to which I quickly headed to the lounging area without putting the documents back and sat down in one of the luxurious chairs.
'Huh.'
The sensation disappeared rather quickly, suspiciously so... I wonder why? Though I wanted to investigate, especially since I had that ominous feeling earlier... but before I could do anything, I heard a set of footsteps and wheels approach.
"Hah! I told you, Melia! I told you I could find it alone!"
"I can see that, Cillian... But please, could you at least try not to be so loud on the day we enter the academy?"
A tall man, accompanied by a slim lady, silently pushed a wheelchair containing an elegant-looking girl, her legs covered by cloth, while a muscular and toned teenager, slightly taller than me, hurriedly dashed about in front of the obvious, rather beautiful, family.
The children were obviously twins given that they both sported orange-rose hair and sapphire eyes, which were inherited from their father and mother, respectively. But that wasn't the problem...
'Was this the reason for my ominous feeling?'
Why did I have you meet this family? Why did I have to meet the Imperial Family of Rosenthal here? Though they were disguised in hair color and eye color, it was undeniably them.
I didn't want to meet the MC and had thankfully avoided him along with most of the strong supporting characters to prevent my condition from being discovered, but this encounter just might screw me royally.
'I need to avoid getting near the parents at the least.'
I was sure my condition would be recognized if I went near the Imperial Ruler and her Highness since I knew how strong they were. Contrary to this, I could gamble on the fact that the characters had yet to develop sufficiently to detect my condition. So if worst came to worst, and I had to interact with them, I could at least communicate with the teenagers.
But besides this, there were still so many oddities from what I recalled to be present in the game.
'Amelia and Cillian von Rosenthal... Why are you so different?'
Throughout the game, though both twins were present, you could never meet Amelia other than through character pictures or catching glimpses of her when you went to the hospital in the academy and bumped into Cillian exiting her room. And Cillian! Why was personality so different? From my recollection, he had an attitude that hated the academy's faculties and picked fights with them constantly, always with a sour mood.
'Just what had happened between now and then?'
"Oh my! Was a student already here? It appears we are late today, aren't we, dear?"
Her imperial highness, Gloria von Rosenthal, commented upon seeing me sit there with my elegant posture that was second nature, as his imperial highness nodded silently.
"Oh dear! What happened to your eyes, dear? Just look at that blindfold."
She asked me cinsiderately, but I was unable to reply as she was dragged along by her son, who was rushing quickly towards the booth in front of the gate.
"Later! Later mother! Let us finish up registering first!"
The family who was dragged along by Cillian silently sighed simultaneously as each of them gave me a slight nod of apology. I reciprocated with a deeper nod as they moved on. This etiquette was very important in this world, though I was going to enter the academy; currently, I couldn't avoid it.
I watched the family happily teeter towards the booth, with an inevitable sense of excitement exuberating from them.
'How did I end up in this new mess?'
I cursed my luck as I watched them reach the booth and hand over similar documents to mine. When suddenly-
- BOOM!
A sudden noise erupted from farther within the harbor.
'It's begun.'
The prologue event that I had expected to occur had likely begun.
- Whoosh
I heard a gust of wind move about behind me. It must have been the Imperial Knights that had been protecting the Imperial Crown from afar, the very same knights that would soon come to the aid of Cyrus Raeford.
Though I had flinched at the loud noise, I wasn't surprised. Hence my gaze hadn't faltered from observing the Imperial family; all of them had turned away to look at the source of the sound when, unbeknownst to them, the attendant was inching her odd-looking face closer to them.
Suddenly, as if she had reached close enough, her neck stopped moving as her face turned into a different creature altogether, immediately breathing in and readying herself to breathe out something that was obviously nefarious.
I now realized the reason behind that ominous feeling and that terrible discomfort I had experienced. I knew why the moment I laid eyes on the figure that was in front of me.
'Demonic Beast.'
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