"Welcome new students to the most prestigious magic academy there is. My name to you will be Grandmaster Tolverkin and I congratulate you all on passing the exam, and finally starting your magic journey."
A man with short Silver hair who looked relatively young began presenting on a translucent lectern. His golden eyes scanned the room looking at each and every student as if he was analysing them. His stare did not feel intrusive, but felt more hollow than anything like the body in front of us wasn't alive.
For first impressions though, the grandmaster seemed rather friendly and cared for the students. I expected something a lot more boring and some overworked teacher to make a speech.
"I will not hold you up much longer as I'm sure your itching to start learning magic. I know some of you may already have some knowledge about magic but please be mindful that not everyone attending has had a chance to practice. As stated in the information scrolls, you all should know your class numbers and have a map."
"Without further ado, I know this was a quick introduction, but you will see why I wanted to gather you all. I hope to see you all graduating in a few years and you all may head to class now." Suddenly everyone's chair began to light up causing a bright flash. Being blinded for a short moment, the grandmaster had disappeared from the stage and in everyone's lap was a card.
[Tolver Academy Student ID]
[Saki Lingrove]
[Class: 1-C]
[Unique # T32079]
[Please use this card to access certain areas of the school as well as at the gate to record your attendance.]
Reading the details of the card, it showed a very simple photo of myself and a little bit of information.
"1-C right?" Lyra next to me leaned in close to look at my card and double-check that we were in the same class. However, I could feel her body push up against mine which under any circumstances would have caused a very awkward situation.
'It's fine, I'm technically a female, girls do this kind of stuff all the time right?' I had seen it often that girls would get rather close with each other, so Lyra pressing up against me wasn't out of the ordinary.
"Y-yes." However, I still couldn't help but stutter as once again my lack of social skills strikes again.
"Sweet, let's get going then." Lyra stood up from her chair and not wanting to be left behind I quickly got up. We then began to funnel our way out of the grand hall amongst the other students which was quite uncomfortable.
Being much more aware of my body I tried to avoid touching anyone close to me, but my tail ended up grazing people anyway. Despite it being very awkward for me, other students didn't mind and were actively trying to get a touch which only made me want to punch them.
*
Finally getting out of the moshpit of people, Lyra led the way to the classroom. Entering a wide hallway, we made our way to the back of the castle.
Reaching a massive archway that was labelled for first years, a bunch of students were walking through and entered another massive hall. This time, however, it looked more like a hub with stairs and pathways going off in different directions with signs going to a different departments.
[Science]
[Combat]
[Utility]
[General education]
….
There were more signs, but seeing as all the students were going up the general education staircase, me and Lyra followed. Entering a central hallway, rooms were on either side all labelled in order. For me and Lyra it only took a few seconds to see our room as it was only the third classroom down.
Walking through a wooden door, we were greeted with a rather normal classroom. Tables were placed in rows with about half of them taken up already by students. The teacher also hadn't arrived yet, so it wasn't surprising to see some students sitting on the tables talking to one another.
"Did you have a preference on where we sit?" Lyra turned to me asking the notorious question everyone asks on the first day of class. As per normal I would sit in the back or middle rows, but maybe going to the front row would be a good change… However, if this is the same Lyra, then she would prefer the middle row.
"Hmm, middle row unless you prefer somewhere else?" Ultimately I wanted to make Lyra happy, so I suggested the middle row, but also open it up to other choices. To me, it felt like if I did everything that Lyra liked it would come off as weird since this isn't some eroge visual novel.
"That's perfect, let's sit down before there are no more seats left then." Lyra smiled which was something to die for and it made me almost reconsider my decision to not pick all the perfect dialogue options.
'Maybe I can have a chance now… she did come out as a lesbian to me. Urgh what am I thinking, I sound like a fucking creep, she was your best friend Saki, just because you're a woman doesn't mean I can take advantage of Lyra.' I hated the dilemma I was in since things are different now, but at the same time, it felt wrong to capitalise on it.
No one will probably ever know I had a previous life, but if I try to take a step forward in having a relationship, then I feel like my moral compass will shatter.
There was one factor though that would make this whole situation unescapable… Lyra's hunting phase.
'I need to figure out how old is Lyra.' If aspects of people and how they acted stayed the same then it was safe to assume when Lyra turned 21 she will enter a phase where she goes on a dating binge.
'I hope the ages stayed the same… I remember all the different women Lyra would be with and it only caused a massive spiral in her mental health until she gave up and focused on university.'
'Maybe it's a good thing I do try, then Lyra won't end up depressed in the future.' At this point, I was close to tossing my morals out so I could take advantage of the situation. It wasn't like I was going to do any harm and I'm not pretending to be someone else, so is it really wrong?
It was hard for me to really know and I can imagine if I explained it to someone else they would laugh at me as if I was crazy.
'Arghhh who cares, no one can stop me anyway and if things don't work out, they just don't.'
"What's wrong Saki?" While I was in my own thoughts we had taken a seat and Lyra finally noticed something seemed to be off. It caught me off guard and crashed my train of thought, but that wasn't a bad thing since I was just arguing with myself at this point.
"O-oh nothing, just nervous that's all." Coming up with a reasonable excuse on the spot, Lyra seemed to buy it.
"Haha fair enough, I'm a bit nervous too." Lyra shared the same feeling although it didn't look like it at all. However, the both of us fell silent for a moment before Lyra was able to pick up the conversation again.
"So I guess to get things started, tell me about yourself." Lyra leaned on one of her hands while looking directly into my eyes. I saw a glint of interest in them which was a bit intimidating for me, but thanks to technically knowing Lyra quite well it wasn't too hard for me to talk to her.
"G-generally I find myself staying at home a lot doing some reading. I'm not really someone to go outside so more often than not I'm invested in a book. I have also tried writing one, but I can never seem to get anywhere with it."
'Good thing I have had hobbies other than anime or video games otherwise I would have no idea what to say for this kind of day and age.'
"Ooo interesting, if you want I could always give what you have written a read. Might be able to give you the idea you're missing." Lyra smiled at me again which made my heart jump again
"Haha, that's a bit embarrassing, I will have to see about that." I had no idea if there were any abandoned stories in my room, but if this body is just a different version of me surely there are some pieces of paper with attempts on them.
"You don't have to if you're uncomfortable, but I'm here if you change your mind."
"T-thanks." I felt my heart race a little since this was a Lyra I hardly ever got to experience. The usual treatment I got was very blunt and teasing which I didn't mind, but damn being on the receiving end of the sweet side felt almost… magical.
It made me wonder if this was actually her real personality. I had seen this sweet side before as a bystander, but it seemed like that was an act she put on for people she just met. It made me sceptical if I should be believing this kind of attitude, but I guess the only thing I could do is just get close to Lyra again and see how it turns out.
"Hehe no worries, now for some questions. How old are you? I know some of the students here are like 30." Lyra asked the question that I hoped would come up as it would finally give me an idea of what stage in life she was in.
"I am 20 years old. How about you?" Going off the age I was just before starting university, I hoped that was the correct choice.
"Same, I'm about to turn 21 soon though." Lyra's words were like a nail in the coffin as she was directly at the age I hoped I could avoid. It wasn't confirmed Lyra would go on a dating spree, but I couldn't help but think of this possibility since it was such a rough time for her.
It also meant the age I said was correct since I was 20 around this time as well.
"Oh cool, when is it exa-."
*BANG*
Before I could finish my sentence, the classroom door slammed open. An elf who was almost as tall as the door walked inside the room with a dominating presence. The clothes she wore were quite tight showing almost every curve and had every guy in the room with their jaws to the floor.
The clothes themselves were almost like an office uniform, but there were a lot more frills around the sleeves and body. Her blonde hair also flowed halfway down her body just covering the back denying anyone wanting a look.
"Alright everyone take your seats, my name is Hasumi and we don't have any more time to waste."