[The Stormy (?) Entrance Ceremony]
With various concerns in my mind, the entrance ceremony began.
As if to mock me for being a worrywart, the ceremony was going smoothly.
“Looks like it’ll end without a hitch, Lord Barrett.”
“Y-yeah.”
With the principal finished giving her speech, I returned to the wings of the stage and watched the ceremony with Raul.
After this, the new students were to go to the dorms where they would be given an explanation regarding the dorms’ rules.
Incidentally, they would only be able to go through the Divine Gift Ceremony when they advanced to the second year, so the new students’ lessons only consisted of basic classroom lectures and exercises. Simple they might be, but you couldn’t expect to improve if you neglected the basics. The original Barrett was a good example.
…Anyway, as Raul said, the ceremony was progressing without any problems.
It was a good thing, but… I just couldn’t relax. Because I still hadn’t identified which of the new students was Pilar Azveed.
I only knew the appearance of those who were illustrated in the first volume of the light novel and whose character designs were posted on the author’s social media accounts. Pilar only appeared in the middle of the story, so she wasn’t illustrated in the first volume.
One thing I knew was that Pilar hadn’t come into contact with Raul.
I was plagued by constant fears that something would change after seeing that dream, but… maybe my fears were groundless.
“…It seems there aren’t going to be any problems.”
I sighed in relief—but my heart was still not at ease. While Pilar hadn’t met Raul, it’d be better if I monitored her movements just to be on the safe side.
I must find out who was Pilar Azveed among these many new students during the explanation regarding the dorms after this.
The entrance ceremony ended quietly without any problems.
The new students began to move from the auditorium to the student dorms according to the instructions of Mr. Seddon, who was their head of year.
“Good work, Barrett.”
“Tayte!”
While I was following behind the new students, Tayte called out to me.
Raul turned around when I unconsciously stopped walking.
The moment our eyes met, “I’ll go on ahead,” he signaled with his eyes and gave me a thumbs up before continuing to walk. Raul… to think you can read the room now! You make me proud!
“How are you doing, Tayte? Are you tired?”
“Not at all, I’m still full of energy!” Tayte puffed out her chest.
Oh, how reliable. Looked like she had gotten used to her new position as the vice president.
“Oh, right. Actually, I have something to report.”
“Report?”
“Yes. –That said, it’s less an official matter and more of a personal one.”
“That’s okay. I’ll always be willing to listen to you.”
“W-well, I’ll take you up on your offer… Before the entrance ceremony started, I met a mysterious girl.”
As we began to make our way to the dorms, Tayte told me about the ‘mysterious girl’ she had met.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met her… but she seems to be familiar with me given the way she talked to me and all.”
“Hmm… could she mistake you for someone else?”
“I don’t think so given she mentioned my name…”
Tayte didn’t know her, but she knew Tayte.
That happened sometimes. When someone spoke to you very familiarly, but you completely forgot who they were. Then, when you asked their names, you realized you’d never been that close with them, to begin with.
I thought Tayte’s experience was similar to that, but…
“She mentioned something I didn’t quite understand.”
“What did she say?”
“‘You seem happy now’—she said.”
“?!”
When I heard those words, I felt like I was struck by lightning.
Could it be that she… knew what Tayte’s future was supposed to be like?
“Tayte! Is that girl a new student?!”
“I-I think so…”
Tayte’s eyes widened at my sudden change.
Don’t tell me… was there someone other than me who knew about the original story?!
