Arnos stumbled slightly, his curiosity piqued. he thoughts to himself, wait, If she really is the princess, like everyone says, why isn't she attending Arens Institute instead of Celera? Before he could dwell too much on the question, a girl with shoulder-length blue hair and matching blue eyes approached him. She was about his height, though that put her slightly on the shorter side, considering Arnos's lack of height.

  Arnos instinctively glanced at her attire, quickly noting the absence of any noble insignia. A commoner, like me, he thought.

  "You alright there? That was some commotion back there," the girl said, her gaze settling on Arnos. She took in his appearance, his short stature, slender build, and wavy hair that gave him a distinct look, complemented by his deep black eyes and matching hair.

  Arnos flashed her a grin. "You bet it was. Turns out, avoiding problems is way harder than it looks."

  The girl smirked slightly, a flicker of amusement crossing her face. "Yeah, but from where I was standing, that whole entrance was pretty entertaining."

  Arnos chuckled, shaking his head. "Honestly? If I'd been watching instead of starring in it, I'd probably have laughed too." After a moment, he tilted his head, his curiosity getting the better of him. "So, uh… if you don't mind me asking, are you well, you know a commoner too?"

  "Yep," she replied with a playful whisper, shielding her mouth with her hand as if it were some big secret. "It's kind of awkward being here, don't you think? Some of these students are really… weird."

  Arnos nodded in agreement. "You can say that again." His thoughts wandered back to his earlier encounter with the so-called princess.

  The girl offered a warm smile. "I'm Mabel Webbles, by the way."

  "You can call me Arnos," he replied with a slight shrug. "No family name or anything, just Arnos."

  Her playful demeanor softened as she gave him a thoughtful look. "Are you…?"

  Arnos gave a small nod, acknowledging the universal truth of those without a surname. "Yeah, I'm an orphan. Lost my parents in a fire. I don't really remember much about them I was still a baby. Never even had a name until the orphanage head decided to give me one."

  Mabel's smile faded, replaced by quiet sympathy and a dour look. "That must've been hard."

  Arnos shrugged, his expression distant. "It was, but honestly, I think it was tougher on the kids who had memories of their families. I never had any memories to miss?"

  Before the conversation could go any deeper, Arnos noticed the flow of students heading toward the auditorium. His eyes widened in sudden realization. "Wait a second… has the inauguration ceremony already started?"

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Mabel's face paled, and she practically jumped in place. "What? We're going to miss it!" Mabel said as she grabbed his arm, and started dragging him down the hallway. "Come on, we're late!"

  Before Arnos could even protest, Mabel pulled him along like a sack of potatoes. They reached the auditorium doors in record time, only to find the headmaster's speech already in progress.

  Arnos glanced at Mabel with a calm expression. "Miss Webbles, I believe in being a gentleman, you could go in first if you want."

  Mabel rolled her eyes, giving him a deadpan look. "This isn't the era for gentlemen anymore. Girls are just as capable as guys so you're coming in with me."

  Before Arnos could argue, a hand landed firmly on both their shoulders. The unexpected force made them stumble forward, and with a loud bang, they burst through the doors, drawing the attention of everyone inside. The room fell silent, save for a few stifled laughs and whispered comments.

  At the podium, the headmaster stood erect. A stern man with sharp eyes, gray hair, and a white coat draped over a black outfit. He paused his speech. His piercing gaze settled on the two of them, and it was clear a scolding was coming.

  Before he could say a word, a calm voice cut through the tension. "Apologies, Headmaster. I borrowed these two to assist with some last-minute preparations," said a female instructor, stepping forward with an air of quiet authority.

  "They were hesitant to enter and got startled when I patted them on the shoulder. Please allow me to take responsibility for the delay."

  The headmaster gave her a long, scrutinizing look before nodding. "Very well, Miss Margrave. As for you two, find your seats quickly and quietly."

  Not needing to be told twice, Arnos and Mabel scrambled toward the back of the room, ignoring the snickers and whispers that followed their less-than-graceful entrance.

  Once seated, Mabel shot Arnos a glare. "If you'd just gone in earlier, we wouldn't have been in this mess,." she whispered.

  Arnos grinned back. "I could say the same to you. But hey, Miss Margrave did save us in the end."

  Mabel huffed. "Yeah, but she kind of got us into this situation in the first place."

  "Fair trade," Arnos said with a shrug look.

  They turned their attention back to the stage as the headmaster wrapped up his speech. "Here at Celera, we value potential above all else," he declared. "Your lineage, your background none of it matters. Whether you are royalty…" He glanced briefly toward Princess Emily, seated among the nobles. "or a commoner, what counts is your ability and your determination to grow."

  With a final nod, he concluded, "Make the most of your time here. You are dismissed."

  As the students began to rise from their seats, a male teacher with short blonde hair, square glass, and a tailored coat took the stage. "Students, please proceed to Training Field 3," he announced. "We'll begin with the mana output assessment."

  As they filed out, Arnos turned to Mabel. "Have you ever had your mana levels tested?"

  Mabel tilted her head thoughtfully. "Once, but it was a few years ago. Mana grows with practice, so it's probably different now."

  Arnos nodded. "Yeah, I read that exhausting your mana repeatedly pushes your body to adapt and expand its capacity. It makes sense, but the whole process still feels kind of complicated."

  Mabel smirked, giving him a teasing look. "It's not that complicated. Train hard, drain your mana, recover, and boom your capacity grows."

  Arnos gave her a deadpan look. "Yeah, yeah… I knew that already. Let's just get to the training field before the teachers start labeling us as troublemakers."

  Mabel looked away, guilt flickering on her face. "Honestly, I think they've already done that."

  See you next time...??