Chapter 5: My Name is…

05

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After that, I was stopped by the gatekeepers from the guard house. The gatekeepers were wearing uniforms of the Safiede Kingdom army. They didn’t seem to be sorcerers.
I felt a bit tense because they were armed, but it all seemed to be normal procedure.
“There was a lot of noise outside just now… Uh, are you a new student? What’s your exam number and name?”

At this point, I noticed that the walls around me had barriers made with spirit magic. It was the ‘Perjury’ art. It senses the movement of a mind that tries to deceive others, so it will react if you try to lie.

When I look closely at the magic crests floating, pale and white, I can see Zephyr’s hand in them. They seem to use formulas that I don’t understand, and they are at least half the normal size.
In other words, I can’t break them. As a sorcerer, my brother and sister disciples are still better than me.

But well, it won’t be a problem to say my real name.
“Exam number 029, ‘Subaru Jin.'”
“Subaru Jin?”
The guards looked at each other and then said,
“That’s an unusual name.”

“Yes. My ancestors were from the Zeoga clan, and the name is still passed on from generation to generation. But I usually use a more common name.”
“I see.”
“Zeoga is an ancient kingdom that died out a long time ago, isn’t it?”
Yes, my homeland was destroyed. Thanks to a silly war.

In fact, ‘Subaru Jin’ is my real name. And Chvaldin is just a name that I use. My master gave it to me so that I would not be exposed to prejudice and discrimination after my country was destroyed and I was forced to live among a different race.
I’ve never explained this to anyone, so I don’t think the other disciples know about it. Of course, Zephyr shouldn’t know either.

The gatekeepers check the stone tablet on the wall, which is apparently a magic device, but it doesn’t respond.
Then they check their documents and nod.
“There’s no problem. Oh, so you’re an honor student?”
“You might be our boss in the future. Be nice to us when that happens.”

As I intended to leave, that would surely not happen.
However, the gate guards were probably joking about it. And so I made a show of chuckling at it.
“I doubt it. Haha.”

Then the gatekeepers chuckled back and saluted me.
“Welcome to the Maldegar Academy of Magic.”
“Thank you.”
After that, I received a set of necessary documents. Like this, the inspection ended successfully.

As I passed through the main gate of the Maldegar Academy of Magic, I called out to my black cat, Kaja.
“Kaja, record this.”
“Record what?”
“A map of this place.”

It’s inconvenient to carry around paper, and depending on the situation, it can look suspicious.
“Come on now.”
“Yes, yes…”
“You only need to answer once.”.

According to the map, the Maldegar Academy of Magic seems to have a boys’ dormitory and a girls’ dormitory. My room is a corner room on the fourth floor at the top of the building. Not only that, but it is a room for one person.
It must have the best view then. Fit for an honor student.
But I’m not too happy about it.

“The corner rooms in mountain castles are cold in winter…”
“You’re talking like an old man, master.”
“I am an old man.”
I swear to myself that I will leave before it gets cold.

As I climbed the stairs, I glanced around at the place. It seems that students other than honor students are put in a room with four people. It’s a good thing that I have a private room, because any strange words or actions could expose me immediately.
There are hardly any magical monitoring devices in the academy. And it seems that there are none in this dormitory. There was a warning device that reacted to dangerous amounts of magic, but this was probably for the safety of the magic experiments, not for monitoring the students.

After I closed the door of the private room, I can finally feel relief.
“Ah, now I can relax.”
I could just go and see Zephyr right away, but before that, I would learn a little more about the academy. While I doubted it, it would be very troubling if my old brother was conducting any evil research.

But as I was lying on my bed, thinking about this and that, there was a knock at the door.
“Who is it?”
“Me. It’s me.”
Uh, and who are you?
As I wondered this, a familiar redhead popped out. It was number 011 from the exam.

“Hey, Number 029.”
“It’s Jin. Who are you?”
“Tosh. I’m an Elementalist. Don’t you remember my beautiful chanting?”
If anything, I was more impressed by that red, pointy hair of his.

The boy who introduced himself as Tosh approached me with a smirk.
“Having a private room is great, isn’t it? I became an honor student because I didn’t want to be in a room with four other people.”
I see. Will you please leave now?

I wanted to turn him away, but he was a teenage boy and I was an old man. As an older man, I felt too sorry for him to be that indignant.

As I stroke my chin and think about how to react, Tosh sits back on a chair and looks out of the window.
“I’m jealous of your corner room. It feels so open.”
I think it’s cold. And it’s on the fourth floor.
Tosh looks at my face and smirks again.

“We both have the luxury of being in private rooms. I’ve got some lewd books that I’ll lend you whenever you need them. Just don’t get any weird stains on it, okay?”
“No, I have no need for them.”
This boy. He was probably an idiot.
But I’m starting to like him somehow.

After that, Tosh was silent for some time.
Then, suddenly, he opened his mouth.
“Hey, who are you anyway?”
His expression was very serious.

As a classmate, he would be curious, since I had caused such a scene during the entrance exam.
I’m not going to reveal my true identity, but I’ll be as honest as I can.
“I’m just like you. Someone who is studying the art of magic.”
“…I see.”

Tosh stood up and put his hand on the doorknob.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll tell me eventually. It was nice meeting you, Jin.”
“Yes, likewise.”
It will be a short relationship, but I will be friendly towards him.

“Oh, did you want to borrow the lewd books?”
“I already said that I didn’t need them.”
Yes, he really was an idiot.

Next Chapter

The Hiding Wise Man Can Not Hide