"Hey, is this seat open?"

The conversation that had been going on amongst the small group of students dies immediately. They all stare at me, panic-stricken.

"Y…your Highness!" They all immediately stand, and back away from the table.

A young man bows to me. "We will find somewhere else to sit, Your Highness…"

"Whoa, whoa, cool you jets! I'm just asking if this seat - right in front of me - is open."

Out of all the students, there's only one that is still seated - a rather gloomy-looking young man. He looks right at me, and his brown eyes flash a bright red.

"No, actually, it is not. Lewis was sitting there. He just went to the restroom."

All the other students turn to him in apparent shock. I smile at him. It's always nice to see someone with the balls to stand up to spoiled pricks.

"See? Was that so hard?" I shrug politely as I back away. "Have a good dinner, guys."

With that, I turn on my heel and continue to walk down between the long tables, searching for a place to sit.

I can't believe how massive this hall is - it's at least twice as big as Carnegie Hall, if not bigger!

I feel so many eyes on me that my skin is crawling. I wish that Dame Alex was with me - but the knights are eating separately. I hope she's okay, and that nobody is giving her a hard time…

Who am I kidding? She can handle herself.

I eventually find another open spot on the seemingly endless bench. I look at the young woman across from the open spot, and I'm immediately enraptured by her eyes.

Both of her eyes are a stormy gray, with a small amount of orange in the center.

Her eyes quickly flash a murky green. I guess she has a positive impression of me, then? Still not sure how this boon thing works - or if the eye color thing is even from the boon.

"Hi - I don't believe we've met." I extend my hand towards her. A few people around us fall into a hush.

She arches an eyebrow at me. Her thin lips curl into a small smile, and she introduces herself as she delicately places her hand in mine.

"Greetings, Your Highness. I am Maria Thevenin, of the Thevenin Duchy. It is truly an honor to meet you."

"Uh…hello, Maria. It's a pleasure to meet you." I awkwardly shake her hand, as I'm not really sure how to shake hands with someone when their hand is a limp noodle.

"Oh! You were prompting for…a handshake!"

"Y-yeah?"

"I apologize - I assumed you wanted to kiss my hand!" She withdraws her hand and puts on an overly sweet smile. "Perhaps the lascivious rumors about you are not true after all!"

I cock an eyebrow at her. "Uhh…right. Anyway - is this seat open?"

"Of course, Your Highness. You may sit wherever you please."

"Uh, sure, but…was anyone sitting here before I came over? I'd rather not take someone's spot."

"You don't need to worry, Your Highness - this was nobody's spot."

Something about the way she says that strikes me as odd, but I'm not going to dwell on it.

Instead, I excuse myself as I step over the bench and sit down, between two other students. I make sure to keep my legs as close together as possible to avoid touching their legs with my own.

"Thanks. So, how has your day been so far?"

"It has been quite good, Your Highness. And yourself?"

Well, I died, got reincarnated into a junkie, met an absolute queen of a woman, took a shit in the woods, met a Spriggan and an adorable Shadow Wolf, and then entered into an institution that reminds me of the most socially awkward and anxiety-inducing interactions I've ever had.

"You know, I can't complain."

"That's a relief."

"How about you guys?" I look around at the surrounding students, hoping to pull them into the conversation so they can pick up the slack and I can coast.

"Er…it was very good, Your Highness…"

"Indeed…it was quite enjoyable…"

"Y-yes, I must concur…"

The stiffness of the responses I receive initially irritate me a bit, but I take a beat to think and realize that they're probably just uncomfortable with being casual with a prince.

"Hey - it's alright, you guys. You don't need to force it. I don't want to force you to act like I'm an equal - I just want you to be comfortable."

"Oh, my, Your Highness! How benevolent!" Maria covers her mouth. "It seems as though you're already quite comfortable with lowering yourself to the level of others. Ohhhh-hohoho!"

Fuck me, that's an instant migraine…

Before I have a chance to reply, someone approaches me from behind and loudly clears their throat.

I turn around with a start, and find that headmaster Arthur Samuel is directly behind me!

"Mister Moore, I would like to speak with you prior to the start of dinner."

Some students around us audibly gasp. I roll my eyes in irritation. "Okay - lead the way, Headmaster."

The headmaster nods, but doesn't say anything as he turns on his heel and begins to walk away.

"I'll talk to you guys later." I smile as I awkwardly climb out of my seat, and hurry to follow the headmaster.

It's a short walk, as he evidently has a room nearby set aside for things such as this.

"Before you say anything, I would like for you to know that while I am more than happy to have you as a student, I am not pleased with the circumstances of your admission. The integrity of this Academy has been compromised, and I will not allow for it to degrade any further. As such, poor behavior will not be permissible. Under any circumstances. Do you understand?"

I nod curtly. "Yes, sir. I would like to assure you, however, that I am dedicated to improving myself, and I will be focusing exclusively on my studies."

He just nods. He doesn't seem surprised, despite the rumors that he must have heard about me. Weird guy. "Hmmm. Good. Now, please return to your dinner, and I hope you enjoy your time at the Academy."

I nod, and extend my hand. We share a firm handshake, and I exit the room first to return to my seat.

At the last second, I get a strange feeling, and look back, just as the door swings closed. I didn't see him leave, but…he's no longer there.

I shrug it off. Magic, amiright?

When I return to the dining hall, the first thing I notice is that the seat I was in has been taken by a young man that Maria seems to be having a spirited conversation with.

I deliberately avoid drawing her attention. I don't want to end up breaking up a conversation and being in an awkward spot.

When I look around for a new seat, my eyes eventually settle on the same gloomy-looking kid from earlier. He's now sitting completely alone, and is staring down at the table.

I feel a pang of empathy in my chest. I've been in that position before.

I immediately make my way over to him, ignoring a young man that attempts to get my attention as I make a bee-line for the poor kid.

I sit down directly across from him. He briefly glares at me before looking away, his eye flashing a bright crimson.

"Hi. I'm Eric. And you are?"

"I know who you are, Your Highness." He mumbles under his breath, not looking up at me. "Everyone here knows who you are."

"They know my name, and my face. But they don't know who I am."

"You are a prince, Your Highness. That is all that matters." He finally looks up at me. "So, that begs the question…why are you wasting your time with a commoner such as myself? Don't you have more princely matters to attend to?"

"And what princely matters would you think I have to attend to?"

"Being popular. Not caring about the people. Letting the people that work the hardest for you toil away until their dying breath." His face darkens. "Like my father."

The surrounding students have gone completely silent. I have to admit, I'm surprised by his chutzpah.

I sigh heavily, and slump a bit in my seat. I've seen plenty of kids in his position - especially after the cleanup following 9/11. A lot of cases of lung cancer and other respiratory diseases could've been avoided with more and better PPE.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure that your father's death was avoidable, and you're right to be upset. I would be willing to discuss this further, but…not here." I look around at the people watching us. "I don't want to make your personal matters entertainment for others."

Everyone watching quickly turns around, and start muttering amongst themselves. I can't help but shake my head in disappointment. I suppose people truly don't change, even across realities.

"If you'd like to be alone for now, I understand. Just let me know if you'd like for me to leave."

He stares down at his hands, but doesn't say anything. I nod to myself, and settle in for the long haul.

Just then, the headmaster's voice begins to ring out throughout the hall. A quick look around confirms that he's at the head of the hall, at a podium on a raised dais. I didn't even see him walk in.

"Dinner will be served momentarily. Before then, there are some things I would like to say, that were not addressed during orientation.

"First and foremost, tomorrow marks the beginning of your lectures. All four primary track lectures will be held tomorrow, to allow you to familiarize yourselves with them. In the future, you will never have two main track lectures on the same day.

"The schedule will be posted on the lecture hall door tomorrow morning, at 8 AM sharp. You can either attend all of them, or only the ones you are interested in. Enrollments will open at the end of the final lecture. If you choose to enroll in a more general track, you may switch to a specialized track at any point during your time here." He takes a moment to take a sip of water.

"Furthermore, you will be paired with upperclassmen tomorrow that can assist you with settling into your schedules, and sorting out your school supplies.

"Lastly, you may not have sexual relations with any of your fellow students while attending the Academy. This is a place of learning, not of hedonism."

A few people audibly sigh or click their tongues. I immediately notice that they're all men, and can't help but chuckle.

Oh, to be eighteen and think that you're a sexual powerhouse…

Truly, a cursed existence.

"And now, dinner will be served." He claps his hands, and I half expect food to just materialize on the tables. Unfortunately, no such thing happens, and plenty of staff come filing in to distribute an absolutely monstrous amount of food.

"Holy fuck…" I can't help but watch in wonder as more and more food is brought in.

A plate of steak is placed in front of me, and it looks like the juiciest damn cut of meat I've ever seen.

Sauces are placed down in small dishes alongside the meat. I actively ignore them.

As I start to eat my first meal since being reincarnated, I hum in satisfaction.

"Damn, that's good…"

The gloomy kid looks at me in surprise. "You're…not using the sauce? I thought all nobility used sauce on their steak…"

I shake my head, and impart upon him truly sage advice.

"When you have good meat, so long as it's seasoned and cooked right, you don't need sauce. You can accentuate it with the sauce, but then that hides the underlying flavor and the tenderness. And the absolute worst thing you can do is smother it with sauce." I cut open the meat to show the slightly red interior. "And if you ever eat steak at anything above medium rare, you're a heathen."

"Hmmm." He shifts his focus to his dish. "My father always said…don't hide the meat. And that any man that says the same is worthy of respect."

Weird saying, but okay.

He looks up at me with a stern expression.

"I'll acknowledge that you may not have been directly responsible for his death…but I still want the royal family held accountable for their negligence. With proper oversight, both him and countless other men would still be alive. No matter what happens, I will not stop pursuing justice."

God damn. Every time this kid opens his mouth, I just develop more and more respect for him.

But also…strange that he's changing his tune just because I eat meat the same way his father did.

Ah, whatever. Everyone has different values.

"Good." His eyes go wide at that. "That determination is something you should never lose. And your cause is something worth fighting for." I smile at him. "To have raised a young man such as yourself…your father must have been a great man."

I pick up my glass of water, and hold it out to him. We weren't served alcohol, and even if we had been, I don't drink, so…this will have to do.

"To his memory."

He picks up his glass, his eyes beginning to grow misty as he presses it against my own. "... to his memory."

We finish our toast, and quietly return to eating.

"...Nicholas."

I look at him with a smile.

"Good to meet you, Nicholas."

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the headmaster watching us, and nodding in approval.

Seriously - that guy is fuckin' weird. I bet if he lived in New York, he'd be one of those old guys on the subway that preached the bible, and then went on a ten minute tirade about how Jesus was actually the Devil or some shit.

Ah, New York - good times.