So, the three of us left the station and entered the city of Norwill. The first thing I saw were the mountains on the horizon. Norwill was above sea level, but it was not at a worrying level where a simple walk would make me faint.

The walk to the entrance to the campus was surprisingly short. When we left the station we passed through a small park, which was obviously a place for travellers to relax after a trip. After this park, we went through, what I believe, a small commercial district: A bookstore, a bakery, a grocery store, a flower shop, a boutique, a potion shop, a pawn shop, among others. I could see that that part of the city had been structured taking into account the student population of Avalon. Right after this small district, a short street that led right to the entrance to the campus was extended. Until we get to see the walls and iron gates of the Academy, John, Erina and I had a short conversation:

“Avalon Academy...”, John sighed, which started the conversation, “a few years ago, I was a student. Starting tomorrow, I will be a teacher.”

How are you feeling?” I asked.

“As if I am out of reality”

“I believe you will be a great teacher!”, Erina made a comment, meddling in the conversation, “You've faced many battles, right? A classroom is nothing compared to that!”

“Thank you for the encouragement, but teaching and fighting are different things”, John shook his head negatively, “There's no way I can gain proficiency in one doing the other.”

“In this case, All that is left for you is to gain experience, right?”

John looked at me, not understanding for sure what I meant. Seeing that I would need to be clearer, I better explained:

“You're nervous because you've never been a teacher. It's normal to feel nervous when you're going to try something for the first time. But that's why you have to face it head-on, otherwise you'll never lose your fear! Take the test! When you go to introduce yourself to the class, you will think ‘Wow, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! I don't even know why I was nervous!’”

While I was talking, I could hear some laughs. They were John's. It was no longer possible to see that expression of anxiety in the midst of his smile.

“Hahahaha, did you know you just sounded like a old uncle?”, John spoke between laughs. He even tried to raise his hand to stroke my hair, but when he saw that he was carrying a suitcase, he remembered that his hands were busy.

It was obvious that he said that to try and tease me. Hah! As if being called "old uncle" was going to affect me! Silly brother! You may be the oldest, but I'm the one who has more accumulated memories.

“I just did what was necessary to get inside your hard head, big brother!”, I replied relaxed, patting him on the back.

And by "patting", I meant "slapped". Taking into account that he was stronger, I also wanted to show my strength, even if it was little. However, when my hand collided with his back and made a loud sound, I felt a burning sensation quickly spread in the palm of my hand. Protective Goddess, what a hard back!

How is it possible?! Okay, I always suspected that he would become exceptionally strong, but it doesn't change the fact that my hand hurt!

“Anyway...”, I talked to John again to distract me from the pain, “I don't think any student will notice that you feel unprepared. You're already wearing a teacher's outfit!”

John was wearing a button T-shirt underneath an open oil blue coat, grey pants and brown shoes. You could see that the T-shirt, coat and pants had been well ironed. John definitely took a lot of care in his clothing, because he really looked like a teacher. A modest teacher, but who took his work seriously.

“I'm glad that, at least, my clothing is adequate. Although I don't think I’m formal enough. Should I put on a tie?”

“You don't have to” I assured him, “You look great that way!”

“Actually...” Erina started talking with a malicious smile on her face, a sign that she would say something provocative, “you can take off your coat. You can even unbutton the first buttons of the shirt, if you want...”

My eyes widened. I know I was aware that she would try to flirt with John, but what she said was way too provocative! I believe she was waiting for John to turn red with embarrassment but, unfortunately for her, he just laughed in response.

“Hahahaha! Miss Erina, you know very well how to deliver humorous lines! I can see that you participated in many social events.”

To Erina's bad luck, John seemed immune to her insinuations. I think it was because I was her friend or because she was younger than him. Maybe it was a combination of both. Or maybe it was because he sees her as a classy girl. In fact, I think everyone who sees her views her as an elegant lady of the high society. And there's no way to blame them. Erina tries very hard to maintain her image.

At the end of the conversation, we reached the gates of the Avalon Academy. As expected, they were tall, at the height of a truck, and were made of iron.

Crossing them, you would get to the campus. But our destination was off campus, but it still was a property of the Academy. Turning to the left, we saw four large buildings, a pair parallel to the other, which had a cozy but formal air. The stones on the walls of the dormitories were beige, but the columns on the walls were of a darker tone. The door was wide enough for two people to enter together with a considerable space between each one. These were the students' dormitories. If we had turned right, we would see the employees' dormitories.

I was astonished by the size of the dorms. They were so tall and so wide that they made me feel tiny. I think they would only lose to an imperial theatre! Okay, I may be exaggerating, but you can understand that how big they were. And on top of that there were four of them! How many students would fit in each one?

“Four dorms... Are the students separated by sex?” Erina addressed John and asked.

“Actually, no”, he replied, getting ready to explain, “In the beginning, one dormitory was enough to house all the students, but the Academy gained more prestige and the number of enrolments increased, so they had to build more dormitories.”

“But now that they are in four, an even number, why didn't they divide between boys and girls?”, I asked the question. Erina stared at me with judgment. Clearly, she was thinking ‘Don't spoil my moment!‘

“They chose not to divide by sexes to prevent one dormitory from becoming more populous than the other”, after answering me, John raised his eyebrows, as if he had realized something, “But don't worry! It never got to the point that boys and girls had to share the same room!”

“Rest assured, John!”, I assured, “I wasn't worried about myself and Erina!”

“Don't worry, John! We'll be fine!” Erina also assured.

I glanced at Erina. You could see that she was relieved, but not because she won't have to share the room with a boy, but because there will be boys in the same dormitory as her. It's not about us that you should worry about, John, but about the boys!

Leaving my worries aside, we entered the dormitory. We were in the living room. There were long sofas and armchairs, both burgundy-coloured, surrounding a coffee table made of wood. In front of the sofas and armchairs, there was a chest of drawers with a radio on top - the technological advances of this world have not yet reached the point that everyone has a TV at home - and plant pots on each side. There were also two shelves leaning against the wall, positioned perpendicularly. On that floor there were also bathrooms, kitchen with dining room and storage. Despite the cozy atmosphere I felt, there was a great detail that drew attention in that living room: a considerable pile of suitcases right in front of the mailboxes of future students and a pair of employees - a man and a woman - looking at such a pile.

“Hmmmmmm...”, the man analyzed a paper that the woman had given him with the luggage tags, “Indeed, Lanie, all the bags are in the name of a person.”

“That's what I’ve told you, David!”, the woman, Lanie, replied, “All these bags... It is not possible that they all are from only one person! I wonder if it was a mistake.”

“Probably a group of students decided to gather the luggage and put them in the name of one of them”, that was David's guess.

“Excuse me.”

Lanie and David quickly turned around when they heard Erina's voice. When she saw that she had the attention of the employees, she continued with her speech, behaving with an air of education and elegance.

“I'm looking for my luggage. Can you tell me if it have arrived? It’s in the name of ‘Erina Banloros’.”

“‘Erina Banloros’?”, Lanie widened her eyes, took the paper from David's hand and reread it, “Oh yes, There it is!”

Erina joined her hands, with a charming smile on her face and bright eyes.

“Thank you very much!”, She made a small bow to the two employees and then turned to me, “Amaris, our bags have arrived!”

John handed us the bags we had taken on the trip and Erina and I went to check if all the luggage had been delivered. While we were checking and identifying which suitcases belonged to whom, Lanie and David sighed relieved.

“Did you see, Lanie?”, David said, “I told you that probably some students decided to put their luggage together. Certainly, each half belongs to one...”

“They're all here!”

David's speech was interrupted by Erina's announcement and his hypothesis had been refuted when he saw the distribution of the bags.

“More than two-thirds were HER bags?!”, David and Lanie exclaimed at the same time.

When they said "hers", they were obviously referring to Erina's bags. The rich one here is her, not me! Even though I receive a lot of clothes and regalias from her, I will never be able to overcome her in terms of excess material goods.

John, seeing Erina surrounded by suitcases, scratched the back of his neck and laughed a little awkwardly.

“...Now this is more like the Miss Erina I know.”