Eurog was visibly surprised, but Almark continued.

“On my journey here, I was inspired by the peaceful, bountiful countries of the central plains and the South…and that made me ask myself: Could the North not have this as well? That’s what I want to find out. I want to bring peace to my homeland and give its people good lives. So, to make that happen, I will return home to the North.”

Eurog fixed his sagacious eyes on Almark’s, and the boy gazed back into his. After one long moment that seemed to stretch for eternity, Eurog finally smiled.

“The Norkh Institute for Magic welcomes you, Almark,” he said.

Once Almark left the headmaster’s office, the guard laughed out loud, as if unable to hold it in any longer.

“I’ll admit, I’ve never seen the headmaster make such a big fuss over a student!”

After chuckling for a short moment, the guard quickly turned serious and looked carefully at Almark’s tough visage.

“You’re quite the man,” he said. “My name’s Zeid. The headmaster instructed me to look after you until you go to the schoolhouse tomorrow morning. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“I’m Almark. The pleasure’s all mine.”

“Oh, right, you can have your sword back. Honestly, it’s too heavy for me…”

“Thanks.”

Zeid held out Almark’s sword with both hands, and Almark picked it up with one. After attending to assorted formalities at the schoolhouse, the two went outside.

“The dorms are over there.” Zeid pointed down a brick road extending south. “But first, there’s something you need to do.”

“Oh. What’s that?” Almark asked, surprised, to which Zeid looked at him pitifully.

“You poor thing. Your journey must have been harrowing if even a boy as bright as you can’t see it. Right now you smell like a fish that’s been left out in the sun for two days.”

After washing himself off using a nearby well’s water, Almark put his ragged clothes back on.

“I’ll get you your uniform when we’re at the dorm,” said Zeid. “We can’t have you going to class dressed like that.”

“Thank you. Sorry for the trouble.”

Zeid scratched his head awkwardly. “I’ve always heard Northerners were these brutish, savage barbarians, but…I guess I shouldn’t believe everything I hear.”

“Being able to kill someone isn’t limited to a certain group of people,” Almark said quietly, but Zeid didn’t hear him.

“Now, it’ll be a bit of a walk to get to the dorm… Oh, right.” Zeid took off his cloak and spread it over Almark’s shoulders. “This here’s a pretty high-quality cloak. Keep it on while you’re out and about for the time being.”

“Thank you.”

Almark smiled. It was a serene smile, but to Zeid it looked more like a bird of prey twisting its face into a grin.

“So you worked as a mercenary?” Zeid asked, to which Almark nodded. The guard then cocked his head. “You’ve got this sort of…noble air about you.”

Almark shrugged at those words, not quite understanding what Zeid meant. The two fell silent for a moment as they walked on.

“There’s still a while until we reach the dorms. Do you want to rest?” Zeid asked, concerned for the eleven-year-old, but Almark shook his head. Then Zeid remembered something. “Right, you walked all the way here from the North, didn’t you?”

It was already sunset, and before long the dorm was in view. Almark, who had been expressionless so far, grew wide-eyed.

“Surprised?” Zeid smiled proudly when he saw the change in Almark’s expression. “This dorm was originally designed to be a villa for major Garai Kingdom nobles.”

That sounded accurate. At four stories tall, the luxurious mansion housed 150 of the institute’s elementary students. But even with that many children living there, it didn’t seem crowded. If anything, the dorm felt like it was too big.

“I…get to live here, too?” Almark asked.

“Of course. All the elementary students live here.”

Almark looked up at the building again. It stood silent and didn’t give off the impression anyone was inside.

“Everyone’s in class right now,” Zeid explained right away, noticing Almark’s curious gaze. “Let’s go introduce you to the dorm supervisor first. She’s a bit fussy, but she’s a nice lady.”

“Ah, all right.”

Almark followed Zeid through the large doors to the dorm. Although it looked like a mansion on the outside, the interior was much plainer. Any needless decorations had been removed, making it look more like a student dorm.

At the end of the first-floor corridor was a door with a sign that read DORM SUPERVISOR’S OFFICE.

“This is it. She should have gotten word you were coming while we filled out the paperwork,” Zeid said before knocking on the door. “Miss Maya, are you in?”

A moment later, a hoarse voiced answered from inside the room, speaking very rapidly. “Don’t bother knocking, I never lock this thing anyway. Now quit dawdling and come inside.”

Zeid motioned for Almark to stand beside him and opened the door.

“…?”

For a second, Almark stared blankly. The room appeared to be empty. An unfinished knitting project was sitting on the table at the center of the room, and a rocking chair swayed behind that. It was as if someone had been there just a moment ago, but he couldn’t see anyone.

Almark was positively impressed. The mages of the Norkh Institute for Magic really were astounding. The dorm supervisor must have turned herself invisible somehow.

“Where are you looking, boy? I’m down here,” said a voice right beneath him.

“Huh?”

Standing before him was a tiny old lady, two heads shorter than Almark. She was so bent over that it almost looked like she was trying to reach the floor.

“Miss Maya, this is our new student, Almark,” Zeid told her.

“Hello.” Almark bowed his head.

Without a word, Maya raised her chin and examined Almark up and down with a glance before walking back to her rocking chair with surprising swiftness. She hopped onto the chair and resumed her knitting.

“Yes, I’ve heard,” she said. “You’ll be living here until you graduate. Just don’t come crying to me if you miss your mommy, you hear? You get two meals a day, morning and night. If you’re not at the dining hall on time, we put away all the food. You get your lunch in the schoolhouse. Any complaints about the food, take them up with the head cook, Guin. Judging by your cloak, I’m guessing you’re some rich kid from a good family, so don’t come to me whining about how your room’s too small or your bed’s not soft enough. Keep in mind we’ve got a hundred and fifty students to accommodate here. You’re in the corner room on the third floor. That’s room 314.”

“Oh, wasn’t it 341?” Zeid chimed in.

Maya shook her head in annoyance. “Aye, if you say so. The key’s over there. Any questions?”

“No, nothing for now,” Almark said.

Maya nodded briefly before returning to her knitting as if neither Almark nor Zeid was still there.

“Let’s get going, Almark. Thank you, Miss Maya.”

Zeid pushed Almark’s back, leading him out of the room.

“She called me a rich kid from a good family,” Almark said, smiling.

How surprised would she be if she saw the tattered clothes under his cloak?

“I told you, it’s a nice cloak. Your room’s on the third floor. Let’s go.”

Zeid led Almark up a staircase that had an elaborate engraving on its railing, likely a remnant of its original design as a noble’s villa. Almark’s room was on the end of the third floor’s east wing. It was a single room, and though it was indeed small, it was plenty spacious enough for him to sleep in. It had a large window, as well as a bed and a desk set against the walls.

It was already dark out, so Zeid lit the lamp hanging from the ceiling.

“The other rooms are doubles, but you’ll get this one all to yourself. At least for the rest of your remaining year in the elementary division.”

“All right. It’s a nice room,” Almark said, putting what few belongings he had on the floor before leaning his longsword against the wall.

“Your things are mostly your sword, huh? I swear, even poor farm kids bring more than this…,” Zeid said with a slightly bothered smile.

“This is enough for me.” Almark removed the cloak and handed it to Zeid. “Thank you.”

“Mm, right…” Zeid reexamined Almark’s outfit as he accepted the cloak. “I’ll get you your new clothes for tomorrow in a bit. You’ll need something to wear under your standard issue robe. Just go ahead and take off the clothes you’ve got on. Wouldn’t want them to stink up the bed.”

“Right.”

Almark nodded and took off his shirt, revealing his toned physique. Zeid couldn’t help but stare—his body was much more rugged and muscular than a child’s should be. He didn’t get a good look at Almark when the boy washed off at the well, but even under the lamplight, Zeid could tell Almark’s body was rippling with muscles. And then there were the nasty-looking scars that spoke silently of his harsh journey.

Zeid realized just how unimaginably difficult the road that led this boy here must have been, and the thought that an eleven-year-old successfully treaded it made it look much harder.

“Zeid?”

Almark’s voice pulled Zeid out of his thoughts.

“Oh… Sorry. I’ll go get you your dinner, so you just take your time and rest. I’ll bring you your change of clothes, too.”

“Okay.”

It was then that Almark suddenly heard voices from under the dorm. Looking down from the window, he could see the students of the elementary division returning to the dorm. They were all in dark blue robes—probably the institute’s uniform.

“Everyone must be back since it’s almost dinnertime,” Zeid told Almark. “They’ll be your schoolmates starting tomorrow.”

“Schoolmates… Right.”

Almark nodded, but it didn’t feel real to him. He had often seen children making merry on their way home from school during his travels south through the central plains. But come tomorrow, he would be one of those children. It felt…odd.

“I guess…I made it,” Almark whispered.