The grandfather, wearing glasses, looked up and saw . His fierce eyebrows twitched. His gaze was sharp, and I felt quite tense.
At that mont, the teacher patted my shoulder.
“Student Hastings? What are you doing? You should greet the headmaster!”
“Oh. Yes. Hello.”
I greeted him as politely as I could. Both the headmaster and the teacher were looking at , waiting for the next words.
The headmaster, despite his intimidating appearance, stood up with a kind smile and walked toward . He reached out and took my hand.
“So, you are the top transfer student this year. I’m glad to et you. Your na is...”
“l...”
“lody Hastings. Right?”
Before I could respond, the teacher, who had brought in, answered for .
The headmaster stroked his fancy white mustache and smiled warmly.
Actually, it seed like he was pretending to smile warmly. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were not.
“Do you know that you’re the first student to score full marks on the transfer exam since we created the transfer system?”
“Probably didn’t know that...?”
At my response, the headmaster chuckled.
His laugh sounded sowhat forced, like a predator waiting to pounce after loosening the tension in its prey.
I quickly ran through a ntal checklist of questions that could get useful information.
“I’ve heard from my brother how difficult the transfer exam is at Saint Gloria Private School, so I prepared thoroughly. Oh, my brother is currently enrolled here.”
Of course, Raven had never said anything like that. But in this situation, it was a necessary ntion.
The headmaster nodded thoughtfully at my answer, his eyes showing interest.
“I was wondering where I’d heard the na Hastings... both siblings are top students. What a delightful thing to hear.”
The headmaster smiled, raising the corners of his mouth. I returned ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) the smile, trying to look as harmless as possible.
“It seems like my brother really looks up to you, headmaster. Thank you for taking care of him.”
The headmaster’s smile disappeared, and he tilted his head in confusion.
“How do you know that, Miss Hastings? I heard you two don’t even write letters to each other.”
Ah, the headmaster knew that Raven, a re student, didn’t send letters...
And Raven was a new student.
At Saint Gloria, students are forbidden to leave the school until graduation, except for the top students. However, they can still send letters. That was the rule.
Leonard’s words were true.
While I didn’t know about Raven being the headmaster’s lapdog, I could tell that they were close.
I didn’t panic and answered as calmly as I could.
“Oh. I heard it from other students on the way here. It’s quite famous, you know.”
It seed the rumor about Raven being the headmaster’s lapdog was well-known, so I was sure he would understand.
As expected, the headmaster nodded, understanding.
Since asking anything more would seem awkward, I decided not to press further.
The headmaster then walked to his desk, took both my hands, and said,
“Your na will be recorded in the school’s history book, Miss Hastings. Once the sester starts, you’ll also be able to join the Discipline Committee.”
“Discipline Committee?”
Why was the Discipline Committee being ntioned all of a sudden?
“By the way, your brother is in the Student Council.”
The teacher standing beside us explained that only top students could join the “Student Council” and the “Discipline Committee.”
“I hope you continue to show good results, Miss Hastings.”
With those encouraging words, the eting with the headmaster was over.
The headmaster was kinder and more pleasant than I expected, but it was still hard to tell what he was really thinking.
‘Sothing’s off.’
But, he didn’t react in any particular way about Raven, and he didn’t show any strange behavior.
‘The rumor about him being the headmaster’s lapdog might be false, but calling Raven “crazy” just doesn’t make sense. Maybe everyone is misunderstanding him.’
I thought to myself as I left the headmaster’s office.
As soon as I stepped out of the headmaster’s office, the teacher guided to the dormitory building and handed a pamphlet.
“This is the school life guide. It has the campus map and information on the facilities. Take a look. These are the things you need to prepare before the sester starts.”
The teacher gave the pamphlet and explained the important things.
The school was much larger than I realized, likely because students are not allowed to leave the island during their entire 4 years here, so everything had to be fully equipped.
“By the way, I’m the music teacher. You can’t imagine how excited I was when I heard your na.”
Suddenly, the music teacher started talking in an overly enthusiastic way.
“Your na is lody, so you must sing well, right? We have a choir at the school, and the soprano part is vacant right now. So...”
I saw this coming. I hurriedly interrupted.
“I’m tone-deaf.”
“That can’t be true. Then why is your na lody?”
The teacher looked disappointed as if the world had collapsed.
There was no need to be that disappointed, was there? I was a little embarrassed.
“Just because my na is Cherry doesn’t an I look like a cherry. My mother probably didn’t know I was tone-deaf either.”
The teacher looked at with sad eyes, then nodded as if he understood.
“I’m sorry, I overstepped.”
The music teacher cleared his throat and continued his explanation.
“Anyway, you know our school is under the Celestial Church, right? There’s a doctrine class as part of the regular curriculum. Every weekend, we all attend Mass together.”
Now that I thought about it, I did see a church on the map.
The school’s na was Saint Gloria Private School, so I had expected this.
I had heard the school was nad after Sister Gloria, a national hero.
I had already familiarized myself with the doctrine class when I helped Raven prepare for his admission.
“Oh, and the Discipline Committee and Student Council advisors are the priests who lead the doctrine classes, so just keep that in mind.”
I nodded diligently as I reviewed the pre-sester information.
The school provides uniforms, textbooks, bags, and essential dormitory supplies for free.
So, tomorrow, I would need to apply for those items and make sure to get any necessary things before the sester starts.
Since I was the top transfer student, the teacher had been explaining everything to personally.
The music teacher even helped register at the dorm without any trouble.
Thanks to that, I was able to finish the process smoothly and said goodbye to the teacher.
“Thank you, teacher.”
“Of course, Miss Hastings. We’ll see each other after the sester starts. I still haven’t given up on soprano.”
The music teacher waved at with a smile, and I awkwardly waved back.
I’ll see if he still says that after hearing sing.
Anyway, I checked the ti on my pocket watch, and it was already 9 PM.
‘For now, I’ll rest and try to visit Raven tomorrow.’
I wasn’t sure if he would et , but I felt a little lancholic.
‘No, lody. Don’t be down.’
Even if he doesn’t like , there’s nothing I can do.
But I won’t give up. I’ll do anything for him.
I ca back in ti for Raven. There’s nothing I can’t do.
With that thought, I stood in the lobby, holding my bag when I suddenly heard a cat owing.
ow.
I looked down, and there was a black cat sitting at my feet, wagging its tail.
“Hmm? You...?”
Is this the talking black cat I saw in Chesswind Village?
But the cat’s eyes were yellow. The cat I saw back then definitely had blue eyes.
ow.
The cat didn’t say anything and just owed, as if it was urging to take it with .
I was about to leave but couldn’t resist the cat rubbing against my feet, so I reluctantly picked it up.
I checked the key in my hand and looked at the room number.
My room was on the 5th floor.
Carrying the heavy bag, it would be hard to use the stairs, so I had to take the elevator.
When I checked my pocket watch again, it was already around 6 PM.
Thankfully, the elevator had stopped on the first floor.
I manually opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind .
I pressed the floor button and pulled the lever, and the elevator began to move.
Clang, clang, clang—
The elevator ascended very slowly, and since it was an open structure, I could clearly see the hallways on each floor.
‘This is my first ti riding an elevator.’
Sotis, in big cities, I had seen buildings with elevators, though I had never used them myself.
Ding—
When the elevator reached the 5th floor, it stopped.
I opened the door manually again and quietly walked down the silent hallway.
I had finally found my dorm room.
Click.
When I unlocked the door and entered, I saw a girl sitting on the living room couch, quietly reading a book.
‘Ah, of course. I have a roommate.’
I hadn’t expected a roommate.
In fact, I hadn’t had the ti to think about anything else, and I’d never lived in a dorm before.
If soone new had moved in, they would have at least reacted, but my roommate remained completely still.
‘Hmm. I should at least greet her, right?’
It’s the proper thing to do, so I decided to greet my roommate first.
“Hi. I’m lody Hastings, and I’ll be staying here from today.”
The girl reading the book glanced at briefly.
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