Chapter 3 First Day, First Loss
Grabbing a bottle of water, Shiro leaned back and sighed, his mind reeling from how fast he'd been defeated. His face was written with frustration. Nearby, Aurelia was still processing the match. Though she'd won, she couldn't stop thinking about how skilled Shiro actually was. His technique was solid rough around the edges, sure, but his swordplay had potential.
Back when Shiro couldn't use his god's power, his sister had made him train relentlessly. Day after day, year after year, she forced him to swing a sword until it became second nature. The memory still haunted him.
He walked up to Aurelia with a small smile.
"How long have you been using the rapier?" he asked.
Aurelia thought for a moment before replying, "About ten years."
Shiro's eyes widened. Learning a rapier at the age of six? That was impressive.
Aurelia tilted her head slightly. "What about you? How long have you trained?"
"Five years. Nothing special like you."
She blinked. Only five years? She hadn't expected that his skill level said otherwise. But then again, not being a legacy came with its drawbacks.
Classes ended early that day to give students time to move into their dorms. Outside the school gates, Shiro spotted his sister's black car. He hopped in, still sweaty from training.
"How was your first day?" Marigold asked.
"It was fine. I lost my first spar," Shiro muttered, glancing away.
Marigold gripped the steering wheel tighter, her eyes narrowing, the corners of her mouth twitching. Her face slowly turned red.
"Is that so?" she said flatly.
Shiro could practically feel his soul leave his body. He knew what that tone meant and it terrified him.
Later, after packing two heavy boxes into the car's trunk, he sighed in exhaustion and flopped back into his seat. Marigold turned and gave him a cold stare.
"Don't think you're off the hook. I still remember what you said," she growled.
Shiro could only pray the punishment wouldn't be too harsh.
Back at the academy, Shiro finally got a good look at the campus. It was massive. He realized he'd only seen a small portion of it so far.
"I'll explore later," he muttered.
The dorm hallway stretched long, doors lining each side. Each door had a unique color scheme, apparently based on the student some were brown, some white, others a mix. All of them had nameplates on top, with gold plating reserved for legacy students.
"Legacies get everything," Shiro grumbled as he passed a door.
The floor was a polished dark brown wood, and the ceiling a soft, dull white. As he walked deeper into the hallway, whispers followed him.
"Is that the commoner?"
"I heard he's not even from a known family."
"Why is someone like him even here?"
Shiro clenched his fists and started walking faster. Then, unexpectedly, he crossed paths with Aurelia. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. For a moment, the whispering faded.
He finally reached his room, located all the way in the back. His nameplate was copper.
"Wow," he muttered, unimpressed.
Opening the door, he was greeted by an incredibly cramped space.
"You have to be kidding me," he said.
Because of his low ranking on the leader board, his room was tiny. He couldn't even change the color of his door. The hallway inside was just wide enough to walk through. The walls were all the same dark brown as the floor. To the right was a small bathroom white tiled, with a basic sink, toilet, and narrow shower.
"I can barely fit in here."
On the left was a small storage closet.
"Not bad," he admitted.
He stepped into the living room. On the right, a window led to a balcony. On the left, an empty shelf. In the center, a dark blue sofa, and across from it, a plain bed. Dropping his boxes to the floor, he sighed.
"This is going to be my home for a few years, huh?"
Still irritated, he wandered to the balcony. The view was actually beautiful, full of trees, open skies, and glowing lights. Being on the third floor had its perks.
Then, looking up, he noticed someone on the fourth floor. Her golden hair shimmered as it danced in the wind, and her pale white eyes sparkled.
"Aurelia…" he whispered, surprised to see her again.
To his right, he spotted another girl on the adjacent balcony. Her hair was a vibrant blue, flowing just past her shoulders. Her golden eyes sparkled in the fading sunlight, and her features were elegant and undeniably beautiful.
An idea sparked in Shiro's mind. Mischief.
That night, he pressed himself against the wall as hard as he could, stifling laughter. On the other side, he heard something slam. Then footsteps. Louder and louder, each step heavier than the last, until they stopped right at his door.
BANG!
"OPEN THE DOOR!" a furious female voice yelled.
Shiro, now sweating bullets, cracked the door open only for it to be shoved the rest of the way. The girl stormed in, grabbed him by the shirt, and shoved him to the floor.
"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!?" she snapped, summoning a jagged ice dagger to his throat.
"I'M SORRY!" Shiro cried, eyes wide with fear.
Then, suddenly, he pointed downward, eyes panicked. The girl followed his gaze and realized where she was sitting. Her cheeks turned bright red.
She screamed and jumped off him, the sound echoing through the dorms.
A few minutes later, they both sat awkwardly on the couch, still trying to make sense of what just happened.
"Just… forget that happened, okay?" she said, arms crossed.
"Deal," Shiro said quickly.
"What's your name?" she asked after a pause.
"Shiro."
"What an odd name. Wait are you that commoner everyone's been talking about?"
Shiro winced. Rude, he thought, but he nodded anyway.
"Well, I'm the famous Aeris Lune."
Shiro blinked. He had never heard of her. Not once. But something told him she wasn't exactly humble.
Great, he thought. Another legacy. Are there even any normal people here?
Aeris, acting like she owned the place, waltzed over to his fridge.
Shiro's eyes widened. He'd just finished restocking it.
She opened the fridge and started grabbing snacks, several, one after another. Chips, pudding, cans of soda.
"Calm down!" Shiro shouted.
"I can take what I want since you think it's so funny to mess with me!" she snapped, piling food into her arms.
Shiro glared at her.
He was already starting to hate this legacy brat.