Reunion at Central Academy
Central Academy.
The central hall of Central Academy.
"Urrrgh…"
Amid the throng of people hurrying this way and that, Schwarz let out a low groan and scanned his surroundings.
Staircases and corridors twisted and tangled together in a bewildering maze. The sight was enough to make anyone feel as though they had stepped into a labyrinth of impossible complexity.
"Where on earth am I supposed to go?"
Muttering to himself, he drew a neatly folded scrap of paper from his pocket. It was the rough map Milia had tucked into her letter, just in case he lost his way.
"…"
What met his eyes, however, was a tangle of lines and dots so convoluted it looked more like some obscure hieroglyph than a map. Could this really be called a guide?
With that thought, Schwarz refolded the paper and slipped it back into his pocket.
"No help for it…"
He began looking about once more. If he had no teeth, he would have to chew with his gums. If the map was unreadable, he would simply have to ask for directions.
While he searched the crowd for someone to approach, a boy caught his eye.
Dull, lusterless dark-grey hair and green eyes the color of beryl. Thick-rimmed glasses sat above deep, dark circles that made him look thoroughly exhausted at a single glance.
"Excuse me… I'm sorry, but do you have a moment?"
"Huh…? What is it…?"
The boy stopped and turned to look at him. His voice was so drained of energy that it seemed to sap the strength from anyone who heard it.
"Would you happen to know where the General Affairs Department is?"
"General Affairs…? What business do you have there?"
The boy tilted his head. For an instant his hazy eyes sharpened with a flicker of interest, but Schwarz failed to notice.
"There's someone I need to meet."
"Hmm…"
The boy's gaze turned frankly suspicious. Schwarz tensed and watched him carefully.
Do I really look that shady?
It was a reaction he had never encountered before, and he let out another soft groan. Strictly speaking, the problem was not so much his face as the color of his hair.
Everyone around him sported vivid, distinctive shades—red, blue, yellow, light green… Yet among all those brilliant hues, not a single head of black hair was to be found. He stood out like a black speck on a sheet of white paper, and that was why people kept glancing at him as they passed.
Just then—
"Come with me. I'll take you."
"Ah—thank you!"
With a short sigh that seemed to say whatever, the boy turned and started walking. Schwarz hurried after him with quick steps, calling his thanks toward the retreating back.
"I should introduce myself. Name's Dane. Yours?"
"Please call me Schwarz."
"Schwarz… Suits you. Named for the hair, I take it?"
"Yes."
—Your name is Schwarz, because you're black! From today on, you're my pet dragon! Looking forward to it!
The words Milia had spoken on the day they first met rose unbidden in his mind, and he nodded.
"Pretty simple naming sense, but at least it's easy to remember. Not bad."
"Ahaha…"
Schwarz answered Dane's muttered appraisal with an awkward laugh. Even a casual comparison made it no different from naming a black puppy "Blackie," so there was hardly any ground for protest.
They wove through the crowds, climbed stairs, and traversed corridors until at last they stopped before a door.
"This is General Affairs. Hwaaaah…"
"Thank you, Dane. Thanks to you we got here so quickly."
"Skip the thanks. I've got a feeling I'm going to be leaning on you a lot from now on."
Dane waved off Schwarz's bow as if it were nothing.
"Pardon? What do you mean by—?"
"See you later."
Schwarz tilted his head at the odd remark, but Dane had already vanished down the corridor, leaving him alone in the sudden silence.
I'm going to be leaning on you a lot…? And "see you later"?
"What in the world…"
He muttered in confusion, then shook his head hard. That was not what mattered right now.
Behind this door was Milia—the person he had longed to see. At that thought his heart began to race faster than it ever had.
"Hoo…"
A year of separation had left him so nervous that his lips were dry and his breathing rough. Calm down. You can't let her see you like this.
He repeated the silent command until the fluttering in his chest settled, then opened his eyes and exhaled. Slowly he raised a hand and knocked. The soft sound echoed down the empty hall.
"C-Come in."
The voice from inside was not Milia's. Schwarz carefully turned the handle and stepped through.
"Pardon the intrusion."
"W-What business do you have?"
A petite girl stood waiting for him. Her delicate features looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment. Fresh light-green hair the color of spring grass framed eyes of a subtle shade somewhere between green and yellow.
"Would Lady Valentine happen to be here?"
"M-Milia? Milia's been called away by the Student Council President for a moment… What is this about?"
She regarded him with puzzled eyes as he kept a careful distance so as not to startle her.
"Well, you see…"
Just as Schwarz began to answer—
"Schwarz?"
A soft click of the door, and a familiar voice sounded behind him. It was a voice he had not heard since a year ago. A shiver ran through his entire body as he slowly turned.
And there she stood.
"It is you, Schwarz, right?"
A girl with pure white silver hair and glittering golden eyes.
The reception room of the General Affairs Department.
Milia, Neris, and Schwarz sat around a table.
"Welcome. You must be tired from the journey."
"Not at all. This is nothing."
Milia sipped from a steaming teacup as she asked; Schwarz shook his head. After meeting her again, how could mere fatigue matter?
"Still… you've grown quite a bit, haven't you? Did you drink a whole lot of milk while I was gone?"
She tried to sound casual, yet she could not quite hide her surprise. And no wonder—while Milia herself looked almost unchanged from a year ago, Schwarz's body had undergone many transformations.
First, the horns and tail that had once been impossible to conceal were now completely gone. Unless one peered closely into his eyes, he appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary boy in his mid-teens.
"I just started shooting up all of a sudden."
The other change was his height. On the day Milia had left for the academy a year earlier, Schwarz had stood half a head shorter than she. At some point, however, his human form had begun to grow, and now he towered a full two heads above her.
"You were shorter than me just last year."
"They say people my age grow in the blink of an eye."
Milia puffed out her cheeks in mock dissatisfaction; Schwarz answered with a faint smile.
"U-Um, Milia… who is this…?"
"Oh, right—I forgot to introduce you. This is Schwarz. We took him in at the count's house a while back, and starting today he'll be serving as my personal attendant."
"Ah… so this is the one…"
The girl let out a soft sound of understanding.
"Schwarz, this is Neris Beltain, daughter of Count Beltain. She's my friend and a member of the General Affairs Department."
"N-Nice to meet you."
"I am Schwarz. I look forward to working with you."
Neris gave a small wave; Schwarz bowed lightly in return.
"There's one more person, but he's out right now. I'll introduce you later."
"Yes, My Lady."
"Well then… we should get moving. I have mountains of things I want to talk about, but if you're going to stay here there are papers to submit and plenty you need to learn."
"Understood."
Milia set down her empty cup and rose. Schwarz followed suit.
"Neris, organize those materials I asked for earlier and leave them on my desk. I'll check them as soon as I get back."
"O-Okay…! Got it!"
Neris nodded and returned to her seat, beginning to sort the documents piled there. Leaving her behind, the two of them stepped out into the busy corridor and set off once more.