Enrollment Preparations
In the car on the way home.
Luke raised the end of his sentence as if he had just heard something strange.
"Teag Academy?"
At Yerena's words, Luke lifted his tone, making no secret of his puzzlement.
"Yeah. You like studying, don't you, Luke? And you can make friends too."
"Well……."
Honestly, Luke found the idea of becoming an academy student rather distasteful.
What exactly was he lacking that he needed to learn as a student?
Even in the distant past, Luke had built his circles at an unprecedented speed, absorbed knowledge, graduated early, and even served consecutive terms as an academy's headmaster.
Enrolling again in this body…….
The academy then and the academy now were surely different……. But the thought that it would be a waste of time was no idle worry.
"If you really don't want to go, you don't have to……. But you do need to graduate from an academy. That's mandatory."
"Is that so."
Luke let out a deep sigh.
Perhaps reacting to that sigh, Pai came flying over with a series of cheerful, bubbling chirps.
-Luke, school…?
Whether because the word "school" did not exist in spirit-speech or not, that one word alone was pronounced clearly in human language.
She was probably asking if he was going to school.
"Well……."
No matter how hard Luke thought about the benefits of attending the academy, he could not come up with any.
What was so lacking that he had to squeeze in among little children and sit through lectures on things he already knew?
He could study at home, and unnecessary connections would only become obstacles.
If he truly wished to seek learning, would it not be better to go find Gerard?
-School, school!
Pai was excitedly dancing, tracing figure-eights with her body as she floated, but Luke had no intention of attending.
"Hmm……."
How should he refuse?
That was what Luke was currently fretting over.
Watching him, Yerena wondered if he was worrying because money might be an issue.
Luke had always felt sorry whenever Yerena spent money on him, so it was possible he was thinking that way.
"If you do go, Aunt Serena said she'd cover the uniform, the wand, and all the other school supplies……."
Hm?
Luke suddenly stopped thinking at a phrase that brushed past his ears.
"Wait, Yerena. What did you just say? A wand? You mean I can use a wand?"
"Well…… yeah? If you go to school, you'll obviously need one for class."
"……."
A wand. A wand.
Luke certainly harbored academic curiosity about wands.
But Yerena's and the other Forest Keepers' wands were dangerous equipment that Luke was absolutely forbidden from touching, so he had no choice but to suppress his curiosity and thirst for research, putting it off for the future.
If I can use a wand…….
Then the story changed completely.
As he thought for a moment, Yerena asked again.
"So what do you think? Lu. Don't you want to go to school?"
It wouldn't be strange if Lu didn't want to go to school…….
But it would definitely be more fun than just reading books alone at home.
Looking at how he had played happily with Deana before, it was not as if he was averse to other people either.
Then Luke shook his head and answered.
"No, Yerena. I'll give Teag Academy a try. It's starting to interest me."
"Really? Hehe, then we should go get your uniform fitted first, right?"
"Get a uniform fitted……?"
In this era, could one not simply go to school in the clothes one was already wearing?
Dress codes, of all things.
Luke could not fathom what sort of person had come up with such a thing.
That question was only natural.
Had there been school uniforms five thousand years ago?
Unifying attire was a device used by armies or competition teams to foster a sense of belonging within a group.
But in academies—of which there were only three or four in an entire country—what need was there to unify clothing to create a sense of belonging?
So "school uniform" did not simply mean clothes for going to school, but referred to a specific form of uniform.
Why do things like school uniforms even exist in this era?
It did not fit the purpose of a place of learning, and it was a pointless waste of resources.
Clothes that existed solely for attending school—the height of unnecessary…….
"All right, the measurements are done."
"They're done, Lu. Unclench that face a bit."
"Ah, my apologies. I did it without thinking."
Realizing he had been frowning, Luke pressed between his brows and smoothed out the wrinkles.
It was probably because of the tailor's touch and the way he was being treated that he felt so uncomfortable.
Yerena lowered her voice so Luke would not hear and spoke as if blaming the tailor.
"I mean, why do you have to go and call her cute."
The tailor also laughed lightly and answered in a lowered voice.
"Haha, I never expected a child to hate being called cute this much."
Well, from the tailor's perspective, he was merely measuring a tiny little girl going to school for the first time, calling her cute, cute the whole while—but for Luke, it was an extremely creepy and unpleasant experience.
After all, inside that body was an old man who had lived longer than the two of them combined.
From Luke's point of view, he was nothing more than an old man being called cute in a way completely unsuited to his age.
Though Yerena thought Luke was frowning for an entirely different reason.
"How long will it take to make?"
"Probably a few days. If you give me a contact number, I'll call when it's ready. Or would you like to leave an address? Then I can deliver it."
"Then please deliver it to the address."
"Understood! Delivery it is!"
While Yerena was scribbling down the address, Luke sat in a chair in the corner of the uniform shop and grumbled.
"So, Pai. I just don't understand why school uniforms exist. Do you know? You've been watching the world all this time, haven't you?"
Pai, whether answering Luke's words or not, spun round and round with excited sounds.
She looked just like a spinning top.
-Luke, ……school!…….
"As expected, I have no idea what you're saying."
Even after listening to spirit-speech for so long, aside from a simple word that sounded like a doorbell and meant "idiot," he could not understand a thing.
Seeing Luke muttering to himself like that, Yerena figured he was talking to his imaginary friend again and said,
"Lu, maybe Pai's looking forward to you going to school?"
As if confirming that was right, Pai nodded in front of Yerena, then looked back and forth between Luke and Yerena while repeatedly making a sound like a music box.
-…,…,…,…,…,…!
"Don't tell me that means she's looking forward to it?"
-……!
As if that was correct, Pai bounced and stuck herself to his face.
-Luke, looking forward to school!
Feeling the touch of mana on his face, Luke said reluctantly,
"All right, all right."
Since he had decided to go anyway, Luke hoped it would not disappoint him.
The enrollment process proceeded smoothly with Serena's help.
"Ms. Yerena, the enrollment procedures are almost finished. Luke will be placed in the same year as Shirud as a transfer student. Luke is a year younger than Shirud, but that should be fine."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, and she got a perfect score on the entrance exam……. So there shouldn't be any problems with the classes either."
She had asked for enrollment, but Teag Academy was a prestigious academy.
Even Serena could not just freely admit a substandard student.
So she had no choice but to have Luke take the entrance exam, but the result was, of course, perfect scores in every subject.
What Luke submitted was a perfect answer sheet with the solution process neatly organized, leaving no room for doubt about the perfect score.
"Honestly, I never expected that child to get a perfect score. How do you usually have her study? What academy did she attend?"
"Haha……. I really didn't do anything……."
"Really? If it's a secret, I'll be hurt, you know?"
"I-it's true! That was all Lu studying on her own……."
In truth, Yerena could not help but be surprised by Luke's grades either.
She knew Luke liked studying quite a bit, but to get a perfect score on Teag Academy's entrance exam?
Getting perfect scores in every subject—history, magic, mathematics, etiquette, and more—was by no means easy.
Passing Teag Academy's entrance exam with a perfect score through self-study alone.
Honestly, Teag's entrance exam was said to be such that even scoring half would put you in the top ranks of most academies.
Getting a perfect score through self-study alone could not have been easy…….
It would be so nice if Luke got close with Shirud!
She was good at studying and a cute kid, wasn't she?
There was nothing bad about them getting along.
At first she had approached because of Shirud's circle problem, but the more she got to know her, the more she realized what a fine girl she was.
"Oh, and I've asked the teachers not to inquire about Luke's family circumstances. There probably won't be anything for you to worry about."
"I'm truly grateful. And covering all the tuition……. I don't know how I can ever repay this……."
"Hehe, if Luke gets along well with Shirud, that would be plenty of repayment, don't you think?"
"I-is that so? Ahaha……."
The bag contained only a notebook, a handkerchief, and writing utensils, so it was quite light.
The clattering, clattering sound suggested it was empty inside.
Luke recalled the distant past, the days when he had set out on adventures with Cale and Renie.
Back then, too, he remembered traveling with a bag that clattered like this.
Thinking of those times made his chest stir with emotion for no reason.
Looking back, those were truly enjoyable times.
Though they had been in quite a dangerous state at the time.
What had been clattering then was the food bag, after all.
Still, he could not deny that it was a sound that lifted his spirits for no particular reason.
In a way, this could be called his first adventure in this era.
What would they teach, what kind of people were the educators, and what was their level of knowledge?
It was five thousand years later. Surely pedagogy had advanced greatly as well?
Thinking that, he felt so buoyant that he wondered if he had really been reluctant at first.
But even in this moment, there was something that deflated his rising heart.
"Did you pack your phone? Your wallet?"
"Phone's in my hand, wallet's safely in my inner pocket, so don't worry."
"Lu, aren't you cold? Tell me anytime if you are—I brought an outer coat."
"I'm fine, Yerena. These clothes are warm enough."
"Then, should Unnie carry your bag? Isn't it heavy?"
"There's nothing in it so it's light—I'm fine."
"Then, should Unnie take you all the way to school?"
"Yerena, didn't you say you weren't coming to the school?"
"Ah, right. Look at me. Then, you know how to take the bus, right? From here, take the number 120 and……."
"Yerena, I can manage on my own, so stop worrying and go inside."
"But still……."
Luke let out a deep sigh and thought.
Yerena really is quite the worrywart.