Before long, she arrived at a dorm room door.

  "This must be it......"

  "Hmm? The door’s unlocked. Could it be——"

  Hulim Heyerar pushed the door open and stepped inside, locking eyes with her roommate who was busy unpacking luggage.

  Twitch~, twitch~!

  "Ah——"

  "Sorry! Are you my roommate? I...... I’m so sorry for coming in without greeting you first! Please forgive me!"

  Twitch~, twitch~!

  The white-haired cat-eared girl apologized awkwardly, looking flustered.

  "......"

  She didn’t expect her roommate to be a cat-eared girl—or more precisely, a member of the White Cat Tribe.

  Her hair was as pure as winter snow, with two symmetrical, perfectly perky white cat ears. Her eyes sparkled like sapphires, and a soft, fluffy white tail swayed behind her.

  I want to pet her......

  Most importantly, those cat ears and her tail kept twitching nonstop! Was she nervous about the unfamiliar environment?

  I really want to pet her......

  "......You don’t need to apologize. There’s no ‘first come, first served’ for entering the dorm. By the way—hello, I’m Hulim Heyerar. We’ll be roommates from now on."

  Hulim Heyerar held out her right hand.

  "Eep, eep——Umm, umm......"

  The white-haired cat-eared girl stared at the outstretched hand, looking at a loss. After a moment of panic, she quickly took Hulim Heyerar’s hand.

  "——Please take care of me! I’m Miko Kedar."

  ......

  After the initial awkwardness, Hulim Heyerar and Miko gradually grew closer through conversation.

  For example, Miko—who had been so reserved when they first met—was now quite relaxed and outgoing.

  "Haha~! I was so worried about what my roommate would be like! I heard there are many humans who look down on or bully non-humans just because of their race. I’m so glad my roommate is you, Hulim meow~!"

  The white-haired cat-eared girl said happily. Her tail, which had been twitching nervously earlier, now swayed gently with ease.

  "Miko, you’ve been listening to too many scary stories. Every race has people who discriminate against others—humans are no exception, but they’re just a tiny minority. No need to worry so much. Look, you can see people of all races on the streets of Langard, right?"

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Miko Kedar was from the Indam Federation in the southern part of the continent—a top-tier power jointly governed by various beastfolk tribes, also known as the Southern Federation.

  Although the Indam Federation bordered the Parasa Empire, both countries were extremely vast. Many regions were actually very far apart, leading to significant differences in information exchange between the two.

  According to Miko, this was not only her first time leaving the Indam Federation but also her first time leaving her tribe. She’d jumped into a journey that was far too challenging for a beginner, which was why she’d been so cautious......

  "......You’re right. Sorry, after arriving here, I was so focused on starting school that I forgot about that. Now that I think about it, I was just being too sensitive."

  "Miko, you really like apologizing, don’t you?"

  "Eep, do I? Sorry, I didn’t mean to—uh......"

  Hulim Heyerar smiled and patted her on the head.

  Miko blushed slightly, then smiled along with Hulim Heyerar.

  "Want to go get dinner together?"

  "Sure! I heard they have lots of delicious fish dishes here~!"

  "Miko likes fish? I like Bobom Cuisine. I wonder if the academy has it?"

  "Oh, that! I like it too......"

  And just like that, Hulim Heyerar officially began her academy life.

  ......

  ......

  "......Dear students, welcome to Manacos Magic Academy. I am Holstin Ming Dawson, the academy principal......"

  Inside the auditorium, the gray-bearded and white-haired principal of Manacos was giving a speech. Below him sat the first-year new students.

  Unlike the enrollment days, all the new students now wore the same academy uniforms as the seniors. Except for their youthful faces, it was hard to tell they were freshmen when they walked outside.

  "......Manacos’s mission is to pursue the path of magic to its utmost. On this path, the great ancient civilizations once created miracles beyond our imagination. Manacos strives to be the leader of this era......"

  "......But the road is arduous. Threats from the darkness have been watching this world without rest for thousands of years. Protection has thus become our new mission......"

  "......Dear students, the path of magic is endless. Do not disappoint yourselves, and never stray from the path or fall into the abyss of darkness. That concludes my speech. Once again—welcome to Manacos Magic Academy——!"

  Clap! Clap! Clap......

  Thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

  With Holstin’s speech ending, the opening ceremony drew to a close.

  After the ceremony, the students would head to their assigned classes.

  The class placement results had been distributed to everyone as documents before the opening ceremony, not announced publicly. The documents only stated the assigned class—they did not include specific admission assessment scores or the reasons for the placement.

  There was no need to worry about foul play. For the academy, it was in its best interest to ensure that the most outstanding students received the best training. The decision not to disclose assessment results was to protect the students.

  After all, whether disclosed or not, the students’ treatment at the academy would be the same. On the contrary, if made public, the results would spread throughout Langard’s streets and alleys by tomorrow. The top-performing students would inevitably attract the attention of those with ulterior motives—while some might want to recruit them, others could have more dangerous intentions......

  From a safety perspective, no class placement would be ideal. But the academy could not invest the same resources in every student; tilting resources toward a small number of outstanding individuals was inevitable. Thus, class placement was ultimately implemented.

  "......Let me check. Where is the Special Class classroom?"

  Hulim Heyerar opened the map attached to her enrollment documents, quickly found the location of the Special Class, and hurried toward it.

  As expected, Hulim Heyerar had successfully obtained the highest-level scholarship and been admitted to the Special Class.

  After some time.

  "Found it. This is the Special Class classroom."

  The classroom door was not closed. Hulim Heyerar walked in directly. As soon as she entered, she attracted many glances—most of which quickly turned away as the students resumed their conversations, while a few continued to look at her curiously.

  Hulim Heyerar glanced around the classroom. It was extremely spacious, with a fan-shaped stepped layout. However, there were fewer than thirty desks in total, and each desk was spaced quite far apart.