"Food fer thought?" [Arrieta] Arrieta said as she pointed towards the entrence. The trio looked at the jubilant man as he wobbled into the room carrying a tray of some sort of meat and berries at the side.

"Food don't help thinkin,'" [Gunther] Gunther rubbed his belly and delivered a resounding smack to it.

"It helps fillin' yer belly."[Gunther]

"Dontcha be ridiculous, food fires up the brain!"[Arrieta]

"Ridiculous? Least I'm not usin' an ass fer a mouth, what kinda shit you tryin to spew?"[Gunther]

"Gunther! Manners!" [Azalea] Gunther placed the platter on the table and clicked his tongue as he walked away while muttering to himself. Azalea sat down and covered her face with her palm in shame. Arrieta looked over curiously and asked,

"Trouble findin' workers?" [Arrieta]

"Ye... Yes." [Azalea]

"He is the best a Duke's family can do eh?" [Neidr] Azalea looked up to him and said curtly,

"He is a loyal retainer, he can cook and care. What can you do?" [Azalea] Neidr was smiling internally about her defense of her subordinate. That is, until he heard the undisguised mockery. Now, he was internally frowning.

'Ya wanna play, let's play.'

"Indeed, I am much more like you than him, poor and unable to attract subordinates."[Neidr]

"Are you trying to insult a Ducal house?"[Azalea]

"No, just you."[Neidr]

...

...

Azalea just stared at him with her mouth slightly parted. People in the aristocracy weren't usually, so, forthcoming. Neidr smiled and shook his head,

"Now that I've escaped that death trap, what should we do next?" [Neidr]

"Ah, " Azalea's face returned to normal. "It is best to arrange rooms and speak with your specialty teachers."[ Azalea]

"Rooms?" [Neidr]

"Specialty Teachers?"[Arrieta]

"Yes, I should move both of you to different rooms. Afterall, my sister's lackey has quite a hateful opinion of you."[Azalea] Azalea turned her head and spoke to Arrieta,

"Specialty teachers as apposed to general teachers. They are the type of magic that you specifically seek."[Azalea] Arrieta cast her eyes at Neidr and let out a small giggle. Neidr rolled his eyes and Azalea asked,

"What is the issue?"[Azalea] Arrieta covered her mouth with her hand and began to laugh so much she started to snort. She pulled on Neidr's sleeve and could barely say,

"Tell her tell her tell her." Her eyes were filled with anticipation as they darted back and forth between Arrieta and Azalea.

"I don't think it's that funny." [Neidr]

"If there is a problem, it is best to divulge it. Otherwise, we might move unprepared." [Azalea]

'why do you care so much? What could be mission critical about my specialty teacher?' Neidr sighed and said,

"Laszlo."[Neidr] Arrieta burst out laughing, while Azalea just stared at Neidr blankly.

"Laszlo?"[Azalea]

"He is the swordsmanship teacher."[Neidr]

"Why?"[Azalea] Neidr furrowed his brows and looked at Azalea's unperturbed face. 'The hell do you mean why?'

"I don't know why he chose his profession."[Neidr]

"No, I mean, why are you so..." Azalea took a deep breath and continued,

"Rotham is a magic school, yes?" [Azalea] Neidr nodded

"You are a student in a magic school, yes?" [Azalea] Neidr nodded

"You understand that he... doesn't teach magic... right?"[Azalea] Neidr nodded

"Are you... developmentally challenged?"[Azalea] Neidr had gotten tired of her silly questions and had nodded on instinct before he could realize what he had done.

"I see." [Azalea] Azalea stood up and walked away to the symphony of Arrieta's raucous laughter. Neidr pursed his lips and stared straight ahead.

The vessel had landed, and the trio went their separate ways. Before departing from one another, Azalea told them a place to gather together and talk to each other later. The formal school ball would be held as the screening exam ended. She expected Neidr to be there and to keep Arrieta informed afterwards. Neidr nodded and went towards the classroom registry. The halls were rather empty at this time. Those that weren't in the pre-test were relaxing at home.

Neidr looked through the registry and found the associated class number. Then, he went to one of the publicly available maps. These maps marked out the layout of the Academy. Each room had a corresponding number. It took him an hour to find his class's number. As the school was rather large, there was a lot of date to look through.

Neidr made way straight for the swordsmanship class. The class was in a small room next to a closet. Neidr had his suspicions that the closet was larger than his classroom. Looking inside, there was nothing, but a single cot. Sitting upon it, in the dark, a man dressed in a red trench coat was sharpening a sword by hand. It was hard to make out, but he had green eyes and a well-maintained black goatee. His back was as straight as an arrow, and he wore a worn military cap.

Neidr of course, shut the door immediately. Shouldn't a swordsmanship teacher in a magic school be lazy? Look at his classroom! It was a broom closet with a broom! What worried neidr the most was the look the teacher had in his eyes. It was a look that Neidr feared the most. Especially in a teacher.

That's right, when Neidr glanced into this man's eyes, they weren't dead and soulless husks. His demeanor did not match that of a man just trying to eek through the days.

'This is a disaster!'

The man's eyes...

Were filled with passion.

Passion for his work.

"Young man," [Laszlo] an old gravely voice came out of the closet. "Are you my new student?"[Laszlo] Neidr pressed his lips together and shut his eyes tightly. He couldn't just not report to class. If he could, he would.

"Yes."[Neidr]

"Are you a fool?"[Laszlo]

'what is it with everyone and calling me stupid today?' Neidr's brow furrowed, but to be honest, he felt pretty stupid.

"Yes, I am."[Neidr] There was a silence, and then the door opened. The man was only a little taller than Neidr, but his posture made him seem to stand much taller than him. Laszlo's eyes pierced into him and he said,

"This is very unfortunate. I cannot let you go to other classes as selections are final. Boy, you should really do more research ahead of time."[Laszlo]

Niedr nodded. Laszlo reached his hand out to Neidr and said,

"I'll teach you the best that I can." [Laszlo] Neidr mechanically met the man's grip, and they shook hands.

"Good, first lesson," Laszlo pointed his finger into the distance.

"Run."[Laszlo]