It is still hard for Kayrus to accept the fact that not only does she look just like the Kara he knows back home, but this classmate of his also has the same name as her. But this Kara Nelsy is not only a stranger to him, but she acts very differently than the other Kara. This one is much more soft-spoken, gentler, and friendlier than the Kara that Kayrus grows up with as a fellow street urchin and thief.

At least that's what Kayrus learns after spending a significant amount of the class just observing the girl.

Several questions remain in Kayrus’ mind, however. First, how come they look so identical, even having the same name? Are they secretly twins? Is someone trying to pull a sick joke on Kayrus? His second question is, of course, what kind of relation does Maximillian have with this Kara, who shares the same name as his? Does he know about this? He has no idea how to find the answer to his first question, but he knows how to get it for the second one. And he’s going to ask Max right after this class.

“You’re staring at her an awful lot, you know? Are you smitten by her or something? ” asks a girl’s voice from Kayrus’ left. It’s another Redoran student, Rebecca Deshler, the girl who wears a pink cat-head shaped hat and scarf. “Are we going to see romance bloom in this class so soon?”

Kayrus smirks. “Nah, I’m just…curious. She looks like someone I know, someone close to me.”

“Hmm? Am I hearing a case of lovesickness? Are you actually a romantic, Kayrus?”

“Heh, as if.” he answers, though he himself is questioning that very question. Is his current curiosity about that girl just because she looks like Kara, or is it secretly just his heart trying to cope that he’s secretly missing Kara?

“Can you two just shut up? I’m trying to focus on the lesson right now.” scolds a voice from behind them. It’s another Redoran student, the glasses-wearing girl, Elizabeth Morant. She is the one who used a tome as a Conduit before.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re really a killjoy, El.”

“I told you how many times, Rebecca, don’t call me that.”

“Why? It sounds cute, you know?”

“Rebecca…” Elizabeth is frowning, the eyes behind those lenses are as sharp as a pair of icy blades.

Rebecca, however, just sticks out her tongue as a response. Naturally, it only infuriates Elizabeth even more.

“Interesting discussion, ladies, but I think you’re pissing off our professor.'' This time, a male student who sits in front of Kayrus joins their little chat, his Redoran has a Nelgarian accent to it.

True to his words, however, Irinna has been looking in their direction this whole time. The expression she has on her face clearly shows she’s not very appreciative of them talking during her lesson.

“I’m terribly sorry, Professor Shirley.”

“Sorry Miss…”

Both girls apologize to Irinna, though Rebecca is only doing it half-heartedly. Kayrus decides to focus back on the lesson, though he can’t help but notice that the student in front of him gave him abrief grin. If Kayrus remembers it correctly, he’s one of the students that are already experienced with Magic. Kayrus has a bad feeling that he needs to find out his name soon.

Meanwhile, Professor Irinna has continued on with her lesson. She continues to write on the blackboard with a piece of chalk.

“Now, as I have explained beforehand, the key to Water Magic is the idea of flexibility. You can’t force it to do your bidding like other types of Magic, but it is incredibly flexible and adaptable. Once you master both General Manipulation and General Application, the possibilities of General Spells you can do are almost limitless since you can pretty much create any kind of framework for your spells. That’s the true strength of Water Magic.”

She walks back to her lectern.

“And it is for this very reason that specialization is important in Bea Collegiate.” She then picks up a piece of paper from the pile that is on the lectern. “After this class, you can check from this list of courses you can take on top of the Basics Classes I will give you. These classes, under the tutelage of other Bea Magus, can help you decide what kind of specialization that you want as a member of the Bea Collegiate. If you can’t find the one that interests you, you can ask me for advice. I’ll see what I can do.”

Irinna gives the pile of paper to Kara, who sits on the front, to distribute it among the students.

One by one, Kara walks around the class to give the other students their handouts. When she walks to Kayrus’ desk, however, their eyes make contact.

“Here you go.” she smiles as she hands over the paper to the young man.

“Thank you…” he replies, also smiling.

She stands there for a few seconds, looking like she wants to say something to him, before finally walking away from his desk. But just as she passes his desk, however,

“Wait,” says Kayrus, “After this class, can I talk to you? I want to ask about something.”

The girl looks on, thinking for a few seconds before answering, “Sure, I also have a few questions for you.” After that, she returns to her duty of distributing the papers.

Rebecca then gives him a teasing look.

“You really move fast, don’t you?

But Kayrus doesn’t answer her, except for a single faint smile. In his mind, there is only the question of who Kara actually is.

After Kara is done distributing the handouts, Irinna returns to speak to the class.

“Now, this will be the end of our first class. I hope you can use this class to help shape the path you want to take as a member of Bea Collegiate. The path ahead won't be easy, but I'm sure we can walk through it together. You're dismissed for the day. Have a nice day everyone."

All of the students immediately get busy talking with one another. Most of them, naturally, are discussing which classes they want to take. Kayrus, meanwhile, puts off thinking about that topic as he walks over to Kara's desk. The girl, seeing Kayrus approaching her, gets up from her seat.

However, as they're both about to utter a word,

"Ah, Kayrus, perfect timing. I need to talk to you right now."

The one who interrupted the two is their professor, Irinna.

Both the young man and the girl looked at each other.

"Let's talk next time, okay?" Says the girl.

"Sure…" Kayrs nods, with a hint of regret heard in his voice.

He then walks over to his professor, who doesn't seem to feel guilty about interrupting the two youths.

"What can I help you, professor?"

"We need to talk, in private."

"About what?"

"Charleone…"

*****

The office is on the third floor of the building, one floor above the Year 1 classroom they just used. It's what you expect from the office of a Magus:a table and chairs for receiving quests, a desk with piles of documents on top of it, and bookshelves upon bookshelves full of tomes, reference books, and important files.

The only thing that is unique in that office is the fish tank behind the large working desk. The reflection of the Moonlamp’s light on the tropical fishes inside the tank, all five red fishes, immediately attracts the attention of anyone who enters that room.

"Have a seat." orders the professor, pointing at the chair in front of her desk, as she herself sits behind that wooden desk.

“What do you want to talk about, Professor?” asks Kayrus after following his order.

"Right to the point, I like it." She nods her head in approval. "I just want to have a little chat, specifically ask you a few questions.

“And I guess those questions involve the Archmagus Augustus?”

“Archmagus Augustus,” says the Vice-Magus, “Is that what you actually call him?”

Kayrus already knows where this question is going, she wants to know what his relationship with Charleone actually is. Should he lie to her? But there’s a chance she might actually know the truth all along, especially since Charleone still hides a lot of things from him, the Vice-Magus might or might not be actually part of this scheme. There’s only one way to find out.

“No,” answers Kayrus, “I usually just call him Charleone.”

“Ah, so you’re on a first-name basis with him. So you’re close to Charleone?”

“You can say that he’s close to my…late parents. They were close to him.”

"Really?" she asks, bringing her face closer to his."Because I have known him for years, and I have never heard him mention someone named Neumann, much less someone close to him."

“I guess some people like to keep certain things secret, for better or worse.” says Kayrus, not noticing the irony in his own words.

“A secret, even to the people close to them?”

“I guess so.” Kayrus then realizes something. “Miss Shirley, if I may ask, are you close to Charleone?”

She throws herself back on the chair behind him, as if taken aback by his question. Her face looks bemused.

“So he didn’t tell you about me?”

Kayrus tries to remember every conversation he had with the blonde man. “No, I believe no.”

“At all?”

“At all.”

"I see, I see…" she mutters, seemingly in disbelief. "That fucker, he still hasn’t told me anything…"

“Professor?”

“Hm? What? Oh, nothing, please ignore that.” she says, trying to change the subject. “I actually have some more questions for you, but I changed my mind. I think I’ll get more straight answers by asking directly to your Sponsor.”

“Oh…okay?”

Kayrus can notice that the eyes of his professors are now filled with something that can only be described as anger. To whom, Kayrus doesn’t know, but it’s certainly not him.

“That means you can go. Thank you for your time, Kayrus. Enjoy your day.”

"Okay…you're welcome, professor." Kayrus doesn’t know what actually happened, but he has a feeling he'd better get the hell out of that place very soon. And he’s going to do exactly that.

“Excuse me..” he walks away from Irinna, who seems to be busy thinking about something in anger.

The moment he closes the office door behind him, he practically runs away from that place.