Chapter 134: Chapter 134

Surprisingly, Elise wasn’t that tired when she woke up the next morning. In fact, she was so untired that she started panicking, worrying that she had slept through class registration. She leapt to her feet, finding that she had apparently switched back to her changeling form in her sleep. She had to admit that it was slightly more comfortable for sleep than her human form, but if she kept doing that, she would need to worry about locking her door at night. She didn’t really want to be seen in that form.

She changed back to her human form, then changed her clothes to something semi-casual and ran downstairs. She found Bianca and Sophie in the kitchen together cooking up a massive pan of eggs and sausage, which left her even more confused. She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and saw that it was only seven in the morning. They had plenty of time. Then why did she feel so well-rested?

{Aether Sense} picked up a flicker of activity from the dining room table. Elise turned to find that Irylax was sitting there, sipping on a steaming cup of something. Her expression was neutral, but Elise knew she hadn’t imagined the flicker of Aether. Or rather, the flicker of emotion, as she realized when she used {Sense Emotions}. She was amused.

Elise’s mouth opened as she realized what had happened. She thought she had been free of it after leaving Oberon, but apparently, Irylax had a mischievous streak as well. They hadn’t been up until near sunrise the previous night working on Elise’s soul meditation. The light through the windows was an illusion. Elise might have known if she checked the clock in her room at any point, but she was so thrown off by the thought of being exhausted or missing registration day that it had slipped her mind, and now Irylax was silently laughing at her.

She took a deep breath, straightened herself, and walked through the kitchen casually as if nothing had happened.

“Good morning,” she said.

“Oh, you’re up!” said Bianca. “Breakfast will be ready in a few. Have a seat.”

“Morning, Elise!” said Sophie.

Elise walked over to the table and sat down next to Irylax, crossing her arms.

“What time was it actually when I left?” she asked with {Whisper}.

“Just after midnight,” Irylax replied immediately.

Elise was fairly annoyed, but she couldn’t really do anything to a dragon. Also, when she thought about it more rationally, it was probably better that way, because it basically guaranteed that she got as much sleep as possible. She was so sure that she needed to fall asleep right then that she hadn’t bothered to putz around while getting ready. Because of that, she now felt well-rested. It was still annoying, but it hadn’t caused any harm, so she let it go.

After a few minutes, Bianca ran upstairs to fetch Nick, who was still asleep, while Sophie split the eggs and sausage onto six plates. The biggest plate actually went to the ground in the kitchen where Skitter was waiting impatiently. He wasn’t really that big of a creature, but he had something like twelve stomachs, so he needed a lot of food.

Breakfast almost went by quickly. However, Sophie was excitedly chattering so much that she forgot to eat, and only when everyone else’s plates were empty did she start. That meant that when they left, they had to move quickly or risk being late, with “late” here meaning “not first in line.”

Registration didn’t actually start until eleven in the morning. However, as the most famous and prestigious university on the continent, they had many, many students not only attending, but excited to attend, and selecting classes was the campus’ busiest day of the year. Getting there “late” wouldn’t necessarily preclude them from registering for class, but it would leave them with the short end of the stick when it came to time slots and electives with limited slots. Additionally, if they completed their registration early, they would have time to tour the campus, which Elise was looking forward to.

The house that Oberon had saved for them was fairly close to the campus, so it was only a short walk to get there, and in the early morning, the summer heat wasn’t very bothersome. It was actually a very pleasant walk, as the streets were clean and well maintained and there was a gentle breeze blowing through to help cool off whatever heat the sun gave off.

The campus itself was located right in the middle of the city, and it was a perfect circle four miles across. It stuck out like a sore thumb, much to Elise’s pleasure, because rather than the dense urban sprawl that made up the rest of Jelor City, the university was more like someone had cut a piece of nature out and pasted it in. It reminded her a bit of Central Park in New York City with how stark the contrast was.

Most of the campus was grassy fields, miniature forests, ponds, and lakes, with well-traveled dirt roads criss-crossing all over, leading to various points of interest. Within the artificial wilderness, occasional lone towers or small groups of buildings could be seen, but they were all contained to their own areas and were styled in a way that they didn’t interfere with the general atmosphere of the rest of the campus. Just walking along the road made Elise feel at peace, and like she had stepped into a children’s fantasy book.

Unfortunately, for now, all she could do was look as she walked by. Registration was held in the University Center, which was the largest group of buildings there, and was located predictably right at the centerpoint of the circle. It was mildly frustrating having to look at all the interesting places they could be exploring, but have to walk past without taking a look. The University Center was interesting enough on its own though, so it wasn’t that bad.

Like the campus itself, the Center was a perfect circle, and it had roads leading in from the four cardinal directions, of which Elise and the others were on the west side. The middle of the Center was yet another circle of mostly open space with a fountain at the center. The fountain featured a stone statue of a middle-aged woman with a motherly smile holding a wand up in the air as it shot water out.

Elise could only assume that it was Archmage Anne Jelor, the famous human who had founded not only the school, but the kingdom, and was one of the most influential figures in all of history. She had learned a bit about the Archmage from Oberon, though mostly they were his personal anecdotes, as he had allegedly known her when she was young. The fact that Elise knew someone who had known the archmage took away from a bit of the awe she might otherwise have felt toward the woman.

Registration was divided by last name, and since Elise and Sophie shared the same last name thanks to Elise’s current false identity, their group was able to stay together as they went to their assigned building, the History building. Elise had unfortunately had to revert to her usual height. It wasn’t a problem to maintain that height after transforming, but it took conscious effort to choose to be that height when she transformed, and she didn’t want to risk being overly suspicious for something so silly as being taller than Sophie. It would be temporary anyway, at the rate the teenager was growing. Elise felt mildly jealous, as she was now the shortest person in the house, other than Skitter, and Sophie was trying to teach him to stand on his hindmost legs, so even that wouldn’t last long.

Since registration hadn’t started yet, of course they weren’t allowed into the building yet, but there were benches right next to the doors that they chose. Another group had already taken one of the benches, but other than them, they were the only ones, so they were all able to get a seat right by the door.

Sophie started talking excitedly about what kinds of classes she would take as Nick and Bianca made suggestions and talked about their own experiences, but Elise found her attention drawn to the people across from them on the other benches. They appeared to be a family, with one child enrolling in the school and two parents, but something about them was odd. The “parents” seemed more like guards than parents, sitting stiffly on either side of the student and on high alert. They also had an unusual amount of aether.

While they were interesting though, the student between them was more so. Interestingly enough, her colors were the opposite of Elise, with rich red hair and gray eyes so pale they looked more silvery white than anything else. Unlike her two guards, she looked otherwise ordinary, wringing her hands with her legs bouncing anxiously. When she noticed Elise staring, she responded with a slight nod and a nervous half-smile.

Elise smiled and nodded back, then turned her attention back to Sophie and the others. An hour passed quickly, and a few other groups arrived, taking places on other benches nearby, or in some cases, conjuring chairs up either out of the earth, or out of thin air with spatial storage. Sophie, being the extreme extrovert that she was, immediately introduced herself to the first one who got too close, trapping them in a long conversation that Elise thankfully didn’t need to participate too much in.

She did at least learn the names of her neighbors, though she doubted she would be using them too much. There was Jeffrey, an enormous teen with a baby face who wanted to be a knight, and Isabelle, a tall, willowy girl who was interested in alchemy, and a pair of twins, Jenny and John, who both insisted that the other had copied them when they chose to study lightning magic. As Elise planned on learning about nature magic, Charisma-based skills, and maybe a bit of monster hunting, she didn’t see too much overlap with their focuses, but she made sure to stay polite and pleasant in case they shared some of their core classes.

While they talked, Elise glanced over at her inverse and saw that the parent-guards were turning away anyone who tried to talk to her. Elise felt bad, because the other girl looked a bit lonely, but she figured she would get the same treatment, so there wasn’t much she could do about it.

Another hour passed as the University Center grew more and more lively as more new students arrived. The whole time, Elise stayed fairly silent, taking it all in. Secretly, she was reveling in her new ability to not draw the attention of what sometimes felt like everyone in a one mile radius. Her unique colors still earned her some looks, but with {Subtle Royalty} active, the stares never got too bad.

She also found herself constantly checking the description of {Transformation} out of habit, only to remember that she no longer had to because there was no more timer. Each time she did, she felt her mood lift a little. Sitting around for hours was boring, but a few weeks ago, she wouldn’t have been able to do this so freely, so even doing nothing felt good.

When the third hour was nearing its end and the time of the doors opening drew close, the mood in the Center shifted slightly as people started getting in position to enter. All those who had arrived early easily lined up in order of arrival, but Elise heard some commotion and pushing in the back from the people whose time of arrival was less clear. That was none of her business, so instead, she turned her attention forward, eager to get into the building. She also idly wondered if she would get a chance to talk to the red-haired girl, now that they were in closer proximity, but unfortunately, the two definitely-not-guards were forming a wall separating them, so Elise could barely catch a glimpse of the other girl’s hair. Whoever she was, it seemed she was quite important, and more importantly, quite isolated.

Elise didn’t sense anything odd about the other woman at first glance, whether through mana or aether, but now that they were only a few feet away, she started picking up on something strange. The other girl’s aether felt… muted. And {Sense Emotions} wasn’t working properly either. It reminded Elise a bit of her own suppressed aether.

Interesting, she thought.

A few minutes before doors were open, Elise suddenly turned around as she heard the commotion behind her fade away slightly. When she did, she saw the dense line shuffling to the side, making way for a newcomer. It was a young man who was somewhat handsome, but wore an expression that made Elise instantly dislike him. And if his face wasn’t enough, the four burly men surrounding him and not-so-gently suggestions that the other students and families get out of the way definitely did.

“Step aside, please,” said the young man.

Despite the “please,” it was clear that his words were not a request. Elise wondered why everyone was just letting him act , but she assumed the emblem sewn onto the left side of his chest had something to do with it. Elise was immediately thankful that Sophie had somehow managed to convince Irylax to stay behind, because she didn’t want to have to deal with another impromptu leg amputation.

Unfortunately, her gratefulness was short-lived, as it seemed that Sophie had picked up some of her master’s habits.

“What are you doing?” she said, stepping to the side to deliberately get in the young man’s way.

The young man blinked in surprise, but never dropped his smarmy smile.

“Pardon, but may I ask for your name?” he asked.

“You may,” said Sophie.

No, Sophie! Thought Elise.

It looked like Nick and Bianca because they both stepped forward to stand between Sophie and the young man.

“We’re sorry,” said Nick. “She doesn’t-”

“Hey!” said Sophie, forcing her way through. “He’s cutting the line!”

“Yes, but-” started Nick.

“Let her speak for herself!” said the young man, still smiling. “What is your name, girl?”

“Sophie!” she said confidently.

“Sophie…” he said, gesturing for her to continue.

“Ah, so a commoner. Step aside, please, I’d like to register for my classes as quickly as possible. This heat is quite uncomfortable.”

The rest of Sophie’s sentence was cut off as Nick, Bianca, and Elise all clamped their hands over her mouth.

“No, let her continue,” said the young man, his smile now slightly dangerous. “Me what?”

“Sir, we are deeply sorry for-” started Nick again.

“Quiet!” said the young man. “Wait, I recognize you. You’re that knight that got captured by the slave traders!”

“I am honored that you recognize me, Young Master Grane,” said Nick, bowing while still keeping his hand firmly over Sophie’s mouth.

Sophie flinched slightly when she heard the name Nick said and stopped resisting quite as hard, though Elise could still sense that she was indignant.

“Yes, well, you’ve done a good deed for the nation. Is this girl your sister?”

“Well, at least your parents raised one of you right.”

A hush fell over the crowd and Elise felt through {Sense Emotions} that both Nick’s and Sophie’s rage was flying through the roof. She couldn’t blame them. Hers was too. She and Nick managed to keep theirs under control, but they all suddenly had to work twice as hard to hold Sophie back. Fortunately, Sophie was still rational enough not to use magic to attack the arrogant young nobleman, but Elise figured it was only a matter of time.

“Young Master Grane, I would ask that you please refrain from insulting my parents like that.”

“Of course, my apologies,” said Young Master Grane with so little sincerity he sounded sarcastic. “Now, would you kindly get out of my way?”

“Of course,” said Nick through gritted teeth. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel·fiɾe·net

He and Bianca moved to the side, pulling Sophie with them, but Elise lingered a moment longer before moving. She really didn’t want to let this kid get away with what he was doing. She recognized the Grane name as one of the ducal households in Jelor, meaning that this young man was quite important, but just letting him walk all over the Grays like that didn’t sit right with her. Fortunately, if she wanted a bit of justice, subtlety was her specialty. Kind of. She had {Suggest} at least, and she was already thinking of a half dozen things she could do to him. Just as she settled on one though and prepared to enact it, the young man paused and spoke again.

“By the way, I’m forgoing punishment now in light of your contributions to the kingdom, but I don’t think I have to tell you what the penalty for assaulting a noble is, do I?”

“Of course not,” said Nick, his anger rising again.

It looked like that would be the end of it as Sophie finally stopped struggling, but unfortunately, that was just a ploy from the young half-elf girl. As soon as her mouth was free, she stepped forward out of reach and spoke again.

“By the way, I was going to call you a-”

Sophie then launched into a stream of profanities so foul it left everyone around them in shock. Nick and Bianca were too surprised to stop her before she got through it. Silence filled the air, and it spread as even people waiting by other buildings turned to see what was going on.

“In all my years, I don’t think I’ve ever been insulted like that before,” said Young Master Grane, still smiling. “Milo, slap her. Maybe if she loses a few teeth, she’ll think twice before speaking like that again.”

Elise’s jaw dropped as she grew so angry she could hardly think straight.

Alright, screw subtlety, she thought, stepping forward.

Before she could actually do anything though, someone else stepped forward as well, and Elise turned, surprised to see the redheaded girl standing beside her.

“Mate, don’t you think that’s a little too far?”