"I am too lazy to eat. Feed me."
"Yes, Sir!"
"My shoulders are feeling stiff."
"No problem! I'm very good at giving shoulder massages!"
William massaged Ian's shoulder after they had eaten breakfast. Ian had a satisfied expression on his face, while Est was feeling envious. Isaac was doing his best to stop himself from laughing. Clearly, his twin was taking advantage of William's current situation.
"How is it?" William asked with a refreshing smile.
"Not bad," Ian replied. "You're quite skilled. How did you learn to give massages?"
"It's because my Master would ask me to give her a massage before she went to sleep from time to time," William answered. "At least, once a month, she would also ask me to give her a full body massage."
"Um?" Ian turned to look back at him with a frown. "A full body massage?"
"Yes."
"... With her clothes on?"
"Are you an idio-- Ahem!" William forcefully coughed in order to prevent himself from calling Ian an idiot. "Answering Sir's question, of course without any clothes. It would be very hard to give someone a full body massage if they are wearing clothes."
Est and Ian exchanged a glance before glaring at William.
"Why do you need to give her a full body massage?" Ian questioned. "Isn't it enough to give her a shoulder massage?"
Est also joined the interrogation and threw a few questions of his own. "Did she force you to give her a massage by using the slave collar?"
Their penetrating stares locked onto William. It was as if he was a pig that was about to be slaughtered if he didn't give the right answer.
"Why can't I give her a full body massage?" William asked back in confusion. "She's my Master, so it's only natural that I make her happy. Also, I wasn't forced. I did it voluntarily when I saw that she was looking exhausted."
"Are you just dumb or acting dumb?" Ian scoffed. "How can a boy like you give a full body massage to a beautiful woman as if it was nothing?!"
"Ah, you're talking about THAT." William nodded his head in understanding. "First of all, when I give Master a full body massage, she would order me to put on a special eye mask. While wearing that special eye mask, I would only see a skeleton instead of a person's body."
"But you're still touching her body directly." Est pointed out with an edge to his voice. "Don't tell me that you don't feel anything when touching a beautiful woman's body?"
"Ah about that… It's really a shame that she strips me of my sense of touch when I give her a massage." William sighed. "Although I am touching her body directly, I can only feel that I am touching a metallic surface."
Seeing William's expression of loss, Est and Ian felt a bit better. Even so, they were still feeling envious of Celine's relationship with William.
"H-How about you give me a full body massage later?" Ian stuttered. "While you're at it, you can also give my Young Master a full body massage."
"Sorry, I have no interest in giving body massages to anyone aside from my Master," William replied in a heartbeat.
"Tsk!"
"Tsk!"
Est and Ian clicked their tongue when they heard William's firm answer.
"Ah, Sir, isn't it about time for the trial to start?" William smiled as he lightly patted Ian's shoulder.
"Hmm? Oh, you're right," Ian looked at the clock on the wall. "Let's go to the training grounds. Instructor Grent might already be there."
William happily followed behind Ian as they walked towards the training grounds. Est and Isaac shared a knowing smile and was looking forward to William's reaction once he knew the truth.
----
"So, you're finally here," Grent said as soon as William and his entourage entered the training ground. "Your name is William, right?"
"Yes, Sir!" William stood straight as he looked at the imposing man in front of him.
Grent wasn't alone. There were eleven more people standing behind him. All of them were looking at William with interest.
"Very well, we will conduct the test," Grent stated as he motioned for William to come closer. "Do you see that stone platform over there? Place both of your hands over the round stone. It is a magic tool to measure your aptitude."
"Understood!" William replied and walked towards the platform. He then obediently placed both of his hands on the magic tool and waited in anticipation.
Rows of magic words appeared in the air as William's information was shown to everyone in the training field.
----
Name: William Von Ainsworth
Race: Half-Elf
Age: 14
Magic Power: None
Spiritual Power: None
Physical Fitness: A
Potential: A
Assessment overview: Excellent Physical Prowess, but no Magic Power. Recommended to be placed under the Martial Class Division.
-----
William looked at the information above him and sighed. He didn't know if he should be happy or not because his Magic was unusable at this point in time. As for Spirit Power, this was the first time he had heard of it.
'I'd better ask the system about Spiritual Power later,' William thought as he removed his hands from the appraisal stone.
"I was hoping that I made a mistake in my assessment, but the results showed that my hunch was correct." Layla sighed. She was hoping that William had some affinity with magic, but the appraisal stone had already confirmed her initial probe on the red-headed boy.
Andy, on the other hand, was all smiles. He was looking at William as if he couldn't wait to drag him to his side and personally cultivate him to become a powerful archer.
The other professors had mixed emotions as well. Some of them sighed, while some had smiles on their faces. They were the representatives of the First Year Martial Class, Spirit Class, and the Magic Class of the Royal Academy.
William had been a candidate that they had set their eyes on after his stellar performance in the battle against the Ruler of the Forest.
Grent patted William's shoulder with a smile. "From now on, you will be a first year in the Martial Class Division. Classes will start a week from now. Make sure to fill out the form in the registration office, so that you will receive the academy's uniform.
"Your lodging will be located in the Solaris Dormitory. This is the lodging for all the first years of the Martial Class. Also, do you intend to become the Head Prefect of the Solaris Dormitory?"
"Head Prefect?" William inquired. "What is that?"
Grent nodded his head in understanding. It was impossible for William to know how the hierarchy works inside the Royal Academy since he just became a First Year.
"Although we call it Head Prefect, it's more like the Commander of all the First Years belonging to the Martial Class," Grent replied. "Every year, the competition for that position is very intense. Being the commander of a Division is a prestigious honor to any student in the Royal Academy."
"Sounds troublesome." William sighed. "Can I pass?"
"Of course you can. However, the Head Prefect's orders are absolute within the Division. You have to obey them whether you like it or not."
"... What a pain."
William didn't mind taking orders from the Head Prefect as long as it doesn't break his bottomline. However, he had complicated feelings about taking orders from a stranger whom he barely knew.
"Welcome to the Royal Academy." Grent chuckled as he patted William's shoulders. "I have high hopes for you."
After saying those words, Grent and the rest of the instructors left the training field. William felt very happy because he had been accepted inside the Royal Academy. However, he had a feeling that he was forgetting something important.
William propped his chin with his fingers as he pondered that fleeting feeling inside his head. His gaze then landed on Est then on Isaac, and finally on Ian who was looking at him with a smug expression.
"Ah!" William exclaimed. He finally realized that he had been tricked!
Ian laughed out loud and ran away. Since William had already realized that they had worked together to trick him, he was sure that the shepherd would retaliate because he was treated like a personal maid.
"You!" William roared as he ran after Ian. "You tricked me!"
"I did, so what of it?" Ian chuckled as he kept his pace. "I didn't know that you were so gullible!"
"Damn you! Don't let me catch you!"
"Don't worry, someone as slow as you wouldn't be able to catch me!"
Est and Isaac watched the enraged William, who had gone all out to flatter Ian so that he would pass the test, continue to chase Ian around. The shepherd was so angry that his face had completely turned beet red. Ian on the other hand circled around the training ground with a smile.
He even shot a few sprays of water magic to cool the enraged red-headed boy down. Soon, William was drenched from head to toe. The boy finally understood that he had no chance of catching the trickster who tricked him.
"This is not over," William gave Ian the middle finger. "Just you wait. I'll pay you back tenfold!"
After making his threat known, William left the training room while gnashing his teeth. Ian watched him go with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Maybe we went too far with our joke," Isaac whispered to Est.
"The deed is already done." Est sighed. "It's no use crying over spilt milk."
"What if William blames us as well?" Isaac inquired. "We can be considered accomplices."
Est's eyes widened in surprise. He had completely forgotten that William was the type that kept grudges!