"Um, my name is Kenneth Xin Ashleigh," the delicate boy with silver-gray hair and blue eyes said timidly.
"The name is William," William replied. "William Von Ainsworth. Feel free to call me Will."
William looked at his new roommate and gave him a thumbs up in his heart. He never thought that his roommate would be this cute!
"Will, you have a good name," Kenneth said with a smile. "Are you also a first year?"
"Yes." William nodded. "Why? Do I look old?"
Kenneth resolutely shook his head. "It's just that, you give me a very mature feeling."
William scratched his cheek as he looked at his roommate with approval. He was quite happy that his roommate was Kenneth. With just a glance, William could tell that the gray-haired boy was someone that was raised as a noble.
Even so, Kenneth didn't have the arrogance like that most nobles did. For some reason, William felt like Est and Kenneth had something in common. Perhaps it was their aura, or presence, but William didn't dislike being together with them.
"Well then, may you take care of me this school year, Kenneth," William said as he extended his hand for a handshake.
Kenneth looked at William's hand before slowly raising his own hand to accept his handshake. The gray-haired-boy's countenance changed when his hand touched William's hand. His body instinctively flinched as the rough hand touched his own.
"Sorry." William apologized as he reluctantly let go of Kenneth's soft hands. "Did my hand hurt you? It's pretty rough, right?"
"N-No," Kenneth stuttered. "I was just surprised. Your hand, although rough, feels sturdy and strong."
William chuckled due to Kenneth's timid response. He then explained to his new roommate that he was a shepherd and was used to handling goats and performing manual labor. Also, William's lifestyle in Lont was not easy. Because of this, he had developed calluses on his hands and it made his palms rougher compared to boys his age.
When William woke up in the morning, he would chop firewood then cook something for his Master, Celine. After that, he would feed the goats before taking a bath. After breakfast, he would go and spar against his Grandpa or other people in Lont to become more proficient in the Martial Arts he had learned from his Job Classes.
Since there were plenty of strong people in Lont, William was able to increase his proficiency and learn a few tricks from them as well.
After sparring, he would take a bath and return to Celine's house to prepare her lunch. When afternoon arrived he would spend it with his cute cousin Eve. Once night came, it would be the start of Celine's Hellish Training of curses, poison, and more curses.
"A Shepherd…" Kenneth eyed William curiously. "Did you take the entrance test of the Royal Academy?"
"Of course."
"Was it hard?"
"A little bit." William had no intention of telling Kenneth about his battle with the Ruler of the Forest.
"I see," Kenneth replied as his blue eyes appraised William from head to toe. 'Since he passed the entrance test, he must be quite capable despite how he looks.'
Being stared at by an angelic looking boy made William feel like a kitten was scratching his heart. "Am I that handsome? Why are you staring at me like that?"
"Yes," Kenneth replied unconsciously. "You are very handsome."
Kenneth paused as his face became beet red when he realized that he had said his thoughts out loud. The sudden change in his reaction made William grin.
'Seriously, my roommate is too cute!' William thought. 'I better not tease him too often. I don't want him to hate me.'
An awkward silence descended upon the room. Kenneth busied himself in arranging the items in his magic bag. He placed several robes in his closet and even took out a pillow for his bed. He then placed an incense burner on the small table beside his bed.
A soothing fragrance permeated the room as soon as Kenneth lit the incense burner.
"This smells good," William praised. "This reminds me of the smell of Gardenias."
"It is a scent made from the Gardenias of my hometown." Kenneth gave William a sincere and genuine smile. "I'm glad you like it."
William felt his body become very relaxed as the fragrance assaulted his senses. Before he knew it, he had already laid on the bed and had fallen asleep.
Although he had rested properly last night, it seemed that he still hadn't fully recovered from his long journey and his recent battle against Psoglav.
Kenneth looked at his roommate who had slept in an awkward sleeping position. With a sigh, he stood up from his bed and supported William's body into a proper sleeping position. As he covered him with a blanket, he heard William's sigh of pleasure.
"Thank you," William said as if he was talking to someone in his dream.
Kenneth gazed at his peaceful sleeping expression for a full minute before returning into his own bed to rest. For some reason, he also felt like sleeping. As he laid in the bed, facing his new roommate, Kenneth felt thankful.
He was thankful that his roommate wasn't one of those arrogant nobles whom he hated to the bone.
Soon, the silver-gray-haired boy fell asleep as well.
A few hours later, both of them were woken up by the resounding tolling of a bell.
William drowsily opened his eyes as he looked at the magic clock that hung on the wall of his dormitory room. It was twelve noon, and it also signaled that the time for lunch was at hand.
William yawned as he stood up from the bed. He did some stretching to help circulate the blood in his body and remove the drowsiness he was feeling.
Kenneth had stood up from his bed as well and watched William with amusement. His impression of William was already good, but seeing him act like this made him like the shepherd even more.
After William finished his short stretching exercise, he glanced at his roommate.
"Do you want to have lunch together?" William asked.
"Yes," Kenneth replied. "Do you know where the dining room is?"
"... I don't know," William answered with embarrassment. "I also just arrived today. However, don't worry. We can just ask around. I'm sure that we will find it sooner or later."
"You have a point." Kenneth nodded.
The two boys left their room, but they didn't forget to lock it. Although they were inside the Solaris Dormitory, it would be safer to lock the doors in order to prevent theft.
Sure enough, it didn't take long for William and Kenneth to find the location of the Dining Hall. When they arrived, they immediately noticed six long tables that were at least 14 meters in length. Aside from that, there was also one long table, on an elevated platform, placed horizontally facing the students where the Instructors of the Martial Classes ate together.
Several dishes had already been placed on top of the tables resembling a feast that was meant to be partaken of by the students of the First Year Martial Classes.
William and Kenneth glanced at each other before picking a less crowded table. They sat near the end, and happily filled their plates with meats, fruits, and other dishes that looked delicious. William had started to eat meat again, but in much smaller quantities.
When lunch ended, several adult men and women appeared and cleared the table. One of the instructors had mentioned that there was an important announcement waiting for all of them after lunch.
Because of this, none of the students left the dining hall. All of their gazes were focused on a handsome man with short light-brown hair and green eyes. A bow was strapped behind his back, so William assumed that he was in one of the advanced classes of the archer profession.
"Good day, everyone," the man said with a smile. "My name is Andy and I am the instructor for the Hunter Classes. As the school year is only about to begin, you should all know that we need to have officers that will manage the first years."
Some of the children nodded their heads in understanding because they had already been briefed by their families about this. Others were looking at Andy with determined expressions because they were aiming for the prestigious position that would bring honor to their name as they advanced into the upper years in the academy.
"Right, I'm talking about the position of Head Prefect for the entire Freshman Class during this school year," Andy grinned as his feral eyes briefly glanced at William before looking at the other expectant faces who were looking at him.
"Naturally, this position holds considerable power. Since that is the case, only those with power are allowed to wield it," Andy explained with a serious expression.
"An all out battle royale will be conducted in the Enchanted Forest four days from now. The one who is left standing in the end will become the Head Prefect and everyone is duty bound to follow his orders. Do I make myself clear?"
""Yes!"" the students replied in unison.
"Good, may the best man or woman win!" Andy raised his fist and all of the students cheered at the same time.
The bloody battle for the position of Head Prefect was about to begin, and William was still on the fence about whether he should participate in it or not.