Chapter 7: Emilia

I woke up early in the morning and saw an unfamiliar view. After gazing around my room for a while, I remembered.

“Ah, right… I’m at the school.”

I stood up from my bed and arranged the blankets and pillows. Stretching my body, I walked towards the closet and found unfamiliar clothes hanging inside. I then recalled the events from last night.

Before I went to sleep, Emilia had come into my room and placed my uniform in the closet. Assuming it was school regulations, I changed into the clothes. Once finished, I looked at the mirror on the closet door.

The uniform consisted of a black blazer adorned with a clover design. Each leaf of the clover was colored red, blue, green, and yellow, representing the four most influential houses. My skirt had a checkered pattern in gray, black, and white, and its length was 2 cm above my knees. The socks and shoes were standard—black shoes and white socks.

“It’s quite modern-looking for a fantasy world… well, this just proves that this world is different from the game.”

In the game, the students’ uniforms didn’t predominantly feature black. They were mostly white, highlighting the color of the house they belonged to. For example, a student from the house with the red hawk banner would wear a white jacket with red stripes, and their pants or skirt would reflect this color scheme.

After finishing my change, I began combing my hair with my hand. To make it more comfortable, I warmed my hand slightly with magic. Just as I was about to finish, I heard a knock on the door.

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“Come in!”

The door creaked open, and Emilia stepped inside. Her expression was one of surprise upon seeing me.

(Why is she always shocked when she enters my room? Is what I’m doing really so abnormal?)

I placed a simple hairpin near my bangs and completed my grooming. I hadn’t done anything special with my hair, such as braiding it. My hairstyle was quite plain, so I doubted anyone would find it peculiar.

“Good morning, Emilia.”

I greeted her with a smile, which finally seemed to wake her from her daze. She quickly bowed and escorted me to the canteen. Throughout the walk, Emilia wore a troubled expression. Considering my missed opportunity to talk with her last night, I decided to address it.

“Is something wrong?”

She seemed surprised by my question and stopped walking.

“…”

“Um, Emilia, is something troubling you?”

She furrowed her brows and hesitated to answer. I waited silently until she finally spoke in a small voice.

“… I feel like you don’t need a servant, Miss Lumina. You’re able to do almost everything by yourself even without me. I was supposed to be your personal maid during your stay here.”

“Ah, I see. It’s true that I don’t need a servant for those things, but—”

(My mother told me I needed to find a servant once I reached this place. Who knew the school would provide one? And she’s only seven like me. She’s a potential friend candidate.)

“But?”

“What I do need is a friend. Would it be okay if we became friends?”

Her eyes and mouth widened at my statement.

“B-but… our social classes are different. You’re a noble and I’m a commoner. There’s no way we could be friends.”

“Really? I became friends with the carriage driver yesterday, so I think we can.”

“B-b-but…”

“No buts! Our ages aren’t that different, and besides, we’re schoolmates. It’s normal for us to become friends. Besides…”

“Besides?”

I took one of her hands with both of mine and, with my most cheerful smile, shared my true thoughts.

“I’m from a low-ranking noble house and don’t have any friends my age back home. I’d really be happy if we could become friends.”

Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she lowered her gaze. When I thought she might refuse me, I heard a very soft, “Yes,” from her lips.

“Really!? Thanks! Emilia.”

“I should be the one thanking you, Miss Lumina.”

Even though we became friends, it seemed the “Miss” before my name still stayed. The two of us cheerfully walked towards the canteen. Once we arrived, Emilia went to one of the doors and came out with a trolley filled with food, while I sat at one of the tables.

She arranged the food on the table for me: two sausages, a sunny side up egg, and a mug of warm milk. I cast a spell on the milk sporadically to keep it warm while I ate. I tried to invite Emilia to eat with me, but she declined, saying, “Because it’s the rules.” That excuse left me no room for argument.

When I finished eating and was just drinking my milk, students began to gather in the canteen. All the girls wore the same clothes as me, while the boys wore matching black jackets with a chest pocket bearing an insignia like mine and gray pants.

Not a fan of crowded places, I stood up from my seat and walked towards the exit, with Emilia following me.

Along the hallway, I asked her when school started and where we were supposed to gather on the first day.

“School starts in three days, and we’ll gather at the Great Hall along with the Elites of the Magic School.”

“Thanks… so we’re free for the next three days, huh? Is it okay to explore the school grounds?”

“Yes.”

When I heard her answer, we had already exited the dormitory and were walking along a stone-paved path. Since it was still morning, the breeze felt cool and refreshing. I decided to make morning walks a habit. As we walked, I remembered the promise I made to the carriage driver.

“Then can you show me where the stables are?”

“The stables? Understood.”

Emilia began walking ahead of me, leading the way. I continued to observe the school buildings, which looked exactly like those in the game. The roofs were covered in red tiles, and the walls were made of bricks. The design resembled the old prestigious schools in Britain.

Along the way, I noticed another coincidence: the uniforms worn by the Elite magic students matched those from the game. Some had red stripes, while others had blue, yellow, or green. They spent time only with those who had the same stripes as them.

After about 15 minutes of walking, we finally arrived at the stables. I immediately searched for the familiar carriage driver and found him brushing one of the horses. As I was about to call out to him, I remembered something important. Although I had considered him a friend, I still didn’t know his name. I froze in place with my left hand raised and my right foot about to touch the ground.

“Hey, Andrew, is that the girl you were talking about?”

I heard a voice from behind and saw the carriage driver react to it. He turned around and saw me. I quickly regained my composure and, with a slight cough, greeted him.

“Good morning… Andrew?”

I tilted my head slightly and waited for confirmation.

“Good morning, Miss Lumina.”

As he finished his greeting, he began scratching his nose and looked somewhat embarrassed.

“So your name is Andrew?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m sorry I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Andrew Domitor. I’m one of the people in charge of taking care of the horses.”

“Hee, so that person who called out to you is…”

I pointed at the person who had spoken to him.

“Ah, his name is—”

“Mark Flanders. Like him, I’m also one of those guys.”

Mark smiled broadly as he introduced himself. I placed my left hand on my chest and introduced myself.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Lumina Chis Chem.”

“Ah, I know. Andrew didn’t stop talking about you the moment he came back here.”

“Hehe, is that so?”

“I didn’t only talk about her!”

I covered my mouth and let out a small laugh as Andrew walked angrily toward Mark. Emilia tried hard not to laugh and maintained her calm demeanor.

“So, what brings you here, Lumina?”

“Idiot! Add a ‘Miss’ before her name! Can’t you see she’s a noble!”

“Nope~ Don’t see it. We’re going to be schoolmates anyway.”

As I listened to their bickering, I placed a finger on my chin and asked them,

“Schoolmates? Does that mean, like Emilia, the two of you are also working students? What are your ages?”

“Andrew is 13 years old, while I’m 10.”

“Hee, only three years older than us.”

Andrew gave up trying to correct Mark’s way of speaking to me and sighed heavily.

“So, do you need anything from us, Miss Lumina?”

I shook my head.

“School starts three days from now, so I’m just here to explore the school grounds.”

“Since you’re here, why don’t you spend some time with us? It’d be nice if some girls were around.”

“What are you saying!?”

“Sure, I’m not in a hurry anyway.”

“That’s okay?”

“Yes.”

The four of us spent the day together, talking about various trivial things, such as what school was like, how they became working students, and where they came from. During lunch, Emilia returned to the canteen and brought me some food while Andrew and Mark opened a basket they had brought from the back.

They talked to me while they worked. I also practiced some magic, which didn’t seem to surprise them. As the sky started to darken and the sun glowed orange,

I bid them farewell and headed back to the dorm with Emilia.