Gathering (2)

As Rina mentioned, the Academy posted a notice announcing that a gathering for the new students was scheduled. They put up notices on the hallway bulletin boards like large public posters, so I was certain there wasn't a single student who didn't know about it. I quickly checked the detailed schedule and location by reading through one of the notices.

The gathering would be held the following Saturday, at the grand auditorium where the entrance ceremony had taken place. Attendance was optional, but with Rina pressuring me, it would be more advantageous for me to attend.

"What? You think you're going to attend the gathering for new students?"

"Yeah."

Time passed, and the weekend finally arrived.

After finishing a simple workout and my writing, I headed to the training grounds and met Nicole. She seemed to have just finished all her sparring matches as well, and her entire body was drenched in sweat.

Nicole wiped the sweat running down her face with a towel, then asked in a slightly confused voice.

"All of a sudden? I thought you'd hate that sort of thing."

"I ended up attending."

"...You ended up attending?"

For a moment, Nicole's voice grew slightly colder. At the same time, the golden eyes visible between the towel covering her face turned fierce. Since she was an older sister who adored her youngest sibling, she seemed to have figured out that something had happened to me.

The moment I saw Nicole's chilling gaze, I hurriedly opened my mouth. It felt rather miserable to realize that I had to watch every single word I said even around my own sister.

"N-noona, there's nothing you need to worry about. I'm attending out of curiosity too."

Nicole replied to my lie with the implication that she didn't entirely believe me but would let it pass.

"...Then that's fine. Is that why you came to find me? To ask about the gathering?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm... A gathering..."

Nicole began thinking deeply as she roughly wiped the sweat from her face. I waited until she was ready to speak.

"Hey~"

"Hm?"

While I stood there waiting, a familiar voice reached my ears. It had a husky yet boyish tone.

I turned my head and saw Nicole's friend, Adelia, walking toward us from a distance. She, too, seemed to have just finished all her sparring matches, as sweat was pouring down her body.

"What were you two talking about? Let me join in."

"Eek."

When Adelia came closer, she wrapped one arm around my neck and acted friendly. The sudden physical contact left me not merely flustered, but bewildered.

The contact itself was part of the problem, but Adelia's outfit was another issue. At present, she was wearing what was commonly called a sleeveless shirt.

I could feel the softness of her bare skin, and the faint scent of her body mixed with sweat stimulated my sense of smell. Since I had never had any contact with the opposite sex apart from my family, it was intensely stimulating.

It was even more bewildering because, in my previous life, I had avoided socializing after the shock of my parents' deaths.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing? Get away from my little brother right now!"

Nicole apparently hadn't expected Adelia to touch me either, because she shouted angrily and hurriedly pulled her away. Thanks to that, my neck was freed from Adelia's arm, but I couldn't stop my face from burning.

Adelia, however, merely chuckled and joked despite Nicole's fierce reaction.

"Are you worried I'll do something funny to your little brother? Don't worry. He's cute, but he's not my type."

"Shut up. To me, you're just a dangerous menace. Surely you haven't erased the memory of throwing a ball at Isaac from your mind, have you?"

"...That was a genuine mistake. I'm really sorry."

When Nicole brought up the incident from two weeks ago, Adelia apparently had nothing to say and immediately apologized.

And when Nicole continued glaring daggers at her, Adelia seemed a little embarrassed and hurriedly changed the subject.

"By the way, what were you two talking about? I came over because I was curious."

"...It's nothing much. Isaac decided to attend the gathering for new students."

"A gathering for new students?"

Adelia's eyes opened wide as she shifted her gaze to me. Her sky-blue eyes were filled with intense interest.

"A gathering for new students... That brings back memories. It was really fun back then."

"Maybe for you, but it was the worst for me."

It seemed Nicole and Adelia had attended a gathering for new students before.

Adelia was smiling, apparently having enjoyed it quite a bit, while Nicole wore an expression of disgust. Their reactions were truly polar opposites.

"Anyway, the gathering for new students has a lot in common with a social event, but it isn't exactly the same. The freshmen and upperclassmen all get together to laugh, chat, and have fun. It'll be much more entertaining than you think, Isaac."

"Is that all there is to it? Don't political discussions go back and forth like they do at social events or balls?"

"What would someone like you know about politics? It's exactly what the name says: a gathering meant to build friendships."

"Hmm..."

I wondered whether Nicole knew that it was none other than Rina, the imperial princess with close ties to politics, who had lured me into attending. But I wouldn't bring it up, since it would probably only make her worry unnecessarily.

I quietly listened to Nicole's explanation, then began asking about the things I was curious about.

"Are there only freshmen attending?"

"Aside from a few upperclassmen and teaching assistants, it'll only be freshmen."

"What should I wear? It wasn't mentioned in the notice."

"You can wear your uniform if you want, but it would be better to dress neatly. You know what they say: clothes make the man, right?"

"Even if we nobles are fine, what about the commoners?"

"Clothes are fairly cheap here. And Halo Academy provides scholarships to commoners as well."

Nicole answered each of my questions, then clapped her hands and spoke as though she had just thought of something perfect.

"Great! This is the perfect opportunity to buy Isaac some clothes. The sparring matches just ended, too, so the timing is perfect."

"I have something I brought from home."

"You're planning to wear that? Absolutely not. Since I rarely get the chance, let your noona dress you up, so just follow me."

It suddenly felt as though the story had taken a turn toward shopping. Still, it wasn't too bad, since I had spent all this time shut away at home, and Nicole definitely knew more about fashion than I did.

Nicole must have decided to go shopping, because she spoke to me with an expectant look on her face.

"Wait here until I wash up. I'll be right back."

"Yeah."

"Adel, do you want to come too?"

"I'll pass. I want to sleep right now."

And so Nicole and Adelia headed off to wash up. I watched the two of them walk down the dark passage, then planted myself on the floor. The chill of the stone traveled up through my backside.

While I waited, I thought carefully about how the gathering would proceed.

'Is it like a freshman welcome party?'

Even if it was a freshman welcome party, they probably wouldn't perform talents or anything like that as they did at universities in my previous life. The culture of entertainment wasn't very developed here, and they might even consider something like that vulgar.

Most likely, the host would lead things at the beginning, after which everyone would be given free time. They might even invite musicians to play instruments in order to liven up the atmosphere.

Although Rina had forced me into attending the gathering, I was secretly looking forward to it. Perhaps it might broaden my extremely narrow social circle, if only a little.

'Come to think of it, everyone I could call an acquaintance is a woman?'

Cecily, Marie, Rina, Cindy, and Adelia.

These five were the people I had met through chance after enrolling at the Academy and with whom I had maintained decent relationships up to now. I hadn't even been the one to approach them first; they had approached me.

In my previous life, I had lived almost completely cut off from those around me after my parents died, and that hadn't changed even after my reincarnation. My current parents had worried about that aspect of my personality too, but I was living just fine without any major problems.

'When I look at it this way, maybe there really is something wrong with my personality...'

Rather than making many friends, I preferred forming deep bonds with a small number of people. I also preferred not to approach others first, hoping that they would come to me instead.

I had neither the courage to approach strangers first nor the exceptional sociability needed to become friends with someone within a few seconds of meeting them. To be honest, I was grateful to those who had willingly approached me.

They occasionally made things difficult for me, but that much was easy enough to overlook. As long as it had nothing to do with The Chronicle of Xenon, that was.

"Isaac?"

"Hm?"

"Why are you spacing out like that? Let's go now."

While I was lost in thought, Nicole returned after changing her clothes. I stood up when I heard her.

"Did Noona Adel leave first?"

"Yeah. She wanted to come along, but she said she was tired and went home first. By the way, when did you start calling Adel noona?"

"Because Noona Adel told me to. We talked once when you went out to spar."

"Hmm... Really? She didn't say anything unnecessary, did she?"

"Not really. Aside from pinching my cheek and asking what my ideal type was?"

"That fucking bitch..."

Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it. I couldn't help watching Nicole's expression twist like that of an evil spirit.

"Phew... Never mind. I'll think about that later. Isaac, do you have an outfit in mind?"

"Formalwear, I guess?"

"Formalwear..."

At my answer, Nicole looked me up and down. Then she nodded and spoke as though she had gotten a general idea.

"Isaac is definitely thin, so formalwear would suit you perfectly. Something understated rather than flashy overall?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm... Still, the scarf should have a pattern on it. And choose a suit color close to your hair."

"Red? Wouldn't that stand out too much?"

My hair was already red—or, more precisely, vivid scarlet—so I stood out even from a distance. On top of that, my golden eyes shone like a beast's, making me impossible to forget after a single encounter.

Despite my objection, Nicole wagged her index finger and opened her mouth.

"There's something you're mistaken about, Isaac. Even without the clothes, your red hair alone makes you stand out everywhere."

"... ..."

"Even Dave was known for his red hair before he became famous for his skill. People who didn't know Dave's name still knew the redhead."

In that case, I had nothing to say. I had thought about it before, but redheads in this world were so rare that they were practically nonexistent.

"By the way, do you know what my brother is doing now?"

"I'm not sure. I sent him a letter, but he's probably still training. I don't know the details either."

"Are you planning to join the Navy Knights too?"

"I'd like to if possible, but the Navy Knights aren't the name of some random dog, and you can't join them easily. The competition is one hundred to one, and many people transfer elsewhere because it's so grueling."

Hearing this gave me at least a little idea of how strong Father was. He wasn't merely an ordinary knight; he had risen all the way to become a knight commander, so the Minerva Empire must have treated him like a tactical weapon.

On top of that, the Navy Knights fought this species more often than humans. Although things had been quiet recently, in the past they had clashed constantly with beastfolk crossing the border, and they had even fought the elves.

I entertained the silly thought that Father might be a hidden master straight out of a fantasy story, then moved on to another question.

"You attended the gathering for new students too, right?"

"Yeah."

"Did you go wearing a dress?"

"I wore a dress for the first time in my life."

"Did anything happen then?"

As her biological younger brother, I felt a little awkward saying this, but my older sister Nicole was extremely beautiful, having inherited Mother's looks. Moreover, thanks to the training she had consistently done under Father since she was young, she had a healthy, athletic figure.

A beautiful woman like that had attended a gathering in a dress? Getting all sorts of attention would have been a given, and she had probably received countless advances from men in particular.

And my prediction turned out to be correct.

"...It wasn't a particularly good memory. Men kept swarming around me, so I couldn't enjoy it properly. I never attended another gathering after that."

Nicole's expression grew slightly gloomy. Her voice was filled with annoyance and regret.

"Hmm. Just as I thought. Was there anything else?"

"I'm not going to tell you, so mind your own business."

"All right."

I stopped immediately, since it would be troublesome to upset Nicole by probing any deeper. Besides, the troubles faced by a beauty like Nicole were something I, as a man, couldn't understand.

Once I stopped asking questions, Nicole gave me a mischievous smile and asked slyly.

"Why? Do you want to see your noona wearing a dress?"

"No. Not at all. I think it would only ruin my eyes."

"Hahaha. Our Isaac's quite the comedian, isn't he?"

"Ow!"

In the end, she pinched my cheek. She probably thought she was doing it lightly, but her basic grip strength was terrifying, so it hurt tremendously.

In any case, leaving our affectionate sibling conversation behind, we soon arrived at a clothing store. Since it was located in Halo Academy's bustling district, it was quite large.

"Welcome. How may I help you?"

When we entered the clothing store, an attendant greeted us with a professional smile. Since it was my first time in a clothing store, I hesitated slightly, while Nicole responded with practiced ease.

"We'd like to have a set of men's formalwear made. Where should we go?"

"Yes. The men's formalwear section is over there."

"Thank you. Let's go."

"Yeah."

After looking around as we walked, we eventually reached the men's formalwear section. True to its name, it had a wide variety of formal outfits lined up.

It gave me a slightly department-store-like feeling, which left me bemused, but I brushed it off by telling myself that this was a fantasy world. There was nothing more foolish than applying the common sense of my previous life here.

"Sigh... I don't like this one either. Don't you have anything else?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but this outfit is the last one."

"What? Are you kidding me? This is all you have?"

It seemed another customer had already arrived in the section. However, something about the situation was strange.

"Our estate has more clothes than this! Does it make sense that this is all you have?"

"I'm sorry, but these are all the clothes our store has."

"Is apologizing all you can do? You should somehow bring out more, shouldn't you?!"

The man who appeared to be a customer was making a huge scene, while the woman looked utterly at a loss for what to do.

Nicole and I headed toward the source of the noise to see what was going on. We would need the employee's help to have my formalwear made anyway.

When we finally reached the source of the commotion, I couldn't help opening my eyes wide.

'That guy...'

Three people stood in front of a full-length mirror: the man who had shouted, the female employee beside him who didn't know what to do, and, lastly, a man standing some distance away with clothes draped over his arm.

The man who had shouted was wearing an incredibly flashy formal outfit. Even I, who knew nothing about fashion in this world, could tell that it must have been extremely expensive.

But the man's appearance drew my attention even more. He was handsome enough, but his expression had grown so vicious that it completely ruined his looks, making him impossible to view favorably.

"Damn it... I should've had them bring over the clothes from the estate. I thought Halo Academy would at least have decent options, but this is ridiculous."

"... ..."

...Huh?"

The man muttering in embarrassment must have noticed Nicole and me looking at him, because he turned toward us.

Then, when our eyes met, he opened his eyes wide and looked slightly surprised.

"You..."

"... ..."

The flamboyantly dressed man's name was Jackson. He was the count's son who had hit on Cecily and Rina on the very first day, only to be thoroughly rejected.

He also resented me because I had Cecily and Rina's attention. Whenever we attended the same class, he glared at me fiercely, so it wasn't difficult to figure out.

I wasn't interested in him at all, though. I was far too busy to worry about one person.

Anyway, setting that aside— I considered what to say in the silence that had suddenly fallen, then quietly opened my mouth.

"Hello."

"... ..."

At my impassive greeting, Jackson's face twisted violently.