The youth was Redmane.
"He’s definitely gonna be late." I sighed and ignored him.
Then we proceeded to ignore him as we made our way to the third floor of the capital, where the academy was located.
After walking for about an hour through the city carved into the mountain, we finally reached our destination.
The academy itself covered almost the entire third floor and was like a small city of its own.
I entered through the gate by showing my acceptance letter, while Nyx slipped into my shadow. I didn’t want anyone staring at me during the ceremony, so I told him to hide.
The award ceremony was supposed to take place in the central auditorium of the academy.
The academy was divided into five sections, each with its own purpose.
The north section housed the first-year curriculum, the east was for the second years, and the west was for the third years.
The south held all the dormitories, while the central area was reserved for the professors and the academy staff.
I stepped into the massive auditorium, where the air felt heavy with a mix of anticipation and nerves.
The ceiling above arched so high it seemed to swallow sound, and banners bearing the imperial crest hung to the roof, while thousands of seats fanned out around a grand central platform.
Students were already scattered across the rows. The front seats were completely claimed by noble students, while the commoners huddled toward the back.
Just like everywhere else, the rich dominated the poor here too.
While commoners could only unlock their grimoires at the age of seventeen, the nobility had that privilege much earlier.
Because of this, youths up to the age of eighteen were allowed to take the entrance exam just so that the commoners could stand some chance.
Commoners who had just awakened their grimoires at 17 stood little chance against noble scions. They hadn’t received any formal education or weapon training beforehand.
But if they managed to draw a strong enough grimoire, and with desperate training for a year, they could usually secure a spot in the lower ranks of the exam.
My eyes swept across the auditorium. First, they landed on the nobles. Out of the thousand seats, they held nearly one-third, around three hundred.
Most of them were seventeen.
Then my gaze shifted to the commoner students seated at the back. Most of them were eighteen. But despite being a year behind, they all looked excited.
And why wouldn’t they be? This was their one chance to escape poverty and to make a name for themselves.
"Hmm, then where should I sit myself?" I murmured with a faint grin tugging at my lips.
Without waiting, I started walking down the aisle, past rows crowded with commoner students clutching acceptance letters like lifelines, shoulders drawn tight with nerves.
A few heads turned as I passed. A freckled boy near the aisle leaned forward with wide eyes.
"Hey—wait!" he called out to me, his voice cracking with surprise.
I slowed just enough to glance at him.
"You’re really going up there?" he asked with disbelief and worry mixing in his tone. "That’s... that’s where they sit."
I raised an eyebrow. "They?"
"The nobles," he muttered, voice barely above a breath. "If you sit there, you’ll just—"
"Upset them?" I finished for him, still walking.
He swallowed. "It’s not worth it. Just sit back here like the rest of us."
A girl beside him added, "You’ll get yourself in trouble. And maybe us too..."
I stopped, just for a moment. "Trouble finds me anyway," I said in a dry tone. "Might as well pick the view I want when it does."
Their faces tightened with confusion and a hint of reluctant admiration as my words reached their ears.
As I neared the front, the shift in the air was almost physical. The nobles turned to look my way, draped in polished silk and crests pinned to their chests like miniature thrones.
A blond youth in deep green leaned back in his chair, his eyes flicking over me as if trying to decide whether I was worth the effort.
"Lost, are we?" he drawled, his voice dripping casual contempt.
I tilted my head slightly, giving him a polite, empty smile. "Oh, terribly," I murmured. "Can’t seem to find the part of the hall reserved for people who think bloodlines make them interesting."
The smirk slipped from his face for half a heartbeat before he barked a sharp and dismissive laugh. "You’ve got a mouth on you."
"Better than drooling on silk," I shot back mildly, pulling out an empty chair and lowering myself into it.
A noble girl across the row frowned as she saw me taking the seat. "Commoners belong at the back," she said.
"And yet here I am," I replied in a calm voice with eyes half-lidded. "Maybe the sign telling that fell off. Or maybe it’s harder to read from there?"
She blinked, thrown by the softness of my tone rather than the words themselves.
Another noble boy, sharper-faced, leaned forward with curiosity flashing behind practiced disdain. "What’s your name, then?"
"Loki Moe Lester," I said without hesitation, enjoying the faint flinch that rippled through a few of them as they processed it.
The blonde’s friend covered a snort behind his hand. "Gods... what sort of name is that?"
"It’s peak, you wouldn’t know."
Nyx stirred faintly in my shadow, amusement rolling off him like smoke. "You’re really poking them, huh?"
"Not poking," I murmured back to him, as my gaze locked forward. "Just killing some time. This goddamn award ceremony is taking too long to start."
Behind me, where the commoners sat, murmurs sparked like dry grass catching fire.
"He actually sat there..."
"Does he have a death wish? He will cause us trouble too."
In front, the blond youth narrowed his eyes slightly, reassessing rather than truly angry. "You’ll regret this when the ranks are announced," he warned me.
I met his gaze, unblinking. "Maybe," I said. "But until then, I’d hate to ruin your view."
A few chuckles rose as I mocked the guy who was fuming with anger now.