Chapter 3: Treatment towards new students (3)
Suo Suo muttered, "I wonder who Kanding Empire sent this time."
Julan and Shamanli, Suo Suo and Di Lin"s home countries respectively, were allied nations. In terms of the nations" interests, both were Kanding Empire"s old enemies.
Di Lin withdrew his gaze and continued to read while seated.
"Aren"t you curious?" Suo Suo plopped down beside him with his hands supporting his chin. Deeply worried, he said, "I hope it isn"t someone troublesome."
"That"s a concern for the teachers," Di Lin shrugged. He believed that the radiant history of Saint Padeus" Inst.i.tution was certainly not a result of bragging.
Suo Suo pouted and flipped over. He rested his head on Di Lin"s knee and closed his eyes.
To allow him to rest more comfortably, Di Lin took out an umbrella from his s.p.a.ce bag to shield him from the sun"s rays.
Suo Suo grinned in satisfaction and conducted the second afternoon nap for the day.
When he woke up again, the sun was already hanging in the West.
Di Lin hammered his numb thigh as he stood up, deciding to search for the dining hall on the map.
Suo Suo raised both hands in approval. Although he had brought along a variety of foods in his s.p.a.ce bag, they had been stored for many days and had long since lost their freshness. Now, what he fervently thirsted for was the taste of a hot, fresh piece of steak.
The two people packed up their things and set out with the map.
The map in the booklet was relatively clear and simple - it consisted of a few curved lines and lacked even simple signs at the side.
Di Lin could only make a guess at the way out by comparing the proportions of the landmarks shown on the map and in reality.
As they walked for an unknown period of time, the sky gradually grew darker and darker.
Suo Suo couldn"t resist taking out the food items in his s.p.a.ce bag to allay his hunger.
Di Lin, who had constantly been at the front leading the way, suddenly halted his steps. "I seem to have heard voices."
The hand that Suo Suo was using to break off bread paused slightly, and he p.r.i.c.ked up his ears to listen. "I hear the sound of water."
The two people met each other"s gazes and continued moving forward.
Sure enough, the sound grew clearer.
Approximately ten minutes later, they saw a dense ma.s.s of people rushing over. Leading them right at the front was the person they just met that morning, Macreis.
"What are you guys doing here?" Macreis was similarly surprised.
The first thing Suo Suo paid attention to was his feet. Although the sky was a little dark, he could clearly make out that Macreis" two feet were plastered to the ground.
"We"re lost," Di Lin said honestly.
Macreis replied, "Didn"t I give you guys the map?"
Di Lin stretched out the hand that was surprisingly holding onto that exact booklet. "I got lost while looking at it."
Macreis frowned and suddenly pointed in the direction behind him. "Do you know what side that is?"
Di Lin thought for a while. "East?"
Macreis stroked his chin. "It looks like Hydin"s first cla.s.s will be to teach you how to distinguish between the East, West, North, and South. All right, follow me now. I"ll bring you guys back and find a place for the newcomers along the way."
Only then did Di Lin realize that the gaggle of people behind Macreis were the new students who had arrived on the second day. This was also to say that he had been walking in the direction of the Illusion Lake? This direction should then be the… South.
His face reddened on hindsight.
"Please forgive my bold intrusion. May I ask if your distinguished self is Lord Di Lin·Basco?" A clear, sonorous voice like that of a brook slid past Di Lin"s ears. Di Lin quickly turned and saw a short youth with ash-colored hair blindly following after him. The face that was directly facing the moonlight appeared deathly pale. No matter where the gentle yet common facial features of his was placed, it would still be a face easily overlooked. But his pair of eyes were so black that it seemed to shine, almost as if it contained magic power, firmly luring the other party"s line of sight.
"Yes. May I ask who you are…" Di Lin enquired hesitantly.
"I am Ning Ya·You. I come from Langzan," Ning Ya smiled slightly. His pupils were partially concealed by his smiling eyes, and the previous sharp, imposing manner vanished completely.
Di Lin thought for a bit before coming to a sudden realization. "Langzan"s prince."
"Yes. I once had the fortune of seeing your countenance during a feast at the Basco Dukedom," Ning Ya lowered his head in solemn respect.
Even if Di Lin"s impression of this prince from Langzan was limited to that brief sharing of names, this did not hinder the joy that rose in his heart. Though he did not show any gloominess like Suo Suo from being isolated and rejected, in reality, to the him who had always had very high self-esteem, the anger that the other students" silent loathing had incited in him was far more than Suo Suo"s. It was just that he would not express the entirety of this. Compared to complaints and curses, he preferred using real abilities to prove himself.
Thus, when Ning Ya·You, who was also n.o.bility and had been exempted from testing, appeared, Di Lin subconsciously placed him in the ranks of those on his side.
"I"m very happy to meet you again here," Di Lin stretched out a hand voluntarily.
Ning Ya shook his hand modestly.
Suo Suo moved forward and also stretched out a hand. "I am the prince of Julan, Suo Suo·Vantra."
Ning Ya said while shaking his hand, "I"ve long heard of your famous reputation. It is my honor to meet you here."
Suo Suo looked at Di Lin in astonishment. "Ah, is my fame that great?"
Di Lin keenly sensed that Macreis" ears were p.r.i.c.ked tautly towards their corner and replied, "Of course, it cannot compare to the person you worship, teacher Macreis."
… Macreis, the person he worshipped?
Suo Suo frowned and pondered over it. He did indeed have someone he worshipped. He did indeed also know someone called Macreis. But when these two were added up…
Who was that?
Fortunately, the camp that was packed with tents came into sight, stopping him from voicing this question.
After directing the new batch of students to set up their tents just as he had directed Di Lin, Macreis departed leisurely just like the previous day.
Suo Suo tugged on Di Lin"s sleeve and asked curiously. "Ah, they don"t seem to have returned yet."
Di Lin glanced faintly at the still-empty tents before helping Ning Ya to pitch his tent.
Since the number of tents were more than double the number of new students, Ning Ya didn"t have any tentmates.
After Di Lin helped him to pitch the tent, the three people were just about to bid farewell and prepare for bed when chaotic footsteps in the distance neared their direction.
Di Lin asked, "What direction is that?"
Ning Ya replied, "Northwest."
With some signs of movement, quite a few students who had originally entered the tents once again stretched their heads out to look around.
Di Lin and Ning Ya went to sleep unhurriedly.
Suo Suo was even less worried. In any case, he had already slept close to a day"s worth of time.
The owner of the footsteps was finally revealed from the woods.
Suo Suo recognized the person in the lead. This person happened to be the big-eyed youngster from the previous day. He couldn"t help saying in surprise, "Ah, they"re back. But they seem to have just had a bath."
Ning Ya smiled. "Rather than bathing, it would be better to ask where they had a water fight."
Indeed, they were soaked from head to toe, as if they had just been fished out from a lake.
"Where did you guys go?" Someone from the second batch of newly arrived students couldn"t resist asking.
However, not a single one of them replied.
As if they had been collectively cursed with a ban on speaking, every single one of them dragged their fatigued bodies into the tents without reappearing.
Di Lin felt Ning Ya"s gaze on him. He forced a smile. "I don"t know what happened either."
Ning Ya smiled understandingly. "It seems that we"ll need to spend quite a significant portion of time adapting to the inst.i.tution"s way of life."
At this moment, Di Lin felt grateful for his understanding.
"Please rest early. Good night," Ning Ya said. He bowed and entered the tent.
Suo Suo noticed that Di Lin"s line of sight had yet to leave the spot Ning Ya was previously at and couldn"t help asking out of curiosity. "What are you looking at?"
Di Lin stared blankly before realizing that he had unexpectedly been dazed by Ning Ya"s slender physique.
"Nothing much," His state of mind was quickly curbed, and he stroked Suo Suo"s head. "It"s late, sleep soon."
Suo Suo suddenly pointed in the direction of the sky. "What"s that?"
Di Lin looked towards the direction his finger was pointing in, only seeing a shadow of a black ma.s.s flying over from the northeast.
It was not only them who noticed this scene. Many people once again stretched their bodies out from within their tents.
Within this period of time, cries of fear sounded incessantly.
Di Lin subconsciously looked towards Ning Ya"s tent. As expected, he also appeared. A white cloak was draped over his body, making his entire person appear exceptionally thin and weak. He glanced at that lump of shadows and said in amazement. "How could it be him?"
That lump of shadows slowly landed from the sky and a strong burst of fire ignited from that direction.
A youth with a scarlet cloak draped over him slowly stood up from the chair. The guards beside him comprised of four mages wearing black mage gowns.
Suo Suo exclaimed in a low voice. "Ah, he"s that one from the afternoon."
Di Lin"s brows knitted slightly.
Not only did he recognize him as that person on the chair who had flown past in the afternoon and whom was royalty of the Kanding Empire, he also recognized his ident.i.ty.
—
The emperor of the Kanding empire, Castalon the Second"s second son, Xi Luo·Castalon. The main culprit who caused Princess Qiao Ni"s suspension and her return home for reflection.
The author has something to say: The names are indeed very hard to remember, everyone can simply remember them as Chinese names. Di Lin is surnamed Di while his name is Lin, and so on. Surnames are fleeting; I also copy and paste. I will draw out a map during the next two days. Like this, the relationships between the various countries will be clearer. O(∩_∩)O