Chapter 36: Chapter 36

“Look over there, that’s the assistant professor from the Summoning Department and this year’s top student, right?”

“Is it true that they’re siblings?”

“There have been rumors going around for the past few days that the youngest son of House Sogres would be enrolling. What have you been doing?”

“Wow, I’ve never seen the assistant professor from the Summoning Department take care of something like that before!”

It seemed like I still got more attention when I hung out with my second sister.

I could hear them, but when my second sister glared at them, it felt as if a silencing spell had been cast.

“Don’t worry about it, Dane. There are many times when you have to keep a cool head when you work as an assistant professor. There are quite a few kids who try to use their family background to secretly ask the teacher to change their grades.”

Rather, it was sad that it was not the professor but my sister who graded the papers. What were they doing instead of grading papers?

“Oh, hello, Miss!”

In the midst of all this, loud greetings were heard. A few students with the Summoning Department badges on their chests were standing in front, bowing their heads.

“Yes, hello.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

My second sister waved her hand very coolly. It seemed like a signal to go away, but one of the bowing boys did not leave.

“Oh, is that your younger brother, Miss? The rumored top student who passed the autonomous major program! House Sogres is truly amazing!”

The boy pointed at me and showered me with compliments, then laughed heartily.

“I’ll treat you well next time I meet you! I’m really good at taking care of others!”

However, my sister looked at the boy and spoke very coldly.

“Granx, you were held back twice, right?”

“…”

“Three times will lead to expulsion. You know that, right?”

“M-Miss…”

“You don’t have to take care of my brother, so focus on passing.”

Then my sister said the scariest thing in the world.

“Let’s do our best, alright?”

The boy named Granx eventually turned pale and retreated. It was the first time I’d seen my second sister act so cold, except when she was fighting with our eldest sister.

“Let’s go, Dane.”

I headed to the dorm with my sister.

There were a few boys who greeted me loudly as I walked by, but seeing the expression on my sister’s face, it seemed like they didn’t have the courage to speak to me any further.

It was reassuring yet scary. I was so glad she was on my side.

“Oh my, Dane. I was looking for you, but I guess you were with Clare.”

Oh right. There was one more person who was reassuring but scary.

“I heard you were meeting Professor Kelthas, so I was heading that way. But it seems our Clare go to you first?”

My eldest sister had the kindest smile on her face. And…

My second sister’s eyebrows were twitching.

“I’m just showing Dane to his dorm.”

“Oh, really? Then I’ll go with you. It’s been a while since the three of us have had a cozy walk together.”

Oh, this was dangerous. It was a big deal when my eldest sister spoke so affectionately to my second sister.

“I’m sure the genius inventor of the Magic Department is busy, so why don’t you go back? I’ll take care of our youngest.”

“Why are you saying such saddening things? I was just finishing up what I wanted to do to see our youngest, but isn’t life as an assistant professor hard for you? I don’t know if you have time for this. Oh, the professors of the Summoning Department are a bit annoying, aren’t they?”

Although I was happy to see my eldest sister, I was seriously contemplating whether or not I should leave.

“Oh my, look over there”

“All the children of House Sogres have gathered.”

“Ms. Arabella is a genius at magic, Ms. Clare is a genius at summoning, and Mr. Dane is a genius at both of those things plus spearmanship. What kind of family do they have?”

“I’m jealous. What would it feel like to be among them?”

What did it feel like?

It felt like death.

Eventually, my sisters followed me to the main gate of the dormitory.

They said they couldn’t enter.

On principle, no one other than students may be on the dormitory premises, except for dormitory staff.

“Dorm life, along with club life, is the highlight of academy life!”

As my eldest sister said, dormitory life could be very enjoyable for some people. This was because a practically ‘autonomous’ society centered around the dorms existed.

It could be called a small society within the academy.

In the midst of this, the two started fighting again.

“Oh. So that’s why you were trying to burn down the dormitory grounds?”

“Where do you go bringing up something from more than five years ago? And it was a very minor accident that happened during the inventing process!”

“If almost burning everything down is a minor accident, then would it only be a major accident if you burn down the entire empire?”

“Hmph. Don’t you remember when you suddenly took out a wyvern in the plaza where the festival was being held? The festival turned into a total mess, didn’t it?”

“Th-that! It was because someone gave me alcohol!”

Maybe my eldest sister was the one that gave her that alcohol. However, if this went on, there would be no end to it.

“Sisters, I’m going in.”

At my words, my sisters came over to me without saying a word and hugged me tightly.

“Little brother, you have to be careful on your way. If there are any problems, call me. Even though it’s off-limits, if you open the gate, we can go in. No one will know.”

“Dane, if there’s any trouble, call me and I’ll barge in.”

Again, reassuring but scary.

I was glad they were on my side.

With that, I finally passed through the dorm gate amidst a tearful farewell.

The dorms were visible soon after I entered the gate. On the way, I saw several buildings, many students, and a few tents, but I went straight to the dormitory office.

“Oh, Student Dane Sogres. I’ve been waiting for you.”

As I entered the office, a corporate-looking employee with neatly combed hair stood up to greet me.

“I can’t believe you’re fourteen. You’re so stocky and big.”

He quickly introduced himself.

“My name is Max Hauer. I’m in charge of all the general operations of this office.”

“I’m Dane Sogres. Please take care of me. I hope I’m not too late.”

“Not at all. The headmaster personally gave the order. Even if you come at dawn, I should personally guide you right away.”

The headmaster personally gave the order? Max continued speaking as if it was nothing special while I tilted my head.

“It’s to be expected, as you’re the top student and a member of the Autonomous Department.”

As expected, one should be good at what they do.

“Very well. Let me explain the documents first. First, Dane Sogres, you belong to the Dantère Hall. As you can guess from the name, it is the best dormitory.”

I heard about it from my eldest sister.

The dormitories were divided into three, and you could go to different places depending on your grades. The Dantère Hall was the dorm for those with the highest grades. It was named after the first emperor of the empire.

“Alright.”

“The Dantère Hall has everything a student could possibly want. There’s a cafeteria, a lounge, a magic projection room, a large store, various training grounds, and even a city center. There are also ‘secret’ facilities,” Max added with a grin.

“Only three students from this year’s freshmen entered, including you, as the top student, and the second place, Leila Thermion. Incidentally, three students left the Dantère Hall before the start of this semester.”

That meant that it was a place that you couldn’t usually enter.

And one more thing.

“I’m sure it won’t happen, but depending on your grades in the second semester, you may not be able to continue staying in the Dantère Hall.”

I suppose he meant that if I got lower grades, I would have to go to another dorm.

“Well, I don’t think that would apply to you. And… I don’t think you’d cause any trouble in the dorms either.”

What did that mean?

“Just so you know, Students Arabella Sogres and Clare Sogres only stayed at the Dantère Hall until they graduated.”

Oh. It was then that I realized why he mentioned the word ‘trouble’.

I shivered thinking about how they must have acted whenever they met in the dorms.

Were sisters all like that?

By the way, how did they graduate?

“Alright, I’ve finished explaining everything, so you can sign here. Oh, there are two access keys, so if you lose one, you can come to the office and register for a new one. And also…”

Through the following explanations, I confirmed that I was in room 905 of the Dantère Hall.

“If you go into the Dantère Hall, be careful. There are a lot of strange students there. It’s not that they’re bad, but sometimes you’ll wonder what’s wrong with them.”

Well, I suppose that would apply to me, too

The explanation wasn’t very long, and Max handed me the key.

“You can check the details yourself. If you have any questions, please feel free to come to us at any time.”

“Thank you.”

As I was accepting the key and heading to the Dantère Hall, I felt like I was being watched.

I was used to it by now.

Something along the lines of my being the youngest son of House Sogres, entering the academy as the top student, being of the Autonomous Department, and if that meant I was alone.

“Did you just hear? There was almost a fight between the graduates at the main gate?”

“Really? Suddenly?”

“I think it’s the Sogres sisters! The professor stopped them just before they cast magic and summoned something.”

Oh, that was kind of interesting. I tried hard not to listen and quickened my pace.

Finally, I arrived at the Dantère Hall.

“So amazing.”

The splendid building stood tall. On the white base, I could see the various patterns and magic circles carved on the walls. As expected of a building built by a legendary architect, the unique decorations and style were impressive.

The building had a total of nine floors.

As I entered, I was greeted by some amazing sights, but I personally thought my home was prettier.

I passed the lobby and got on the magic elevator heading to the ninth floor. The sign installed in front of the elevator caught my eye.

Inventor: Arabella Sogres

“That’s amazing.”

I remembered my older sister bragging that if you looked closely, I would see her inventions all over the academy.

Whoong, clank.

The elevator stopped quickly.

After confirming that I had reached the ninth floor, I got off the elevator and immediately sensed something strange.

What was it?

The entire ninth floor was enveloped in a great silence.

Chairs, tables, teacups, sofa, magic projector, etc.

There were traces of human presence.

But no one was there. It was as if everyone had evaporated away.

I checked the number on the entrance several times before coming in, so I wasn’t on the wrong floor.

Then…

“Huh?”

The moment I drew up my magic power to expand my senses, strangely familiar sensations began to stimulate my five senses.

The very faint but clearly visible thread.

The smell of lubricating oil that brushed the tip of my nose.

A very subtle squeaking sound.

They were all traps.

“Aha.”

Suddenly, I remembered Max’s words. He said there were a lot of weird people in the Dantère Hall. I also remembered what my second sister had said about a tradition called hazing that existed in the Dantère Hall.

I guess it was that.

Hazing.

I barely kept my laughter in.

There were many traps. Nothing looked dangerous, however, it seemed that the traps had been modified to make it difficult to dismantle.

Why was I so familiar with it?

I learned it all from my mother.

“This is going to be fun.”

How sincere.

Then, should I just dismantle everything and see what happens, just to show my own sincerity?