On the second day after arriving at Fairy Tail, Descartes took Anna to the Fairy Academy to process the enrollment paperwork.
The Fairy Academy of today did not require everyone to start from the first grade regardless of age; instead, grades were assigned based on age. Consequently, Natsu and Gajeel, the two older ones, were placed in the sixth grade of primary school, in the same class as Gray and the others. Wendy, Sting, and Rogue were assigned to the first grade.
On the morning of the third day, Anna led the children by their small hands toward the Fairy Academy. Along the way, many other children roughly the same age as Natsu and the group were walking in the same direction.
The academic pressure at Fairy Academy was not heavy. For primary school students, there were three classes in the morning and three in the afternoon, totaling only six class hours a day. Classes started at 9:00 AM and resumed at 2:00 PM, with each class lasting 45 minutes and a 15-minute break in between. Overall, it was very relaxed. The main reason for this phenomenon was the lack of examination-oriented education in this world. Even for those planning to join a magic guild and pursue a career as a Wizard, the knowledge learned during the six years of primary school was sufficient.
"Natsu and Gajeel, you mustn't fight today. You must get along well with your classmates!"
"Understood, Ms. Anna!"
"We aren't kids anymore, we know how to behave!"
"Where are you going, Ms. Anna?" Wendy asked, clutching Anna's hand tightly, her face shadowed with a hint of worry.
Anna knelt down, rubbing the girl's small head to soothe her: "Don't worry, Teacher is working at the academy now too. Moreover, I'll be teaching arithmetic to the first grade every day. If nothing goes wrong, we'll see each other shortly. Let's do our best together then!"
Hearing that they would meet again soon, Wendy's eyes sparkled once more: "Okay!!"
"Sting and Rogue, you two are boys, so you must protect Wendy!"
"Oh!!"
"Leave it to us!"
...
The Sixth Grade Class.
"Students, today two transfer students are joining our school. Everyone, let's give them a round of applause!!"
Clap clap clap...
"I am Natsu Dragneel!"
"The name's Gajeel Redfox. Make sure you remember it!!"
The two eccentric new students immediately set the students below whispering.
"What strange surnames!"
"Why is that guy wearing a scarf even in the middle of summer?"
"Strange, more than half the school year has already passed. Why are there transfer students now? And they're assigned to our sixth-grade class, which is about to graduate..."
"They must have been introduced by 'Fairy Tail.' After all, people from there are very strong. Just look at Gray, Lyon, Erzi, and Cana—they are several levels stronger than us. So it's normal for these two to be assigned directly to the sixth grade!"
"I see..."
After a good while, the homeroom teacher shouted to stop the students' chatter.
"Quiet, quiet..."
"If you have something to say, wait until after class to talk your fill. Now, let's start the lesson!"
"Natsu, Gajeel, you two go sit in your seats."
Natsu craned his neck to scan the classroom and found only two seats empty: "Teacher, where do I sit?"
"Third row, seventh column—seated with Gray!"
The moment those words fell...
"What?!" Natsu shouted instantly in dissatisfaction.
"I protest!" Gray also stood up from his seat with a "ceng" sound.
The gazes of the two clashed again, striking hot sparks in the air as if they wanted to set the entire classroom on fire.
"Teacher, I don't want to sit at the same table as this guy!!" Gray raised his hand high, wanting the homeroom teacher to rescind the order.
Natsu also hollered: "I don't want to sit with this guy either!! Aren't there two empty seats? I'll just go sit in the other one!!"
As it turned out...
"Protest denied!"
"Why?!"
The homeroom teacher pushed the transparent glasses on the bridge of his nose and said seriously: "All of your seating assignments have been meticulously designed by the teachers. Sitting with a partner allows you to borrow each other's magic power during the process of learning magic, promoting the growth of your own magic power."
"And your magic power is extremely compatible with Natsu's. Sitting together will result in the fastest magic growth!"
Gray still tried to argue: "Both Lyon and I use Ice-Make magic. His compatibility with Natsu should be about the same as mine. Just let him sit with Natsu!"
"No!"
"Although you both use Ice-Make magic, your type is 'Static' while his is 'Dynamic.' There is a difference between the two."
"According to our calculations, the compatibility between Lyon and Natsu is only 70%, whereas it's 85% with his current partner. Your compatibility with Lyon is only 63%, but with Natsu, it exceeds 90%—it's currently the highest in the class!"
"So, you know what you have to do, right?"
Hearing this, Gray's expression turned as miserable as if he had eaten a fly, but he still sat back in his seat obediently.
Adjusting student seating based on magic power compatibility was a tradition that began at Fairy Academy over ten years ago. It was said to have a significant effect on the enhancement of students' magic power, so it was established as one of the school rules.
Natsu was still unwilling: "But..."
"Alright, you idiot fire dragon!" Gajeel yanked Natsu back, unable to suppress the gloating smile on his face. "Did you forget what Ms. Anna said yesterday? Follow all arrangements at the academy and don't cause trouble! You don't want to cause trouble for Ms. Anna, do you?"
Natsu: "..."
Dammit!!!
"Fine... fine... For Ms. Anna... I'll endure it!!"
The homeroom teacher finally nodded with satisfaction: "That's a good boy! Now, go to your seats!"
Natsu had no choice but to follow behind Gajeel, walking down from the podium dejectedly.
Being deskmates with someone they hated certainly made Natsu and Gray feel uneasy, but the pleasant school life soon made them forget their original troubles. Especially for Natsu, this was the first formal class of his life; everything before his eyes was incredibly novel. Whether it was the content of the lectures, the interactions with teachers and classmates, or making new friends during breaks, he felt a kind of joy he had never experienced before. Without realizing it, he became immersed in it.
...
In the blink of an eye, half a year passed.
The children of the sixth-grade class finished their primary school careers and went their separate ways. About half of the students failed to pass the middle school entrance examination and could only choose to leave Fairy Academy. They might join a magic guild to work, choose other industries for employment, or seek other paths, but their destiny with this magic academy had come to an end.
Natsu, Gajeel, Gray, Erzi, and the others belonged to the other half—passing the examination with excellent grades and getting promoted to become members of Fairy Middle School!