As I ate, I heard voices behind me.
Three students entered the dining hall.
They spoke loudly, unconcerned with anyone around them.
Their white uniforms were spotless and perfectly pressed, and the way they walked set them apart from the others.
They moved as if they owned the place.
They sat at a table near mine and continued their conversation.
"I heard Professor Liana's afternoon session is different. More interesting than Thorn's morning lecture."
The speaker was tall, his hair a pristine white, cut neatly. His face was handsome, but there was a clear arrogance in it, and his gray eyes were cold.
He spoke with quiet confidence, as though every word he said was beyond question.
"Different how, Drak?" the second asked. He was slightly shorter, with a round face and light brown hair.
There was eagerness in his voice, a clear admiration for the one called Drak.
"The trip" Drak said, leaning back in his chair, hands resting behind his head.
"The academy will select twenty first year students to travel to the New World this season."
"The New World?" the third said. He was thin, wearing round glasses.
There was surprise in his voice. "That's for third years and above. How are first years like us supposed to go there?"
Drak looked at him with faint disdain.
He spoke slowly, as if explaining something to a child.
"The High Council changed the rules. They want first years this time."
"Why?" the round faced student asked.
"The New World is not what it used to be" Drak said.
"The creatures there have grown weaker in recent years. The Council wants to send first years to gain experience before facing real challenges."
"What kind of challenge are we even going to face there?" the round faced one said with a laugh.
"Some small creatures and strange trees. We'll go and come back before anything even happens."
Drak did not laugh.
He smiled instead, a faint smile that carried no amusement. The kind of smile that told you he knew something others did not.
"The New World is not a stroll," he said.
"My family sent my cousin there two years ago. He said the creatures are small, but intelligent".
"They do not fight with mana alone, but with deception and cunning. Those who underestimate them do not return."
The three fell silent for a moment.
The one with glasses looked down at the table, his face slightly pale.
The round faced student pressed his lips together, thinking.
Drak remained relaxed in his seat, still wearing that confident smile.
"But do not worry" he said. "My level is above most of these students. Being on the list is only a matter of time."
The other two looked at him. The round faced one began "Of course you'll be on the list. You're…"
He did not finish.
Drak raised a hand, cutting him off.
"No need for names" he said. "The academy is for everyone. Nobles and commoners. No difference."
But the way he said the word commoners sounded as if he were spitting something unpleasant from his mouth.
"What matters" he continued, "is that anyone who wants to join this trip must prove themselves. It seems Professor Liana will explain the details in the afternoon session."
"Will there be a test?" the round faced one asked.
"Of course" Drak said. "They won't take just anyone to the New World. The selection will be difficult. The competition will be fierce."
He looked at his companions, then smiled wider.
"But as I said, I am already on that list. As for the rest…"
He left the sentence unfinished and returned to his meal.
His companions exchanged glances before doing the same, though the round faced one still looked at him with clear admiration.
…
I stopped listening to them and returned to my food, eating slowly as thoughts crowded my mind.
The New World. The trip. First year students.
In the novel, the New World was where the real journey began.
Where the first key characters met. Where the first true challenges appeared.
I had thought the trip happened at the end of the first year, or the beginning of the second.
But things here seemed different.
As I sank deeper into thought, I felt something.
A gaze.
Not from behind me, not from the table with the white haired student and his companions.
They were too absorbed in their conversation to notice me at all.
The gaze came from in front of me.
I lifted my eyes slowly.
The blond haired girl was looking at me.
She did not look away immediately when she realized I had noticed. She held the gaze for a second longer, then turned back to the window as if nothing had happened.
But I had seen enough.
Her eyes were a pale blue.
Her face was calm, the kind of beauty that did not seem aware of itself, or did not care.
Her light blond hair fell over her shoulders in soft strands, some of it partially covering her face.
She wore the same white uniform as mine, with black stripes marking her as a knight.
She sat alone by the window, her plate barely touched. It seemed she had come to sit, not to eat.
I looked down at my food. I was nearly finished.
Only a few bites remained.
I lifted my eyes again.
She was looking at me.
This time, she did not look away quickly.
She held my gaze for two, maybe three seconds, then slowly turned away.
But I saw something in her eyes.
Not just curiosity.
Something else.
Something like hesitation.
As if she wanted to say something but did not know how.
I clenched my hand beneath the table.
My fingers trembled slightly.
The old fear returned.
The fear of approaching someone. The fear of speaking and being laughed at. The fear of being rejected.
The fear of becoming exactly what I had always been when I tried to reach out to others.
But something else was happening this time.
For the first time since waking in this world, I felt the desire to approach someone.
Not because I needed something. Not because I was searching for information.
Just to approach.
She was sitting alone.
Just like me.
In this large dining hall, among dozens of students, everyone was with someone.
Everyone had a group.
Except us.
I glanced toward the table where the white haired student and his companions had been sitting.
They had finished their meal and were standing to leave.
The white haired one walked ahead, moving with confidence as if the entire hall belonged to him.
When they reached the exit, he glanced around briefly.
His gaze passed over the girl at my table without stopping, then over me without seeing me at all, before he left with his companions.
I looked back at the girl.
She was still staring at the window.
I tightened my grip, then slowly released it.
I stood.
I picked up my empty tray and walked toward the return counter. I placed it down and paused for a moment.
Her table was only a few steps away.
I could go back to my seat.
I could leave the hall and return to my room.
I could ignore everything.
I could remain alone, just as I always had.
But I did not.
I walked toward her table.
She did not look at me. She was still facing the window.
I stopped across from her.
"Is this seat taken?" I asked.
My voice was quiet, my hands trembling in my pockets.
She lifted her eyes to me.
They really were pale blue.
Her lashes were long and light.
She looked at me for a moment, then at the seat I had indicated.
"It's free" she said.
Her voice was soft and calm, though there was a trace of caution in it.
I sat across from her, leaving some space between us.
I did not speak.
She did not speak.
We sat there in silence, the light from the window falling between us.
After a moment, she glanced at her nearly untouched plate, then at me.
"You're new?" she asked.
I met her eyes.
"Yes."
"Me too" she said. "I'm new."
Another silence.
Then she said, "I'm Alira."
I looked at her for a moment. The name meant nothing to me. Not from the novel. Not from anywhere.
"Reis" I said.
Alira nodded slowly.
"Reis" she repeated, as if tasting the name. "It's a nice name."
I did not know how to respond, so I remained silent.
She did not press me to speak.
Instead, she turned back to the window.
"The sky here is different" she said.
I followed her gaze. The sky was clear and blue, just like any beautiful day.
"Different how?" I asked.
"Clearer" she said. "Where I came from, the sky was always filled with smoke. You never saw the real blue."
She paused, then added quietly,
"Or maybe I just never looked at it enough."
I said nothing. I thought about her words.
Where I came from.
Was she from somewhere else too, or just another city in this world?
I did not ask. I did not want to reveal too much about myself.
Alira raised her hand to her hair, brushing a strand away from her face.
As she did, the black cloth wrapped around her wrist slipped slightly.
I saw something beneath it.
A scar.
A long scar running from her wrist up along her arm, hidden beneath the fabric.
She noticed my gaze and quickly pulled the cloth back into place.
Neither of us said anything.
We sat in another silence.
But this time, it was different.
Not the silence of strangers, but of two people who understood something about each other without words.
After a while, Alira stood.
"I have to go" she said. "I have a class soon."
I nodded.
She paused for a brief moment, looking at me one last time.
"See you later" I said.
She turned and walked away, her steps quiet against the floor.
I remained seated, staring at the empty chair across from me.
Alira.
She was the first person in this world to speak to me without being forced to.
The first to call my name without asking for anything in return.
I touched the pendant beneath my shirt.
The small silver dove was warm against my skin.
I looked toward the window. The sky was still clear and blue.
"Another place.." I whispered to myself.
Then I stood and left the dining hall.