It was another day at the academy. Maeortz had a surprisingly modern education system. I couldn’t remember if Earth had this level of education for the populace at this time, but nevertheless, it was a good thing. The school I am attending, the Aluna academy, was a boarding school for young nobles that was partially co-ed. Due to some prominent intellectuals, women were able to learn math and the sciences, but they were unfortunately still barred from learning politics and management. As I am still young, my schedule was packed with boring courses. I can’t wait to learn horse riding and fencing!

My plan for my life was simple. Get good grades, head to university, make good connections, find a woman, and settle down. It would be a life that was worth living, not to mention that I would improve the lives of the populace with the influence that I would have.

I enter the classroom and greet the few classmates who came early. We were all on good terms since we were a studious bunch. “Hey Eric, do you want to compare answers before class starts?” A blonde-haired boy asked me.

“Sure, I also want to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes.” I took my homework out of my bag and placed it on his desk. He was Winston Reyel, the son of a viscount. Even with my past knowledge, he could still rival me in terms of academics. Even though he was a bookworm, he exuded an air of confidence, which deterred anyone from picking on him. I suspect he will be an amazing scholar in the future, although he might be pushed into managing his estate.

“Ah, I knew that problem was tricky.” He muttered as he compared our papers, marking his own with a quill.

The first class of the day today is math. It’s all very easy stuff but even sometimes you forget the simple things. As Winston continued to flip through our sheets, more students began filing in and chatter filled the room. It seemed that our teacher was late today, which was a surprise. 

While looking over Winston’s shoulder, I felt a poke on my shoulder. Turning around, I saw Rocca’s smiling face. “Good morning Rocca.” I greeted her.

“Good morning Eric,” She said quietly. She then took her seat, which was beside mine. Usually, there would be a randomized seating plan, but due to the harassment that Rocca faced, the school decided to let us sit together. 

“Ah, Good morning Rocca.” Winston looked up from his desk, returning my paper. Rocca returned a polite nod. We are all good friends. When Winston first met Rocca, he thought that her being a mage was really cool, much to her surprise. 

Suddenly, Rocca was shoved and she lost balance, her head hitting the desk. Winston stood up and I ran over to support her. Rocca was sobbing from the pain.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” I shouted to the boy.

The person in question is Ray Tulor, the second son of an earl. He is usually an okay kid but he does have anger issues. He and Rocca have an enmity that has lasted since the beginning of time when she accidentally ripped his book using magic. He has always been suspicious of her since. Others may be silent about their distrust of mages, but he was one of the few vocal ones. I noticed that he was holding a broken quill.

“That stupid mage friend of yours broke my quill!” He spat, holding up the broken feather. “Not just any quill, it’s the one my brother got for me!” his face getting redder by the moment. Seemingly unable to contain his rage, he swung his fist at Rocca. I blocked his punch and shoved him away.

“What in the world are you two doing!?” Our teacher, who had finally arrived, shouted. He ran over and broke up the fight. A few moments later, I was sent to bring Rocca to the infirmary while Winston and our other classmates helped explain what happened. A few of them said that Ray did nothing wrong but the teacher scolded them as well.

I attempted to comfort Rocca on our way to the infirmary. I managed to stop her crying but she instead latched onto my arm on the way there.

“I don’t want you to go.” She pouted while she tugged my arm at the entrance.

“Come on now, I have to go back to class, Rocca. We’ll see each other very soon when the nurse treats those bruises on your face.”

“Fiiiine.” She lets go of my arm and heads inside.

After heading back to class, I learned that Ray was sent to the principal. The class went by as normal until lunch when Rocca was released from the infirmary. Padding was on her face to hide the bruises. I, Winston, and a few others helped to cheer her up before the day ended.

Before I knew it, the school day ended. “Ah sorry, I can’t hang out with you guys today. Mom and dad came to visit.” Winston regretfully said as he turned to us at the building’s entrance.

“Have fun! Do give me a few drops of that lemon candy will you?” I joked.

“Not a chance.” He replied. We all laughed. I knew how much Winston loved his lemon candies that he regularly got from his family. Rocca and I waved him goodbye.

“Do you still want to go there today, Eric?” Rocca asked. There was a nice hill that overlooked the surroundings on the school property. Usually, only our trio would hang out there, but sometimes we would bring our other friends too.

“Sure!” I replied. I didn’t want to leave her alone, not when she was still probably shaken up by what happened today.

Rocca and I sat on the hill, looking at the beautiful scenery before us. The butterflies seemed to be roaming about today, gracefully flying from flower to flower. A long while passed as we simply watched.

“Hey, Eric?” Rocca suddenly spoke up.

“Yeah?”

“You know, you really are like those heroes in the stories that I’ve read.”

“Really?” We turned towards each other.

“Yup! It almost seems like we were made to be together!” She had a radiant smile.

“Maybe so. I’m just glad that we are good friends.” I chuckled. We looked back and spent a while admiring the swaying trees. The faint sounds of rustling leaves were soothing to my ears. I felt Rocca’s hands wrap around mine.

“What?” I involuntarily said.

“Hey Eric, can you promise that you will marry me when we get older?” She said in a soft but serious voice. I looked over at her and our eyes met. Wait, were her eyes ever this dark and clouded? She seemed to be staring right into my soul. Time seemed to stop for a moment. I snapped out of my shock and started thinking. We were still kids, and even if we did remember, I could just laugh it off as a joke or pleasant memory if need be. Keeping that in mind, I replied.

“Yes.”

Rocca’s eyes quickly faded back to normal and she held her hands on her face, concealing a mad blush. A big smile was plastered on her face. Looking back, this was probably the worst mistake that I have ever made in my entire life.