'Is he the main character of the game?'

He didn't strike me as someone that was supposed to be one of the contenders for the next crown.

At least that was what I thought when my eyes laid on him.

Zagan K. Mengrail.

The third prince of the empire, and possibly the next monarch. Having had over a week to familiarize myself with this world, I naturally memorized the current political situation of the world.

From there, I was able to learn about the current power struggle happening within the kingdom.

'It appears as though I'm part of the third prince's faction.'

This was quite problematic, but given my limited information, I could only play along.

"You two are here."

A soft and gentle voice echoed out the moment that we entered the classroom. It was the prince.

With a perfectly chiseled jaw, lustrous golden hair, and deep blue eyes that seemed to reflect the sky, Zagan possessed enviable features.

One that puts most people in the classroom to shame.

"Thank you for taking your time to come here."

"With pleasure."

"It is an honor."

I simultaneously said alongside the blue-haired figure next to me.

In spite of having walked with him all the way to the classroom, I still did not know his name.

The prince smiled at us.

He then gestured for us to sit down alongside him.

"How about we take a seat."

Toward the farther end of the auditorium, I, along with the blue-haired guy, sat down next to the third prince.

Once we sat down, for a brief moment of time, neither one of us talked.

Or rather, we were waiting for the prince to speak. The wait didn't last for long.

"...I would like for the two of you to attend the Rottenheim banquet with me next week."

His next words threw me off.

'Rottenheim banquet?'

Although I had crammed as much information as possible during the past week, I was only human, and therefore was unable to know about everything.

Especially regarding this banquet.

While I was inwardly musing to myself, the blue-haired figure's reply was quick.

"It would be an honor."

Though he was trying to hide it, there was a pleased look on his face.

It was only upon seeing his reaction that I copied him.

"...I would be more than pleased."

"I see..."

A thin smile spread across the third prince's face as he alternated his gaze between the two of us.

"You two have rightfully earned this honor, especially after what you two have done for me. It would be inappropriate if I didn't do this much."

"You are flattering us, your highness."

"No, no, I really do mean my words."

The way the third prince spoke was eloquent, and the manner in which he carried himself was filled with elegance. Not once did the smile on his face fade while he talked to us.

He was the picture perfect image of what a prince would be in fairy tales.

"Without the two of you, I wouldn't have been able to become a contender for the crown."

'...He seems to be sincere.'

While the prince was talking, I made sure to properly analyze his facial features including his manner of speech.

From the way he was speaking, he seemed to be speaking out of sincerity.

That said, there was something off-putting about this prince.

I couldn't quite explain it.

'Is he the main character or not?'

"Attention please."

It was at that moment that a voice echoed throughout the classroom.

Everyone stopped speaking at that moment.

With my attention drawn toward the third prince, it was only after I focused my attention back on the classroom that I realized that it was already filled to the brim.

If I had to make an estimate, there were at least over a hundred people in the room.

Scanning the sea of people, my eyes soon paused toward the middle of the classroom, where a beautiful figure stood.

She wore a formal black dress that accentuated her voluptuous figure; her white hair fell to her waist; and her skin glowed in the gleam of lights coming from the ceiling. Her appearance was mesmerizing.

The gazes of most males in the classroom became heated at her appearance.

But the same couldn't be said for me as I scanned the classroom, trying to see if there were any familiar figures.

But given how crowded the place was, this task proved to be much harder than I originally anticipated.

Furthermore, it wasn't guaranteed that they would be in the same classroom as me.

"...Nice to meet you, I'm Cordelia of the Avelon county."

Her crisp and pleasant voice echoed throughout the large auditorium.

"I am a Tier 5 mage, with the dual attributes of water and ice. I will be your professor for the next year or so. Whatever questions you have regarding magic, I will be here to answer you."

Stepping to the side, she took a white chalk and began writing on the board.

Like that, the lecture started.

"As most of you should already be aware, magicians are beings that manipulate mana and transform it into attributes that can be manifested into physical reality."

The squeaking sound of the chalk pressing against the blackboard echoed throughout.

"...Of course, just because you can manifest mana, it doesn't mean you can control it. Freely being able to control mana and manifesting it in the way we desire is simply impossible given our current cognitive capabilities. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, magic circles were created. A medium that does the calculations for us, allowing us to save a lot of precious time."

Dropping the chalk down, Cordelia took a step to the side.

It was then that I was able to catch a glimpse of a large, complex circle filled with different scribbles.

Cordelia then pointed her hand toward one of the scribbles inside the magic circle.

"The general structure of a magic circle will always be the same. However, what isn't the same are the small runes that you see inside of the magic circle. Depending on what magic circle you want to use, the runes will differ."

Right then and there, Cordelia suddenly raised her hand. A deep blue magic circle formed in front of her, and a beautiful lily materialized out of thin air.

It gently levitated right in front of her.

"This right here is the beginner type spell [Water lily]. Since it's only a beginner type spell, it only has seven runes. But that's beside the point...."

Canceling the spell, the magic circle shattered and a new one formed.

This time, the color of the magic circle was a lot fainter, and the temperature of the room dropped considerably.

"[Nova frost]. Also a beginner type spell. To any of you that have paid close attention to the spell, then you would instantly be able to notice the difference between the two spells that I've just shown."

Cordelia lowered her hand and the magic circle scattered. Immediately after that, the temperature returned to normal.

She leaned her hand against the podium and scanned the classroom with her eyes before asking.

"Now, can anyone tell me what the difference between the two spells was?"

'The temperature.'

Was the first thought that came into my mind when she asked the question. As opposed to the first spell, 'Water lily', 'Nova frost', caused the temperature of the lecture hall to drop significantly.

"Yes, you."

A student stood up while I was in the midst of my thoughts.

"The difference between the two spells is the type of spell."

"Mhm, go on."

"Water lily is a [Support] type spell, while Nova frost is an [Offensive] type spell. In contrast to [support] type spells, which are used to aid another member, offensive type spells are spells used for combat."

I unconsciously raised my head to stare at the student who was speaking. He had brown hair, and his looks were rather handsome. The way he spoke was concise and clear, making it easy to understand what he was saying.

'So there are different types of spells...'

I leaned back on my chair and made sure to pay close attention to the words that the student was saying.

Being new to this world, I knew little about spells and magic. Having spent a major part of the week trying to learn more about 'Ivan', I had no time to properly learn about the magic system of the world.

"That's correct, you may sit down."

At the beckon of the teacher's hand, the student sat down, and the professor continued.

"As the student just mentioned, spells have different types. There are five to be exact, [Support], [Offensive] like the student has mentioned, and three more, [Practical], [Defensive], and [Illusionary]. Make sure you guys remember..."

The lecture went on to continue for the next forty minutes as Cordelia began to teach us about the basics of magic.

Throughout her entire lecture, I made sure to pay attention to her every word carefully.

Everything that she was saying was extremely important information.

While I was paying attention, I would occasionally scan the classroom in hopes of finding the 'three calamities'. Unfortunately, in spite of all my efforts, I wasn't able to see any of the figures I saw on the cover of the game.

'...I'll do it later.'

I eventually gave up and continued to pay attention to the lecture.

This seemed to be more important.

'Given their looks, it shouldn't be too hard for me to find them.'

"Are there any questions?"

Before I knew it, the lecture had already come to an end and Cordelia had already started to pack up her stuff.

Upon seeing that there was no question from any of the students, she proceeded to gracefully stride out of the classroom.

"Make sure you go through the information I just told you. The following classes will be a lot harder."

Of course, she didn't forget to leave a couple of more words before she left.

Clank.

The doors closed, and the quiet classroom was reinvigorated as students stood up one after another.

The first to stand up amongst the three of us was the prince. Sparing us a glance, he packed up his stuff and headed out of the auditorium.

"Thank you for taking the time to meet me today. I will see you at our next lecture together."

The blue-haired guy did the same, leaving me all alone in the auditorium to contemplate things for myself.

Of course, this was what I initially intended to do. But not even a couple of minutes after the third prince left, a slender hand pressed against the desk in front of me.

When I raised my head to see who it belonged to, a long lock of black hair was the first thing I noticed. The next thing I saw was a delicate face with thinly shaped eyebrows and purple eyes that seemed to regard me with complete indifference.

She was a beautiful woman, beyond anything that I had ever seen before. 

Our eyes met, and slowly, the girl opened her mouth. Every syllable that came out of her mouth was spat with an utter sense of disgust.

Her delicate hands clenched right before my eyes.

"...How have you been, Ivan?"