Let’s Go Together

It was a night when everyone was asleep.

On the night of the entrance ceremony, as he lay in bed, Adrian Heather couldn’t shake the thought of his stone. Fortunately, the spell cast by the mage during the ceremony wasn’t one that created something new but rather one that transferred something already in existence. The Gold Dragon decided to retrieve his stone from where it had originally been.

Adrian slowly sat up in his dormitory bed. Luckily, Mikhail was sound asleep beside him. He carefully lowered his feet onto the floor, making sure not to make a sound, and quietly stepped out of the room.

Just outside the dormitory door was a large window. Adrian cautiously opened it and placed both feet on the railing. Their room was on the second floor of the building, but for a Gold Dragon, that wasn’t an issue. With effortless grace, Adrian Heather lifted his feet off the railing. As if gravity did not apply to him, his body descended soundlessly and landed gently on the ground.

He tapped into a bit more of his true magical power.

Closing his eyes, he focused, channeling a minute amount of mana into his body before slowly opening them again. As his eyelids lifted, his golden irises gleamed like twin moons in the dark of night.

The noble eyes of a dragon.

Adrian took a deep breath, his broad chest expanding and contracting in rhythm. He then pushed off the ground, sprinting toward the banquet hall. Basamiel Academy’s security was no joke—various surveillance spells were installed throughout the premises. Adrian leaped over areas where the detection magic was active, making his way toward the hall.

The once-bustling banquet hall, which had been filled with people and noise during the day, was now eerily silent. From outside, Adrian gazed into the dimly lit interior through a large glass window along one of the walls.

He closed his eyes, attuning himself to the flow of mana. Among the shifting currents, he sensed one that had originated from this very spot and flowed toward somewhere else. Keeping his eyes shut, the dragon moved, concentrating on the trail of energy. He adjusted his steps to avoid trees, vaulting over surveillance spells while tracking the mana’s flow toward the forest surrounding the academy.

Before long, he arrived at a secluded part of the woods, where he found Basamiel’s fountain. Beneath the moonlight, it gracefully spouted clear water, the ripples shimmering as they caught the pale glow. Adrian peered into the pristine water, where an array of stones lay neatly beneath the surface. His golden hair and luminous eyes reflected against the water, glistening in harmony with the moon.

Reaching out, Adrian dipped his hand into the fountain’s cool waters.

As his pale fingers stirred the water, they brushed against something. Among the many stones, one stood out—it was unusually heavy. Adrian Heather pulled it from the water.

“……”

It was weighty. There was no need for a scale to measure it. Yet, refusing to acknowledge the truth, Adrian placed the stone onto one of the weighing pans at the fountain’s altar. The moment the stone rolled from his palm and touched the pan, the plate slammed down with a resounding thud!

Hmm. Was it really this heavy?

As Adrian stared at the weighing pan, a vast battlefield flashed before his eyes.

“Uwaaaaaah!!”

On the battlefield, soldiers charged past Adrian, their voices raised in desperate battle cries. The ground they ran across was littered with bodies, corpses scattered like fallen leaves, while dark smoke billowed from various places. The direction they were heading…

Adrian shook his head, trying to rid himself of the intrusive thoughts. This wasn’t the time to dwell on them.

Just to be sure, he picked up another stone from the fountain and held it in his palm. It was so light that he could barely feel its presence. With trembling hands, Adrian removed his own stone from the scale and replaced it with the other one. Surprisingly, the pan slowly tilted in the opposite direction, rising upward. Whoever this stone belonged to had certainly led a light existence.

He picked up the stone again and placed it in his palm, studying it closely. Engraved on its smooth surface in elegant script was a single name.

Mikhail Ruth Inehart.

Adrian’s beautiful golden eyes twisted as he pulled the corners of his lips into a smirk. The Gold Dragon let out a quiet chuckle in the darkness of the forest. If everything went exactly as expected, then it wouldn’t be any fun.

He extended both arms forward, holding his own stone in one hand and Mikhail’s in the other, as if weighing them against each other. The stone in his right hand—his own—was so heavy that holding it was a struggle. In contrast, the stone in his left—Mikhail’s—was so light that it was difficult to maintain balance between the two.

With a firm squeeze, the dragon pressed both stones into his palms.

Interesting.

A new challenge had presented itself. For a dragon who had little interest in anything outside of herbology, this was a rare and intriguing puzzle.

First, he would have to analyze it.

Holding his own stone tightly, Adrian made his way back to the dormitory, retracing his steps in reverse. He leaped from the ground onto the second-floor window ledge, where he had left it open, and landed gracefully. Silently, he opened the dormitory door.

Mikhail’s breathing was steady—he was still fast asleep.

Adrian slid his stone beneath his bed. The blanket hanging over the edge concealed the space beneath, making it impossible to see what was hidden there. He considered using spatial magic to store it in his lair, but for now, he intended to weigh it regularly until he discovered a reliable way to reduce its weight. Besides, he was certain the prince would never bother looking under his bed—Mikhail wasn’t even the type to keep his own space meticulously organized.

Slowly, Adrian slipped under his blankets.

The first night at Basamiel Academy was far from over.

***

As explained yesterday, first-year students at the academy didn’t specialize in any particular field. Instead, they were required to study a broad range of subjects, covering the basics of all disciplines in an accelerated curriculum.

The very first class of their academic journey was Introduction to Magic Studies.

“Alright! Let’s get moving.”

Using the events of the previous night as motivation, Adrian approached Mikhail, who was still sitting against the headboard, absorbed in a swordsmanship training manual. He lightly tapped Mikhail’s bed a few times with his palm.

“Don’t make me drag you out like yesterday. Come with me.”

At Adrian’s casual rudeness, Mikhail raised an eyebrow.

“Are you planning to be late on the first day?”

Adrian repeated himself firmly. Mikhail, feeling it was too bothersome to argue, got up from his bed. He had no interest in magic, but since it was a required class, he had to go anyway.

Thanks to Adrian, they left the dormitory a little earlier than necessary.

The academy grounds were vast, and there was some distance between the dormitory buildings and the main building. As they walked through the academy’s beautiful gardens, inhaling the crisp morning air, Adrian’s eyes caught sight of a piece of paper lying on the ground.

Without breaking his stride, he glanced at the discarded sheet. It appeared to be something someone had dropped by mistake—covered in intricate equations and formulas. Normally, Adrian wouldn’t have paid it any mind. He wasn’t the type to go out of his way to help people who were careless enough to lose something important. Today was no different—he was about to walk right past it.

Then, a certain stone lying wide awake beneath his bed flashed through his mind.

Adrian decided he would start his experiments with this. As a bonus, this little amusement could serve as an opportunity to form some connections with the academy’s human students.

Bending down slightly, he picked up the paper with his pale fingers.

Luckily, the name of the owner was written on it.

Mikhail continued walking without the slightest interest in what his roommate was doing. Adrian, still examining the paper, fell back in step behind him.

Catherine Esteban.

Adrian Heather silently mouthed the name. For someone this careless, the mana equations scribbled across the page were impressively bold. Even as he continued walking toward the main building, his eyes remained fixed on the paper. It was just the right thing to keep him entertained.

Then, a voice interrupted him.

“I didn’t take you for the type, but you shouldn’t be reading other people’s homework without permission.”

A handsome blond student, who had been watching Adrian pick up the paper, spoke up while walking alongside Mikhail. At his words, Adrian halted in his tracks, causing Mikhail to shoot him an exasperated look, as if to say, Weren’t you the one rushing us?

Tearing his gaze away from the paper, Adrian turned to the speaker. The student was tall—one of the few who could match Mikhail in height.

“I was going to return it to its owner,” Adrian said. “If it seemed otherwise, my bad. Are you Catherine?”

“…Shouldn’t you at least assume Catherine is a girl’s name?”

Adrian tilted his head.

“Is that so? If you’re not Catherine Esteban, then this doesn’t concern you. Anyway, I’ll be on my way.”

He resumed walking. Class was about to start.

However, the blond student grabbed Adrian’s shoulder, blocking his path.

Mikhail, who had been standing ahead, watched the hand resting on Adrian’s shoulder. Since it wasn’t directed at him, he chose to stay out of it.

“Hand it over. I’ll return it for her.”

Adrian turned to face him with an amused expression. If he was so eager to help, maybe he should have picked it up yesterday instead.

“And if I say no?”

The red-haired student’s previously composed face hardened. He pointed to the tie of his academy uniform—it was blue, unlike Adrian’s.

“You don’t even know Catherine. It’s easier if I return it. Besides, I’m a second-year.”

Adrian had no intention of letting someone else take credit for an easy good deed.

“I found it, so I’ll handle it myself.”

Of course, there was also the petty satisfaction of refusing just because the other person insisted.

Adrian firmly pushed the student’s hand off his shoulder. The guy stumbled back easily.

“What are you doing? Let’s go.”

Adrian called out to Mikhail, who had been waiting a little ahead. With his usual unreadable expression, Mikhail cast a brief glance at the unwelcome intruder before resuming his stride. Since the prince disliked walking behind others, he picked up his pace to move ahead of Adrian.

“Wow… You’ve got one hell of a personality.”

Hans Tavian muttered to himself, left behind and ignored.

There was no one around to sympathize with his frustration.