I decided to wait outside near the entrance by the 10 statues for my summoner, ‘Caori’. Although I’ve heard his name pronounced a few times, I’m still uncertain about its pronunciation, so I’m refusing to call his name out, not wanting to cause a misunderstanding or unnecessary escalation.

  Back on Earth, certain words in English sounded similar to certain words in other languages, including slang. Very rarely would another language’s words overlap with English, but when it does, it’s very easy for people to focus on that word, even feeling greatly offended or appalled by its utterance. I’m choosing not to speak on the slim chance that possibility could occur.

  Still… if Mr. Blonde referred to my summoner as ‘Caori’ or ‘Kyori’, and that was his reaction, there’s little chance he’s being referred to in a derogatory manner.

  The reason I’m waiting outside is that I’ve realized I don’t know what my summoner’s class schedule is, so the only place I know I could see him is in his dorm room. It slipped my mind to check where he was in the cafeteria since I was too focused on getting food. I should’ve tried looking for him first for help, but what’s done is done.

  I was alerted by the sound of numerous footsteps coming through the door. Classes must have ended. I should be able to see my summoner soon.

  The first to walk through was a group of 4 boy students. From the way they talked with each other, they’re likely friends, possibly bantering with each other. More walked through the doorway by themselves, staying over an arm’s reach from each other. This continued for a good several minutes, switching between cliques and loners as they walked to the dorms. Expressions ranging from enthusiasm to exhaustion were on their faces; excited classes were finally over, or welcoming the reprieve from their lessons, or possibly a mix of both. One thing was for certain: everyone was waiting for this moment.

  I heard footsteps coming in from my left and saw a student running up another on the way to the dorm. He called out to someone, likely using a name, and a loner in the crowd turned to face the one shouting.

  Where did he come from?

  I turned to face the direction this student came from, walking alongside the wall, opposite to his direction.

  There was a smaller group of students leaving through the front gate!

  Great, how I have to look back and forth between the gate and the path to the dorms!

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Just when I thought looking for my summoner would be difficult, this happens. I guess I should’ve expected this, but where do they go? Actually, how do they go wherever they’re going?

  From where I stood, the town was in full view from this vantage point. I thought it was preposterous for a student to walk down the hill to get to town, but then I remembered I literally walked to school hours after I was born, and I’m quite certain the route I walked was longer since it took a while for the town to come into view.

  I shouldn’t forget that walking downhill is easier than walking uphill.

  Just then, I heard the sound clip-clopping at the entrance. A few horse-drawn carriages pulled up, each one more luxurious than the last. The two most luxurious ones had two horses pulling them.

  That answers that.

  I was almost impressed by the commitment of students walking from the town to the school and back every day until I saw the carriages. Then again, maybe that’s reaching, given the terrain.

  Oh wait!

  I had almost forgotten the reason I was outside.

  I ran back to the entrance near the 10 statues to find my summoner, but too many people had walked by. No biggie, I’ll just check if he’s made it to our dorm.

  After walking and entering our dorm room, I discovered he wasn’t there.

  Guess that means he’s still in school.

  I couldn’t help but feel concerned. With how degraded he was from the bullying incident, there was a growing fear that that wouldn’t be the only incident.

  That’s when I realized reporting the water assailant mage slipped my mind.

  Fuck! How could I forget about that!

  I ran, creating a paper cutout of that water mage’s face.

  Give him the chance? Who am I kidding? Shit!

  I was too busy indulging my curiosity and establishing normalcy for myself that I overlooked something. How come I haven’t seen the other teachers? I’ve only seen students walking the halls, but not anyone else of the people drawn on Mr. Blonde’s hierarchy triangle. That’s when I recalled something I learned in my past life.

  In Japan’s schools, only the teachers change rooms. But in my school, along with many others in the country, the students are the ones who change rooms.

  From what I’ve seen, it's definitely the latter.

  If the teachers stay put, then there’s a decreased likelihood of bullying in the halls being discovered. It’s possible that the water bastard took full advantage of this to lower my summoner’s self-esteem and self-worth, even going as far as literally kicking him while he’s down.

  Not only that, but I’ve yet to consider how well-off students and their parents are. This school is fancier than most, even having quality food that most could only dream of. If it’s a school full of rich kids, then…

  They must be convinced that they can get away with this, just because of how wealthy and influential their parents are.

  I’ve heard stories of powerful, rich people avoiding consequences by using their wealth and influence. And even if they do face the consequences, the incident is buried, and witnesses are hushed or silenced with bribes, all to avoid a scandal.

  I stood in front of a familiar office building. A familiar I’m starting to depend on for guidance in this school.

  I knocked three times.

  There was a familiar voice, replying autonomously.

  Then I opened the door and walked in.

  Standing before me was the water assailant and my summoner.

  What is going on?