Morgan walked fully into the academy's main hall. Parts of the building were still under repair, a clear reminder of the confrontation he had with Kalista and the destruction they had left behind.
But he decided to ignore it for now. He would deal with it later. Right now, the only thing that mattered was getting upstairs and making it to his classroom before it was too late, so he broke into a run without thinking twice.
Because he was so distracted, he didn't notice Xol coming from the opposite direction. They collided head-on, and both of them fell to the floor. Still dazed, Morgan began apologizing almost instinctively, before he even looked up.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."
When he finally raised his head to see who he had bumped into, he found himself face-to-face with a young man whose electric-blue hair was impossible to mistake. It was Doran, the head of the academy's most prestigious house, the House of the Dragonoids.
Morgan didn't remember him, but this wasn't the first time they had met. He had already ignored Doran—and the other House Leaders—once before, though he had absolutely no memory of it.
"No, don't worry about it. I wasn't paying attention either, so don't wo—"
Far from being offended about being ignored the previous time, Doran simply smiled and let out a small laugh. He stood up first and offered Morgan his hand.
Morgan accepted it without hesitation and got back on his feet, still feeling the need to apologize properly.
"Once again, I'm sorry. And thank you for helping me up."
Morgan said, looking slightly embarrassed.
Doran smiled warmly.
"As I said, don't worry about it. Let me introduce myself. My name is Doran, and I'm the head of the House of—"
Before he could finish, Morgan interrupted him again, this time with his eyes fixed on the hallway and the clock ticking inside his head.
"I-I'm really sorry, but I'm in a bit of a hurry. Could we talk later?"
Morgan said, already halfway out of the conversation.
The request caught Doran completely off guard. He tried to answer, but only a couple of awkward syllables escaped his mouth before Morgan took them as a yes. Morgan quickly grabbed both of his hands, thanked him with almost comical speed, and dashed off again, leaving Doran frozen mid-gesture.
Doran remained there for a moment, processing what had just happened. First, he had been ignored for no apparent reason. Now, for the second time, he had been cut off before finishing his sentence. Yet instead of feeling offended, he couldn't help but laugh.
"Hahaha... He really is an interesting guy."
He turned to watch Morgan disappear down the hallway, then added with an amused smile,
"Well... I guess I'll just have to wait. Hahaha."
Meanwhile, Morgan kept running as though his life depended on it. After crossing nearly the entire academy, breathless and with his heart pounding, he finally reached his assigned classroom.
Inside, everyone was already seated, and Luzbel was halfway through the lesson.
Driven by momentum and the panic of being late, Morgan threw the door open much harder than he intended. The loud bang instantly brought the class to a halt, and every pair of eyes turned toward him.
It was in that painfully awkward silence that Morgan realized he might have overdone his entrance.
Luzbel looked at him with a faint smile, saying nothing, letting the silence linger.
His cheeks burning with embarrassment, Morgan slowly closed the door, as though that could somehow undo what had just happened. After taking a deep breath, he turned back toward the class.
"Miss Luzbel... would you allow me to introduce myself to everyone again? I don't think my first introduction went the way I wanted."
Luzbel smiled at the request and gestured toward the class.
"Go ahead."
Morgan stepped forward. He was still nervous, so he took a deep breath, shook himself slightly to ease the tension, and finally began.
"Well then... everyone, allow me to introduce myself again. My name is Morgan, and I'm an axolotl. The reason I'm attending this academy is..."
He paused for a moment.
Then he smiled, pride and genuine happiness shining across his face.
"...to be everyone's friend. To help everyone. To create a place where we're all equals, no matter how strong or weak we are, what species we belong to, or where we come from. My dream is a world where everyone can live with the dignity and peace they deserve. So if any of you are ever going through a hard time or need someone to help, don't hesitate to ask me. I'll be there. For every single one of you. For everyone in this academy."
He grinned even wider.
"You can always count on your friendly friend, Morgan the Axolotl."
He finished with an intentionally over-the-top heroic pose while the entire classroom stared at him in complete silence.
That silence slowly began to kill him from the inside.
He was convinced he had made a complete fool of himself and was already bracing for the worst when the silence finally broke.
Luzbel started clapping.
One student joined in.
Then another.
And another.
Before long, the entire classroom was applauding.
Morgan felt something warm fill his chest, and with a huge smile, he said,
"It's a pleasure to study alongside all of you."
End of Chapter.
Next Chapter: The New Boy
---
Hello everyone! I'm the author of this story.
I just wanted to let you know that the novel will be going on hiatus for a little while. From this point onward, I need to carefully plan everything that's coming next. With this chapter, the dialogue-heavy portion of the story comes to an end, and the action will finally begin as we head toward the climax of Volume One.
To make sure I can deliver the best possible conclusion, I'll be taking some time to organize and prepare everything for the grand finale of this first volume.
Thank you all so much for reading and for your continued support. I hope to see you again when the story returns!