"What are you-" Verce asks when Yujin starts to climb out of the carriage window.
Yujin ignores him as he climbs up onto the open seat next to the coach. The deer runs at the front, the reins in the coaches hands.
"Uh, wh-" The man starts but is cut off.
"Just," Yujin waves ahead of them, "Do what you do."
The coach clears his throat and gives a sharp nod. Yujin ignores him and takes in the sights. His family's house is nothing but a speck behind them now, and they are now exiting his hometown.
***
The grounds of Crownspire Academy could pass for a castle. With multiple donations from established families and the school itself being able to sell high grade items thanks to espers giving up half of their loot, the academy is more than capable of upgrading and maintaining its form.
Even from miles away, where Yujin sits in the front bench of the carriage, the sharp towers can be seen. Their traveling speed slows down the closer they get, and soon they are trapped carriage to carriage as other students make their way to the front gates. The streets are also crowded with townspeople eager to see the new espers and guides who will make a name of themselves.
Annoyed that the deer have slowed to a trollop, Yujin jumps off of the coach bench. He ignores the sputtering coachman and walks around to peer into the carriage window where his brother is lounging with his eyes closed. His booted feet are kicked up on the opposite bench seat, and his hands are folded behind his head.
"I'll meet you there." Yujin says. "There's too much traffic and I want to get there before sundown."
Verce peeks a silver eye open and frowns, "There will be plenty of festivities, the orientation lasts three days at most-"
Yujin rolls his purple eyes and turns around, ignoring the way his brother shouts after him. It doesn't matter how long the festival lasts, Yujin just can't stand being in the same spot and moving inches at a time.
It takes him less than an hour to reach the front gate of the academy. He wipes the sweat from his forehead with the long sleeve of his shirt and huffs. He may be covered in sweat from the long walk, but at least he's there.
Usually the first day at the academy is busy because of the welcoming festival held by senior students and staff to make the new students feel more comfortable and to show their family members a good time after seeing their children off.
They hold tournaments between espers and games for guides. If Verce had gone the day before, he probably would have helped set it all up, but he insisted on going with Yujin.
Verce says it's all trickery, because after the festival, things get hard and gruesome. Espers who can't push through either quit, or go on a rampage from a lack of guiding. Yujin can't see how a student esper could reach that far though, when guides attend the academy as well.
When he asked Verce, his brother simply clicked his tongue and told him to wait and see.
The front courtyard is bustling with activities. Large tents are propped up, some holding games while others hold grade tests. Across from them is a line up of food stalls, the smell of cooked meat thick in the air.
As if on cue, his stomach rumbles loudly. He glances from the food stalls to the registration tables. He scoffs, as if it's a tough choice. He ignores the registration table which is crowded with espers and guides alike, and instead heads to the food stalls.
"Meat, meat, meat." He chants under his breath. He scans the options, ranging from meat skewers to miniature pies with a choice of filling. Wanting something quick and easy, he opts for the skewers. It doesn't take long for his turn, and with five large sticks in his hand he walks past the registration table.
He'll just sign up later. He'd rather not be gawked at yet just for being the Headmistress's son. He doubts anyone would recognize him just by looking at him, since they look nothing alike, but once he will give his full name, it would definitely draw some curious eyes.
He takes a large bite of his food, is he here yet? He scans the mass of people, purple eyes searching for a particular person. He focuses on large groups that gather together, knowing that if he were, he'd be surrounded by a crowd.
Not seeing who he wants to see, he navigates between the hustle and bustle, and heads to the most interesting part of the festival: the arena.
The makeshift area is relatively empty, though it's slowly and steadily gaining more of an audience. He climbs the steps two at a time and takes a seat in the middle, closer to the front than the back. The row of seats are empty, only a small group of guides already seated two rows behind him.
"- says he's out for someone's head." The end of their sentence reaches Yujin's ears. "It was all top secret, but now that it's missing, his Majesty is spreading the news like wild fire."
"Whoever it is, they're stupid." Someone else says, his voice haughty as he replies to his friend. "I get that it's an S-ranked item, but isn't it basically useless unless you're a Chaos esper?"
"How do you know that they weren't a chaos esper?" She scoffs back at him.
"My cousin was one of the guards at the museum." He brags, "He told me that when he reached the doorway, he saw blinding light." He suddenly lowers his voice. "Apparently, there were two people trying to steal it. While one got away with the prize, the other got caught and taken into custody."
There's a gasp, "What?"
"And what's funny about it," The male guide snorts, "Apparently he was a chaos esper too. Isn't it embarrassing to not only fail in getting the item to another esper, but also get caught-"
Yujin groans and shrinks into his seat.