The Runic Alchemist

The moment Damian and Reize entered the Spellborne Legion mess hall, the brats started murmuring and stealing glances thier way. The dumb ones outright pointed at him. Damian sighed and tried his best to ignore them—it wasn't difficult; he barely noticed people anyway.

"Why are they staring at us? Do the new brats think we're not allowed in here or something?" Reize asked, irritation evident in her tone.

"Ignore them. I'll explain later," Damian replied.

He spotted the group of four seated at a table, not eating, as if waiting just for him. Walking over, Damian sat down next to Evrin and Einar without a word. Reize followed and took a seat beside him. Introducing her, Damian pointed at her and said, "This is Reize. A really good fifth-year runesmith student."

They greeted her politely, but the table quickly lapsed again into an awkward silence. Damian, also not inclined to speak, glanced around. The people nearby quickly turned away, as if afraid to meet his eyes.

"Man, what a weird bunch you people are," Damian remarked at last.

"We? We are weird?" Grace asked, her expression marked with disbelief.

"What the hell did you do today?" Sam interjected loudly.

"Are you insane?" Einar added.

"Is it true that you threw the Beast Studies professor into a wall?" Evrin, the calmest of the group, finally asked for some clarification.

"Heh!?" Reize made a strange noise, but no one paid her any attention.

"He wanted Toph," Damian explained bluntly.

Stay tuned to empire

"You could have just used your words," Einar sighed.

"I tried. The bastard attacked me."

Einar and Sam nodded, as if that was enough explanation. The others, however, continued to stare at Damian, wide-eyed.

"What did the headmaster say?" Evrin asked, regaining her composure.

By now, the mess hall had gone nearly silent. Some students edged closer, straining to listen. Damian could feel a dozen gazes piercing his back at once.

"I'm banned from Beast Studies and have to repeat the year to clear fifth year," Damian said nonchalantly.

Gasps erupted both from his group and the onlookers behind him.

"What did you say?" Grace asked, stunned.

"What else? Just 'okay,'.." Damian replied matter-of-factly.

"Huh?" Grace tilted her head in confusion.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Huh?" Damian was confused at her confusion.

"Hahahaha!" Reize and Sam burst out laughing.

"Got kicked out of a class in less than a week! This has to be a record!" Sam said, pointing at Damian shamelessly.

"It is, it is," Reize agreed, wiping away tears of laughter. "No one's been kicked out this fast in three years."

The crowd murmured more audibly. Damian caught fragments of words—"crazy," "all of them," and "let's eat." The last one aligned with his own thoughts as he got up with Toph in hand.

"That's all?" Grace asked, trailing behind him.

"What, that's all?" Damian replied, confused.

"You got banned, and that's all you have to say?" she pressed.

"It's not a big deal. It was a lame class anyway. I'm not going back even if they unban me," Damian said, slowly filling his plate with food for himself and Toph.

Suddenly, a heroic voice interrupted, "That's unacceptable! You should officially appeal to our community. We, as a noble community, will take this complaint to the headmaster."

They turned to see the prince of Dawnstar standing nearby, one hand resting on his sword hilt, his flawless blonde hair subtly moving, as if to emphasize his princely aura. He was flanked by the Dawnstar nobles and a cohort of other "important" kingdom's noble kids.

With a perfectly timed pause to let his words sink in, he continued, "The entire class saw the professor attack you. Such conduct is unbecoming of someone in an esteemed position. The professor should be held accountable, not you, who only acted in self-defense."

If Damian had been a girl, he might have developed some "feweevings" right then. Alas, he was a guy, and the only feeling in his heart was pure secondhand embarrassment from watching someone spew such cringey words without hesitation.

"Your Royal Highness…" Grace muttered, Greeting her kingdom's fourth prince.

"Lady Ashbourne," the prince Maelor replied smoothly.

"Thanks for your kind offer, but it's unnecessary," Damian interjected, cutting off further dramatics before a crowd could form around them. He started to walk away nodding slightly so as to not hurt the young master's ego but stopped as the prince insisted.

"It's not just about you. It's about the unjust behaviour of the professor against a student, there should be a fair judgement."

"I'm sure the necessary steps will be taken without our interference," Damian said calmly. "The academy cares more about their spotless image than you or I care about judgment."

The prince hesitated, his expression conflicted, but he eventually nodded, letting the matter drop. Any more persistence would have risked him appearing to make a spectacle out of nothing. Damian suspected his goal was to seize the moment and demonstrate leadership. As long as it didn't drag Damian into the limelight, he didn't care what make-believe games the brats played.

Back at the table, Damian waited for the others before starting to eat. In those brief moments, he caught the beastman boy from the Empire looking his way. What was with him? Did the kid know Reize or something? Or was it prejudiced to assume all fellow kingdom's beastmen knew each other?

Damian ignored him and started playing with Toph, lifting him up with one hand as the little munchkin sneaked a piece of meat from the plate. His eyes were totally unapologetic and his chubby cheeks kept munching even though he was looking straight at him.

"You need training.." Damian muttered with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

The others joined soon after, discussing classes and academy stuff as they ate. Damian avoided mentioning the sword or diary with too many eyes and ears around them. Reize, meanwhile, talked at length about her wings. Grace and Evrin, intrigued, bombarded her with questions one after another.

As lunch drew to a close, Damian sensed someone approaching from behind. Turning, he saw a knight guard from Highsword coming his way. Handing him a folded paper before the guard immediately left.

Curious, Damian opened it.