20 Train ride

I woke up as the sun rose. The sun's rays hit my eyes and irritated me. It has been almost a full year since I came to this world, and I still wasn't used to waking up so early. I sighed. I showered, got dressed, and then headed out. I returned my apartment's keys to my landlord and thanked him for the time I spent here. I skated to Lily's place to pick her up.

Along the way, I saw plenty of kids and young adults skating before they had to start their days. The town even built a skatepark. I was super happy when they made it, but I never had the chance to actually go. One day I will. I knocked on the front door of Lily's house.

"Come in," Austria called from the other side.

I walked inside and took my shoes off at the front door. I walked to the kitchen of their home and saw the family sitting at the table.

"Good morning everyone," I greeted them. "Lily, are you ready?"

"Y-yeah. As ready as I'll ever be at least," She was nervous and excited at the same time.

"Thank you again, Mister Smarus, for taking care of our daughter," Edward bowed his head. "How are you feeling? Do you believe you will pass the exams, Mister Smarus?"

"Of course, I will! The test is lightwork… ahem. I mean I am prepared for it," I corrected myself. "I'm sure Lily is well prepared too."

I wanted to reassure them. That wasn't my only goal, however. Lily worked hard these last 4 months, so I truly did not doubt that she was ready. She had three fully packed bags sitting next to her.

"Lily, please stay close to Mr. Smarus. You'll be going as his assistant, so don't embarrass yourself or him," Austria instructed her.

 "Yes, mother."

"And make sure you write letters too."

"Yes, mother."

"Also, you better…"

"Ahem! We have to catch the train, or we will be late," I interrupted her.

I didn't want to, but this would go on forever otherwise. I guessed mothers will be mothers.

"Yes, of course. Take care you two," She bowed again.

"Goodbye Edward. Goodbye, Austria. Until the next time we meet," I bowed to both of them before I turned to leave.

"Bye, mom! Bye, Dad! See you later," Lily waved as she followed me.

I put my shoes on and opened the door for Lily. She walked outside.

"Geez! Mom is always worried about me," She pouted.

"She's a mother. She's bound to be worried about her only daughter," I sighed.

We began to walk towards the train station. It was about a 15-minute walk since it was on the other side of town.

"Are you a 16-year-old kid? You often seem a lot older than you actually are," She looked curiously.

"Side effect of basically raising myself and living on my own."

Actually, it was because I was an adult in a kid's body. Unfortunately, people still thought I was mature for my age even before I died. People around my age were usually idiots.

"Anyways, let's stay focused on the task ahead. We will arrive at the academy by tonight. Since you're my assistant, you will have the dorm next to mine. The exams are in a week from now," I explained.

"Oh yeah! How come I'm your assistant? You never boss me around or anything," She tilted her head.

Was she really this clueless?

"It's more so for your protection and benefits than anything. Since you are a commoner, some teachers, and even some students will look down on you. However, you will be there as my so-called assistant and no one in the right mind would touch the assistance of a member of the Dragonborne family. Also, you can go to the academy free of charge," I explained.

"Oohh… does that mean my parents asked to take advantage of you?"

"That implies that I am stupid and naive. I did this of my own free will, Lily. This is my way of thanking your parent…"

"So you are doing this to get them further in your debt!? Are you after my body?" She backed away.

What debt? Was this girl really a dunce? I could only sigh, but this conversation was getting annoying.

"No, Lily."

Once we arrived at the train station, I bought two tickets. We sat on a bench while waiting for the train to arrive. It would have been a quiet wait if it wasn't for a familiar voice.

"You gotta stand up for yourself, Irene! You can't let people walk all over you!"

I looked to my left and saw a red-haired girl yelling at a shorter girl with blue hair. I looked closely and realized that it was Bodil. 

"B-but Big Sis, they were big and sca… Eek!"

"So what! I know you can easily beat them!" Bodil interrupted and yelled at the girl again.

I simply nodded my head and looked away. Whatever was happening, it wasn't my problem.

"Do you know those two?" Lily whispered to me.

"Nope," I partially lied.

We had to wait for 45 minutes before the train came. Time seemed to stretch and slow down since Bodil was yelling for most of the time. It was a painful 45 minutes. To make matters worse, when Lily and I took our seats, Bodil and her friend sat in front of us. The blue-haired girl called Bodil her sister, but I doubted they were related. But who was I to judge?

"Smarus!" Bodil yelled once she noticed me.

"I thought you didn't know them!" Lily protested.

"I don't know her," I pointed at the blue-haired girl.

"Hi, I'm Irene," She spoke softly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Smarus," I smiled at her.

"Don't ignore me shorty!" Bodil yelled.

"Who are you calling shorty, Red Head!?" I snapped back.

Since the two of us we arguing, the conductor separated us. Lily and I sat about 3 seats behind Bodil and Irene. Something was bothering me though. Both of those girls looked really familiar. Were they game characters that I had forgotten about or something else? I leaned in the aisle and scanned Irene's stats.

Name: Irene Minifred

Age: 16

Class: Sage

Warning! Trying to read anymore will alert the target!

What!? That was new. She couldn't have been that much stronger than me, so it must have been a perk of her Sage class. That was a pain. Irene looked back. She smiled and waved at me when she saw me. She seemed nice enough, but I knew not to judge a book by its cover. I sat back in my seat and relaxed.

I looked back at Lily. She was already slumped. Her head was leaning against the window, and she had a cute sleeping face. We would arrive at the academy at night, so she might as well rest while she could.

This was a good time to recap on everything I knew so far. Ace became my enemy, and I was banished from my Father's clan. I haven't heard from or talked to Luna since our last encounter. The last few months consisted of training either myself or Lily, so I didn't have much time to reflect.

The academy was a place where some of the world's greatest minds gathered for research. The exams weren't hard, but the admission fees and tuition were the real problem. Not even low-ranking nobles could afford to get in, and scholarships were nearly impossible to come by. That was why Austria and Edward asked me to bring Lily as an assistant.

If I remember correctly, there were a few key characters and plot points at the academy. The first one was an elf princess. Of course, she was one of many girls seduced by the hero. Assuming Ace will act according to the game, he will make a move on her during the first week of the academy. As a friend, I wanted to stop Ace from making stupid mistakes. As a person, I wanted to break his legs. As I mentioned before, Ace's actions caused the God of Judgment to descend. He really was an idiot.

However, the world will correct itself as I continue to change the future, but I didn't want to let Ace take advantage of people either. Was it wrong to risk the future if it meant saving a few people? I doubted that I could save everyone, but I wanted to save some of them at least. But wouldn't that also mean I was forcing my own morals and beliefs onto them? Technically, if both parties consented, nothing was wrong. Hugh! Another grey area!

I'll put that on the back burner. There was also the teacher that Aurora and Myra warned me about… Actually, considering Lily, her parents, Bodil and Irene, that made up a lot of people that weren't in the game before. I get that I was now in the world, but I still have yet to meet most of the heroines. Or maybe the world was already shifting… my head hurt.

I supposed I could only take one thing at a time. I should focus on my top priorities. Protect Lily and the twins and graduate from the academy. There was so much for me to learn here. There was also one more pressing issue. There were a lot of artifacts, a few ancient weapons, and other secrets hidden nearby. It made sense since the academy was near the Sight of the…

"Smarus… Smarus!" Lily was shaking me. Did I fall asleep?

"What Lily?" I yawned.

"We're here. Jeez," She pouted.

"Alright, let's go then," I tried to shake off my drowsiness. 

"I would if you weren't blocking me in! Hurry up and move!" She said trying to push me out of my seat.

I got up and grabbed two of her bags. We exited the train to stretch our legs. Spending hours sitting down always did a number on me.

"Smarus, we'll see you at the exams," Bodil called to me as she walked away.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Smarus!" Irene said while she followed Bodil.

I waved back to them.

"Now then, let's go to our dorms."

I looked at Lily, and she was pouting with her arms crossed.

"What?" I sighed.

"Why are you so nice to them? I'm right here you know."

"Get over yourself. I have other friends you know," I sighed as I started walking.

Ding! Lily's character log updated!

That couldn't be a good thing. I guessed I'd look at it once I settled down.