After the waitress stepped aside, Marvin raised his glass first. "This toast is to our hero, Mr. Yavi! My wife and daughter cannot hold their liquor, so allow me to express our sincerest gratitude on their behalf!"
He then leaned forward slightly to clink glasses with Yavi. Yavi hurriedly stood and leaned forward as well, clinking glasses with Marvin before draining his drink.
"You certainly can hold your liquor, Mr. Yavi. This is an aged spirit the restaurant has treasured for years. It is quite strong..."
Seeing their empty glasses, the waitress at their side promptly refilled them without being asked. With the help of delicious food and alcohol, the banquet's atmosphere reached its peak.
Their faces flushed, Yavi and Marvin kept exchanging toasts, long since lost in the carefree pleasure of food and drink.
During the banquet, Yavi also put his signature talent for "storytelling" to use, recounting some funny, slightly vulgar stories he had heard during his travels in earlier years. Everyone laughed repeatedly, and even the waitress beside them covered her mouth to keep from laughing aloud.
Once everyone had eaten and drunk their fill and was thoroughly satisfied, Marvin gave the waitress a meaningful look, and she immediately left the private room. Then came the main event of the day. Marvin opened a bag on the chair behind him, slowly took out a somewhat ornate money pouch, and gently placed it in front of Yavi. As the pouch touched the table, the coins inside clinked together, and judging by the sound, they did not quite seem to be crowns.
"Mr. Marvin, what is this...?" Even someone as slow on the uptake as Yavi understood what he was trying to do.
"Mr. Yavi, this is a small token of our appreciation. It is not much, only about forty gold coins, equivalent to a little over four thousand crowns. I know the help you gave us cannot be measured in money, but aside from money, I have nothing worthy to offer right now. I hope you will not find it too little..."
"Mr. Marvin, I appreciate the gesture, but forty gold coins is a little too much. How about I take just twenty...?" Yavi did not intend to accept it all. A person had to know their limits, so he proposed taking only half.
"Mr. Yavi, please accept the full amount. I also have a presumptuous request that I hope you will hear out!" Marvin hurriedly continued, afraid Yavi would take only half the money.
"Oh? Is there something else, Mr. Marvin? Let me hear it." Just as Yavi had expected, the money would not come that easily.
"Rest assured, Mr. Yavi, it is nothing difficult for you. I simply hope that while you and Elena are studying together, you can look after her for me. After all, she is my only daughter, and I have no choice but to return home. I cannot stay by her side all the time."
"Mr. Marvin, I am afraid I cannot guarantee that. I may be off campus attending to other matters, or I might graduate early, so I cannot promise to protect Miss Elena at all times. I hope you understand." Yavi made it clear that he could not protect Elena every moment.
"No, no, no, Mr. Yavi, you misunderstand. You only need to keep an eye on her when you are both at school. It will not interfere with your own affairs, and it is fine if you need to leave." Marvin immediately explained.
"If that is all, then I can agree. As long as Miss Elena and I are both on campus, I will do everything I can to ensure her safety!"
After reaching an agreement, the two shook hands amicably, then continued drinking to their hearts' content.
Late that night, Yavi returned to his dorm room after the banquet. Reeking of alcohol, he quickly stripped naked and plunged headfirst into bed. Lying there, he felt the world spinning and could not stop feeling the urge to vomit.
"I barely felt anything while drinking it, but the moment I came outside and caught the breeze, it went straight to my head."
Yavi kept grumbling inwardly about how hard the liquor hit afterward, but grumbling aside, he still needed to sleep. He rolled over and wrapped himself tightly in his little blanket, and before long, his breathing grew steady.
Early the next morning, Yavi groggily opened his eyes. Rubbing his somewhat muddled head, he got up to wash and dress. Today was Oxenfurt Academy's opening ceremony, and classes would officially begin tomorrow. He did not want to miss such an important day.
After eating downstairs, Yavi arrived at the entrance to the auditorium on the western side of Oxenfurt Academy. Many people were already lining up outside. After searching for a while, he finally found his class's line. A green-haired girl was struggling to hold up a sign reading "Alchemical Studies," but she was too short, and even when she raised it, it kept wobbling. The boy beside her very gentlemanly took it from her and held it high above his head. Yavi joined everyone in line, but since nobody knew anyone else, the atmosphere was fairly quiet.
Once the auditorium doors opened, the students from each class took their seats in turn. Yavi followed his class inside, and after they had all sat down, the opening ceremony officially began. First, Loriess, the headmistress, took the stage to give a speech. Its contents amounted to welcoming the new students, encouraging the returning students, and finally offering a few words of blessing, leaving Yavi thoroughly bored. He had already drunk too much and slept too little the night before. Combined with the sleep-inducing speech, it was not long before his head tilted back and he fell asleep. He had no idea how long he slept before thunderous applause startled him awake. Seeing the students around him clapping away, Yavi hurriedly gave a few perfunctory claps as well.
"That concludes our opening ceremony. Finally, welcome, students, to a campus where strength reigns supreme!"
One final round of thunderous applause rang out, marking the complete end of the ceremony.
Just as everyone rose to leave, the green-haired girl leading them spoke up. "After leaving the auditorium, please report to the alchemy classroom on the third floor. I need to check whether everyone in the class is here."
"All right."
"Got it."
"We will head over now."
Everyone responded in turn.
Yavi simply left the auditorium in silence and headed toward the classroom.
Following his classmates to the classroom, Yavi found an unoccupied spot and sat down. The room was not particularly large, but it was a tiered lecture room, so his view was not obstructed at all. Once everyone had arrived and taken their seats, the green-haired girl walked in carrying a stack of books.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Suge, and I am your lecturer in alchemical studies. I will be spending the next few years with you. I would like you all to introduce yourselves. Let us start with the student on the far left!"
The first student on the far left: ∑(O_O;)
Soon, everyone had gone up to introduce themselves. There were thirty-two students in the class, with boys and girls each making up roughly half-a fairly ordinary class. After Suge briefly went over a few more matters, everyone dispersed to wait for classes to officially begin tomorrow.