Someone, who looked like in his mid-fifties, with his thinning hair combed forward to the middle of his forehead, approached Mel step by step with a crooked smile on his face.
“Second Great!”
“Second Great!”
“Second Great!”
The three Heads of Departments chanted the same name in unison. Their eyes were looking down as they bowed.
“I thought that you would come to the reception hall by now, but I see that you are fighting with each other. Under normal circumstances that would piss me off, if I hadn’t seen the green energy surrounding this lad.”
The Green Shadow Academy’s Second Great approached Mel with the company of two bodyguards. After examining him for a short time, he turned to the heads of the three departments and spoke.
“I understand that you all want him for your department. But in my opinion, the child should make the final decision?”
The newly arrived middle-aged man swung his green robes and began to look at Mel again. His dark eyes, antithetic to his white skin, were glowing.
After these words, the heads of departments could not even make a sound, let alone speaking out. They just tried to entice the young boy with expectant looks.
The calm state of Mel, who had caused such a stir the day he just entered the academy, disappeared. As the pressure increased, the fluctuations in his mood affected the faint green energy that surrounded him. Now he was looking like everyone else.
He brought his hands together involuntarily. His shoulders closed in and he looked around as if looking for a way out. Then suddenly Mel saw him. Grumpy Hanry was watching what was happening and looking especially at Mel in his usual state.
“Actually, the decision on which department I will attend has already been made. The day I got this, I found out where I belong!”
Mel firmly grabbed the badge Master Hanry gave him and lifted it to the level of his chest.
“Look, you were fighting for nothing. The famous Grumpy Hanry has already got the boy!”
While the Head of Plant Department was laughing with his sparse-toothed mouth, the other two Heads of Departments were in disappointment. Master Hanry, on the other hand, bowed his head vaguely to the Second Great. It was clear that those two were not good with each other.
“Did you hear what the Second Great said?”
“Sure I did. He said Master Hanry’s nickname right in his face despite Hanry hated it!”
The whispers resonated in short distances allowing only the nearby people to hear them. People at the harbor of the Spirit Boats were discussing Mel’s situation and the events that just took place.
“When you organize your departments, come to the Reception Hall!”
As the Second Great walked away without a word, one of the people near him spoke to the crowd. There was a tone of firm command in his voice.
The fuss started after these words. Departments got organized among themselves and began to make their way to the Reception Hall. People kept speaking as the Fighter Department was proceeding at the front, Alchemy Department behind it, and the Plant Department at the end.
“Look at that idiot! While it was possible to get into the Fighter Department, that loser stayed in the Plant Department!”
“So what if he has the Blessing of the Spirit of the Forest! After all, he will just become a Botanist!”
Overhearing the conversation, Edgan turned his head and saw the two people he had comfortably beaten in the tests and caught the hostility in their gaze. It was clear that he was not much liked by the others as the winner of this year’s Fighter Department test.
The girl walking in front of the crowd formed by the Alchemy Department was being harassed with the sharp glances of her fellows walking behind her. Only Mel was watched with the faithful and grateful eyes of some kids in his department.
“Here is our Mel! He did not turn his back to those who embraced him!”
Nalt spoke in a tone that could be heard by all. The noble children did not look pleased as Mel blushed.
“Where did this peasant come from?”
“This is not the actual question. The question is how this miserable kid can know so much. If we are not as knowledgeable as he is although we are children of the noble families, then there is something else in this business!”
Naturally, Mel heard all these conversations. While everyone was saying something else, the young lady of the Gloove family, who was just one step behind Mel, seemed to have her mouth sealed.
The crowd, that did not walk for too long, stopped when they arrived in front of a huge building. All the recruits were looking up.
They were looking at the structure of the roofs covering each other. And it was not just that. There was also a magnificent tower rising next to it. The tower, made of large stone blocks, was twice the length of the main building.
The gate; where the front facade, decorated with triangular glasses, met the floor; slowly opened. While this gate, which was bound by thick chains on both sides, descended from above, the light of the inside was trying to get out.
The sound of the gate echoed in the space as it hit the ground. Now, everyone could see what the place called the Reception Hall looked like.
“Come on! Enter inside!”
When they heard a familiar voice that was previously heard at the Spirit Boat Harbor, the new students entered without spoiling the queue. The officials of the academy watched the kid’s entry. Then they moved slowly and took their places.
The new students, who were obviously very excited, began to look around like bewildered chickens. Mel was no different than them. The gigantic structure had a large space from the floor to the ceiling. But close to the floor, a narrow space was left for new students.
While the students of three departments were standing without unsettling their rows they formed on the road, some young children were sitting on wooden steps rising from both sides. As these people in three different outfits were overlooking the new students, an impressive design was attracting the attention on the opposite side of the large gate that was lowered to the floor by chains.
The interiors of the structure, which resembled a triangle narrowing upwards at its edges, were designed with steps. At the top of the triangle, Second Great was sitting. The seat on his right that was one meter below was empty.
Then, there were the heads of three departments and others sitting on the two seats below them. By looking at the locations of Grumpy Hanry and Louise Gloove, it was clear that these were reserved for the deputies of the heads of departments.
There were also young people sitting below these masters. They were forming the bottom line of the triangle.
As all the newcomers were staring at this design as if hypnotized, they got startled by a coughing sound from the top.
