bookbashuk Chapter 14 Kassel College
Chapter 14 Kassel College
Future World - Inside the Light Curtain
Kassel College, Central Station
Morning light pierced through the valley's thin mist, casting a soft, pale gold hue over the ancient stone platform. The white steam billowing from the train had not yet completely dissipated, rising slowly in the beams of light, like the lingering echoes of some ancient ritual.
Lu Mingfei stood on the platform, clutching his small suitcase tightly in his hand—it contained only a few clothes that Nuonuo had bought for him and the book "A Preliminary Exploration of the Dragon Clan Genealogy." He looked up at this completely unfamiliar place; the towering spires, the thick stone walls, the vine-covered arcades—everything seemed like a phantom brought directly from the Middle Ages, yet it was so real that he could smell the moss and the scent of time.
"How are you feeling?" Nono stood beside him, her long red hair swaying gently in the morning breeze.
"Like...a scene from a movie," Lu Mingfei said honestly. "It's not realistic."
Nono laughed: "You'll realize how terrifyingly real this place is once you've stayed here long enough."
Professor Schneider exchanged a few words with Ye Sheng and Yaji in hushed tones, then turned and walked to the other end of the platform. There stood an elderly professor with gray hair, wearing a wrinkled Brazilian suit, anxiously looking at his watch.
"Professor Guderian," Professor Schneider walked over, his voice still indifferent, "I've brought him."
"Oh, Schneider! You've finally arrived!" Professor Guderian excitedly grasped Schneider's hand. "Did anything happen on the way? I was worried sick all night!"
"Everything went smoothly." Professor Schneider withdrew his hand. "From now on, Lu Mingfei is your student. You will be in charge of his admission process."
"Don't worry, don't worry!" Professor Guderian patted his chest confidently. "I'm best at mentoring new students! By the way, when is the 3E exam scheduled? And the bloodline assessment..."
"Just follow the procedures," Schneider interrupted him. "I have other tasks to complete, so I'll be going now. Ye Sheng, Aki, let's go."
The three turned and left without saying a word. The hems of their black trench coats billowed in the morning breeze, and they quickly disappeared into the shadows of the platform.
Watching their departing figures, Lu Mingfei suddenly felt a strange emptiness. Although Professor Schneider was serious, and Ye Sheng and Aki were indifferent, they were at least his only connection to this strange world along the way. Now that they were gone, it was as if his last support had been taken away.
Nono seemed to sense his unease and reached out to pat him on the shoulder: "Don't worry, Professor Guderian is a very nice person. He's just... a little long-winded."
"Nono!" Professor Guderian jogged over, his glasses slipping down to the tip of his nose. "You're here too! Perfect timing, the student council is looking for you, talking about preparations for your free day..."
"I understand." Nono nodded, then turned to Lu Mingfei, "Junior, I have to go. The academy has a... traditional event that I need to attend. You follow Professor Guderian; he'll help you with all the formalities."
"Senior sister..." Lu Mingfei called out to her subconsciously.
Nono stopped and looked back at him.
Lu Mingfei opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. He wanted to say "Don't go," "I'm scared," "You're the only person I know here"—but these words were too weak, and he couldn't bring himself to say them.
In the end, he could only manage a forced smile: "Thank you for taking care of me along the way, senior sister."
Nono looked at him, a faint tenderness flashing in her eyes, which always held a mischievous smile. She walked back, and to Lu Mingfei's surprise, reached out and ruffled his hair: "Don't look like you're about to cry. In Kassel, you have to learn to stand on your own. Remember, you're an S-rank—even if it's just pending confirmation."
After saying that, she turned around, her long red hair drawing a graceful arc in the air, and quickly disappeared at the other end of the platform.
Lu Mingfei stood there, his hands still warm from Nuonuo's touch, but a huge emptiness filled his heart.
The world suddenly became quiet.
Only he, Professor Guderian, and... Fingel, who had somehow appeared on the platform, remained.
"Oh dear, I've been abandoned, junior," Fingel mumbled, munching on a hot dog that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. "But you'll get used to it. In Kassel, everyone has their own things to do; no one will always be there for you."
Lu Mingfei lowered his head and remained silent.
Professor Guderian adjusted his glasses: "Fingal! What are you still doing here? Aren't you going to write your paper?"
"Professor, what you're saying." Fingel swallowed the hot dog in a few bites. "Welcoming new students is an important job too. Besides, I'm the head of the press department; I have to record this historic moment of S-class freshmen's enrollment."
As he spoke, he actually pulled an old-fashioned camera out of his tattered backpack and snapped a picture of Lu Mingfei.
The flash of the camera made Lu Mingfei squint.
"Minister of the Press Department?" Professor Guderian frowned. "Isn't your so-called 'press department' just you alone?"
"Temporary, temporary," Fingel said nonchalantly. "Once my report, 'S-Class Freshmen Arrive! Kassel Welcomes the Strongest Bloodline in a Century?' comes out, I'm sure I'll recruit new members. By the way, junior, are you interested in joining the journalism club? Room and board included, plus contact information for upperclassmen and underclassmen..."
"Fingal!" Professor Guderian raised his voice, "Don't corrupt the freshmen! Lu Mingfei, let's go, let's go to the library to complete the formalities first."
The professor patted Lu Mingfei on the shoulder, gesturing for him to follow. Lu Mingfei picked up his suitcase and silently followed behind Professor Guderian. Fingel also swayed along behind, a camera hanging around his neck and a small notebook in his hand, jotting something down.
They stepped out of the station and onto a wide stone-paved path. Tall oak trees, seemingly at least a hundred years old, lined both sides, their branches forming a green canopy overhead. Morning light filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
Occasionally, students would pass by on the road, wearing identical dark blue school uniforms with different badges pinned to their chests—some depicting the profile of a lion, others a soaring eagle. They would nod in greeting when they saw Professor Guderian, but when their gazes swept over Lu Mingfei, they all carried undisguised curiosity and scrutiny.
"Who is that? A new student? Starting school at this time?"
"It looks so ordinary..."
"Following behind Professor Guderian, could he be a specially recommended student?"
"Wait, isn't that Fingel in the back? What's he filming?"
Whispers drifted into Lu Mingfei's ears. He lowered his head, quickened his pace, and tried to hide himself behind Professor Guderian's broad back.
"Don't mind it," Professor Guderian said without turning his head. "Students in Kassel are all like that; they're especially curious about new things. In a few days, they'll get used to your presence and stop staring at you."
"I hope so," Lu Mingfei said softly.