Hal had a grim look on his face as he walked towards the nearest ass terminal.
It would take him a boring two to three weeks to arrive at the Grand Magic Academy this way, but what could he do?
He didn't have the funds to rent mana-powered vehicles.
Hal could only rely on the regular schedules of donkey-pulled carts to travel from one Donkey Exchange Terminal to another, eventually arriving at the academy, hopefully, three days before classes began.
The journey would have been less boring if his friends—or former friends, the fake bastards—were with him.
After a few more minutes of walking while denying and mending his shattered heart, Hal's grim expression worsened upon seeing one of the fakes at the terminal, only to soften a moment later at the realization of a small possibility.
He coldly passed by a short young woman wearing a common brown tunic set, her scarlet hair tied up in a messy high ponytail, and carrying a huge sack bag like his.
The young woman naturally noticed him and immediately approached, stuttering:
"H-Hal, are you angry?"
But Hal didn't reply, proceeding icily toward the ticket stand to purchase a seat for the next donkey-pulled cart.
Ennya didn't give up and continued bugging him.
"H-Hey, Hal. I'm sorry, okay? It's that darned Korren! He told us you weren't coming, and since you weren't there at the agreed time, I left with them. I just felt something was wrong at the terminal, so I waited…" she explained in defense.
This time, Hal couldn't ignore her words.
"Huh? I wasn't there at the agreed time? Weren't we supposed to meet and leave at the sixth hour?" he coldly responded, perplexed.
But icy as his response was, the young woman was pleased to be given a chance to explain.
Hal usually took care of her, their friend group, and their families, willingly helping them whenever he was available.
Ennya found it difficult to just let go of someone she considered one of her best friends, especially someone who had helped her and her family so much in the past.
"Aihh… I knew it!" she said in a loud, indignant voice. "Korren told us later that day to meet an hour earlier because of some problem at the terminal, and that you weren't coming…that it would only be the seven of us. But when we got here, there was no problem at all, so I felt something was off… Seriously, those heartless bastards! How dare they even do something like this after everything you've done for them?"
Ennya trembled and clenched her fists in frustration and heartbreak as a realization hit her.
She had been desperately denying the possibilities since earlier, hoping she was wrong for staying behind.
If she was, that would mean Hal truly wasn't coming, and that she would, at most, have to apologize to Korren for doubting him.
But If her hunch was right, then it would confirm her suspicions.
That their other friends had been pretending to like Hal in the past and had intentionally planned to leave him behind.
Sadly, it turned out she was correct.
Discovering the truth stung deeply. Their group wasn't as close-knit as she had believed.
'What was there to even hate Hal for? Sure, he could be a bit overwhelming and nosy at times, but his intentions had always been good, and he was always pushing them to do better, to grow. At the very least, he didn't deserve to be treated like this, no?'
That was the thought running through Ennya's mind.
In any case, she decided to do what was right. She wouldn't abandon Hal in his time of need.
If their group's friendship was bound to break, Ennya would stay true to her heart.
"Hoh, so it wasn't just my imagination all those years, huh? Korren really does hate me," Hal muttered with a sneer, turning to his only remaining friend, at least as far as he was concerned.
"Hmph, fine then, I'll forgive you. But… are you sure you want to stick with me? My future isn't exactly looking bright…"
"Huh? And what does that matter? Shouldn't I be the one looking out for you now? After all, heh! I've got a sixty percent affinity to mana! Don't worry, little brother Hal, it's my turn to protect you from now on!"
Hal looked at Ennya, who was a fair bit shorter than him, with suppressed amusement.
Sixty percent mana affinity wasn't bad and could even be considered above-average talent.
If she worked hard enough, she could probably secure her family a modest home in one of the less expensive cities.
Still, her affinity was far from being among the best, so how could she claim to protect him from everyone at the academy?
Even Korren, for one, was slightly more talented than her, boasting a sixty-five percent affinity to mana.
If that bastard wanted to pick on him, what could she do?
Chuckling inwardly, Hal gave the red-haired shorty a light knock on the head, then continued toward the ticket stall.
"H-Hey! What was that for?!" Ennya protested as she rubbed the slightly sore spot, quickly moving to follow him.
And so, Hal's supposedly painful and boring journey turned out to not be so bad after all.
Ennya's betrayal had been the one that stung the most.
She had always seemed so innocent, and Hal hadn't sensed even a hint of hatred or resentment from her, not once in the more than decade they'd been friends.
It was hard to believe she'd left him behind just because his affinity for mana turned out to be trash.
Learning that wasn't the case mended more than seventy percent of the wounds in his bleeding heart.
***
Time marched ever forward.
Hal and Ennya occasionally disembarked at other Donkey Exchange Terminals, grabbed a few decent meals at local eateries, and boarded new ass-pulled carts to slowly make their way to the City of Aeloria, where the Grand Magic Academy awaited.
Finally, two and a half weeks later, majestic, seemingly impenetrable city walls with massive black gates appeared on the horizon, sending waves of excitement coursing through Ennya's small body.
The donkey-pulled cart they rode also soon merged onto the widest brick path the two youngsters had ever seen, alongside metallic, mana-powered transports carrying other youths, likely en-route to finalize their admission to the Grand Magic Academy.
They had arrived at the Arcane City of the East, Aeloria—home of the Arcanum Imperium's mightiest wizards.