Chapter 107 Class Placement

Class placement began beneath six department banners, one exhausted dean, and a seating chart already missing three names.

Damien entered the assembly hall with five girls around him, while Aurelia followed through the royal aisle.

The faculty had arranged six lecterns across the stage, each carrying one department seal.

Swordcraft, Arcanum, Divine Studies, Demon Combat, Shadow Arts, and Imperial Governance waited beneath fresh chalk.

The dean lifted a roster crystal, then looked toward Damien's household with immediate regret.

"The Academy places candidates according to aptitude," she announced, holding the crystal higher, "companions receive separate schedules."

Raven raised her hand before the dean finished speaking inside the crowded hall.

"I place myself beside Damien," she said, pointing at the central aisle, "my aptitude is obvious."

"That is not a department," the dean replied, lowering the crystal, "please stop inventing paperwork."

Vivienne chose the Swordcraft lectern, while Yuki moved toward Arcanum without leaving Damien's side.

Seraphina stood beneath Divine Studies, Raven claimed Demon Combat, and Shizuka disappeared near Shadow Arts.

The arrangement looked reasonable until Damien noticed every route converged on the same central desk.

The desk had been placed for one student, yet five chairs appeared around it before the faculty could object.

Aurelia took the sixth chair from the royal aisle, keeping her gold line separate from the household braid.

"This is not a department arrangement," Damien said, looking at the chairs, "this is a conspiracy with furniture."

"The furniture has chosen wisely," Raven replied, pulling her chair closer, "it understands strength."

The dean's assistant erased the first seating chart, then produced a second chart naming each girl in a different tower.

Vivienne read the list, folded it once, and placed it beneath her sword belt.

"The chart separates candidates by corridor," she said, looking at Damien, "the corridors are negotiable."

"They are structural," the assistant protested, holding the blank chart, "the Academy cannot move walls."

Shizuka appeared behind him, placed a note on his roster, and stepped into the shadow beneath the stage.

The note read, {The walls are old, the hinges are honest.}

The assistant read it, then looked toward the nearest door as if the building had betrayed him personally.

Yuki raised her slate, showing six schedules that overlapped at every useful hour.

"The proposed placement contains impossible travel times," she said, circling three corridors, "the plan assumes teleportation."

"The Academy has no teleportation department," Damien replied, looking at the dean, "the faculty has misplaced a miracle."

The dean summoned the schedule clerk, who arrived carrying four contradictory timetables tied by different colored cords.

The clerk explained that Swordcraft met during Arcanum, Divine Studies used the same hall as Governance, and Demon Combat occupied every training yard.

Nobody mentioned Shadow Arts, because Shizuka's department had registered her without obtaining a room.

The dean turned toward Shizuka, who stood beside the Shadow Arts lectern with a blank admission badge.

"You are assigned to Shadow Arts," the dean said, trying to sound certain, "please confirm your attendance."

Shizuka lifted one finger, then pointed toward the other three department seals.

The schedule clerk checked the roster, paled, and turned the crystal toward the hall.

[Shizuka: Shadow Arts, Arcanum, Swordcraft, Divine Studies]

[Registration status: active in four departments]

[Voluntary selection: none recorded]

Shizuka held up a black note beneath the panel for every student to read.

{I did not volunteer.}

Damien read the note, then looked toward the faculty table.

"The Academy has enrolled her in four departments," he said, touching Shizuka's sleeve, "the Academy should attend them too."

The first-year crowd laughed, while the schedule clerk began rubbing his temples.

Seraphina stepped toward the dean, her white robe drawing a line through the faculty's panic.

"I require Divine Studies beside Damien's general hall," she said, smiling at the roster, "my security concern is educational."

"The housing rules also require separation," the dean answered, glancing at the dormitory officer, "we are discussing classes first."

Seraphina placed her gloved hand over Damien's, making the red thread visible beneath the relay light.

"Classes affect housing decisions," she said, keeping her smile gentle, "the argument has already traveled."

The dormitory officer quietly removed one separation note from his folder.

Raven climbed onto the Demon Combat lectern, then pointed at the training yard schedule.

"My department needs daily combat access," she announced, looking at Damien, "he is my assigned opponent."

"He is not an academic resource," the dean replied, watching Raven's daggers, "please stop assigning him by touch."

Raven leaned down, kissed Damien's cheek, and returned to the lectern before anyone could issue a penalty.

"He is now motivated," she said, showing the crowd her grin, "the schedule can record that."

Damien wiped battlefield dust from her old cheek mark, while the dean requested a fresh scoring slate.

Yuki moved her chair beside his, then placed the warm cloth from Chapter One Twenty across his damaged palm.

"Arcanum requires a stable research subject," she said, looking at the faculty, "Damien remains available."

"I am a person," Damien replied, covering her fingers, "the Academy keeps filing me as equipment."

Yuki's frost circle touched his boot, then stopped at the desk's edge.

Vivienne pulled the central desk closer to Swordcraft, while Raven pulled it toward Demon Combat.

The desk moved three feet, cracked one floor tile, and became impossible to place legally.

The dean stared at the damage, then asked whether Damien could simply attend every department at once.

"I can attend every department," Damien said, looking across the six banners, "the Academy cannot survive the syllabus."

The faculty tried distribution by hour, by tower, by combat score, and by emotional risk.

Every method placed at least four candidates within one corridor of Damien before lunch.

Aurelia watched the argument from her separate chair, then lifted one royal paper.

"Imperial Governance requests my attendance," she said, touching the gold line, "I also request the same general hall."

The dean turned toward her, visibly hoping royalty would solve the problem.

"You will be separated from the converged students," the dean said, reading the imperial clause, "your enrollment remains distinct."

"Distinct does not mean distant," Aurelia replied, looking toward Damien, "the wording is poor."

The Half-Eye Token warmed between them, while the five girls turned toward Aurelia with matching interest.

Damien felt the room become a social battlefield before Raven drew a weapon.

"No duel during placement," he said, placing one hand on Raven's wrist, "the faculty has limited insurance."

"I was only evaluating the princess," Raven answered, keeping her dagger sheathed, "the evaluation needed distance."

The dean surrendered at the exact moment the schedule clerk produced a sixth timetable.

The new timetable listed all six candidates in one first-year integrated cohort, with department modules rotating around them.

It also assigned Shizuka to four modules, because nobody dared alter her registration after seeing the empty roster line.

"This is not how departments operate," the dean said, signing the cohort order, "this is how disasters request funding."

"The disaster has already received admission," Damien replied, touching Vivienne's hand, "the funding should arrive quickly."

The faculty signed the order one by one, while the students crowded around the central desk.

Some students wore Damien's title badge, some wore Lucas's old sun, and most wore neither.

The visible split began before the first lecture, because public placement had become a public choice.

The system panel opened above the six department banners, recording the Academy's surrender.

[Class placement: six candidates, one integrated cohort]

[Departments attempted: six]

[Departments surviving the schedule: uncertain]

[Shizuka: registered in four departments without volunteering]

[Aurelia Vale: Imperial Governance, separate thread status]

[Faculty decision: surrender with paperwork]

[System note: The Academy tried to separate them. The chairs formed a conspiracy.]

The dean handed Damien the final cohort seal, then warned him about attendance.

"One missed class will become a disciplinary matter," she said, pointing toward the roster, "please respect the schedule."

"The schedule has four versions," Damien replied, accepting the seal, "respect may require arbitration."

Vivienne leaned against his shoulder, Yuki kept his scarred palm warm, and Seraphina claimed the desk's nearest side.

Raven placed the training yard key beside Damien's books, while Shizuka left a note inside his new coat.

The note read, {Your seat has six guards now.}

Damien looked toward the first-year roster crystal, which had begun displaying every integrated student.

Names appeared in blue lines, then stopped beneath one final entry written without a fate mark.

The entry carried a student number, a blank family field, and no thread around its letters.

Damien felt the absence before the crystal finished writing the final roster line.

The first-year roster included one student the Story had never connected to any fate thread.