Chapter 330: 326) Welcome and Expenses
It was a true feast of flavors. There were traditional dishes from all over Brazil—from the classic feijoada to the crispy acarajé—but also from the rest of Latin America: tamales, arepas, empanadas, cazuelas, ceviches, dulce de leche treats, and much more.
Hannah, a bit hesitant, started by serving herself only what looked familiar. Then she'd ask me to try the unfamiliar things first, before daring herself. It wasn't out of distrust, but rather a very understandable fear of embarrassment—what if the food turned out to be too spicy, too strange... or worse, alive?
Dinner was plentiful and joyful, filled with a festive atmosphere. The buzz of conversation, laughter, and the clinking of dishes filled the plaza with a chaotic yet comforting symphony.
At the end, the headmaster spoke briefly to thank us for being there and to wish us a great stay and a wonderful school year. At that moment, magical torches lit up around the square, and with them, carvings on the ground and buildings began to glow. They projected constellations, mythical figures, and breathtaking landscapes, revealing the nighttime magic of Castelobruxo. This wasn't something that happened every day—the torches, yes, but the carvings only lit up on special celebrations or the last night of the year. This time, they had clearly been activated to welcome us... and, perhaps, to show off a little.
Professor Silvia approached the three of us with a kind smile.
"Come," she said in a soft voice, just enough for us to hear. "I'll show you to your dorms. Tomorrow morning, before classes begin, I'll come get you. The headmaster wants to speak with you."
We stood up. Hannah and Neville were a bit drowsy from the food and the long journey, but we followed the professor. The Amazonian night wrapped around us like a warm, humid cloak, and above the trees, the moon rose—silver and majestic.
...
Professor Silvia led us into the castle, which turned out to be even larger than it looked from the outside. It was a labyrinth of wide and narrow corridors, with rooms, halls, and classrooms one after another, spread across multiple levels—some above ground, others below. For a moment, I felt like I was inside an RPG dungeon. The walls were decorated with reliefs and mysterious motifs, but it was nighttime, and there was no time to admire them—we had to keep up with the professor.
Castelobruxo doesn't use a house system like Hogwarts. Here, students aren't divided into houses, but by year. Each school year occupies a different floor of the castle. The rule was simple: the higher your year, the higher your floor.
She guided us to the second level, where the second-year students lived. We saw several students already entering through the hallways, chatting or yawning.
We reached a fork in the hallway: the left corridor led to the boys' dormitory, the right to the girls'. Neville and I waited while the professor escorted Hannah to the entrance of her room.
A few minutes later, Silvia returned and took us down the other corridor. At the end, we entered a common room with a rather... curious feature: in the center, embedded in the stone floor within a large pentagon of dirt, burned a real bonfire. I mentally thanked magic for keeping us from dying of carbon monoxide poisoning, because the room didn't seem to have enough ventilation for such a fire.
Several doors led to different rooms, all connected to that common area. The professor led us to one of them and, pointing to it, said it would be our dormitory—shared with other second-year students. Then, with her usual calm smile, she said goodbye, reminding us that she'd come by in the morning to take us to see the headmaster.
The room already had occupants: eight second-year boys, nearly filling all ten available beds. It wasn't particularly spacious. There was only one window—if you could even call it that: a narrow vertical rectangle that let in just a sliver of light.
Each bed was a bunk, lined up against the wall in a very functional, generic layout. Still, some already showed signs of their owners' personal touch: a blanket with a tiger print, another with the Batman logo... small details.
The professor's presence had briefly imposed an awkward silence. Now that she was gone, the murmur of conversation returned to fill the room. And when they realized who we were, we became the center of attention once again. Of those present, only one or two had been on the bus with us; the rest had only seen us during the headmaster's introduction. We were the new ones, the weird ones, the interesting ones.
The questions started immediately. The attempt at conversation was intense, though brief. Everyone was clearly tired, and for Neville, keeping up with the linguistic chaos of Spanish, Portuguese, and various accents dancing through the room was especially difficult.
Still, he looked visibly relieved to have me in the same room. Even if I weren't there to interpret or absorb most of the attention, at least he had someone to talk to—even just a little—and not feel completely lost.
We claimed one of the bunks: Neville took the bottom, and I jumped onto the top. All I wanted was to fall asleep already. Being stared at like a rare bug and bombarded with questions by a group of teenagers wasn't exactly my idea of a pleasant evening. That could wait until tomorrow.
While the murmur continued among the other beds—lazy chatter from those who hadn't yet surrendered to sleep—I decided to disconnect from the world. I got comfortable and, after replying to Hannah's goodnight, I closed my eyes to mentally cast [Sleep].
...
In the fiefdom, everything went on as usual. I fulfilled my usual duties, spent some time with my girls, checked out the goods the merchant had brought thanks to the latest update of the Brazilian market, and focused on my experiments…
All normal. At least, it was. Until Elise had that… incident with the My Little Pony series.
Yes. It was strange. Very strange. I came back with the crown and the so-called "Hoof Protectors," ready to calm the crazy mare, only to find her glued to the projector screen, devouring sweets and popcorn while singing along to the show's theme song. She was lying atop a pile of plushies, wrapped in a blanket that read Friendship is Magic.
When our eyes met, the world seemed to freeze. An awkward silence filled the room. I swear it was like a dad walking in on his kid watching porn for the first time.
Elise froze. And after several eternal seconds, without even moving, she magically shoved me away. Literally launched me out of sight.
She didn't speak to me for days. But thanks to our bond, I knew it wasn't anger — it was pure embarrassment. Apparently, the show had captured her on a level even she didn't expect. If she hadn't acted so weird about it, I might never have found out. Silly Elise.
Things got worse when I noticed Lily and Petunia were missing… and I found them with Elise, huddled in that improvised "forest cinema," watching the show. Thus, a small cult was born, and I have no idea what Elise told them, but they looked really scared when I caught them.
I won't lie: it was cute. Especially when the girls —and my mare— started using expressions from the show in everyday life. They even taught them to others. Gemma talking about "the power of friendship" while guiding the girls through those moments was, honestly, glorious.
And it would've just been a bizarre little anecdote… if I hadn't discovered how much money they spent.
My dear mare and the girls had literally drained most of our reserves on official merchandise and expanding Elise's world. Seriously. Someone deserved a good smack in the snout. And they got it.
Elise cried like never before, hiding her swollen face under a Twilight Sparkle-shaped cushion. She didn't even dare use her divine magic to heal herself, afraid it'd make me angrier. For a few minutes, she was genuinely afraid of me. And I didn't blame her — not only did they empty the fief's treasury, they even took out loans without telling me! I was furious.
I had never blocked her access to money because, before this, gold to Elise was just another rock. If she wanted to buy something, it had to be important. Maybe expensive, but with reason. I never imagined she'd change so much because of a cartoon about ponies.
Then came the talk. A deep and serious conversation about finances, addiction, and responsible spending. And yes… I spanked her. Maybe harder than necessary, but I had a lot to let out.
The world expansion at least turned out to be useful, though costly. So it wasn't a total loss… or so I told myself.
And the Evans sisters? They got punished too. Their butts were so red and shiny that, if this were a cartoon, there'd be smoke coming out. I realized I might've overdone it when, the next morning, I found them lying over a fence, butts in the air, still in the same position as the night before. I had to apologize… a little.
Even so, they won't be sitting for several days — at least not without healing magic, which I have no intention of giving them. I'm sure they learned their lesson about following the lead of a horse with zero sense of economics or common sense in general.
Now the real problem is figuring out how to get that money back. Because they spent everything. They literally emptied the bank and maxed out our credit. It'll take me a lot of time and effort to recover it all.
...
The next morning, I woke up early and, as expected, had to get Neville up too. I had already asked about the school schedule during the trip, and considering we had to meet the headmaster before classes, it was better not to take any chances.
The room barely received any light through the small window, but there was something magical about it. Even the night before, the faint light of the moon and stars had softly illuminated the room in a comforting way. It was as if that vertical slit wasn't a simple window, but a direct channel to the sky, completely erasing the feeling of being locked inside stone walls.
Neville was still drowsy, but managed to shake it off. We both headed to the common room, where a few students were already awake and sitting near the central bonfire. I greeted them politely, receiving the same neutral attention as the night before. It would likely stay that way for a while, at least until they got used to us.
We took the corridor that led back to the fork where the boys' and girls' dormitories split. There, we stopped to wait.
When I woke Neville up, I also took the opportunity to send a [Message] to Hannah. It might not have been entirely fair to tell the girls that long distances affected magical accuracy and that any non-urgent messages would be delayed and distorted… but it was part of a little illusion I wanted to maintain. I wanted the sense of distance to feel real. After all, I had perfect control over this power's range.
Hannah had sent me a "Good night" the night before, along with an enthusiastic —and slightly resigned— recount of how her roommates had swarmed her with just as much excitement as we'd received. She had also written to the other girls in the group… but that message would arrive late, garbled, and full of errors. Just as planned.
Hannah showed up a bit later, rubbing her eyes. And, as if rehearsed, Professor Silvia arrived right then. She looked slightly surprised to see us already up, though still half asleep.
"Good morning," she greeted with a warm smile.
We began to walk behind her, climbing hallways and staircases that seemed never-ending. As we went, Silvia briefly explained some of the school's spaces we passed, though she didn't dwell too much on the details. She said we'd have time to explore everything thoroughly later on our own.
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Sorry, friends. Just one chapter this week, since Patreon support has dropped quite a bit.But don't worry — I'll find a way to bring it back to life by posting early chapters over there, from stories I am allowed to share, once I wrap up a few things.