I am an Archivist, not a Magician

Chapter 8 • First Day at School

~Your Room~

The morning in Ramshackle Dorm did not arrive so much as leak in through the cracks in the walls.

A floorboard creaked somewhere upstairs.

Something outside the window tapped in a rhythm that wasn't rain, wasn't wind, and didn't sound like it belonged to anything alive.

And in the bedroom—

Kaelen was already there.

Not summoned.

Not fading in and out.

Just... present.

A steady, grounded figure occupying space beside the bed like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Y/n had not questioned it when she woke.

She simply shifted slightly, still half-lost in sleep, and leaned her shoulder against them like it was routine.

Kaelen didn't move away.

Grim, on the other side of the room, sat upright the second he registered consciousness.

"...Mmmmm... nngh... five more minutes, Ma..."

Ghost A drifted through the wall upside down.

Ghost A: "Hee hee hee... Aren't the two of you supposed to be off cleaning the school today?"

Grim groaned and flopped back onto the bed.

Ghost B slid through the dresser like it had keys.

Ghost B: "Go ahead, sleep the day away. And you might not eeeever hafta wake up again."

Ghost C spun lazily near the ceiling.

Ghost C: "Just like us! Ah ha ha ha ha!"

Grim shot upright.

"MYAH?! THE GHOSTS ARE BACK! HEY, Y/N, UP AND AT 'EM!"

Y/n blinked slowly, still leaned slightly into Kaelen's presence.

"...I am awake."

Ghost A leaned closer.

Ghost A: "So I hear you'll be living here from now on? Hope you like pranks as much as we do! Hya ha ha!"

Grim immediately pointed at them.

"WE GOTTA GET RID OF THOSE THINGS FOR GOOD!"

Y/n finally sat up a little more properly, expression unchanged.

"...They are non-hostile unless provoked."

Grim stared at her.

"...THAT'S NOT HELPING!"

At that moment, Crowley's voice echoed cheerfully from the doorway.

Crowley: "Good morning, Y/n. Did you sleep well?"

Grim exploded immediately.

"NOT AT ALL! WHEN I SPRAWLED OUT ON THE BED, THE MATTRESS FELL RIGHT THROUGH THE FRAME! EXACTLY HOW RAMSHACKLE IS THIS DORM?! AND WORSE YET, WE GOT WOKEN UP BY GHOSTS!"

Y/n, still calm, shifted her weight slightly.

Kaelen remained beside her the entire time—solid, unbothered, like a second anchor in the room's chaos.

Crowley, meanwhile, looked entirely pleased with himself.

Crowley: "I am delighted to hear that you've adjusted so well, despite being sent to another world!"

Y/n glanced briefly at the ceiling where something knocked twice for no reason.

"...Adjustment is not the correct term."

Crowley clasped his hands.

Crowley: "Now, speaking of moving on, let us discuss your assignment for today."

A pause.

Grim immediately tensed.

Y/n looked at him.

"...We already have employment."

Crowley smiled brightly.

Crowley: "Yes. And I do believe it's time we made it... more structured."

Ghosts giggled softly somewhere in the walls.

Kaelen shifted slightly closer to Y/n—not possessive, just steadying, like they were already used to this environment and had decided it was survivable.

Grim muttered: "...I hate this place."

Y/n replied flatly: "...Noted."

~Lounge~

Crowley: "Your job today is to clean the campus. That said, the campus is vast, and without magic, it'd be quite the Herculean task to clean it all. Therefore, today I'll have you focus on the area spanning from the front gates to the library. Now, Y/n... I do expect that you'll keep a close eye on Grim, lest he cause another incident like yesterday."

Y/n: "I can't promise much..."

Crowley: "Do not fail me. You may take your lunch in the cafeteria. I eagerly await the fruits of your labor."

Grim: "Hrmph. I ain't cleanin' nothin'! I'm here to study magic so I can be blastin' off spells left and right! Like BAM! POW! FWOOM!"

Y/n: "After we clean, we can study in the library."

Grim: "Hrmph."