Chapter 65

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Six months later.

The sound of birds singing could be heard.

Lucian finally managed to open his heavy eyelids.

—Ah... I fell asleep...?

Was it his father stroking his hair? Or fallen leaves? Or the wind?

Someone was visible at the edge of his blurry vision.

—Heine? No... Heine has silver hair...

Blinking, he could see the person a bit more clearly.

—Who...?

Pale wheat-colored hair, green eyes.

—A fairy...?

"Are you not going to wake up?"

He thought he heard a voice.

He abruptly sat up. It seemed he had fallen asleep while lying on the grass, killing time.

"I messed up... What time is it?"

Looking around, there was no one in sight.

He was supposed to have plenty of time before the new student orientation... until he fell asleep.

Panicking, he quickly stood up and ran towards the auditorium.

At the age of twelve, Lucian was about to enroll in the Royal Academy's Middle School Magic Department.

The Vionne family had discussed this extensively beforehand.

National Academy or Magic Academy? Or perhaps another research institute-affiliated school? Which one to choose?

Yusis had strongly recommended the Royal Academy. He insisted on attending together, almost to the point of being annoying.

It turned out that Yusis had already decided to attend the Royal Academy's Middle School a year early.

Apparently, one could take the entrance exam a year early.

When asked why a year early, he was glared at and told, "Why should I be left out when Lucian and Odine are going?"

In the end, Yusis kept inviting Lucian every time they met, saying, "Let's go to the Royal Academy together! The facilities are state-of-the-art, and there are plenty of elective courses!"

Furthermore, the king himself said,

"I have given instructions to provide special consideration for your rare abilities. Please attend the Royal Academy with Yusis."

That's how it was decided.

—All the discussions at the Vionne household were in vain... But Heine had a resigned look, saying, "I thought it would end up like this." Father seemed slightly displeased?

Apparently, Father had no good memories of the Royal Academy.

Lucian had heard Father mention this in passing. However, he didn't get to hear the details.

—Father attended the Royal Academy, didn't he...? Aunt Noelle said the National Academy was fun, so I thought that might be a good choice too. But it's too late now.

When he arrived at the auditorium, a prince with blue gemstone eyes was standing at the entrance.

"Lucian!"

The usually angelic Prince Yusis was irritated.

"Sorry, I might be late?"

"You're late!"

The young ladies surrounding Yusis were wide-eyed. They had probably never seen Yusis raise his voice.

A beautiful black-haired girl appeared from behind them.

"Lucian, you're as restless as ever. Your hair is all over the place on the first day, and it's even more unruly than usual."

Odine gave him a cold sidelong glance and pointed to the back of her head.

His hair had been neat when he left the house, thanks to Heine. It must have gotten messy while he was lying on the grass.

"... Odine, can't you say that a bit more tactfully?"

While he was fixing his hair with his fingers, Yusis took Lucian's arm and led him inside. The three of them started walking, and the group around them followed.

"Who's that close friend of the princes?"

"He doesn't use honorifics with the prince?"

"He's a cousin from the Vionne family."

"He's a viscount's son."

"Viscount?"

"He calls Odine by her name?"

Lucian, with his good hearing, couldn't help but overhear the whispers around him.

Ripples of whispers spread: "He's a cousin," "But a cousin by marriage," "Just a viscount's family," "Vionne family," "Not a big deal."

He knew this would happen, but reality was harsh.

—Just as Father and Heine predicted...

They had said the first day would be like this. They also said that the excitement would die down as the school offered many more stimulating experiences.

Lucian was more calm than he thought. Since no one was criticizing his personality or abilities, it felt somewhat detached.

He glanced at Yusis and Odine beside him, but they didn't seem to notice. He felt a bit relieved.

If they started acting strange out of concern, it would be unbearable. Odine, in particular, and Yusis, who could be sensitive.

—Both of them are weak in wind magic, right?

He knew this from years of sharing their magic attributes.

Yusis's strongest magic attribute is "light." It's quite special to have the rarest magic attribute as the highest.

His second strongest is fire, followed closely by water. Wind and earth are weak, and he can only use basic spells. Yusis used a fire spell to hit the target during the entrance exam.

Odine's strongest is water, followed by fire. Wind is third, and earth is minimal.

She has been freezing the courtyard and surprising the maids. She's also good at melting the ice she creates.

Odine has been studying offensive magic enthusiastically since the incident involving the Arles Empire.

Both are weak in wind magic, so they wouldn't be good at using it to detect sounds around them.

Lucian, on the other hand, is strong in wind magic. He can enhance his hearing and maintain it as easily as breathing, which is why he picks up on everything.

I should have gone to the National Academy to avoid all this trouble... he thought, shaking his head. But he had made the decision himself, and he couldn't run away from a little thing like this.

The Royal Academy is special in many ways. As the name suggests, it was founded by a king who was passionate about education hundreds of years ago, using his private funds rather than the national budget. Since then, it has been supported by successive royal families.

Currently, the government provides subsidies, but the royal family and high-ranking nobles also contribute large amounts.

In essence, the royal family has a say in the school's affairs.

Thanks to this, the former headmaster was apparently under the thumb of the previous queen. This was an extreme and negative example. The headmaster has since resigned.

Despite this history, the school is luxurious. Elegant school buildings, adequate security, well-equipped facilities, excellent teachers and staff. It's no wonder it's called the "Royal Academy." The royal family is committed to making it the pinnacle of educational institutions.

—And somehow, I ended up getting a scholarship. If they're going to this much trouble, I guess it's fine.

The Vionne family is no longer poor. Seraph's earth magic has become famous and in high demand, and the villages in the Vionne territory have seen increased harvests thanks to Seraph's earth magic. As a result, they are reasonably well-off.

So, they had offered to pay the tuition, but it was apparently decided that "since we chose the Royal Academy, don't worry about it."

Seraph and Heine had slightly gloomy faces, saying, "Maybe to prevent you from running away."

The scholarship is a secret. At the Royal Academy, scholarships are given only to exceptional geniuses or those with rare abilities. The school completely conceals it when necessary. Lucian is one of those who is concealed.

—To prevent me from running away...

Well, I've already given up and made my decision, so it's fine.

Yusis is a close friend, cousin, and childhood friend. He was looking forward to attending school together.

Thank you for reading.