Chapter 96

I have turned thirteen.

Let me explain a bit about the Royal Academy here.

The Royal Academy of the Rave Kingdom is attended for about five years, from the age of thirteen to eighteen.

The academy is located in an entire city, known as the Academy City. Freshmen and sophomores are called the Lower Division, and juniors, seniors, and fifth-year students are called the Upper Division, with separate buildings for each.

Additionally, it is a boarding school. Yes, even the royal family, nobles, and specially selected commoners all live in dormitories.

However, for security and the dignity of the nobles, the dormitories are divided into Lower and Upper Divisions, and the upper and lower nobles have separate buildings.

And the royal family, well, they have a separate building too. Isn't this strange? What's the point of dormitory life? Isn't it to foster group behavior? If the royal family doesn't need to learn group behavior, then they don't need to attend the academy, right?

When the royal family doesn't attend, what happens to the building? The maintenance costs are astronomical. This kind of waste is what causes the common people's lives to be squeezed. Damn it.

So, the mansion, which is supposed to be the dormitory for Izzy and me, will also house Nebel and my family's twins, a few servants sent by the Marquess family, Izzy's potential aide, Rüdiger Beerenheit, servants sent by the royal palace, and Theo, the youngest son of the Northern Frontier Duke, along with his aides and servants.

Of course, we won't invite any girls. We're not that out of touch, and we do have common sense.

We moved into the dormitory a week before the start of school... but, you know, there's no dormitory master or manager in the royal family's dormitory. Our servants made everything comfortable for us.

Izzy's servants were carefully selected by the queen, and they work well with my family's servants without any conflict. They also had discussions with Theo's servants and decided to work together to take care of us and manage the mansion. It's all good.

Then, about Izzy... I mean Ignatius. When I told him about meeting Theo through Fullvutball, he got sulky. Even though I brought back a souvenir, the reason he was sulking was that "his younger brother wasn't called by a nickname."

I told him that Theo is our second cousin, but he felt left out.

It's so unfair! It's unfair to be called by a nickname just because he's a second cousin!

It's different when a usually well-behaved and patient younger brother does it. We're the same age, and it's not that I'm being called by a nickname, but that I'm calling him by a nickname. So, Ignatius and I decided to call each other by nicknames.

We moved into the dormitory a week before the start of school, but Theo arrived in the Academy City three days before the start.

"Hey! Al! Nebel! Long time no see!!"

When Theo saw me, he ran over with a smile, waving his hand. He still reminds me of a black-haired husky.

As we were doing a high-five, Nebel restrained Izzy from behind, and Rüdiger covered Izzy's mouth.

"Still the same, huh?"

"Ever since I returned to Merckel, I've been treated by my older brothers! The monster hunting with Al and the others is unforgettable!"

"You! Don't call your older brother by a nickname so casually!!"

Nebel and Rüdiger let go, and Izzy approached Theo, who looked at me with a puzzled face.

"It's Ignatius, your younger brother. Izzy, this is Theo, the son of the Merckel Frontier Duke and our second cousin."

"Ah! You're Al's younger brother!"

Theo, who was puzzled when I introduced him, clapped his hands.

"Don't call me Al!"

Izzy snapped at Theo, who wasn't listening.

"Nebel calls you that."

"Nebel is an older brother's aide, so it's fine! But you... it's just not right!"

"Why? Oh, do you think I'm going to take Al from you? You're such a big brother complex!"

"!!"

Izzy, who couldn't express his feelings, looked like he was stomping his feet.

"Brother!"

"Okay, okay, Izzy. Let's greet him properly, okay?"

When I said that, Izzy reluctantly greeted Theo.

"Ignatius"

"I'm Theo. Call me Theo casually."

Theo said that and forcibly shook hands with Izzy. Oh, he's definitely a social butterfly. His mental strength is on par with Hihirokane. I hope he can handle Izzy. I'm not good at that kind of thing. I caught Kurt's eye.

"Long time no see, Kurt."

"Long time no see. You haven't changed, Albert."

Kurt greeted me while glancing at Izzy, who was biting Theo.

"Maybe it's because I didn't have many peers to interact with."

We used to have tea parties, but after the kidnapping incident, we stopped. However, things have changed a bit since Rüdiger became my aide.

"Your situation is quite complex."

"I'm glad you've grown attached. It's much better than being at odds."

Izzy's behavior is a result of the queen's education. Even after understanding that I won't become king, it's really appreciated that he still looks up to me.

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