Interlude — Academy Life Journal (Eagle Class)
It went without saying that the teachers of Lyceum’s Aegis Academy were a breed apart from those of any other academy on the continent — in quality, pedigree, and everything in between.
True, the Association had this year dispatched the Sage Willy R. Garcia as a temporary instructor, and the relative standing of the rest of the faculty had dimmed somewhat by comparison. Even so, each and every one of them remained a recognized powerhouse across the continent.
Agram Hystitch, homeroom teacher of the Eagle Class and a twenty-year veteran, was no exception; his own credentials were far from ordinary.
One might easily mistake him for a run-of-the-mill academy instructor from the way he was constantly pushed around within Aegis — but the academy he served was Aegis itself. A man who had taught there for twenty years could never be ordinary.
Twenty-one years earlier, at the tender age of nineteen, he had distinguished himself in a minor war between the Federation and the Kingdom. Eight years ago, when civil war erupted in Alphaz, he had played a decisive role in suppressing it — a war hero of the Kingdom of Alphaz.
Thus no student within Aegis could afford to disregard Agram. His achievements might not have shone quite so brightly among the academy’s own faculty, yet across the continent as a whole he was a figure of genuine respect. To dismiss such a man, one would need to be of the Imperial House of the Empire — the so-called strongest force on the continent.
“That concludes today’s class…”
“Haa…”
“Ugh…”
And this year, Agram found himself assigned as homeroom teacher to a class that included a member of that very Imperial House — not merely a royal, but the Emperor’s own daughter.
The Third Princess of the Ephios Empire, Lucia von Melizeus.
It was not that she disregarded Agram or treated his lessons like a delinquent. On the contrary, she listened carefully and studied with diligence — a model student in every respect. Judged solely by her attitude toward learning, she was surely the finest pupil in the Eagle Class.
Even so, Agram could not help reading her every expression and treating her with extreme caution. It was inevitable. No matter that Lyceum claimed to have “no walls of status,” who in the present age could casually deal with the Emperor’s own daughter?
Unless one were the sort who cared nothing for continental peace and lived solely for oneself — and who had rendered the Empire so great a service that even the Emperor himself wished to cultivate a friendship — one could never treat her lightly.
And was there such a person?
Amazingly enough, Aegis Academy possessed exactly one individual who met those absurd criteria.
Sage Garcia…!
Willy R. Garcia, homeroom teacher of the Owl Class. A grand mage who had risen to the rank of Sage — one of only five on the entire continent — and one of the heroes who had subdued the Hydra that revived sixteen years ago in the Empire’s province of Liomain, the Duchy of Leonhart. The Dead-Eyed Sage himself satisfied those conditions perfectly.
Agram closed his eyes and pictured Willy’s face, those rotting, fish-dead eyes.
Why, when such an ideal person exists, must a mere commoner like me be the one to deal with the princess…!
“Um… Melizeus? You sighed just now — was there something unsatisfactory about my class…? Ah, I don’t mean to scold you in the slightest. I only wish to correct any shortcomings of my own. Naturally the eyes of an Imperial princess would be exacting when it comes to instruction. I, lowly as I am, would never dare puff myself up simply because I happen to be Melizeus’s homeroom teacher… yet as long as I hold that position, I believe I have a duty to provide lessons worthy of her. So please, without the least burden, would you be so kind as to tell me why you sighed…?”
Agram felt nothing but wretched pity for himself — reduced to flinching at every single sigh a student made.
In truth, even if she was the Emperor’s daughter, this was still Aegis Academy. As an Aegis instructor Agram had no real need to be so deferential… but consider the times. The Empire was expanding at breakneck speed on the strength of its railways; the Kingdom had been weakened by civil war eight years earlier; peace among the three great powers hung by a candle’s flame. Agram had to ensure that Lucia felt not the slightest dissatisfaction and enjoyed as peaceful an academy life as possible.
“So please, without the least burden, would you be so kind as to tell me why you sighed…?”
Without the least burden? How was she supposed to manage that?
Lucia found it absurd that Agram would launch into such a long-winded explanation and react so sensitively over a single sigh. At this rate she almost suspected he was about to snap, “How dare a mere student sigh during my class!”
Of course she knew perfectly well what sort of man Agram was — a war hero of the Kingdom who had refused every honor the crown offered him and become a teacher at Aegis for the sake of the continent’s future. She had fully intended to treat him with the respect due his rank and achievements, and his lessons had always been more than satisfactory…
“I simply had something on my mind and sighed. You needn’t react so sensitively.”
“I-is that so? Ahahaha…! If it isn’t an imposition, might I ask what that something—”
“It’s personal.”
“Ah… aah… personal, of course… Then I’ll be going!”
“Yes. Goodbye.”
“Yes…”
But this was a bit much, wasn’t it?
Was this truly the same war hero of the Kingdom? How could a hero — and a teacher at the continent’s most prestigious academy — possess so little spine?
Agram’s ability as an instructor left nothing to be desired, yet whenever Lucia observed him as a human being she could not help feeling thoroughly exasperated.
“Haa…”
She cast a sidelong glance at the other students around her. Some averted their eyes as hard as they could, terrified of meeting her gaze; others edged closer in desperate hopes of catching the princess’s attention.
Lucia had originally wanted to enroll at the Imperial Academy of Kazin, only to be forced into Aegis as a political tool. Even so, it was only natural that she should want a normal academy life. Of course she intended to build a certain amount of influence within Aegis in order to secure a position free from anyone’s interference back in the Empire — but was it so much to ask that she also enjoy an ordinary school life?
Looking at the present state of things, she could only wonder whether such a life was even possible.
“I really should have been placed in the same class as her…”
Lucia closed her eyes and pictured a certain student who always maintained a proud, lofty dignity — a student who paid little mind to Lucia’s status as princess yet could still solidify her position; a student in whom Lucia had taken a personal interest as well…
The Noble Lion of Leonhart, Noir von Leonhart.
Only that young Lion of White Flame is worthy of being my friend…
Or so Lucia believed.
And so she had tried, again and again, to strike up a conversation with Noir. Yet the moment she spotted Noir walking side by side with her maid far down the corridor, her brain simply overloaded; she had no idea what on earth she was supposed to say.
“I present myself before Her Highness the Princess.”
“Ah… Lady Leonhart… Th-this is the academy, so you can speak casually—”
“My apologies. I find formal speech more comfortable than casual address… Now then, I have places to be, so I shall take my leave.”
“Ah… right. Take care…”
“Blanc. Shall we stop by a café on the way home later?”
“If it is dessert Your Ladyship desires, I can prepare as much as you like…”
“I already know your cooking is the best, of course. I simply want to enjoy the atmosphere of a café.”
“Is that so? Very well. I shall look into the café nearby that offers the finest food and the most pleasant ambiance.”
Lucia stood rooted to the spot, watching Noir smile as she gazed at her own maid. Noir always maintained that lofty, noble bearing — yet the moment she was with the girl called Blanc, she looked for all the world like an ordinary girl.
And so Lucia found herself envious of Blanc to the point of pain.
I want to become close like that too…!
“This worthless book!”
The volume titled 500 Ways to Make Friends had clearly stated that the first requirement for friendship was the courage to speak up. She had mustered that courage, spoken up — and still the conversation went nowhere. If that did not make the book worthless, what did?
It seemed a thorough “audit” of both the publisher and the author was in order.
Naturally she did not mean “thanks.” She meant a proper investigation.
“Heh heh heh…”
Even if she was in Lyceum, she was still a princess. She herself lacked the authority to audit a publishing house — but she could put those who possessed such authority to work.
Lucia returned to the dormitory at once and sent a letter to the capital. The moment the letter arrived, an audit of the publisher began. In the end the Imperial family was forced to pay an enormous sum in compensation for the damage caused by the wrongful investigation.
The amount was deducted from Lucia’s allowance.