The Gates of Aegis
After successfully disposing of the witch, I was once again heading toward the academy. As I turned the horse's head and moved forward, the panoramic view of the academy began to appear in the distance. 'It’s just as massive as it looked in the webtoon.' Even from afar, the academy’s gargantuan buildings filled my field of vision. I clicked my tongue once more at the overwhelming scale of this world. Seeing the flashy art style I had only ever viewed through a screen take on the texture of reality, I felt almost crushed by its sheer majesty. 'Can I really survive in that place and retire in peace?' The thought crossed my mind suddenly. 'No, it’s something I have to do. And I’ve already hunted down the witch, haven't I?' Now, there was nothing to do but move forward.
I felt the heavy weight of the Tears of the Sea Dragon inside my coat. This was one of the key ingredients needed to cure Soleia. In truth, it was the most difficult item to obtain among all the necessary materials. Not only was catching a sea dragon that inhabited the deep sea alive a Herculean task, but it was also a precious substance that could only be obtained by torturing the beast until it shed tears. It was a method I would never have known if I hadn't read the webtoon. Since I had preemptively secured this secret—something only the witch herself or high-ranking officials of the Order would know—it was no wonder my dopamine levels had spiked so high in that basement. 'If I hadn't found it there, I might have had to bow my head and ask my father to lend me his knights.' Or perhaps I would have had to wait endlessly for it to appear at a black market auction once every few decades. But that posed another problem: I had no money. I would have had to ask my mother for help with the finances. 'She would have granted my request, but she always hated me getting involved in dangerous work.' It was an awkward favor to ask. That was why this was a stroke of luck that might never happen again. The object that had caused me so much anxiety was now in my possession. It was a treasure more precious than anything else in the world, the cornerstone of my peaceful retirement plan.
'By the way, what else might turn up?' Kalia and I hadn't found anything else, but you never know when a mage like the witch is the one doing the searching. 'It feels a bit like I'm dumping my chores on others, though.' I had drafted soldiers to handle the witch's remaining debris and the aftermath of the basement, sending a message to my father. I assumed he would handle it well. While I hadn't found any direct clues regarding the Order when I checked, the black magic experiment logs and records on curses were valuable enough for my father to analyze and absorb as knowledge for the territory. Whether to take the countermeasures or discard the dangerous experiments was a decision for him to make. 'Right. I was doing my filial duty, not dumping chores. It’s all for the territory.' I nodded to myself, affirming the thought. Thanks to that, I could set my mind at ease and head straight for the academy.
'Everything is going so well that it actually feels strange.' Things that would usually have gone awry once or twice were flowing as smoothly as if they were on a set track. The city where the academy was located was Aegis. And the place named after the city itself was none other than this: Aegis Academy. 'Wasn't Aegis the shield of Zeus?' I rummaged through the hazy memories of my past life and concluded that was probably the case. However, the city's name notwithstanding, this shield seemed to have pathetic defensive capabilities. Seeing as incidents and accidents never ceased within the academy, it was closer to a magnet that attracted trouble than a shield. 'It doesn't seem to block much for a shield. It already looks riddled with holes.' A bitter laugh escaped my lips. Just as I was following that train of thought, the carriage jolted to a halt. Checking outside the window, it seemed the guards were stopping carriages to verify identities. Since the city housed the academy where the continent's greatest talents gathered, I had heard that Aegis was more thorough with identity management than anywhere else. No matter that the carriage bore the flag and crest of the Valenvalt Margrave family; one had to pass the established procedures to enter.
A man who looked like the captain of the guard approached, waving some kind of magical tool I didn't recognize, and examined us meticulously. The procedure continued, checking everyone from soldiers to knights and servants one by one. Perhaps to avoid offending the nobility, or perhaps because there was no need for me to get out of the carriage, the guard didn't demand I disembark. Instead, he carefully brought the magical tool toward the inside of the carriage where I was sitting. With a low, humming vibration, the crystal ball of the tool glowed, scanning for magical reactions inside. I had worried there might be a problem because of Kalia, but there was none. 'I suppose they didn't even perceive her existence.' There had been a few such magical tools back at the estate. We had spent about ten minutes on the road like that.
Identity verification complete. Access granted.
"Verified, pass!" A moment later, the heavy iron gates creaked open to the left and right. As the gates opened fully, the carriage slid smoothly back into the city of Aegis. Entering the city, I saw a massive crowd. Since this was the time when prospective freshmen who had received their admission letters were flocking from all over the empire like clouds, it was inevitable that there would be more people than usual. Flashy carriages lined up, and the voices of young noble sons and daughters, filled with a mix of excitement and tension, filled the area in front of the city gate. Aegis would only be this bustling once a year.
'The vitality, the heat of the admission season. I didn't dislike that unique, youthful feeling. It just felt a bit burdensome.' The carriage moved slowly through the noisy crowd. As we moved a little further, I finally saw what I had wanted to see. It was the train. Thanks to the Valenvalt territory being rich in resources, magic engineers had flocked there like clouds, and as a result, the development of magic engineering was more active than anywhere else. Originally, this train was a technology developed directly by the Margrave, so it stood to reason that it should have been installed in our territory after being laid in the heart of the empire. However, there was resistance from the kingdom that had become a vassal state of the empire at the time—or, from the empire's perspective, a bit of petulance. The justification was practical. Since the city of Aegis itself was so massive, the time and cost required to move around were no small matter. In particular, the commoners, who made up the majority of the population, had voiced their inconvenience. The kingdom, wanting to prevent brain drain, used that as an excuse to ask the empire for understanding, saying that some were turning their steps toward academies within the kingdom instead of the imperial academy. For the empire, it was a problem they could never just sit by and watch. But they couldn't solve it with radical methods either, so the empire thought of this. Even if their actual nationality was the kingdom, they had to naturally instill the empire's superior ideology through academy education so they could raise 'citizens of the empire' in terms of thought. Out of sight, out of mind. The empire wanted to absorb the kingdom entirely into its bosom without shedding a single drop of blood. 'There's no greed like that, but the empire is powerful enough to turn that greed into reality.' The compromise born between the empire's ambition and the kingdom's practical resistance was this magic train. By solving the inconvenience of movement and the cost problem at once, it was a massive 'ideological conduit' that made the kingdom's talents set foot in the empire.
That was why the installation in the Valenvalt territory had been delayed. However, I heard that our family had gained quite a few benefits because of it. They said we would become very rich later on. Since the tracks were to be laid sequentially throughout the empire. 'But… that seems like it will start around the time I graduate from the academy and become the Margrave…' If I graduated from the academy safely, the work I had to do was already being drawn out before my eyes. 'No, let's forget it. Yeah, there's no such thing.' Nothing had happened. 'It is cool, though.' I wondered if it was only natural to want to ride a train in a fantasy setting. It was that romantic a sight. So I had wanted to ride the train. However, there were too many people today, so I decided to keep traveling by carriage. 'Today isn't the only day.' I thought that and turned my head, and Kalia was looking out the window, perhaps watching the train just like I was. Seeing her like that, I felt more like she was a girl than a knight. In my original world, Kalia's age was certainly young, so even if she wasn't a girl, she was at least a young woman. I kept Kalia's appearance in my eyes and waited to arrive at the academy.
After arriving at the academy and unpacking, the sun was already beginning to set. 'It's not dark yet.' I left my assigned room and decided to take a light tour of the academy grounds. The room facilities were excellent, but honestly, they couldn't compare to the splendor of our family's mansion. It felt like a well-decorated luxury hotel. It was a space that highlighted standardized sophistication rather than the comfort of home. I left the unpacking to the academy maids and began to walk slowly through the campus alone. Kalia, who had decided to stay at the academy with me, had been guided to the knight-only dormitory and was currently away. While at the academy, I would have fewer chances to see Kalia. 'To feel awkward already because she's not here. That must mean we've become that close over the past few years. It's not bad.' I gazed at the setting sun for a moment. The mana stones on each of the campus streetlights were emitting a soft glow, illuminating the path. Perhaps because it was the admission season, I could feel youthful energy everywhere despite the late hour.
"You didn't look like it, but are you a sentimental person?" I turned around at the familiar yet unfamiliar voice coming from behind me.