The First Day of Classes (2)
The First Day of Classes (2)
The Administration Faculty was where commoners and children of low-ranking nobles who couldn't inherit their family estates went to secure a stable livelihood and advance socially.
The Knight Faculty was for those with physical enhancement abilities or combat-oriented mana cultivation techniques.
Regardless, most heirs to noble houses and children of high nobility attended and graduated from the Inherited Ability Faculty.
To be honest, for high nobles, learning and training their inherited abilities within their own families was by far the most advantageous route.
The Royal Academy's training was meant for those who couldn't receive such an education. From another perspective, its main role was to serve as leverage for keeping noble children as hostages.
In the end, proper nobles spent their time at the Inherited Ability Faculty strengthening their cartels and social ties with one another.
The Princess, Manuel, and even the two noble freshmen who had stepped up at the freshman welcoming ceremony all belonged to the Inherited Ability Faculty.
"Even if it's the Duke's estate, I'm just an illegitimate son. My awakening wasn't anything useful for administration, either. I'd be more than grateful just to become a regular knight."
Well, if this had been a while ago, what I'd said out loud would have been true. But now, I had no idea what I could possibly learn in the Knight Faculty.
Still, I couldn't say that out loud. To be honest, avoiding the eyes of high-and-mighty figures who were a headache to deal with was what mattered most.
Although I'd been asked to take care of the Princess, there was no way trouble would arise for her during classes. No, more than anything, I desperately wanted to stay as far away from her as possible.
Though he still looked vague, I seemed to have gotten the point across well enough.
Then it was time to move on to the next step.
"I'm on the physical enhancement side, so becoming a knight was only natural... But what kind of ability do you have, Piar?"
I tossed out the question as I looked at Piar.
Come on, cough it up. Spill your ability, you bastard.
A massive, semicircular lecture hall.
All the freshmen were attending their very first class inside it.
"Welcome. I am Bogad, in charge of history."
The white-haired old professor wrapped up his introduction in a single sentence, without any small talk, and went straight into the lesson.
"You can view this world as divided into the world before the Great War and the world after it. The culture, technology, and history of the Old Empire before the Great War were all scattered and lost because of the war, and today they are discovered only in the form of artifacts. Today's culture, politics, and nations were all established after the Great War..."
Despite his aged appearance, his voice was forceful, and his teaching style wasn't bad, either.
But his passionate lecture failed to reach the students' hearts.
Only a handful of students listened. Most had little interest in a history class that was merely a general-education course.
Everyone attended because it was an integrated freshman general-education course, but it carried little weight in grading, and most had already learned the material from private tutors at home.
The same was true for me. Back home, I'd already read all the history books and had heated debates with my tutor, anyway.
"...While no one can slander the great victory of the Great War and the achievements of the heroes who brought it about, as a historian, I can only deeply regret the records and artifacts destroyed during that war. Even now, most people think the world before the Great War was far inferior to the present, but when you consider the Old Empire of that era..."
As expected of the Royal Academy. He's talking about things that are slightly different from what's written in the history books. Though I wonder if it's really okay for him to say things like that here.
Well, they probably kept him as a teacher because that level of commentary didn't matter.
I reined in my curiosity. At the end of the day, unless some unique artifact turned up, it was just the professor's personal opinion and theory.
I looked around the lecture hall while pretending to listen to the professor.
Since the entire freshman class was gathered there, hardly any seats were empty in the massive lecture hall.
Perhaps because there were no assigned seats, the freshmen had gathered in clusters here and there.
Broadly speaking, there were three groups, each distinctly different at a glance.
Perhaps because of yesterday's orientation, it was abundantly clear that they had gathered by department.
Burly students sat at the very back of the lecture hall.
The vast majority were male. On top of that, even sitting still, they exuded a fierce, valorous aura.
They were clearly students from the Knight Faculty.
In front of where the Knight Faculty students had gathered, in the center of the lecture hall, sat a group of flashy-looking students.
Their movements were leisurely, their postures full of vanity, and their gazes looked down on others.
It was painfully obvious that every single one of them was the child of a prominent noble family.
Naturally, Princess Aisha sat in the center. She looked a few years younger than the other students.
Though she was still young, a princess was indeed a princess.
She didn't look anxious at all as she attended class with a composed demeanor.
Rather, what caught my eye was how the surrounding students fidgeted just to get even a sliver of her attention.
'Crap, our eyes met.'
As our eyes met, the Princess gave a subtle nod.
Her gaze seemed slightly more acknowledging than before. The Princess must have heard the news, too.
The others didn't notice the Princess's gaze, but Manuel seemed to catch it instantly.
At the Princess's reaction, he scowled.
It was no big deal, so I really wished he would just mind his own business.
Besides the Princess and Manuel, there were a few other students who looked like heirs to prestigious households.
I didn't know who they were, but I could just ask Manuel or someone else later.
Finally, at the very front sat students who looked ordinary, unlike those in the other groups.
They were freshmen from the Administration Faculty.
They were all strangers to me, but the male and female students sitting right in front of the podium were familiar faces.
Piar and his cousin, Mirisa. Completely oblivious to all my struggles in the meantime, the two of them were eagerly listening to the lecture.
Well, considering they hadn't received a proper education, it was only natural that they were listening so attentively.
Come to think of it, given that he and his cousin came from a small village in a minor domain, perhaps it was already impressive that they'd received that level of education.
In any case, amid the distinctly clustered groups, I sat alone, isolated.
Since I hadn't been there yesterday, I didn't know anyone, and no one approached me on their own.
The Princess also seemed to refrain from acknowledging me publicly, and Manuel naturally pretended not to know me.
Even my roommate, Piar, was completely ignoring me.
All the effort I'd spent coaxing him last night seemed to have evaporated in a single day.
'Still, I was able to hear quite a few things yesterday.'
Where he was born and raised. How he came to the Royal Academy. And even his ability.
I managed to hear a lot of details.
He was born in the domain of a noble named Viscount Soat.
"I was born and raised in a small village in the domain ruled by Viscount Soat... um, sir."
"Where is Soat Territory, you ask... um? Hmm. Do you know Argosia Territory? Or Messesia? Ah, you know Messesia. It's right below Messesia Barony Territory."
The Soat Territory wasn't familiar to me, but I knew the Messesia baron's house all too well.
It was the place I'd stopped by before coming to the capital.
The place where the Baron, enthralled by the ousted second Duchess's ability, had tried to kill me—no, had actually killed me.
Was it a coincidence?
Either way, I filed the detail away in my memory.
"Fortunately, my father was the village chief, so Mirisa and I were able to learn how to read and write properly, unlike other people."
"How did we get our abilities? I don't really know, either. I thought it was a little strange, but we were just living normally until someone passing through the village saw Mirisa and me and asked if we might have inherited abilities. That's how we found out."
Was it that classic 'passerby' trope I'd heard about in my past life?
Something felt off, but I tucked that away in my mind for now, too.
"My ability and Mirisa's are similar. It's a type of amplification ability. When I took the entrance test, they said it was a kind of buffer ability."
As he spoke, Piar raised his hand.
Mana gathered in his hand.
Holy shit!
I freaked out and recoiled.
"What's wrong?"
He looked at me with a puzzled expression.
His hand, where mana had gathered, was glowing faintly.
"They said it can slightly boost other people's abilities. It can extend the duration, too. Some people even called it a sort of reservoir, but anyway, it wasn't an amazing ability, so I applied to the Administration Faculty. I guess I'll have to learn more about my ability here at the Academy."
Indeed, there was no way he would have entered the Academy advertising it as a suicide bombing ability.
Because I pulled such a horrified expression, the conversation ended right there. It happened to be bedtime, so we were able to gloss over it, but damn, it gave me a real fright.
While I pieced together various suspicious bits of information in my head, the general-education class came to an end.
The next class was another general elective, 'Basics of inherited abilities'.
"The students gathered here are almost all ability users who have completed their awakening."
The middle-aged female professor scanned the lecture hall as she spoke.
Although her voice faltered slightly on the words 'almost all', everyone—including me—pretended not to notice her slip.
And for good reason: there was only one person in the lecture hall who wasn't an ability user.
It was none other than Princess Aisha, sitting right in the center of the lecture hall.
She was still only ten years old. Her Awakening Day was a month or two away.
Normally, one entered the Academy after awakening, but Princess Aisha had broken with that convention.
As royalty and a princess, there was no chance Princess Aisha wouldn't awaken. Still, as a royal, she had no reason to break with custom and enter early.
Having doubts myself, I had asked about it when I met the Queen.
"With Katrin having returned, and the atmosphere in the royal court and the capital growing increasingly complicated, we thought it best for her to finish the Academy as soon as possible. Besides, entering this year means she gets to take classes alongside you, which is even better."
With the King ailing and the succession struggle among the princes intensifying, was the plan to send her to the Academy to divert attention now that her aunt Katrin was back?
It sounded like a decent enough plan, but...
'If it weren't for me, everyone would've died at the entrance ceremony!'
In that case, had the terrorist attack at the entrance ceremony been targeting the Princess? Was that why Katrin and the Head Knight were moving around so frantically?
Hmm. Now that they knew it was dangerous, couldn't she just cancel her enrollment and return to the royal palace?
Or maybe... because I stopped the terror attack, they didn't sense much danger?
The cascading thoughts brought me to the point of letting out a dry laugh.
Things were clearly twisted into a tight knot. If I wasn't careful, it felt like they would only get more tangled as time went on.
In the end, I had gained yet another reason to catch the culprit behind all this by the tail.
The lesson that followed wasn't much different from the history class.
Types and dangers of abilities, plus the importance of nobles who use inherited abilities, loyalty to the royal family, and so forth.
Rather than an education on inherited abilities, it had turned into a sort of indoctrination lecture.
'Surely the classes won't be like this for the entire semester, right?'
Even though it wasn't a major subject, I'd come with a bit of expectation. If classes like this continued, I had no idea what on earth I would actually learn.
'This Academy isn't really just about socializing and nothing else, right?'
If so, I had no choice but to pin my hopes on my actual major: the Knight Faculty classes.
With a sigh, the Basics of inherited abilities class came to an end, bringing the morning classes to a close as well.