A New Special Cadet (6)
The scenery beyond the carriage window had changed once they left the capital behind.
Where the Calbassar Plain had stretched on without end, gentle ridgelines now lay sprawled in lazy repose. Enormous, brilliantly white cumulonimbus—the kind unique to summer—drifted at an unhurried pace across a piercing blue sky.
Chin in hand, Kirlin gazed blankly at that peaceful landscape.
She was on her way to select a Special Cadet.
A few days earlier.
Bolstered enormously by Dian's praise, Kirlin had immediately set her next plan in motion: following his advice, she went to visit the principal of the Imperial Public Academy.
She stepped down from the carriage at the front gate, glanced around for a moment, then headed inside.
Located on the outskirts of the capital where land was relatively cheap, the Imperial Public Academy looked rather like an old military garrison. A large main building and lecture halls stood at the center, with a cafeteria, dormitories, warehouses, and other modest structures clustered around them. There was no tuition here—the academy ran solely on imperial tax revenue—and it couldn't begin to compare with the private academies, where annual fees ran to hundreds of gold coins and high-ranking parents poured in donations. Still, an academy was an academy. Graduating from here at least meant you wouldn't starve.
This world styled itself as a medieval fantasy, and unlike the modern era, it had no system of public education established from childhood. Getting into any academy at all was quite difficult, and the Imperial Public Academy was no exception. Unlike the private schools, where money and connections held considerable sway, this place demanded proof of ability alone. Look carefully, and you could unearth some truly excellent talent.
There are bound to be graduates who never landed good positions because of their backgrounds.
"A dark elf..."
Students murmured as Kirlin walked across campus. She was currently the only dark elf who had made her way into a human city, and she drew attention wherever she went. For that reason, she rarely left the Special Operations Academy if she could help it. She hadn't even attended the Combat Department's dinner outing last time, despite being invited—all for the same reason. You never knew what might happen if a dark elf showed up in a tavern packed with drunk people.
Even though Kirlin was well-known among those who mattered—the only dark elf in civilized society, and principal of the Special Operations Academy—the emotional rift among the intelligent races of the Human Alliance, those who had fought the Demon King's army, ran extraordinarily deep.
"Isn't that the dark elf? The one who's supposed to be an academy principal?"
"I think that's her."
"But why's her skin like that? Is she really a dark elf?"
Leaving the students' whispers behind, Kirlin entered the main building. She already knew the interior layout, so she moved through the corridors and up the stairs without hesitation. The Imperial Public Academy was her alma mater—the place her father had shoved her into against her will after the war. That was why she could reach the principal's office without a guide and without any difficulty.
"Welcome, Kirlin."
When she entered, a comfortably plump, warm-faced middle-aged woman greeted her with genuine affection.
"Hello, Principal. You look well."
This woman had been the principal ever since Kirlin was a student, and she still held the post. She was the mentor who had looked after Kirlin and helped her through the racial discrimination she had suffered during those unwanted academy years.
The two women embraced each other happily and spent a while catching up.
"Your face looks so much better than it used to."
"Oh, I'm getting by. How have you been, Principal?"
"Same as always. It is the Public Academy, after all."
The principal smiled kindly.
"And how is that Special Operations Academy of yours? Still doing mostly indoor lectures? I'm sure the Imperial Palace will have something to say about that eventually."
"Not anymore. We're running practical combat training alongside the lectures now. If anything, the practical side has taken on more weight."
"Oh, is that so? What brought on the change of heart?"
"It wasn't so much a change of heart as a new Combat Chief Professor taking the post."
"You mean the position the previous fellow absconded from in the middle of the night?"
"Yes, Principal. The new one was recommended by the Imperial Palace. His name is Dian, and apparently he was a war veteran."
"A war veteran recommended by the Imperial Palace? He must have quite the impressive record."
"To be honest, I don't really know what he did in the past. The Imperial Palace never told us."
The principal nodded as if she understood.
"Then he was probably from a special operations unit."
"That's what I think too. Anyway, the academy has changed a great deal since he arrived."
Kirlin then launched excitedly into a rundown of everything Dian had accomplished since coming to the academy.
"Honestly, it's a little embarrassing and awkward. Those were things I should have been doing myself. I always feel grateful to Dian, and guilty at the same time."
"Don't think that way, Kirlin. The reason he was able to do as he pleased is because you approved it all."
"Is that so...?"
"Of course. If you had blocked him along the way, even a Chief Professor wouldn't have been able to do a thing. That's not a question of your ability or his—it's a matter of institutional structure and legal authority."
Hearing that, Kirlin stared at the principal with her mouth half open, unable to say a word. Until now, she had believed the academy's recovery was entirely thanks to Dian's capabilities alone. And so, even as she depended on him, she had also been wracked with intense guilt over failing to fulfill her role as principal. The principal was the only person who had ever told Kirlin that she, too, deserved credit.
"So don't tear yourself down like that. Delegating authority to a capable subordinate takes its own kind of courage and resolve."
"I understand..."
Kirlin swallowed back her tears and managed a smile.
"So, Kirlin. What brings you here? This isn't a place a principal comes to loaf around. If you've come in the middle of a busy schedule, you must have something to say."
"Well, actually, I have a favor to ask."
"Go on."
"Among the graduates, is there anyone we might bring in as a Special Cadet at our academy?"
Kirlin explained the whole situation, and the principal nodded in understanding.
"I see what you mean. In other words, you're looking for an outstanding graduate who's considering a rise in station—or a change of career path?"
After a moment's thought, the principal called someone in from the administrative office right next door.
"Would you bring me the graduate employment survey from the beginning of this year?"
Receiving a thick bundle of documents, the principal smiled.
"It is the Public Academy, after all. Quite a few of our students have a hard time landing good jobs on their own, so the academy tracks them and helps with job placement."
She flipped through the papers and narrowed them down to a suitable pool of candidates.
"Would you like to take a look?"
Kirlin took the documents and began going through them carefully. They were personal files containing basic information, current circumstances, and past academy grades.
"Principal. What does 'contract expiring' mean here?"
"Those are the ones who found contract work. They're anxious too. If their contracts aren't renewed, the money stops immediately."
"Then we should consider these people as well."
After going through the documents from beginning to end several times, Kirlin held out one of the files.
"What about this person?"
"Let me see."
The principal took the file, smiled, and nodded.
"You've got a good eye. Truth be told, I wanted to recommend this child myself."
She gave Kirlin a brief rundown of the candidate's history.
"Not bad, is it? I don't think it would hurt to go pay them a visit."
"You're right. If we bring this person in as a Special Cadet, Dian will be pleased too."
At that, the principal said nothing, simply gazing at Kirlin with a warm, knowing smile.
"What is it...?"
"Kirlin. You like that man, don't you?"
"Wha—?!"
Startled, Kirlin shoved her chair back and shot to her feet.
"That's not—! What are you saying?!"
"Recruiting additional Special Cadets was something discussed between you and the Second Princess. And yet here you are, not thinking about the Second Princess at all—only about how Professor Dian would feel."
"Ah..."
Speechless, Kirlin sat back down, her face flushing a dark crimson.
"So you do like him?"
"That's..."
Kirlin hesitated, then slowly opened her mouth. She had never spoken of this to anyone, but if it was the principal, it would be all right.
After hearing Kirlin's entire story, the principal spoke.
"What matters most is your own heart."
"Yes..."
"Your father and the Imperial Palace come after that."
"But I can't just ignore those things either..."
"Then what if you didn't have to step down as principal? Or what if you weren't the principal at all?"
"Pardon?"
"In that situation, you wouldn't need to like Professor Dian, would you?"
"Th-that's..."
"Do you like Professor Dian for who he is? Or do you like him as a means of realizing your plans?"
Kirlin looked at the principal, then averted her eyes and closed her mouth. Her silence stretched on for a long time before the principal spoke again.
"Because of your strict father, you've always had trouble voicing your own opinions. You've always been watching other people's faces."
The principal rested a hand on Kirlin's knee and continued.
"And after you became principal, you were caught between the Imperial Palace and your father, unable to move either way, just wringing your hands. In the end you did nothing—you just curled up and hid. But that wasn't your fault."
She gently stroked Kirlin's knee.
"In the same way, Professor Dian rebuilding the academy in your place wasn't because you were inadequate. You were simply being held down."
"But I'm incompetent..."
"You are not, Kirlin. How can those words come from the mouth of our top graduate? You are the pride of our Public Academy."
"Principal..."
Kirlin bit her lip and roughly scrubbed at her eyes with her sleeve.
"You regret the past, don't you? You blame yourself? That's all right. Just don't do it from now on. You're already not doing it, aren't you? Professor Dian is helping you."
"Yes..."
"Accept your feelings for Professor Dian as they are, Kirlin. If liking him makes you happy, then like him. Don't hesitate. Don't think about your father or the Imperial Palace."
"I understand, Principal... Thank you..."
When Kirlin burst into tears, the principal gathered her into a loving embrace, smiling with maternal warmth.
If liking Professor Dian made her happy, then she should like him... Accept those feelings as they are... Don't think about her father or the Imperial Palace...
"We've arrived, Principal."
The coachman's voice pulled Kirlin from her reverie back to the present.
The carriage had stopped in a city of considerable size, nestled on the flatland between two ridgelines.
So this was Tatanok.
