'Wow, it really is spacious.' The Royal Academy. It was said to be a place run by the state, with a massive budget poured into it to nurture all the talents of the Atronia Kingdom.
Any young noble would wish to enter this academy. Just being admitted to the academy was an assessment of one's talent, and obtaining a diploma could be said to change one's life in that instant.
Stories of a son from a poor barony graduating from the academy with excellent grades and then marrying into a high noble's family to rise in status were not uncommon among noble houses. That was how high the prestige of this academy was.
Students entering such a place were always supposed to have their chests swell with anticipation, their faces flushed as they toured the academy, but…
"Wow... look at the equipment in that training ground. They just poured money into it. Poured it. Why do they need so much equipment to teach some brats?"
'What's with this guy?' The guiding guard looked at Patrick with a dumbfounded expression.
"How much money would it cost to put up a building on this much land in the capital? Ugh... They should have just given that money to me. This is all a waste. A waste. Tsk, just look at what these politicians do..."
In his more than ten years working as a guard at the academy, he had seen numerous students, but this was the first time he had seen one like this.
"Are you perhaps applying to the Department of Public Administration?"
If it were the Department of Public Administration, that endless interest in money would not be entirely incomprehensible.
But...
"Public Administration? I don't think so. Me?"
After a moment of thought, Patrick said to April.
"Hey, which department am I applying to?"
"The knights’ faculty."
"Ah, so he says."
"You didn't even know which faculty?"
"Hehehe. People can be like that. You know."
No, they could not. Did it make any sense for a student who entered the academy through fierce competition to not even know his own faculty? 'They said it was a special admission, so did he use money?
No, I've never even heard of the House of Baron Schneider, so what money could they possibly have to get into the academy.' He had heard rumors that students sometimes entered the academy through immense wealth and power. To put it bluntly, kids who get in by building a library or by completely replacing the equipment on the training grounds.
But those kinds of kids tend to have an even stronger obsession with the academy. Having paid a high price to enter, shouldn't they enjoy the privileged status of being a student of this academy?
And yet...
"Wow, now that I look, even the streetlights are all magic tools. They're really swimming in money."
This guy seemed to hold no illusions, no, not even the slightest anticipation for a place like the academy. 'How could a person like this have been admitted to the academy?' Andrea Mavor Kardios.
As the former head of the Kardios family, the only ducal family in the Atronia Kingdom, he had originally been the kingdom's prime minister. But upon turning ninety, he passed his title and position to his son and now served as the Chancellor of the academy.
At an age where others would have retired to live out their days in comfort, he took on the role of Chancellor, saying he would do what he could for the kingdom's future until the moment he died. From outside his office, a voice was heard.
"Chancellor, you have a visitor."
"Hmm, let them in."
Seeing the person who entered as the door opened, the former Duke Kardios smiled brightly and rose from his seat.
"Hahaha. Welcome. So you must be Patrick Schneider. The sword prodigy that Count Parmas of the East couldn't stop praising."
Count Parmas had already sent a separate introduction for Patrick. Sending just a single letter of recommendation might have been misunderstood as preferential treatment. So, he had at least briefly explained Patrick's skills to the Chancellor, the former Duke Kardios.
"I heard that despite your young age, you wield the sword like a ghost and caught a black mage who appeared in the East. A fine accomplishment."
At this, Patrick, for the first time in a long while, responded with polite courtesy.
"Thank you for your praise."
It was rare for Patrick to be so polite and courteous. Even considering it was their first meeting and that this person was the decision-maker of this wealthy place called the academy, this was a very special occasion.
However...
"Ahem! How dare a servant rashly join the conversation?"
"... Yes?"
"No matter how proud you are of your master, do you not know the slightest etiquette? This is not your place to speak."
"... Yes?"
Then, the former Duke Kardios looked at April, who was behind Patrick, and said with a bright smile.
"Not only are you skilled with the sword, but you're also quite handsome. Hahaha. Thanks to you, the female students at the academy will have something to feast their eyes on. Indeed."
"Ahem, Chancellor."
"Oh, speak."
"I am Ace, the butler who accompanied the young master as his attendant."
"... Butler? Uh... now that you mention it..."
Only then did the former Duke Kardios look at the clothes April was wearing. It was clearly a neatly worn butler's uniform. It had not been noticeable because his face was so handsome, but these were a butler's clothes, and the clothes worn by the fellow with a sullen expression next to him were those of a noble.
In that case...
"Are you Patrick Schneider?"
"Yeaaaaah."
"Not the servant."
"That's right."
"Hehehehe...."
"With a face like that."
'Hyeon.
I'm really, really sorry.' Patrick dearly missed his friend from his past life. After the brief misunderstanding was cleared up, the former Duke Kardios and Patrick sat facing each other.
"Hahaha. My apologies. But it wasn't entirely my fault. Isn't it a misunderstanding anyone would make looking at you two?"
"That's a reeeal nice apology. Yes, sir."
"Still, I am the academy's Chancellor. This is quite unconventional, don't you think?"
Patrick's lips protruded in a deep pout. 'If it weren't for his position, no, if he weren't an old man who looks like he'd fall over with a single touch, I'd just ram into him...?' Even Patrick couldn't grab an old man who might die if he was struck by the collar and shake him.
"So, I've paid my respects to the Chancellor. Can I go now?"
"Hmm, you could... You're quite peculiar."
"How so?"
"Do you know who I am?"
"A retired old man."
Uh, that's right. He was correct. Having passed on both the dukedom and the prime ministership to his son, he was indeed a retired old man.
It was correct, but...
"What a novel sentiment. I've never heard that before."
Although he had retired, this was the first time anyone had actually said it to his face. Patrick was treating him, who was once the second-in-command of this country and the former head of the only ducal family, with genuine casualness.
"Ahem, let's get to the point. First, how old did you say you were?"
"Fifteen."
"According to Count Parmas, your level is quite high."
"Well, you could say that."
"How many stars? At your age, to transfer into the academy, you must be at least three-star, right?"
"A little higher than that."
"Hohoho. Really? Then four-star?"
"A bit higher."
"No way. Are you trying to tell me you're five-star? At your age?"
"Go a little higher."
"Hohoho. Six-star? You?"
The former Duke Kardios laughed in disbelief. Then he pointed at April behind Patrick and said.
"You might as well say your butler behind you is six-star."
"You have a discerning eye."
At Patrick's calm retort, the former Duke Kardios shook his head and spoke.
"At my age, there's no greater pleasure than seeing spirited young people."
"I haven't lived to that age yet, so..."
"However."
The former Duke Kardios cut him off and spoke with a stern gaze.
"There is a difference between being full of spirit and being full of mere bluff and rudeness. Do you understand that?"
"Why beat around the bush so much?"
Patrick said while picking his ear with his pinky finger.
"In the end, I just have to prove whether I'm the real deal or not, right?"
"That's right."
"Then that's settled. Bring on anyone you like. I will prove it."
"Hooo...."
"Anyway, you'll have to test my skills to decide which year to place me in, won't you?"
"No, as for the transfer, it's the first year, of course."
"Yes? Why?"
This time, Patrick was flustered.
"You've only just enrolled, haven't you? It's natural to start from the first year."
"No way. Really? Me? From the first year?"
He had heard it was a mid-term admission, but he had not been told he would be starting from the first year. He had heard the knights' faculty was a five-year course, so he had planned to enter the third or fourth year and graduate quickly. But entering as a first-year?
Does that mean he'd be stuck here for five years, even if he was promoted every year without fail?
"Wow, if I had just stayed quiet without knowing, I would've been screwed."
"Young master. You must watch your language in front of the Chancellor."
"Why? Why should I?"
To Patrick, who thought that being the Chancellor or whatever was not the slightest reason for him to mind his language, April spoke.
"I will tell her ladyship."
"I will use proper and kind words."
Patrick yielded quickly. And the former Duke Kardios gazed at Patrick and said.
"To be honest, I was planning on conducting a skill test."
"You said I'd start from the first year even if I win, right?"
"But we must still evaluate your skill. If your skills are lacking, we might refuse your admission entirely."
The moment he heard that, Patrick's eyes sparkled.
"Wait, Grandpa Chancellor. Just a moment."
"Hmm? What did you say?"
The former Duke Kardios was hearing many things today that he had never heard in his entire life.
Grandpa Chancellor?
He never thought the day would come when he'd hear such a novel title. It was said so naturally that he felt more baffled than angry. Patrick said to the former Duke Kardios.
"So, if my skills are terrible, I can't enter the academy. Is that it?"
"That is correct."
"... Which means..."
"It means your admission is not yet decided. Are you feeling a sense of crisis now?"
"Hahaha... haha...."
He did not feel a sense of crisis.
Instead...
'Count Parmas, you incompetent, foolish old man. You talked about recommendations and all that, but you have no power, do you?' He felt pissed off.
The academy's knights' faculty. In its training grounds, students were diligently swinging their swords again today.
"Hah!"
"Hyaap!"
Iron swords, specially made heavy for training, cut through the wind, drawing clean lines. They were first-year students who had just enrolled, but their skills seemed to be above average.
"Number 35, your lower body's center is collapsing."
"Yes, sir!"
"Number 47, your eyes aren't following the sword. Can't you focus?"
"I'm sorry!"
The senior students acting as instructors supervised the first-year freshmen one by one, correcting their postures. Amidst this diligent training, the professor in charge of the class was watching the students with sharp eyes. 'This year's level is just so-so.
Tsk, at this rate...' Each of them were freshmen selected after beating a competition of hundreds to one. But they did not satisfy the professor's eyes.
They were not bad. If trained diligently, they would become knights who could do their part. But considering the budget the kingdom poured into the academy and the goals they needed to achieve, this was far from enough.
'Talent is not enough. We need a genius.
Otherwise...'
Just then, the professor's eyes caught sight of people entering the training grounds. One young-looking man, a handsome man in a neat butler's uniform, and...
"Chancellor. You've come."
"Hmm, pardon the intrusion, Professor Leit."
There stood the academy's Chancellor, the former Duke Kardios.
"I apologize for showing up suddenly during class."
"Not at all. But what brings you here?"
The former Duke Kardios smiled and replied to Professor Leit, who directly got to the point.
"I've come regarding the transfer student I mentioned before."
"Ah. The one recommended from the East... is this the child?"
He said, glancing at Patrick.
"Hmm, he achieved a great feat in the East this time and received a recommendation from Count Parmas."
"I heard he caught a black mage. He must be lucky."
At the blunt words, the former Duke Kardios gave a bitter smile.