I arrived at the academy… I think?
After the carriage ran for a while, the scenery of the shopping district begun calming down.
When I looked out of the window, I saw people who seemed to be adventurers from their appearances talking with a craftsman whose body resembled that of a strict dwarf.
This apparently is the craftsman"s quarter.
I wonder if Galvano Ojisama is doing well?
I hope he is eating well too and not just drinking alcohol…
Should I ask the chefs in the fief to deliver him food from time to time?
He always makes me tools yet doesn"t accept my money. I have to repay the favor with something other than money.
Tirie-san… he will be fine.
That person is conscious of his appearances, so he"s surely eating properly.
I thought I would be able to return home anytime, so I left without any big farewells.
Let"s bring back souvenirs during the summer vacation.
"Cristea, we will be arriving at the academy soon."
I got addressed by Oniisama and realized that my thoughts were wandering.
"Ah… excuse me, Oniisama. I was sunk in thoughts for a little."
"Don"t mind it. Are you worried about something?"
Oniisama asked worriedly.
"No, it"s nothing serious. So we are finally arriving, huh."
"Indeed. Oh, look, you can see it now."
"So that is Adelia Academy…"
When I looked outside the window, I saw a castle-like building surrounded a solid, high wall.
Adelia Academy is a place where the children of n.o.bility and commoners with high magical power gather, so there are dangers of kidnapping and a.s.sa.s.sinations lurking around.
Because of that, it"s basically only the teachers, students and other authorized personnel who can enter without a permit. If there are no strong circ.u.mstances, all students will live in the dormitories.
The academy"s motto is: "We must come, study, laugh, grieve, fight, protect and grow together. We are all equal." So everyone has the equal right to study, the academy will also provide protection.
Well, that being said, the n.o.bles would never acknowledge absolute equality within the academy grounds.
About that, well, this is a place where immature children gather, after all.
There are children of the n.o.bility who wear the mantle of authority and misuse it, and domineering kids with high magical power from the downtown… hooligans, in short.
These type of children clash and fight, there were cases of great disasters caused by overenthusiastic use of magical power in the past.
It seems that the academy is also turning a blind eye to certain differences between the n.o.bles and the commoners so that they won"t cause unnecessary trouble for themselves because of the status difference.
For example, you know, the magically remodeled uniforms.
If you make sure that the n.o.bles and wealthy can be recognized at a glance, you will avoid unnecessary disputes. In other words, it"s like attaching a bell to a cat"s collar.
Additionally, the rooms in the dormitories are apparently also divided between the n.o.bles and commoners.
When the academy opened, the n.o.bles and commoners were apparently all jumbled together, but the n.o.ble children treated the commoner children who lived in the same room as their servants or slaves, causing the commoner children to beat up the n.o.ble children after experiencing a mental breakdown. The parents of the n.o.ble children would then get involved and causing trouble all around.
Therefore, the academy decided to establish large rooms for the commoners, double and private rooms for the n.o.bles and entire floors for the royalty.
Although it"s standard to take care of your daily necessities by yourself, the children of the n.o.bility can"t do anything on their own in most cases, so there"s a possibility to request a maid from the dormitory for a fee.
Since it costs a lot of money, the lower-ranked n.o.bles who do not get enough money to outsource everything by themselves apparently ask the commoner children to work part-time for them.
Learning from the past lessons, there is an implicit rule that if you ask a fellow student to work for you, the work must not be forced and free of charge.
The students in the academy are prohibited from working outside, so they can apparently earn some extra money this way.
By the way, the rooms of the high-ranked n.o.bles like myself apparently come with a maid, which is apparently quite… expensive.
It seems that the fee will be used to pay for the dormitory as well as the maid"s salary.
As for me… I thought that I really don"t need a maid, but it seems that I can"t refuse… I think?
There are many things I have to ask the dorm supervisor after I arrive.
While thinking about this and that, the carriage started carefully slowing down.
"…? Oniisama, have we arrived?"
The gate seemed quite far for that. Looking carefully, there were many carriages from the n.o.bility lining before us.
The commoners who came by the big carriage took their big bags and walked towards the gate on feet.
"Is it alright for us to stay inside?"
It seems to be faster to walk.
"Yeah, we have permission to drive in with the carriage."
"Is that so…"
The carriage advanced slowly. This will take long for sure.
Sighing while looking outside, the students who were walking by the carriage stopped and were looking at us.
While thinking about why they were staring so absentmindedly, they suddenly started making so much noise. Some of them even went "Kyaa!" in low voices.
Wh… what is this about?
"Cristea, don"t mind what"s going on outside. It"s just the usual."
Oniisama said while killing time by reading a book.
"Haah… is that so?"
I see, I understand now. They are making ruckus because they were charmed by Oniisama.
Oniisama, you are so popular~!
He"s used even to things like this.
"The kids are boisterous today as well, huh."
"Academy is quite noisy, isn"t it?"
… Ah, I see. Kurogane and Mas.h.i.+ro are here too.
These two are hunks as well, so the ratio of handsomeness in this carriage is out of the charts.
Whoah… I feel like running away.
I wonder if they are saying "Who is that woman?" or "Don"t be so c.o.c.ky just because you are surrounded by hunks" and things like that?
Taking my gaze away from the window while feeling paranoid, I was wis.h.i.+ng to arrive to the gate as soon as possible.
The carriage that advanced as slow as the traffic during holidays, finally reached the gate.
"… We have finally arrived, huh."
"True. It was faster than usual today."
Ehhh…? This is considered faster than usual?
I got already exhausted thinking about my next homecoming as I looked at the academy"s gate.
The students at the gate were divided between the returning students and newly enrolled students as they pa.s.sed the gate"s check.
The returning students showed something to the gatekeepers, and once the check was finished, they were sent inside.
When the new students showed the permit to the gatekeepers, they were directed to go to another staff member with their heavy bags.
While observing such a scene, our carriage stopped.
The door was knocked at from the outside, so Kurogane opened the small window.
(Kyaa~~~~!! Nooo~!! So scaryyyy!!)
That moment, a weeping voice resounded in my head.
Eh!? What!? What was that!?