Chapter 20
"Welcome to the island academy. Please follow me."
After our run in with those soldiers, we just continued on our way in and arrived at this servant. He"s nothing special, just tall. And well-spoken. And well dressed. Oh, I did ask those fellows about why they didn"t kill anyone when they were fighting and they gave me this response:
"Because it is necessary to keep the island academy in good-standing with our kingdom. And for the other reasons, it"ll be explained in due time."
It was something along those lines. Of course, it just made me more curious about it-
"Fei! Hurry up!"
Huh? Ahh, right! I"m meant to be following the butler. I got distracted thinking about the events earlier and consequently ended up being behind. It seems that Yuuki waited alongside me though… As for the fairy, she"s gone back to sleep on my shoulder. Is it really that comfortable though? I don"t think it would be that nice. Maybe she"s just an avid sleeper. It doesn"t really matter.
After a short while, the butler begins to narrate.
"The island academy is the first human education centre that was outside the jurisdiction of royalty, created by the highest level Alchemist who believed in education separate from their influence. Of course, he didn"t accept just any student. The ones who were accepted were often highly talented, or the children of highly talented individuals.
While Lun Zana-sama was accepted due to the first category, Lun Fei-sama was accepted under the second category. Even in the case that Lun Fei-sama does in fact possess some genius talent, it"s unfortunate that there is just no data due to his illness."
Alchemist, huh? I wonder if I"d have any skill with that. I am training in the "Flavour" martial practice in order to detect poisons… But alchemy doesn"t sound that fun either. How unfortunate that even if I am capable, I probably won"t enjoy it. I guess that"s the life of a weakling. Oh, the servant is continuing.
"After founding this academy, the Alchemist chose to scout some other elites in order to teach at this place. He found the top four mages first, who created the anti-status barrier. That will be explained to you by the current headmaster. Once he had managed to get these mages on board, he sought out those who had highly trained Martial Practices. There was only one who met up to his standards, who"s still at this academy today.
He also managed to recruit many highly respected scholars, who excelled in various fields. There are more, but the point is, the vast talents he recruited back then have contributed to make this academy the most reputable and respected academy across the world. Owing to that, the various races can all reside here without fear of each other."
"Well, that"s mostly! There are rumours that the academy has fights between races, just not fights between those of different status!"
Huh? Zynthia woke up? And as soon as she did, she decided to whisper such a thing about this academy. What"s with that?
"What do you mean?"
"That"s all I know! Those were the only rumours I got! I just felt I should tell you."
"Uhh right…"
This fairy… There"s something wrong in her brain. She should just go back to sleep.
Anyway, what"s done is done, I guess. She"s woken up and we"re almost at the end of the corridor. When we reach it, all I can see is a wall. Huh? Is it a trap?
After I had such a useless thought, the servant began to speak once more.
"Due to the sheer height of the buildings at the academy, we only have stairs for a select few buildings. Other than that, transportation between levels and buildings is done with these portals."
As he says so, he presses a b.u.t.ton on the side of a wall. When he does so, an opening appears on the wall which leads to another, larger, corridor. I see… But humans can"t use magic. Just what is going on here? As I"m considering asking about it, Zynthia whispers to me.
"I bet you"re thinking "But humans cannot use magic". While that"s true, I"ll tell you how it"s possible later, kay?!"
It seems it"s not a good idea to ask about this… That"s the feeling I"ve gotten from Zynthia"s warning. Of course, I"m not completely trusting of her right now either. I say that, but I"m still gonna try and wring out all the information from her that I can. She might actually turn into a useful ally. I don"t know. I just have to be careful.
"I"ll hold you to that. You comprehend me?"
"Completely!"
With a cheerful reply, she flies and does a loop and then lands back on my shoulder. Maybe she really is genuine… Even if she is, I"m still irritated. After all, I was severly lectured. And it"s partially her fault! Of course, I am mostly to blame – I"m still going to blame her, kay?!
"Oi. I"m not going to say it again. Pay attention, Fei!"
Ahh, d.a.m.n it! I got in trouble again… And this time it was because I wasn"t paying attention. Why does this always happen? Is it because someone has something against me? I don"t think it"s the G.o.ddess this time. Maybe it"s karma. I don"t know what I"ve done, but maybe karma"s attacking me.
Ignoring those types of thoughts, it seems we"re all about to walk through this portal. It"s kind of funny to think that rather than elevator-type devices, they chose to use portals. Perhaps, they also have elevator-type devices but prefer to use these? It"s a possibility.
Walking through it, the temperature slightly lowers before returning back to normal when we get to the other side. Once we"re through, the servant presses the b.u.t.ton located on this side before leading us once to the headmasters office once again.
I"m truly curious as to what this headmaster will be like. Will he be old and wise, like a certain pract.i.tioner of magic. Will he be evil or villainous? Will he look like a young father? Will he be powerful? Will he be weak? Well, he"s fairly likely to be powerful. There"s about a ninety percent chance of that being the case.
"When greeting the headmaster, please be respectful. While we may be loyalty, his power exceeds us by many times."
"Yes, onee-sama!"
"Understood, onee-sama."
Onee-sama made a side remark in order to keep Lumi and myself under control when we meet the headmaster. It"s not like I was intending to stir up trouble, though? I understand that I don"t have the power to influence a lot here. In fact, I don"t think onee-sama has enough power to act as commanding as usual in this place.
We all come to a halt when the servant stops at a large, golden rimmed door. It would appear that this is the room that he was leading us to. How rich and extravagant - It"s actual gold, not just coloured gold.
The servant speaks.
"This is the headmasters office. He"s expecting you, so please enter."
As soon as he says so, the door begins to slowly open, causing a suspenseful atmosphere. Seriously?! Is this a movie?! The obvious answer to that is no. It"s not a movie. The less obvious answer to that is that It"s a game. A game being manipulated by a certain deity… But that"s something only I know.
Well, even if it"s a game in her eyes, in my eyes it is my life. I won"t be pulled in and play her game.
With those kinds of things running around in my head, I enter in after almost everybody else. The only one who doesn"t enter before me is Yuuki (Oh, and Zynthia, I guess…). It"d be very rude for a slave to enter in before me, I suppose. Not that I care.
"So, you"re his kids? At least one of you was what I was expecting… And the other two are incredibly beautiful! Who knew that guy would have-unf. *cough cough*. Sorry, I was simply complimenting those two. Nothing more to it."
Why is it that the maid can punch this guy with such force and not get in trouble in the least? Who the h.e.l.l is she that she gets along with my father with no problem and can hit this guy without punishment? It"s not too concerning, even if I am curious.
"Y-you should know, know better, h-headmaster."
Oh, right. The headmaster turned out to be a pervert in a handsome body. His physical appearance makes his age seem like he"s in his early 20"s, but the aura around him gives off as if he"s lived for hundreds of years. Which might just be true.
"Hahaha, right you are! It was silly of me to say something like that! Now, can you stop glaring at me and I"ll give them the introduction to the academy? It"s kind of hard because you"re scary!"
"I hate this guy."
Oh, Sarah muttered that quietly… Then again, I did hear it so it probably wasn"t that quiet. Maybe she intended for everyone to hear it? It did make the headmaster sulk a little. It was probably on purpose, now that I"ve thought of it.
"Oi. I heard that!"
"I know."
The entire room was enveloped in dead silence following that exchange. It"s quite the ominous atmosphere. Please don"t let a fight break out. I need my education. Please?
"Hahaha! Okay! Time for the introduction… You kids watching?"
"Yes sir!"
"Yes headmaster."
"Yes."
Oh? I was rude? I couldn"t help it. I can"t bring myself to call this guy "sir" or headmaster. Looks like he didn"t care that much. He"s gone into his speech now.
"Weeeelcome to the island academy. We hope you get educated or your moneeey back. Remember, we care about you. Our goal is to make you better! We only ask you help make us better to!
Learn with the best teachers ever! Some are even masters of their respective arts. Don"t offend them though, they could have tempers! One guy got his arm ripped off!"
Oh, this speech is making Lumi shake in fear. I hold my hand out for her so she feels better.
"We also have the best facilities on the island! Once again, welcome the island academy!"
Isn"t it obvious you"d have the best facilities on the island? There"s only a single academy on the island, for G.o.ds sake. It"s sad that you had to say something like that in your speech.
"Thanks for the welcome."
"Please take care of us."
"…Please take care of us."
There"s nothing I can do about his personality. I"ll just have to cope, sadly.
"In regards to that fairy and the slave there… Hmmm. We weren"t expecting anybody else to come. And it"s not often that students bring slaves. They usually have their slaves doing other work rather than accompanying them. Alright, have the slave put on this wristband. It"ll erase it"s presence from everyone except whom I let. Teachers and your group will be able to see it. As for the fairy-"
"HEY! Why are you deciding something about me without consulting me?!!!!"
"The fairy can either choose to wear a similar wristband, or be thrown in a prison cell."
"I"ll wear the band! I"ll wear it! I don"t want to go to prison!"
She was blackmailed fairly easily. Does the headmaster know who she is perhaps? That makes the most sense. Ahh well, it"s over now.
"As for everyone else, you"ll be given a wrist band which erases status from other parties minds. To make it a little bit clearer, although no-one else will know each of your status", within your group you will understand each status. Let me make it clear that no trouble is to occur within the academy. Tomoe knows of your accommodation"s so you can leave now."
Oh, he got serious at the end there. I guess the academy seriously takes it"s peaceful name seriously or something judging by his words and tone. Better not cause any trouble. Not that I was intending to.
We all leave the room and Tomoe hands us our own wrist bands before speaking.
"Follow me. I"ll take us to our rooms. So the rooming has been decided as such. I"ll be rooming with Lumi, Tomoe will room with the slave, the maid will be the one in charge of the fairy, and Fei will be rooming with Zana. Got it?"
"Why do I have to room with him?"
"I don"t think this is a good idea…"
"Too bad! This is what was decided and it can"t be changed!"
"Got it…" x2
Onee-sama and I said that at the same time. I guess my time at the academy is going to be slightly annoying. Maybe my relationship with onee-sama will increase tremendously though? Who knows…