Another 3 months later.

Year 573, the Eleventh Month, Day 11.

The Starlight Estate.

Introduction day.

The ever tranquil and calm halls of the luxurious Starlight Estate was filled with various people. Adults, old people, children, women or man, they all filled the main hall of the Estate. They were all socializing with each other, talking, while eating food and drinking wine. These people were all nobles of various rankings, from Barons to Dukes, and they all came here for just a single reason.

The Introduction of the House of Polaria's single and only heir. The next bearer of the prestigious title of 'Prophet', and the next Head of the Polaria Family. 

Rigel Polaria. The child that was now turning seven, was the main attraction of this event. Almost every noble family, from far and wide, all gathered inside to take a look at this young child. All in all, there was about one thousand people currently inside the the Starlight Estate's main Hall. 

The child under the spotlight, and the attention of every single person inside, was currently greeting the other nobles. 

"Hohohoho! As espected of the heir of the Polaria Family. For a child, you already are so mature! Allow me to introduce myself, my name is
 Count Dovos Velmonos. It is our greatest honor to meet the heir of the House of Polaria."

"Sir Rigel, my name is Baron Del Rien. It is my honor to meet you."

"Impressive, so this is the heir of the Polaria Family? Already so skilled with language at such a young age. It seems that I, Viscount Ron   Deravon can rest assured that the future of the Empire, will be bright."

"Let us toast towards a bright future everyone! This heir of the Polaria Family is such a talented child at this age,  the future of the Empire 
 will be guaranteed!"

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!" Dozens of other nobles said this word at the exact same time, lifting their cups of wine.

In the middle of the crowd, Rigel Polaria was currently smiling. Greeting the other nobles with a smile, he was answering the nobles.
All of them were quite dumbstruck, as they hadn't expected for him to already be skilled in Lethian. Normal noble children at this age would already have started learning more about Lethian. To think he was already this skilled in Lethian, to the point that he was responding perfectly towards the nobles.

The sight of such an adorable 7 year-old smiling and trying his best to respond to every noble made almost all of them think 'Cute...'. If Rigel had been celebrating his 13th birthday, then he would be getting love calls from other female nobles.

Inside Rigel's mind however, he could not think of anything more troublesome than this so called 'Introduction'. 

'So troublesome. Why the hell do I have to do this? Talking to these nobles feel so tiring, its really clear that they just want to get close to
 me and use me somehow..."

He knew all of the nobles that had approached him in this party all had ulterior motives. They had been introducing themselves like crazy, trying to make Rigel remember their names. To Rigel, they probably saw him as an easy target at first, but right now, he had been responding towards them perfectly. So right now, they were just probing for any weaknesses. Wanting to make connections with the future 'Prophet' himself, they were willing to do anything.

'I just don't get why they would expose children to things like this. Imagine if I wasn't some kind of reincarnator. I would probably be   pissing myself, or would be an easy target to take advantage of.  I feel bad for the other noble children that have to go through this. If they
 aren't mature enough, they're just going to be easy targets.'

Who knew when the Gratz Empire had such a toxic culture? In the beginning, the Gratz Empire all had honourable nobility. They were all nobles through their own efforts, and  they all became nobilty because of their achievements. It was why the Empire had such a meritocratic culture. You could become a noble through your own efforts, and having achievements would make you respected. However, in current times, a commoner being able to become a noble due to his own achievements had become extremely rare. Most nobles just sat in their territories, taxing the commoners, and enjoying the fruits of labour that their ancestors had worked so hard to achieve.

It was anyone's guess as to how the Gratz Empire became like this. Most nobles indulged in luxury, raising their children to be the exact same as them. Only some few noble families, the Margraves that protected the Northern and Southern borders, and the two other Ducal Houses, didn't fall into this corrupting pleasure.

'I wonder where the Margraves and the other two Ducal Houses are at? Its my 'Initiation', so they all should have come here. They should
 be interested in letting their children meet me, right?'

The Two Margraves. The Vanitas Family, which protected the Southern Border. The Korlea Family, which protected the Northern Border.
Immediately since the beginning of the Empire, they were beset on all sides by dangerous enemies from the North and South. And so, the first Emperor of the Gratz Empire, Rubicon de Gratz, raised the status of his two best warriors at the time to become Margraves who would protect the borders. Ritz Vanitas, and William Korlea. These two were the ones who were raised as Margraves.

The East and West of the Empire needed barely any protection at the time. To the East was the Riggs Sea, where merfolk and giant sea creatures attacked from time to time. The Empire saw this as a nuisance, but it wasn't enough to warrant the diversion of valuable manpower from the North and South. The West was the Hammerfield Mountain Range. This mountain range was the place where the most dwarves resided. They even had their own nation here. It was simply named Hammerfield. A weird name, but the dwarves didn't care. In the past, as it is now in the present, the dwarves always remained neutral, being careful as to not offend any other nations. The dwarves never took any sides in any conflict outside of their own. And so, the First Emperor, Rubicon, decided to only focus on the North and South.

The Three Duke Houses. The House of the Oracles, the Polaria Family. The House of the Stalwart Knights, the Korgan Family. The House of the Wise Mages, The Remini Family. Polaria, Korgan, Remini, and Rubicon. Together, they founded an entire Empire, which would become one of the most strongest powers in current times.  Rubicon de Gratz, with the Three Dukes, and the two Margraves, together, they carved a path for their own nation in an era of strife, The Fourth Era. Even with the talent that Polaria had, they always fought long and hard in each battle, sometimes each battle ending with major casualties.

The First Prophet, the Knight of Ash and Ember, the Archmage of Transcendence, The Lion Clad in Platinum, The Sharpest Spear of the Empire, and the Unbreakable, Unfaltering Shield. All of them, and with hundreds of thousands of soldiers, protected the independence of their newly found Empire in the most harshest of Eras.

But now, all of it was useless. The Empire's nobility had degraded, and most of them just lived their lives of luxury in the Imperial Capital or in their own territories. And in the future, the Empire would lose against the Union Alliance and Borea Magic Kingdom. Their territories were supposed to be annexed but, the Cataclysm happened a month after, instantly shattering the continent of Lethian.

'What a shame. I wonder what would happen if they all saw what was happening in the Empire right now? Would they bang their heads or
 something?'

"Have you heard of the recent conflict with the elves? Hmph, they sure have the audacity to claim our great Empire of slavery. So what if we
 did enslave their kind? Sub-humans like them should kneel down, and submit under the might of the Empire."

"My subjects inside my territory have been complaining about the recent tax increase. Can't they just stay shut? Shouldn't they just stay 
 silent and just pay taxes? Because of those filthy commoners, my coffers are emptying because of the riot suppresion."

"Did you hear? There was this commoner that was sentenced to death just because a noble said he was stinky."

"Elven women do look quite gorgeous, I wonder how much they would sell for..."

"And so, I stole this commoner soldier's achievement of defeating a magic beast in battle, and I was instantly awarded a badge and   promoted to Lieutenant! How easy was that? And whats more, he was demoted to private for trying to speak back at me! Ahahahaha,
 commoners should stay commoners, and be punished if they go out of line."

"I wonder, should I get those recently made fashion products from the Imperial Capital?"

Everywhere, he heard the voices of greed and indulgence. He could hear conversations about the promotion of slavery within the Empire, the raising of taxes, and other undescribably disgusting things. These were most of the nobles within the Empire. People who sat around doing nothing while living their lives in luxury. Rigel couldn't even believe when he heard these things. They actually had the audacity to speak about those kinds of things here? Inside the birthday of a Ducal House's heir? Then what about the Introduction of other noble children? 

'Absolute bastards. They don't deserve their noble title, or their territories and money as well.' Rigel felt angry towards these so called 'nobles'. However, he had to keep a straight face throughout the entire party, which was already starting to weigh down on him. He had to somehow find a place to relax. But nope. Absolutely impossible. Hundreds of eyes were on him, and trying to sneak outside would instantly end in failure. Sighing inside his head, he thought-

'Its going to be a long night...'

He was pestered by nobles every time he tried to walk anywhere else. Nobles in every variety came up to him, praised him, and tried to probe him for weaknesses. He was getting sick of it, and starting to get nauseous. The smell didn't help either, as the entire hall was waft with the smell of perfume. Perfume may smell good, but in such a quantity and in various amounts of numbers, he started to feel sick.

'This is bad. The smell is really starting to overwhelm me. It wouldn't be good if the Heir to the Polaria Family were to puke in his own 
 introduction.'

Barely holding on, he had a thought. Why couldn't he just excuse himself? If he just said he needed to rest a bit, would they complain or something? He was just a 7 year old child, it was perfectly understandable if he said if he needed some rest. The party had been going for 4 hours, beginning at 3:00. It was now 7:00 in the night.  

"Im sorry everyone, but, could you allow me some rest? Its been a while since the party has started, and im just feeling a little tired.   Meanwhile, in my absence, please enjoy the food and have fun talking among yourselves. Please relish in this beautiful night of my 
 Initiation. Im honored to have you all as guests here." Rigel excused himself with a smile.

Could you guys just give me a break? It's been troublesome for me having to deal with you all, and im starting to feel nauseous. Just enjoy any other thing or something, and fuck off. 

"Of course, Sir Rigel. Attending to your guests for such a long time at a young age must be hard on you." A random noble said.

"Sir Rigel, we hope you rest well." Another random noble said.

Taking his leave, Rigel exited the Main Hall. Inside a hallway which connected to the Main Hall, he finally could take a breather. Inhaling the pure air, he felt a bit more comfortable. Relaxing a bit, he sat down on one of the chairs in the hallway. The Estate was large, and the hallways were long, so there were always a couple of chairs put around hallways for the servants to rest a bit when they were tired.

"Haaaaaah..." Rigel exhaled. 

He could finally take a rest from the stuffy atmosphere inside the main hall. Relaxing a bit, he closed his eyes. 

 "Are you Rigel?" A voice suddenly came out.

'Huh?' Rigel tilted his head, and he saw a young girl about the same age as him peeking at him from a pillar. 'Theres other people here?' He thought. 

"Who is it are you talking to, Tilly?"

Another young girl came out from the pillar, she looked the exact same as the other young girl at the pillar. They both had blonde hair and blue eyes, and their faces were the same. They must be twins, Rigel thought.

"Lily, this person came out from the door leading to the Main Hall. I think its that Rigel person." The young girl peeking from the pillar said.

"Oh, its that Rigel? The person that our parents came here for?" Said the young girl that came out from the pillar.

'Tilly and Lily? From the Remini Family? One of the other Duke Houses? Why are they here? Wait, its my Introduction, so it makes sense, 
 right?" Although he said that, Rigel had never gone to any other noble Introduction, even the other Duke Houses were not exempt from this.

Rigel was suprised these two young twins came out of nowhere. They were hidden besides a pillar, so he didn't see them when he came inside. He also let his guard down, since he was exhausted. He didn't really expect any other people here, even though it was right next to the Main Hall. He could hear the sounds of cheering inside the Hall. Seems like they were having a fun time.

"Is it that Rigel dude? Sweet, so everyones here then?" Rigel heard another voice coming from beyond the pillar, this time it sounded like a male boy.

'Wait, exactly how many people is over there?' Curious, Rigel stood up, passed the young girl called Lily, and was suprised even more. 
He saw about 6 children, including Lily and Tilly. From left to right, there was a red haired boy with green eyes, he had a sharp expression on his face, and people would probably think he was a brat. He was leaning on the pillar at the other side. He was looking at Rigel with his sharp green eyes.

On the left chair, there was a dark skinned boy that was just resting on the chair. He put his arm on the back of his head, resting with one of his arm as his head rest. 

"Hi there! You must be Rigel, right? Its nice to meet you, my name is Zion Vanitas. Im sure you've already heard of the Vanitas Margrave. 
 Nice chair by the way, its pretty comfy even though its made out of wood. Is it too late to say that im borrowing it though?" This must be the boy that said those words earlier. He had dark-brownish hair, and his eyes were coloured in amber. He looked quite friendly, and quite handsome for a boy of his age. 

On the right chair, which was seperated by a small table holding a piece of furniture, there was a meek looking young girl with short brown hair. She also had brown eyes, and she looked quite nervous. 

"U-um. My name Rin Korlea... Sir Rigel Polaria, its a honor to meet you, and um... Please forgive us for not including ourselves in your 
 party and greeting you." The girl nervously said.

'Its completely fine, even I can't handle just standing there.' Rigel thought. The party was truly decadent, and he now wondered why his family even followed it. After all, the Polaria Family had distanced itselves from the ever increasing corrupted culture of the Empire. Why would they make their own son go through such an event? And once again, he shuddered at the thought of what would happen if he wasn't a reincarnated person.

"My name is Tilly Remini. Nice to meet you. Rigel Polaria." The girl who was... standing on the ledge of the pillar said. 

'Oi, isn't that dangerous?' Tilly was standing quite high above the ground for her size. 'Why is she standing there in the first place?' It was also confusing how she got there in the first place.

"And my name if Lily Remini. Tilly Remini is my twin sister. Its delightful to see the heir of the Polaria Family. Please excuse my twin sister.
  Sister, can you get down from there?"

"Yes, sister..." Tilly just looked down at the ground.

"What is it, sister?" Lily questioned.

"Sister... Its too high up here. Im too scared to jump down." Tilly said.

"Sister..." Lily responded.

What was amusing here was that their entire exchange had been done without any expressions from the both of them. They were just moving their mouths without any expressions.

'How did she get up there anyways? Well, whatever.'

"Spring."

Rigel casted 'Spring' on the poor Tilly. He had learned much about Wind Magic now, and he was able to cast 'Spring' on others. 

"Ooooh, magic? Thats sick. As expected of Rigel Polaria." Zion saw how Rigel casted a spell on Tilly without batting an eye.

"You can go down now. This spell makes you able to hover, making it safe to jump from high places." 

Tilly looked at Rigel, and then at her feet. Green winds enveloped her small shoes, giving her the feel of walking on clouds. Trusting Rigel, she jumped down from the ledge, and hovered slowly down to the ground.

"Oooohh." She said.

"Impressive." Said Lily.

"Thank you, Rigel." Tilly thanked Rigel.

"No problem. Just don't stand on high places next time."

The twins were quite suprised. How much magic had this Rigel learned already? Both of them had just reached Tier 1 Beginner, and they were quite curious as to what Tier this other child is. Just as Lily was about to ask, Zion cut in. 

"We still have a person that hasn't introduced themselves you know? I wonder who he is, such an impolite child." Zion teased, closing his eyes and swinging his feet.

"Tch." The red haired child complained.

"Cmon Eugene, you know its unbefitting for a noble not to indroduce himself. Want to get done in by your father again?" Zion smiled, opening his eyes and then looking at the other boy he called Eugene

"...My name is Eugene. Eugene Korgan. Rigel Polaria, nice to meet you." He introduced himself coldly.

"Hahaha, thats more like it."

"Zion..." Eugene was clearly holding his temper back. 

'So basically, every child of the other Two Ducals and Two Margraves that are near my age have gathered here?' Rigel thought.

It was quite clear why they came here in the first place. The Main Hall was suffocating for these children, and they wanted out. They probably didn't even want to be here, and were probably forced by their parents to attend Rigel's Introduction. Rigel had never even gone to any of theirs in the first place. For all of his life, Rigel was sheltered inside the Starlight Estate. There were only a couple of times he went outside, and that was only inside the surrounding forest. He hasn't even seen a town or a village. Perhaps he should ask permission from his parents to go out sometimes soon. He started to feel boreed staying in one place, and he wanted to visit other places.

'Sigh. Poor children. Forced by their parents to come here to an event they didn't even want to come to.'

Rigel felt bad that other noble children were forced to come here by their parents. 

"Rigel, you must be exhausted from the other nobles, right? Come sit beside me, and relax a bit." After Zion said that, he immediately changed into a sitting position. Swinging his legs, he sat on an upright position and then held his head up with his right arm on an arm rest.

"Thank you for your kindness." Rigel smiled and then sat down on the chair. 

"Of course, of course! You're also quite kind, Rigel. Maaan, seeing all of the Three Dukes and Two Margraves gathered in one spot is such   an awing sight." 

"Im honored to see you all have gathered here for my Introduction, especially when I haven't even visited all of yours... Please forgive me."

"Ah, dont worry about that man, we dont really care. We get why, since the Polaria Family only has one child in each generation. Also, you 
 can drop the manners. Theres no need for them. Just talk casually, we know the Introduction is quite stressful, and honestly, such a god-   damned pain. And also, people like us should stick together you know? Be friends, you know what im saying? Haaaaa... Im so sick of these
 so called 'nobles'. They give me a headache." Zion said. He showed such a variety of emotions while talking as well, completely different   from The Remini twins. Rigel had a feeling he would be really popular with women in the future.

"Mhm, our Introductions were stressful as well. It was clear to us that they were just trying to take advantage of us, trying to make   connections and winning us on their side." Lily added.

"Right, mine was also stressful as well. All of the nobles seemed like bad people and umm... It just felt really suffocating." Rin also added.

Rigel was suprised, he didn't expect for them to be in such good terms with each other already. Except for Eugene, he must have missed quite alot. He felt it was a shame he also couldn't be friends with them in a more younger age, since he wasn't allowed to leave the Starlight Estate. 

Also, to think that Zion would be this friendly. He even told him to talk more casually. It should be fine, he thought. They were also fellow children and all of them were of prestigious and famous families in the Empire. Acting casual with them should be fine, especially when they were so friendly with him.

"Is that so then? Please excuse me... I haven't really talked casually with any other people other than my personal servants. Thanks, Zion."

Rigel had almost never talked casually, even with his parents, or Silva. He only started to talk casual with his personal servants, Adriel and Dain. He had already broken the ice between them, and had started to act like friends. He knew they were watching him in the Main Hall previously. He wondered if they were coming, or if they knew these other children were in here.

"Its all fine, all fine. You see, this idiot right besides me here adopted this attitude as a measure to intimidate other nobles, making them
 think he wasn't easy prey. In actuality though, he's actually quite kind."

"Zion! You fuck, im going to kill you!" Eugene tried to drop his hand on Zion's head, but he was stopped by Zion's other free left hand.

"Oooh, playing the big man words here now, are we? So intimidating, im so scared! Mommy!" Gripping Eugene's fist with a smile, Zion smilingly teased Eugene.

"Zion, you goddamned bastard, when we get our next duel again, im going to obliterate you off the face of Nors, you damned brat." Eugene said, his cold eyes had become piercing. Rigel could see how he can drive away nobles with a single look.

'Also, should a noble child really swear like that, even if its in private?' Rigel wondered.

"Ahahaha, really? We'll see about that then. It seems extremely unlikely, since I beat your ass the first time." 

"...Tch, whatever, im not falling for your stupid bait." Eugene said. 

"You two, umm. Please stop fighting in front of Rigel. Your going to make his impression of you two go down." Rin said.

"Its fine, I don't really care." Rigel said. 

"This is just their normal interaction every time they see each other." Lily added.

They really did look quite familiar with each other. And even Eugene wasn't the person he was expecting him to be. And once again, he felt that he should have become friends with them earlier on.

"You, Rigel, right? Sorry about that, what this fucker said here is true. I'm like this because I just dont want to be bothered by those  stupid idiots. God they are so goddamn annoying, they're like flies and mosquitos sticking on you everytime. Dont mind it, Rigel. Also, I would
 be extremely grateful if you kept this a secret from others."

"Dont worry Eugene, you can trust me. I wont tell a single soul." Rigel smiled.

"Thanks." Eugene said.

Adopting such an attitude at such an early age made Rigel feel extremely bad for Eugene. He must have been pressured alot because of this, especially by his family. Everyone already had their Introductions at this point, and they felt a sense of friendship with each other. They were also part of the Three Dukes, Two Margraves. It was natural that each of them would gravitate towards each other.

Taking the opportunity to ask, now that their conversation had ended, Lily asked Rigel a question. 

"Rigel, I saw how you casted magic on Tilly earlier. May I ask at which level you are at magic already?" Lily asked, tilting her head.

"Oh. I just became Tier 2 Beginner a month ago. Im working hard towards being a Tier 3 now. Im focusing on Wind Magic for now, since
  learning any of the Astral Magic is still too hard for me." Rigel smiled.

"Oooh." Lily let out a cute yet expressionless 'Oh.' She was suprised there was another child that was progressing faster than both of them.

"Rigel, when did you become a Tier One Beginner then?" This time, it was Tilly who asked. 

"I became a Tier One almost one and a half years ago." Rigel responded.

Rigel lied. If he told them that he had become a Tier One when he was four years old, was now a Tier 3 Beginner that was close to becoming a Tier 4 Apprentice, and was simultaneously learning Wind and Starlight Magic, they would probably be shocked. And also, he didn't really want anyone else knowing that. He trusted them, but it was just caution. It was more better that less people knew about his prodigious talent. The only ones that knew were his parents, Silva, and his two personal servants, Dain and Adriel. He absolutely did not want anyone to know this fact. He knew he had many eyes on him, and if it were somehow to be known that he had such a prodigious talent... Everyone in the continent would want him. 

And it would be annoying as well. Although he had to accept being seen as the next 'Prophet', he did not want to be seen as an absolute prodigy in magic. It would just make things more troublesome. 

"Thats really impressive, Rigel. All of us are still at Tier One, and you're already at Tier Two? As expected of the Polaria Family. Even more
 talented than the Remini Family. 'The future of the Empire shall be bright!' Is that how those nobles say it?" 

When Zion said those words, the eyes of Tilly and Lily immediately gazed at Zion. 'Even more talented than the Remini Family.' This sentence struck a spot inside them, and the flames of competition was set ablaze inside their hearts. Both of them looked at Rigel simultaneously. 

Rigel didn't see this action from the twins however, as he was contemplating inside his heart. 'The Future of the Empire shall be bright!' He heard many words and praises from the nobles, but almost all of them ended with these words. The Future of the Empire shall be bright.
He ignored them, as they were all just trying to get close to him. However, when Zion said those words, he immediately fell into thinking.

'The Empire will be destroyed. There is no future for the Empire, as they would lose a devastating war against the Borea Magic Kingdom   and the Union Alliance. And after that, all of it would be left to ruins by upcoming Demon Invasion.'

If these all were to happen in the future, then everyone would look towards the guidance of the Polaria Family. However, even if Rigel's mother and himself, used their talents plenty of times, the course of the war or the Demon Invasion wouldn't change. Maybe they could have a prryhic victory against the Union Alliance, but it would all be useless against the upcoming Cataclysm and Demon Invasion. Rigel himself didn't even want to be in the Empire's side in the first place. He wanted to go to Norathian Academy, which was basically becoming a traitor to the Empire. Although the war hasn't even happened yet, and most of the Empire's citizens at this stage only harbored ill will towards the Union Alliance themselves, not the Borea Magic Kingdom, he still felt that way. He would leave and perhaps even betray the Empire in the future.

Expectations were piled upon him by everyone he met. But he knew trying his best to fulfill them would be useless. In his past life, he made every effort to be recognized by his parents. They were all useless. However, in this life, trying his best to fulfill the expectation granted towards him as the future 'Prophet', would all be for nothing.

Detecting the change of air around Rigel, Zion immediately changed the topic.

"So, in the future, where will you guys be enrolling? Norathian Academy, or the Imperial Academy?" Zion changed into quite a weird topic.

Hearing the words Norathian Academy, Rigel immediately focused again.

'Why did he change the topic like that? Did he know what I was feeling?' It seems like Zion was awfully great at detecting other peoples emotions. A natural empath. 

Zion had changed the topic of where they would be enrolling to in the future. For children with high status such as them, there were really only two options at best. Norathian Academy, or the Imperial Academy. The Imperial Academy of Gratz was another academy that was also established during the rule of Rubicon de Gratz. He saw that necessary education for the Empire's future elites was a must, and he immediately ordered the construction of an academy that would rival the biggest ones at the time back then. This only happened during the later ages,  where most of the turbulence had already been overcome.

The Imperial Academy wasn't even built as a rival to Norathian Academy, it was just built to give future talented children in the Empire the highest education they could be given. However, in current times, The Imperial Academy of Gratz had been seen as a rival against the Norathian Academy itself. And both of them also had conflicts. The two Academies conflicted with each other in any international tournaments, making them have the reputation of rivals.

Of course, Rigel himself was going to enroll in the Norathian Academy in the future. He hadn't told his parents about this yet, but he was sure they would accept. He was curious about the others, and he also thought that this might be the chance to atleast give them a helping hand. If they stayed within the Empire, they were sure to die. He wanted to recommend them to go to Norathian Academy. He would have to do it subtly though.

"Our mother had told us that we would be enrolled in the Norathian Academy in the future, since it would suit us better as magicians." Lily said.

While the Imperial Academy focused on many other subjects, the main study of Norathian Academy always had been magic. Magicians werent the only ones as well. Summoners, witches, magic swordsmen, magic rangers, and even necromancers... Many professions that were related to magic were trained within Norathian Academy itself. Combat arts were also teached inside Norathian Academy, but only to a lesser extent compared to magic.

'Good, so the twins are going to the Norathian Academy in the future. What about the others then?'

"Norathian Academy? Well, umm... In the future, I'll be taking the Imperial Academy. I dont really know which path or weapon I should
 choose though... My parents told me that they weren't really expecting anything of me, so they don't really care which academy I go to..." Rin said.

'Damn it, I'll have to somehow convince Rin to change academies... Also, did they really say that to a young child?' Telling your children that you weren't expecting anything of them was too much. 

"Its your turn next, Eugene."

"Why is it my turn? Its clearly your turn by the order!"

"Rock, paper, scissors." Zion replied.

"Goddamnit, fine. Have it your way." Eugene said.

Putting his hands out for Rock, Paper, Scissors, Eugene began saying-

"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Eugene's hands turned into a fist, signifying rock.

"Paper." However, Zion's hands were opened wide, signifying paper. 

"I win, so its your turn." Zion smiled.

"You bastard!!! Eugene's hand, which was still gripped into a fist, propelled at Zion.

"Ahahah, getting angry are we? Are you perhaps complaining about the rules?" Zion's spread out hand immediately blocked Eugene's fist.

"Fine! It should be obvious by now, I'll be enrolling to the Imperial Academy, because it better suits my combat arts, and because my father
 will not allow anything else. He hates the Boreans you know? Why the hell did you change into this shitty topic anyways? Anyways, its your
 turn now!"

"Of course, of course, just be a little patient would you? Its suprising, but I'll be entering the Imperial Academy."

"Well of course, with your skills and combat arts thats obvious." Eugene said.

"Not." Zion replied.

"Not? What do you mean by not?" Eugene was confused.

"What I mean by that is, I will not be entering the Imperial Academy. I will be entering Norathian Academy, not the Imperial Academy of   Gratz." Zion gave the reveal.

"H-huh? What? But why? Why the hell would you choose Norathian Academy over Imperial Academy, its more better suited for your skills!"
Eugene was bewildered, why would this idiot choose to go to Norathian Academy over the Imperial Academy, which focused more on overall combat skill rather than magic itself?

"Awhh, are you dissapointed that im not going to accompany you in the Imperial Academy?" Zion jokingly said.

"Of course not you stupid bastard! Im just asking why the hell would you choose to go there? And its not like I inherited the hate my father
 has for the Boreans, its because your going to make your skills go to waste by choosing Norathian! They dont teach combat arts as much
 as the Imperial Academy, dont you know that?!?"

"Aww, so your worried about me, is that it? Sorry to say but, im more interested in magic over combat arts. And also, I can try combining
 magic with my spearmanship combat arts as well. It'll be a fun experience. Also, my dad already knows this. He just said I had to come back
 to the Empire as soon as I graduated Norathian Academy. After all, my oldest brother is the heir, so he probably thought it was fine."

"It'll be fun my ass! You want to try combining combat arts and magic??? Its impossible for you! You can't even think of your own future,
 so how can you even try being like the Imperial Swordmasters?!?"

"Thanks for worrying about me, Eugene, but I'll be fine over at Norathian."

"You bastard..." Eugene couldn't take it anymore. He immediately stopped talking and ended their conversation with a 'Tch." Seeing their conversation was quite entertaining to Rigel.

"So... What about you Rigel? Well, it should also be quite obvious." Zion turned his head towards Rigel.

"Mhm. It'll naturally be Norathian Academy for me, since its better suited for me. Im only really talented at magic, but nothing else. People
 really like exaggerating much."

"Ahaha, really? Rigel, you're quite humble. Even though you are only talented at magic, that still makes you talented. You need to have 
 confidence, you know? 'Acknowledge that you are good at something, and use that to make yourself a better future.' Was what the
 people of Jelrin said? I think it was that, anyways. You are very talented Rigel, dont underestimate yourself." Zion said, patting his left
 shoulder.

"Thanks for the encouragement, Zion." Rigel already knew this. He definitely thought himself as prodigious at magic. But only magic.
 What was one prodigy able to do in the face of millions? Nothing. Not when he was weak of course. But even then, it wouldn't stop the 
 events that would shatter the continent in the future.

"No problem at all, Rigel." Zion said.

"I wish all of us could go to the same academy though." Rigel said.

"Me too Rigel, but it can't be helped. If Rin were to change where she would be going to, then little Eugene would be left alone." Zion said.

Eugene didn't even care anymore. He just closed his eyes, ignoring the provocations coming from Zion.

"And well, Eugene can't really change academies. His father has quite the hatred for the Boreans. Don't know where that came from, but its
 impossible for him to go to any other academies other than the Imperial Academy." Zion explained.

"I see. Its a shame then." Rigel said.

Rigel's plans of trying to get all of them to enter the Norathian Academy failed. He couldn't just butt in and try to change where they wanted to go to. Although he could talk with Rin about it, convincing Eugene, especially his father, was impossible.

'In the future then, I'll try to keep them safe.' Rigel made a promise in his heart. He would atleast try to guarantee the safety of these two if possible in the future.

Atleast Zion, Lily, and Tilly decided to go with him to Norathian Academy. 

In the Empire, it didn't really matter if your child decided to choose the Norathian Academy over the Imperial Academy. It didn't really matter. Although there was a preconveived notion that everything inside the Empire was inferior compared to the Empire itself, who would be stupid enough to compare the Imperial Academy and Norathian Academy, and immediately say Norathian Academy was inferior? Norathian Academy was just that capable, and its graduates had made many achievements over the continent. There were maybe an extremely few amount that probably would think of that, but everyone just wouldn't agree to them. 

Many Norathian Academy graduates had also returned to the Empire, and made significant contributions. Their contributions had changed the Empire for the better. The Norathian Academy was just as important as the Imperial Academy was towards the Empire. Although many choose the Imperial Academy due to how closer it is and how more all rounded it was as well, compared to the magic focused Norathian Academy.

"Rigel, since do you perhaps by any chance not own a messenger bird?" Zion asked Rigel.

"A messenger bird?" By the sound of it, it was probably just a bird that sent messenges. "No. I don't have one." Rigel replied.

"...How long have you been sheltered by your family? Those things are important for communication between nobles you know? Especially
 between noble children who are friends. We all use it to send messenges to each other." Zion was suprised this time, since he never heard
 of a noble heir not having any messenger pets. They were very popular with noble children, and they were used many times to 
 communicate between nobles. They could also be pets as well, but usually, messenger pets would be something like a bird, due to the
 long distances needed to travel."

"Are they really that important?" Rigel really had missed out on something big if that was the case.

"Of course! They allow easy communcation and can also be pets you know? I have an Ajax Hunter Eagle as my messenger pet, and I use
 it to send messenges to others or go out with it hunting. They can be extremely useful. You should ask your parents for one, it'll allow for
 some communication between us."

'Ahh. I see, it makes sense then I guess. Using messenger pets to fly over long distances would probably take long, especially in the large
 territory of the Empire. But its not like they have cellular communication or internet or something. This world had gates that allowed for
 instantenous teleportation as well, but all of them were at the city that the Tower of Magic and the Norathian Academy resided, Noah.'

Noah was the capital of the Borea Magic Kingdom, and it was also where the Tower of Magic itself stood and where the Norathian Academy
was located aswell.

'I'll have to ask to get a messenger bird as my gift or something from my parents." He also wanted to communicate with the others. He had made friends with them, so Rigel would like it if he was atleast able to communicate with them.

Spending the time talking together, the group of children had fun. Honestly, it had been a while since Rigel had this much fun talking with other people. Although he also enjoyed talking with his personal servants, these other children were on par with him in status, so they didn't really care about whether he was a Duke or not. They instantly regarded him as a companion, since he also experienced the tribulations of his Introduction. 

Time passed, and suddenly they hear the door leading to the main hall open. The sound inside the Main Hall travelled to their ears, and when the door was closed, it was quitened.

"Young master Rigel,  your parents are searching for you." A familiar voice spoke. It was Adriel. It seems like his parents wanted to ask him something. Coming around the corner of the pillar, its like she knew Rigel was always there.

'Do I have to go back to the Main Hall again?' Rigel complained.

"Good evening. We thank you all for accompanying our master. Please have a pleasant stay." This time, it was Dain who said it. Bowing towards the children, he wished a wonderful time on them. He was about to say 'enjoy the party', but he immediately stopped himself from doing it. 

"Everyone, I'll have to take my leave for a moment. I'll be back so, please wait for me." Rigel said.

"Yep. We'll be waiting for you here, Rigel." Zion said.

"See you again." Both of the twins said.

"Uhm. Good luck." Rin added.

"..." Eugene just waved.

Facing the crowd of nobles again, he followed Adriel and Dain. Rigel had to go outside to the suffocating Main Hall again. He wondered what his parents wanted to see him for.