Chapter 4: The Royal Academy (1)

~4.1~

*****

“Mother, Father, I will bring honor to our family,” Kye said. Her parents had just joined the group of girls in front of the academy they were about to enter for the next several years.

“I have full confidence in you,” the King replied with a confident grin.

“But can you survive in a school where your mother, aunt, and uncle work?” Layla wore a smirk as she teased her daughter.

“Princess has our full support! She will succeed no matter what!” Liliana boasted, not deterred in the slightest by Layla’s teasing.

“Oh my. Such devotion!” Liliana’s mother, Mikan Akari, was standing behind her. “Lily dear, you just make sure to stay out of trouble. You, too, Ali-chan.”

“Please don’t call me that, mother!” Aliana pouted at her mother’s use of an older nickname.

“Come now, Mikan, the children are entering their sixteenth year. You’ll do no more than embarrass them with that,” said their father, Leonardo Venturi III.

Mikan took her turn pouting, not wanting to let go of the nickname she gave her daughter years ago. Noticing that, Aliana hugged her mother. Layla and Zen were smirking at the other two parents. All the while, Alethea was quietly smiling at the interactions.

“Greetings, Akari family,” came an approaching female voice. It belonged to a red-haired woman with five teenagers in tow.

Alethea curtsied. “Greetings, Queen Draelana.”

“Ah, Draelana. It’s good to see you,” Zen said. “I trust Drachenheim fares well?”

She nodded. “It does.” She glanced over at Kye and Alethea. “Greetings, Princess Alethea, Princess Kye. I pray this is not too forward, but might I ask you to be friends with my bunch here?”

“Greetings, Your Majesty,” Kye replied. They curtsied for the Dragon Queen. “It would be our pleasure.” She turned to the five teenagers next to the queen. “I am pleased once again to make your acquaintance. I am Kye Akari of Nippon Sekai, daughter and first-born of King Zen Akari I of Nippon Sekai and Lady Layla Barrett of Alcanus, and great-granddaughter of Lady Hatsumi Akari, Lady Ginchiyo Tachibana, King Edward Barrett, and Lord James Marshall.”

“I am pleased to make your acquaintance,” Alethea echoed. “I am Alethea Atlantis of Terra, daughter of Empress Atalante Atlantis.”

“While it is proper to state relations to the founders, all five of my bunch have the same relation to Lord Drayon and Lord Drakon, so only the first will specify that relation. The rest may omit it.” Each of Draelana’s group bowed or curtsied in turn as they introduced themselves.

“I am Doran Maya of Drachenheim, son and first-born Queen Draelana, great-grandson of Lord Drayon Maya, and great-great-grandson of Lord Drakon Maya.” Doran had red hair and deep blue eyes. His bangs parted on either side of his face and reached his collarbone while his ponytail reached a bit further down his back. He wore a smile that left a strong impression on Kye, though that wasn’t all that left a strong impression.

What? Is that...?

Though she was surprised, she hid it behind a noble facade.

“I am Danielle Maya of Drachenheim, daughter and second-born of Queen Draelana.” Danielle wore her red hair in a ponytail that reached partway down her back. Her bangs framed her face, reaching down either side and cut just above her eyes. She had the same deep blue eyes as her brother.

“I am Elizabeth Maya of Drachenheim, daughter and third-born of Queen Draelana.” Elizabeth’s blonde hair reached her chest and her eyes shared the same color as her siblings.

“I am Michael Maya of Drachenheim, son and second-born of Lady Draenara.” Michael’s hair was a slightly lighter shade of red than Doran and Danielle’s, but he had the same deep blue eyes.

“I am Michelle Maya of Drachenheim, daughter and first-born of Lady Draenara.” Michelle had the same red hair that Doran and Danielle had, but hers was somewhat wavy and reached only slightly lower than her shoulders. Like the other four, she had deep blue eyes. Both her smile and the same something else left a big impression on Kye.

Mikan pushed Liliana and Aliana forward until they were standing next to Kye and whispered, “You, too.”

“I am Liliana Venturi of Nippon Sekai,” Liliana began.

“I am Aliana Venturi of Nippon Sekai,” Aliana continued.

They continued together, “daughters of Lord Leonardo Venturi III and Lady Mikan Akari and great-granddaughters of Lord Leonardo Venturi I and Lady Hatsumi Akari.”

“““Nice to meet you,””” said all nine in unison.

“If somebody had told me that was choreographed, I’d believe them,” came the voice of James Barrett who had quietly walked up during the introductions. “Welcome to the Alcanus Royal Academy.” He turned to his sister. “Allison wants to speak with us before the opening ceremony.”

“Ah, work begins early for instructors,” she responded.

“Please take good care of our children,” Draelana said. “I very much look forward to seeing how great the students become now that the academy has such legendary staff.”

“You flatter us, Draelana,” Layla said.

“Anyway, can we pester your old man into teaching here?” James asked. “Allison wanted to talk to him about it but said she couldn’t arrange a meeting.”

“Oh, my apologies. My father has been unusually busy lately. He’s visited both Atlantis and Daemonheim within the past few weeks. He should be returning to Drachenheim in a few days. I’ll speak to him once he’s arrived.”

“Thanks, I’ll let Allison know.” James turned back to the children and said, “Good luck this year kids. You better hope you don’t get me as a teacher! I’ll work ya hard!”, with a grin before teleporting away.

Layla sighed. “My brother... Well, I have to go, too. See you soon!” She gave the group a smile before teleporting.

“You lot should get going, too,” Draelana said. “The opening ceremony will start soon.”

“That’s right. Good luck!” Zen added. “Try not to blow up the school when you get tested!” He teleported.

“Uh...” Mikan gave her husband a smile before giving the kids a smirk. “Bye!” The two teleported.

“That bit about not blowing up the school... he’s joking.” Draelana smiled at them. “Probably?” She teleported.

“...I should have expected no less.” Michelle sighed as she and the others turned toward the academy.

“Here we go!” Doran said.

*****

Legal ages are determined separately from actual ages. My seventeenth birthday was just over a month ago, yet I am legally sixteen years old. Legal ages are determined based on the year, rather than exact date. Since I was born in year 11982, I was legally one year old January 1, 11983 despite that being less than a month from my actual birthdate. This is year 12000, so I am eightteen. That is the age in which nobility debut as adults and begin attending the royal academy. Everyone goes through elementary education in schools in our home countries, which is the only time nobility can interact with other children.

I attended elementary eduction here in Arslade, and now I am attending the Atlantis Royal Academy. This school was founded in the early years of the empire, after the expansion. Though Daemonheim hasn’t been connected to us for long, they have students coming here now. There are even exceptional commoners attending!

My mother, uncle, and aunt are all staff here. Allison is the principal, James is a magic instructor, and Layla is a mana instructor. Allison was a combat instructor until she was assigned the position of principal, though she has mentioned she may finally continue offering classes of her own once I begin at the academy. “To be determined”, she said.

The academy is quite large and is equipped with multiple dormitories based on age and gender. Each dormitory covers a bracket of two ages and has both a boys and girls building. The dorm I am assigned will house everyone born in 11982 and 11983. The two gender segregated buildings are positioned on either side of a large walking path. There are no guards outside, but they aren’t necessary in the slightest given the extremely advanced magic that encompasses the academy. Mana signatures are more unique than DNA, and there are barriers in each dormitory that function on a whitelist. If your signature isn’t on that whitelist, then you cannot enter without being able to overpower the barrier itself. There have been no cases of any student ever doing so, and only one case of staff doing so in emergencies. Student quarrels are common and are generally settled with a duel of some sort in the training grounds or the arena.

There have been a few cases of violent altercations in private, and one such case occurred in a boy’s dormitory. At the time, dormitories were gender locked to the staff as well, so female staff could not enter the male dormitories. That didn’t stop Allison. She used her aether and destroyed the barrier. Due to the delay in access, she was late enough that one student was killed, another critically wounded, and a staff member lightly wounded. The student that had committed the crime was quite powerful, but Allison restrained him effortlessly. Afterward, all staff were whitelisted for all dormitories and there have been no issues since. The magic placed in the academy can detect high levels of mana output, so such incidents cannot be repeated as one of the more powerful staff members will simply teleport to the scene and it’s over.

I can read mana signatures and even see souls. I tend to read everyone I meet, and they are none the wiser. The adult royals are all exceedingly powerful. Notables include my parents, Uncle James, the Atlantis sisters, and the founders, but Allison is in a league of her own. The barriers are powerful enough that any of those notables would have struggled to break in and not very fast even then, but Allison managed to do it quickly. Her mana capacity is abnormal for this world, and considering this world has some rather extreme people in it... that’s impressive.

The only people aside me that possess more than Allison are Alethea, Doran, and Michelle. If not for this ridiculous restrictive noble upbringing, I’d have met the latter two much sooner. I recognized their souls, which explained their capacities. They are immortals.

*****

Revision: 7-13-2023