CH 6

Nobles and Commoners

“The general course of the knight department usually leads to a position as the city guard or the cavalry corps. The special course is for the royal guard and other special positions. For civil servants, the general course is for local government, and the special course is for the royal castle. His Royal Highness the Second Prince is currently enrolled in the special course of the knight department.”

“Oh, I see.”

“…. I’m sure that was explained to you before you enrolled.”

“Ah…. is that so?”

Come to think of it, she just remembered that the dean went out of his way to visit her, and she was told a long list of stories from him side-by-side with Felix.

“…. In other words, you didn’t listen. I’m starting to see what kind of guy you are.”

Cody sighed, but it can’t be helped. On the right side, he could see the training ground used by the knight department.

The highlight of the place, in addition to its size, was the extensive collection of armaments.

There were swords with thin rapiers, swords with curved blades like a crescent moon, daggers, and one-handed swords, as well as bows and spears. There were also a variety of shields, from small ones to ones that were almost impossible for a single person to lift. Just having them all lined up in one place was a powerful sight.

Sheila’s eyes lit up at the sight of so many unfamiliar weapons. Soon, she would begin her days of study to become stronger and become a knight. Just thinking about it made her excited.

“The academic tower can be seen in the distance. The people who work there are the best magic users in the Kingdom of Steitz, and they’re all elite in magic research, but anyway, there are a lot of strange people there, so you should stay away from them. Also, the library of the academy has the second largest collection of books after the royal castle. You can learn a lot from the latest books in the library.”

“I see.”

“… Jeez, you’re not paying attention, are you?”

As they walked along, they approached the front entrance of the main building and the grandeur of the building became even more apparent. The white building was adorned with carvings everywhere, and the windows were thin and highly transparent. The bell on the rooftop glistened gold in the sunlight.

When they got closer, light blue blazers could be seen here and there. There seemed to be a carriage stop nearby for the exclusive use of the aristocrats.

“The main building is in front. You can’t see it from here, but there’re dormitories behind the main building. That’s where we’ll sleep. If you tell the dorm supervisor your name, he’ll inform you where your room is.”

“Okay, that’s important. I’ll remember it properly.”

“It’s all important, though….”

She was well aware that everything was important. However, Sheila’s small brain couldn’t process all the information at once. She had to choose what was most important and what knowledge she needed right away.

“I’m sorry, Cody. If possible, I’d be happy if you could teach me slowly.”

“Okay. I’ll do that.”

He seemed to have understood what she hadn’t said. He nodded with a wry smile. It was probably Sheila’s greatest luck to have met someone like Cody right off the bat.

They stepped into the main building from the front entrance.

It was a simple entrance, without any ornaments like the one in Felix’s mansion. However, the wide front wall was decorated with a very large rose window, so she thought that the ornamentation was purposely kept to a minimum to make it stand out. The painting was of a golden hawk and sword on deep blue background. She was told that this was the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Steitz.

Sheila was fascinated by the beauty of the painting. It was so majestic that she couldn’t help but stop in her tracks.

It was at that moment. A sharp voice came in as if to interrupt her.

“Hey, you commoners!”

If they had just called her a commoner, she might not have turned around because there must be other special students just like Sheila.

However, she couldn’t help but turn around once she sensed the hostility. Having grown up hunting beasts in the mountains, Sheila could sense even the slightest hostility or deadly intent, as if she were being pricked in the neck with a needle.

She slowly turned around, unconsciously keeping her body low.

There stood a tall man. He had long black hair flowing down his shoulders and mysterious purple eyes. He had slanted eyes, a narrow bridge of the nose, and thin lips, but his appearance was somewhat highly strung. His tall, slender body was toned like a warrior’s, and his appearance alone was enough to make one see that he was flawless.

The eyes that looked at Sheila were devoid of emotion. It was as if he was gazing at an inorganic object.

He was an aristocrat. But unlike Cody, he seemed to be the kind that despised commoners. He was exactly the aristocrat she envisioned.

Even without Felix’s advice, her instincts were telling her not to get involved. However, it wasn’t a good idea to ignore someone who was talking to you.

“I’m certainly a commoner, but Cody is an aristocrat.”

She thought she had given a safe reply for the time being, but Cody’s face next to her turned pale.

“D-d-don’t refute it!!”

“Eh? What? Sorry.”

It seemed she made a mistake again. But once the words came out of her mouth, there was no coming back.

Sure enough, the dark-haired nobleman frowned and spat out in displeasure.

“To make a backhanded remark, it seems that the common people these days are so ignorant of things.”

She thought that it was a bad idea to contradict him, so she decided to affirm it this time.

“Yes. I just came down from the mountain and my common sense is questionable.”

She looked at Cody, thinking that this time she must’ve answered correctly. His complexion, for some reason, had gone from blue to pure white.

“D-d-don’t even give an affirmative!!”

“What? But…”

“You have to keep quiet until you’re allowed to speak in the first place! That’s the way it’s supposed to be!”

“Eh? That’s so complicated….”

Sheila was the only one surprised, and before she knew it, everyone around her had quieted down. They were pretending to be unaware of our exchange, but she could tell that they were watching the proceedings with bated breath.

If the commotion grew, it was unlikely that the situation would be settled without incident. Begging for one’s life wasn’t an option either, as Cody said it would be the wrong response. Since it was an incident within the academy, she could only hope that it didn’t become that serious.

Sheila took a deep breath and looked straight at the dark-haired nobleman.

“Well, it seems that I’m hopeless, so for reference, I’d like to ask you a question. How did you know I was a commoner? I thought I was well dressed for the occasion.”

As soon as she spoke up, a gasp escaped from the surroundings.

When she looked over at Cody, he was as motionless as a corpse. His complexion looked pale and he had a comical expression on his face, she wondered if that was okay for an aristocrat’s appearances.

The dark-haired nobleman looked down at Sheila, who was concerned for Cody, as if he was stunned. It was just like seeing a rare animal.

“I tried to make you understand a little about your position, but… I see. A wild monkey, huh?”

That was kind of a rude thing to say, but it was a situation that couldn’t and shouldn’t be denied.

“It’s obvious from your behavior, monkey. You were scurrying around with your mouth hanging open, looking like an idiot, weren’t you?”

In other words, it was obvious that she wasn’t accustomed to the glamour of the building. Now she knew what she had to watch out for so as not to attract the attention of the aristocrats. It might be useless now that she had caused a problem, but at least she could plan countermeasures.

“I see, thank you for letting me know. I’ll be more careful from now on… Oh, I’m Sheila Danau, and I’ll be studying with you this year. Nice to meet you!”

When she thanked him with a big smile, the man blinked his eyes as if he was taken aback. As he did so, a hint of embarrassment dwelled on his stiff-looking face. She had judged that he must be incredibly old, but on second thought, he must’ve just come of age by the time he was at the academy.

“… I’m Leidyrune Centrix.”

After saying that, Leidyrune surprisingly walked away.