Let me say it again. I was a criminal.
And not just any criminal, but a traitor who had tried to bring down the very pillars of the Empire.
But surprisingly, I was not sentenced to death.
Nor was I a prisoner bound for the Empire’s prison
Even though it was no exaggeration to say that I had committed the gravest crime in the Empire’s history.
Ironically, the place I was headed to now was none other than the Academy.
If anyone heard that, they’d laugh at how ridiculous it sounded.
No one would find this situation reasonable.
The woman standing before me was likely no exception.
“No matter how I think about it, this makes no sense… Why the hell didn’t they just kill a piece of trash like you?”
Sure enough, she immediately scoffed. She was making no effort to hide her displeasure.
When I looked up at her again, she was still glaring at me with the same cold eyes.
Feigning indifference, I smiled and spoke.
“…It’s been almost a year since we last met, and this is how you greet me? That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think, big sister Adele?”
“You’ve got some fu*king nerve. And don’t call me that. It makes me want to kill you.”
“Oh, come on. Not like you can kill me anyway, right? I mean, I was assigned an escort under the Emperor’s orders. What, are you going to kill the person you’re escorting? You’re an Imperial Guardian Knight now, after all~”
“…..”
She tried hard to suppress her anger and maintain her silence.
It must have taken everything she had to hold back her killing intent.
…Which only meant one thing. She truly despised me.
Good.
Even if it left a bitter taste, her hatred for me was the right emotion to have.
I had given her a wound that would never heal.
Yet, in the tense, suffocating silence of the carriage, the one to speak first was unexpectedly Adele.
“Hey.”
“…Yes?”
“What kind of bullshit are you up to this time? What nonsense are you scheming that has you heading to the Academy?”
“Nonsense? Come on, can’t you at least congratulate your little brother on getting into the Academy—”
“Hey.”
Ssshhhhh—
Suddenly, the air inside the carriage grew heavy.
The mana in the air resonated in response to her killing intent.
…God, it was suffocating.
Her skills were already at the peak of the Expert rank and she was still growing stronger.
“I should’ve killed you back then.”
“……..”
Her trembling voice carried a weight of regret, and her expression mirrored that sadness.
Clatter—
Only the quiet hum of the carriage’s movement filled the silence between us.
…And just like that, our conversation ended there.
Not that we were ever the kind of people to have long conversations in the first place.
.
.
.
.
.
I should’ve killed you… huh.
Some time had passed.
As I bitterly mulled over her words, the carriage suddenly came to a stop.
The moment it stopped, she immediately stood up and opened the door.
It seemed we had already reached our destination.
“Get out. Now.”
“Yesss~”
When I stepped out of the carriage, following behind her, the blinding sunlight pierced my eyes.
I squinted my eyes against the brightness and looked around, only to be greeted by a familiar sight.
So this is Ella Academy, the place I had only ever seen in the game.
The largest academy on the continent.
A dragon’s nest built on the principle of equal education for all races.
…And the very source of misfortune and all evil in this world.
Seeing the starting point of every story I had witnessed in the game firsthand was strangely overwhelming.
After struggling like a dog in this world for years, I was only just now arriving.
Unlike other characters, my tutorial had felt especially long.
“Hey.”
“…Huh?”
At Adele’s call, I turned my head only for something to come flying straight at my face.
Luckily, before it could hit me, I caught it with my shackled hands.
It was a key.
“Hurry up and take off those restraints. I’m leaving as soon as I collect them. I’m sick of looking at your face.”
“How cold~”
Clank!
The moment I undid the restraints, the fatigue weighing down my body quickly faded, replaced by a surge of energy.
I stretched my stiff wrists and handed her back both the key and the restraints.
“I’ll say this one last time. If you try any of your pathetic tricks again, I will kill you.”
“The dragon’s nest isn’t imperial territory, is it? How exactly do you plan to kill me?”
I grinned mischievously as I spoke.
But her expression remained completely unmoved. Without a word, she simply turned around and got back into the carriage.
Before long, the carriage departed without hesitation and quickly vanished from sight.
“…How heartless.”
Still, it wouldn’t be long before we met again.
After all, she was also a playable character and was bound to set foot in the academy one way or another.
…If we meet in private, will she try to kill me on the spot?
I let out a deep sigh and ran a hand over my face.
Seriously, no matter how I looked at it, my fate was just ridiculously messed up.
Ugh, I should just stop thinking about it…
I pushed the creeping gloom back into a corner of my mind.
Tearing my gaze away from the spot where the carriage had disappeared, I turned to face forward.
There, before me, stood the dazzling entrance that marked the front gates of Ella Academy.
…The end of the tutorial was approaching.
***
I had tried to kill the Emperor.
And as a result, I arrived at the academy.
…The cause and effect didn’t quite add up, but if I had to summarize my situation, that was it.
I had offered the Emperor a deal, and he had accepted it.
In exchange for turning a blind eye to the rest of his days, he would erase my past and provide me with a bridge to the academy.
Thanks to that, I had managed to escape the watchful eyes of those who wanted my head.
Of course, even an Emperor who ruled over half the continent couldn’t easily exert power over an academy located in neutral territory.
And when that academy was the Ella Academy, it was out of the question to just drop me in like it was an ordinary institution.
At best, all he could do was use his name as leverage and ask the Headmistress for a favor.
That’s more than enough.
An Emperor requesting a favor from an academy Headmistress.
Normally, it would’ve been unthinkable. But Ella Academy was different.
Because this place was the “Dragon’s Nest”.
Tap.
Hmm?
As I finally neared the entrance, I caught sight of a faint silhouette.
When I got closer, I saw someone with a rather petite frame leaning against a pillar and watching me.
…Didn’t expect a welcome party right at the entrance.
The entrance ceremony for Ella Academy was set for tomorrow.
Since all students were required to live in the dormitories, by now, everyone should have been settling into the dorm facilities.
That’s why the front gate at this hour was usually deserted.
It seemed the Emperor’s request had piqued her curiosity, if only a little.
I quickened my pace and approached her.
“Good evening, Headmistress.”
“Hmm…”
Without hesitation, I bowed my head in greeting.
First impressions were always important in any meeting.
“So you’re the one that red bastard asked me to take in?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Red bastard.
There weren’t many people who would refer to the Emperor whose red hair was practically a symbol of the imperial family that way.
…No, actually, this person was probably the only one.
I once again engraved the figure before me into my memory.
A height that barely seemed to reach 140 cm.
Long and vibrant blue hair full of life in contrast with a lazy and indifferent expression.
And someone who was always chewing on a lollipop.
“You. What’s your name?”
“Ain.”
“…Ain? Your surname?”
“I don’t have one.”
“That so.”
Our conversation was just as simple.
She didn’t like talking at length.
She was the type to find even that bothersome.
“Let’s move somewhere else first. It’s too cold here.”
“…Alright.”
With those words, she snapped her fingers.
In an instant, the surroundings began to shift.
The sofa and table in front of me, the desk behind them with a nameplate attached—
This was a space I was all too familiar with. Naturally, it was the headmistress’s office.
An incantation-less teleportation spell… She really is a monster.
A being who could effortlessly wield high-level space magic. A spell classified as eighth-circle.
I supposed only someone at this level had the right to be called the strongest on the continent.
“Sit there.”
“Yes.”
She pointed to a seat for me, then immediately collapsed onto the sofa across from me.
Judging by the yawn that escaped her lips, she had likely missed out on sleep again.
“Haahm… So, you want me to admit you into the academy?”
“That’s right.”
“And why would I do that?”
“…….”
As expected, her reaction was cold.
If not for the Emperor’s request, I probably wouldn’t have had the chance to meet her like this at all.
“The entrance ceremony is literally tomorrow, and now you suddenly show up, asking to be admitted?”
“Yes.”
“The entrance exams are already over, you know? You should’ve come earlier and taken them properly.”
“…There were some circumstances.”
Taking the entrance exam wasn’t an option for me, not when I had no way of avoiding the eyes of outsiders.
That was why I had no choice but to resort to these complicated methods.
“So, I’d like to request a special admission.”
“…Special admission? You’re surprisingly well-informed.”
Special admission.
Aside from the imperial family, most people weren’t even aware that such a system existed.
But at Ella Academy, special admission was indeed a real thing.
The only problem was that the condition for eligibility was frustratingly vague and difficult to understand. It had to be someone who piqued the headmistress’s interest.
“…Haa, what a hassle. I shouldn’t have created that system.”
“Yet, you’re not kicking me out right away?”
“If you meet the conditions, it’s not entirely impossible… You do know what they are, right?”
“Yes.”
“In that case—”
Snap!
She snapped her fingers once again.
In response, my vision was instantly swallowed by darkness.
In a space so pitch-black that I couldn’t see an inch ahead, her voice echoed.
“I’ll give you five minutes.”
A damp, sticky air surged around me as her words drilled into my mind.
“Try escaping from there within five minutes. If you can’t—”
Then, with a devilish chuckle I had never heard from her before, she delivered her final words.
“—you just might die right there.”
…As expected, dragons were nothing but crazy bastards.
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