Exactly two weeks had passed since that day. Right now, I was waiting for the large doors to open with my peers around me. These were the doors used by the Academy for large group entries. They only opened and closed on this particular day. The reason for this was that they were actually walls. I had heard that the walls surrounding the Academy were even sturdier than the city itself. There were no walls even around the mansion where the royal family lived. The Academy prided itself most on security.
The Academy's history dates back about twenty years. It was built over several years as a result of funding from many ritchis. This place is open to everyone living in the Heiben. Of course, there is strict security at solo entry points as well. Because it is open to the entire land, students from other countries can also participate here. The Academy was in essence, a city within the city and as I continued to take my steps, I pondered how I had made this decision, replaying the conversation I had with the cunning ritchi in my mind over and over again.
********
"Academy?!"
"You heard right, boy. Why are you so surprised?"
Because even though the Academy is a wonderful place, the education expenses are quite high. Moreover Hanbel had mentioned that he would pay all the tuition fees upfront. It was a well-known fact that ritchis provided scholarships for a few students. I had a lot of questions in my mind, and I wanted answers to them.
"Your offer makes me very happy, Mr. Hanbel, but I can't help but wonder why you chose me."
"The reason is simple. I want to raise a wolf."
"Ah… What?"
"You look surprised. I often tell this to your father as well, boy. I am a lone wolf. Even though there may seem to be many of us, I know that they're all just jackals. A human trusts another human, while a wolf trusts another wolf."
I think I understood what he meant. There are many people who would do anything to take a piece of meat from someone as rich as the ritchis. This piece of meat of course is nothing other than money. It seemed that Hanbel wanted someone around him who wouldn't be there just for his money. By sending me to the Academy, he was essentially "indebting" me. I must admit it was clever. While I was thinking about this, he continued his words.
"But even if I raise a wolf, I cannot domesticate it. They are creatures that are devoted to their independence. I'm not calling you a 'wolf' for nothing, Nell. Of course, you can choose to stay by my side. You could even refuse to enter the Academy. The moment I force you into something, I think of you as someone who would show their teeth."
I didn't know how to respond to his words. Of course, he wanted me to be by his side, but he also seemed to know that I wouldn't want that.
"Don't confuse my son. He will choose what he wants."
At that moment, my father had snapped at Hanbel. Even though I could never fully understand what my father thought of me, I knew he loved me. After all, I was his son. I believed he felt a quiet pride in me. Honestly, I felt very lucky to have such a father. I had very few memories of my family in my previous world. Rather, it seemed like I didn't care about making such memories. I suppose I didn't appreciate them until the moment I died in my previous world. Frankly, I had realized that I would accept this offer more to make my family in this world proud than for my own selfish desires. I had said I wanted to think a little instead of giving an immediate answer, even though I secretly knew the answer.
I had accepted the offer and shook hands with Hanbel.
"Thank you for accepting. Let's see if you can become a wolf? After all, you're not the only one going to the Academy on my scholarship."
Before leaving home, I had learned that the Ritchis were required to send a certain number of people as scholarship recipients and that some of them sent as many as they wanted to the Academy. Hearing him this made me realize once again how wealthy he was. To him, my scholarship was pocket money. He mentioned that about two hundred people, including myself, would be covered by scholarships this year. I wondered how many of these individuals would become the "wolves" he wanted. I was exciting. I knew that some of the greatest adventurers of our time were graduates of the Academy. I didn't sleep at all that night, filled with curiosity about what the future would bring.
********
After replaying the events from two weeks ago in my mind once more, I continued walking with the people around me. It felt as if I had just started the game. Since we were inside the Academy, there was no harm in looking around. It was truly enormous. There were various buildings, all constructed in accordance with the city's overall architectural style of Victorian Era Architecture. The buildings weren't as tall as those in the rest of the city. Constructed to be no more than five stories high, they appeared larger compared to the other buildings in the city. We headed towards the biggest of these buildings. It was only a single story and resembled a hangar at first glance. Like the other buildings, it was made of metal instead of stone. I didn't know how many of us had come here, but if I had to give a number, I would say it was between 5,000 and 10,000. We were organized like a soldier battalion through the officers around us. Since the groups were mixed up in the process, those who had come together seemed to be alone. At that moment, I noticed someone leaning against my right shoulder.
"I don't like this at all. It feels like I'm surrounded by creatures. I'm sure you're happy about it, commoner."
Though I tried to maintain an indifferent attitude, I swallowed hard. It was a girl who leaned against my shoulder like an ordinary column. Given her overly casual demeanor and sporty attire, she might have easily been overlooked, but it was very easy to tell she was noble by her hair color and eyes. Moreover she wasn't just any noble. She was from the Scarple family, one of the three greatest noble families of Ucretnight kingdom.
Her hair was perhaps the most vibrant shade of red I had ever seen, but a Scarple's hair isn't just red. My father and sister also have red hair. Some parts of a Scarple's hair and the tips are white. Additionally, the color of their eyes takes on a pink hue, a mix of red and white. This is a very dominant gene. If someone claims to be a Scarple but doesn't have such hair and eye colors, they are either married to someone from the family or have been adopted by the family.
"What's wrong, commoner? Is this the first noble girl you've ever seen? Am I really that beautiful?"
I had seen nobles in photos in newspapers, but I had to admit this was the first time I was seeing one in person. She was so beautiful because of her genes that, no matter how indifferent I tried to be, I was sure my cheeks were flushed. We were the same height. She was wearing a pink tank top and had a sports bra beneath it. She looked like she had run all the way here. She didn't appear sweaty, but her tank top was slightly damp. She wore loose, comfortable black sweatpants. Her shoes were white. If it weren't for her unique hair and eye colors, I definitely wouldn't have thought of her as a noble. She didn't reflect the image of nobility I had in my mind and seemed like someone trying to act like a bully because of the way she spoke. And that devilish smile of hers. I gently pulled her hand away from my shoulder.
"Of course, you're beautiful, but I don't want the creatures around you to target me, lady."
Unlike the ritchis, it is beneficial to speak to nobles with respect. After all, I'm not the only one who envies them. The glances from the men around me felt quite unsettling. It was as if thorns were piercing my back, and I didn't like that feeling at all. On top of that, the noble girl began to hit my back and casually brushed off my words.
"There's formality even here! I came here because I was tired of that, but you all keep acting this way. We're both students, commoner. Just relax a bit."
"O... Of course, lady."
She kept slapping my back but she wasn't aware that she was getting carried away. Because of this, I had a serious pain in my back, but I didn't show it. At least it seemed like I had inherited some of my mother's steel-like nerves. Plus having been used to my body constantly aching from my time working as a blacksmith apprentice contributed to my ability to endure it. So, we continued to look ahead without any pretense of discomfort. I was curious about her name but it would be illogical to ask a noble for her name out of the blue. Nobles assume that ordinary people already know who they are when interacting with them. Therefore asking for their names would be an unreasonable move.
While I was wondering what would happen next, chairs began to rise up from the ground for us to sit on. Once everyone had taken their seats, the area in front of us started to rise.
After the area reached a certain height, I saw an elderly man coming up to the platform via stairs that had been set up. Due to my distance from the platform, I couldn't see the man's face clearly. At least it was apparent that he had quite a lot of beard. After a minute, he reached the center of the platform and checked a device in his hand, which resembled a microphone, for sound control.
"Welcome to the Academy. I am the Academy President, Dolphan. As every year, I will be the one giving the opening speech this year."