Chapter 13: Breakfast with the seniors
Razé woke up when she heard a rumbling noise coming from her side. She got up and looked around. It was an unfamiliar room.
“… Oh, I’m at the dormitory” When she recalled where she was, she looked at her watch. The time was 5am. Maybe because of her missions, she usually couldn’t sleep very deeply. But 5am was too early …
Folia seemed to wake up really early. She could wake up without alarm, which made Razé respected her. As her consciousness became clearer, Razé decided to wake up.
Razé: “Folia, you’ve woke up? Good morning.”
Folia: “Oh, Razé-chan. Good morning! Did I wake you up?”
Razé: “No, it’s fine.”
Folia opened the partition and the windows.
Folia: “The weather seems nice.”
Razé: “Yeah. There’s still time left. I’m going out for a run.”
Folia: “Huh? Run?”
She had brought workout clothes so that she could do some training at the academy.
Razé: “Yeah, run. It feels good, you know. The dining hall will open at 7am. I’ll be back by then.”
Folia: “Okay then. I’m not good at sports. I really admire you!”
Razé: “It’s nothing to be admired. Thanks!”
Razé changed her clothes quickly and teleported to the front lobby.
“Good morning. I’m going out for a run.” Razé informed the matron, just in case.
Matron: “Oh. You’re early. Good morning. The dormitory gate is opened at 5am. Don’t go too far, you’ll get lost.”
Razé: “Okay. If I got lost, I’ll teleport back.”
Matron: “Okay. Have fun.”
The matron also has to wake up early, Razé thought as she walked out. After thinking about it for a little while, Razé decided to run around the academy. She did some warm-up exercise, and then started running.
“Hah-hah-hah” She was panting for breath after running for a while. Improving one’s basic health would also improve the quality of their magic. To put it the other way around, if the basic physical strength dropped, the quality of magic also dropped. Razé ran quite seriously because it was a matter of life and death for her profession.
Just like parkour, she jumped over obstacles and continue to run while maintaining her speed. By the time she came back to her starting point, she was out of breath.
“Hah-hah-hah- … This is tough.” It was hard to run without relying on magic. As she wiped her sweat, Razé felt someone nearby. She slowly walked over. Someone was doing suburi[1] in a wooded area near the dormitory. She thought it was the grandson of the former Knight Captain. To her surprise, it was the Prime Minister’s son.
Hmm. He’s pretty hardworking. Razé thought he was a player who like to flirt around. She now saw him in a new light. It would be awkward to meet here, so Razé stealthily walk away.
“The top performers in Centrior usually join the Knights after graduation. Is he going to be a knight too?” The Knights were like the police in this country. They were in charge mainly of matters inside the country and were called the ‘Emperor’s Sword’.
On the other hand, the military which Razé belonged to was called the ‘Emperor’s Gun’ and often carried out missions outside the country. Just to be clear, although the military was called the Emperor’s Gun didn’t mean that they couldn’t use a sword.
“Wait a minute … Isn’t it more dangerous to join the Knights compared to be in the academy?” Razé suddenly felt doubtful. Is there any meaning for me to be a bodyguard here? But since she had already accepted the mission, she needed to carry out her duty. What did I infiltrate here for? Is there anything dangerous about this academy? No way. That’s impossible.
She shook her head. However, it would be a huge problem if she made a mistake in identifying what she should protect. She started to think of the worst-case scenario that she must avoid at all cost.
The worst-case scenario would be that the VIPs in the prince group died. This should not be let happened. Otherwise, she would be dead. The only thing that she could think of that was dangerous in this academy was the magic training.
No, wait … She wanted to think one step ahead, and then one more step ahead. Her imagination started to go wild.
I believe there is no such thing, but what if …What if there is an enemy spy inside the academy?
She realized that she was thinking too much, but if a spy really got in and the school was in danger, then that would be a big problem. Yesterday, she thought her duty was to support these aristocratic children ‘building a healthy relationship’. She had to make sure that after they graduated, they would join hands in governing Shian. But now, the target that she needed to watch out for was not only the student. There were a lot of teachers here. On top of that, there were also cooks, cleaners, and the residents of the shopping district.
“I can’t let my guard down.” It was impossible to doubt everything, so she had to make sure not to overlook any strange movements. Unaware of Welrian and Harlens’ real motive, Razé exerted herself to fulfil her duty seriously.
While she talked to herself, she returned to her dorm and took a shower. Then she changed into her uniform.
Folia: “Welcome back!”
Razé: “… There’s an angel here.”
Razé closed her mouth with her hand, overwhelmed after seeing an angel welcoming her when she returned to her room.
Folia: “A- Angel?”
Razé: “It’s nothing. I’m back, my angel.”
Folia: “??”
Her puzzled face is so cute, Razé thought writhing inwardly.
Razé: “Let’s go eat breakfast.”
Folia: “Un!”
Folia was ready to leave, so they went out for breakfast together. When she opened the door, Alisa and Mary came out from the opposite room.
Razé: “Good morning.”
Alisa: “Morning! Had a good sleep last night?”
Razé: “Yes.”
“That’s good,” Alisa said and smiled like a sunshine. “Let’s go eat breakfast together.” And so, they walked to the dining hall together.
People have already gathered in the dining hall. They filled up their plate on the second floor, and the four of them sat down together.
“Itadakimasu.”[2]
Razé had chosen bread and soup, as well as an omelette and salad.
Alisa: “How was the party? Did you managed to dance with a nice guy?”
Mary: “Folia-chan was famous. I was surprised when I heard about the healing magic.”
It seemed that even the seniors had heard about Folia.
Folia: “I’ve been told that healing magic was rare but I didn’t expect that it would draw attention like this.”
Mary: “There are only five students like you in the 2nd and 3rd Year.”
Folia: “Five?! It’s really that rare …”
Mary: “Yeah. But among the people that could use healing magic, not many of them could use purification. If you can learn that while in the academy, you’d be considered as an outstanding student. You should master it! Down with the aristocracy! You should take them down a peg or two.”
Razé and Folia: “…”
Mary’s eyes were scary.
“Mary’s despise for the aristocrats is nothing new. Please ignore it. Just think of it as an important feeling that a commoner who could enter this school should have,” Alisa said as she tried to make an excuse for Mary awkwardly.
Mary: “You’re too naive, Alisa. If we don’t do what we can and resist, we are going to end up as sacrificial pawn. You should say what is right is right and what is wrong is wrong. Don’t hesitate. Even your grade, if you make an effort, those-”
A young man was standing behind Mary as she was talking passionately. Is it her friend? Razé thought as she observed the situation. The young man put his hand next to Mary and looked into her face. Then he said, “are you going to finally beat my result next time?”
“Gyaa! Norman!?” Mary was astonished by the face that suddenly appeared. She said, “Why are you here?! You made me lost my appetite!”
Norman: “I thought I heard someone call my name.”
While the two continue to bicker with each other, Alisa explained to the two juniors, “He’s Norman Roy Blayne, the principal’s son. Last year, he beat Mary in every exam and became the top student.”
Mary: “Alisa! Don’t say unnecessary things to the juniors!”
Alisa: “Hey, don’t be mad at me~”
Norman: “It can’t be helped. She’s just telling the truth.”
Mary: “Shut up! I’ll show you in the next exam!”
It seemed like she hated him. To Razé, they seemed like they were so close they were teasing each other. But when she said that, Mary denied it with a terrible disgusting face. Norman also looked like he was having fun bickering with Mary. So, Razé decided that it was best to look at them from afar without mentioning anything.
After watching Norman left, Mary pushed her glasses and turned to the girls. “Haa. He finally left. I’m sorry, please forget about that fellow. Let’s eat. Err, what were we talking about just now?”
Alisa: “We were talking about the welcome party. Razé, how was it?”
Razé: “I stayed by the wall obediently. And then the principal came to talk to me.”
Mary: “Oh, really? That’s pretty awesome too. It’s more meaningful compared to dancing with those stupid young master.”
Razé: “… Hahaha”
On this day, Razé found out that the beautiful girl with glasses who stayed in the opposite room had a wicked tongue. She admired her bold spirit for being so casual towards others as she treated them as peers. The guy she was bickering with was the son of the Emperor’s younger brother. That made him a duke. Razé wondered whether she really was not afraid of anything.
Alisa: “Your first class is today, right? The lessons here are adjusted to the higher level. So, if you don’t understand, ask the teacher immediately. Otherwise, you will be completely left behind.”
Folia: “Is it that difficult?”
Alisa: “Well, because it is Centrior. There are many students here who aim to be a high official in the future. But don’t worry! Both of you are in Class A and managed to passed that entrance examination anyway.”
Folia was cheered up by Alisa’s encouragement. The four talked about the lessons, finished their meal, and returned to their room. Razé put her writing utensils in a square bag with an emblem provided by the school.
Razé: “Folia, are you ready?”
Folia: “Un!”
After making sure they didn’t forget anything, Razé and Folia walked towards their classroom.
[1] suburi: practice swing. Refer wiki page here. ↩
[2] itadakimasu: A phrase that Japanese says before they eat. It means something like ‘thank you for the food’. ↩
T/L Note: I’d just finished reading the novel. I’d changed the genre on main page from romance to school life. And I have amended Raze’s specialty from teleportation to movement magic in s. Refer footnote on Chapter 6 for details.
