Chapter 31: The Daily Life of a Ten Year Old- A New Road
Lantern light illuminates the cold hallway.
There is not a single glass window in the mansion, and in weather like today, all the windows are closed with shutters. Without the lanterns, this mansion was so dark that I could not see more than a few meters ahead.
Passing a few servants, I arrive at the office.
There are two signs inside. I focused my attention and probed.
My father is at work at this time, usually alone or with Graham.
My mother's presence was unusual.
My father and mother were sitting side by side on the sofa.
With permission, I sat down in front of both of them.
My father looked the same as usual, but my mother seemed a little grumpy.
"The snow is terrible this year."
Unusually for my father, he began with small talk.
"Yes. I don't see many wagons, as if the soldiers are stuck too. I'm afraid that if we stay here too long. The potion's distribution will be slowed down too. Besides, with this cold weather, I'm worried about our firewood stocks."
"I hear prices are already going up. I have asked the guild to secure some wood that they don't normally use. It's oily, but we can use it if we focus on the right uses. It's better than freezing."
Oily wood, like pine? It can't dry properly in this weather, and there's a lot of smoke. Those wood can't be used for cooking, so it's going to be for low-income people, but at least they'll avoid freezing to death.
"Well, I called you up, of all people. I wanted to hear your opinion."
"My, is that right?"
My father nodded and glanced at my mother next to him.
"Do you know a town called Selen?"
"Yes, it's the town where the headquarters of the magic guild is located. It is also known as–"
I could vaguely see what my father was trying to say.
Selen is under the direct jurisdiction of The Emperor and is the birthplace of Alphas Kaltilar, the founder of the Magic Guild. Many wizards and intellectuals gathered in Selen to follow Alphas, who declared his retirement at a young age and retreated to his hometown. Among them was the hero Rapunas, who became famous for his "multiple chanting. And the Magic Guild was born. That was more than 700 years ago.
Selen, which combined the powerful military force and knowledge of magic, maintained its independence for a long time. However, when the Kingdom of Arsis expanded its territory and established the Arsis Empire, it became difficult to sustain it. And it became an imperial territory on the condition that it becomes almost complete autonomy.
Then, at the request of the Emperor's Majesty of the time, Selen launched a new facility.
"The Academic City of Selen. It is a city of learning with several academies and numerous private schools. But ......."
"Yes, it is. The glory of the golden ages is a thing of the past, and the academies are a skeleton."
That directly connected to the Arsis Empire's blazing ripeness and maturity.
I haven't fought anything but monsters for the past ten years. I had assumed that the humans were united and standing up to their mighty superiors.
In reality, I was just lucky. The enemy is alive and well. The empire is full of cracks.
The empire was unified in the west six hundred years ago. Since then, the lords west of the center have enjoyed a long period of peace. But it slowly corrupted. Now, they are in a state of power struggles and conflicts. They even attack and destroy other houses. And the emperor has no authority left to suppress or even punish them. My Reedwald family belongs not to the emperor's faction but the faction of the Marquis of Braslad, a northeastern noble, because of the sense of crisis in the area adjacent to the Kingdom of Baromat and the Unified Kingdom of Haasel is incomparable to that of other lords.
Naturally, they would not send their precious heirs and daughters to other territories if the world were in such a state of turmoil. It would be tantamount to assassination or declaring that their daughter should be taken as a hostage. The fact that my brother Lakius rarely left Reedwald was also due to the presence of potential enemies everywhere.
"However–"
My father's words made me hastily stop ruminating on my classroom studies.
"The academy is not gone. A few children of nobles still study there."
"You want me to go to Selen?"
"I'm not forcing you to go. But you have great talent. You will have a great influence on the world in the future. But that won't be possible if you stay in Reedwald. No matter how many monsters and adventurers gather there, it is still a frontier town. I want you to know a bigger world. Lakius agrees with me on this."
My father closed his mouth as if prompting me to think.
Since I haven't shown him my status, he must not know I'm not growing. In the first place, I wouldn't call a ten-year-old boy who is on par with veteran adventurers as being stretched. So I guess he was genuinely thinking about my growth.
I can't thank him enough, but there was one thing that bothered me.
"Would your mother disagree?"
"Of course!"
My mother responds with a bite.
"How far away do you think Selen is? Selen is under the direct jurisdiction of the emperor's faction in the first place. What could happen–"
"Henriette."
Father admonished in a quiet but strong tone.
The direct jurisdiction is the land of the emperor's faction. I understand what my mother wants to say, but this is a bad statement.
My mother immediately noticed and bowed her head.
"This was a ...... gaffe. However, the fact remains that distant lands are dangerous. I am also against you going into the forest, you know."
"I allow it. Alter is that good. Besides, the academy accepts you from the age of ten, you know."
"Yes, it is. The glory of the golden ages is a thing of the past, and the academies are a skeleton."
That directly connected to the Arsis Empire's blazing ripeness and maturity.
I haven't fought anything but monsters for the past ten years. I had assumed that the humans were united and standing up to their mighty superiors.
In reality, I was just lucky. The enemy is alive and well. The empire is full of cracks.
The empire was unified in the west six hundred years ago. Since then, the lords west of the center have enjoyed a long period of peace. But it slowly corrupted. Now, they are in a state of power struggles and conflicts. They even attack and destroy other houses. And the emperor has no authority left to suppress or even punish them. My Reedwald family belongs not to the emperor's faction but the faction of the Marquis of Braslad, a northeastern noble, because of the sense of crisis in the area adjacent to the Kingdom of Baromat and the Unified Kingdom of Haasel is incomparable to that of other lords.
Naturally, they would not send their precious heirs and daughters to other territories if the world were in such a state of turmoil. It would be tantamount to assassination or declaring that their daughter should be taken as a hostage. The fact that his brother Lachius rarely left Riedwald was also due to the presence of potential enemies everywhere.
"However–"
My father's words made me hastily stop ruminating on my classroom studies.
"The academy is not gone. A few children of nobles still study there."
"You want me to go to Selen?"
"I'm not forcing you to go. But you have great talent. You will have a great influence on the world in the future. But that won't be possible if you stay in Reedwald. No matter how many monsters and adventurers gather there, it is still a frontier town. I want you to know a bigger world. Lakius agrees with me on this."
My father closed his mouth as if prompting me to think.
Since I haven't shown him my status, he must not know I'm not growing. In the first place, I wouldn't call a ten-year-old boy who is on par with veteran adventurers as being stretched. So I guess he was genuinely thinking about my growth.
I can't thank him enough, but there was one thing that bothered me.
"Would your mother disagree?"
"Of course!"
My mother responds with a bite.
"How far away do you think Selen is? Selen is under the direct jurisdiction of the emperor's faction in the first place. What could happen–"
"Henriette."
Father admonished in a quiet but strong tone.
The direct jurisdiction is the land of the emperor's faction. I understand what my mother wants to say, but this is a bad statement.
My mother immediately noticed and bowed her head.
"This was a ...... gaffe. However, the fact remains that distant lands are dangerous. I am also against you going into the forest, you know."
"I allow it. Alter is that good. Besides, the academy accepts you from the age of ten, you know."
As I listened to my parents arguing, I realized that I had never shown my mother my status. At this rate, I would have to convince my father, and I would be thrilled if the permission to explore is updated. I thought I would quickly show it to her and convince her, but I soon realized it was pointless. Perhaps my mother doesn't like her children doing dangerous things. So it doesn't matter what I'm capable of. Instead, she might look at "Increased Growth Potential" and say, "If I can train safely, you don't need to go into the woods."
While I was thinking about that, the argument continued and the exchange caught my attention.
"He'll be away for three years and you're not worried!"
"Of course I'm worried. And five years!"
"Three years is enough!"
It was like something out of classic science fiction. But differently.
So what's the difference?
I asked, stopping the discussion, and my father answered.
"There is no definite period of study at the academy. The children of aristocrats never know when and if they will be called back. But that would not be acceptable. Therefore, I set the minimum length of study at three years and the maximum at five years. As long as you have studied for at least three years and have achieved a certain degree of success, you are considered to have completed your studies, no matter when you leave."
"I see, I understand."
In short, you have to study for three years to be of any use. That's why the minimum is there. The five years is simple: if you start at the age of ten and go through five years, you are an adult and usually called back. If not, it proves that a student is a person with problems, and if the student stays, the institute will be in trouble, so they force the student to graduate in five years.
And my mother said, "After three years, come back as soon as you can. Do you agree with my mother on this? I would have to go there to find out, but I don't think I need to go there for five years. If I go there anyway. I am more interested in magic than academics. The headquarters of the magic guild is there.
I straightened up and turned to my parents.
"I would like to enter the academy. But could you give me some time to think about it?"
"That's fine, but we don't have much time."
"Well, how long will it be ......?"
"Well, we have to leave in a month or we won't make it in time. If not, it will be next year.
"That's–it doesn't take much time to think about it, but we have to be ready. Why so suddenly?"
"I forgot."
Father broke into a grin.
"No one in my family has ever attended the institute. I had completely forgotten about it."
"I was aware of that. But I would never send my beautiful son to a hostile country."
The two couple laughed in a high-pitched, strangely breathy laugh.
They were indeed a married couple who agreed on the strangest things.
But, father, you're talking about hostile territory, right?
