Royal Academy

Standing in front of the gate of the Royal Academy, I let myself relax a little. The gate was huge, to say the least. It was literally made of gold, and in the middle of it, 'Royal Academy' was written, it was even surrounded by diamonds. It was even more beautiful than the gate at the Euridice territory, but I don't feel upset at all. Rather, I feel slightly smug and proud of it for no particular reason.

"Lady Aksia, I'll bring your luggage to your room." I looked at the coachman who's carrying two of my luggage. I simply gave him a nod and he vowed, "I wish you luck and please take care." he said before leaving.

Left alone, I decided to finally start walking. I entered through the gate with other nobles around my age.

Royal Academy is known as the best Magic school in the Lansera Kingdom. Actually, it was said to be too good and prestigious that even other people from all over the world are studying here as well – which is true, because some of the neighboring Kingdoms Prince and Princess are studying here, too. Even with all of that, the Royal Academy doesn't have that many requirements.

You don't need to be a noble to be able to enroll, anyone, even commoners, is allowed to study here as long as they have Magic and can meet the Academy's standards. In the Academy, each student must see and treat each other equally no matter what status they have.

The procedure of the enrollment isn't easy though.

We had to send a letter first asking for enrollment, then the Royal Academy would send a reply to you after two days with a test and a measuring device that is used to measure Magic – I also didn't know about this before since the game didn't really tell the players in detail how one can enroll at the Royal Academy. The test just contains questions about basic information about Magic.

And all I need to do to measure my Magic is to touch the measuring device. The device was very... simple looking. It... just looks like a transparent ball with a size smaller than that of basketball.

Fortunately, I was able to easily answer the test questions, and when I touched the measuring device, the transparent ball becomes no longer transparent – shadow surrounded it's exterior as the inside of it was slowly filled with pure black.

When both the test and measuring device are sent back to the Academy, it'll be a two day wait again to see if the Academy will accept you as a student. Fortunately, I did pass – and the Academy sent a map and a guide that tells us what the students would be doing on their first day. However, they didn't tell us what will be our class yet since it'll be announced at the Entrance Ceremony.

They also sent several uniforms, and I'm currently wearing one of them right now. Unlike other Magic School who doesn't require students to wear a uniform, Royal Academy has a rule about wearing the uniform is a must.

The uniform appearance reminds me of a rich school uniform, and it was very eye-catching. It was a plain black long sleeve with a white necktie, there's a pocket on the left chest and the Academy's logo can be seen on it – a white shield with gold on its side, diamonds are also surrounding it, and the letter 'RA' was engraved inside the shield with a sword placed in the middle behind the shield.

The collar of the long sleeves is also designed with gold leaves, the same with the cuff on both sides.

Although it's up to students if they will wear it or not, it also comes with a cloak. The style is similar to a collar shawl short cloak cape but it reaches down to my waist. It was pure black but the tie or ribbon is gold. There are also leaf patterns all over it and even though it was a cloak, it was short and was made so that the wearer can move easily.

For the bottom, males wear pants which is black, the sides of both left and right have gold leaf designs similar to the long sleeve collar. The females wear a skirt that reaches only above my knees. The hemline also has a gold leaf design.

It was... beautiful and simple at the same time.

I decided to just wear thigh high socks and black boots so that I can easily move. And earlier, I saw that most females also wear thighs socks and comfortable shoes.

And now, I'm on my way to the auditorium where the Entrance Ceremony will be held.

"Hey human, are we staying here from now on?"

"... You're here." I said, suddenly hearing Gaos speak.

"Hey! Just because I'm not talking to you that much you can just forget me!" He exclaimed, "I was just napping." I heard him let out a displeased sound.

"Yes, we'll stay here for three years." I simply said. When I spotted the auditorium, the first thing I noticed is how huge it is. The shape of it is similar to a dome, and outside of it, just beside the large double door, a large bulletin board could be seen. A lot of students are also here already, some are probably inside already while some are still outside.

There are also some students looking at the bulletin board. Slightly curious, I walked towards it while hiding my presence. I immediately read the biggest letter written on the top, 'Pre-Examination Ranking'. It was the ranking that has been made based on the results of the test and measuring device that has been sent to every student.

I... know about the Academy Ranking, however, I only know the Heroine, the four capture target, and Aksia's ranking. In the game, Percival Roques, one of the capture targets, was ranked top one with a score of 100/100.

Next to him is the Heroine – Anastasia who's in second place with a score of 99/100.

In third place is Prince Deor with a score of 97/100, and next to him in fourth place is Prince Anakin with a score of 95/100.

The last capture target, Franco Louis is in fifth place with a score of 94/100.

And then... the Villainess – the original Aksia was supposed to be in sixth place with a score of 93/100. Thinking about it now, it was... weird. Aksia was smart, I believe that she can even surpass Percival if she wants. She obviously made it so that she would be in sixth place, but I can't think of any reason why. Maybe she doesn't want to give attention to herself? Or perhaps... she doesn't want to beat Prince Deor who was her fiance at that time?

Originally, Aksia – I, was supposed to be in sixth place, however, it was different this time. Instead of purposely doing bad or anything of that sort, I just... answered honestly. Now, I'm not sure what score did I get.

"Hey coward, your name is there." Gaos said. I tried to look for my name, but I was having a hard time since there are students in front of me, and I definitely wouldn't like to forcefully push myself to the front. I... really am not that comfortable when it comes to crowded places. I'd rather not waste my energy as well.

"Gaos, where did you see my name?" I asked Gaos as I step back.

"On the right side, hmp." He said. I ignored his 'hmp' as I look at the bulletin board on a tiptoe in an attempt to see what's written there better.

I closed my eyes, saying 'Enhancement' mentally as I open my eyes again to look at the bulletin board. My vision didn't only become much clearer, it was as if it was on zoom in. I looked at the right side and when I saw my name, my eyes widened slightly.

It was... in the third place – my name. The words '3rd: Aksia Euridice' with a score of 98/100 was clearly written there.

"You did good I guess, but if it was me I would have been number one. Now I want to fight that Percival guy and beat him into a pulp!" Gaos said as he laughs, but I ignored him as continue to stare at the bulletin board. The ranking... was different from the one in the game.

Percival Roques was still the first placer followed by Anastasia in second place. But instead of Prince Deor, I was the one in third place and the other capture targets were push back in ranks.

"I saw the test though, is that really the right way to test someone? To me, it seems really lacking. They don't know anything about Magic!" Gaos said. I... don't really care about the ranking, but if the Duke and Duchess heard me say that – I would definitely be punished and scolded since... they care a lot about things like this.

Right now, my goal is to simply learn Magic while making sure that my relationship with the Heroine and four capture targets wouldn't turn into something... bad. If possible, I would want to be acquainted with them – especially with the Heroine, since that's what one of my plans is about.

Although choosing to avoid them seems more of a good idea to me, that... will most likely end up in failure. I didn't read novels, manhwas, and manga for nothing, and even though one of my plan – befriending the Heroine, sounds cliché, I think it's the best plan I can do for now since I can't really run away yet. Not until I finished learning more about Magic, and not until I officially cut my ties with my family.

Since if I run away now, they will definitely chase after me and I'll have a hard time living peacefully.

I also can't see myself trying to seduce Prince Anakin, who seems to be one of those types of ML who always says clichè lines like 'You're different than others, you're the first to treat me like this, how interesting'. As for the other capture targets... I don't know them enough, and I don't think I can really... 'seduce them'. Just thinking about it is making me grimace.

I'm not really sure what Anastasia, the Heroine will be like yet. Although I said that she's a calm, smart, awkward, cool beauty – but that's in the game. This... is no longer a game, and some things are definitely changing.