School?

Austria, December 30th 1794

5:26 PM

Herman looked at Lukas. "Congratulations, brat. You have graduated," he said with a smile.

Lukas suddenly stopped celebrating and looked at Herman with his eyes widened. "Huh... well, thank you. It was obvious that I was going to graduate, so whatever," the blonde boy said as he looked away and his cheeks blushed slightly.

Herman chuckled. "Well, not just do I not have anything else to teach you, but also have you already fulfilled your graduation requirement, so, I guess this was our last session," he said with a smile.

Lukas promptly nodded his head. "So, when I turn fifteen I can already apply to the army, right?" he asked.

Hernan chuckled as he nodded his head. "That's ri-" he stopped for a bit. "Wait, do you really believe that?" the bulky man asked.

"Huh..." Lukas started rubbing his arm. "No?" he said.

Herman made a short break before bursting out in laughter. Lukas only got red with embarrassment as Herman laughed at him.

"Yo- Do you... r-really think you only needed this to apply to the army?!" Herman asked as he laughed.

Lukas only looked away as his cheeks got even redder.

Herman could only keep laughing at Lukas. "Graduate? Prodigy? Well, I have another title to give you..." the bulky man looked at Lukas. "You are a fool!" he said before continuing to laugh even more.

Lukas just turned his back to Herman and sat on the ground with his arms crossed.

When Herman noticed that, he stopped laughing and walked to Lukas. "Hey, what's wrong, brat? I was just mocking you," he said.

Lukas didn't answer, instead, he puffed his cheeks and closed his eyes.

Herman chuckled. "Come on, stop sulking! Do you want me to cancel your graduation?" he asked.

Lukas sighed and stood up, then, he looked at Herman. "I really hope that blow I landed on you hurt a lot!" the blonde boy said.

Herman laughed nervously. "Well, it actually hurt," he said.

Lukas then showed a smug smile as he crossed his arms.

Herman chuckled. "Well, let's get going to the mansion. I have to talk to your father," he said.

Lukas nodded his head. "Okay," he said.

Then, the both of them started walking towards the mansion.

"That wasn't an easy move to pull off, Lukas, how much did you train to be able to do it so well?" Herman asked.

Lukas hummed a bit as he placed his thumb on his lip. "I guess I have been training that move for almost three months," he said.

Herman took a deep breath. "Well, you can say it was worth it," he said.

Lukas nodded his head. "Yes, I am really glad it was worth it, it would be awful if the plan didn't work out," he said.

After walking a bit more, Lukas looked at Herman with a curious face. "Herman, since you said I can't apply to the army only with this graduation you gave me, what do I have to do then?" the blonde boy asked.

"Well, this "graduation" that I told you about is nothing official. It's just a way to tell you that I believe I have nothing else to teach you. You can only learn more by going to a military academy," Herman explained.

Lukas nodded his head in understanding. "Oh, so my next step is to go to a military academy?" he asked.

Herman nodded his head. "Yes, but you have to wait until you turn 8 years old for you to join," he said.

Lukas showed a disappointed expression. "Oh, really? Can't they make some kind of exception for me to join earlier? I don't wanna wait 2 years!" he complained.

Herman chuckled as he shook his head. "Sorry, Lukas, you'll have to wait. Enjoy these 2 years of free time you are going to have. You will wish to have them when you get older," he said.

Lukas sighed in frustration. "Do you think the kids I meet there will be much weaker than me?" he asked.

Herman sighed internally. 'This brat never changes, always smug. But he's partially right here, I don't think there many kids in Europe who had this kind of military training he had,' he shook his head. "If they are all your age, I highly doubt it. The brat would have to be outstandingly talented for that, even if he was one or two years older than you to be honest," the bulky man answered.

Lukas showed a smug smile. "Hmph! I knew it!" he said.

Finally, the both of them arrived to the mansion. "I'm going to tell your father about your graduation. Are you coming?" Herman asked.

Lukas nodded his head. "I guess s-" he was interrupted by someone.

"No, you won't," Klara suddenly said. She had a wide smile on her face, but, for some reason, it sent a shiver down Lukas's spine.

"Huh... what?" Lukas asked.

"Don't you remember, young master? You promised that once you graduated, you would let me cut your hair," Klara said.

Herman chuckled. "Hello, Klara," he casually said.

"Hello, Herman," she casually replied.

"...Can you cut it tomorrow?" Lukas asked.

Klara let out a low laughter that, once again, sent a shiver down the blonde boy's spine. "No," she answered.

Herman laughed. "Go ahead, Lukas. I'll not talk about anything that you don't know to your father," he said.

Lukas sighed in defeat. "Fine," he said.

Then, Lukas and Klara headed to one way while Herman went to the 2nd floor to talk to Elias.

After a while, Herman stood in front of the door of Elias's room and knocked. "Elias! It's me," the bulky man said.

Soon, Elias opened the door. "Herman? What's wrong?" he asked.

"...May I come in?" Herman asked.

Elias sighed. "Sure," he replied as stepped aside for Herman to enter his room.

Herman then looked around in Elias's room. "Wow, it's not very different from your room back when we first met," he said.

Elias sighed. "Go straight to the point, Herman," he said.

Herman then sat on a chair nearby and looked at Elias. "Your son's graduated," he said.

Elias widened his eyes. "W-What? Really?" he asked.

Herman chuckled as he shook his head. "Sorry, Elias. The boy managed to do it somehow," he said.

"...What was your graduation test?" Elias asked.

Herman sighed. "In order to graduate, that six-year-old boy had to land a blow on me, a veteran soldier! That was my graduation test," he said.

Elias was now speechless. "...How did he manage it?" he asked.

Herman sighed. "It's a long story," he replied. "Sit down," the bulky man said as he pointed at another chair across him.

After explaining Lukas's plan for a while, Herman finished. "And well, that's it. So, I assume that most of the plan was to trick me into thinking that there was no major plan," he said

Elias nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, there's no doubt. That boy planned everything from the very beginning," he said.

Herman nodded his head back at Elias.

"And also, there is something else," Elias said as he leaned back on the chair and crossed his legs. "When he told you to train outside the garden, he did that thinking about the plan that he carried out today," he explained.

Herman widened his eyes. "That's true, I didn't think about it," he said.

Elias took a deep breath and rested his head on his hand.

Herman chuckled. "Well, seems like we both lost to a six-year-old boy," he said.

Elias sighed. "This had nothing to do with winning or losing. I just wanted to keep him busy until he was old enough to enroll in the academy," he explained.

Herman shrugged his shoulders. "You could've just asked me to tell him that there was no way to graduate," he said.

"I know Lukas. He wouldn't just accept to go to a training session where he couldn't win anything. Of course, he'll gain skills, but he'd want more than that eventually," Elias said.

Herman nodded his head. "I see what you mean. He wouldn't work as hard as he did if you told him that he would just be training for 5 years and all he had to do was obeying me. He needed a bigger challenge," he said.

"Exactly," Elias said as he nodded his head.

Herman laughed. "Do you believe that he asked if he was already able apply to the army once he turned 15?" he asked.

Elias smiled. "That's something Lukas would say," he then showed a serious expression once again. "I didn't know he was interested in a military career, though," he said.

Herman shrugged his shoulders. "He apparently does. It's kinda disappointing to me, with his skills he could do anything he wanted. I hope he realizes there's nothing cool about going to war and killing each other," he said. "He still doesn't understand that you are giving him this military training for him to be able to defend himself," the bulky man concluded.

"That's normal. He's still just a child," Elias said.

Soon, they heard a knock on the door. Herman showed a smirk. "Just guess who it is," he whispered.

"Come in," Elias said, ignoring Herman's statement.

Lukas then walked in with his hair already short.

Herman bursted out in laughter while Elias just raised his brow. "When did you cut your hair?"

Lukas just ignored his father's question and looked angrily at Herman. "What's wrong with you?! It's practically the same haircut I had when I first met you!" the blonde boy complained.

Herman didn't answer Lukas and just kept laughing, making Lukas grunt in anger.

Meanwhile, Elias was curious about one thing. "Why did you come here?" he asked.

Lukas smirked. "Well, I just wanted to see, once again, the face of the veteran soldier who was hit by a six-year-old child," he said in a slow tone in order to taunt Herman.

Suddenly, Herman stopped laughing and showed an angry expression. "What did you say, you brat?!" he stood up. "Wanna go for a second round?!" the bulky man asked.

Lukas kept smirking. "Yeah, let's go! I'll just have to throw a snowball at you and you'll come running to me!" he said. "You should go back to the school of the soldiers!"

"That doesn't even exist!" Herman countered.

Soon, Elias widened his eyes. "Oh, true. You're supposed to go to school at your age, Lukas," he said.

Meanwhile, Lukas and Herman were staring at each other. When Herman heard Elias's statement, he quickly looked at him.

"Oh, that's tru-" he was interrupted by Lukas delivering a punch to his stomach.

"BOOM! SIX-YEAR-OLD LANDS A BLOW ON A SOLDIER CHAPTER 2!" Lukas yelled.

Herman gritted his teeth. "You brat, I'll kill you before you graduate!" he said.

"Come on, stop it," Elias said with a bored expression.

After that, both Lukas and Herman turned their backs at each other with their arms crossed.

Soon, Lukas realized something. 'I'm having a normal interaction with my father! This is weird,' he thought.

"Lukas, you're supposed to go to school at your age. But for obvious reasons I'll not make you go if you don't want to," Elias explained.

Lukas hummed for a bit. "What do we learn there?" he asked.

Elias hummed for a bit too. "Well, you learn how to read, how to write-" he was interrupted by Lukas.

"That's a joke, right?" Lukas asked.

Elias raised his brow. "Huh?!"

Lukas crossed his arms with a smug expression. "I'm not going to school! That's just too easy!" he said.

'But you didn't even me let me finish,' Elias thought. He sighed. "Okay, whatever," the brown-haired man answered.

"You'll still have to keep doing your physical training during your two years of free time," Herman said.

Lukas nodded his head. "Yes, I know. I would be deeply bored if I didn't, anyway," he said.

"Don't forget to increase the amount and time of your exercises as you build more stamina," Herman said.

"Yes, yes, I know," Lukas said with a bored expression.

"Don't forget to keep following your diet either," Herman said.

"Yes, yes," Lukas hurriedly replied.

"And also don't forget to-" Herman was interrupted by Lukas.

"Okay, fine! I'll not forget anything!" Lukas said.

Herman chuckled. 'This brat will never change,' he thought.

Herman stood up. "I will congratulate you once again for the move you pulled off. I enjoyed your time with you. You are my favorite pupil I ever had," he said with a smile as he patted his head.

"...How many pupils did you have, anyway?" Lukas asked.

"...Just you, but that's not the point. I truly admire you as a person, Lukas, even though you have your defects," Herman said.

Lukas pretended not to be affected by Herman's words, but he soon showed a smile as his cheeks blushed. "Yes, I admire you too, Herman," he said.

Herman chuckled. 'Like that, he even looks like an ordinary child,' he thought.

Soon, Elias and Lukas bid farewell to Herman as he rode his horse home.