Chapter 112 - The Scowl Doesn't Make the Monk

"Anywho... I heard that lass from the Baruna Family became a Legend." continued the Headmaster.

"Yes, Headmaster. Elizabeth Dai Baruna became a Legend a couple of months ago, becoming one of the youngest legends on the Continent. She was then called by the Temple and has been named the new Seneschal, representing the Kingdom of Ansem. Her pupil, Elijah, became the new Dragon General." said Samuel, giving a small briefing of the last events in the Kingdom.

"Yes, she was good, very good indeed. Nice rack, great peach-like bottom... yes, very good," kept muttering the old man.

The lips of the lady were starting to twitch, and a small vein appeared in her smooth and beautiful forehead threatening to burst. Samuel acted like he heard nothing, but even he barely managed to contain himself. However, he knew better than to fight with the Headmaster. The last time he berated the Headmaster, the consequences... He did not want to remember that episode.

"Speaking about Dragon General Elijah. He requested the use of the special spot held by the Royal Army, to recommend his very own brother to enter the Lyceum. It's an ugly business, to say the least, and I was of the mind of denying the request, however, the Army and even His Majesty himself approved the request, so I could only let him enter." said Samuel with some small tidbit of disdain in his voice. He could not put the finger on what exactly, but there was something about Nerun he just did not like. You might even call it, intuition.

"Is that so? Is the boy unworthy? I have met that young lad, Elijah before, and didn't seem like the type to commit nepotism" asked the lady.

"He is a 12 years old Grandmaster, so he fulfils most requisites, but his Qi seems shallow. Probably a special treasure or something like that. In the next Inner Class Ranking, he'll likely be demoted to the Outer Class. We'll see if he'll stay in the Lyceum for much longer."

"Perhaps. But I doubt the King approved the new Dragon General's request simply because of a matter of face. Maybe the boy has something to him. At the very least, we should give him the benefit of the doubt." continued the Lady.

Samuel wanted to retort, but in the end, decided that discussing Nerun was hardly worth his effort. He did not know the lad, and probably would not get in contact ever again once the next Ranking was over. So why bother?

"Well if that is all about the recent events, we need to expedite things, then. I suppose we are still entitled to 4 candidates if His Majesty hasn't changed his mind. We have 60 students in their 2nd and 3rd year of the Inner Class, so we'll have to choose among them. I want to see them all, to see if there is anyone worthy to be nurtured. I'll pick 10 students, give or take and will make them undergo an intensive course. The three of us, and some of the elders from the school will take part. Since I still need some time to make some preparations, we'll pick the students for the special course in the next Inner Class Ranking battle. Bring forward the tests to one month from now. I'll also take a look at the students of the Outer Class; who knows, there might even be a surprise. For three to four months I'll squeeze the pups, and we'll then choose the 4 contestants for the Tournament. Time is tight, but we'll make do with it. We'll have slightly more than two weeks to travel to Rhodnius." said the old man.

"Then the next Inner Class Ranking will need to undergo some changes, so Headmaster is able to see all of the students. Should I promote the change just for the 2nd and 3rd year?" asked Samuel.

"No... Do it for the first years as well. Perhaps I'll find a surprise or two," ended the Headmaster, who then closed his eyes and started rocking in his chair. Both Samuel and his lady companion understood that the Headmaster was dismissing them, so they simply bowed and left the premises.

As they were about to leave the room, they thought they heard more muttering. This time, however, it was very low, like the sound of a mosquito. They barely caught some of the words, but they couldn't make heads or tails of their meaning:

"... Radem. Is that old pervert still alive? Whatever, I missed the part where those lads' situation is my problem... The stars are aligning. The Mirror of the World... Soon."

Outside the pavilion, Samuel looked at his co-worker and seemed to want to say something, but she spoke first in a gentle yet firm voice: "Samuel Dai Manota, if you talk about Armand like that ever again in my presence, I'll forget we were ever comrades."

Samuel was about to retort, however, the Lady simply disappeared right in front of him as if a feather carried by the wind. Watching her beautiful figure floating away, he could not help but feel bitter in his heart, and after fuming a bit, he also left to take care of the tasks that the Headmaster had given him. There were several preparations to be made If the Inner Class Ranking was to change. Notifications had to be made in advance so the classes could prepare. Also, the parents and tutors of the students needed to be told in advance. Time was of the essence.

....

Nerun arrived at the Martial Temple a couple of hours after leaving the school. This time he took his time to actually look around Eonia, its magnificent buildings, rich-looking stores, its proud citizens and some of the grand manors along the way. If there was a word that could encompass all that Nerun had seen, it would probably be splendour. Not flamboyant or extravagance, just splendour. At least, that was his sincere thought, and he couldn't help but understand the pride of the citizens from Ansem, as well, as the desire that many people had of living in the capital. Eonia was a city like no other Nerun had ever seen. Syracuse couldn't even be named at the same level as Eonia.

The guards saluted Nerun when they saw him coming, and allowed him free entrance. Every soldier knew of the little brother of the Dragon General and knew better than to try and stop him. Whatever their true thoughts of the boy were, that would not deter them from fulfilling their duty.

Elijah was in his study room when Nerun arrived, reading some reports. There were two people in the room standing next to his brother. Nerun actually knew both of them and could not help to let out a small tone of surprise. One of them was the man named Sergi whom Nerun had met before, one of his brother's confidants in the Army. The other was a beautiful girl with hair tied in a ponytail, and she was smiling back at him.

"Lieutenant Serena. What a great surprise to see you so soon. How are things back in Syracuse?" asked Nerun with a smile on his face.

"It's all good thanks to you. Our family has taken a strong leadership position, and at least for the foreseeable future, we will not have any problems managing the County. My father says we still owe you a great deal. I just could not believe that the small boy I met at the frontier 6 years ago has developed into such an expert. I'll need to keep depending on you in the future, hehehe." said Serena.

"It's good that you have such a great relationship. Serena will become my personal attendant from now on Nerun, so, when I'm not around, you can come and ask Serena for anything you may need. She is no longer a lieutenant, as the personal attendant to a Dragon General, she has been promoted to Commander, however, she does not have an army to call her own just yet." continued Elijah.

"Also, with Serena here, things will be easier from here on out. I already found a manor we could buy. It did cost a pretty penny, but it's worth it. It's close to the Martial Temple, however, it has enough security and privacy so we won't have to worry about meddlesome people. It has already been enhanced with many alchemical advances, and we will have a lot more freedom. We'll move tomorrow."

Nerun simply nodded in consent.

"How was your first day? Anyone gave you trouble?"

"More like I gave trouble to some people," smiled Nerun. Elijah simply smiled back and did not ask anything further. He was unwilling to interfere too much with Nerun's school life. After he helped him get into the Lyceum, he allowed Nerun full freedom to act in the academy however he wanted. After all, this was also a test for Nerun, and the latter needed to learn to fend for himself, and not depend on him for everything. That would be counterproductive to Nerun's growth. Not that he would completely distance himself from it, he would still advise his little brother from time to time, but he was confident that he was more than up to the task.

"Your uniform has already arrived. It's in your room, make sure it fits properly. From tomorrow on you'll need to wear it. You have free reign, little brother, so do as you see fit. I just want to tell you something. Enjoy your stay at the Academy. Truly enjoy it, and be a teen. Don't take so much unto yourself. You are just a teen after all. I know you feel pressured, so I won't say to take things easy. But remember that no matter what, your big brother is here to hold up the sky if necessary. I got to his position with tears, sweat and blood. And If I can't even manage to protect my little brother from harm, then I might as well find a piece of tofu and kill myself with it."

Elijah was smiling while saying this. His hope was for Nerun to grow up happily. He knew that that was probably nothing more than a pipe dream, but he would make sure to make things easier for his little brother. At the very least, he would not let him be bullied for free. People would know that he was not a soft persimmon to pinch whenever they wanted.

Nerun felt Elijah's feelings in these words, and smiled back at him, before laughing a bit. "Don't worry Big Brother. I just hope you are not annoyed if you are called by the teachers over and over if I break too many bones from my classmates."

"As long as it's not your bones that are broken, you can go wild." Elijah was serious, and the hidden ferociousness he displayed at the Rhodnian Frontier could be seen in the depth of his eyes.

Even Sergi and Serena couldn't help from shivering a little. They understood that these couple of brothers were serious. Poor of those that stood in the way of them. However, they very much preferred this look on Elijah. After all, he was not only their leader, but one of the top three people in the hierarchy in the Royal Army. If he could not even show his backbone when dealing with these shenanigans, then he was not worthy of their loyalty. They knew that Elijah was an intelligent young man, sometimes callous, sometimes ferocious, but deeply loyal and trustworthy. That's why there were so many young elites in the Army that were willing to die for him, especially in the Rhodnian Border Army.

The next day, very early in the morning, Nerun and Elijah moved out from the Army Headquarters to a beautiful and medium-sized manor, situated right in the heart of Eonia. It was a beautiful place located on a plot of approximately 1500 square meters. In Eonia, where every square meter was worth its weight in tens of gold pieces, the cost of such a place was astronomical. Nerun was a bit flabbergasted but immediately showed much delight at the magnificence of the house. Still, it was on the small scale, when considering the usual size for the manors of the Noble Families, however, for the two brothers it was more than enough. Nerun also understood the current financial capability of his Big Brother, as well as what the name Dragon General implied. This only made the decision not to tarnish his brother's reputation stronger in his heart.

The manor came with a full retinue of servants, which had been strictly chosen by Sergi and Serena after many checks to try and make sure that there were no spies in their midst. As Nerun was entering his room, he was enthralled by the soft and big bed, the spiritual wood furniture and the precious Magical Beast carpet. He changed quickly into his new uniform and then looked at himself in the full-body mirror in his room.

Nerun always looked easy on the eyes. Even when dressed in old shirts and pants, with ragged clothes or with dirty hair, his limpid eyes, his natural smile and his calm demeanour spoke of the true nature of his noble soul. The scowl does not make the monk. But when Nerun looked at himself in the mirror, he could barely recognize himself.

The uniform of the Lyceum consisted of various pieces of fabric made from the mix of various threads of highly ranked materials through alchemical means, such as the silk of Shadow Sleepless Worm - a rank 7 magical beast -, Mandrake Cotton - a rank 6 spiritual plant -, and wool from the Horned Fire Sheeps of the Rhodnian Prairie. Each part was woven with care and took some time to procure, which was one of the reasons Nerun still had not gotten his, prior to his entry at the Lyceum.

The uniform was cyan blue with silver borders and motifs and had an elegant and sharp look to it. It was both comfortable and durable, and could even withstand minor attacks without fear of being torn.

It came with a pair of Abyssal Alligator boots. Nerun had never used anything this fancy in his entire life. As Nerun was admiring himself in the mirror a noise came from the window sill which made Nerun turn his head towards it with a smile.