231-240

After the opening ceremony, it was now time to choose classes. It was just that I had a group of people standing behind me while I looked at my registration form. "Ummm… Why are you all not picking your classes?"

"Boss, you are joking, right? Why would we just pick random classes? We will pick the classes you are in so we can stand by your side and protect you from all evil!" Steven spat out some embarrassing lines like it was nothing causing everyone else to turn and giggle.

"Steven, are you hitting on me?" I asked in a teasing manner. My words instantly made Steven's face go red as he started to panic..

"What!? No! While you are definitely as pretty as a goddess, I am just a mere mortal. How could I ever be someone who is compatible with you? I can only gaze upon you from afar and worship…."

"Stop!" I was starting to get embarrassed by his words. I mean, what the hell? Who the hell spits out such cringy lines!? But it seemed that everyone else found it very funny…. Even Adel, who would normally get mad about such things, was laughing. "Anyways….. All of you can not take the same classes as me. I am taking both mage and knight classes. Some of you only passed the magic exam, and some of you only passed the knights exam. So you can only take some of the same classes as me. But you might find them boring as I am taking a lot of military-related classes."

"It's fine. We will take turns watching over you!" Amanda chimed in. I do not understand why everyone needs to watch over me but well, whatever. Having some friends around was also not so bad.

I mainly took classes that would allow me to learn more about commanding. After all, that is also one of my goals. The dungeon dive also confirmed my new love for commanding. The process of analyzing and trying to figure out your enemy's strategies is really fun to me. While I know that the dungeon was not the best of places for that, but having a group of people steadily grow stronger under your watch really made me want to command a large group of soldiers on my own.

In the end, I took magic theory, magic practice, magic creation, battle practice, battlefield theory, and knight particle. These six classes were each an hour and a half long. This left a few hours for my library time, and then I could go home to train everyone. While it may look like I am doing nothing but work, in fact, the library time is my free time. I just wanted to do the one thing I loved most in my past life, and that was read!

I do not know what kinds of books I will find in the library, but I can say that I will try to read them all before I graduate. Or at least attempt to. I have no idea how big the library is. But one of the things I wanted to research was a way to fully complete my fusion magic. While currently, I could fuse magic together, it was a long process and took forever to cast. It was not even close to being battle ready.

I am sure when it is fully finished, I will be able to do many different things with it. Like, let's say fusing my Gates of Faithylon with Grand Fall. Of course, I will change the element on Gates of Faithylon so that the fusion could get its maximum effect. However, I think such a spell might be more of a world ender and would then be considered forbidden magic. But I will still create it!

With my classes now set, it was time for me to head to the library, which everyone tried to follow, but I quickly shooed them away. Right now, I only have Adel, Sally, Sei, Grace, and Sophie with me. I couldn't escape them. Not that I was really trying to in the first place. But I can say that I was very excited. I had an entire day to sink into the wonderful smell of books and read as much as I wanted.

The library was on the left side of the academy grounds. It was a very large building. At least three floors from the outside. I do not know who designed the buildings or not, but for some reason, they decided that the doors must be two floors tall and extremely wide. But as I got to the doors, I noticed that there were two smaller doors built into the two larger ones, which made me even more confused as to why it was designed this way. Was this supposed to be some kind of gateway of knowledge? Either way, it just looked strange to me, but it did make finding the library easier. 𝚒𝓷𝚗𝚛𝚎𝙖𝐝. 𝒄૦𝓂

But I was not truly surprised until I walked into the library itself. It was a building that had space magic imprinted into the inside, making the inside a whole world of its own. It was truly majestic. Floating islands with large bookcases on them, a waterfall that rained down into the endless cloudy abyss below. And currently, I was standing on a small glass platform that jutted out over this abyss. If I were scared of heights, this would be hell. Even the stairs connecting to the closest floating island had no railings and were made of glass as well. It was really testing people's limits.

"This place is kind of crazy," I muttered as I looked around. It was truly surprising and nowhere near what I was expecting.

"I heard stories about the grand library of the academy, but this is my first time seeing it, and it seems that all those stories that stated that it was a fantastical world filled with books were true." Adel whispered. We could not speak too loudly or would be kicked out. There was evena sign on my right that said if you talked loudly you would be instantly kicked out and banned for a week. Which I thought was fair, I mean this was a library after all.

I walked up to the only desk with what looked to be a middle aged woman with thick rimmed glasses and blonde hair draped over her face, reading a book sitting behind it. Even as we stood there in front of her desk, the woman did not look up once from her book. In a way, she reminded me of myself back on Earth. Jen used to stand at my side yelling my name, but I would not even so much as flinch or raise my head until she pinched my side.

I stood there with the others as time ticked by, and the woman only turned page after page. I was starting to get impatient as the sign said I had to check in first before I could even start to read any books. "Umm, excuse me!" Adel seemed to have gotten tired of waiting and began trying to get her attention.

But even as Adel raised her voice, the woman only turned another page. This was very much like my old self. But this only seemed to annoy Adel even more as she slammed her hands off the woman's desk but still got no response. I can now see how annoying I must have been to Jen all those years that she knew me. I sighed and walked around to the other side of the desk. I looked for the part just above her hip bone that had the most amount of fat and gave it a good pinch..

"Oyio!" The woman yelled out in a strange voice as she looked up at me, teary eyed and with an aggrieved expression as she rubbed her side. "That was mean!" When I saw her upturned eyes, I realized under the hair that was hanging down over her face this woman was not middle aged at all but in her early twenties. It was hard to tell with her hair over her face, but she was actually quite pretty. It was so surprising that I couldn't help but stare.

"Umm…. Did you need something?" The young woman asked as she stared at me nervously. I don't know why but I felt close to this woman. She had long blonde hair and big blue eyes. But what made me feel close to her was she reminded me of my time with Jen.

"Sorry, we wanted to register so we could look at the books." I smiled and gave an apology. I mean, I felt bad. I did just pinch her.

"Huh? Oh! I am so sorry! When I get caught up in a book, I lose track of everything around me." The young woman replied in a panic as she began trying to find the right papers. I could hear her mumble under her breath: "Oh no, I will get yelled at again."

"No, you won't because we won't tell anyone," I replied with a smile. The young woman's actions froze as she turned and looked at me. "Are you an angel?"

I chuckled and shook my head: "Far from it. I just do not see a reason to complain about someone being lost in a book when I do such things myself. Books are a window to another world. It allows you to lose yourself and become the characters of that book. You can feel anger, sadness, and joy at the same time as the main character, all because the book will draw a reader in and allow them to experience such emotions. I know this all too well."

I smiled warmly at the young woman. Her cheeks went flush as she lowered her head and mumbled something. She then quickly took out a ledger and laid it in front of us. "P-Please sign here. On your way out, you must sign it again. No books are allowed to be brought out of the library. Even if you do try to sneak them out, they will just teleport back, and your name will turn red in the ledger. If it turns red, you will be punished by the academy."

Oh? Now, this was very interesting. To think such a system would be put into place. I did as I was told and signed the ledger, and when I did, a symbol appeared on the back of my hand. It looked like a crown with the letter S in the middle of it. "This is?"

"Oh, that is like a pass that allows you to roam around the library to certain areas. But I am quite surprised to think you would have full access…. Only a select few have such access. I feel kind of jealous now…." The young woman pouted as she looked at my hand with a bit of yearning. I felt bad, but I do not think I can bring anyone with me to these secret areas. But I wonder why I was given full access? Was this the Deans doing?

After I registered, only I was allowed full access. Even Adel could not gain full access to the library. She looked at her hand and frowned, and muttered something about needing to teach the Dean a lesson. I pretended that I did not hear anything. But mainly right now since today was going to be a full rest day for me. I decided I wanted to read a normal story like the ones I used to read back on Earth. And since there was a story fanatic right in front of me, I decided to ask her what would be a good choice. "Excuse me. Can you recommend any good books?" i𝘯𝚗𝗿𝗲α𝙙.＆nbsp;c𝒐𝐦

As soon as I asked this, I realized I might have made a mistake. Because the young woman's eyes lit up, and she nodded her head like a little chick as she answered: "A good book, right? Well, it depends on the genre you are going for, but I would suggest Abby Smith's collection of tales of a Knight and his Princess. The forbidden love of the two is so romantic. Oh, and then there is Darrely Fentrens collection of fantasy tales of a world without magic that uses machines to do everything. Even flying through the sky in large metal boats with wings! It is truly one of the best fantasy stories!"

Why is she talking about Earth!?

"Flying metal boats without magic!? That's crazy!" And here, Adel was eating it up. Although I must admit, I am curious as to see how they envision how things would be on Earth. It has piqued my curiosity.

"Now then, which one interests you the most? If you want a mix of romance and fantasy, I recommend this one novel about a fluffy beastkin and a Domineering CEO. Although…." The young woman's cheeks flushed red as she leaned over and whispered into my ear. "It might be a bit too much for girls your age."

My cheeks began heating up. Why was she suggesting such a book!? "We don't need that kind of book!" I yelled out.

The young woman pursed her lips as she looked at me. "But it's a good….".

"We are too young!" I interrupted her. "Let's go with the PURE fantasy novels for now." I made sure I emphasized the word pure. I mean, I do not need Adel reading some skankily written book about adult things right now. I might wake up to something I am not ready for.

"Okay! Okay… But if you are interested, just let me know." The young woman replied with a strange smile. I just shook my head and looked up at Adel and the others, who all had confused faces on their faces.

"Umm, Faith, what were…" Adel seemed to want to ask what I was just told, but I quickly began speaking again, ignoring the question she was about to ask so that she would hopefully forget about it. "Where can we find the fantasy section?"

"Take the left staircase. It will bring you to the floors with only fantasy books." The young woman replied with a smile.

"Thank you." I gave a slight bow before taking the lead and walking up the stairs. I figured I would be interacting with her a lot from now on. Although I did forget to get her name, but that can come later.

The stairs leading to the floating island were really strange. While they seemed skinny at first before you stepped on them, when you did, they seemed to expand left and right to kind of give you the security that you will not fall off if you take the wrong step, which was nice because I was slightly nervous as to what would happen if I did fall off. I mean, the area below was just a thick, dense layer of clouds, after all, with no way of finding out what lay beneath them.

It took a few minutes to reach the island. When I looked around, I saw many different kinds of flora and fauna growing out of the stone ground amongst the tall wooden bookcases. Now to me, this was truly fantasy like. It was a very pretty sight and gave off a nice calming feeling. i𝒏𝐧𝒓ea𝚍.＆nbsp;𝘤𝗼𝓶

There was even a small stream trickling by that flowed into a small pond that had a pavilion on it for people to sit and read in peace. It was definitely a serene place, and to be honest, I really liked it. "Let's split up and find something to read."

"You seem excited," Sei whispered.

"Of course, I love books. Reading is something I do not have much time to do, but it is one of my favorite things to do." I replied in a hushed tone.

"Then we shouldn't keep you from doing it," Adel said while pushing me from behind. I smiled and ran off. I really wanted to read the stories of this world. I wonder if they could meet my expectations.

There was row upon row of books all lined up on their shelves neatly. There was no dust to be seen, as if someone took very good care of the books here. For some reason, I could envision the young woman downstairs diligently cleaning the books here every day. I do not know why I think this, but I just get the feeling that she was just that kind of person.

I scanned the books and read the titles, and to be honest, many of them reminded me of the Japanese novels with the unnecessarily long names back on Earth. It made me chuckle because I used to read such novels myself. I really loved those days when I would sit back on my bed and read a novel until I was dragged out of my room by my mother. I used to long for the fantasy worlds where I could use magic and fight monsters. It was just a fantasy lover's dream, but now here I am in such a world. I wonder if some god decided to give me what I longed for? At any rate, I do wonder how the fantasy novels of this world read.

After scanning the books for a while, I finally found one that seemed interesting. I, of course, was one of those who read the novel title before even looking at the synopsis. If the novel title is bad, I won't even try to read the rest. "Transmigration, I will rule this world!"

I really wondered just how they were going to rule a planet like Earth. I mean, it is a world of machines with no magic whatsoever. Unless they come up with a way for them to use magic, at any rate, I will give it a read.

I took the book and walked back to the pavilion with my tail wagging back and forth. I was really in a good mood. I sat down and opened the book, and began reading the synopsis. 'My name is Telnos. I was once a magic knight who worked day in and day out. I once had a dream of rising through the ranks and making a name for myself to gain my own land and rule over it like a king. But sadly, to rise in the ranks takes a long time. But one day, that all changed. While on a mission, one day, I was transported to another world. A world where no magic could be found.

'Just looking around at the awe inspiring buildings, I couldn't help but have one thing flash across my mind. And that was….. I will rule this world!'

𝓲𝓷nr𝒆𝚊d. 𝘤𝑜𝘮

I chuckled to myself after reading the synopsis. I really wondered where this person got the idea for such a stupid novel. But nevertheless, I still began reading it.

'I lived a life of hardships of training every day, wanting to better myself and make a name for myself. I wanted to live a life of luxury and have many wives at my side. But the hardships of reality were different from what I expected. No matter how hard I worked, to gain the merit points needed to rise through the ranks was not easy. I was not even close to becoming a baron just yet.

'But all that changed on that fated day…. I woke up in a dark place with a small window where I could see hooded people. They were screaming something about how it worked. But what shocked me the most was that I seemed to be in some kind of container. A loud mechanical sound was heard as the container I was in suddenly split in half, and the part with the window lifted up. I was in a bit of a daze because I felt no magic coming from the device.

'As I slowly stepped, the men in cloaks began to tremble under my god like presence….'.

"Pfft! Hahahahahahaha! What is this!?" I couldn't help but burst out laughing. It was so stupid that I couldn't help myself, but at the same time, I still wanted to read more!

'It was then and there that I realized. If they were trembling from my presence like this, couldn't I easily take this world over!? My eyes shined with this thought. And right then and there, I decided I would become the ruler of this world. To hell with lording over a small plot of land when I can have an entire world!

' I ignored the men in cloaks and made my way outside. Each person I passed dropped to their knees in reverence…..'

"Hahahaha! I can't! This book is too much." I wiped the tears from my eyes. This was just…. I could tell the person was male who wrote this. Furthermore, they seemed to have some hidden passion for wanting to rule the world. But since they are weak and without merit, they can only write about it in a fantasy story. But still… this kind of book.

"Ahem…. You looked like you were having fun…." Adel's voice entered my ears as I raised my head and looked at the five girls that were looking back at me with big grins on their faces causing me to blush. Trying to hide my embarrassment, I asked: "What!? …."

"Nothing. It is just the first time I saw you act in such a way on something other than magic. It makes my Faith look very cute." Adel replied teasingly. I couldn't help but purse my lips and close the book in my hands. I stood up and walked off while hugging the book. I could hear giggling coming from behind me. "Such bullies!"

I went back and put the novel back on its shelf. I then grabbed another book. This one was titled: "The beauty and the robot." My brow suddenly wrinkled. What kind of name is that!? Did this person come from Earth? Sighing, I began reading the synopsis but soon blushed and put the book back on the shelf. "Naughty…."

I scanned the books and found a few that seemed interesting. I brought them back under the watchful eyes of my companions. I am unsure if they were having more fun watching me or reading the books that looked to still be closed in their hands. In the end, I just ignored them and giggled and laughed as I read these supposed fantasy novels.

To tell the truth, only one of them was quite good. It was more of a science fiction style novel than anything and portrayed a more advanced civilization from Earth. It was only that book that I really got into and began reading quietly.

I had no idea how many hours passed, but I slowly closed the book in my hands, feeling refreshed. How long has it been since I read a good book? I don't know, but I do know now that this book was very enjoyable. I hope I can find more of them as time passes. Because I am determined to read everything here, or at least try to read them.

"Done?" Sophie asked. I looked up at her and gave her a satisfied smile as I nodded my head. "Mmm… Let's go."

We all walked back down the stairs and to the desk where the young woman was still sitting there reading. I did not wish to disturb her, so I reached over and grabbed the ledger from her so that we could all sign out. After signing my name, I waved goodbye to her and turned, and walked out of the library.

When we reached the academy gates, David was waiting for the other knights. I held out my hands to him, and he put them in cuffs once more. "You were in there longer than I expected," David spoke up as we climbed into the carriage.

"I got caught up in reading a book. I do apologize. I will be sure to let you know these things from now on." I felt bad because he had to stand outside the academy and wait for me.

"It's fine. Grace came out and kept me updated." David replied, causing me to look at Grace.

"It is my duty to help you without being asked. I would not be able to call myself your servant if I was unable to do such a simple task." Grace explained. Although grateful, I couldn't help but frown slightly at her words. She was so adamant about this servant-master thing.

I sighed and smiled at her as I said: "Thank you. When I read books I lose myself within the story and lose track of time."

𝒾𝗻𝓃𝐫eα𝚍. 𝒄𝐨m

In the end, since I was all mellowed out from my book, I let everyone have the night off and called Diablo to talk with me about demons. "You called, Master?"

"Yes, Diablo, please sit." In the living area of my room, I had Annie prepare some tea and snacks. Grace was also here since Adel screamed all kinds of things about me being alone with a man, a demon at that, in my room. Grace had part of my demonic blood in her now as well, which caused her to look partially the way she does, so although Adel wanted to be here, I told her to go rest. But I must say her puppy dog eyes when she tried to plead with me to let her stay was almost hard to resist.

"So the reason I called you here is to find out more about demons. As you know, I also have demon blood in me. To be exact, my bloodline is a mix of dragon and demon called the dragonic. I have an ancient will deep inside me that will come out every so often and makes me go kind of crazy. I will not hesitate to kill anyone. It has come out multiple times, and to be honest, it scares me as it feels like my body is being taken over. It mostly comes out when something happens or threatens those close to me." I explained. While it did not come out during the times that I was in the dungeon and fighting the goblins, but I think this was the same as when I was commanding the soldiers during the Norian invasion. Because my mind was preoccupied, it suppressed my ancient will enough to keep it from coming out..

"Hmmm… I am not sure about this world's demons. But there are also many different kinds of demons as well. Demons come in all shapes and sizes, just like you humans and demi humans do. To actually put it simply, to us demons humans and demi humans are one and the same, just different features. Although, Master seems to fall under a whole different category.

"As a dragon, you are of a breed of your own. You are not a demi human nor a human. You are a dragon, which sets you apart from the rest. As for demons, as I said, we come in different varieties, just like humans. We have ones that are more civil and those who are very violent and want to destroy everything. There is even a single demon king who is like this. But he is kept in check by the others. While it might seem strange to you, the demon world is not much different from this world.

"We have our cities and our own law systems along with kingdoms, and as you may have guessed, there are seven altogether. While there are some kingdoms that seem more lawless, there is actually a kind of balance in the demon world. Demons, by instinct, seek destruction and chaos. We were born from it, to begin with. We can be said to be a byproduct of the humans' hate and desires. The same goes for the angel race. They were born from humans' love and care. Lady Grace falls under the category of a mix of both. My guess is that at some point in this world, a human and an angel mated, giving birth to a half breed that then, over the years, passed on to each new generation.

"And in your case. A dragon and a demon mated, giving birth to the dragonic. It is just that this demon seems to be part of the violent faction and may very well be King Hades himself. He did not have a tendency to spread his seed long ago." Diablo paused as he took a sip of his tea. But his words left me thinking. What exactly are demons and angels to begin with? To be honest, Diablo's explanation had many loopholes as well.

"I know what you are thinking." Diablo interrupted my train of thought. "What I just said is based on the demon realm I am from. I do not know if more exist. This world could very well have had demons and angels living on it at some point. Your blood is familiar to me. The scent that comes from it. And I mean from the both of you. But I could be wrong. It could come from another race altogether similar to my kind."

"No, I know for a fact that the blood of a dragonic is a mix of demon and dragon blood. My system is different from others. I have the ability to evolve using something called an evolution stone. Well, the first evolution was a single evolution stone, while my next one requires six more." The final boss also dropped a few evolution stones, bringing me that much closer to my next evolution.

"I see… Evolution…. Do you know what your next evolution will bring?" Diablo asked.

"I am not sure. I only know its name, Dragonic Princess. I will not know more until after I evolve, sadly. At least I hope…." It was kind of annoying how the information for the next tier was blocked. I could only hope that it would give more information after my evolution. While I was kind of nervous about evolving, I still planned to do it anyway. The stronger I can get, the better with how this world seems to be slowly moving towards war.

"Hmm… Dragonic Princess. I wonder… Are you sure this is a race from this world?" Diablo asked. And he had good reason to. I even had my doubts as well but then the thing with Grace happened.

"I thought this as well but then Grace…." I looked over at Grace causing Diablo to nod.

"Yes, this does throw that idea out the window." Diablo contemplated for a few moments before leaning back in his seat. "If the dragonic of this world indeed descended from my demon world then I think we would need to speak with Hades."

"Do you think that is wise? You did say he was violent, after all. If we brought him here…." I was hesitant to call any demon that might cause harm to those around me.

"Yes, I know. That is why I will do the summoning. But we will only leave that as a last resort, and even then, it might not come to any kind of new information. For all I know, this world could have had more ancient demons than myself at some point and time.

"Master, you must understand that in this universe, nothing is absolute. Everything can change on a whim. The rise and fall of civilizations can be decided with the flip of a coin. One wrong mistake can wipe everyone out. This is just how things work. Even we demons are no exception which is why we keep a kind of balance in the demon world, or war would break out at any time. We do not cross our boundaries, and everyone has an equal share of land. This is to keep ourselves from destroying one another." Diablo's words made a lot of sense. But I still did not understand how this had anything to do with my ancient will. i𝙣𝒏r𝚎𝑎𝙙. 𝒄૦m

"To put it plainly, this dragonic race of yours may very well be a real race of this world, but the will itself originates from someplace else entirely. Like I said, nothing is absolute. Your system, which is different from everyone else's, may even be something from an even higher power. After all, your world did not have dungeons until just recently, right?" Diablo asked, causing me to nod my head..

"If that is the case, then why did dungeons suddenly start showing up now? The man we met with the strange lines on his body, where did he come from? This world may be under some kind of new rule, and you did not even know because to them, you are nothing more than ignorant ants that don't deserve their attention. The man we saw could even be the weakest of the weak compared to the ones above him." Diablo's words made sense. Everything may be different when dealing with the system. And not to mention Azengrade and his power to be able to control parts of the dungeons themselves.

It was a lot to take in, but one thing's for sure, I got nowhere in finding out about my ancient will. All this conversation did was bring more questions to the table than we had answers for. But I am glad I had it because these questions were things that needed to be asked to begin with.

"Thank you for your time Diablo." I finally said after being lost in thought for a while. I had much more to think about than I had expected to.

"Master, you do not need to thank me. You are my Master and can ask anything of me. This is what the contracts we have with each are for." Diablo stated as he stood up. But I did not feel that way.

"Even if we have a contract, Diablo. You are still your own person. While it may seem strange because I may ask things of you knowing that you can not say no, I am not doing it to order you around but asking you as a friend. It would be no different from asking the same thing of Adel or even Steven." I said with a smile. I did not think of Diablo as a tool. While I may contradict myself in some of my actions, I still felt Diablo was someone I could rely on as a friend and not a servant.

"This is why I am willing to serve you loyally. You have a pure heart, Master. While strong, you care for those around you and wish to help who you can. In the short while that I have known you, I have seen these things clearly with my own eyes. You give off a feeling that I can not find in the demon world." Diablo's words made me chuckle.

"Diablo, wasn;t it my mana what made you want to serve me?" I asked teasingly. He laughed and nodded his head. "This I can not deny! Haha!"

"Well, at any rate, I am glad to have you on my side." I was truly grateful to have someone as strong as Diablo next to me at this time. Because of him, I have room to breathe. And I think he was the reason why we were able to leave the dungeon alive anyways. Even if we did beat the dungeon boss on our own, that man…. He might have killed us all.

"And I am the same as you. But Master, before I dare call Hades here, you will need to grow much stronger. So when the time comes, you will need to have the strength to fend off any attacks he might throw at you. You will need to be able to protect yourself." Diablo added before bowing and leaving the room.

I sat back in my seat and looked up at the ceiling. It was then that a hand landed on my head and stroked it gently. "Grace?"

"Master looked as if you had a headache, so I was trying to help soothe it." Grace answered, causing me to close my eyes. She was right, I did have one. "Thanks Grace."

"It is my duty." Grace mumbled but I decided to ignore it.

"Grace, have you spoken to your family?" I asked. We still had to deal with her family. After all, the daughter of a marquess becoming a servant of a demi human was unheard of. It could make both the person involved and the family name lose all face.

I opened my eyes to see Grace making a strange face which was obviously a no. "I think we should invite your parents over. What you do is up to you. I will follow your decision. But you should at least talk with them."

"Then I will do as Master says…."

The next morning Grace did send a message to her parents. I was unsure of how this meeting was going to go, but it was necessary. Only when we meet will we know how it goes.

Currently I was out in the garden, which had now changed into a training ground. Well, for running anyways. I was having Frank, Jessica, Becky, Johan, and even Instructor Telive run a few lamps to begin really working on their stamina. I wanted to make sure everyone was at a standard stamina level before doing much of anything else. I, of course, was running alongside them as I needed to exercise as well. After running, I did some basic exercises before letting them go clean up and eat. We still had to go to the academy after all.

I was once again escorted to the academy in cuffs which brought a lot of attention to me. Not that I cared because this was all for show anyway. So the murmurs of those around me did not bother me in the slightest.

After entering the academy, I was to head off to my knight classes. "Alright, I will see you all later." 𝒾𝐧𝘯𝑟e𝒂𝗱. 𝒸o𝙢

"Faith…." Adel called out to me. I turned to look at her. She had the most pitiful face on. "Don't forget about me…."

"Adel, go to class!" I yelled before turning around and walking off. That silly girl, why is she being so dramatic!? She was acting as if we would never see each other again.

As I walked alongside Sei, Sophie, and Sally, I heard another set of footsteps behind me. I turned to see Grace standing there with her hands folded in front of her. "Grace?"

. "Yes, Master?" Grace answered per her usual response.

"Why are you following me?" I asked.

"Because I am Master's servant?" She replied while tilting her head to the side as if what I had just asked was a silly question.

"You are in the mage courses, though! Grace, you need to stay by Adel's side in case something happens to her! We talked about it earlier!" I held my head. I had already told Grace this early this morning. She repeatedly nodded her head. But it seemed my words went in one ear and out the other!

"Oh! You were talking to me about that! I thought you were talking to Sei." Grace immediately placed the blame on someone else, causing me to sigh.

"Just go to the mage classes. We will see each other later. I will be there for the afternoon classes." I really had to hand it to her to lie with such a straight face. Sei was still sleeping when I talked to her this morning! This girl….

"As you command Master. But…." Grace turned to look at Sei, Sophie, and Sally. "If Master comes under any harm while under your watchful eyes, I will destroy this kingdom and everything in it."

"Oi! Stop saying such things and get out of here!" I yelled. Grace bowed her head to me before giving the other three a meaningful glance and walking away. "She can just be…."

"Grace is as over the top as usual," Sei said with a chuckle.

"I don't think she was joking, though." Sally shook her head as she added.

"Then we will just have to keep our Queen Faith from getting even the tiniest of scratches on her!" Sophie teased as she poked me in the side. I pursed my lips and walked forward faster. I heard all three of them giggling away as I hurried along. They all know about what happened with the King because Adel thought it was an amusing story and blabbed about it to everyone. So now they have been calling me queen here and there to tease me.

"Boss! You are here!" I heard a familiar voice. Steven came running up along with a few of the others from my team. But I also felt many hateful gazes piercing into me as well, which was quite annoying. I brushed Steven aside and walked to the front of the classroom. "Boss? What are you?"

The instructor had not shown up yet, so I figured I would take this time to deal with the issues at hand. I can not learn in a hostile environment, especially if people are going to be staring at me in such a way.

I cleared my throat and looked everyone over. "I will say this now. I do not care which noble family you come from. I do not care what your noble rank is. If any one of you keeps staring at me with killing intent or malicious thoughts, I do not mind dealing with you. But I know most of you are egged on by your families as they are inturned egged on by a certain individual. Whether you hate me or not, I do not care but keep it to yourselves and stop staring at me, or I will punch each one of you until you learn how to be respectful of those around you."

"You! You dare!?" A young woman yelled out. I do wonder why these young noble girls, who have never seen the world, feel like they have to act all high and mighty. It makes no sense to me. But since she asked me if I dared…. I took a step forward only to have Sei pull me back. I turned and looked at her to see her shaking her head. "Leave that to me. I am not of your house, so if I beat them up and they can't do anything about it. Plus, my standing as a black night is higher than theirs.

"You are also currently under house arrest, so if you do beat them up, it will work against you at your trial. You need to watch how you act for the time being. So all the dirty work can fall to my hands or Adel's. We will be more than happy to take out such trash." Sei's words made a lot of sense. If I did make a move at this time, it would be causing me more bad than good, even if the fact of beating up these rich noble kids who wish to cause me trouble would feel good. I could only step back and motioned for Sei to take the floor.

𝙞𝘯𝘯𝙧𝒆𝘢𝐝. C𝑜ｍ

Sei smiled and stepped forward as she cracked her knuckles and looked at the young noble girl. "Now then… Do you want an over the clothes spanking or a bare bottom spanking? I have recently learned a technique called Red Bottom. It is quite good at putting naughty children in their place."

I tilted my head to the side. I could swear I had heard that name before…. Wait… She won't, will she? She really won't do it, would she!? A few nights ago, in the dungeon, we were all talking about our pasts before the academy and embarrassing things. I had spoken about my mother's red bottom technique. I never thought Sei would actually remember it.

"A red what!? Do you know who I am!?" The girl yelled out one of the most cliche lines any rich noble kid could yell. But I guess with their pride as a noble, they would use their noble names to scare the person in front of them so that they would not have to fight but sadly… I watched as Sei grinned and then disappeared…..

Not even a second later, a scream was heard, and a fresh white butt was exposed to the air for all to see. The girl had been draped over Sei's knee before most could even blink. Sei raised her hand and, with an evil grin, slammed it down onto the white cheeks of the poor girl. "Ouch! What are yo…. Ouch! Stop it! Ouch!"

I held my head. Why does it seem that I was seeing a shadow of my mother in Sei's image? This was just too much….

"Uhhhh….. Did I come at a bad time?" A male voice came from behind me. I turned around to see a familiar person standing there with a strange expression on his face.

"Good morning, Instructor Reliks," I said respectfully as I bowed my head.

"Yes, good morning, Faith, now please explain to me why I see a white… well, a now red butt being spanked in the middle of my classroom?" Instructor Reliks, full name Bill Reliks, the battle manic instructor who I fought during the entrance exam. His expression said a lot as he looked at the scene before him.

I must say the red bottom technique that Sei was using was quite good. Makes me wonder if she had practiced it. This kind of punishment also seemed to be effective because the other boys and girls that had been giving me hostile gazes earlier all had gazes of fear at this point. After all, such a punishment was unheard of to a normal noble. They would probably never be hit their entire lives. But to have your pants or dress pulled down to expose your white bum and then spanked on top of that was a huge blow to one's pride and reputation.

"Ah, Sei is just teaching kids that respecting your fellow classmates is the way to go no matter what their parents have told them," I replied with a smile. It seemed Bill was not a complete idiot as he nodded his head to my explanation.

"I see… but how long is this going to last?" Bill asked. He did not seem to care to stop it at all. Not like he could stop Sei anyway.

"Ah…" I looked up to see that Sei seemed to have a bright smile on her face as if she was having fun. I do wonder if a new window to a certain kind of world that starts with a capital S has opened for Sei.

"Sei!" I yelled out. Sei looked up at me with her hand frozen mid air. Her face quickly turned red as she lowered her hand and pulled the skirt back up on the girl. "Ahem… Now you know to behave yourself…."

The noble girl's face was full of tears and snot. Now that she was released from Sei's grasp, she quickly hurried out of the classroom. Of course, she made sure to glare at me as if I was the one who hit her but whatever. Since the show was over, I made my way to an empty seat and sat down. The room was designed with a podium at the front of the class and then stadium seating. There were long rows of wooden tables in front of the bench seating set up on four different levels and split into three sections.

Sei walked over and sat down next to me on my left while Sophie sat on my right and Sally to Sophie's right. The other seats quickly filled with the rest of my teammates. Bill, who was still in a daze as to what he had walked into, took a moment to snap out of it. He seemed to want to forget about what had happened.

"Ahem… To start off, I would like to congratulate you all on becoming students of the Royal Magic Academy. Being a knight is not all about fighting. It is also not all about training physically either. A knight must have the correct knowledge to go about their daily tasks. This includes law." Bill is the instructor for the knight practical class. And what he just said is one of the reasons I took this class. Knight practical allowed me to learn the law of this kingdom's law, and right now, I needed as much information as possible on the subject of law for my upcoming trial. It never hurts to be ready for anything.

"The laws of the kingdom are to be upheld by the civilians, including nobles. And a knight's job is to enforce these laws. Being caught being corrupt while being a knight can result in many different punishments. First, you could lose your position as a knight. Second, if you are a noble, you could lose your noble title. Third, and the worst punishment of them all, is death. Not for only you but your entire family. So think carefully before you act."

"Let me make this clear. In my classroom, leave your grudges and political family crap at home. I do not care what you do outside my classroom, but if I even sense that you are not listening to my teachings and are plotting something else instead, I will be the one to initiate the red bottom technique" Hearing Bill's words caused me to lower my head. So he <strong>WAS</strong> listening in on what was going on! He is even looking at me, grinning. I really feel like punching him in the face….

It was fine for Sei to do it because she was a girl, but if he did it, he would just look like some pervert. But I guess in a sense, this will really drive home the whole keep it out of the classroom rule he just told everyone. I sighed and decided to forget what had just been said.

Bill looked around the room before nodding. "Alright. Since I now got everyone's attention, let's go over the basics of law.

"What most do not know is that there are two different law systems. One for commoners, those without status, and one for nobles, those with status. The laws themselves are fundamentally the same with additions on both sides, but the punishments are different." Bill eyed everyone there. I looked around myself and saw that there were a few crumpled faces. This was the first I had heard of two sets of law systems.

"First is the normal system which is for your everyday person a commoner. They are the fruit of any kingdom, and no kingdom could survive if not for a commoner." Bill was really trying to drive this home. I actually respected that he was doing this with all these nobles here. Of course, many scoffed at his words, but they were one hundred percent true. A kingdom could not be made up of nobles and royalty only. The common folk were what drove a kingdom's economy and allowed them to survive and grow as a single entity.

"You may think I am just saying this to make you be nicer to commoners, but I am not! I am saying this because it is the truth. If you think a kingdom is able to flourish without commoners, then you are just a plain idiot and should leave this academy now!" Bill glanced at everyone before asking: "So which one of you think this is not true? Raise your hand! I will write up your expulsion papers now."

Bill's face held a mocking smirk. All the nobles in the room that thought they were better than everyone else lowered their heads. I could even see a few gritting their teeth and clenching their fists. This just showed that no matter how much they hated it, they hated that they had to agree with what Bill was saying. It was a nasty little trick he used, but it was a good one. "I see… So you are all nobles who love the commoners good, good.

"Now then, to get back on topic. Commoners have a set of laws that they must follow, and these laws include respecting nobles. Any disrespect can put them in jail. But it also includes crimes such as theft, murder, abuse, kidnapping, human trafficking, and many others that I won't name as they are not suited for children your age. It is something you will learn when you reach the higher levels." The higher levels he was talking about were basically like grades back on Earth. It started off at level 0 when I was at now and then went up from there. After each year in the academy, you would rise a level. While you would not be held back, the points you gain per year added up and what job opportunities and merits you will gain in the end are all based on your performance throughout the years.

"Now then… As for nobles, you all have basically the same laws. But you have a few more that are supposed to be followed strictly, or it will cause you to lose your noble title, and the main one is that you must never discriminate against commoners. Nobles of high status gain taxes from the people. They live off the taxes of those who work hard every day. This law is not really remembered because nobles will always do as they please, but it is a law that if a commoner knew about it, they could take you and your family to court." Bill's words cause a few snickers here and there, but sadly I can not say anything about it because even if a commoner took a noble to court, the court would side with the noble. Hence such a law would never be enforced no matter what. It was a sad reality that while the law was supposed to be there to protect the commoners from nobles who held power, one word from a noble, a single kickback of a pouch of gold, could make the courts side with that noble in an instant. 𝙞𝚗n𝓇𝘦аd.＆nbsp;𝗰𝘰𝚖

But I did have a question, so I raised my hand. "Yes, Faith?"

"I was wondering. If a commoner is able to take a noble to court and has substantial evidence against the noble, but the court still sides with the noble, what can a commoner do then? They would be basically tortured by the nobles who knew they could get away with it. I mean, I see it all the time. Nobles abusing the commoners around them, but no one stops them, not even the knights. So tell me, what good are these laws if the knights of the kingdom are unwilling to enforce them? What can a commoner do then?" My question would anger many, but I do not care. This question was something I truly wanted to know. The kingdom as is, is already corrupt to the point that laws do not seem to matter to nobles.

"That is a good question. And the answer is simple. If all else fails, kill the noble."

"That is blasphemy! " A noble yelled out, causing me to smile. This idiot was just wanting to leap out there and call out Bill, who was already a person who could care less for noble status.

"Oh? So are you saying a commoner should just sit there and be harassed by nobles!?" Bill yelled back, causing the young man who had yelled out to slowly sit down.

The young man cleared his throat as he replied: "I am just saying. Why should a commoner have the right to kill a noble?"

"Hmmm. Let's have Faith answer your question. Faith, why would a commoner want to kill a noble?" I do not know why this man was trying to involve me, but I personally did not care.

I stood up and turned to the young man. "It's simple. From what I have seen from the perspective of someone who used to be a commoner, nobles do as they please. They see a commoner girl, and they will force them to their bed, use them and then toss them away. Sometimes even kill them to keep them silent. Now before you go and start yelling, that is not true…." I paused as I saw the young man's face grow red with anger. I smiled and then continued: "Not every noble is as such. There are actually quite a few good nobles out there who adhere to their duties as nobles and try to assist the commoners. I will not deny this. But…. A good portion of nobles have it in their heads that commoners are just tools of amusement.

"Let me ask you this, and please give an honest answer." I cut the young man off before he could rebuke me. "If let's say A noble of higher standing came into your house and ripped your sister out of her bedroom or came to your home and began taking your things. Your wealth, your money, everything, and then when you tried to take them to court, and the courts sided with them even though you have so much evidence, what do you think would happen after?"

"This…." The young man was at a loss for words. I could see it in his eyes that he never thought of imagining it while in the other's shoes. "The noble would probably cause issues for the person who took them to court…." He was reluctant to answer, but it seemed he was a person who was honest.

"Exactly. And since the court was unwilling to do anything on your behalf and now that you are being harassed non stop what would be your only option left? You have already lost everything. You have nothing else to lose, so what would be your final option? Because even if you tried to move, you would need to move out of the kingdom itself to find peace, but what then? The sister who was taken is now suffering in your place. The family members who might have been jailed for no reason out of the noble's revenge are rotting away being abused in jail. But you ran to escape it all. What else do you have now? 𝘪𝐧𝓷𝘳e𝑎d. 𝒸𝒐𝑚

"If you can still live with the guilt of leaving everyone behind, then that is fine, but most people would not. They would stay and try to help their loved ones, but when all else fails, what option would you have left when the whole world is against you?" I asked, my eyes staring at the young man. His eyes fixated on me, and after a few moments of us staring at each other, he slouched his shoulders and bowed his head. "Instructor Bill, I apologize for my outburst."

"Haha! No worries, but now I am wondering if I should even be teaching." Bill turned and looked at me. I pursed my lips and looked the other way. I heard him chuckle before he continued: "At any rate, what Faith said is correct. While what I said is wrong, and I hope it never comes to that, the fact of the matter remains. In such situations where it is noble or commoner, it is all the same. Because I know of some nobles, who have suffered as well in the same manner."

"Alright, let's continue." Bill then began going over what it means to be a knight. He talked about chivalry and how a knight does not work for the kingdom but for the people within the kingdom and other things of this manner.

After Bill's class, there was a thirty minute break. I split from the others, and only Sally, Sei, and Sophie were at my side. I walked out to the yard next to the building I was in to take a seat under the still mild suns. But just as I closed my eyes to relax, a voice came from my side. "Ummm…."

I opened my eyes to see the young man I was one sidedly debating with earlier standing there with red cheeks. "Yes?" I asked while tilting my head to the side.

"I umm… I want to apologize." The young man suddenly bowed his head. "Earlier, when you walked into the classroom, I was gazing at you the same way as the other nobles. My father had instructed me to give you a hard time, but I can not do that now that I have had my eyes opened up a little. The things you said earlier, I could not denounce a single thing. Everything you said is right, and when I thought about my own behavior up until this point, I began to feel ashamed of my own actions because I was acting just like you said myself. While I have yet to cross the line as to do anything drastic as described, I have treated commoners in a way that made me look down on them as if they were bugs. But now I have seen that I was acting more like a villain than anything else."

"I see. Well, I am glad you understand it is wrong now. So in the future, just treat others the way you wish to be treated." I answered with a smile. But for some reason, the young man blushed even more. I tilted my head in confusion, not understanding his reaction.

"Mmm, I will do as you say. I need to go now. I do hope we can talk again soon!" The young man said before leaving but stopped when he only got a couple of feet. "Oh yeah, my name is Riley, Riley Thromson."