Chapter 278: Atlas Academy

Mid Morning - Mid Winter : Home | Atlas, Bahamut

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"My Lord, the young lady is ready." Chloe gave me a deep bow right as she entered my room.

"Alright, tell her I will be out in a moment."

With a nod, Chloe walked back outside, and I hastily wrapped up what I was doing to follow after her.

It had been about an hour since Mother returned at that point, and while she had returned with a plan, it was certainly a little lacking.

To put things simply, I was to act as a professor that would sit in on classes, similar to a student, until Krystallo's history class, where I would do some investigating and inevitably cause a scene that the head guard would be waiting for. Beyond that, I just needed to turn things over to the headmaster, but until then, I was on my own. -I hope Krystallo isn't too upset that I won't be going with her as a student.-

Mother had already told her about the plan as well, but I wasn't sure how she would react.

But, of course, it was a needless worry.

The moment I came out of my room, Krystallo latched herself onto my leg. "Brother, you're going to be a professor for today?!"

-Phew...- I let out a subconscious sigh of relief immediately. "Yeah, there would have been some issues if I went in as a 'student'."

Her eyes were gleaming as she looked up at me. "Does that mean you give us a lesson?"

Her eager look was truly difficult to resist, but just because I was technically a professor for the day didn't mean I had the actual authority of one. "Haha, no promises." -I can't do anything unless the actual professor asks me to.-

However, just a moment after a pout came to her face, a lightbulb seemed to go off and she let go of me. "Okay then!"

"Haah..." I could already tell she was planning something, but it made me smile, regardless. "I'd recommend focusing on your combat evaluation rather than thinking of some plan to get me to teach a class."

"Ack!" She tensed up instantly. "How did you know?!"

"Haha, who knows." With a smug smile, I shrugged my wings and finally started walking to the door.

"Hey, don't just ignore me!" She quickly followed after me as well.

It wasn't a bad start to the morning. After all, even if it was a day I knew would inevitably become complicated, for that moment, it was simply a good bonding moment with my adorable little sister.

Once we eventually got outside, we made our way out of the estate and met up with a very young ancient woman who wore several insignias belonging to Atlas and the Academy and started our flight.

According to her, she was the escort assigned to Krystallo by the academy to make sure she arrived safely, something all students had.

However, she typically escorted a small group of students rather than just one. "Is there any specific reason you are just escorting us today?"

She was quick to look at me. "It would be rude for me to escort a group of students with a new professor, would it not? Especially such a strong and young- ahem!" She instantly looked back to the horizon when she cut herself off. "I apologize... In any case, I was sent by the headmaster to give you something." As we flew, she pulled out a small gold sphere.

-Hm?- I inspected it as I took it. It seemed like an artifact, but it wasn't clear what it did.

Thankfully, the escort noticed. "On your Atlas medallion, you should have a small circular indent. Please press that artifact into that indent."

-Alright...- As I did it, the artifact vibrated slightly, and a pattern appeared in the air above my medallion. -Ah, this must be the thing Mother mentioned...-

It was an artifact that permitted me to walk freely around the campus and carry a weapon, using my medallion as a verification of its legitimacy.

As it finished and I handed the small gold sphere back to the escort, she gave me a curious look. "The headmaster must trust you quite a bit. It's rare for people, even trusted professors, to be given clearance that high. Are you going to be a combat instructor?"

I quickly shook my head. "I'm not sure yet, but I'm certainly leaning in that direction."

"Haha, I see. In any case, if you help with the combat evaluation, I will look forward to seeing you."

-Hm?- "Are you going to be watching?"

She quickly nodded. "Quite a few staff members will be. Although I can't speak for everyone, many of us find pleasure in seeing the growth of the next generation."

"I see." Her expression was so pure that it quickly shook off any suspicions I had about her identity, but at the same time, what she said worried me. -The more people who watch, the more troublesome this could turn out to be...-

To try and get as much information as possible before arriving, we continued to chat, and I continued to dig out all I could, but eventually, we started to come up to a structure that forced me to rethink how I would be doing things going forward. -What the hell?-

It was the academy, an absolutely colossal expanse of land and architecture spanning dozens of kilometers in every direction, with the main building still standing over a kilometer tall at the central spire and made with a mix of white stone, gold, silver, and even mythril.

Simply calling it a piece of architecture from the golden era didn't do it justice. It made even the most lavish, several hundred-meter-tall buildings in the city around it look like abandoned shacks.

But as beautiful as it was, it was truly ominous.

My hope that only a few people who turned to the Holy Kingdom would be there, along with my plans to try and drag them out faded instantly. -Just how many rats could hide in a place like this...-

Whether I wanted to do it or not, I was going to have to play things by ear.

Finally descending toward the eastern entrance, we landed and gave a quick farewell to the escort before walking into one of the six gates.

The inside of each was a fairly simple, short tunnel where people could walk through and insert their medallions into the wall. Another artifact would then scan their medallions and let the knights on the other side of the tunnel verify who was entering.

It was a simple, but shockingly good system.

"Professor Whyte, you may enter." The knight humbly bowed his head as I approached. "Welcome to Atlas Academy."

As I came through the other side of the tunnel, I got some odd looks from the knights, as well as students and staff who were in earshot.

However, even if I wanted to ignore them, while I waited for Krystallo, a very young elder woman, standing right at my height, walked over to me.

Her scales were an unusual violet color, and the air around her was calm and gentle, but contrarily, her voice was quite energetic. "I haven't heard anything about a new professor, especially such a young one..." She gave a quick bow once she got close. "My name is Evodiá, the combat instructor for the first and second-year students. Might I have the honor of an introduction?"

Most people around us looked at her like she was insane, but they would understand immediately if they also tried to probe me with their aura as well. -Mother did mention that I could trust this woman though...- However, just because she was Krystallo's professor and someone Mother trusted didn't mean I could let my guard down. "My name is Vasilias, a new intern professor. I hope we can get along."

She quickly raised her head with a smile. "Of course! Are you going to be the new combat instructor for the upper-classman?"

-Are they in need of one?- "I'm not sure what exactly I want to teach, so I plan to sit in on some classes to see if any of them pique my interest. However, I am confident I can fill any position."

"Hoho~, I truly can't blame you for being confident with that kind of aura." She quickly glanced around before giving me a slightly confused look. "Are you perhaps waiting for someone?"

Finally glancing at the gate, I met eyes with Krystallo and caused her to quickly run over. "I am well acquainted with her parents, so I plan to generally follow her through her classes for the day."

She looked a bit shocked. "I guess geniuses do tend to be familiar with each other..."

Once Krystallo finally made it up to us, she came to my side and smiled up at the other professor. "Good morning, miss Evodiá!"

A smile promptly returned to the professor's face. "Good morning, Krystallo. Are you ready for the assessment today?"

Krystallo nodded with a fiery look in her eyes. "I won't let you down!"

"Haha, now you have me excited! I wonder what our talented missy will show us this time." After taking a moment to praise Krystallo, she turned back to me. "In any case, shall we head to The Arena now? I'm sure the upperclassman have already started."

I quickly nodded. "Of course!"

Finally resuming our walk, we started heading toward The Arena, a giant colosseum on the northern edge of the campus with many uses, including the combat assessments.

As we walked, we continued to talk about all sorts of things, but thankfully, Evodiá recognized that I was unfamiliar with the place and helped explain the things that weren't too plainly obvious, such as unspoken rules, professors to avoid, and even some advice about which subject to choose.

It was all information that felt a little too timely. -But I have no reason to complain...-

By the time we made it to The Arena, I had enough information that I could ease my discomfort and uncertainty about how the day would go.

The issue was that, when dealing with uncertainty, any of it could be too much.

The moment we got to the main arena, full of students of all sizes, ages, and colors, Evodiá yelled out, "Hello, everyone!" Her cheery voice quickly grabbed everyone's attention. "There will be a new face among the instructors today! You may all call him Professor Whyte! I hope you will all be welcoming!"

Not wanting to deal with the attention, I waved my wing and walked past her, paying close attention to the looks of the people in the stands. "Hello, everyone." -I guess I should find a good spot to watch the upper classman's final tests...-

But before I could even find a spot, a younger man's voice met my ears. "For a new professor to have a sword. Is he gonna be our new teacher?"

Quickly looking over, I met eyes with a dragon, likely in his 30s. -He must be an upperclassman...-

His expression clearly told me he was trying to be provoking though. "If that's the case, shouldn't I test with him instead of waiting for sir Balatos to return?"

I quickly shot him an unamused look. "If you want me to test you, I can, but don't expect to pass." -I don't even know what the bar is, so how can I know if you pass it...-

But clearly knowing something I didn't, the whole room went silent instantaneously.