33

"That's all for today. I hope that you all will look deeper into what we just discussed after class. Now, you have five minutes to get to Professor Xiant's class."

Closing his large book, Vice-Headmaster Bijilo gestured towards the door, a smile on his face as he watched us filter out of his hall.

Nodding to him as I left, I followed behind Jahi and Anput, who were talking in a hushed tone.

"Maybe we should..?"

"Hmm… yeah, it seems kinda…"

Leone and I chuckled, making the two women turn to look at us.

Smirking at them, Leone said "Finally come around to the amazing thing known as magic?"

Jahi pursed her lips, staring at the smug looking Vampire, while Anput let out a 'Hmph!' and crossed her arms, looking away.

"I can definitely see its merits now…"

"I believe I've shown you the merits many a time during our spars, Lady Jahi."

Narrowing her eyes at me, Jahi stared at me before shaking her head, a wry smile on her lips.

"Yes, I guess you have, haven't you? However…"

Flickering forwards, she wrapped her arm around my waist, pulling me into her.

Leaning down, she smirked at me as she whispered "I thought you liked the fact that I am more… physical..?"

Sighing, I slipped from her arms, giving her a dry look.

Chuckling, she turned and led us towards our History Class, both Anput and Leone staring at me with mixed looks.

Raising a brow at them, I held back a chuckle as they both swiftly turned away, hiding their faces.

Entering Professor Xiant's class, we all held back a groan as we saw yet another thick textbook stacked against the wall, before letting that groan out when we noticed that there were actually TWO textbooks we would be using.

Rolling his eyes at us, Professor Xiant gestured towards the piles, saying "Everybody take one of each, please."

Hefting them into my arms, I carried Leone's textbooks as well, shaking my head when she offered to take her own.

Laying them on our desk, I pursed my lips as I looked over the two textbooks, reading the titles.

The first was a grey bound book, 'History of the Empire of Ash' inscribed on the front. In the center was the alchemical for ash, which was an E with a mirrored center branch.

As for the other textbook, it was bound in rough leather, with 'Labyrinthian and Basic Monsterology' inscribed on the cover.

"As I said yesterday, this class will cover the basic history of our Empire and the history of the Labyrinthian, as well as some surface level Monsterology, since it ties in with both our history and the Labyrinthian's."

Standing in front of his podium, Professor Xiant turned to look at his chalkboard, quickly scribbling down a few words.

"This… will be what we are talking about… over the coming month or so…"

Finishing, Professor Xiant stepped aside, reveling six words.

Empress

Vulcan

Ash

Sanctus Ignacia

Dragons

Tapping them in order, Professor Xiant explained each one.

"As you are aware, the Empress has been alive for a very, very long time. In fact, very few know exactly how long she has walked this earth. Lilith, the most powerful and oldest Demon in the world, speaks of her with a familiar fondness, and a respect reserved for your elders. However, what we are really going to talk about is how Empress Ash managed to unify the Warlords of old under one singular banner.

Next, the man who founded this Academy, and helped keep this Empire under control and united; Vulcan, the First Knight of Cinder. He was, by all accounts, one of the greatest warriors and scholars this Empire has ever seen. His contributions are only overshadowed by the Empress herself.

Then, we shall take a look at the early years of the Empire, and how it went from just the lands around this mountain, to the sprawling, vast domain we all know and love. We will look at how the nobility has changed over the years, the rise and fall of houses, and their contributions or undoings.

Of course, we must discuss the mountain we are currently on, as well as the city that was built on and in it; Sanctus Ignacia, the seat of the Empress' power and the Capital of our Empire.

Finally, we will be briefly going over the three dragons that have resided in our Empire since its creation; The Duchess Klaki is the most… sociable of the three, and we are lucky to have her daughter, Lady Draka, in class with us."

Draka just gave a quick wave to the class, making our classmates start whispering to one another.

Coughing, Professor Xiant continued when everyone was quiet.

"The other two are Lady Igna, one of the Empress' wives, and the owner of this mountain, and Lord Ter'Ran, the Earth Dragon who watches over the Labyrinthian border. Both are more… reclusive, and prefer to spend their time alone, maintaining the balance they created in millennia's prior."

Circling 'Ash', Professor Xiant turned towards us, saying "So, what better place to start than the very beginning of our Empire. Open the gray book to page four, and we'll start there. Now, who would-"

Class slowly trickled by, with students being called on to read passages aloud before discussing what was read.

In the end, we created a very rough outline of what the Empire used to look like.

Sanctus Ignacia is in the center of the Empire, and the four lands surrounding it were owned by four strong tribes.

The north was held by a tribe of Wolfkin, the Fenrika. They controlled their territory with an iron fist, demanding tributes to them in exchange for protection.

The east was ruled by the three Demon Clans, one of which was Asmodeucian Clan, which later became the Asmodia's. The other two were Beliali and Cimeriesa, which were still around to this day.

The south was overrun by Lamia, Gorgons, and Nagas, who all answered to one woman; Echidna, the mother of all snakes. Contrary to what most people would think, the south was a bountiful, peaceful land. Humans, Beastkin, Snakes, and more lived in harmony, all because Echidna wanted peace.

As for the west, it was the home of Humanity, and the various tribes fought each other for territory, but a fragile balance was made in their lands, creating a tense peace.

That was what we discussed today, and while it was slightly boring, I was curious about a few things, the main one being about the Demon Clans, and the other being about Echidna.

Was she the 'same' as my previous world?

As for the Clans, why did the Asmodeucian Clan change, while the other two remained the same? What was the difference between them?

Looking at Jahi, I saw that she too was rereading the passage in the book, a slight frown on her face.

If even she had no idea…

"Alright, class dismissed. Go wave some swords around like barbarians."

Professor Xiant closed his book, and many students jumped to their feet, rushing out of the room.

I guess those were the people who didn't like history…

I shivered slightly, feeling that gaze landing on me yet again.

Glancing around the room, I could only see three people looking my way.

The first was Jillian Sariel, the future Duchess of the Sariel Lands. Her eyes were narrowed as she stared at me, before grinning widely when she saw me look her way.

Next was the adventurer like woman, her eyes flickering my way as she talked with her seat mate, the thin, elegant looking blonde woman.

Lastly, sitting in the front row, a tall, muscular man was calmly looking over our group, nodding his head a few times before turning away.

Their gazes made me purse my lips slightly as I turned away.

Jillian Sariel obviously meant trouble; she disliked Jahi, and that grin was really… unnerving.

As for the Adventurer, her eyes held a slight interest in them, however it seemed to be… more than that.

However, the one that made me the most worried was the tall man in the front.

See, I just couldn't really understand his gaze. It felt… too neutral.

After all, while Jillian might be troublesome, I could at least anticipate her petty attacks on Jahi and I, and potentially Leone.

The Adventurer likely had an interest in not only the maid who could sit with ease around such politically powerful people, but also might have developed a crush of sorts. She was still just a teen, and it wasn't uncommon to be attracted to someone in your class, especially if you thought you had a chance with them due to sharing a similar status, like both of us being commoners.

Not to be narcissistic, but Charisma is my highest stat, and I was already a good looking woman; pair my pretty face with an amazing body, and you have someone most people would fall for, especially among teens.

So, I wasn't worried about their gazes, but that mans did worry me.

"Come on, lets go to our Combat Class!"

Hearing Anput's excited voice, we all looked over at the Jackalkin, chuckling as her tail swayed side to side, her ears twitching.

Getting up, I placed the books into my bag, sighing at the weight, before following behind everyone as we made our way towards the large cavern where we would be training.

—

Lol I just realized that Chapter 100 will be a lemon~