༺ Philion Academy (1) ༻
The grand city of Shangria boasts a population of one million.
As befitting the center of the empire’s long and storied history, Shangria had expanded and expanded over the centuries, making it far too large to traverse on foot. Each district was the size of a decent small town, and simply crossing two or three of them on foot would quickly consume an entire day.
Traveling long distances required riding in a carriage, but only a small number of people, like the nobility, owned private carriages. Renting a carriage was also expensive, making it a burden for those who needed to commute. Consequently, the imperial administration had long pondered this issue before finally devising a solution.
That solution was the Shangria Archipelago Tram.
A magical train that followed pre-laid rails and circled the entire archipelago.
The design itself had been created by the founding king, Emperor Philion, hundreds of years ago. However, due to technological limitations, it had not been realized until just before the war, when it began to be installed in major administrative districts. Now, five years after the end of the war, the tram routes covered every district without exception.
Such technology was unparalleled anywhere on the continent, and the archipelago tram was indeed a source of great pride for the empire… I casually listened to an announcement broadcasting something to that effect.
As the tram rumbled and swayed, I gazed at the scenery of the archipelago passing by through the window. It was indeed impressive. If such a thing had been installed on the front lines during the war, it would have made life a bit easier.
Of course, there were many problems with operating the archipelago tram outside the city. Its speed wasn’t very fast, making it vulnerable to bandit raids, and track damage was quite frequent, necessitating regular maintenance that was difficult to provide outside of major cities.
Furthermore, during the war, the Demon King’s forces had actively employed guerrilla units, so had the tram lines been installed, they would likely have been a primary target. Even so, it was hard not to feel a twinge of regret.
Suddenly, I could not help but let out a hollow laugh. I thought that I had put it all behind me, but now, long after it was all over, I still found myself feeling wistful about it all. Perhaps my heart was still on the battlefield.
An announcement informed me of my arrival at District 3, Philion Academy. Shaking off those useless thoughts, I disembarked the tram and left the station.
Immediately visible upon exiting the station was the grand entrance of Philion Academy. Carved from pristine white marble, the entrance was as imposing as the gates of a significant city.
The gate’s emblem was adorned with a huge dragon’s head, clearly visible to everyone. It was the emblem of Philion Academy and symbolized the head of ‘White Dragon Albinisis’, the dragon representing Emperor Philion.
Since Philion Academy was an important imperial institution attended by the children of noble families from the Empire and even royalty from other countries, security was very strict. Simply showing documents like at the archipelago gate would not suffice for entry.
I had to go through a thorough inspection by the guards, including identity verification, document comparison, body search, and magical scanning before I was finally allowed to pass through the gate.
As I left the gate, I saw a vast expanse of green grass and a young woman in a white uniform waving at me from a distance. She was a stranger to me.
Upon closer inspection, she looked quite young for an academy student. She seemed to be around thirteen or maybe fifteen years old at most. The small-framed girl with brown hair hopped over on her short legs and greeted me with a bright smile.
“Welcome to Philion Academy! You must be Captain Eon Graham, right?”
I just nodded my head slightly. The brown-haired girl looked up at me, widened her eyes, and stared at my face for a moment.
“Wow… You’re even more impressive than I thought! You’re going to be very popular with the students, especially the female ones.”
“……”
I was uncomfortable with such conversations. Not knowing what response to give, I decided to change the subject and simply ask something I was curious about.
“Are you my guide? A student here?”
“Heavens, no! What an inappropriate assumption! I’m a mature woman who turned twenty-six this year!”
What? Twenty-six?
I couldn’t help but be startled inwardly. With her petite height barely reaching my chest and a childlike face, I couldn’t believe there was only an eight-year age difference between us.
For a moment, I thought that maybe some kind of anti-aging magic had been realized. Or perhaps it was some side effect of an experiment.
Regardless of my confusion, the brown-haired girl let out a small cough and delicately lifted the hem of her uniform skirt, offering another polite greeting.
“Lirya Bennett, professor of Imperial History and Tactics. Pleased to work with you, Captain Eon Graham.”
“Ah, I apologize for the misunderstanding.”
“No problem. Actually, it happens quite often. Sometimes, the students treat me like a kid, you know? They give me candy or pinch my cheeks, even though I’m clearly older than them!”
Lirya Bennett grumbled about her experiences with the students for a while before finally regaining her composure.
“Right! I should be showing Captain Graham around the academy! First, we’ll pay a visit to the dean, and then I’ll give you a quick tour of the academy. Since it’s so large that it’s impossible to see everything in a day, I’ll just show you the places you’ll be visiting frequently. You can explore the rest at your leisure.”
I followed Lirya Bennett and boarded the academy tram.
Philion Academy was so large and vast that it occupied the entire 3-section area, the size of a small city.
Naturally, having all students walk to every location would be too harsh for students in battle majors, so the academy had its own small-scale tram line.
“Actually, a few generations ago, students were really made to walk for the purpose of physical training. But after an alchemy major with extremely low stamina collapsed from exhaustion, carriages were introduced, and now we have magical trams.”
“How low must their stamina have been to collapse on their way to class?”
“Actually, that student was taking 13 classes at the time. Their low stamina played a part, but it was also because they had to move between buildings multiple times a day to attend their classes…”
“……”
“Ah! That building you see over there is the lecture hall. All theory classes are conducted there. Most of my classes are theory-based, so I spend most of my time in the lecture hall.”
“What kind of classes will I be teaching?”
“Captain Graham will be teaching… basic physical training and combat practice, I believe? That’s what I heard, anyway. I guess you’ll have more outdoor classes than I do? You’ll have to ask the dean for more details!”
Lirya Bennett was quite a pleasant conversation partner. First of all, she had a wealth of topics to discuss, so the conversation itself was never dull. She would constantly engage me with a beaming smile without having to lead the conversation, and she didn’t ask any questions that crossed the line into personal matters, making the conversation quite comfortable. I had a feeling that she must be a popular teacher among the students.
Lirya Bennett had already grown comfortable enough with me that she had changed her address from Captain Graham to Instructor in a short time. I told her that I wasn’t an instructor yet and asked her to correct the title, but she said it was just a matter of time before I became one and that it would be better for us as future colleagues to get used to each other.
Before I knew it, the tram had stopped in the academy’s administrative district. This was the area where all the buildings that handled Philion Academy’s administration were located, including the dean’s office.
“You don’t have to worry about an interview or anything like that. I heard you’ve already passed the document screening. Just think of it as a brief greeting before starting work.”
“Understood. What kind of person is the dean?”
“Dean Heinkel von Eustania? He is an extraordinary person. He has an incredible passion for education and is very dedicated to the academy. He’s also a high-level battle mage. He used to be on the battlefield in his prime, so he does have a tendency to be impulsive at times… But to the students, he’s like a kind grandfather.”
A kind grandfather… I couldn’t quite grasp what that would feel like. The elders in the village where I had lived were all eccentric, and Marquis Kalshtein was the epitome of a military man, so he didn’t give off a kind vibe. I couldn’t say for sure about his relationship with his granddaughter, though.
I knocked on the door to the dean’s office and waited. Soon, a deep, elderly voice came from inside.
“Come in.”
Entering the dean’s office, I was greeted by the scent of ink and old books. Behind a large, wide desk, an elderly man with a solemn appearance and a white beard that reached his waist looked at me with a calm and cautious expression. His face was deeply wrinkled, and his hair was pure white, but a pair of sharp blue eyes stared directly at me.
This was the Dean of Philion Academy, Heinkel von Eustania.
As I entered and was about to greet him politely, Heinkel opened his mouth.
“Welcome, Eon Graham. Or should I call you by your nickname? The Black Devil of the Battlefield, ‘Malevolent Star’.”
At those words, my expression turned ice-cold.
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