༺ After whom does she take her foolishness? (1) ༻
The continent of Pangaea was home to multiple Kingdoms and Empires.
There were so many of them.
Was that why they constantly fought?
The worst of the bunch was Pandemonium, the evil empire led by the Demon King.
But since the fall of the Demon King, the world enjoyed a state of relative peace.
I hope this lasts forever.
Of course, you can never know when a new conflict will occur.
Whether it was in this continent of Pangaea or the world I used to live in, the history of humanity was a history of conflict.
However.
There was a city-state in this continent that never experienced war and managed to nurture a highly civilized culture – The City-State of Freesia.
It was the perfect country, maintaining a state of complete neutrality all throughout its existence.
Something similar to Switzerland?
“It’s like a city-sized Switzerland.”
“Dad, what’s a swiss? A sweet? A snack?”
“I actually have no idea too.”
I’d never gone to Switzerland while I was on Earth.
The farthest place I’ve ever gone to was Jeju Island.
I wondered if Switzerland resembled this city-state during the Renaissance period.
“Naru’s butt is sore because of the carriage…”
Naru whined while sitting beside me.
A four-day carriage trip must have been hard for a child of her age.
But there’s nothing I can do about it.
The Kingdom of Ordor, where I lived, was quite a distance away from Freesia, after all.
“This is the city of culture, art, and freedom.”
The breeze flowing through the carriage was quite refreshing.
Even the air itself had a fancy scent to it.
The faces of the people passing by seemed welcoming.
It was such a far cry from Ordor, where thugs, ruffians, cheaters, and thieves thrived.
Even the king of Ordor was a rugged fellow.
“Look! A savage!”
“Why is there a Barbarian here on Freesia……?”
Oops.
Here I go again, standing out like a sore thumb.
Even when I dressed up, the result remained the same.
Oh well, I guess it doesn’t matter much anyway.
Tearing my gaze away from the window, I looked at the coachman.
“Coachman, let’s go to the Graham Academy.”
Graham Academy— the gathering point of the world’s most talented individuals, was located here in Freesia.
That’s why I’m here.
I didn’t come here just for fun.
“Dad! Look! Fish!”
Naru, however, was definitely having fun.
The water and sewer systems in Freesia were so good that there were little rivers coursing through the city filled with fish flopping around.
Well, I have to admit, it does look pretty cool.
Then the coachman replied.
“Graham Academy, huh? I suppose you’d like to apply for admission since the new school year will begin soon. I see that your daughter is about six years old, that should be just the right age to enroll.”
Enroll?
No that’s not what I came here for.
“Ah, I’m just going to look around the Academy for a bit.”
I replied politely.
But then, the coachman let out a ‘hmm’ sound.
“If that is the case, then I’m afraid you can’t get in there. As that place won’t allow anyone in unless they’re related to the Academy in one way or another. They don’t want any sort of disturbances to the atmosphere of the place, after all.”
For real?
What’s the big deal about that?
“……Well, it’s a prestigious Academy.”
……That’s what he said.
Well, let’s see what the entrance examination is like then.
Neigh—
Anyway, the horses sure ran a lot on the well-paved road.
Soon, a bunch of beautifully constructed buildings, that wouldn’t be out of place even in the 21st century, started to appear in our sight.
Surrounding them were students of all ages, races, and genders wearing the same uniforms that Naru had spotted back in Ordor.
An Academy indeed.
As I continued to look around, I asked Naru.
“What do you think, do you remember anything?”
“Mmm, mnn? Mmmmm, mnnnn……It feels familiar……”
A little vague.
Perhaps it would be better if we went inside?
Tap— Tap—
Finally, the carriage passed through the huge gates.
A garden filled with countless butterflies flying all around.
And giant statues caught my eye.
“Those statues……”
“Ah, those are the heroes who saved the world from the demon invasion. Did you know that at least 2 of them were from the Graham Academy? They are the pride of Freesia and Graham!”
The coachman looked very proud.
Ah.
So, these are the statues of the ‘alumni who honored their alma mater’ or something like that.
“Woooow…..!”
Naru’s eyes sparkled when she looked at those statues.
Did she remember something?
“Do you feel like something comes to mind?”
“No, I’m hungry!”
“……”
Is she really my daughter?
Who does she take after?
Anyway…
We got off the carriage and arrived at the Main Building of the Academy, which handles admissions, transfers, etc. And the place was simply huge.
I wonder how many students this academy could house?
A thousand? Two thousand?
“Would you look at that… It’s a Barbaroi.”
“How come a Savage is in here?”
“Does he want to enroll?”
“Maybe he’s here to be the janitor?”
With so many students, the gossip flowed rather freely.
I thought this place nurtured cultured fellows, but it seems that it’s the same as everywhere else.
Well, that’s fine.
Let them say what they want.
I’m used to hearing people gossip behind my back.
To be honest, I was kind of expecting something like this to happen.
I don’t belong in this fancy place.
I’d actually fit in better as the Janitor, as they said.
These students were really on to something here.
What I didn’t expect was Naru’s reaction.
“……Hey, don’t badmouth Dad! He’s not a Janitor! Dad is a great man!”
She was so angry that her body started trembling.
I could even see a few tears brimming in her eyes, which made her look very brave.
“Let’s, let’s go!”
“I’m sorry, kid!”
The students who appeared to be in secondary school ran away soon after, probably ashamed of their behavior. I’m glad that this happened since I was worried a fight would break out instead.
They at least had a conscience.
Heh.
In the back alleys of Ordor, someone would have drawn a sword by now.
It was at this moment that I realized how cultured these Graham Academy students were.
Just because of this, I’ll give them an extra five points on my personal rating.
For reference, their current rating is 75 out of 100.
Not that something like this mattered, of course.
“Is this where they do the enrollment?”
I wasn’t actually going to go through the process.
Since we got here Naru has been a bit restless, so I wanted to go deep inside the Academy grounds.
“So you want to apply for the enrollment of little Naru here, mister Judas?”
The person in charge of us was a pretty woman.
She had amber-colored hair and beautiful blue eyes.
Her ears were a little pointed, so she probably had fairy blood flowing through her veins.
A Nymph? An Elf?
Probably an elf, right?
The half-elf receptionist muttered.
“Naru, Judas……”
“Is there a problem?”
I asked her.
Did she get a weird tingle?
Could she be Naru’s mom?
Well, this receptionist certainly looks like my ideal type.
“No, it’s nothing, it’s just that Judas is a common name in Barbaria, no?”
“I suppose you could say that.”
“You don’t seem to be a noble, sir. Do you run a business or something? What is your father’s occupation?”
Why would she ask about my old man’s livelihood?
Then I suddenly remembered a memory of when I joined the army.
When I joined the army, the first thing they asked me was ‘Do you have any relatives in the military?’.
I guess it’s something along those lines, huh…
Swish—
Turning my head, I saw a group of men and women with their children, adorning fancy clothes, shouting at the top of their lungs.
“I am the Count Strong of the Jonnisen Kingdom, and yet why I’m being put on the waiting list, instead of having an instant enrollment?! Don’t you know who I am? Let me tell you I fought in the Valley of the Roses War—”
“I’m the fifth prince of the Mocomo Kingdom, and this is my royal grandson. Our kingdom is a known sponsor of this Academy for generations, and……”
Everyone was busy talking about how great they were.
Truly a battleground— not of the children, but their parents.
And by comparison, I…
I didn’t have anything to brag about other than a fit body.
It’s not like I had a fancy title or anything.
Soon the receptionist lady spoke…
“I… At the Graham Academy, we also look at the parents’ occupation and status when evaluating someone’s admission. So a mercenary without a title and a child of an unmarried couple is a bit……”
She looked embarrassed even as she said those words.
But I could tell that she was lying right now.
The reason why Naru was not enrolled…
Was because she and I have black hair.
And black eyes.
Black is an ominous color.
It’s the color of the Barbaroi— a symbol of savagery and death.
I know that I couldn’t argue against that.
At least it’s better than saying ‘Fuck you, you savage…..!’ out loud.
It seems that even this receptionist lady is very cultured indeed.
But…
My heart was feeling heavy.
I don’t mind being discriminated against.
I’m from another world after all.
“……”
“Huh? Dad, why?”
But.
How long did this little child have left to live?
Seventy years? Eighty?
The thought of spending all those years being discriminated against for being a Barbaroi made me feel a little, well, how should I put it… A little sorry for her.
* * * * * * * * * *
The Graham Academy is a large place.
There were a lot of parks inside.
And in one of those parks, Naru and I sat idly by.
“Naru, how about now, can you remember something?”
“Um…! I don’t! But I know this place, and I think I might even remember running around here as a child……!”
I’m pretty sure her mom is here somewhere.
I just don’t know where.
I should think about it some more.
“Hey! You’re a Janitor, right? Great, I’m in a hurry and I don’t have somewhere to throw this trash, so I was wondering if you could take it out for me?”
An ash-colored boy with proper oiled hair walked toward me.
He was about six years old?
He looks the same age as Naru, and he spoke very well for someone his age.
There’s a bag in his hand.
It’s full of trash.
Does he really want me to throw it away?
He must have thought I was a cleaning personnel working in this Academy.
He didn’t even consider I was an applicant, did he?
That was it.
Naru growled.
“Dad is not a servant! Don’t give him your trash!”
She had all the ferocity of a berserk squirrel going for her right now.
Seeing this, the boy frowned and tilted his head.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Go ahead and apologize!”
“For what?”
“I want you to apologize for being mean to Dad!”
She yelled.
“What is that?”
“What is going on there?”
Oh no.
People were starting to gather due to the commotion.
But Naru didn’t relent.
“Hurry up and apologize!”
Thud—
Naru pushed the boy’s shoulder with both of her hands.
And with that, the boy fell on his ass.
“You! Who do you think you are to do this to me?! And if you think you can talk to me—”
“Apologize!”
Naru snapped.
That was my fault.
I had an inkling that Naru seemed to have a lot of respect for her father.
For now, let’s try to resolve this situation peacefully.
The moment when I stood up with this resolve…
“What is all this commotion?”
Someone pushed through the crowd.
Step— Step—
I could hear the echoing sound of their shoes.
A foot size of about 235mm.
“Don’t you know that in order to create a healthy academic environment, we must always maintain order and be quiet on the Academy grounds? Who would incite such a barbaric commotion?”
The woman was wearing a brimmed hat on her head.
She was about 160 centimeters tall.
Her hair was of a navy blue hue, just like the night sky.
Her face resembled that of a cat, and the mole at the corner of her eye was quite impressive.
Her breasts were… big?
People chattered at her entrance.
“It must be Brigitte!”
“Oh my! This is the first time I’ve ever seen her up close! I guess it’s true that she became a professor at the Academy!”
“This is awesome! You were the wizard in the Hero’s party, right!? I want your autograph!”
“She’s a graduate of Graham Academy!”
Seems like she’s quite the hotshot.
In fact, she had this cocky air to her, with a high nose to compliment that aura.
It was that kind of excellent woman that little boy bumped into and began to complain to in pain.
“These, these Barbaroi dared to strike me while I was just standing there…!”
“Barbaroi?”
The woman, Brigitte, who was a professor at Graham Academy, looked at me at those words.
Her big navy blue eyes widened as she screamed out loud.
“You, youyouyou, youyouyou, Judas! What are you doing here?! What? You’re? What?”
I thought she said that keeping silence was mandatory on the Academy grounds to ensure a healthy environment? Then why was she being so loud right now?
I said in response.
“Hey, long time no see. It’s been what? Like a year since we broke through the Demon Castle together and split up?”
“A while?! It’s been 13 months, 12 days, and 3 hours!”
Wow.
As expected of Brigitte, she’s really smart.
Oh, and also, Brigitte is an old coworker of mine.
Well, not really coworkers… and more like enemies.
She always gets annoyed at me and screams just like she just did now.
It seems she disliked me because I was a barbarian.
Note from Painter:
Hello everyone, been a while since I wrote one of these lol. I hope you guys have been enjoying this novel so far, working on it has been a pleasure.
A little heads-up since I know some might be worrying, but our MC isn’t dense at all. Trust in Judas, gain eternal life! lol
Anyway, releases are gonna slow down for now, though we’re coming back with a bang within the next weeks. In the meanwhile, You can join our discord to discuss the novel and check the illustrations (they’re insanely good, there are even some super cute emojis), NU reviews would be appreciated too (pls boost the one I did).
Thanks for reading and see you all soon!
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