Froelia Royal Academy

The last two weeks ended faster than expected. Not much happened after the bandit attack and the day that I experienced my first kill. We were entering the gate of Froelia and we were just on time for the opening of the royal academy.

"Wow, the Qaviel Kingdom's capital sure is something else." I mumbled to myself as I looked out the carriage window.

Froelia's streets were packed with people. There were many vendors and establishments wherever you look. There were also multiple carriages arriving. I assumed these were children of other nobles looking to join the academy as well. The streets were littered with multiple people. It seemed like they were all prepared to welcome the various nobles' children to their city.

Unlike our barony's villages, Froelia was much more developed. They had brick roads and sturdier buildings that seemed to go at most five stories high. This is fairly new and advanced for what I thought this time period was supposed to be in. There were also different magical artifacts that were used as street lamps as well as different signs that seemed like they had small animations. 'Magic can be used for a lot of things huh.' I thought to myself as I stared at the different buildings and structures as the carriage passed by.

"Welcome to Froelia!" I heard multiple people screaming with pride and joy as we passed through the streets. Some people were even actively advertising their merchandise by walking up to carriages and showing off their products.

Suddenly, the carriage stops to a halt. Austin opened the door of the carriage. "Honourable, we've arrived. It seemed like there were too many people coming at once and the streets were clogged with carriages." He said.

"Oh, will we have to walk? I'd like to freshen myself up first before heading towards the academy if we have the time." I reply to him as I look at my worn out clothes and I can smell the sweat and dust from all the travelling we've done.

"Ah yes, Honourable. I will have someone check what time the opening ceremony for the royal academy will be. In the meantime, we can head to an inn on foot if you are willing." He answered.

"That's fine. Let's go find an inn, the sooner the better as I feel really disgusting for not having a proper bath for the past few weeks." I got out of the carriage and handed my luggage to one of the soldiers that were coming with us.

We didn't take long to find a suitable inn that wasn't too overcrowded since the city was packed with different businesses. I didn't bother remembering the name of the inn since we were just staying there till the academy opened up. Once it opens, all the students will be living inside the academy's dormitories.

Once we were inside our rooms inside the inn, I immediately head to take a bath and freshen up. A few minutes after I finished and got clothed, the man that Austin had sent to check the time for the opening finally returned.

"Honourable, the opening academy will begin in an hour from now. They are requesting the applicants to appear at the courtyard 30 minutes prior to the start so that they can organize everything properly." He said as he stood straight waiting for my reply.

"Thank you, tell Austin that I'm ready to leave now." I replied and sent him away.

I packed the other clothing I took out from my luggage back into it and waited for Austin to come fetch me. I heard a knock coming from the door of my room. I opened it and saw Austin with the soldier from a while ago and another one.

"Honourable, we're ready to depart when you are." He said in a serious voice.

"Okay, let's go." I replied. As soon as I did, the other two soldiers went in to pick up my luggage and bring it with them.

Since the streets were crowded and our carriage was stuck in the middle of the street. I bid goodbye to the other soldiers that came with us and thanked them for their service. As I was walking down the streets, I felt someone slightly bump into me.

"Oh sorry!" She looked at me and gave a quick apologetic bow. She then looked behind and shouted. "Faster! We're gonna be late for the opening ceremony!" She put her hands around her mouth as she shouted trying to make it louder for the people she was talking to hear.

I stared at her confused at first and realized that she might be a possible student like me for the academy. 'She's quite energetic. Oh well, I guess most of the students are gonna be around my age now so they're still basically kids.' I thought to myself as I stared at her.

She wore a white blouse with black linings and a skirt that reached slightly just below her knees. She had blonde hair and gray eyes and a very developed body for what I assumed to be a 14 year old girl.

She saw me looking at her and she just gave me a big smile before turning around and began running again. "You seem like a student like me! I'll see you at the academy! My name is-" Her voice got softer and softer as she was running farther from me and eventually it got drowned out by the noise of the crowd.

I turn to look at Austin and the two soldiers that were walking with me. "Did you guys hear her name?" I asked.

"Apologies, Honourable. I couldn't hear it as well." Austin replied as he gave a slight bow with his head.

"Oh, it's okay. Don't worry about it. If she truly is a student like me, we'll eventually bump into each other again." I turned back and started walking towards the academy again.

Seeing the mysterious girl, I suddenly remembered Luna. 'If all the nobles' children are going to join the academy. I wonder if I'll be able to see Luna again.' I felt my heartbeat start to quicken and gave my chest a slight pat. 'Calm down, me. She's just a friend.' I thought, reminding myself of my real age.

We reached the academy gates and what surprised me wasn't the long line of people that were waiting to enter but it was that the academy itself seemed to basically stem from the royal castle. The castle sat atop a plateau overlooking the academy buildings. It was a lot bigger than the castle in our barony and much more grand. It had walls outlining the plateau to show the cut between the academy and the royal castle itself.

The castle was majestic to look at. It had completely white walls, from the main castle itself to the towers beside it and it had blue roofs to top it all off. From where we stood, you could also see that there were multiple soldiers garrisoned atop the walls wearing full white armor and some other defenses such as ballistae and the like.

After just a couple of minutes of waiting. We reached the entrance to the gates and were stopped by soldiers.

"Your letter of invitation, please." The soldier clad in white armor said.

"Here you go." I took out the letter my father had given me before I left.

"Okay, you may enter. Please head to the courtyard for the opening ceremony, Honourable John Colton" The soldier replied as he returned the letter to me.

"Honourable, this is as far as we go. May you have the best of luck in your studies and training her." Austin sounded out from behind me. The two soldiers also gave my luggage to the soldiers in white.

"Oh… I see, it was nice travelling with you, Austin. I'll remember the words of wisdom you've shared with me. Please tell my parents that I've reached the academy safely and on time." I replied as I bid them farewell and headed inside the academy gates.

I couldn't see it clearer before since the walls were too high to see inside the academy gates, however, once I entered, the place seemed a lot bigger than I thought it would be. It had multiple buildings. I assumed that most of them were the actual main buildings where the studying and the training will be held and the others would be the dormitories where we, the students, would be staying.

I headed to the courtyard where the soldier said the opening ceremony would be held. I was led to a table with what seems to be a teacher sitting behind.

"Give me your letter of invitation please." He said as he saw me standing in front.

"Here you go, sir." I handed him the letter and waited as he read through it.

"Ah, Honourable John Colton from the Barony of Eshon. It is a pleasure to meet you. Please head to the line with a blue flag and wait there." He pointed towards a line of people waiting behind a blue flag. "Next!" He sounded out.

I went towards the indicated spot and stood there. 'I guess this is where the children of Barons and Baronesses would be staying.' I thought to myself. Amazingly, there weren't that many students. There were at most 50 students that were lining up for the opening ceremony.

The courtyard was littered with people and there was a large stage in front of the different colored flags where most of the students lined up. There were multiple people seated on the stage and it seemed like they were waiting for everything to be ready.

It didn't take long for all the students to be categorized with their noble ranks and the sounds of instruments suddenly invaded our ears. "Everyone, quiet down and welcome our King!" A loud voice said.

As he finished his sentence, the music began playing again. I saw a man in white robes, a black vest, white pants and black shiny leather boots with a crown resting on his head start to walk towards the middle front of the stage. He seemed old and had a white beard with white flowing hair. He raised both of his hands. "I am Ash Qaviel, the King of the Qaviel Kingdom." His voice seemed louder than what was humanly possible from the way he was speaking. He was neither shouting nor using anything to amplify his voice but instead seemed very relaxed.

"Almost all of you are the children of nobles that I have handpicked myself, and I welcome all of you. Among you, there are children that were not born from nobles but have incredible talent that can be useful for our kingdom. Enhance your strengths, defeat your weaknesses, and bring glory to the Qaviel Kingdom." He said as his piercing gaze moved through the crowd.

'So this is the king… Amazing…" I thought to myself as I stared at King Ash. 'He seems strong. I wonder how long it'll take me to be as strong as him.'

Sounds of cheering and clapping immediately sounded out after his first line. I find myself doing the same, seemingly entrapped by his charisma. He raised his hand and the noise immediately died down. "I've always admired people with talent. So do your best and I will give the most outstanding student a reward from the kingdom's treasury. Strive for the peak and finally… Welcome to the Royal Academy!" His voice got louder than before and the sounds of cheering followed suit.