Accumulation (4)

Right now, I'm trying to figure out why Arya went to the headmaster's office and why she needed my blood for the paper. And lastly, where is she taking me? Also, I think I heard her mention the word 'faction', earlier. I'm carried by Arya for no apparent reason because no matter how many times I shout her name out she's not responding since she's in cloud nine. So, I let it be and kept my mouth shut.

"Whatcha thinking, Claude?" Arya called me.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To our palace that I bought! It would be the place where my story's origin will begin! My name shall be known and feared across the land! My name shall be passed down for generations as the greatest draconian to ever live! I will be known as the greatest founder of Drakon Faction that will conqueror everything! Buahahaha!" Arya laughs maniacally.

It took me a while to process the words that she said. But when I did... "The what?!" I raised my tone. "Ah, sorry. Did you create a faction?"

"Yeah, I did! Didn't you hear my words earlier?"

"But why?"

"The man invited you to his faction the other day, right? So, I thought to myself, why not create one? That way, none of my vassals will be disturbed anymore! And listen to this, we can start a war against other factions! Isn't that exciting?! My father always says to me that bloodshed makes his heart pump." Arya began skipping, exhilarated by the idea of war.

"I think you may have misunderstood..."

Without having a second thoughts, I know for a fact that I need to do something about it. I shall do everything to prevent the future of Arya from massacring every student in this academy. Right now, I'm already a part of her shenanigans. In truth, with my current strength, I'm not confident that I can handle Arya. Her understanding of mana is greater than anyone, along with the absurd amount of mana circulating inside her body which makes her dangerous. When I fought Arya, she barely used her strength. Also, Lily mentioned that Arya's magic is her strongest specialty. How terrifying can she be? On top of all of that, she's not in her original dragon form which limits her to some degree.

"Haaa... Arya—"

As I was about to ask a question, Arya cut me off. "Look! We're here! It's so beautiful! My impeccable taste doesn't disappoint! Ho-ho~!"

Arya finally lets go of me. I stand with my feet and scan the surroundings while fixing my disheveled uniform. The mystical forest blooms right before my eyes. A sweet, cold alluring scent of the sublime forest. The forest floor was filled with this crystallize, brittle grass. Sounds of shattered glass rang into my ears as if I'm stepping into a field of ice shards. There's no white snow nor do I'm feeling cold. Then I found myself touching the forest floor, and to my surprise, it feels warm.

Peculiar color of blue leaves scattered around the forest floor. The trees stood proud and tall as protectors of the feeble grass underneath it. The mystical forest has an appearance that I wouldn't even imagine, it was alluring my eyes and mind. At the horizon, the sun bloomed with a warming glow, descending slowly to make way for the white moon to shine the night.

Right next to me, Arya was displaying a smug face, snickering at me. "Fufufu~ You're like my little sister, thirty years ago. When she's still biting everything she sees. How adorable~"

"Hm? Pardon? Did I mishear it? Thirty years ago? How old are you?"

"I'm one hundred ninety years old."

"You're telling me... You could be my grandma?"

"Come on, Claude. I'm nowhere near being your grandmother. My grandmother is at least a thousand years old. Hahaha!"

"O-Oh... You also perceive time as different, huh? Like... Diana..."

"Hm? Who's that?"

"Nothing..."

Diana's perception of time differs from mine. Centuries for her was like a year for me. A day would probably be seconds for her. Unlike people here, we value every second or day of our life. We can't leisurely lay back and let a year pass without doing anything because of our limited life span.

"Look, at our new place! It's majestic! The place where we shall conquer the top! I'm getting too excited, let's go!" Arya runs forward, dragging me from behind.

"W-W-Wait!" I'm having a hard time speaking as Arya's speed is too much for my body to handle. It feels like all my organs are cramming together into my intestines. Luckily enough, it didn't take long to reach our destination. After Arya releases my hand, I began vomiting on the floor.

"And, we're here inside of my beautiful palace!" Arya proudly stated.

"G-Good to know, eukh, blech..."

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"It was just a normal-looking palace. There's nothing particularly unique... Other than the horn designs... What...? But everything seems to be well-kept or new. How come there's a palace in the middle of nowhere?" I asked as I wander around the halls.

"The little people built it."

"The dwarves?"

"Yeah, yeah, those tiny people. They're surprisingly handy in spite of their tiny figures. Although they seem to be cowardly, at least they have beards. Their beards are such a waste. Beards intimidate the enemy!"

"Where did you hear that?"

"I get intimidated by my father's beard!"

I briefly pause for a second. "... Rather talking about beards. Tell me, do you have any idea how this group of ours will function?"

"Lily will handle it."

"I love how you said that proudly, but you're missing the point. It's your job to handle both internal and external affairs. First of all, factions are not about war or fighting. It's about the political views of people with a little bit of religion mixed in there. Or in short, people with similar common interests and goals. I think... I'm not certain."

"Fret not, my adorable vassal, Lily already agreed to it. She's willingly agreed to do it in my stead. Plus, you look like a pretty smart-witted person. I also entrust you to help Lily with that!"

'Looks like, Lily may have needed to break a certain rule that was given to her. But I'm certain her father would surely understand if the culprit was this woman in front of me.' I thought.

"You didn't even try to understand my question... I also doubt about the 'willingly'... Okay, let's put that on the side. Now, let's talk about the people. A faction's power is also based on how influential they can be, which means people. Are you planning to recruit a bunch of them?"

"Depends whether they're strong enough to my liking." Arya puts a finger in her lower lip.

"What about the goal of our faction?"

"To rule everything!"

"Well... It's certainly a goal."

"That's why I entrusted it to you, my entrusted people." Arya pats my shoulder, joyfully.

I shake my head in dismay. Everything was too sudden, like everything that happened just flashed right before my eyes. And then, I'm here. According to the academy ordinance that I've read, to create a faction, the person shall be a person from a royal status. That is probably the reason why she's able to create one in the first place. In my eyes, factions are just a bunch of kids playing with their so-called 'agendas'. Perhaps it's just another term for social circle in this academy. Furthermore, what's amazing was how Arya manages to build one after stepping foot in this academy within a short time.

"I hate the fact that you created one for pity reasons," I muttered under my breath while pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Hey, it's not pity! I also did it for you guys! I don't want any other people stealing my own vassals! Furthermore, my father once told me, for me to inherit his title, I shall fight for it and prove my worthiness. He also once said, 'A king never doubts, never yields, never hinges. The one who stands at the top, above the rest. Most importantly, a king shall lead his people to greatness. Those are the qualities of being a king.'. His inspiring words ignited my passion to be the future king of my kin. This shall be the stepping stone." Arya said it out loud with her hands on her waist.

"You mean a queen?"

"A king! Queen sounds lame."

I chuckled. The first parts of what she said made sense to me, but afterward, she lost me completely. She began spouting nonsense.

Arya's common sense may differ from the rest, but everything she spouts here and then is entertaining to listen to because of her liveliness. Listening to her carefree personality lifts my mood up. Earlier, I have been troubling myself with the person who attempted to put a curse on me, but now, my mood is getting better because of Arya.

"Okay, fine... If Lily agrees... And since my name is already listed... Haa... Anyway, it looks fun regardless of the purpose for creating this."

"I like what I'm hearing, Claude! As Lily said, you're a pessimistic person, but you'll agree eventually! I like it! Let's check the training halls!"

"Yes, yes, your Highness."

A faction wouldn't be bad. Moreover, Arya's unformidable strength would be a huge factor for our faction. However, the fact still remains, lacking members is still a disadvantage for us. No matter how strong she is, a number is still a number. We may have three S-class caliber people, but there are limits. And most importantly, we have no information about other factions or any idea how to run one.

At the training halls, Arya was eagerly testing out the equipment. She looks joyous and excited upon catching sight of it. She didn't hesitate to use it. While, I, on the other hand, sat on the far-end corner, inspecting my hand.

(Diana. Did you check for any trace of curse on his body when he injected it? I know that you already told me about it, but I want to know whether you sense a sliver bit of curse residing in his body.)

(Not particularly... Do you want to check whether he was being controlled?)

(Yeah. Master Irene did mention to me that curses can be used for manipulation or corrupt one's mind, especially young people. The young minds are easy to corrupt.)

(That's true. However, my knowledge about curses is so little. Why didn't you ask the weird old man earlier? He certainly knows something. I get why you don't trust him, but I think it wouldn't hurt to ask.)

(He wouldn't answer it. More than anything, if that's the case, he would certainly hide it because it could affect the academy's reputation. Why would he say important matters to a mere student like me? He's not dumb. From what I've observed, he was genuinely surprised by the curse or he was just a great actor. I will just leave it to him to deal with it. Most importantly, I only went to him to clear the misunderstanding, so I expect him to clear my name before things escalate.)

(But that kid tried to poison you... I would love to kill him for you.)

(Diana...)

(Why? Tsuki agrees with me, right Tsuki?)

(Yeees~! Nyaa~)

(Well... It's justifiable since he wanted to take my life.) But deep inside my heart, the anger that I felt that time hasn't subsided. I can't stop thinking of taking his life... I may have been acting normal all this time, but I've been keeping the fear and anger inside my chest, and letting it not interfere with my rationality.

(What do you guys think of Arya?) I asked them, digressing the topic.

(She's a lovely young lady. I like her. It reminds me of someone back home.) Diana giggles.

(She's a fun person. Full of energy! Nyaa~)

(Really? I didn't expect that.)

(Of course. Who wouldn't love a straightforward and carefree lady like her?)

(Y-Yeah... Let me fix the question then. What do you think of her as an opponent? Do you think we stand a chance?)

(Hm... With our current strength? I don't know. It's hard to assess someone whom I can't measure their mana or how potent it is. So, I can't make any conclusion regarding her overall strength. However, I'm positive that she's better than everyone that we met until now.)

(Ah, is that so?)

(Yep~!)

I sigh. "A faction, huh? Wait a minute, what was Prince Lykos' faction name again? Did he mention it?"