The day went on normally, as expected of a proper academy.
After the orientation brought upon by the bald Professor, he discussed things about the subjects, and the freedom to choose what classes that they wanted.
There were 3 major classes for the 1st years to mandatorily partake in.
First was Swordsmanship Class, it is already a well-known skill among Knights inside Elrod. But Knights Academy aimed to hone their skills even more, with a few exceptions of others.
Veritas was exempted from taking this class as he already mastered the Elrodian Swordplay. He could still take it but it would bore him greatly as there were no other exceptional swordsmen other than a few people on the higher grades.
Secondly, for Wielders, it was the Soul Training Class, a crucial part in acuminating young Pathbearer's Soul..
Naturally, Veritas anticipated this class, although he already had tantamount knowledge about the Soul, it wouldn't hurt to put theory into practice.
Maybe this class would make him understand more of the nature of his Path. But, a Seraph-Ranked Path wouldn't be so easy to figure out..
The last mandatory class is the For Honor Class, wherein Wielders and Knights alike participate in group events to achieve a singular goal.
An example of such could be a Subjugation Quest or a Team Battle.
This is by far the most interesting class that Knights Academy had to offer as it introduces the possibility of Wielder vs Wielder battles.
The For Honor Class also hosts various tournaments within the student body. Not only that, but occasionally.. there would be exchange events from different schools across the regions of Elrod.
Veritas heard that there was going to be one this year..
It was something that he looked forward to.
There were a few minor classes that a student could take but for the Wielder curriculum, they were required to take the three major classes.
Veritas planned to study a little bit of everything, but due to time restraints.. he was forced to only choose four.
'I guess I'll choose Wisdom and Intellect Class, and decide on picking the other three later..'
The bald Professor in front talked about a couple of mundane things such as the rules for classes, not to be late, don't be disrespectful to Professors, and many more..
Time passed by in a flash and it was the moment for free time, also.. the bald Professor instructed them to enroll in the minor classes as they would be having those tomorrow.
In the afternoon, they would have to go to the training grounds and practice using their blades as a part of Swordsmanship Class.
Veritas was excluded for this class so he planned to spend his afternoon, scouting around and investigating. His main goal was to attract attention and divert them from Bello's secret investigation.
However, Veritas himself could also investigate discreetly!
He had a perfect disguise in his pockets after all..
It would take a lot of Soul to prolong that disguise for a couple of hours so Veritas limited using it to only an hour per day.
So with his free time in the afternoon, he would spend all of it gathering information to get one step closer to the truth.
For now.. Veritas would act like a normal school-goer, interacting with peers and classmates alike.
This could also be beneficial so Veritas did not waste any second to acquaint himself with his classmates.
He looked around and chose who to approach.
After a few seconds, Veritas found his target and walked slowly towards him.
"Morgan Yild, correct?"
The quiet-looking boy stared at the direction of the random voice. His amber colored hair flowed at the turning of his head. Calm eyes stared towards the imposing figure within his vision.
"Prince Veritas...? Oh- Yes, I am indeed Morgan Yild."
Veritas felt a tinge of familiarity from within him.
A few moments of pondering was all it took for him to remember who the boy was.
'It was the son of that noble back from the meeting in the castle conference room!'
Veritas paused and then said:
"Pleased to meet you, I've heard good things about you from your father..."
Morgan's eyes gleamed and he replied:
"You've met my Father? That wouldn't be too unlikely, he visits the castle quite often after all.. Pleased to meet you too, your majesty.."
Sitting down, he expressed his greetings and bowed.
Veritas responded:
"Likewise.." Veritas continued.. "You are a student from the first semester, right? Would you mind guiding me regarding the Academy's properties?"
"Oh.. not at all. I would be very pleased to do so.."
Veritas smiled warmly. He was about to say something once more but he was interrupted by a soft-spoken voice.
"Your majesty, I am honored to breathe the same air as you. Please, let me be your servant."
'Wha-' Veritas was surprised, a sudden request to being his servant was too absurd!
Yet... it was also a smart decision to immediately get to know the Prince and serve as their servant. But, the auburn-haired boy with a small stature's devious request.
"I-"
He was cut off once again and this time, a black haired petite girl showed up and guarded Veritas away from the treacherous auburn-haired boy.
"Stay away, fiend."
She looked knightly and dignified, with her silky black-hair flowing down her shoulders, paired along with a flower-pink eyes that looked like its irises were made out of flowers themselves.
"Awww, come on." The auburn-haired boy contested."
"Do not meddle with the Prince."
"Think of it! If I become his servant, then I wouldn't need to think of my own life anymore! I'd even turn into a dog just to laze around and serve him.."
Veritas maintained his composure.
'Who are these weird people?! There's clearly something wrong with their head!' said the chronic gambler..
"Let me be his servant~"
"Stop."
The two meddled with each other, conflicting their viewpoints on how to handle one another. The black-haired girl blocked the auburn-haired boy's advances, preventing him from approaching Veritas.
'It's like two kids fighting.'
The two of them were basically of the same height, so Veritas deemed the two of them as kids that were having a quarrel.
Veritas then carefully calmed the situation.
"Please halt, the both of you."
He let out a commanding voice and the two immediately stopped.
"I am grateful for your loyalty.. but I am not looking for anyone to serve me as of the moment."
Veritas respectfully denied their qualms and tapped his right hand to his left chest.
With the two finally quiet, Veritas felt a weight off his shoulders.
He sighed.
Amidst the noise, Morgan measly observed the scenario with a sheepish look on his face.
'These people are noble-blooded?'
It was common sense to him, nobles tend to be more selfish and arrogant most of the time. Only a few had good qualities and redeeming behavior.
As the Prince left and excused himself, the silence between the three felt really long..
Morgan broke the silence.
"You two.. tell me your names.."
The first to respond was the auburn-haired boy.
"Leo Sandde, here!" raising his hands and acting cheerfully.
Morgan shifted his gaze towards the black-haired girl.
"Hana Hyosube, the Flower Knight."
Morgan stared at the two of them and couldn't believe what he was seeing.
'These two are really weird..'
With that, Morgan's attitude became shoddy.
*
Veritas walked around the hall, heading towards the cafeteria area of the castle.
He considered disguising himself but Veritas ultimately decided against that thought.
He would have to use it for later, and there was no purpose to do so now..
Many students were left at awe by his regal presence but Veritas was already well-aware of this experience.
But sometimes, it could feel.. suffocating.
Alas, Veritas stood firm and walked towards his destination.
Within a couple of moments, he arrived.
At first, Veritas stood in line with the students, but immediately a cafeteria staff walked towards him and gave him privileges to eat first.
"You can skip the line, your majesty. Please have your meal early."
The shaky voice of the staff made Veritas feel a foreign sense of injustice.
'Is this how they treat nobles in the Academy?'
It was... quite unfair, if Veritas disguised himself as a regular student then he wouldn't have been given special treatment. This kind of behavior annoyed him, but he understood its purpose.
They were scared..
Scared of mistreating the Prince of the Kingdom, thus the reason why they gave him privileges.
Veritas enjoyed having privileges but not to the extent that it would harm other people. Although in this scenario, no person would be harmed but still.. Veritas felt the great injustice that was prevalent in the air.
He replied:
"That would be unnecessary.. thank you, I'll stand in line."
With a warm gesture and a kind face, Veritas convinced the staff and insisted that he stayed in line like the other students.
The staff understood this and left shortly.
Veritas was left to contemplate as he awaited his turn to get his meal.
'Is it really this unfair inside the Academies?'
Wondering, Veritas felt hollow and sorrowful.