Chapter 101 - Visiting the Royal Academy

Chapter 101: Chapter 101 - Visiting the Royal Academy This place is huge... I’ve never seen anything like this in this world. Even the royal palace pales in comparison. The Royal Academy is not one building but a collection of buildings scattered over an extension larger than some neighborhoods. There are towers, gymnasiums, dormitories, and buildings dedicated to classrooms. And between those buildings, comfortable plazas and gardens. It looks more like a university campus than a high school, to be honest. And, though most students are high-school aged, I’m able to spot some young adults in student clothes. There is a visible hierarchy in rank on the uniforms that seems to be loosely related to age. "Mom, does this place have adult students as well?" "Yes, my dear. There is a lot of research in magic going on in the Academy, and the best students can join a bachelor course if they want to pursue an academic career." "Oooh. That sounds nice. But, with all this research, how is the knowledge about magic so low in the kingdom?" "This is something new, actually. I was the one who suggested it, though I wasn’t able to see it coming to light." "You created the Royal Academy?" "No, no, not the Academy itself. Just the research branch and the university program of it. I faced a lot of opposition from the Church, but it now exists." "Hm, and I bet that the Church has some degree of interference on what can be researched." "You won that bet. They have, indeed. From what my father told me, the Church has been foiling any possibility of real progress in research." As we talked, we arrived at the front of a big building. It’s fancier than the other ones, though not especially big. It has some sort of sober elegance to it. A plaque at the entrance displays the building’s name. ’Institute of Magical Research Lillian Annes.’ "Huh? It has your name on it." "I know. Father told me that after I disappeared, they decided to name the institute after me as a token of gratitude." "And do you plan to join in?" "Not really. I was never an academic person to begin with; I’m more the kind of person that passes weeks inside a dungeon than the one that passes weeks inside a laboratory." "Heheheh. Pure facts." "I just thought that an institute like this would benefit the country a lot, and it would also be a path for spotting talented commoners." "Oh, so commoners are allowed to join?" "Yes. It’s also one of the reasons the Duke’s faction and the Church hate me so much. I always thought that it was a waste to not take advantage of the talent of a person only because of the conditions of their birth." "And that’s how the common people came to love you so much." "That was an unintended side effect, yeah." Mom is so cute when she blushes. And I’m so proud of being her daughter. In my past life, if someone told me that I had the option to spend the rest of my life just studying magic, I would have jumped at the opportunity without holding back. I admit that that’s not the case anymore. I admit that the prospect of magical research is attractive, but I am more into using magic for more practical stuff. Stuff that will benefit the people living in this world. Especially the beastkin and the other nonhuman races of Mankind. Though doing some research while I’m at the academy won’t hurt. While we’re walking around the campus, always followed by two knights, I’ve seen several kinds of people. While most of them are obviously Wesgothian nobles, I’ve seen a fair share of foreigners and also of commoners. It’s easy to spot commoners because of the uniform. The uniform of a student tells the year of the student through its color scheme. And every year has two tiers of quality, noble and commoner. "I will be wearing the noble uniform... it feels weird, to be honest." I was muttering more to myself than anything else, but Mother caught my words. "Actually, no." "Huh?" "You’re a royal, so your uniform is different than the ones for common nobility." "What? Even fancier?" "Yes." What a pain... I hate to be the center of attention, and everyone will be able to see my social status just with a glance. The number of suckers that will try to suck up to me all the time will be off the charts. "Can I just not? I could wear normal noble uniform instead..." "No can do. If you do that, the repercussions would be bad for you and for the royal family." "Ugh..." "Also, you will be presented as Princess Aurea anyway. So, wearing a normal noble’s uniform would only make attention on you worse." "Yeah, probably. It doesn’t make things easier for me, though." I’m already dreading the years at school more than I already was. "Look on the bright side. No one would dare to bully a princess of the kingdom." "On the other hand, every time someone is gentle towards me, I’ll have to do a thorough evaluation about their motivations." "Oh, it will be a great learning exercise, then. Because that’s something you’ll have to do in your life as a whole, even if you never came to the school." "Can I just not be a princess, please?" "Nope. It was decided the moment you were born." "..." "At least you won’t need to worry about being forced into a political marriage. Our family is adamant about it, as my own marriage can attest." "At least that. A lot of princes and sons of dukes and whatnot will still be following me around like ducklings, though." "Maybe there will be one interesting between them." "I’m not into boys, Mom. I would rather marry Yaci." "Now THAT would be a major breakupwith the Church. A lesbian marriage with a beastkin woman." "Heh. Maybe then all talk about me being in line to the throne would disappear. It would be a bonus, to be honest." "I know how you feel. I hate the talk about me being in line to the throne as well. I want my brother to be the next king, so I can have some peace." "I’m actually surprised that there is a faction that wants to crown you. I thought that having a woman in a ruling position was a big no in this country." "It is between nobility and the Church people. There’s a chunk of the commoners that follow the Church, but the majority isn’t very keen about its tenets." "So, those nobles who formed that faction would be okay with a falloutwith the Church?" "Exactly. They are commoners in origin and see me as a way to make life better for them, because they are often relegated to a second stage by the older nobility and the Church." "Got it... And the commoners already are into you. And the last showdown made a public display of a Lillian versus Church rift." "The Church is going to do another move against me sooner rather than later. They will probably want to undermine my popular approval." "And in any case, if you are crowned ruler of the kingdom, we might even have a civil war against the older nobility that would have full support of the Church." "Exactly."