Prologue

“That should be all the announcements I had for today, so now I’m just missing one more thing.”

Professor Eterport waved at the door, inviting someone to come in.

Her arrival had a varied reception. On one hand, Valery Sarashen, first daughter to the Sarashen Duchy of the Valtara Kingdom, looked at her with unusual animosity, as if they had met before. Abelard “Abe” Valtara, on the other hand, smiled and muttered something to himself as he looked away like a mildly amused crown prince. Bertrand “Berty” Dophinet grunted at the attention the girl was receiving before returning to polishing his favorite dagger, and Ronald “Ron” Mortevold couldn’t care less as he turned a new page on his Wind magic book, his mind busy with what would impress his father, the Royal Mage.

While the rest of the class had similar reactions, one brown-haired boy with yellow eyes dropped his pencil at the sight of the beautiful girl. His eyes widened as sweat poured from his forehead, cold and shivering.

“I’m pleased to meet you, everyone! My name is—"

The name echoed in Caden’s mind just as the girl said it, a high-pitched sound blocked his ears momentarily as he started to dissociate everything. 

He went to pick up his pen, thoughts swirling like a violent whirlpool.

Damn it, this is the day, he thought, this is it! Calm down, man, calm down, you’re ready for this, you got a plan, just be cool and play it off, just be cool.

Caden picked up the pencil and rose again. He saw the beautiful country girl walking towards him with a broad smile and uncertain eyes, a normal reaction for any new student to any school.

Just be cool.

“Right there, Miss, by the window,” said Professor Eterport, “Caden, make sure you give your new classmate a proper tour around the Academy.”

He gave the teacher a smirk that felt like it was carved from stiff bread dough.

Be super cool.

She sat beside him, took a deep breath, and began to speak.

“I-I’ll be in your ca—”

Caden shot to his feet so hard his chair skittered backwards and slammed into the wall.

“Mr. Eterport! I don’t feel well! Requesting permission to head to the infirmary!” His voice was crisp, military, and entirely desperate.

“Eh?” everyone said, confused.

“Huh?” the professor staggered a bit as he finished some notes on his booklet, “Ah, I see, I see, hmm, you’re unwell, young Tassad? Hmm, yes, I guess it’s all right, hmm, let’s see… Miss Chaulet, would you give, erm, our new student a tour then?”

“C-certainly, Mr. Eterport!” a beautiful but serious-looking girl with chestnut hair and a ponytail nodded. She sat right behind Caden, so she easily whispered at the rigid boy, "Oi, Caden, you ok?"

Caden ignored her and walked towards the door as he cleared his sweat and collected his thoughts.

Shit, calm down buddy, he thought, as soon as you’re out of sight, rush for the bunker.

He grabbed the doorknob and shook it around.

“Mr. Eterport, if Tassad is unwell, shouldn’t someone accompany him?”

Caden froze. It was Valery Sarashen.

“T-that would not be necessary, Mr. Eterport… I can manage on my own.” He said, but his request went unanswered.

“I insist, professor," the Duke's daughter said, "Perhaps Zara Chaulet should join the newcomer, and I’ll take Caden to the infirmary.”

“But, Miss Valery, I can perfectly join him—”

The future duchess cut Zara's comment with a simple but sudden death stare.

“Well," Professor Eterport interrupted, "Erm, if you don’t mind, Miss Sarashen, then…”

“Hold up," Prince Abelard said, "What are you up to, Valery?”

“W-what’s wrong with following standard protocol when someone is sick?” Valery shot back, taken aback by the prince's sudden question, “It’s clear that there’s a better way to do this in order to follow our esteemed academy values.”

“Ho~?” Prince Abe smiled, “Then I propose I take that guy to the infirmary, so you can attend your very eccentric affairs in the afternoon.”

“All right, students, settle down,” Eterport said, not putting any effort into stopping the discussion.

“Your highness,” Valery retorted, clearing her throat, “You speak of affairs, but is not the crown prince himself busy with even more tasks of a social nature than I, your humble servant?”

“Huh?" The muscled Berty Dophinet said with a grin, "Surely, Miss Sarashen is not implying she knows more of a royal's responsibilities than the prince?”.

“I-I’m merely worrying about standard protocol; it shouldn’t be such a chore! Fine, do as you wish! Hmpf!” Valery sat down, arms crossed.

“Then it’s settled,” Prince Abe said with a grin and fake posture, “Mr. Tassad, I'll take you to—wait, um, where is he?”

Caden was gone.

“Eh? Where did he go?”

Zara peeked outside the classroom, looking both ways, but there was nothing.

“So Caden’s nowhere to be seen?” Professor Eterport said.

Zara Chaulet cleared her hair off her face, puzzled. “It would seem so, teacher.”

“Most unfortunate, well, erm, I suppose that kid is always feeling bad for some reason, right?”

“Well, same old Tassad, hilarious,” A strongly built man named Gael Lehyr said, arms laid back and with one eye shut.

Caden was, in fact, already on the ground floor and charging towards the courtyard.

“The bag, just get the bag and get the hell out of here!” he muttered as he crossed the beautifully arranged gardens of the Royal Academy. 

Everyone he passed by looked at him, confused. Some teachers tried to stop him with warnings and worried calls to no avail as he crossed the courtyard in a matter of seconds.

He reached the dorms, kept going through the ground floor, passing many doors until he reached number 1016. He entered it, shut the door behind him, and went straight to his bed, reaching a large bag. He checked its contents, particularly a small pouch where he grabbed a ticket.

NUKNUK ISLAND FERRY PASS.

Caden checked all the things inside his bag twice, his pockets, and he grabbed his bolt sword and tied it to his back. 

“All right," he said, taking a deep breath, "Let’s go, I should have a few hours to spare before the tutorial reaches its climax.”

He headed straight back to the door, opening it with the same force of habit as if he were breathing.

"Laid-back life in exile by the pristine Nuknuk beaches, here I come—"

“Oh! Hi there~”

Caden froze, paralyzed. 

In an instant, his carefully laid out plan started to shatter. Six months of planning slowly spilling like a glass full of your favorite morning elixir being hit by accident.