Today marks the first day of the month of August, known as the Month of Fiery Flames.
Under the glaring sunlight that makes one feel it’s the height of summer, I walk alone through the familiar streets of Spada, clad in the hot black robe of a trainee mage.
My destination is the Royal Spada Academy, said to be the largest school in Spada and renowned among the city-states of central continent.
However, even though it is famous, I’ve only heard its name as I’ve only been here for less than a month.
Now, why am I heading to that school? The story goes back to yesterday evening when I returned to Spada after completing a quest in the Tomb of Revival.
“Lucky that the bounty for the cow extermination was higher than I expected. Maybe I’ll treat myself to something nice to eat tomorrow.”
“Yes, that sounds like a great idea.”
Having had a stroke of fortune from the unexpectedly high reward for the Minotaur Zombie that Lily dispatched in an instant, I was half in a high spirits, exchanging such conversation with Fiona right after I entered the inn.
“Lord Chrono, I have a letter for you.”
I received a letter from a Cat Beastman employee, just like before.
I thanked them and immediately scanned the contents.
“Is this from Simon?”
“Yeah.”
As expected, the sender was Simon, and the content went:
“It seems things have finally settled down over there. I would like to meet and talk.”
Well, that’s the situation.
There’s no reason to decline the invitation. In fact, there are many things I want to ask Simon, who hails from Spada.
Thus, I am currently on my way to see Simon.
It seems that Simon has returned to the school he used to attend due to various circumstances and is currently living in a dormitory away from home, so he wrote that he would like me to visit the school directly when I come see him.
He even added that he was sorry to trouble me, but my status as an adventurer means I never know when I’ll return from a quest.
It’s more certain that I search for Simon at the school rather than take a gamble by visiting the Cat’s Tail Inn to see if he’s there.
Besides, I’m genuinely interested in the famous Royal Spada Academy and am actually happy to have a legitimate excuse to visit.
By the way, I came alone because of Lily’s consideration.
“I figured it’d be easier to talk without me around.”
I think it shouldn’t be that much of a concern, but if Simon has some circumstances that seem complicated, it’s indeed easier to talk one-on-one.
Furthermore, both Lily and Fiona have their own errands today and wanted to go out.
They mentioned they would also prepare for the next quest, which is why we each have separate activities today.
As I walked along, feeling a bit lonely being alone, I started to notice many boys and girls in uniforms.
I thought I was undoubtedly getting closer to the school, and while confirming a grand signpost indicating the way to the academy, I continued walking.
“Oh wow, this is really big…”
Upon arriving in front of the Royal Spada Academy’s main gate, those words slipped out naturally.
The impressive walls on either side resembled the outer walls of Spada, boasting a grand entrance far more lavishly decorated than even the third barrier.
Perhaps representing ancient heroes, on the right stood a statue of a cloaked warrior holding a sword, while on the left was a statue of a female knight adorned in full armor holding a spear, beneath which hung flags that seemed to carry the school’s crest.
The large gate decorated with these two imposing statues was thrown wide open, and beyond it stood the massive main school building towering over a distance of several hundred meters.
In the center was a tower so high it was difficult to tell how many floors it had, with five-story buildings extending symmetrically on either side.
The architecture was far more luxurious than that of my high school, resembling a grand university or, rather, a palace, to put it more accurately.
Since coming to Spada, it was the first time I had seen such an impressive structure up close.
If I could see the Spada Royal Castle just beyond those two barriers, I would experience that same awe again.
For now, I decided to step through the open main gate that welcomed visitors and enter the premises.
If I continued staring blankly, I’d probably stand out like a country bumpkin and be shot glances of disdain by the surrounding students.
Yet, as an undeniable fact, I had completely taken on the mind of a tourist and struggled to suppress my inner excitement as I passed through the enormous gate.
The Royal Spada Academy likely possesses a far larger area than any university in Japan; there’s no way I could find Simon’s dormitory, as stated in the letter, without getting lost.
So, I decided to ask a passing student for directions, but… well, to put it mildly, the petite female student I approached looked extremely frightened.
I hadn’t expected my appearance to have any effect here.
In Pandora, where orcs and frightful people lived their daily lives naturally, no one had shown any fear of me with my still-humanoid face.
Yet, receiving such a reaction here was surprising.
The girl avoided my gaze completely, bowing her head and fidgeting while managing to respond to my questions.
Honestly, this was quite frustrating. In addition to forgetting my own rather intimidating facial features, having been around Lily and Fiona so much recently, I had lost most of my reservations about interacting with girls my age, which probably led me to mistakenly approach a female student.
When I was still in high school, I had a bit of resistance talking face-to-face with Shirazaki-san, but hanging out with straightforward Fiona and the ever-present Lily beside me had made me extraordinarily accustomed to the presence of beautiful girls.
Whether that’s a good or bad thing is debatable, but I should definitely be careful when approaching girls too casually, as my fearsome face tends to frighten them.
Rather, I should’ve approached one of the boys from the start.
Thinking that way, I managed to reach my destination without getting lost, thanks to the timid girl who accurately offered directions despite her fear.
Some ten minutes after passing through the gate, as I approached the destination Simon had given, I suddenly felt a wave of déjà vu.
Recall, yes, that was certainly — the day I first met Simon and visited the laboratory the same day.
I was led to what could only be described as a storeroom masquerading as a laboratory, and I felt that same inexplicable sense of pity.
I felt it again as I walked through this place.
Because, beyond my line of sight, there was,
“Could it be, is that where he’s living…?”
A shabby-looking, two-story wooden building that seemed far removed from the artistic grandeur of the main school building was there.
It looked just like the research storeroom from Arz Village had just grown larger.
No, it probably wasn’t originally built as a large storeroom, but there was no denying that it looked like nothing more than a storeroom now.
With anxiety at the building’s shabbiness, I silently prayed to Mia, who calls herself a goddess, that this was not Simon’s residence, and checked the location written in the letter once again.
“Ugh, there’s no doubt, this is it.”
Feeling a wave of pity for Simon, who had to live in a home that resembled one of the protagonists of a tragic story from the classic world story theater, I approached the gigantic storeroom.
And that was really just the story of coming to school.