As I walked closer and closer to the capital, I could see more people moving on the road or working on the fields. It was Koeko already, so it wasn’t that surprising. I’m sure Mr. Jonah and the other villagers are also preparing for the first harvest of the year. If we could remain in the village for a week longer, then Leyna could have seen our harvest festival. She would have enjoyed the music and dancing. I wondered if the capital had any similar festivals or events.

I only realized how great the capital’s walls were when I was right under them. They were easily twice as tall than the temple in Dirham, and the entrance gate was also at least five meters high. There were guards at the gate, but they didn’t stop anyone before they entered the city. I didn’t know where the academy is, so I thought I would ask them for directions.

“Excuse me,” I said to a younger guard, “it’s my first time entering the capital. Do you know where I can find the academy?”

“Good day, kiddo,” nodded the guard. He wore a helmet, but I could still see his blonde hair under it. “You came just from the right direction if you are looking for that. Go through the gate, through the marketplace then turn left. You will see a training ground to your left on the street, the academy will be on the opposite side of the road. Big building, you can’t miss it.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“You came for the trials, right? Wanna be an adventurer?”

“Something like that.” I told him. I wasn’t sure how should I answer his question.

“Must be nice. Being an adventurer, that is. But I like being a guard more. Stable salary, less risk, better food. If you get bored of adventuring after you finished the academy, then we will welcome you with open arms. I also did my part of adventuring back in the day. The name is Matteo, by the way. What’s yours?”

“Kanda, sir.”

“No need to call me sir, kiddo. I’m no knight. Nor I wanna be. Sitting through hours long feasts and complimenting the nobles, that kinda thing is not for me, ya know? Playing cards with friends and enjoying the scenery is more suited for me. For that reason, I love wall duties more. The view is something else from up there, I tell ya. Have you been that high before?”

“Yes,” I answered. But I didn’t tell him that it was because we flew here…

“You from the mountains? Couldn’t have guessed. You mountain folks live in a different world from us. I don’t mean no disrespect. You live free from our society. Tell you what kiddo, I might leave the capital to live among you lot one day. Would be nice. Looking after herds, living the shepherd life. Slaying some wolves or bears if they wanna attack my livestock. Aye, that much excitement is necessary. Better than a boring life in the city, I tell ya. Did you kill any with that sword of yours?”

“Ah, no, this sword is from my father.”

“Your father, eh? Must be a good man. Your father, that is. Is he a shepherd of sort?”

“No, he is a guard in our village.”

“He part of the militia, eh? Must be nice. Defending the village where he grew up and enjoying the mountain scenery. Then going back to his loving family at the end of the day. That is the life, I’m telling ya. Be proud of that father of yours for protecting your mountain, you hear me?”

I wanted to correct the guard and tell him that we didn’t live in the mountains, but it seemed impossible. And I’m pretty sure that he would start again if he learnt that I lived in a small village next to the borders.

“That will be enough, Matteo. You detained the kid long enough,” said another guard. “I am sorry about him. He loves to talk with strangers, especially when they are not from around here.”

“Kanda is no stranger for me anymore, Pietro. I got to learn a lot about him. We could be friends as well at this point.”

No, half of the things you think you know was made up by you… I wanted to say, but I couldn’t.

“I need to go now,” I said. “I still need to find the academy.”

“Aight, be on your way, kiddo. If ya stay in the capital we will meet again,” said Matteo and waved after me. I felt a bit awkward but waved back to him. I didn’t know what to make of him.

—¦—

After I went through the gates, I found myself on a marketplace, or rather, a market street. On both sides of the street, I saw market stalls and people shouting all kinds of things.

“Fresh cherry, fresh cherry! Sour, sweet, buy it, take it!”

“The finest fish from the river! I caught them this morning, don’t miss out on them!”

“Sweets for your sweethearts! Confess to them with a confectionery! A dessert for a rou and they won’t desert you!”

“Essential tools for adventurers! Whistles, letters, all that matters!”

I passed through the shouting as fast as I could and found myself at a crossroad. I went to the left like the guard told me, and after a while I discovered the training ground he talked about. I looked at the other side of the road and saw two bigger buildings next to the road. Knowing that I was most likely at the right place, I calmed down a bit. After a few deep breaths I entered the building on the right.

I could see countless books inside and people talking with each other at tables.

“Can I help you?” asked a person who sat behind a desk not far from the entrance. He must have been in his late twenties and had an interested look on his face.

“Um, yes, I want to enroll at the academy,” I said, hoping he can help me.

“Can I ask your name?” said the person as he curiously sized me up.

“Yes, it’s Kanda.”

“Well, Mr. Kanda, I am sorry to inform you, but I cannot accept your application to the academy.”

“W-Why is that?” I asked. Were we a day late? Is this because I’m not from the capital?

“Because it is the library,” said the person. “The academy is next to this building. The receptionist, Ms. Patricia will help you with the application.” My face turned red as I heard what he said.

“T-Thank you, sir. I will be on my way, then.”

“Good luck on the trials, Mr. Kanda!” said the person as I left the library. From behind me, I could hear hush sounds from from the other tables.

I waited around five minutes before I entered the academy.

“Ms. Patricia?” I asked the young woman who sat behind a desk which was similarly placed as in the library.

“Yes, how can I help you?” She asked with a smile and shining eyes.

“Erm, I would like to enroll at the academy, if possible.”

“Of course! Please, fill this document. It’s enough if you write down only the necessary informations, like your name, ethnicity and age. Are you familiar with the academy’s system?” I shook my head while I filled out the document. “I will give you a quick rundown, then. There will be three trials before you can start studying here. You also came at the right time, there are just a few days left for application. If you can pass all three trials, then you can enroll here. Is it clear so far?” I nodded. “Great. You will mainly learn swordsmanship and magicraft during practical classes, and the rest, like history, languages etc. during theory lessons. During first year swordsmanship and magicraft lessons are both compulsory, but for your second and third year you can choose which one to take. You can even choose both or neither if you want to. From second year onwards you will also get extra assignments or classes depending on which major you choose. In the case of a few majors, you would need to attend courses at the Mage’s Guild in Valbridge. We made the Academy’s courses available as correspondence courses in case someone would like to choose them. You will get a list of the majors and courses you can choose after you finished your first year. Do you have any questions?” asked the receptionist while she took the document from me.

“Yes, I just arrived at the capital, so I wondered where I can stay.”

“The academy has a dormitory where the students can live for free during the academic year. They can also stay during holidays in exchange for a small amount of money or doing chores. Unfortunately, we can’t allow people who didn’t pass the entrance trials yet to live in our dormitories, so you need to look for an inn in the meantime. I can recommend Mariam’s, it’s not far from the academy just down the street. People who want to enroll at the academy usually stay there, so you might meet your future classmates during your stay in the inn. Her prices are also reasonable, and you can help her out in the kitchen or with other chores if you would run out of money. After you pass the trials, you can move to the dormitory if you would like to. But note that you will need to share your room with at least one other student who will be a sophomore most likely, just like you.”

“Alright, thank you very much for the explanation. Um, when will the first trials start?”

“The first trial will start tomorrow and you can freely join for the next three days. There is no dates for the others, but usually it takes around a week or a week and a half for the whole trial period to end, and after that you get a week off to get the necessary items for the academic year. We will also send you your seasonal uniforms after your enrollment have been accepted. Ah, and it might have been obvious, but if you fail a trial, then you can’t start your studies here and you need to retry next year. The trials change each year, so even if you fail a trial now, you might pass them next year.”

“I-I see. Thank you for your help.” Leyna said nothing about that last part, but now that I think about it, it’s obvious you can’t try again. I nodded and hoped the trials this year wouldn’t be hard to pass.

Ms. Patricia smiled. “You are welcome. If you have any other questions, I would be happy to answer them. You can also come back today or tomorrow if you don’t have any questions right now. Professor Shagi will be also here during the weekend you can also ask him for help. He might seem a bit eccentric, but he has a heart of gold.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Okay and thank you again for your help. I will definitely come back if I have more questions!” I said and then bowed before leaving the building.

Like she said, I could find Mariam’s inn not far from the academy. Its tavern was full of people who were talking about every kind of topics.

“Welcome to my inn. How can I help you dear?” asked an elderly woman with silver grey hair.

“Good day, ma’am. Do you have any rooms available?”

“You are in luck, my child. A one-bed room became vacant around an hour ago. It costs five zents per night.”

“I will pay for four nights then,” I said and gave her four rous. She also told me to write my name in a book for ‘administration reasons’.

“What a fine name you have, Kanda dear. You came to study at the Academy, right? The trial will start at 10 o’clock, but they didn’t tell old me when will it end, so I will ask you to take your belongings with you when you leave Helinsombo morning, alright? You can check in again after the trial is over or pay for two more nights before you leave on Helinsombo.”

“Two more nights? Why?”

“Because some of those professors at the academy love to make the trials long. If my memory serves right, four days was the longest time for a trial, ever since I opened this inn. Since then, the academy made a rule that a trial can’t last longer than three days and two nights. The choice will be yours, my dear. Now come, I will show you your room,” she said and led me upstairs.

My room was situated on the first floor, near the end of the hallway. Only basic things were in there, like a bed, a desk with a chair, a wardrobe for clothes and a few candles.

“You can ask for a magilamp at the reception, but it will cost you more,” added Mariam after she handed me a room key. “I will leave you for yourself now. Dinner will be served around sunset, feel free to join the others if you didn’t bring any food with yourself. The menu can cost anything from two zents up to three rous, and I think you wouldn’t want to miss out on my stew,” she said with a warm smile on your face. “It’s also good to meet the people you might go to one academy with.”

“Thank you, I will consider it.”

After my reply she left, and I unpacked my clothes and other things I brought with myself. I didn’t bring that many things with me, so I finished pretty quickly. I laid down in my back for a while and thought about the things which happened until now. I didn’t expect a trial to last two or even three days. What would we even do during that time?

Seeing that it started to get dark outside I went downstairs and asked for a bowl of stew from a girl who seemingly worked at the tavern part as a waitress. I still had some food left from what my mother gave me, but I thought I could get more information from the people staying in the inn. Ms. Patricia mentioned that if someone fails the trials, then they can try them again next year, so I was sure I can find someone who knows more about the trials.

There were only a few people in the dining hall for now, but they either didn’t look like students who want to try the trials or their whole posture screamed “do not talk to me”. Which is why I sat down to an empty table and waited for my order to arrive.

In the next few minutes people started to come downstairs or enter the inn and the dining hall was soon full of life.

“Can we join you at the table?” asked someone from me and I looked up to see who they were.

A man and a girl stood next to the table. The girl was around my age and had shoulder-length brown hair while the man seemed a bit older and wore glasses.

“Sure,” I said, and they sat down. “My name is Kanda. Did you two also come for the trials?”

“Nice to meet you Kanda, my name is Rika,” started the girl. “As you guessed, we came for the trials, same as you.”

“And my name is Collins,” added the man. “It is a pleasure meeting you.” He offered his hand, and I shook it. “Do not let my age fool you, it’s my first time attempting the trials, so I am a bit nervous.”

“I feel the same,” I said.

“Hm-hm, I had attended them last year, for your information,” the girl named Rika said with her head held high. “I guess it means I have the best chances of passing the trials this year.”

“Rather, you have the worst chances because you failed last year, isn’t it right?” said Collin who took a sip from the drink a waitress just brought him.

“Oh, shut up! What do you even know about the trials, four-eyes? I would have passed it, but they disqualified me after I broke someone’s leg.”

“You are just making it worse, please stop. I hope I won’t get into the same team as you.”

“The trials are team-based?” I asked before Rika could retaliate again.

“They can be,” she sighed. “The trials can be commonly divided into three groups: martial, mental or team trials. Martial trials involve a duel or competition. Mental trials usually mean mind tricks, riddles and the like which you need to solve. And team trials are for tasks which you need to solve by cooperating with others. Last year we needed to find items throughout the capital, it was really tiresome. We got hints, but it still took us quite a while until we could find where to look exactly at the buildings.”

“What if someone doesn’t know the capital?”

“Tough luck,” she said. “Team trials are favored by professors who want to decimate the candidates’ number. Even if some teams get carried only by a few members, the rest will fall out during the other trials… or not.” She shrugged and started to eat her meal.

“The trial system is criticized by a few nobles even today,” added Collin. “Its arbitrary nature and the fact that their children also need to pass them if they want to attend the Academy are thorns in their side. Of course, many nobles also send their children to schools which only the nobility can attend, like Westburg University in the Noznian Empire.”

“Posh like them can also stay there if they like the Empire so much,” said Rika. “But enough of this. Why do you want to join the Academy?” she asked, seemingly from both of us.

“I thought you guys know each other.”

“Nah, I only met four-eyes today, same as you. He was all alone, so I thought I might keep him company.”

“I said it wasn’t necessary.”

“Oh? If it wasn’t necessary, then why did you follow me to this table?” Collin seemingly had no good answer for this question as he stayed silent. “Thought so. Anyhow, tell me your reasons.”

“I want to get stronger,” I said.

“Bah, boooring! Come up with something better! Creating a company, pursuing your dreams, or say that you came after the girl you fell in love with and who is a student there. Don’t have shallow dreams, dare to dream big!” I wanted to tell them my other reasons, but it was something I didn’t think I should share with others. And Rika took my silence as me admitting my defeat. “I swear, Fortuna abandoned me. Meeting two guys in one day who are no fun at all…”

“I think we have quite different thoughts about what count as fun,” said Collin. “At any rate, I am here because I was tricked into it by my father.”

“So, you will try to fail the trials anyway?”

“Not a chance. My father most likely thinks I will do that, so I want to prove him wrong.”

“Oh? You have interesting parts too, four-eyes. I wouldn’t have thought.”

“I don’t think that you are thinking that much.”

“Oi, do you want me to punch you? You are saying quite rude things to someone you just met today. And a lady at that.”

“I wouldn’t be the only one.”

Seeing that they started to fight again, I interrupted them.

“By the way Rika, why do you want to attend the academy?”

“Huh? Oh, are you interested in me? I’m sorry to inform you, but I already have someone I promised to marry. I didn’t meet him ever since we both were toddlers, though.”

“You are quite persistent, aren’t you?”

“You bet! Anyway, my reason of joining the academy is… becoming the greatest bandit queen in history!”

“I knew it. You are insane,” said Collin.

“Quite the contrary,” replied Rika. “After I finish the academy, I will have knowledge in various fields, and I will be also strong enough to become a bandit leader if I want to. I will give education to my gang, turning them into sophisticated gentlemen who can either rejoin society or help me build my own Bandit Kingdom.”

“And where are you planning on establishing this kingdom?”

“Why, of course, in this kingdom. I will get a similar status like the Kushnik tribe from the king and live there peacefully. I planned out everything.”

“And why do you need to be a bandit queen to achieve all this? Wouldn’t it mean that you need to rob and attack others?”

“Of course it does. That’s why I will attack other bandit groups until only mine remains,” laughed Rika. She had a bold dream I couldn’t deny that.

We talked a bit more about different topics and what we thought the trials will be like, then we all went upstairs after we finished our dinner. Collin’s room was on the second floor, while Rika’s room was quite close to mine on the first floor.

—¦—

After I returned to my room I locked the door and laid down in my bed. I decided to take out the ring from my pack and put it on my finger.

“Hello, is anyone there? Hello?” I could hear Leyna’s voice instantly in my head.

“Yeah, I’m here.” I replied.

“Ah, nice to hear your voice, Konda.”

“It’s Kanda. And same goes for me. We just parted this morning, but it already feels like it was days away.”

“Oh? Are you missing me this much? Do you want your big sis Leyna to hug you? Just tell me where you are, I will be there right away.”

“…I think I will pass on that.”

“Just kidding, just kidding. After all, I don’t need you to tell me where you are, I can easily locate the ring I gave you.”

“I think I saw a well on my way here. Can I drop this ring in there?”

“No, please, I’m sorry! I only have a handful of those, and they are hard to make! I don’t want to swim in a well, so please don’t do it.” I could hear her sniffing, but I couldn’t decide if it was genuine or not.

“Alright, alright, I won’t throw it away. But no surprise visits, okay? The others might look me strangely if you showed up out of nowhere.”

“Others? Oh~ So you already made friends, huh? As expected of Konda! And how are they? Are you into the matured ones? Or you found yourself a little sister? Maybe some childhood friends? I hope you told them you already have someone.”

“What are you talking about? I met a girl named Rika and man who calls himself Collin.”

“Oh, I see, you are quite the progressive one.”

“The well is still here.”

“I’m sorry! But also, what do you mean ‘here’?! Why are you outside at this hour?!”

“I was joking. I’m in my comfortable bed right now. I also have some questions, Leyna.”

“Go ahead and ask them, Konda. But be aware that you can only ask three questions, no more. After that I will be gone along with the ring which held me captive for centuries before you found me,” said Leyna with a deep voice.

“What are you talking about?”

“Your first question was wise, it’s a reference to the genie who grants three of your wishes. It was a popular tale a few decades ago. Or was it centuries already?”

“I don’t know anything about that. Anyway, I want to ask you about the trials. Should I know anything more than the fact that there can be mental, martial or team trials?”

“Oh, I see you already know about that. Hm, let’s see… Don’t hurt anyone and don’t get hurt either, okay? If the damage you cause is enough to break someone’s bones, then you fail the trials automatically. Similarly, if you break your bones, then you can’t continue the trials for safety reasons. The Academy has its own healers, but it’s a rule they came up with after some people didn’t care about their own safety in the past, thinking that the healers will be there to heal them. Ever since then, the Academy limited what level of injury they deem acceptable.”

“I see. I’m surprised the receptionist didn’t say anything about this. She also didn’t tell me when will the trial start tomorrow.”

“Most people in the capital know about the latter, and I think they will tell you about the former tomorrow. They will make you sign a statement that they aren’t responsible in case you might die during the trials or gain injuries which can’t be healed fast. But you should ask the people at the academy about these things, they are the once responsible for the trials.”

“Aren’t you teaching at the Academy yourself?”

“Hehe, it might be the case, but I’m not a full-time teacher. As such, I also don’t know anything about the trials. Not that I would tell you the details even if I knew.”

“I see… And do you have any useful tips you can tell me? Let it be about the trials or life in the capital.”

“Uh… Don’t hurt anyone and don’t get hurt either? Just kidding. I can recommend taking a stroll in the capital. There are a few nice places around here. Especially the confectioneries. You can also look around the Market Road, sometimes you can find rare or high-quality products there. Avoid the louder peddlers, though. And don’t let anyone rob anything off of you, you hear me?”

“Alright, these are sound advice, thanks a lot.”

“And one more thing, Konda.”

“What is it?”

“I hope you didn’t speak out loud during our conversation. It’s enough if you think of the words really hard. I need to go now, good night!”

You could have said so at the beginning! I wanted to shout, but I felt that she was no longer listening. It took me around an hour to fall asleep after this.