The rest of the fourth layer consisted of more arenas, training rooms, and laboratories. Yuriko watched a couple more battles, noting that the weapons were very much real and wounds even more so. There was an attached infirmary next to each arena, and all of the students who participated in the periodical exam went there even if there were no visible wounds.

The dark-haired rapier girl sat with her back to a healer, her shirt and armoured coat pulled down to her waist when Yuriko entered the clinic. The girl and the healer, a lady wolfkin with a stern expression, glanced at her but the healer returned her focus to the girl. The Battle Magus kept her eyes on her for a long while and winced only when the healer dabbed ointment on the puncture wound. It was the same kind of ointment Yuriko bought with the healer kit she purchased a while back. The wound didn’t look too bad and had only broken the skin. There was blood, but the bleeding stopped almost as soon as the ointment was slathered on.

“Here you go, Juliette,” the healer said as she handed over a small vial. “Drink it up.”

“This is hardly needed, Healer Rodriguez,” Juliette said. “I hardly bled.”

Healer Rodriguez shook her head. “The ointment closed the skin, but the flesh underneath is still bruised. This hit your shoulder blade and I’d rather not risk any permanent injury. Besides, it’s just a healing potion.” The healer gestured towards the cabinet next to them that was filled with vials.

How effective were the ointment and potion, though? Yuriko wondered since the Recovery technique of her youth fixed up any wounds, though was more suited for training than anything else. How did the healing potions work? Would it also increase the effectiveness of muscle training? Not that it mattered to her now, but it still did to Heron and Gwendith, not to mention when she had children…

Wait. Did she want children already? She couldn’t help but frown. She felt knowledge bloom within her mind, which came from Damien’s memories, and something more primal…

The stronger she grew, the harder it was to procreate. And she was nearing the conventional age of majority already…huh. But didn’t Mum and Da have Marron when they were in their late forties? She felt her Mien respond to the idea of kids, but Yuriko simply shivered and pushed the thought, and the impulses away. Maybe when they returned to Rumiga…

But she didn’t want to wait a century before bearing children. So, when their situation was more stable? And who would she have kids with anyway? Heron…? The idea was just a bit more appealing than she expected, but it was still too early.

“Secretary Ferron, what brings you here today?” Healer Rodriguez asked.

The dark-haired Battle Magus, Juliette, pulled up her undershirt and looked at Blanca Ferron with some surprise. She hastily stood and said, “Professor Ferron.”

“At ease,” Blanca said, her face oddly inexpressive. “Well done on passing your exam. You may go, Miss Abad.” She then turned to Healer Rodriguez, “Gisela, this is Lady Yuriko Davar and Lady Gwendith Sharine. Their companion outside is Lord Heron Muryh. They are potentially new guest professors.”

“Oh!” Gisela Rodriguez clapped. “Welcome! I hope you do decide to stay! Niria’s a great place to live in!”

Yuriko smiled. “Hmmm, it’s been impressive, so far. Even if…” She paused, then sighed. She couldn’t bring the standards of the Empire here. The circumstances were quite different. Besides, she hardly knew about their path to power, but she thought it might be a good addition to her own skills. While casting those simple spells had not cost her anything, she wondered if the more complex ones made use of Intent. If so, it was an excellent way to train. While she already had one method, there was nothing wrong with using different methods to prevent herself from growing too used to the training. “No, nothing.” Yuriko laughed. “You Bresians have certainly been welcoming.”

“Foreigners? Well, the republic is a very open nation.” Gisela laughed.

“There’s more of the campus we’d like to show, Lady Davar,” Blanca interjected.

“By all means,” Yuriko answered. “Thank you for bearing with us.”

“It’s alright!” Gisela said. “Ah, I’ve more students to look after. Excuse me.”

With that, the four of them moved down to the third layer. Each layer surrounded the mountainside, though most of the residential and classroom buildings faced the valley rather than the outside. The third and second layers were apparently for the classrooms, and student dormitories, with the second being for the first- to third-year students, and the third layer for the fourth to sixth years.

“The second layer focuses more on lectures and knowledge acquisition, while the third layer is more on practical skills,” Blanca said, her face quite animated again. She introduced the classroom buildings, the dorms, as well as the other recreational spaces that dotted the mountainside. “The first layer is composed of parks, public spaces, and the admissions offices, as well as the varied theatres, markets, and industrial areas for the students.”

The tour lasted three hours before they returned to the cable carriage platform and rode it all the way back to the fifth.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“There’s also the underground layer, but we’ll leave that for when you’ve joined us,” Blanca said with a teasing smile.

“Hmm, I look forward to it,” Yuriko said. “Are members of the Adventurers’ Guild, or rather, the general public allowed on campus?”

“With special dispensation, perhaps.” Blanca shrugged. “The first, fourth, and fifth layers are open to visitors, but the classrooms and student training facilities are not.”

“I see.”

They returned to Niria Hall and were led into a conference room where another woman, a human, awaited them. She had dark hair and eyes of midnight black, clad in loose grey robes. She was short, too, but her presence made her seem larger. Yuriko could feel the woman’s Anima, though it was tightly contained within her frame.

“May I present the Vice-Dean of Niria Academy, Her Grace, Olivia Biera?” Blanca said with a sweeping gesture. “Your Grace, the Radiant Magus, Lady Yuriko Davar and her attendants, Lady Gwendith Sharine, and Lord Heron Muryh.”

Olivia Biera walked towards them with a firm stride and extended a hand in greeting. Yuriko took it and shook firmly, noting the inherent strength in those fingers.

“A pleasure to meet you,” Olivia said. “I must apologise, the Dean, Carlos Varro is currently at the capitol and will not be back until later this Season. I have the authority in his place, however, so do not fear that what we speak of will amount to nothing.”

“The pleasure is mine,” Yuriko said with a slight smile. “So then, will you tell us what you intend? I believe Lieutenant Coinoch had already relayed our needs.”

“You’re right, of course.” Olivia gestured towards the conference table. “Let us proceed if it pleases you.”

The four of them sat down, with the Vice-Dean on the opposite side of the three of them. Blanca went towards the door and signalled an attendant, who then brought in refreshments. It was actually close to noon, so it turned out to be lunch, instead of snacks.

“I find negotiations during, or after a meal is the most pleasurable,” Olivia remarked as the servers placed the settings in front of them. The plate was about half a pace wide and made of fine silver. Several table knives and forks, as well as a soup spoon, were placed next, then a couple of glasses, one was filled with water, while the other was filled with a red wine.

Afterwards, a small plate filled with leafy greens and garnished with an aromatic sauce was placed in front of them, and the server murmured, “Enjoy!”

Blanca sat next to Olivia on the right, and the Vice-Dean gestured with her fork and said, “Let’s take the edge off our hunger first.” She delicately pierced the sauce-drizzled leaf and nibbled on it.

Taking that as a cue, Yuriko did the same. The salad was tasty enough, the sauce tangy, and paired well with the greens’ crispiness. She matched her pace with Olivia, as did Gwendith. Heron, barbaric carnivore that he was, though she could hardly claim otherwise for herself really, polished off the salad in a quarter of the time the women did. Neither of the two across from them seemed to mind, and they actually looked like they expected it, from the half smiles they sported on their faces.

The next course was a bowl of creamy soup. And when they finished it, the Vice-Dean started the conversation.

“Let us preface this with a confirmation,” Olivia Biera said. “Lady Davar, you have an affinity to Radiant Elemental energy?”

Instead of answering, Yuriko simply held up her finger and allowed her Radiant energy to coalesce into a small orb less than an inch wide. The surrounding Elemental energy was drawn into the Radiant and consumed, fueling more of the latter which she compressed into the orb.

“I see. Thank you.” Olivia said after staring at the Radiant energy orb for a long while. Blanca also did the same, and her face grew flushed while her long bunny ears quivered. “Then, let us make an offer. Niria Academy of Elemental Mastery would be honoured if Lady Yuriko Davar would consider being a tenured professor of Niria.”

Yuriko felt her eyebrows rise. “Tenured professor? What does that mean?”

“It means that we will always consider you a part of Niria Academy, no matter what. And the benefits and pay are quite competitive. You don’t even have to teach, you can be in a research position. That’s what you and your cohort need, right?”

Gwendith interjected. “You are seeking to tie us to your banner irrevocably.”

“It does not preclude Lady Davar from associating with other academies,” Olivia pointed out.

“Alright, then what are the benefits that your Academy is offering?” Gwendith asked, at the same time, she extended a tendril of her Anima into Yuriko’s ear and spoke through it, ‘Don’t you think they’re too eager to have you join under their banner? What are they really after?’

Through the same connection, Yuriko replied, ‘They, the academy and the adventurers, look like they want the secrets of Radiant energy.’ She snorted in amusement, ‘I don’t mind showing them, but as for me teaching it… I’m afraid they’re out of luck.’

‘How did you touch upon the Radiant Ennoia, anyway?’

‘By accident?’ Yuriko mused. ‘I remember suddenly wanting to sunbathe back in Rumiga. I think it was after I began the Ancient’s Way, and because Damien’s power was based on Radiant energy.’

‘So something you inherited?’ Gwendith sighed. ‘Then you must not promise to teach, but only to show.’

‘I know.’ Yuriko said. ‘Make sure we know exactly what they’re expecting from us.’

“Well, we would gladly subsidize your residence, as well as a stipend of gold coins a week. All we ask is for your wisdom, knowledge, and of course, Radiant energy.”

Ten gold coins was about five thousand Sovereigns. Five times more than what her stipend would have been. A generous amount, but…

“Radiant energy is not so simple as that,” Yuriko said. “Touching upon it cannot be taught, only learned. I’m sure you know this from finding your Ennoias…your Elemental Truths.”

“Of course, but we are not asking for your Truth. We are asking for…Radiant energy.” Olivia smiled. “If you can provide us with a stable infusion, Niria would be more than happy to pay a hundred gold coins for each one.”

“Stable infusion…” Yuriko shook her head, but before she could say anything else, Gwendith whispered.

‘Don’t. We’ll find out what it is later. It’s something beyond the basic expectation anyway.’

Yuriko nodded, “Very well.”

Olivia and Blanca grinned, “Great!”

The Vice-Dean said, “I’ll have the offer sheet ready by this afternoon as well as the draft contract. I’m sure everything will be to your satisfaction. Lady Sharine and Lord Muryh, and I believe you have four other attendants?”

“Yes.”

“Then we will consider them under your group. They’re more than free to seek gainful employment with us, or if they prefer to look elsewhere, that’s fine too…”

The rest of the meal went by quickly. It was delicious, but afterwards, Yuriko barely remembered what she ate. Except for dessert, anyway. They had chocolates.