“Make sure to study hard, okay? If you need any help with your studies Helena is there, you just have to ask her!” He said, “And make sure to never be late for classes, if you have any questions regarding the lessons don’t be afraid to ask too!”

It's a few days before the entrance examination for the Royal Academy could begin, which would mark the beginning of the first semester for the chosen students, or the early end of their dream through rejection.

Robert was almost tearing up at the sight of Marilyn going to the same school he did when he was her age, carrying that same staff he used, passed down through the generations as his family heirloom.

“Yes father, I understand. I know how it works.” She said to him, her smile and gentle laugh apparent.

“My lady, make sure to always keep a stable sleep schedule and a healthy diet. A strong mind and body is imperative for a mage-in-training, especially for the entrance exam. Your father can vouch for me.” Bethany would say as well.

She would actually be accompanying Marilyn once the entrance exam ends and the semester could actually begin. And this was her own request, mostly due to the secret between her and Marilyn that was kept making her take this decision. It's just that she has yet to ask Robert of this.

She wanted to keep her lady safe from those kinds of harm if possible. Or else it would scar her tremendously the more she goes through it.

“Agreed!” He said.

Marilyn would nod at the both of them, before looking at her mother, Anna.

Anna's response was a gentle smile full of love, “Make sure that whatever you do, remember that we won't abandon you. Anything that distresses you, you will have Helena and Bethany on your side. And—”

“I can always call you two with the Tome, yeah, I know mother.”

.

.

.

Honestly, that moment was a bit embarrassing and foreign to her. It's Marilyn's first time in a very long time experiencing such worry from parental figures. The worry of a mother and father who were about to see their child set themselves out into the wider world. Heartwarming yet very shameful to remember.

The last time she actually experienced this was when past her, going by the identity and life of Kei Etsuko, was heading to elementary school. She remembered how loving her old parents were, before one of them, her father, died.

But that was the distant past, and the most recent one was several days ago. As for this…this was the present, her current moment.

She stood within the crowd of new students of varying races; from humans, demi-humans of various kinds, young elves, and even some halflings. No dwarves in sight currently, but would anyone actually know what a teenage dwarf even looks like?

“Weird, there are more niche races present here too, but no dwarves…”

She heard that dwarves always come out as adults due to them being born through sculptures of either rock or wood, and then given life by their makers, so no one wouldn't know because they don't really exist.

But excluding them, it seemed that her peers in terms of maturity were comparable at a brief glance, and they had landed here using an essence powered airship. A large majority of them would be humans, and the second largest would be the demi-humans if each of their sub-species are grouped together into one.

There were perhaps about a thousand of these students or more present here in the courtyard alone. In fact, she could actually see two more airships coming here and about to land, carrying even more students.

Marilyn flew to here by herself though, which would probably surprise some of the students who just took the convenience of an already available vehicle. She had to actually go around the mountains because higher altitudes are just much less convenient for her, and coincidentally it's also the route the airships took too, to not waste energy in ascending above the mountains if possible.

The students themselves were probably from the major urban centres of the kingdom and throughout the world, and were used to just utilising public transportation now that she thought about it. She did grow up in an especially rural area after all.

But in any case, she would now look over and observe the Royal Academy itself in all of its glory.

"Woah..."

Just from her eyes on the ground alone, she could determine that the Royal Academy was very vast, like a small town almost. Architecturally, it had a mix of not just Albion but also ancient elven architecture that's clearly present in its make.

It was once an elven stronghold from what she could understand about the history of this place, signs of it are still everywhere, such as walls surrounding the school and a labyrinthian infrastructure. The fortifications of it were even improved upon too, as she could see intricate pillars stabbed into the waters near the coast that are supposed to be the outline of a magical barrier in case of an attack. The barriers themselves would extend as far as the base of the mountain range, so it's basically the outer layer of defence of the entire academy at large.

It's situated upon the coast of the island of Albion, southeast of the capital city of Leandon, perched upon a cliff overlooking the sea. It sat at the base of a great artificially created mountain range, as if the earth was upturned like a clash between two waves.

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"I wonder what caused this to be built even...the academy stuff is definitely much younger than the base architecture."

Legend says it was created by an elven sage thousands of years ago, to destroy an invading army of such a vast number it was basically the most cost effective option. The base of the mountains themselves was wide enough that it's a touristic feature of even the capital city, like Mount Fuji is to Tokyo.

Essentially, hidden from sight by a magic-induced mountain, and defended from the sea by magical barriers. The place in both her mind and reality was basically a fortress town and a school all in one.

From what she had heard of it, the school itself has also existed for at least one thousand years. So it's quite a prestigious historical site too in a way.

It felt like she's walking to a massive castle of sorts, or perhaps it felt like that one school of wizards Violet once talked about, Hogwarts…was that it?

Yeah, it probably felt like that. Except, she could definitely notice signs of advanced magical technology being in use, so it's not limited to just Victorian-like era advancements in any way.

Nonetheless, that would be enough sightseeing. Marilyn would decide to continue her journey from there towards the main building of the academy. She could always admire the school at any later date, if she passed the entrance exam that is.

She won't fail, and mustn't—

“Oof!”

Marilyn bumped into another person and almost fell to the ground.

“Hey, watch it!”

Who she bumped into wasn't clear to her, but from the voice it's clearly a girl. A human, silver hair and ruby red eyes…

Yeah, it's not exactly obvious to her who she was. But the girl in front of her thought otherwise.

“S-sorry…got careless.” Marilyn would respond.

“You do know who you're talking to, right!?” The girl said. She's about a few inches smaller than Marilyn it seems, just seemed taller due to her heels.

But her attitude reminded her of a bratty child.

“I-I don’t? I’m Marilyn Althorn, just so you know.”

“Tsk…Cecilia, Cecilia Lenore.”

While she said that, she just also noticed that the girl’s also carrying a large bag and a sheathed rapier. Marilyn also had a bag, but this person in front of her was definitely a bit overprepared. Was she that confident that she would pass the test to stay here?

“Cecilia…”

To answer the girl’s question of the possibility that Marilyn knows her…she couldn't find an answer that may seem satisfying to her, at all.

“Yeah, I don't know who that is, sorry.”

“What are you…? Huh!? Do you live under a rock or something?! I’m a princess of the royal family, you idiot!”

“I mean, I grew up in Kharnam, so…”

“That place? No wonder you're so ignorant, why are you even here anyways.”

Marilyn tilted her head a bit, “I was chosen, just like you. But still, I apologise for my—”

She was about to bow to her, but an incoming voice interrupted her.

“Marilyn!!!”

A familiar voice, from a 19 year old girl, black hair and emerald eyes, wearing dwarven engraved armour and bearing a sword upon her hips. It was her older sister, Helena.

“Glad you're finally here baby sis!”

She was about to pull Marilyn into a tight hug the moment Marilyn's attention was turned to her. But the other girl was definitely annoyed by this moment.

“Can you please shut up and keep your distance!? You're interrupting her apology to me!”

Helena turned around, “Huh? Really now, what did she even do to you?”

“Well she bumped into me!”

“Ohhh I see, yeah no worries, no apologies needed! Common thing with a thousand people here and all.”

“Isn't it a common thing to say sorry when accidentally bumping into someone though…?” Marilyn attempted to interject, but was shushed by Helena.

“I know, but it's fun to tease someone like her, don’t you know?” Helena whispered to her, but Cecilia clearly heard her.

“Excuse me?! Do you know who I am!?”

“Yeah, I do, princess. Don't you even know you're actually speaking to a senior?” Helena responded, chuckling a little, catching Cecilia by surprise.

It even made her blush, “I’m still royalty!”

“Yeah, I know that too, but high status or not this academy won't care now would they?”

Despite how Helena had taken this conversation with stride, Marilyn could really only be embarrassed on her behalf due to how overly confident and nonchalant she was. She was a bit jealous of her extroverted attitude, but still, this was going too far.

“This is getting too annoying, why won't you even give an inch of respect!?” Cecilia continued.

“Because your attitude doesn't deserve it, shouldn't a princess be all nice and dandy?” Helena was having too much fun with this.

She's a future knight, so she should be learning their code of honour and respect and all, but she figured that can be for later. She knew her boundaries.

“I-I think you girls are just causing a scene here…”

Another voice interrupted the three of them, this time it was a man, around Marilyn's age too. Black hair and blue eyes, and a face that could tell one that this person clearly was a bit of a softy…it was not exactly obvious who this was yet, but Marilyn was intent on listening to him.

“Scratch that, you’re clearly causing a scene here.” He said.

The three girls would look at their surroundings, many people were watching them, some were even recording them on their Tomes. It caused even a larger blush on Cecilia's face, but still she was not backing down at all.

She turned to the man, “Who even are you to say this?”

“Name’s Adrian Hunt, pleasure to meet you.” He has a sheepishly kind smile while saying that.

“Hoohhh…interesting.” Helena replied.

Marilyn, though, leaned towards her, whispering, “Why did you say that?”

“Kharnam was once his family's land, don't you know?”

“Ohhh, right, just remembered now.” Marilyn stood up straight again.

Cecilia was a bit perplexed though. Adrian’s family name was clearly not just a random one, especially since he’s also a future student in this academy. He was no royal, but…

“Whatever, I’ll just back off for now.” Cecilia said, bowing and lifting the hems of her skirt, her tone-shift very apparent. She turned to Helena, “This doesn't mean I’m done with you! Just a truce!”

“Fine by me, princess.” Helena responded, crossing her arms.

Adrian sighed, looking towards Marilyn, “Is the taller one always like this?”

Marilyn could only laugh, “I guess so. The name’s Marilyn Althorn, by the way. The taller of the two girls there is Helena, my sister.”

“I see, glad to meet you all then!” He said.

All seemed to be peaceful now, as the crowd began to disperse and go into the academy's main building for the welcome speech by the headmaster. But exactly one more person was just staying put, laughing even.

Blonde hair, a tall posture, wearing a…cowboy costume? He's carrying a rather large shotgun too, multiple other guns are also present throughout his attire.

Clearly a foreigner in this case, Marilyn thought as she turned to him, the rest following suit.

“Y’all are funny, really funny.” He said.

“Excuse me, who even are you?” Cecilia asked, eyebrows furrowed in frustration.

“Vincent Morales, nice to meet ya, and goodbye. Y’all are unironically last to enter now, hah!”

The man, Vincent, would pass by them casually, but he also took the opportunity of taking a brief look at Marilyn while doing so, who also noticed him. Although, he did so with no smile, in fact he did so with a frown. Why would such a thing even be so Marilyn wasn't sure of, but that'll be a thought for later.

“I guess we should enter now, right?” Marilyn said to the rest, who could really only accept her offer.

“Welp, I’ll be watching you guys from the top seats!” Helena said, finally also leaving, waving a farewell. “See you afterwards my baby sister!”

Helena left second as the rest could only watch on. It won't be long until they too depart from the courtyard though, and soon enough enter the main building of the academy as well. A unique first day for them, and certainly one Marilyn would remember.