“Fayette, don’t say it like that,” Marie whispered furiously.

“What? Your new skill is warding our conversation, right?”

Marie swept her black hair back and scanned the crowd. “I mean—yeah. But if a really high-level expert wanted to—”

“Well, nobody seems to have minded,” Fayette pointed out, nodding at the crowd. “Nobody is really paying much attention to us.”

Just as planned.

Marie grimaced. “Still—don’t use that word. It makes us sound like bad guys.”

“What—murder? I’m just being honest.”

“At least say, like, assassinate… or something—”

“Shh, his speech is starting.”

Marie held back her retort and shook her head, settling back to watch the show. Fayette decided she should definitely keep using the word, if only to tease the [Lady] a bit. The slight annoyance paired with her new darker hairstyle had a certain appeal to it…

Then a flash of magic caught her attention and Fayette focused to the front, where a man had just ascended to the podium. Oh, right, speech from him.

“Greetings, new students of St. Jean! I am Morcerf Mondoug, [Grand Magus] and Principal of this academy.”

He spoke with a casual, relaxed authority as if he was firing off orders while lounging on a comfortable chair, and while the wind blew fiercely from the sea behind him, his black robes did not sway one bit in it. Fayette imagined a knife gutting him right in the stomach, then shook her head quickly. No, no murdering on the first day of school! Casual. Stay casual.

The [Grand Magus] spent a few moments regarding his audience, before he nodded. “I won’t waste time on formalities, but I will say a few words. I want all of you, my new students, to understand the purpose of this academy.”

He stepped to the side and pointed at the rock jutting out of the ocean, and the towering complex above it. Even having admired it for a bit already, it made Fayette’s breath catch. An island fortress raised from the depths by the strength of one woman alone.

I doubt it can be kept clean by one woman alone, at least yet.

“There are many stories told of ‘the rock’ as it is colloquially referred to. Understand this, most of them are true,” the [Grand Magus] said, then looked back at his audience. “A labyrinth was built within to hold off armies, and yes, it is still active, spawning out monsters and their ilk. Yes, the academy is built on top of an active, ancient dungeon.”

A shudder went through some of the onlookers, while the more knowing only showed amusement at the newcomers. Mondoug smirked from his podium. “I expect most students to descend inside during their first week.”

“Did you know about this?” Fayette whispered. They seriously built a school on top of a dungeon? Will my [Cave Maid] experience actually be useful again?

Marie nodded. “A bit, but not much. Our family never liked sending people here. I might be starting to understand why…”

The [Grand Magus] reveled in the attention for a moment, before clapping his hands, and a thunderous boom silenced the crowd. He nodded once. “Yes, we do have casualties every year. But that is what I want you all to understand. The true purpose of this academy.”

Fayette felt his eyes rove the crowd, and for a moment, they focused on her and Marie too. But only a moment, after which his gaze continued moving. Fayette let out a bit of tension she had been feeling. He didn’t recognize us. Not one bit.

She had known it would be so. On that day, he had not seen her. He continued his speech.

“We only accept students who have achieved an uncommon class. That is 15% of the population. Generally, 2% of people will be able to continue to a rare class.” He nodded at the older students. “However, among our kingdom’s nobility, that figure is at 4%.”

The smile on his face was fierce. “That means, other nations are comparatively lower as compensation. Do you understand? The purpose of my academy?”

Fayette shivered because she did understand. She was getting close to level 30. A chance at bettering her odds…

“Yes, my academy is not a normal one. Our goal is simple, take people full of potential, then give them what they need to be exceptional. Trials. New experiences. The unexpected.”

Fayette tried to imagine another knife piercing him, but it felt harder now. He was full of energy, striding down from the podium towards the seawall facing his academy. He turned towards his audience, and an ocean roared behind him.

“Graduation is simple, I only ask for one thing. Rare classes.”

Then he turned, waved his hands, and a gem on his belt started glowing. With a flash of blue, the roiling sea in front of him froze and continued to freeze, forward and forward, all the way to the academy in the distance. A road of ice. With a final look behind, he spoke calmly. Quiet.

“Welcome to St. Jean Academy.”

And he floated to the sky, flying up and zooming to a tower at the very top of the academy.

Fayette stared. I guess we’re not going on a boat, but he didn’t even use the road he made?

That was the man she was going to murder. It… would probably be pretty difficult.

“A rare class, huh.” Fayette sighed.

She was close. So close she felt hungry. If she thought of her skills…

Fayette

Class: [Combat Maid (Tier 2)]

Level: 25

Skills:

Housekeeping (3/4)

* [Sweep Dust]

* [Spicy Cooking]

* [Dry Laundry]

* Free Slot

Attendant (3/4)

* [Disarming Smile]

* [Unseen Attendant]

* [Maidsense (Tier 2)]

* Free Slot

Maid Combat (3/4)

* [Maid Armour]

* [Maid Martial Arts (Tier 2)]

* [Blade of Maid’s Judgement (Tier 2)]

* Free Slot

Capstone skills (1/1)

* [So Fresh, So Clean]

Free skills (4/4)

* [Eavesdrop]

* [Basic alchemy (Cleaning agents)]

* [Simple Transmutation]

* [Lying]

There were 5 levels to go.

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It had been a month and a half since her judgment, but she had only leveled once. Mostly because her judgment had finally let her realize that speed was not the only factor, but also the quality of the levels. She only had 3 tier 2 skills, so she wasn’t utilizing her uncommon class that well yet.

And Fayette wanted the best class options possible.

So, she had to practice. She had to train her skills, to unlock new and improved versions of them. She had to get new skills, for her three remaining slots, then think of ways to combine her skills into new ones. And most of all…

She wanted proper magic. What good was a new class if it was a boring one?

Sharing an uneasy look with Marie, Fayette stepped forward, following the mass of students onto the frozen path, and started walking toward the academy.

—

Even having crossed the frozen walkway and stepped up to a busy dockyard, their group was only halfway to the academy grounds proper. First, one had to climb up a staircase-laden pathway that wound around the rock, all the way to the top.

An extremely narrow village had formed around the lower parts of the path, consisting mainly of barracks for students of the military academy, shops, and services for any attending people, as well as residences for those who wanted to live closer to the grounds.

As they followed the crowd up, Fayette found herself admiring the clean-swept cobblestone path, clear of any snow buildup, while Marie mostly focused on complaining about her feet aching.

Then, past the village, it was a half-circuit around the rock, walking by a tree-lined path that was set in the deep shadow of the academy, which towered above, a mass of glinting windows and oppressing walls.

Then finally, they arrived at a grand gateway at the top. It was a narrow landing right before the grounds, and at the very edge of the cliff, Fayette spotted a busily humming magicoal-powered elevator, ferrying the older students up. The student union president stood in front of the gates, smiling sheepishly. She pushed her glasses up and coughed.

“Yes—there is an elevator. But it’s a tradition to make new students climb all the way up on their first go. Everyone should enjoy the 1000 steps at least once!”

“They made us climb that for tradition when there’s an elevator?” Marie complained, gasping for breath.

“You have been a bit too idle the past month,” Fayette replied, only slightly winded herself. Her eyes fell on the footmen and soldiers walking the trail, just behind their group. And it looks like not everyone gets to enjoy the privilege.

Marie straightened herself, having noticed the same thing as Fayette. “I guess there’s no harm in it. Just… lacking energy.”

Fayette looked back to Marie. The [Lady] was thinner, now. “You really need to get back to eating properly, this is—”

The [Lady] waved a hand. “I have the pills. Olivia said they’re enough.”

Enough to survive, maybe. But to be healthy… Fayette shook her head. “C’mon, let’s head inside.”

Marie nodded, and together, they stepped through the gate, to a stone courtyard framed by the towers of the academy. Fayette paused for a moment at a statue that sat at the center of it all.

A statue of a woman wearing mighty armor, a billowing cape, a sword in one hand and a chalice in the other, and a veil covering her eyes. St. Jean herself. Fayette scanned the woman up and down. Looks younger than I expected. Who were you, really?

She remembered the [Arch Magus’] words and looked at the bare rock she stood on. It felt solid as the ground on the mainland, and apparently, there was a dungeon somewhere right under her. For a moment, her rock-collecting instincts called to her. Just what kinds of treasures are there down there?

But she shook it off, fixed her view on the towers high above, and walked on back to Marie’s side. The [Grand Magus] lives in… that one, right? Maybe her knife wasn’t strong enough, but there were other ways…

Fayette tilted her head, examining the sturdy-looking walls. Maybe a bomb? Fire and explosions usually work out for me…

“Fayette, whatever you are thinking, please stop.”

Fayette tsked and prodded Marie back to motion. “Fine, fine, I’ll stick with what we promised.”

No murder on the first day, Fayette. Stay casual, Fayette. No making a big mess, Fayette. Sure, sure of course! Who does she think I am?

Marie kept her eyes locked on Fayette. “For some reason, I am not feeling one bit relieved.”

—

Then, they were in. Walls of gloomy brick, endless doorways, and hallways, a ceiling that loomed far above, lit by gleaming chandeliers. All so expensive and gaudy. All so painful to clean. How do you even get up at those chandeliers?

Fayette was standing at the back of a grand dining hall, among the other new servants, and watched Marie at her table. It was a welcome lunch for the newcomers, and various teachers and students had come up to a podium at the front to dispense information on how the academy would work until finally, the time for food to be served had come.

And Marie was seated at the far corner of the room, all alone. Many were sneaking glances at her, and Fayette was taking note of every single one. To her relief, none seemed to be gazes of recognition.

It had been a concern that someone would recognize the [Lady], but for most of her life, Marie had not done much socializing. Going all out with disguises would have been risky, as those could be noticed with skills rather easily, especially among cunning nobles. Instead, wearing one’s face openly was apparently the safer move, aided by small changes like hair color which could be counted as fashion choices.

It was the same reason Fayette wasn’t wearing a disguise, and why Mireille and Olivia were also as normal, doing their own parts. Still, the first moments of mingling had been truly nerve-wracking, so Fayette was relieved that it had passed without incident.

They were trying to be lowkey on their first days here, and Fayette had even left her [Apron of Holding] behind, just in case any [Mages] might think her too interesting if they noticed it.

But, while Marie mingled at the tables and talked with a student council president who had come to sit by her, Fayette had her own task.

“So, you lot are the new servants?” A grouchy woman in an aged [Maid] uniform asked, stepping to the group of gathered servants. Fayette turned her way and bowed. The woman looked at the group and then nodded. “I’m Marge, and I’m tasked with showing you all the basics, so you don’t make fools o’ yourselves out here. Follow along now.”

With that, the woman turned and started marching down a side corridor, not looking back. The other servants, a group of a dozen [Maids], [Footmen] and other servants began to follow, and Fayette stuck to the very end of the pack.

“First I’ll show you to the library, then the mail room, then after that—” The instructor said, beginning a droning lecture covering any essentials, and Fayette nodded along, letting herself stray a bit further back every time they turned a corner.

She knew it all already. She had memorized a map of the academy weeks ago. A map much more precise than should be available to the public, which had even detailed the layouts of staff quarters.

After one last corner, Fayette let herself wholly fall back, and then she was alone in the midst of the academy. She looked around at the dark walls, lined with magic-powered lanterns and doors leading to workshops.

“Now, where should I start…”

That map she had studied—it had been given to their group by somebody: an insider. Somebody at the academy was in on this whole “revolution” business. Somebody who knew quite a lot about things there, even if the report hadn’t mentioned the dungeon…

I guess that was supposed to be common knowledge?

And the insider, whoever they were, was supposed to make contact with Fayette and Marie somehow. Fayette stood still in the hallway for a moment, leaning against the wall, waiting. She heard the group of new servants making their way further until all noise faded. She tapped her foot on the floor.

Well, looks like nobody is showing up. Which means…

She pushed herself off the wall and looked left and right. Which way to go? It was time for her to do some exploring.

—

Now, where would one find an undercover revolutionary? Fayette had no idea at all.

Perhaps they would be hidden in an alcove in the library, reading banned books? It felt likely, but Fayette had no idea where any banned books would be hidden, and thus deemed such a place difficult for her first day.

She also wasn’t quite foolhardy enough to dive right into the dungeon, which felt just like the sort of place for dark deeds, so that was out too.

And she didn’t have that much time before Marie might have need of her again. Lunch is for half a bell more…

So, Fayette returned to the grand dining hall and began circling the corridors which surrounded it. She strolled around, peering into cupboards and offices. Of course, she didn’t want to seem suspicious, so she snapped up a broom from a cleaning cupboard and started sweeping the halls as she went.

Very consciously not activating her [Unseen Attendant], of course. What if her quarry overlooked her completely?

So, she tried to be visible while also being invisible at the same time, a curious balance to keep.

Whenever a student, servant, or other members of staff passed by, Fayette would take a moment to clatter her broom around a bit, making sure she got noticed. But people only gave her a passing glance, then moved on.

And after a few dozen minutes of no success, Fayette began moving back toward the dining hall, a frown on her face. This isn’t working at all. Maybe our insider will make contact with Marie instead? I suppose I would be hard to recognize like this…

Then, right as she stepped by a doorway, it opened and a man stepped out. Fayette glanced up at him, and—paused.

He was standing still, staring at her, squinting his eyes. “Wait. You, I know you. Aren’t you…”

Fayette recognized him too. Her breath caught because this was certainly not her insider. She felt her fingers twitch, the urge to call a knife into her hand strong.

Curses, it was Marie who was supposed to be at risk of recognition! Really, him of all people?

A toad-faced man, who had been barking orders at her a month and a half ago. Dreamily, Fayette read the name tag on his robes.

Professor R. Cadeau

The man who had been in charge of the whole plague-cleanup operation, working right under the [Grand Magus].