“It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Scipio. My grandfather has told me about you”

“Your grandfather? Is he the elf who saved my life?”

“Yes, he is. From what he told me, you are quite the magician.”

“I am more of a warrior than I am a mage.”

“A warrior incapable of holding a blade?”

How much does that guy know about me? Honestly, I find both him and this woman quite disturbing. She continues speaking while I remain stunned.

“Never mind that I don’t particularly care about your talents as a warrior. Why did you come to my academy? What are you hoping to accomplish here?

I consider trying to explain my purpose in its entirety, but I stop myself. There is no way I can explain my history in its entirety to this woman. The simplest answer I can give is,

“I don’t know yet, but I am certain I will find something here.”

“...that is an awfully vague answer. Still, I find it to be sufficient.”

This woman is fairly hard to understand. Her voice is clear, but she uses a lot of words I have read only in books. Her vocabulary feels like it is a mixture of ancient and recent.

I’m getting sidetracked,

“So, headmaster, do you intend to admit me to your academy?”

“Are you asking to join as a student?”

“Yes.”

“Hm…” She takes a long pause, “Honestly, you are more qualified to be a professor here than much of my faculty. I imagined you would ask me for a teaching position, which would place me in a much worse predicament… Anyway, I am more than happy to admit you as a student.”

“I see, thank you very much, headmaster.” I lower my head a little in respect.

“It is my duty to take on promising students. You will be admitted as a research student. As a research student, you are exempt from paying tuition fees. You are also given the right to take any class without regard to prerequisites, though I do recommend taking the prerequisite classes for our more challenging courses.”

She takes a break from speaking to drink the tea in front of her,

“In exchange for these benefits, you are expected to publish research papers in our library. At least one major publication by the end of our six-year program.”

I will be expected to perform research? On the surface level, I have no problems with it, however, most of the magic I have invented or innovated on has been battle magic. I have no intention of innovating and make more efficient the art of killing people.

“May my research be in fields other than magic?” I ask.

She looks slightly surprised by my question, but her face soon returns to normal. While tapping her finger on her desk she says,

“That is fine, however, it is irregular… So long as it provides academic value, it will be considered.”

“I see. One more thing, will you consider admitting my companion Seraphina to the academy?”

“She will have to pass an entrance exam. Considering she has the education of a noble, she will likely pass.”

With that all being said, the meeting comes to an end. She hands me a pamphlet containing all the information I will need to know for the coming semester. She also hands me an extra pamphlet for Seraphina.

“Cassius of Tyrannicide.” She grasps my attention. “Your past will not affect you so long as you remain a student at this academy, I will not let it. Not for you, nor that Seraphina girl.”

A part of me deep down feels relief at this statement. I can tell from her demeanor that she is a powerful woman, in more ways than one. With her protection, maybe I will someday find peace within these walls.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

I exit the tower alongside Seraphina. The cold nips at my skin once more, and I put on my gloves.

“What did she have to say?”

“She extended an offer to me. I will attend the academy as a research student, a special position. She will also prepare an entrance exam for you.”

“Really! That’s amazing!”

“Do you think you will pass it?”

“I hope so, it would be embarrassing if the student of Cicero can’t pass an entrance exam.”

“I’m sure you will be alright. The headmaster said you should be able to.”

“Well if she says so, then I definitely will.”

Olivia is waiting for us at a tavern near the university. We are taken to a table of three and order food. Now that I have information about the university, we can start making long-term plans. We can also start talking about a difficult topic.

“Here is the pamphlet regarding the entrance exam.” I hand the paper to Seraphina.

“Ah, thank you.”

“So… I have completed the mission, Seraphina. Now that you have been escorted to the university, do you wish to disband our party?”

We have been traveling together as a group for months, and naturally, we have grown rather close. More accurately, she and Olivia have grown close. Now that we have completed the mission this adventuring party was created for, it may be time to disband and go our separate ways.

“I…” Seraphina speaks up but loses her words.

I am pretty good at reading a certain kind of person. Someone who thinks depraved thoughts at all times. Self-interested scumbags. Degenerates and villains. I understand all these kinds of men. However, I struggle to enter the minds of people like Seraphina, who are kind and well-intentioned people.

“I would like to maintain the party. I want to stay with all of you.” She firms her resolve and gives her opinion.

“I agree with Seraphina. I don’t want to separate after we have come this far.”

“Then that settles it.” I end the topic with that. “I figured you two wouldn’t split up after we’ve come this far.”

They look at each other with a smile. It’s a good thing they met each other, friendship is a beautiful thing.

“Haha, if anything it’s you I’m worried about, where would you be without us?” Seraphina directs words my way next.

“I guess you’re right,” I respond.

I won’t argue that someone as pathetic as myself needs support from people like them.

“Now that we have that sorted out, we need to start thinking about lodging. If we are going to spend years living in this city, we should find a house or some other long-term rental.”

There are dorms at the academy, but buying or leasing a house would likely be a better choice. Living in a cramped space by myself is one thing, but leaving Olivia in a cramped dorm is not an option.

“Tomorrow, let’s begin our search for long-term living arrangements.”

“Alright.”

“Sounds good.”

They both respond very seriously, but I can tell they are excited. I am fairly excited too. I have been on the road since I left the estate at 12 years old. The prospect of the stability of a home is enticing.

This talk of homeownership has me thinking of my old world. I technically owned a home there, but I lost it at the end of my life. When my parents died, I took over the mortgage. It had very little money left to be paid on it. I made most of the payments with their life insurance, but that wasn’t enough to finish the payments and fund my lifestyle.

If I had just used my economics degree to get a job, or even make it through graduate school, I would have been in a more than good enough position to pay off the house. From there I could have met more people, and maybe even started a family someday.

But I threw it all away. My slothfulness and patheticness led me to default on the little mortgage that was left, and I killed myself soon after.

Looking back, there was so much I should have done.

With a house and a college degree, I could have done it.

“What do you want the house to have Olivia?” Seraphina asks.

“Hm… I would like a bath! I’ll never forget how nice those hot springs were, I want to experience that every day.” A warm smile descends on her face as she remembers that pleasant day. “What about you?”

“I would love a large closet, we could create so many outfits with it! We could even dress up Cassius in all sorts of cute clothes.”

Damnit, what are they planning to do to me?

“What about you Cassius?”

What do I want in a house?

There is one clear answer in my mind. Back in my old world, my house had a fireplace, one where I would spend a lot of time with my father as a child…

“I would like a fireplace. Maybe a study too.” I respond.

“...well of course a house is going to have a fireplace,” Seraphina responds quickly.

That’s right. In this world, the only heating option would be from a fireplace. That’s nice to hear.

“But a study, huh? I can totally see it.” Seraphina finishes her thoughts on my wishes for a home. I don’t know what she ‘sees’, but I hope that’s a positive statement.

“Then, let's look for a home with all of those things tomorrow.” Olivia wraps up our thoughts on the matter.

Food is finished a short while after and we return to our inn. I spend the rest of the day relaxing. I managed to make it through the day on crutches, but it was taxing on the legs. With this, I can think through my project, which will begin once we settle down in our home.

Then, once night falls, I rest and prepare for our big day tomorrow.