“Are you adjusting well in the academy?”

My good friend Richard asked as we strolled through the streets of the new buildings of the academy.

[https://i.imgur.com/XZT2xyu.png]

“I am! It is rather fun to walk around here, it feels like I am the last person left in the world.”

“Enjoy it while you can. Once the students flood this place not a spot remains quiet.”

A couple of days had blazed past us since I had entered the Academy.

All through these days, I had been following a rather strict routine. It consisted of talking with Richard, making friends with the other staff, and going to bother the student.

It was quite fun.

“By the way, Richard,” I said. Now was good enough time to bring this up. “What happened about the diplomatic issue with the student?”

Richard gave me a wry smile.

Just like the civil servants who were probably toiling away in the academy right now to manage all that was going on, so must be the vice-principal and the principal who were just a few ranks below them.

For some reason, the civil servants all avoided me like the plague and I couldn’t ask them anything. Even though Major was not as high a rank as those civil servants…

“I don’t think we’ll be seeing a solution to that matter anytime soon.”

Richard sighed and waved his hands.

“The Aegean Kingdom is stubborn. The Empire is stubborn. It is just the usual political scene.”

“Aegean kingdom… I remember the current king is Rath…?”

“Rathnar Ragdoll Aegean, correct. The first king’s brother.”

“Hmm… the current king doesn’t have children.”

“No children…”

I looked at Richard.

Richard looked back at me.

His face paled and mine brightened. Weren’t there clear orders to not involve me in any matters whatsoever?

“Let’s just forget about this,” Richard said.

“I agree. No point in talking about this.”

Of course, my true thoughts were the exact opposite.

I was going to use this information well.

***

After separating from Richard, I went to the streets where only the few bakeries and shops still open in the academy were located and purchased the usual set of cat-nip cookies.

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With the stash in hand, I made my way to find the Aegean Princess. The girl who was not a child of the current king, but the kid of the first king.

The Aegean Kingdom had come into existence just months before the alliance against the Demon Realm came into being. A short history that spanned a decade long, which let the scattered cat tribes become a powerful force on this side of the world.

But.

The first king, Asclepius Ragdoll Aegean had died while the war was still raging on. His brother, Rathnar Ragdoll Aegean had taken over command of the kingdom.

Except the second king had no children.

So what was the identity of the student? It didn’t take a genius to figure it out.

The child of the first king.

Right before I could turn to the storeroom where the student had made her base, I ran into the black Bombay cat again.

“There there, you are still running around on the campus?”

“Myeeow!”

I scratched its chin and handed it the cookie. Look, this cat took it so well. Cats were a mystery.

The Bombay had its fill and dashed away, ever so selfish. It could have said a word of thanks at the very least.

Sighing, I made my way to the more civil cat that was inside the storeroom. It had become a routine now in the last few days.

As soon as the door opened, a sharp voice boomed from within.

“You’re here again?”

“Of course! This time I also brought you some bread.”

It didn’t seem like this student was eating. That won’t do, when I was sixteen I had to survive on mugworts during the war. I knew the value of nutrition.

The girl looked at me but did not hiss me away. She simply continued to keep her head held in her embrace.

“So, what is your name?” I asked.

“If you’re really a professor wouldn’t you know?”

We could even have conversations now. It was great progress.

“The class roster isn’t prepared yet.”

“Hmph.”

“Why don’t you go rest in the dorms? That is better than here.”

“Get lost…”

“If you want you can also go out of the academy. I’ll write you the permission slip.”

“I don’t trust you. Go away.”

I tapped my feet on the ground to avoid the silence. It was best if there was some noise.

This was still troublesome. How was I supposed to get this child to open up? If she continued to be like this when the class began she wouldn’t make any friends and get left behind. That was bad from a teacher’s perspective.

In the end, with no other choice, I stood next to a wall and talked alone. Mostly about things that happened around the academy, which I had seen thanks to Mundus.

Now and then, she would look and listen attentively. Even better if I told her the stories that many people on the trains and before told me.

I tried not to talk about the war, which was sure to be associated with bad memories.

This much progress was enough.

To be honest, I was scared of one thing more than I was scared of cats, teenagers.

Emotions, in my eyes, were rather rational. Even if the person experiencing them lost their rationality, seeing patterns in it was the work of the calm.

But teenagers being freaks of nature with more hormones than cocaine in a junkie’s system were irrational with their emotions. If you think something would make them angry, they would fall in love. If something is kind, they would get pissed. If something is for their sake, they would get depressed and go ‘You never understand me, Mom!’

That was why I always played it carefully around teenagers.

As the sun started to set, I pushed myself off the wall and looked at the girl.

“Do you want this food or not?”

“Leave it there.”

Heh. Look at this. Just yesterday I had to leave it on my own.

“Where? Also, tell me what you want next time.”

She raised her hand and pointed next to the door. “There, and don’t come next time.”

My eyes, though, were on her palm. A deep wound spread on the length of her palm, she had hidden it very well, but I could see it.

“How did you get hurt?”

The girl looked up at me, and then at her hand.

“What do you care…”

“Just tell me.”

“It was while climbing a tree to sleep. Happy? Now get lost.”

Climbing a tree?

“Do you sleep on trees?”

The girl glared at me, but I wasn’t able to pay attention to those threats.

I remembered well, the first day I was looking for her.

In the dorms, there were clear signs she used the bed to sleep but was never seen.

The academy was a safe place. No intruder could ever step in thanks to the number of magic circles. It was known by everyone, including the people who had left this princess inside the premises and the princess herself.

But she was still wounded and hiding.

A smile spread on my face as I turned away to leave.

It seemed there was something interesting going on.