After the class had ended, Professor Rowell escorted us to the headmaster’s office. In front of us, the bearded man had been buried in the stack of paper taken from today’s class.

He must have been a sadist, smiling while flipping through the same quizzes that I had overheard on the way into the academy. But because of this, the older professor had little attention left for the former pupil of his.

You know, the Crown Prince? This had to be breaking some type of rule in the guidebook. To which one? I didn’t care.

Instead of the two discussing and reminiscing on the past, they had briefly caught up with each other. Edwin matched my gait, walking alongside me, silently observing the hung flags of the other supported kingdoms here. Half of them, I didn’t recognize. A lot can change in a hundred years’ time.

The prince glanced over, then back at the flags, before looming closer to whisper under his breath, “…Asta, do you see your flag up there?”

PFFT. The likelihood of the Hellion’s symbol being displayed at the academy built upon defeating it – was slim. In the war strategies class? Perhaps. If the subject was mass slaughter and sieging techniques, it was up that alley.

I shook my head, not bothering to answer him. Instead, I halted in my steps and shot out a hand to stop him from running into the large wooden doors. As much as it would joy me to see him run face-first into the doors, I didn’t feel like dealing with his whining for the trip home.

Edwin cleared his throat, the tips of his ears red, “…Isn’t my guard wonderful?”

Meanwhile, the professor hadn’t even turned around. The older man, mumbled, “…Huh? Yes, quite. Anyway, the headmaster is waiting behind these doors. You’re welcome to step inside whenever you’re ready, Your Highness.”

Edwin smiled, reaching for a handshake with his former professor, “Again, Professor Rowell, it was a pleasure to speak for your class.”

He looked up, returning the handshake with a slight bow, as to follow the request of the Crown Prince from earlier.

“Surely, I’m honored to have the privilege of having such a distinguished former pupil. You’ll have to excuse my rudeness; I must drop off these quizzes before my next class. Enjoy your visit, your Highness.”

Like that, the professor was off and pushing through the crowd of students to his next destination. Edwin waited; his eyes fixated on the large wooden doors in front of us.

“So, how are we supposed to open these?” He sighed, tapping his foot against the stone floors.

What do you mean by how? I am so tired of his nonsense, so tired.

“Do you not know how to open doors?” I inquired, clicking my tongue, as I stepped ahead to push open the doors that slid open with a creaking.

A clang echoed throughout the spacious office, the sound traveling through the nearby halls.

“I guess that works too…”

I clapped my hands together, mockingly bowing, as I extended my gesture to Edwin, “After you, your Highness.”

“…Oh yes. Thank you, Guard Asta.” He stuttered, shocked at my mere opening of the large doors.

Behind a desk, a chair was turned to face the opposing window. Slow claps were heard, as the human let out a small chuckle.

“It’s been a while since someone opened those doors so easily,” The voice chatted, their tone familiar, “But…” The voice reeled, spinning the chair fully around.

I failed to figure out what was wrong with the doors.

“But it appears to be fitting considering it’s you. It’s wonderful to see you again, young Asta.” Sirius smiled from his seat. Unlike his unkempt appearance in the buggy, Sirius was now dressed in a red robe, groomed, and freshly shaved. The remnants of the disgruntled traveler are gone.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

He rose from his chair, stepping out from behind the desk to greet the prince, “Your Highness, Crown Prince Edwin.” Sirius bowed.

“Greetings, Headmaster Sirius. No need to bow to me. This academy is politically unassociated. I am a former student; it is I that should be bowing to you.”

Edwin rested his hands on Sirius’s shoulders, keeping them there as the two walked to a proper seating area.

“You’re too humble, your Highness. I am aware of the true power of the Trane monarchy. I may run this academy without direct ties, but we are still on your soil. Allow me that honor,” He insisted, his eyes peering back over to me. Similar to the classroom, I hung back at the doors that had now shut. The farther away – the better.

“It is always appreciated, Headmaster,” Edwin trailed off, descending into less than formal discussions, “…You know Guard Asta?” He questioned a slight smile appearing on his face. Stop talking about me.

I grimaced at the sight, of the two sporting grins. Dragons didn’t have a sixth sense, in terms of non-magical occurrences. But if they did, I’d imagine my bullshit alarms would be ringing.

Sirius chuckled, “Your Highness I was the one that brought him and his travel companion to Trane. Met them in an off-trail tavern,” He explained, beaming with absolute delight.

“A tavern? As in a drinking tavern?” The prince pried, peering over his shoulder with a questionable expression, “Guard Asta, forgive me if I’m wrong. But you are a child, yes?”

Yes. A child in draconic aging. In human aging? No.

Heck, I was over two hundred years old. Add another hundred, if you want to be technical.

“…I didn’t drink alcohol if that’s what you’re inferring too,” I assured both of them, unable to hide the baffled look plastered on my face.

“That’s wonderful. Underage drinking is against the Kingdom’s policies!” Edwin cheered, prompting laughter from Sirius, who had been amused at the whole scene.

“I never figured that we’d be meeting so soon, young Asta. It has been nearly a week and you’re already escorting the Crown Prince.” Sirius congratulated, “You must be talented!”

Talented at screwing myself over. Indeed.

“Oh! He’s quite talented. One of the best combat professionals that I’ve encountered in a long time.” Edwin was quick to jump into the barrage of praise, “In fact, Sir Serlon appointed him to my escort, himself. He’s saved my life!”

Did he mean those thugs? From a thief? Save was an inappropriate term. It was an order. I would have walked away otherwise. I sighed.

“Hey Sirius, you said you taught combat at a local academy in Trane. So, what’s all this?” I chimed in, already bothered by the scenario. If there’s one thing I hated most – it was liars.

He shrugged, “Well, I do teach combat! When I’m not in this office, I’m teaching beginners hand combat in the classroom on the East wing.”

“I’m not sure if that counts.” I scoffed. Being the headmaster was an important detail to leave out like that. Says the camouflaged dragon, but does that matter?

“Hah! I suppose you’re right! Speaking of which, there’s a combat class a few doors down from here. You should quickly visit while I discuss some matters with his Highness.”

This is when Edwin turned fully around, nodding, “I’ll be fine. Take this time to explore the academy, drop into the class, or visit the eatery.”

I raised my eyebrows. This had just been a simple visit to the academy as far as I was informed.

“I’ll be breaking codes if I do that…” I pushed, wanting to stay to hear what was going on. The academy was too noisy to focus on a singular conversation.

“Overruled by the very first ordinance, no worries. All guards must follow direct orders from royal blood. I won’t take long,” Edwin assured, raising his hand to dismiss me.

His face was serious, despite the lighthearted tone that he was using. Being serious didn’t suit him. I guess, whatever it was – didn’t matter to me. Despite my frustration of not knowing what would be said, I took the opportunity to leave this suffocating room.

“…As you wish.” I excused myself, turning back around to the large wooden doors.

“Do you need help with the doors?” Sirius piped in, beginning to stand from his seat.

Why would I need a human’s help?

I huffed, pushing the door open with a small shove.

“…Hah. You seem like you have it handled then.” Sirius sat back down, “You amaze me.”

I better.

Walking out of the room, the door slid close behind me. As I predicted, amongst the chatter sounding from the closed doors around the office, it was difficult to listen in on their conversation.

Still, there was no point in passing time wandering about and doing nothing in particular. It was a rare occurrence that nothing happened to me here. First the abandonment of my dearest father, Dagon’s warning, and the whole internal mess of the estates – nothing went according to plan. Though, the only plan that I had was to survive. Which meant, serving humans was a sacrifice that I had to endure for now. No matter how stupid they were – persist.

“I’m going to wake up bruised from head to toe by the time this class is over.” A boy walked into a classroom door, accompanied by a taller classmate next to him.

“You’re just too sloppy to perform the moves properly,” She retorted, crossing her arms before following him inside.

Ah. I suppose that was the combat class then. Before I knew it, I had already started walking down the hall toward the door where the students disappeared. The smell of sweat grew stronger, as I peeked into the open classroom.

Surrounded in a roped area, pairs of students sparred. A female instructor barked out corrections, as classmates fought against each other. The instructor patrolled the students on the side farthest from the door, not noticing my presence.

“Straighten your legs!” She yelled over to a pair in the corner of the room, “Relax your shoulders if you don’t want to dislocate your arm!”

I ignored the instructor, focusing my attention on the closest pair of students. It had been the same two that I noticed in the hallway. The girl that had commented how sloppy the boy had been right. His form was all wrong and he had horrible footing habits. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that one push could knock him off balance.

He shifted movement between his legs, and the weight of his body leaned forward, allowing his partner to throw him right over her shoulder. The human body soared through the air, before crashing to the ground with a groan.

“Ouch…!” The boy moaned, sitting up while wincing, “I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong.”

“See? I told you. You’re just sloppy,” The girl grinned, helping him up with an outstretched hand.

“Yeah. You’re right. Let’s go again,” He sighed, rolling his shoulder around.

“If you say so…” The girl agreed, crouching back down into a fighting position.

Unlike the boy, she was more balanced. Her weight remained at her core, which allowed her to have more of a directed sense of muscle placement.

Because of that, it was not surprising to watch the boy soar to the ground once again. This time, he remained on the ground, painfully chuckling.

“Maybe I’m just cursed with bad luck?” He groaned, placing his hands over his face.

“It’s not bad luck. You just need to stop having shitty posture.” I thought out loud.

The two paused, staring at the stranger that now stood behind the ropes of their sparring area. They shouldn’t have heard me. I was fairly sure of that.

“Excuse me, kid? Who are you?” the boy asked, using his arms to push himself back up.

Wait.

When had I moved closer?