Chapter 70 - Chapter 69: To the Royal Capital
Mika spent his long vacation slowly in Rish Village.
Just like a year ago, he made a donation to the church, and Radi and Kifrod thanked him as exaggeratedly as last time.
Kifrod begged him, so he was made to play Buattre Heed with him.
As usual, when he was at a disadvantage, he would start saying "Wait," but Mika decided to ignore it.
Although it required quite a bit of patience to win and then gloat about it.
He also visited Ninetiana's house, had many conversations, and played with Dur, who had started walking around everywhere on his own.
At home, although he was spoiled rotten by Amalia and Loretta, he somehow managed to avoid sleeping with them, even though they said, "Really, that's enough."
He did cry, though.
And this year too, he somehow secured fifty silver coins and handed them over to Amalia.
She cried again, though.
And so, until the day before departing for the Royal Capital, Mika spent his time calmly and slowly.
By the way, he also heard that a year ago, a knight dispatched from Sarbengeal conducted an investigation into Mika's background.
Of course, the details were not told to him, but it seems he was explained that since he is an important witness to a major incident, they were just checking if there was anything suspicious about him.
Once they found out that Mika was a student from Baron Limpēre's domain, they must have quickly switched horses and come to investigate.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to investigate and bring the information back to Sarbengeal between the time of the Marquis's daughter's protection and the Marquis's interrogation.
Children who graduated from the local magic academy would spend their four-week long vacation at home and then gather in Sarbengeal again.
The magic academy in the Royal Capital begins on the first day of the first week of the Month of Water.
This corresponds to April 2nd in the world he used to live in.
It takes eight days to travel from Sarbengeal to the Royal Capital by shared carriage, so they depart from Sarbengeal two weeks early to allow for a margin.
That is the sunny day of the fourth week of the third month of Earth.
It is around mid-March.
The shared carriage to the Royal Capital is exclusively for academy students, and a special service has been prepared.
Speaking of which, it looks cool, but in the end, it is nothing more than a cargo wagon.
Still, just like during the field trip, a squad of knights from the Domain Army accompanies them all the way to the Royal Capital.
It seems to be the responsibility of the nobles operating the local magic academies to safely deliver the students to the academy in the Royal Capital.
So, they would attract attention from everyone around, asking "What is going on?"
Although, the children riding in the carriages didn't have the luxury to worry about such things.
"Really... when are we going to arrive?"
Cecilia complained with tears in her eyes.
It was already the sixth day since departing from Sarbengeal.
They had been shaken in the cargo wagon for six days straight.
Everyone's buttocks had long since exceeded their limit.
"We'll arrive at the post town in the evening. We'll reach the Royal Capital the day after tomorrow. No matter how many times you ask, the answer won't change."
Mika answered coldly.
This exchange had been repeated many times in the last few hours.
Everyone had taken measures to cushion the impact, such as layering sports clothes under their buttocks.
Still, the shaking of the cargo wagon could not be absorbed by such measures, and it continued to torment everyone's buttocks.
"Hey, Mika! That's unfair! Use [Physical Enhancement]!"
"I'm not going to."
All the children were manifesting [Physical Enhancement] solely to protect their buttocks.
Since [Physical Enhancement] also strengthens durability, it is an effective means against cargo wagons.
"You messed up the pace, so it's your own fault? Resent your own immaturity."
However, Cecilia was currently in a state where she could not use that [Physical Enhancement].
They cannot use mana recovery potions once every two hours like during the field trip.
If they prepared it themselves, it would be different, but no one had prepared such things, so everyone had to make their mana last all day without recovery.
In that case, they naturally had to lower the output of [Physical Enhancement].
If they pushed the output too high to endure the pain, their mana would be depleted in an instant.
Just like Cecilia now.
"Really, Mika-kun. You shouldn't say things like that. We'll be there soon, Cecilia. Let's do our best."
"Ugh, Rimliche..."
Cecilia cried out to Rimliche.
While everyone else was gasping under the torture, Rimliche looked relatively cool.
That is only natural, as Rimliche seems to be able to raise [Physical Enhancement] to about twice the normal level even without mana recovery, and still last a whole day.
There is some accumulation of damage over a few days, but the way she takes damage is completely different from the others.
By the way, I, of course, am raising it to five times my limit.
If I don't move vigorously, I could probably raise it even higher, but well, even at five times, I can stay almost damage-free.
I don't even need to use healing magic in the bath.
If I had to force it, I would say I feel pain from just sitting still.
That is all.
At that moment, Charl muttered quietly.
"...If you think of it as this kind of play... this is also..."
Shut up, Charl.
I wonder how far you will go; Big Brother is worried about your future...
Messerite was also exhausted, and Polnard was already crying normally.
With Polnard's mana capacity, he couldn't even use [Physical Enhancement] properly.
In his normal state, Mika would give up in three days.
That had continued for six days, and there were still two days left.
He could understand the feeling of wanting to cry.
Murt was sitting quietly at the very back of the cargo wagon.
You could see he was frowning and enduring desperately, but it was impressive that he didn't complain.
He has guts, that guy.
And so, continuing the long and painful journey in the cargo wagon, they finally managed to arrive at the Royal Capital on the evening of the eighth day.
■■■■■■
Ektrem Kingdom, Royal Capital Istora.
It is said to have a population of ten million or so, but the exact population is unknown.
Strictly speaking, the Royal Capital refers to the area surrounded by the city walls, but it is said that streets are being built outside the walls as well.
The Royal Capital is roughly divided into four districts.
First, the Royal Castle at the center of the Royal Capital.
It is surrounded by high castle walls, and it is a place that nobles and royal merchants cannot easily enter.
Next, the area where noble mansions and government offices are gathered, called District 1.
District 1 surrounds the Royal Castle and is surrounded by a high wall called the First Wall.
It seems you cannot enter District 1 without permission.
Well, it is a place unrelated to commoner Mika.
However, since many people working in government offices are commoners, there is a possibility that if he works in a government office in the future, he will be able to enter.
If adventurers don't work out, becoming a civil servant might be nice.
It is stable.
It would be much better than becoming a soldier.
And then, District 2.
District 2 surrounds District 1 and is surrounded by the Second Wall.
The area enclosed by this Second Wall is, strictly speaking, the Royal Capital.
It is where commoners live, and adventurer guilds are also located in District 2.
There seems to be checkpoints on the Second Wall, but it is not as strict as Sarbengeal.
Outside this District 2 is the so-called District 3.
It seems that people are constantly gathering in the Royal Capital, and streets are being built spontaneously.
However, it is not a lawless zone like Barrack Town, which was built outside the city walls of Sarbengeal; one still needs considerable permission to build houses there.
Although they say streets are being built spontaneously, they also say permission is needed, which feels contradictory, but essentially, it is a state where they are controlling it, such as "We don't officially recognize it, but you can build around here."
It seems that roads and such are laid out with proper planning, so it is not like a maze.
It seems there is no wall-like structure in District 3.
The appearance of the Royal Capital is easy to understand if you imagine a fried egg.
First, the yolk, which corresponds to the Royal Castle.
The white is District 1.
The plate holding the fried egg is District 2.
Outside the plate is District 3.
And there are castle walls and city walls at each boundary.
That is the general idea.
District 1 and District 2 are shaped somewhat like circles, but slightly oval.
The longest part, the major axis, is two kilometers for District 1.
District 2 is eight kilometers long.
District 3 is not a perfect circle.
Various parts protrude or indent.
Still, if you measure the longest part, it is said to exceed twenty kilometers.
It seems the Ektrem Kingdom has never moved its capital since its founding, and it has just kept expanding to become the current shape of the Royal Capital.
A long time ago, it seems both nobles and commoners lived in District 1 inside the First Wall, and the Second Wall did not exist.
■■■■■■
They arrived at the magic academy in the Royal Capital not in the evening, but at a time that could almost be called night.
Carriages were not allowed inside the academy grounds, so everyone was dropped off at a roundabout-like area in front of the main gate.
After thanking the driver who brought them and the knights who accompanied them, Mika and the others passed through the main gate.
It immediately became a crossroads, with the boys' dormitory on the left and the girls' dormitory on the right.
"Well, from here on, we're separate."
Mika turned around and spoke to the group of three girls who had followed from behind.
The three of them were in low spirits due to fatigue and anxiety.
"We're finally free from the carriage? That's good, isn't it?"
Mika tried to speak cheerfully, but the three girls' reactions were not favorable.
No matter what they said, they were companions who had shared hardships together.
It seems that in an unfamiliar land, just being together makes one feel secure, but when it comes to parting, they suddenly feel insecure.
Is it the same for the boys? Everyone's expressions were uniformly dark.
Even though it was getting dark, there would be no good reason to stay outside any longer.
(Don't think this is a final farewell...)
Mika let out a small sigh.
"Well, I'll go ahead."
"Mika-kun..."
As he waved and walked towards the boys' dormitory, he heard Rimliche's voice, sounding insecure.
He stopped and turned around, meeting the eyes of Rimliche, who looked like a abandoned puppy.
"...Since there's not much to do anyway... let's meet here again tomorrow after breakfast. I'll show you around the academy a bit. Tell me about the girls' dorm over there too."
When Mika said that, a little bit of energy returned to Rimliche's expression.
It seems the other children also felt their insecurity lessen now that a promise to meet again tomorrow had been made.
They exchanged voices saying "See you tomorrow" and walked towards their respective dormitories.
He arrived at the boys' dormitory, but the exterior was dark and hard to see.
(I'll look at it again tomorrow when it's bright.)
Mika quickly entered the entrance hall.
The entrance hall was bright and seemed well-cleaned.
From the right side of the corridor in front of him, he could hear the noisy voices of people.
Given the time, it was probably dinner time, so he thought the source of the voices was likely the cafeteria.
"Excuse me!"
For now, Mika decided to call out to someone.
Since he didn't know where his room was, he had to talk to the person managing the dormitory first.
As soon as Mika called out, the door of the room on the left opened.
A woman in her early forties came out of the room.
She had a very severe look in her eyes, and something like dried squid seemed to be sticking out from the corner of her mouth.
She held a mug-like object in her hand, and he couldn't help but feel that her cheeks looked a bit red.
"Oh, what is it? Did you just arrive?"
Chewing on the dried squid, the woman asked lazily.
"We apologize for coming at this hour. We came from the Magic Academy of Marquis Leventein's domain."
He thought, "It's not really our fault," but answered anyway.
"Leventein domain... Wait a minute... Hey, you."
The woman looked at Mika.
"You are not supposed to be here. The girls' dormitory is on the opposite side of the—"
"It is definitely the boys' dormitory!!!"
Mika shouted strongly, and the woman frowned suspiciously, but for now, she went into the room to get a list.
Messerite and Polnard, standing behind Mika, suppressed their laughter.
(...You guys, remember this later.)
Murt stood with a blank expression, looking away, but his cheeks twitched slightly.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. First, Polnard."
Polnard, whose name was called by the returning woman, stepped forward to be told his room number.
They were told their rooms in order, and finally, it was Mika's turn.
"What is your name?"
"Huh? It's Mika."
Why am I the only one being asked my name?
"Like I said, you are not supposed to be here. You have a room in the girls' dormitory, so go there."
"Huh? You're kidding!"
"Of course, I'm kidding. You are on the fifth floor, at the back. Room 515."
The woman said with a blank expression and took a gulp from her mug.
(Th-this guy...)
Behind the stunned Mika, Messerite and the others burst out laughing, unable to hold it in anymore.
Could it be that this woman is the dorm mother?
She looks like she is drinking alcohol no matter how you look at it, but is this okay?
Even if she is the dorm mother, she might drink a little, but is it alright to drink openly in front of children?
"The basic rules are not much different from the dormitories of local academies. If you don't understand anything, ask some random person. If you want to eat, you can start eating today. That is all."
Without listening to Mika and the others' responses, the woman returned to her room.
His mind couldn't work out what to do, and he stood there involuntarily.
"Um... for now, should we put our luggage in the room?"
Messerite suggested.
He wanted to check the bath situation as well, but given the time, it was best to put the luggage down first and go to the cafeteria.
They decided to put their luggage down, return to the entrance, and then go to their respective rooms.
Mika climbed the stairs to the fifth floor.
(I wish there was an elevator...)
If you think of it as training, it is not that painful, but it would be a bit tough when tired.
To be specific, like right now.
Just now, I was mentally exhausted to the point of being drained.
Upon reaching the fifth floor, corridors extended to the left and right.
However, the length of the corridors differed on the left and right.
Since Mika was told to go to the very back, he aimed for the end of the longer corridor on the right.
Well, if he missed, he could just go to the other side.
The rooms were lined up facing the corridor, with Room 515 at the very back, and Room 516 opposite it.
Mika knocked on the room door, but there was no answer.
Since it was dinner time, they might be at the cafeteria.
When he opened the door and entered the room, the inside was pitch black.
He could tell the arrangement of the room with the faint moonlight coming in, but it was basically the same as the dormitory of Marquis Leventein's domain.
If there was a difference, it was just that it was a little larger, and the size of the desks, beds, and wardrobes was bigger.
If they were to spend six years here, their bodies would grow along with their growth.
With the size for the junior section, they would have trouble in the Royal Capital dormitory.
Since there seemed to be no roommate, Mika tried to put his luggage on the unused desk, but stopped moving.
Neither desk showed signs of use.
Nothing was placed on the desks, and nothing was around them.
"Hasn't the roommate arrived yet?"
He felt that this possibility was high.
Mika placed his luggage on the desk on the left side of the room, just as before, and returned to the first floor.
"Mika, you're late."
"Then shall we exchange rooms? Messerite-kun on the second floor."
Messerite complained, but countered with a glare.
From Mika's perspective on the fifth floor, he did not want to be told he was late by Messerite on the second floor.
When Mika and the others headed to the cafeteria, people began to come out of the cafeteria one by one.
The ages were all over the place.
There were people who looked like they were in their mid-teens, and also children who had just turned ten, around the same age as Mika and the others.
It seems that the elementary and high school sections of the academy live together in this dormitory.
When they entered the cafeteria, they were surprised by its size.
Just by looking, there were over a hundred children who seemed to be academy students.
There were enough tables for all those children to sit.
As they were checking where to go first near the entrance, one of the children in their field of vision pointed towards the back with his finger.
When they directed their gaze there, they saw a counter and children receiving food.
"It seems we get it there."
When Mika said that, Messerite and Polnard nodded.
Leading with Mika, they went to the front of the counter, and the cafeteria lady spoke to them.
"Oh, you're new faces. Did you just arrive today?"
"We just arrived. We are completely lost and confused."
"Huh? Paraleira?"
The lady muttered that, but soon smiled bitterly.
"At this time, it won't work... Were you all from the same academy?"
The lady asked while looking at Polnard and Murt.
"Yes. I heard the dorm rules are almost unchanged..."
"That's right. I don't know the details, but I've heard that they aren't much different."
Saying that, the lady pointed to a tray on the side.
"Take that and line up at the counter over there. Then they will keep adding side dishes. Take as much bread as you can from over there, and sit wherever you like. There is no specific place."
It was a relief to have a kind lady.
The way to receive food seemed to be no different from before.
Mika took one tray and moved to the front of the counter.
Messerite, Polnard, and Murt followed.
The lady served them what looked like a tomato stew with beans, vegetables, and smoked meat.
However, thinking it was their first time, he thought the amount was a bit too much.
Mika requested a refill with just his hand.
He had unconsciously picked up the habit from the Leventein dormitory, but it seemed to work with the lady.
"Oh, can you eat that much?"
The lady increased the portion by about 30%.
Mika requested another refill.
"Hey, hey, no matter what, you're being too greedy. You can't eat that much."
"Huh?"
Mika was surprised, and Messerite and the others lined up next to him were surprised too.
As Mika and the others were surprised, the lady's expression suddenly changed, and she asked timidly.
"You guys... could it be that you came from the academy in Leventein domain?"
When Mika and the others nodded, the lady looked surprised, but soon understood.
"Oh my... those kids eat a lot. I was surprised that such cute kids could eat that much."
It seems the amount of food in the Leventein dormitory is famous nationwide.
Or rather, that amount of food was not the standard for magic academies.
The lady, as if satisfied, served Mika's side dishes up to double the initial amount.
As Mika moved forward, she served the same amount for Messerite.
And so, each of them secured a meal amount similar to their usual one, and took their seats.
"That amount was only for Sarbengeal our place, wasn't it?"
Mika whispered, and everyone smiled bitterly.
"At first, I thought it was strange. They got me used to it quickly."
Everyone quietly nodded at Messerite's opinion.
"Well, that aside. For now, we arrived safely. Shall we eat?"
No matter how tired they were, as long as they ate, they could move.
Energy would well up.
Following the Leventein style that had become completely ingrained in them, everyone gorged themselves on their first meal in the Royal Capital.