Chapter 153 - Era, the Princess of the Pink Fme

  Era Asalon:

  We were iudent cil room, discussing the udents after the ceremony. During the event, I had spotted my half-sister, Melina, among the audien the auditorium. It had been some time since I st saw her. Melina had always been reserved, and with my duties at the academy and my role as an ambassador, we rarely had the ce to catch up.

  Leading my special troop of Asalon Knights, I carried the responsibility of representing our family's military side. This trust partly stemmed from my unique pink fme—a rare power in our lineage. Unlike regur fire, my pink fme not only burns with an unusual iy but also has minor healing properties. Though the healing is limited and works only on myself, it’s a valuable ability in bat. I heal as I destroy, making the pink fme an ideal asset for a bat Mage.

  Within my family, there have beees about my future path. Some believe I should bee an Inquisitor—a position shrouded in secrecy where identities are cealed. Others feel I should remain in the army as a public military leader, bringing direct glory to our family's name. Being an Inquisitor would mean wielding power in the shadows, while a military role would put me in the spotlight.

  I sighed inwardly at the weight of these responsibilities, and I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for my younger sister, Melina. She’s always been the only oruly cared about, and though I’m not a direct heir, she has always treated me with affe. Part of me is flicted about her awakening to the rare colored fme talent. I know now that our stepmother, Queen Agnes, will pce great expectations on her. eion of princes and princesses has been incredibly gifted, with rare abilities. Even my half-brother, Dun, is one of the few mages in the world who wield three elements. Queen Agnes is adamant that eion will be the oo restore the Founding Empire.

  Yet, I worry she might truly be pnning something reckless. After all, I’m the one who attends meetings with leaders outside the three kingdoms, striving to maintain stability. Fortunately, I’ve formed a close bond with Rose, who helps me subtly and without bias during triegotiations.

  Queen Agnes has tasked me with keeping an eye on any ‘useful assets’ among the academy students, especially sihis year's intake included some rare creatures. And when I graduate, this responsibility will fall to Melina. I still ge remembering the time I had to offer moo a student to acquire an animal that Agnes deemed useful for the army. It was embarrassing, and I get annoyed just thinking about it. Thanks to Sebastian and the other knights here, I’ve delegated that task to them—it’s certainly not suited to me.

  “What do you think of this year's students?” Marco asked as we reviewed their files in the cil room. The bd-white photos were somewhat blurry, which didn’t help much.

  “It’s a shame the images are like this. It’s hard to make accurate assessments,” Sebastian ented, shaking his head in disapproval.

  “No point in asking again,” I said. “I’ve spoken with my family about releasing color photo teology, at least to the academy, but they insist on keeping it exclusive.”

  Marco looked puzzled. “I don’t uand... We already have colored images in books, showing ndscapes and other settings. Why not allow it for photos as well?”

  "Well, it’s a bit different,” Sebastian began to expin. “The images in books are reprodus of paintings, done manually and then replicated using a magical deviass printing. But the photo mirror captures the image perfectly, and it’s printed directly. Color photos are a more precise teology and exclusive to the royal family.”

  I nodded, adding, “I could make a painting of you, Marco, but color photos have a level of detail and fidelity that only the royal family has access to. And they prefer to keep it that way.”

  In the er, seated in an armchair and ign all the otion, was Tiffania, as usual. To the public, she was the personification of kindness, amiable and weling. But to us, who knew her better, she was quite unfiltered.

  “That was such a waste of time… did you see their ridiculous smiles? They looked like they were staring at the most precious thing in the world,” my silver-haired friend pined, visibly irritated.

  Tiffania, a high elf blessed with powerful healing abilities in her realm, always showed her impatience, especially with humans. In truth, she didn’t seem to have much patience for anyone.

  “Bme it on your race for having that mystical aura,” Rose teased, ughing at Tiffania’s attitude.

  She kept grumbling, and we just sighed, aced to her behavior by now. It was better to just ig.

  “I’ve marked a few iing names here, but it’s hard to tell much beyond their elemental affinity and mana category,” Rose said, fog on the files.

  We were reviewing the talents of the first-year students, and this year seemed particurly iing, with several high-ranking nobles. Eventually, we’d o invite some of them to joiudent cil.

  “ we start without you, Tiffania?” Rose asked, trying to stay on track.

  Tiffania merely waved her hand dismissively. “Since when do I bother with this? Why would I stare at faces on a piece of paper? I already had the displeasure of seeing them on stage,” she said, lying ba the armchair, clearly disied.

  “You’d better go ahead, Rose,” Sebastian suggested, flipping through a few more files.

  As we reviewed the udents' talents and skills, part of me was already assessing them as potential soldiers, even the high-ranking nobles. After all, it would be a while before they took on their political roles. In the meahey might as well enlist in the army, where they’d be valuable assets.

  “I’ve found some iing figures among the high-ranking nobles here,” Sebastian noted. “When they joiudent cil, they’ll have to start training with us. I might even invite a few to the army.”

  “I thought I was the only oh military ambitions,” I said, letting out a small ugh.

  I picked up the files in front of me. Each of us had received a copy of the udents' information.

  “There are a few promising ones here,” Marco said.

  Nathan Evenhart:

  I was resting my head on the cafeteria table, refleg on the first day of css.

  "That css was exhausting; my mind is ag," Thyra pined.

  "I agree, mioo... it gave me quite a bit of mental stress," I added.

  Syvis approached and sat down across from us.

  "Oh, e on, it was actually quite enjoyable, especially the part about culture and history. I liked how they went over the history of our trees and the structures that still stand there today," the elf said as she ate calmly.

  I'm like this for a pletely different reason than Thyra... The wolf girl just seems to hate studying.

  I looked down at my pte and took half of the fish, tossing it on the floor for the little cat at my feet, who was desperately pawing at my leg and begging for food.

  "It wasn't that bad..." Chloe said, pg a f hand on my back.

  Now everyone’s unsciously more alert, trying to identify a High Elf... It retty bad, actually.

  We were in the academy cafeteria, which brought together all the students. The pce was massive, bustling with people, and had a variety of food options, almost like several restaurants bined, catering to everyone's cultural tastes. We could either choose the daily special, which was free, or buy other dishes from the menu.

  Chloe and I each received a monthly allowance of 5 gold s—a staggering amount. To put it in perspective, an average worker's family would need months to save up a single gold without spending a t. The currency system revolved around silver and copper, and gold was so valuable that most people had never even held a gold in their lives. With my allowance, I could afford to hire five mage builders for aire month, which still seemed surreal. They wouldn't be Apsalon-trained mages, of course, but even so, the cost was impressive. I still remembered the shock when I first learned how much I’d be receiving each month.

  Today, I ordered ara fish dish, whie 2 silver s, though I didn’t have to pay immediately; everything was billed to my academy at for my family to cover ter. Looking down, I saw the little moon panther dev half of my fish.

  This kitty already ate her own dish and now wants mine...

  Chloe had bought extra dessert, while Thyra was gnawing on a massive sb of meat with enthusiasm. When I asked how she mao eat so much, she replied that wolves o stay well-fed to fight better.

  This girl is nuts...

  I thought of the little golden fox girl I knew and gnced over at the wolf girl beside me.

  Kinue isn’t this wild... Thyra must be quite different due to her tribe or maybe it’s just her personality. Although her aunt is pretty rough too, so maybe that’s where she gets it.

  I watched Thyra gnaw on the bones and ugh, entirely unbothered.

  “What?” she asked, notig my gaze.

  “Nothing...” I replied, going bay meal.

  I looked over at Syvis's pte; she was eating delicately and gracefully, a plete trast to the wolf girl’s wild approach.

  Well, she is a princess, so it makes sense.

  “Nate, would you like to share dessert with me? I’m not that hungry...” Chloe asked, blushing slightly.

  “But there’s only one spoon,” I observed.

  “I don’t mind...” she replied, still blushing.

  “If he doesn’t want it, I do!” Thyra jumped in, full of enthusiasm.

  I smiled at Chloe. “Alright, let’s share,” I agreed, accepting the shared spoon.

  I ate half of the dessert Chloe left and we prepared for our css. We had a basitrodu to mana categories and their funs. From what I gathered, we're starting from scratake sure everyone has the same foundation, and only then will they delve into more advanced tent.

  After css, we were given some free time and the students headed to their dorms. As a High Noble, I had a separate dormitory and was waiting for the other students so that an attendant could show us the way.

  While I was standing in the hallway admiring the academy's architecture, Chloe approached, suddenly took my hand, and with a determined expression, said:

  "Just know… that I… will always like you, even if your hair is a different color or even if you have no hair at all. So, don’t even think about finding someone else!” She leaned in, gave me a kiss on the cheek, and then ran off immediately after.

  WHAT!?

  I stood there, frozen, watg as she disappeared around the er. My heart was rag.

  Calm down, general... calm down... It was just a kiss on the cheek. But why did it make me so happy?

  These emotions are powerful, and I hardly believe what just happened.

  Chloe kissed me on the cheek... She’s clearly expeg some kind of respoo her feelings, but I don’t know if I’m ready to reciprocate.

  “Hmph...” I heard the little cat huff and turn her head to the side, feigning indifference.

  “Hey, don’t even think about pining,” I said to her, trying to keep my posure. “I let you kiss me on the cheek ooo, and back then, you could’ve swallowed me whole.”