Chapter 112: Teleportation

Your Highness,

After consideration, I have decided to accept the path discussed at dinner regarding formal magical training. I intend to pursue entry into the Imperial Magic Academy and will treat the matter with the seriousness it requires. This letter confirms my acceptance of that direction, not of any private arrangement beyond it.

Respectfully,

Kai Valerius

****

Kai sealed the letter himself and turned it once between his fingers before holding it out.

Duke received it with both hands, already straightening as the weight of the letter fell in his hands. The acceptance Kai had written was short, clean, and deliberately restrained. Kai had rewritten it twice to keep the tone practical. Interest in training,Willingness to pursue the Academy path and most importantly no softness that Evander could inflate into emotional victory.

He was not about to give the prince a benefit of doubt.

"Deliver this to the prince," Kai said. "Directly, if you can."

"Yes, young master."

Duke turned toward the door.

Kai watched him go for half a second, then remembered the palace checkpoint and the way those guards had stiffened around Duke’s presence. The memory was still funny in a dry way and Kai for the sake of it wanted to cause more ruckus.

"And Duke?"

Duke stopped and turned with the letter in hand.

"Give them a minor scare."

Duke’s mouth curved into a mischievous smile.

"Understood, sir."

Then he left.

The estate settled around the absence of the primary butler quickly. Kai remained in the makeshift office on the repaired upper floor, sleeves rolled, ledgers open, afternoon light cutting across the desk in hard rectangles. The room still smelled faintly of new polish and Gorran’s organizational habits were everywhere in the filing order, Kai had kept most of them intact because they worked.

Today was the scheduled day for business reports.

One by one, the subordinates from the market shops had sent in their sales summaries through the week, the day before.

From household runners. Fruit sales. Dried goods. Flower stock. Transport costs. Minor theft attempts stopped before becoming losses. Kai went through each report with the same focus he used for survival routes, marking numbers, circling weak points, and writing brief instructions where needed. The work was ordinary. That was what made it valuable. Ordinary meant the house was functioning without emergency.

He was halfway through a flower-shop inventory when an unrelated thought cut cleanly across the page.

The Academy.

As intriguing as it sounded, an institution like that had to have policies. Entry methods. Filters. Internal rankings. A place built to train high-construction mages would not open its doors through vibes alone.

Kai set the quill aside.

"Hey, System."

[Yes.]

"According to the game lore, what ways can I enter the Academy?"

[There are five recognized routes of entry into the Imperial Magic Academy.]

Kai leaned back in the chair and listened.

[First: Noble Inheritance Seat. Reserved for established magical houses with standing enrollment rights. Automatic interview still required, but examination pressure is reduced.]

[Second: Royal or Institutional Recommendation. A recognized authority sponsors the candidate. This route accelerates admission review and may grant provisional placement.]

[Third: Open Examination. Public candidates sit formal written, practical, and construction-stability tests. Placement is determined strictly by measured result.]

[Fourth: Achievement Entry. Granted to individuals with verified high-impact accomplishments, including battlefield distinction, anomaly survival, or national-level contribution.]

[Fifth: Special Measure Admission. Rare emergency or exceptional-potential intake authorized by Academy board vote. Unstable, heavily monitored, and politically exposed.]

Kai stared at the ceiling for a moment and then huffed once.

"Oh well. Seems like I am getting the recommendation option."

[Permission to suggest an alternative route.]

That piqued his interest immediately. The System did not usually volunteer structure unless it mattered.

"Go on."

[Recommendation is efficient, but incomplete if treated as the whole path.]

[An examination route produces clearer ranking data, stronger internal placement, and earlier access to competitive resources.]

[Additionally, recommended students are still required to face evaluation sequences during term progression.]

[If Host enters by recommendation, Host should still join the general evaluation track rather than remain in protected processing.]

Kai turned the advice over carefully.

It made sense. A recommendation could open the door. An examination could decide where he stood once inside. If every route eventually led to testing anyway, then avoiding early evaluation was only delaying the bruise.

He tapped two fingers against the desk.

How hard could an examination be? he thought. He had survived denser disasters than paperwork and practical trials.

[You would be surprised.]

Kai’s eyes narrowed.

"Huh? Say something?"

[Nothing.]

He stared into the empty air for a full second.

"You are doing that on purpose."

The System offered no further embroidery. Kai let out a short breath that was almost a laugh and scrubbed a hand over his face. Fine. If the exam was going to be ugly, he would meet it as himself and not as a decorative recommendation case.

He looked back down at the ledgers, then realized his concentration had already left the page. Another impulse had taken its place, abrupt and fully formed.

Caelum.

The Knight Ring.

He had not planned the visit when the morning started. He was planning it now. After the ball, after the proposal talk, after Evander’s dinner and the physician’s reading, leaving the Sword Sovereign untouched in the background felt unfinished. Whether the conversation became practical, tense, or simply clarifying, Kai wanted the line handled directly.

He reached for the small service bell on the desk and rang it once.

The System snapped in before the sound finished dying.

[Warning.]

"Huh?"

Air pressure shifted in the center of the room.

Neet appeared in front of the desk by teleportation, posture already formal, expression politely expectant.

"You called?"

Kai nearly lost breakfast on the spot.

[You were warned.]

"AHHH!"

Neet’s helpful smile collapsed into panic at once.

"Did I scare you, master?"

"Yes! The fuck? What would you do that for?"

"I just wanted to show you one of my capabilities."

Kai pressed a hand to his chest and heaved once, waiting for his pulse to remember ordinary rhythm. Of course the quiet one could teleport. Of course the household assistant with an S-rank signature had not exhausted his surprises on tray work and mask crafting.

He ran a hand through his white hair and sat up straighter.

"I never doubted that you were skillful. Just use the door next time."

Neet bowed so fast it looked like remorse and reflex combined.

"Okay. Apologies."

Kai exhaled through his nose and let the last of the shock drain off. The estate was never going to be normal while those two worked under its roof. He was beginning to accept that as a living condition rather than a temporary inconvenience.

"Prepare the carriage," he said.

Neet lifted his head.

"Where to, sir?"

Kai closed the nearest ledger with one hand and pushed the Academy thought, the letter, and the morning’s business reports into the same forward line.

"The Knight Ring."