Chapter 153: Royal Academy II

It wouldn’t have escalated further if it weren’t for the fact that Dahlia was transferred to the same section as Gustav.

’Hmph, let’s just ignore him...’ thought Dahlia as she looked at the other students.

It was then that a girl sitting some distance away on her right caught her attention. She had olive green hair that reached to her neck.

She used her fingers to push up her glasses from time to time while taking down notes.

At this moment, Melissa noticed where Dahlia was looking at and whispered, "You told me that you wanted to be her friend months ago, right?"

"Well yes, but she just kept avoiding me whenever I tried to approach her..." replied the latter with a bitter smile.

Melssia shook her head, "Zayin’s pretty introverted so I doubt that you’d be able to succeed at this rate..."

The girl Dahlia was looking at right now was Zayin Bladeheart.

She was one of the few people that really caught her attention in the past year she had spent in the Royal Academy.

The Bladehearts were a marquis family stationed at the Royal Capital.

They were experts in the path of the sword that was known for having the famous four star aura manual: Endless Sword Dance.

Zayin was also one of the three children of Marquis Bladeheart and his only daughter.

Among her siblings, she was the only one with a gift and so, she had the highest chance of entering Grandella.

***

The class went on for an hour before the students were dismissed...

"Dahlia, where do you want to eat?"

Melissa asked while linking her arm with Dahlia’s, who replied,

"I don’t know. Anywhere, I guess?"

"Oh, here we go again with your "Anywhere, I guess?" whenever I ask you where you want to eat, hmph!"

A wry smile appeared on Dahlia’s lips, "Eh, I really don’t like anything in particular. All the food in the cafeteria is delicious."

Even when she had lived in a better place for a long time, she still couldn’t forget her life back in the slums.

The time where just bread without mold was already a feast for her and Regis.

Of course, it was not that she was trying to forget it, but the majority of people were like that most of the time.

Just a taste of a better life would be like a potion that helps them forget their origins.

People that would let their current status change their mindset and lifestyle, even going as far as forgetting the people who helped them become who they were.

"Urgh, let’s just go to the cafeteria first and choose! We can’t waste our precious lunch break!"

Melissa exaggeratedly sighed as she dragged Dahlia alongside her.

Their daily schedule consisted of three general education subjects in the morning and their chosen specialized education subjects in the afternoon.

The Royal Academy was the largest learning institution in the whole human territory, boasting state of the art facilities with the primary focus of helping the students learn while letting them enjoy their youth.

Not only this, besides its tuition fees, the academy provides every facility inside the campus free of charge to the students.

It was also the reason why even commoners spend the majority of their lives saving up just to enroll their children to the academy.

Of course, besides the expensive tuition fee, the academy also requires its enrollees to pass certain tests with the exception of some of the noble families with quotas.

As the two ran through the hallway, they saw the massive campus out the window.

’I still can’t help but become fascinated whenever I see this... it’s like a city itself.’ a light of amazement filled Dahlia’s eyes.

That was how massive the campus of the Royal Academy was.

It was to the point that it looked like another city inside the Royal Capital itself due to how huge it was.

They were able to reach the cafeteria after a few minutes of fast walking.

Simple.

It was the last word that would be used to describe the cafeteria of the Royal Academy.

Extravagant.

Was an understatement to the cafeteria’s grandeur.

Chandeliers adorned the ceiling of the large hall as tables covered with high quality white cloth were spread around in an even manner.

Not only that, there were also scented candles at the center of the table.

There were numerous long tables, each having various dishes of diverse flavors.

It was like a blend of an elegant banquet that also functions as a buffet that seemingly had endless servings of food.

The place was also bustling with students who were chatting about while eating their meals.

’It’s really amazing...’

Dahlia thought as she saw the countless variety of dishes that laid before her eyes.

’If only Regis is here...’

She couldn’t help but think of the only person she viewed as the closest to her.

The times where the two of them scavenged food together played inside of her mind like a movie reel.

A smile crawled its way onto her lips as she remembered the moment where they would be happy because of the smallest of things.

Now, looking at the scenery before her, Dahlia couldn’t help but wish that Regis was here with her.

However, he did not have the time to reminisce any further as Melissa hurriedly pulled her.

"Let’s go!"

Her bright expression obviously showed her excitement towards food.

The two of them went to get their food trays before going on to choose food from the displays.

Along the way, Dahlia saw some peculiar faces that Melissa also recognized.

"That’s Magnus from Section B, right? It’s a pity that we’re in section C, if not, then I would have a chance at dating him~"

Hearing friend’s words, Dahlia couldn’t help but giggle, "Who are you kidding? We both know that you have a crush on Zayin!"

"Shhhhh!!!" Melissa glared at her with wide eyes while gesturing her head to a certain direction.

Understanding what she meant, Dahlia’s eyes also widened as she glanced behind her.

What greeted her sight was Zayin, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Like them, she was also holding her food tray while choosing among the plates of fine food.

Dahlia shrugged her shoulders as she smiled apologetically while whispering, "Oops, I didn’t know..."

Fortunately, it looked like Zayin didn’t hear anything as she only kept her eyes on the food.

"Seriously..." Melissa couldn’t help but facepalm as she whispered back, "That was close! If she heard that, I might as well bury myself in the ground."

Hearing her friend’s exaggerated words, Dahlia giggled softly. She could still clearly remember the day the two of them became friends.

"By the way, what do you think is happening right there?"

Dahlia’s thoughts came to a halt as Melissa gestured over towards a certain group of students.

Upon looking closer, she found out that all of the children with high status had gathered together with serious expressions.

"Hmmm..." Melissa squinted her eyes, "The daughter of Marchioness Borghildr, Alisa. The son of Duke Einswald, Magnus. Lastly, the daughter of King Artorius himself, Freya."

"Oh, and there’s that douchebag Gustav too..."

"All the bigwigs of our batch gathered, huh? I wonder what they’re talking abou– oh, I think I have an idea as to what it is..."

Dahlia had a curious expression on her face as she asked, "What is it?"

"It must be because of ’that’."

"That?"

"Hmm..."

"Look, I apologized already..." Dahlia knew that Melissa was still sulking because of what happened earlier.

Seeing her friend’s expression, Melissa grinned and said, "Well, you’re my best friend so I guess I’ll just tell you."

"There’s a high chance that the topic of their discussion is the end of the year annual special exam of the Royal Academy starting from the second year onwards."

"Why only second year?" Dahlia tilted her head curiously.

"Well, the Royal Academy’s curriculum for the junior years focuses on the preparation for the entrance exam of the Grandella Academy."

"We were still in our first year so the main focus was still training. But from this year onwards, aside from training, we’ll also be focusing on the simulation of the entrance exams."

"And as preparation for one of the entrance exam types, we would be required to go on an expedition by group."

As she listened to Melissa, Dahlia propped her chin on her hand, "So... we’re going to be like adventurers?"

"Exactly!" Melissa nodded animatedly, "It was my dream back then to be an adventurer, so I’m really excited!"

"Then... are they planning to team up with each other?"

"It’s the opposite." Melissa said while getting some pasta, "There’s no way that they would do that– they’re like salt and sugar, after all."

"There you go again with your weird analogies...." Dahlia shook her head, "Then what are they doing?"

"It’s more likely that they’re already choosing the members they wanted in their teams."

"Huh? Didn’t you say that it’s an exam that only happens at the end of the year?" Asked Dahlia with curious eyes.

Melissa shrugged, "I don’t know the specifics. Untitled nobles like me aren’t much in the know about these things."

At this moment, Dahlia couldn’t help but feel goosebumps as she felt gazes that seemed to pierce through her skin.

"Hmmm, it seems like their discussion has reached a critical juncture..."

Melissa commented while filling her food tray with plates of food.