In front of the Academy building, we gathered again and headed out to find accommodation for the night.
Dahlia looked puzzled at the suddenly accompanying Demon King.
“Where did this one come from?”
“I can appear anywhere.”
The Demon King pressed closely beside me, wearing a playful expression.
Finding a place to stay wasn’t too difficult.
The JS Group’s hotel was prominently operating in this area, so it was easy to locate one.
Since someone was using the top floor of the hotel, we were assigned a room on the floor below.
Usually, the top floor was always provided to Aila, but not today.
Aila didn’t particularly have any issues with that.
I later learned that they had agreed to reduce our hotel fees somewhat.
We rented two rooms; one was for Aila and the Demon King, while the other was shared by the four of us.
The room contained two large beds, and we agreed to split up.
“Should I enter the Academy?”
Dahlia had been proposed by the Headmaster to enroll.
“If you want to, it would be good to join.”
Catherine was counseling Dahlia through her concerns.
“You are human; don’t you have any aversion to the Demon Academy?”
“From what I heard earlier, humans are separated, so it seems fine.”
I still hadn’t heard why Dahlia wanted to enter the military academy.
“What’s your reason for wanting to go to the military academy?”
“My ultimate goal is, of course, the Knight Order.”
“But graduating from the military academy doesn’t guarantee entry into the Knight Order, right?”
“There are people who have.”
Someone who graduated from both the Academy and the military academy and became the leader of the Knight Order.
Apparently, upon graduating from the military academy, one becomes an officer in the army and ultimately a commander who leads the various armies.
The rank is equivalent to that of each leader of the Knight Order.
The Knight Commander is the only rank that simultaneously commands both the Knight Order and the army.
In other words, Dahlia’s final goal is to become the Knight Commander.
“Then, isn’t it fine to go anywhere?”
“I thought I’d progress faster in the army with my abilities than in the Knight Order.”
“Is it harder to get into the Knight Order?”
Dahlia slowly nodded her head.
“In the army, you can rise to a certain level just by being good at swordsmanship. But not in the Knight Order. It was created to keep the magic swordsmen in check.”
The magic swordsmen are the mainstay of Latnia and are produced in countless numbers from Tolis.
One could see how high the status of magic swordsmen was in Latnia and Tolis.
Magic swordsmen can easily deal with Demon armies.
To counter that, Roran created and operates the Knight Order.
“But it doesn’t seem like a war will happen soon?”
When Catherine asked, Dahlia explained by referencing the recent train station incident.
“Such things happen quite frequently in Roran. At that time, the magic swordsman wasn’t visible, however.”
Dahlia might not have seen it, but that day, a magic swordsman was indeed there.
I recalled hearing from Solche that there are several famous magic swordsmen.
In deep thought, Dahlia left the room holding something.
When I tried to follow her cautiously, Dahlia noticed and stopped me.
“Kids shouldn’t follow.”
Dahlia shook the object she was holding in her hand while replying.
I didn’t know if there was such a thing here. I had never indulged in it in my previous life, allowing me to live to a hundred.
Dahlia came back before long.
I woke up in the early dawn before the morning light broke.
I had been waking up early these days, but it didn’t feel bad.
I felt like I was getting addicted to Roran’s morning air.
I stepped outside the hotel, settled in a nearby park, and just breathed.
The air tasted surprisingly good.
“What are you doing?”
“Breathing. Huh?”
I thought I was alone, but the Demon King was already sitting beside me.
“You woke up early.”
“I told you, I don’t sleep.”
The Demon King had said that yesterday and fell asleep around sunrise.
“This place has good air.”
“Ririan, you shouldn’t get too addicted to mana.”
“Yes?”
The Demon King grabbed my wrist, closed his eyes for a moment, and focused.
“Roran is different from Latnia; the mana density is high. Especially in the capital, Clarke, it’s several times higher. This isn’t the capital, but the mana density here is quite high.”
I realized why the air felt so good and uplifting with every breath I took.
“When you go to the Academy, you will learn; even if the teachers don’t teach you, Adele will.”
This was the first time I had heard about mana density.
“If you get addicted to mana, it’s hard to treat; it can’t be healed with magic.”
“Then, what should we do?”
“For now, it’s not a problem. Being somewhat addicted isn’t an issue.”
I found it a bit puzzling that they said it shouldn’t be an addiction, but then also said a little addiction was okay.
“If it gets severe, I’ll do something about it. But that shouldn’t happen.”
I always felt that despite his youthful appearance, the Demon King was quite reliable.
“Have you practiced a lot now?”
“Yes. It has really helped.”
The Demon King patted my head, saying he was proud when he saw me create light with my fingers.
“Just take it slow. We have plenty of time.”
I felt a warm flame flicker in a corner of my heart at the term “we.”
Perhaps it was because I had lived alone my whole life until I died.
Just having someone next to me was a great comfort.
“Alright, then, let’s move on to the next step.”
“Yes.”
The Demon King showcased a different magic in each hand.
One was a small sphere of light and the other a fireball.
“Try it. Picture it well.”
I could manage to create light somewhat decently.
The problem was with the fire. It flared for a moment but quickly vanished and didn’t last long.
“When you go to the Academy, you’ll be able to do it soon.”
“I’ll have to work harder not to fall behind.”
I focused on practicing creating fire while sitting in the park for a while.
As the sun began to rise, the Demon King fell silent.
He looked like he was having a good dream.
I carried the sleeping Demon King back to the hotel.
When I knocked on the door, a drowsy-looking Aila answered.
“Why are you carrying Niv?”
“I met him in the park up front. He fell asleep, so I just carried him back.”
“Don’t spoil him too much.”
“No, he helped me a lot.”
I briefly chatted with Aila about what happened in the park.
“Should I ask for a little magic help later?”
“Do so. It’ll be very helpful.”
I recalled that Aila had mentioned a few issues with her magic previously.
I didn’t know what those issues were, but the Demon King’s advice would certainly be beneficial.
Thanks to the hotel services, we could have our meals in the room.
During the meal, Dahlia retained a look of deep contemplation.
“Oh, by the way, I have somewhere to go today.”
Catherine put down the empty dish after finishing her meal and mentioned she had somewhere to go.
I had questions about how one could have somewhere to go in a city they were visiting for the first time.
Just then, Aila, who had finished getting ready to go out, entered our room.
“Everyone, get ready.”
“We too?”
“You have to. Dahlia doesn’t need to.”
Thinking it was about Dahlia’s enrollment at the Academy, I followed Aila out.
“Where are we going?”
It seemed Catherine had a rough idea of where we were headed, while Jema looked confused.
“You need to get your citizenship, and Catherine needs to obtain citizenship after the asylum application review.”
So that’s why Dahlia didn’t need to go.
When we were in Tolis, the majority of people didn’t have citizenship.
It made sense that we, as demons, wouldn’t have it, but it was a bit strange that the same applied to fellow humans.
“It’s not far from here. We can get there quickly.”
Aila led us to an area where government offices were clustered close to the hotel.
Unlike in the capital, Sarita was bustling with many people wandering around during the day.
There were people in suits and uniforms.
“By the way, when does the Academy start?”
When Jema asked, Aila paused for a moment, placing her finger on her chin, before speaking.
“About three days?”
“That’s quite a wait.”
“It takes some time for the ID to be issued.”
With half curiosity and half interest, I trailed closely behind Aila until we reached the government office.
Once inside, I saw a staggering number of people standing in orderly lines.
“Are all these people for ID?”
“No. Many have come for other matters.”
The longest line was for civil complaints consultation.
Ironically, the line we had to join was for civil complaints consultation as well.
“This is going to take a lot of time, isn’t it?”
While waiting, I quietly settled into a corner to practice magic.
Jema and Catherine stepped outside for a moment, saying they would look around.
“Are you practicing magic?”
“Yes, because everyone will have to at least grasp the basics when they enter the Academy.”
As Aila quietly observed my practice, she gathered mana in her palm.
“Are you going to practice?”
“No, just…”
The Knight Commander graduated from both the military academy and the Academy, but there was something perplexing that I heard from Headmaster Adele yesterday.
Why did they attend both places?
According to the Headmaster, it seemed that graduating from the Academy would be sufficient for entering the Knight Order.
So, I wondered if going to the military academy wasn’t necessary.
“Um, why did your sister graduate from both the military academy and the Academy?”
“I don’t know exactly, but they don’t teach magic at the military academy.”
It seemed she attended the Academy to learn what wasn’t taught at the military academy.
She probably went to fill the gaps in her knowledge.
“But you know.”
“Yes?”
“I’ve felt for a while, why do you speak to me formally?”
I hadn’t really paid much attention to it.
“Do I look that old?”
“You said you were seventeen.”
“You drop the formalities with Jema and Catherine.”
I felt comfortable speaking informally with Jema because we had been together since birth.
With Catherine, it felt natural since I had interrogated and threatened her first.
“You can just speak informally.”
“Yes.”
“Ugh.”
Aila inhaled sharply through her mouth as I stared at her intensely.
“Uh, okay.”
“That’s right.”
Seeing my response, Aila smiled, resting her chin on her hand.
When the short hand of the clock on the wall had turned twice, Jema and Catherine returned.
“Phew. Almost got lost.”
“What have you been doing?”
“Exploring the city!”
Jema replied energetically, her eyes sparkling.
