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A grand city named Sangria, boasting a population of one million.

True to its status as the focal point of the Empire’s rich history, Sangria has undergone countless expansions over the centuries, and it’s definitely not a place you can stroll around casually. Each district is about the size of a small town, so just crossing over two or three regions on foot can easily cause the day to slip away.

To travel to distant areas, taking a carriage is essential. However, only a handful of people, like the nobles, own private carriages, and the cost of renting one is quite substantial, making it burdensome for those commuting daily. Hence, the Imperial Administration Office contemplated this issue for a long time and eventually devised a solution.

The result was the Sangria Capital City Tram, a magical train that circulates throughout the entire city via pre-laid tracks.

The design itself was created centuries ago by the founding king, Philion the Great, but due to a lack of technology, it could not be realized until before the war, when one was installed in each important administrative area. Now, five years after the end of the war, routes covering all areas of the city have been completed.

This level of technology is nowhere to be found across the continent, and the Capital City Tram is the pride of the Empire… or so an announcement vaguely indicated as I half-heartedly listened.

I gazed out the trams’ window, watching the scenery of the city blur by. It truly was impressive. If such a system had been in place at the front lines, it would have alleviated some of the hardships during the war.

Of course, there are numerous issues with operating the tram outside the city. It’s not particularly fast and is vulnerable to bandits and other forms of plunder, while damage to the tracks is frequent, making repairs a challenge unless you’re in a large city that can regularly maintain it.

During the war, the Demon King’s Army even actively deployed guerrilla units, so if the lines had been set up then, they would have surely been the top target. Even so, feeling a sense of loss about it was unavoidable.

I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh. I thought I had shaken off everything by now; how could I possibly be regretting things long over? Is my heart still lingering on the battlefield?

The tram’s announcement declared we had arrived at District 3, the Philion Academy. Shaking off unnecessary thoughts, I stepped off the tram and exited the station.

As soon as I exited the station, the grand main gate of the Philion Academy came into view. The entrance, carved from pure white marble, resembled that of a major city’s gate.

Above the gate, a large emblem of a dragon’s head, recognizable to anyone, was engraved—representing the Philion Academy and the ‘White Dragon Albnisis,’ the symbol of Philion the Great.

Given that the Philion Academy is a critical establishment where offspring of the Empire’s noble families and even royalty from foreign lands study, security is extraordinarily strict, meaning I couldn’t just show some paperwork and waltz in like at the Capital City Gate.

I underwent a thorough check by the guards, including identification verification, cross-referencing official documents, body searches, and mana scans, before finally being allowed through the gate.

Upon exiting the gate, I noticed a girl in a white uniform waving at me from afar, amidst a vibrant green lawn dotted with blue grass.

Upon closer inspection, she looked quite young for an academy student. Was she around thirteen or maybe fourteen? With brown hair and a petite frame, she hopped towards me, brightening up and greeting me with a cheerful smile.

“Welcome to Philion Academy! Are you Captain Ion Graham?”

I simply nodded. The brown-haired girl looked up at me with wide eyes and seemed to zone out for a moment as she stared at my face.

“Wow… You’re way cooler than I expected! You must be wildly popular with the students, especially the girls!”

“…”

This kind of conversation made me uncomfortable. I had no idea how to respond. So, to shift the topic, I decided to ask something I was curious about.

“Are you a guide? Are you a student here?”

“Eh? How could you say something so rude! I’m twenty-six this year, a proper adult woman!”

What? Twenty-six?

I was utterly taken aback internally. With a height only reaching my chest and a child-like face, she hardly seemed eight years older than me.

For a moment, a thought crossed my mind—is aging suppression magic really a thing now? Or is it a side effect of some experiment?

Regardless of my surprise, the brown-haired girl cleared her throat softly, lifted the hem of her uniform skirt slightly, and introduced herself formally once again.

“I am Rilya Bennett, instructor of Imperial History and Tactics. I look forward to working with you, Captain Ion Graham.”

“Uh… my apologies. I didn’t realize.”

“No worries! In fact, it’s something I often experience. Sometimes students treat me like a kid! They give me candy or pinch my cheeks because I’m cute! I mean, I’m clearly older than them!”

Rilya Bennett seemed to have a lot to vent about as she grumbled about her past experiences with students before suddenly snapping back to reality.

“Ah, right! This isn’t the time for that! I need to show Captain Graham around the school! First, we’ll greet the Headmaster, and then we’ll take a light tour around the academy together. It’s so vast that it’s hard to see everything in a day, so I’ll just point out the places you’ll frequently visit. The rest, you can take your time to explore!”

I followed Rilya Bennett as she guided me onto the Academy tram.

Since Philion Academy uses the entirety of District 3, it’s sizable, comparable to a small town.

Naturally, it would be a burden for the students, especially those not in battle, to walk everywhere, so there’s an internal small tram line within the academy.

“Actually, up until a few generations ago, they really made the students walk for the sake of physical training. Then, after a student majoring in alchemy collapsed from exhaustion, they introduced carriages, and eventually the mana trams were established.”

“How out of shape do you have to be to collapse on the way to class?”

“Well, that student was attending thirteen classes. While lack of stamina contributed, running around switching buildings for classes multiple times a day probably didn’t help…”

“…”

“Ah! That over there is the Lecture Building! All the theoretical classes are conducted in that building. My classes are mostly theoretical, so I spend most of my time in the Lecture Building too.”

“What classes will I be teaching?”

“You’ll be teaching… physical conditioning and combat practice, I think? I heard that’s what it was. You’ll probably have more outdoor classes compared to mine. You should definitely check with the Headmaster for further details!”

Rilya Bennett proved to be quite an engaging conversationalist. She was full of topics, making our chat far from dull. She continuously smiled and engaged me in conversation without crossing the line into overly personal questions, which made it very comfortable. I felt like she must be a popular teacher among the students.

Before long, the tram came to a stop in the academy’s administrative area, where the building that handles the academy’s administration was located, including the Headmaster’s office.

“Don’t worry, it’s not like a job interview. Just come in at ease. I heard you passed the paperwork interview, so it’s more like a quick introduction before starting.”

“Understood. What’s the Headmaster like?”

“Headmaster Heinkel? He’s an amazing person. His passion for education and learning is incredible, and he dedicates himself wholeheartedly to the academy. He’s a high-level battle mage too, and supposedly spent time on the battlefield during his prime. Maybe that’s why he has a tendency to be a little reckless sometimes… but he’s just like a kindly grandfather figure to the students.”

A kindly grandfather figure… I wasn’t sure what to make of that. The old folks in my village were all grumpy, and the Kalstein Marquis was definitely not a kindly type. Who knows what he might be like with his granddaughter.

I knocked on the Headmaster’s office door and waited. Soon, I heard an elderly man’s deep voice from inside.

“Come in.”

As I entered the office, the scent of ink and aged books wafted through the air. Behind a large desk, a man of distinguished appearance, with a long white beard down to his waist, regarded me with a calm and thoughtful expression. His face was heavily lined with wrinkles and his hair gleamed white, but a pair of sharp blue eyes focused on me piercingly.

He was none other than the Headmaster of the Philion Academy, Heinkel von Yustania.

As I stepped in to formally greet him, Heinkel spoke first.

“Welcome, Ion Graham. Or should I call you by another name? The Black Devil of the Battlefield, ‘The Faceless Hero.’”

Hearing those words, my expression froze.

 

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