I gathered with my attendants on the first floor along with the other students and their attendants. There were four other girls living here. I knew who they were from the information I had received, but not which girl was who. Once we had gathered, the dormitory head began speaking. She was a tall, slim [Camilar] who had a soft but firm voice.
"Welcome to the Calis Women's Dormitory. I am your dormitory head, Fris. You may call me Miss Fris. Barring extenuating circumstances, this will be your home for the next three years. I hope you get used to living with each other. This year, we have a special housemate. The First Princess of the Empire of Daceli will be attending the Academy. Ava-sama, will you introduce yourself?"
I walked to the front and inclined my head slightly, a sign that I was showing respect despite my status.
"Greetings, everyone. I am Ava Kino dis Daceli, the First Princess of the Empire of Daceli. I am aware that transfer students are uncommon here, so I do hope we can live well together. I am in your care."
The four girls looked slightly surprised, although their noble upbringing kept their expressions relatively stable. The dormitory head smiled at me as I returned to my place beside the other girls, and continued speaking.
"Your attendants may use the kitchen to cook for you, but meals will also be provided for in the Academy. You will all be attending the Academy in the same class, so do get along and familiarise yourselves with each other. I'll hand you a copy of the dormitory rules; review it in your own time and please adhere to them properly. Uniforms will be placed outside your rooms tomorrow morning, based on the measurements that we had you submit."
After she left, we began to socialise. The first person to approach me was a [Slira] girl with bright red hair. She looked to be in her late teens, and possessed the graceful elegance and assuredness of upper nobility. Furthermore, her family crest hung from her belt. This girl was definitely the daughter of Duke Medligh. Sure enough, she introduced herself.
"Greetings, Ava-sama. I am Simarel dis Medligh, daughter of Duke Medligh. Although I am unsure how much that means to you... I extend you a warm welcome and hope you will feel comfortable among us. I, for one, am delighted to meet you."
"Thank you for your kind words, Simarel-sama. It would not do to be so unfamiliar with the Kingdom of Avena as to be unable to recognise the House of Medligh, purveyor of important farmland and the custodian of one of the continent's seven non-[Dungeon] mines. I too hope to get along with everyone here and am honoured by your warm welcome. Likewise, I am delighted to meet you."
"Ara?" she looked at me approvingly, "I am honoured that you elected to familiarise yourself with Avena. That will certainly pave the way for a more favourable welcome amongst the other nobles. Please, Ava-sama. If you find yourself on the receiving end of disrespect from other nobles, do come to me. It would be a disgrace for Avena's nobles to treat an esteemed visitor in such an unsightly manner."
"I am thankful for your kind words. I shall certainly leave any disrespectful nobles in Simarel-sama's care. Similarly, if you find yourself troubled by any kind of difficulty, I shall endeavour to be a source of assistance."
After that exchange, which basically boiled down to "nice to meet you, if you need help, I can try", another of the girls approached me. From her family crest, it was clear that she was the daughter of Earl Lithua. She had striking silver eyes, along with silver hair, and a small fang that protruded from her upper lip. Ostensibly a wolfkin [Rochur], I thought. We exchanged some similar words as the previous exchange. Her name was Delmia dis Lithua, and similarly extended a hearty welcome to me. I could tell that both her and Simarel were excited to have a transfer student, since it was so uncommon, and wanted to do what they could to ensure that I retained a favourable impression of Avena. From our conversations, I gathered that those most likely to disdain and disrespect transfer students were lower-ranking nobles who often felt that foreign nobles were uncultured and ignorant. Unlike upper-ranking nobles, they had little to no interactions with nobles from other lands, and cultivated such a mindset through a combination of lack of exposure and an inferiority complex.
The last two girls were twin daughters of Baroness Milgrey. Though they had impeccable manners and etiquette, they were both timid and jumpy. They were identical-looking [Nocturnes] with the only difference between them being their eyes. Miszia, the elder twin, had dark blue eyes, while Eliszia, the younger twin, had dark green eyes. Both of them were also on the smaller side for their age.
"A-Ava-sama, we apologise for not coming to greet you sooner! It is a disgrace that you had to come over yourself," Miszia said.
"Miszia-sama, Eliszia-sama, it is of no consequence. Think nothing of it. I am delighted to finally meet you both."
"Thank you for your kind words, Ava-sama. Ano... the truth is, we felt a little intimidated. Ava-sama's eyes were so intense after all..." Eliszia said.
What is this? Why are these twins being so shy and adorable?? They remind me a little of...
Thinking that, I felt a sharp pain twisting in my chest, and abandoned my train of thought.
"Ara? I've gotten that a lot, so you don't have to worry. Regardless, I look forward to getting to know you two better."
"O-of course! We too look forward to speaking more to you, Ava-sama!" Miszia concluded.
Ah, such innocence. They must have been pampered very much by their mother.
The gathering concluded, we headed back to our rooms to prepare for the next day. It seemed that there would be no problems with my dormmates. They appeared to be excited for us to live together and spend time with each other. One possible avenue of trouble avoided, thankfully.
The next day, we set off together after breakfast, our attendants and escorts in tow. By this time, we had all put on the uniforms assigned to us. The girls' uniform was a long-sleeved white shirt, adorned with ruffles at the collar, paired with a long, pleated skirt that fell to our ankles. Over the shirt, we wore a short blazer with the Kingdom's colours of silver and blue. My clothes had to be made with the specification to prevent my wings from getting in the way, and thus my shirt was halfway-backless and the blazer had been altered to have button-up slits that allowed my wings to move freely but showed no skin.
We talked on the way to the Academy, and upon reaching, were guided to a large hall with a stage and podium.
We were seated first by year, then by dormitory and class. Of course, as the newest to the Academy, the first-years were seated at the front. The Archdean then marched onto the stage, addressing the audience.
"Young nobles of Avena, I welcome you. I am Archdean Shivra, head of the Academy. I hope your pursuits here will bear fruit when you return to your lands. Alternatively, I welcome those of you who decide to stay on as scholars. Your research will light the path of the future. This year, we have a transfer student from the Empire of Daceli, located on the Megaceris continent. Ava-sama, please say a few words."
This was somewhat unexpected, but not completely out of the blue. It would be normal for the Academy to announce this and ensure that everyone knew who I was, to avoid any situations arising from misunderstandings. I walked up to the stage, faced the audience, and spoke.
"I humbly greet the children of Avena's nobility and royal family. My name is Ava Kino dis Daceli, the First Princess of the Empire of Daceli. I hope to spend fruitful years here with you all, and am excited to be learning in such an esteemed institution. Thank you."
Whispers exploded among the students. Of course, from the fact that I had my own last name and the title of First Princess, it was clear that I was an appointed royal. No hereditary princess would be called "First Princess". Instead the order went Crown Princess, Second Princess, and so on. First Princess and First Prince were roles left for appointed royals who had provided meritorious service to the nation. While it was unclear what the origin of this norm was, it seemed to permeate the royal practices of most Kingdoms and Empires in this world.
Additionally, not only was I an appointed royal, I was also a foreign transfer student. On top of that, my appearance was certainly rare. The race I most resembled, [Vallen], were rarely seen in the [Main Dimension], and all of these factors contrived to force me to stand out far more than was desired. However, this was also within my expectations. There was no other way around it. Just one of these factors alone would have made me stand out, but all three together? Recipe for disaster.
As I walked back to my seat, the Archdean began addressing the student body again.
"Please endeavour to treat royalty from other nations with the utmost respect. The Academy will not tolerate any attempt to muddy the reputation of the Kingdom. Now, head to your classrooms. Your professors will be with you shortly."
Like the name of our dormitory, our class name was the Calcis class. We were brought by an attendant to our classroom, which had a somewhat semi-circular seating arrangement, five columns of three rows each. The tables were high and arranged on terraces, similar to a lecture hall. Clearly, we were meant to sit in the front row, and our attendants were meant to sit behind us. Our escorts had been led to an adjacent classroom, where they would have free time for our written course.
I whispered to Simarel, "it seems we are expected to sit two to a table. Please sit with Delmia-sama."
"Are you sure? It'll make you look like you've been ostracised."
"Better than looking like either you or Delmia-sama has been disrespected."
I took the table closest to the window alone, and my four dormmates split two tables between them. There were two boys in our class, and they took the table next to the twins Miszia and Eliszia. Seeing them glancing my way and speaking softly between themselves, I sighed internally. As expected, it looks like it'll take a while for things to calm down. Rather, I was almost surprised that they had not immediately come over to say something to me. My dormmates' gazes were alternating between glances of irritation at the two boys and concern towards me. I simply smiled and waved my hand to signal that there was no need to worry.
After a few minutes, our classroom door opened. A tall [Slira] woman walked in and gazed around the room. She then smiled gently at all of us and spoke, "good morning, students. I will be your professor and homeroom teacher. You may call me Ivar-sensei. We will begin our schedule with History. As you know, you will be studying history for the next two months before we move over to geography, followed by politics, and finally economics. I expect the highest standard from my students, so please pay full attention and learn well."
With that introduction complete, she began the class.
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Ranks Explained:
Royal Family
Archduke/Grandduke
Duke
Marquis
Earl
Count
Viscount
Baron
Baronet