At the end of the speech, the whole plaza was in an uproar.
Drake stared at the emblem with the swinging spear in his hand. He had seen this symbol many times during his childhood but never knew its meaning.
Kane's voice came in, [You know, the Duisberg family may be the best in the alliance when it comes to weaponized mana art. In the novel, your stepsister is the most powerful spear wielder in the whole academy. Many even gave her the name 'Spear Prodigy.' But that is only in the alliance.]
[By the way, Drake, the speech was full of nonsense. I mean, didn't your father openly say the family would only support you if you chose weaponized mana art? For other paths, they need to show results.]
[Yeah, but even the protagonist in the novel's main path is a swordsman.]
He said nothing, as this time the white knights started moving. They guided all the kids going to the academy to the back of the plaza. Jenny also joined them, and he followed behind her. At the back, he saw multiple carriages with two horses each, and what was interesting about the horses was that they all had different-colored stripes on their bodies.
Kane's voice came in. [Oh, pet beasts, interesting.]
He saw that there were multiple groups already present near the carriages. Most of them were in rags, while a few were in over-fancy clothing. He noticed many outer family members going to some groups they knew, and then the group returned to one of the inner family kids. It was as if the outer family members were introducing others to the inner kids.
Kane's voice came in again, [Mm, around 100 kids were here. Few of them seem from merchants and other high-end families.]
He walked closer to the carriages and heard a group of kids talking.
"In a few hours, we will be at the Kaiser Academy."
"I'm so excited to learn mana art and have my spirit."
"Dude, you know my cousin in the academy said to me, he will help me get some powerful mana arts."
"Wow, lucky you. I wish I had someone I knew from the academy."
"Forget about those wishful thoughts, guys. But what path are you planning to take?"
"It would be best if any of us get to learn healing or crafting. We'll have nothing to worry about after that."
"My father said even the tamers and summoners have it easy in the academy."
"Forget about the stressful stuff, guys. I just want to enjoy my life there. I heard my beautiful girls came to the academy."
"What type are you in? I like the slim, cute one."
One of them said with a dropping tone, "Big B for me."
"Nah, nothing beats a plump ass."
"You bastard…"
Drake walked away from the group.
Kane shouted, [Hey, go back, make friends with those guys! I see potential in them.]
[Geez, you are so innocent, Drake. Fear not; I will teach you the way of bliss. Haha.]
"No, don't forget—"
[Stop worrying so much. We will live like kings in the academy. And don't forget, you promised me to enjoy life.]
[Sigh, how can you have that face all the time? Damn, it was so hard for me to stop smiling, while it's opposite to you.]
He just ignored Kane and moved to the carriages. His eyes fell onto the weird spiral imprint on all the carriages.
[That is the symbol of the Kaiser military academy.]
He nodded, examining some carriages he found out all of them had four seats. He entered an empty carriage and sat there in silence, looking outside the window.
After some time, one boy entered the carriage; he was in a tracksuit and just nodded to him and sat in silence on the opposite seat to his. After a while, a pair of a boy and a girl entered the carriage. They had humble clothing, but still looked a little uncomfortable and overly sensitive in their behavior.
[They must be from slums. Chances are some rich family trained them after their tests.]
The boy sat next to him while the girl sat in the last seat. Everyone remained silent in the cabin. Soon, the driver of the carriage opened a little window from the front of the carriage. "Young sirs, it will take around five hours before we reach the meeting point."
Everyone nodded to the driver, and he closed the window.
Soon, the carriages started moving. Drake observed from the window how, within the first few minutes, they left the busy city and entered a plain grass field. He was excited at first, as this was the first time for him to leave the city, but soon he got bored with looking at the plain grass. He stopped looking outside and focused back on the carriage.
Up until this point, only the girl and boy pair whispered among themselves while looking out. On the other hand, the boy in the tracksuit just sat still with his eyes closed.
[He may be meditating to calm his nerves. Forget about him and let's talk to the pair.]
[Stupid, talking is the super easy way to learn many things. You never know if the person you are talking to holds some useful information or not, so talk to them as much as possible.]
He said nothing, took a deep breath, and turned to the pair. "Hello, I am Drake."
The pair stopped chatting and stared at him up and down. He just stared back at them.
[Dude, smile, a little smirk will do. Try all those things that I taught you.]
With no choice, Drake's poker face changed a bit, and his mouth curved into a little smile. A simple but sweet smile formed on his face. Interestingly, he noticed the vigilance in the pair's eyes dropped a little.
[Haha, told you.]
He had nothing to say.
The boy said to him, "Hello, I am Bison, and she is—"
"Radha," the girl chimed in with a blush on her face.
He nodded and looked at the boy in the tracksuit. "And you, friend?"
The boy in the tracksuit opened his eyes. "Crude."
A silence formed between them again.
[Dude, what are you doing? You need to continue the conversation.]
[Any bullshit about dreams, the academy, idols, mana, rumors will do the work.]