Kedra and Naoya waited around five minutes before the gnome appeared from the backroom, along with a short, muscular man with a thick beard and balding brown hair.
"Thank you for your patience, dear customer; the name's Bedla, by the way, and this is my husband Brammoc; he is the one who made the weapons you see around you."
"Aye, so sir, what kind of weapon are ye thinking of getting?" The dwarf asked, looking to Naoya.
"Ah, I'm not here for anything; she is the one who wishes to purchase your services."
"What this kid? It's far too early to be givin' weapons ta wee things like this."
"What? How da—" Naoya reprimanded, only to be interrupted by Kedra lifting her hand.
"Stop Naoya."
"Sir Brammoc, I paid, did I not? I see no reason why you should be denying me service."
After a brief moment of silence, Bedla directed Brammoc to the three gold coins on the counter.
"Aye, it seems I misspoke; what do ye need?"
Kedra unsheathed her sabre and carefully placed it on the counter.
"I need you to engrave a circuit onto this weapon."
"That's doable; did ye have a specific one in mind? I'll also need ye ta pick a material for the engraving."
"I have a design right here. As for the material, give me the most durable one I can get for those three gold coins."
Kedra pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket; on it was an ink drawing of a complex magic circuit with three horizontal lines going through three circles as its base, along with another string of symbols that evoked the shape of a sword.
"This circuit, if I drew it correctly, should extend the sabre's reach by a meter while having no effect on it's weight. It's one of my best works if I do say so myself." She said in a boastful tone.
"That's amazing, lady Kedra!" Naoya said while applauding in a quiet yet enthusiastic manner.
The dwarf looked at the circuit, carefully analyzing it. His eyes widened in surprise.
"Girlie, did ye really draw this circuit?"
"Indeed," Kedra replied.
"There's not a single mistake here; it's complex, and yet not a single line is wasted. I apologize for my previous words; you truly are a worthy customer."
"Enough of the flattery; how fast can you get this done?"
"Well, the circuit itself has some delicate features, so I'll have ta be more careful around those; it doesn't really help that yer sabre's blade is so thin either. As for the material, since ye wanted something durable, I'll probably have ta do it with nickel, so that'll be a bit of a pain ta work with."
The dwarf grumbled for a while before finally making up his mind.
"Hmm, alright, let's say around three days ta be safe."
"That's fine; I'll come back to pick it up in three days then. Oh, and here, for your good service."
Kedra pulled a silver out of her coin pouch and tossed it to the dwarf.
"Thank ye kindly."
"Shall we go then, my lady? The entrance ceremony should be starting soon."
"Alright, let's go then."
The two exited the smithy and made their way out of the central plaza and onto the large stone brick road that led to the academy.
As she walked, Kedra took in the sights of the capital; the bustling shops and cheerful demeanor of the citizens spoke volumes about the country's current ruler.
'Honestly, of all of the countries in this world that I could've been reincarnated into, Aswal is pretty good.'
Before long, they had reached the academy's front gate, with around thirty minutes remaining before the ceremony.
"Since you have a weapon on you, I don't think you'll be permitted on the academy grounds, so you should just head to the residence, Naoya." Kedra advised.
"Will you be alright on your own, my lady?"
"Are you really asking that after watching my fight in the alley?" She snarked.
"Good point, then I'll await your return at the residence."
'I said all that, but I actually don't know how to get to the residence. I sure hope Maria comes to pick me up later.' Kedra thought.
'Well, that's a problem for the future! For now, I should just head over to the main hall.'
Kedra passed the large gate and observed the academy building; it was as beautiful as it was imposing. The building itself was immense in size, going up at least three floors, with other sections of it tapering off into tall towers.
The academy's central building also featured a tower; however, it was much wider and taller than the others, and at it's peak, a large platform jutted out with little support, as if it were floating.
'Woah, that has to be magic, right? Well, whatever it is, this building sure is impressive. I guess they don't call it the royal academy for nothing.'
After having had her fill of admiring the academy's construction, Kedra spotted a large double door where students were converging.
'That must be the entrance.'
On her way to the doors, Kedra let her mind wander and thought of the possibilities that awaited her in the academy.
Before she knew it, she had walked headfirst into a young student, knocking the two of them onto the floor.
"Ah, forgive me, I was distracted." Kedra said.
"Don't worry about it; I suppose I should've been more aware of my surroundings as well." The student replied.
Kedra got up and extended her hand to the student, getting a better look at them.
It was a young girl; she looked to be a year older than Kedra, with long and straight strawberry blonde hair accentuated by a pair of braids on either side of her head.
She wore the academy's uniform, composed of a white undershirt and a black jacket with blue lining and golden buttons, along with a pair of gray pants that featured similar golden metalwork.
This uniform bore the colors of Aswal, with the exception of the royalty's signature purple, which was simply too expensive of a dye to mass produce for students.
The academy also did not distinguish between male and female uniforms, valuing integrity and uniformity over elegance.
As the girl got her bearings and took Kedra's hand, she looked up, her bright brown eyes making direct contact with her. Suddenly, an air of realization hit her, and her jaw dropped in surprise.
"You, you're a Deslandes, aren't you?! Please forgive me for bumping into you!" She begged.
"Calm down! You've done nothing wrong; if anything, I'm the one who should be apologizing."
"Huh, ah yes. Thank you very much."
Without another word, the girl quickly hurried into the building.
'It seems like my family doesn't have a great reputation here. It's probably those twins' fault.'
Having wasted enough time, Kedra hurriedly entered the building and joined a small crowd of students.
The interior of the academy's main building was as impressive as its exterior. Famous sculptures and paintings decorated the walls; grand ornate pillars went up to the ceiling; and dozens of doors marked with plaques revealed the even grander nature of the building.
In front of her was a tall mezzanine where various teachers had begun to gather. Around her were students of various ages.
After a short wait, a tall bearded man dressed in flowing purple and gold robes appeared at the top of the mezzanine. Following his arrival, the entire hall instantly fell into silence.
The man produced a wand from his sleeve, and after a short time of concentration, a small circle of mana appeared in front of his mouth, making his words fill the entire room, as if he were speaking from all sides at once.
"I greet all of our students, new and returning. And I declare the beginning of this year's opening ceremony."