The king, a man in his thirties with white hair and red eyes, offered me something without problems, something that I couldn't believe even in stories from my past life. But why is this king different from others? Why doesn't she care that he's a commoner? She felt something strange about his proposal, but could she really trust this king?
I looked at Luna; Her eyes were as wide as her mouth. I looked at Gloriana, and she was the same. This only meant that this guy, nicknamed the king of this entire continent, said these words like that, without further ado. This attitude that he showed at that moment was not normal. But then, what was the way to talk about him normally? Although he must have known that he might even ask for something too high, he still told me "you can ask me for anything." Because he said that?
Although he believed that the situation would be different, everything turned out to be different from what he thought before.
"So what do you want as a reward?"
"..."
I just looked at him until I spoke.
"I'd like to enter..."
"Deaf sound."
Someone slammed the big doors right behind me. I turned my gaze and it was a woman. She had a dress uniform, with tight white pants, a black shirt and some gold decorations with gold buttons, and a tag near her shoulder, similar to that of the military.
"Father, why didn't you tell me that my sister came back?"
I looked at the king and he spoke.
"Oriana... I'm sorry, but I was very worried and..." He couldn't finish speaking when the woman looked at Gloriana.
"Sister, are you okay? I shouldn't have left you alone."
The woman, called Oriana, was wearing a dress uniform similar to a military one. After looking directly at her...
"They're sisters, but Gloriana didn't tell me anything about that... Wait, she barely talked to me, so..." I only thought that, since Oriana looked at me.
She frowned as she looked at me and came straight towards me. It was so fast that I couldn't see her, but when I looked more clearly, her fist buried itself in my face.
"Bang".
"Stop, Oriana, this child has nothing to do with it."
"Wait, sister, don't do that..."
I fell to the ground with intense pain on my face. Blood started coming out of my lips and nose. I felt like my entire face had turned to dust. I ran my hand over my face, wiping away the blood, and then looked at the woman in front of me with a frown. Why did she hit me suddenly? What did I do to make her hit me?
"D—damn... What the hell did I do to make her hit me?" I murmured very quietly.
"Did you say something," Oriana asked as she frowned in kind.
"..."
I looked at her with cold eyes, but I shouldn't have, since her fist came back to my face. However, suddenly something felt strange; time seemed to freeze.
"Tap Tap".
Footsteps echoed in all directions. I looked at someone approaching; She was wearing a large robe and had a cane in her right hand as she walked. He was an old man, about eighty or ninety years old, with a long white beard.
"It seems like Oriana is angry," he said simply, but he didn't understand what she meant.
"I see you're the problem."
"..."
That was more than obvious, but who the hell was he and what happened to the woman who was about to hit me? She stood still right in front of me. I looked at the others and they were also motionless. What the hell was happening?
"Don't be alarmed, I just stopped time for a few seconds, that's all. Now get up and get out of that place."
"..."
I looked at him with nothing but coldness, but I obeyed and quickly got up. Suddenly, the woman called Oriana slammed her fist into the ground. I looked at a large crater as she raised her fist, then she looked around and finally looked at me again, but her face changed.
"What are you doing here, director?"
"Hahaha, it's nothing, I just came to see if the princess was okay," replied the old man who was right next to me.
"..."
What did he mean by "director"? Does he mean...?
"It's a ninth circle," said Encrid.
"W—what? Did a ninth circle wizard stop time, or am I wrong?"
"The ninth circles have the power of time, although they are only able to use it for a few seconds," Encrid mentioned.
A magic that can control time, simply amazing. Why is this old man, a ninth circle mage, helping me? His calm and pleasant face does not look like that of a bad person, but why is he here, presenting himself before the king like this and talking so casually with Oriana, Gloriana's sister?
I'm confused. What is really happening?
"Oriana, I told you not to hit this boy. He was the one who kept your sister safe," the old man interrupted.
Oriana stared at me, this time without frowning.
"Sigh".
"He's fine, father. I'll leave then."
With those words, Oriana left the large room that, due to its size, looked more like a palace. Silence became evident in the place.
"So, what is your request, young man?" asked the king.
I quickly turned my head towards him and opened my lips to respond.
"I would like to enter the Laosa Academy."
"..."
A deep silence filled the room. The old man, who was close to me, broke the silence.
"Hohoho, it seems like you want to enter my academy. But the problem is that you are a commoner."
"I know, but if the king gave me this chance..."
Wait, he said "my academy." That means that this old man, a ninth circle magician, is the owner and director of the Laosa Academy, a prestigious institution for magicians.
"..."
I remained silent, waiting for someone else to speak. I didn't know what was going to happen next, so I waited.
"Sigh".
"If the king...adopts this child, he would not only become a noble, but also a part of royalty," the old man commented.
"..."
"What stupid thing is this old man saying...?" I thought, completely surprised by his words.
"No, that's not possible," Gloriana interrupted from afar.
"That's right, it's not possible," Luna confirmed.
"Then there is only one solution," the old man continued, looking at me with a smile. "If you become a knight, you will be a noble."
"..."
He was certainly right. Becoming a knight could open many doors, but that wouldn't be easy, and besides, what would happen if I couldn't achieve that goal?
"How old are you, kid?" the old man asked as he rubbed his beard.
"I'm ten years old, why?"
"I see, then you only have one year. If you want to enter my academy, you have to be a knight in one year because if you don't you won't be able to enter."
With those words I simply remained silent.
***
-Change of scene.
"What the hell is this? Why the hell do I have to be a knight just to get into that stupid academy?"
"Well, look on the bright side, you'll become a nobleman and a knight too. What do you lose by..." I pinched the tattoo to silence him.
"But I will really be able to enter that Academy... But I already know how to use a sword, or well something similar to one."
In my past life, I learned to use all kinds of melee weapons, among them was fencing, a type of sword learning. But does otherworldly swordsmanship really work in this place?
But being a knight must be so different than a wizard, huh? It must even take a long time to be just a gentleman but...
"Child, in fact you are not losing anything. I will be your teacher in magic while you become a knight."
"..."
Encrid is right, I will not only learn magic but also the swordsmanship of this world. I have an ancient wizard who was from the tenth circle and I will also learn how to use the sword correctly. And that only means one thing: if I learn both classes, it will also be very difficult to beat me in both sword and magic.
Basically, I'm becoming a magic swordsman, but does that title exist?
There are also some magicians who can use a sword correctly like a knight.
"Encrid, do you know what a magic swordsman is?"
"..."
"No, what is that? Is it some knight technique or a spell?"
"So you really don't know, huh?"
Encrid is definitely telling the truth, then I will be the first magic swordsman in this world. He would have two titles: one for magic and one for knighthood. It would basically function as a wizard and a knight combined, resulting in a magical knight while not officially recognized as such.
Being a magic knight and a magic swordsman are similar concepts, but it changes the title from swordsman to knight, making them two different roles. Furthermore, there are benefits to both being a knight and being a wizard.
"Deaf sound."
The wind came through the large windows of the room where I was, a very large room with a decoration even better than Duke Edmund's mansion.
The atmosphere was pleasant, but my thoughts were divided. Being a knight first in order to enter a wizard academy seemed like a difficult decision to make. On the one hand, I only had one year to become a knight, but on the other hand, I had Encrid, a former tenth circle mage who was always hiding something and was not completely trustworthy.
The situation became more complicated until the door resounded with a loud knock. I looked at who it was and my eyes widened at the sight of the person.
"Shit, why is that crazy again?"
Oriana entered the room, looking at me with sharp eyes and a complete coldness in her expression. Although her gaze did not affect me, her strength and determination was evident when she handed me a uniform and apologized.
"I... I'm just here to apologize. Take this uniform."
She left the uniform on the bed and quickly left the room, leaving me silent with a single thought.
"Crazy."
That was her nature, a person different from Gloriana in every way.
"Are they really sisters?"
I looked at the uniform she left me before leaving. Although I didn't like it, it was similar to the one she was wearing: a military-style dress uniform. I couldn't describe it well, as I had never seen anything like it before, but it seemed to be made of an expensive fabric with golden decorations that looked like gold.
"I feel like this royal family is completely crazy."
Definitely, without a doubt. One of them hands this to me just like that, and the King... there are no words for him. On the other hand, that old owner and director of the Laosa Academy is simply an idiot. There are no words to describe all the people in this place, you could only say that they are idiots or crazy.
I quickly took off my clothes and put on the new ones. The tight white pants, in fact the entire outfit was tight and very uncomfortable.
It's not my style of clothing, but it's better not to leave it lying here.
"Encrid, if you had all your power, how long would it take you to defeat that old man?"
"You state the obvious, kid. It wouldn't even take a second to just look him in the eyes."
So, a tenth circle mage would be so strong. Although the old man didn't show his power at all and seemed to be hiding it, he was definitely strong, very strong. But using the time... that was something unexpected. If he expressed it in three words: manipulate time. So you could say that he is like a god. Just that, although he is obviously not a god. Being so powerful would be too much. I'm not sure, but that's how it is.
I would simply call him a monster because of the sheer power of him. But to say that he is a god would be too much. Although experiencing the pause in time for a few seconds brought back memories of death itself. The cold he felt was similar, but not the same. The cold of death was more terrifying, a cold that destroyed every part of the body.
I looked out the bedroom window. You could see a big city, medieval houses, shops and many other things. Now it really felt like a new life. He was no longer in the dark; Now he was in sight of the sun.
"Everything is different now... I must choose between being a knight or simply receiving training from Encrid." He was still undecided between being a gentleman or following another path.
But it was already decided, it would only be one year. One year and I could become a noble and enter that Wizarding Academy.
"Don't worry, kid, it will only be a year. Fortunately I hid your magic, because otherwise it would be a big disaster."
"..."
"Did you hide my magic?" I asked for.
"Now that I remember, I am able to see the mana of every living being. That is why a magician of the ninth circle did not realize that I am a magician..."