Looking at the old man with respectful eyes, I grabbed her hand to calm her down.
He was someone who has managed this place filled with countless people for a long time, so it was an honor for someone like us, ones wanting to enroll here, to be in his presence.
'I was an overlord, but I wasn't omniscient or omnipotent.'
There were many things I did not know about, so I had to learn from scratch, hoping to discover something new.
The knowledge and magical technology had exponentially improved over the past hundreds of years, so I especially wanted to learn about modern advancements rather than the ancient times I belonged to.
'Yes, I could acquire all the knowledge if I just asked Yuri, but that would be betraying myself—someone who had gained everything through my own strength.
Knowledge was something you had to earn yourself. Something like memory-sharing magic that took half of my current strength wasn't something I could use with this body frequently anyway.
That was also the reason I wanted to learn as much as I could in this academy. But first, I needed to handle this chaos-filled succubus of mine.
"Rian… Rian, w-why is the headmaster here?"
She was panicking since he came out of nowhere and seeing him after such a long time did not help this situation… especially with someone like me.
Not that it was a problem in any way.
"Hohoho. Don't get embarrassed over something so natural. In fact, I'm impressed by this young man with you. Won't you introduce him?" he requested her while patting her small head.
This person before us was a special existence, and just from his enormous size, you could tell he wasn't human.
With his two-and-a-forth-meter muscular body, he was a wall even before someone tall like us. But he was a nice person and knew how to calm this little one down.
With his head pat filled with nostalgia and love, she was able to return to her normal self.
"Ahem. Yes. So, this is Adrian. He saved me from a [Purple] monster and... well, you know. I now belong to him. He's the best." Her introduction was weird, but he understood it thanks to his experiences.
'Saying she belonged to me was a little… too straightforward, but it seems they both understood what the other meant.'
Giving her a brief smile, he looked at me with a respectful expression, one different from the one he had for Zoe.
He knew what my absolute order was, even though no one had talked about it this whole time.
Aside from monarchs, there were possibly only six creatures in this world that knew of my return. And this one was naturally one of them.
But even he wouldn't dare go against the order of the monarchs; their teachers themselves obeyed my will with absolute perfection.
This was a good meeting point, and I was happy to see him here for our first encounter.
"Hello, Headmaster. I'm Adrian, someone hoping to join this magnificent place to learn about modern knowledge. It is my utmost pleasure to meet the one who has maintained this place with such great care." I was genuine with my words; until I arrived here, I was just a student bound by the rules like everyone else in this place.
And he knew this very well.
"Hou-hou~. I know you would want to show your special ones the most beautiful places in these gardens, so i won't get in your way anymore.
I'm looking forward to seeing you here too though. If someone can beat me in witnessing this spectacular view, it simply means they are very promising." There was admiration as well as great curiosity in his eyes; he was excited just to be the headmaster.
He offered his hand, and I happily shook it with a friendly smile on my face.
"I'm looking forward to learning from this great place too, sir." It confused her to see the pleasant air around us as if we were meeting for the first time, but we had waited for this day for a while now.
She had recently given up on figuring out what I was or how I knew so much. There were many unexplainable things; what you accept in that unexpectedness is what is true for you.
Well, this was a peaceful atmosphere, and we both knew that the first ones had arrived here.
"Hu... hu... hu... finally! I'm first! I fi- huh?" A young boy with a tall and good build materialized with bright golden light. With his pure white pair of wings and golden halo on his head, it was clear he was an angel.
But this child was special; he had golden hair and sky-blue eyes that were different from my ocean-blue eyes, this light blue was closer to white… and he looked as beautiful as the one standing beside me right now.
He wore the brightest expression possible when he materialized before us; however, the moment he saw us, he froze in confusion and disappointment.
"Mannnnn~? Not even here?" he shouted in defeat as I shook my head at him.
He now wore a disappointed face and then sat down on the ground—now sad—a sad angel. This was quite a sight to behold.
"Hmmm? Who's… this?" Zo was confused, but I did not elaborate and just kept looking at a distance.
Then, I looked at the headmaster, and we both smiled at this unique case.
-Oooooooong!
Soon, the angel's halo and wings were gone. Just like us, he returned to his humanoid form… he seemed like a promising sprout with exceptional talent in light magic of very high purity.
The fact that our presence made him disappointed in himself, showed that he was a kind soul… just like his aunt, the monarch of heavenly plains: Eddy.
They were related but only through Heaven's lineage; she was someone he looked up to as far as I could tell from his attire.
"Don't worry, Raf! You are definitely first among all your friends," the headmaster encouraged the sad angel as he patted his head.
Space was the headmaster's attribute, so he knew this male angel's teleport was great in itself. He would have won if it wasn't for me…
So, caressing his head while looking at him with a loving expression, he decided to vanish for the time being since it would be difficult to do the same to more than twenty others who were on their way here right now.
He was the only one who would have to handle all those purebloods and special beings coming here, so for now, he stayed back and we watched the pretty looking angel boy.
"Rian? You know him?"
"Not really. He's just a famous person… you might have heard about him as well."
Angel Raphael, the beloved son of heavens, the famous star of light, and a (tier-2) [Rank-3] mage as well as a [Twin-wing] angel holding innate divine power.
He was supposed to be a cool, calm, and attractive person. People even called him mature, so it took Zora a few moments to recoganise this crybaby.
"He's… the famous Raphael, isn't he? The one everyone calls [Golden Ray]?" she asked uncertainty, a strange smile of delight present on her face.
"Seems like we hurt him a bit," I signed with a smile and walked towards the angel who had just gotten up from the grassy ground.
He wore an angelic outfit: a white robe that looked like something that would definitely attract attention due to its beauty, and jewels that perfectly adored his bright presence.
His body was special too; it felt good seeing him like this—he looked hot… which definitely meant nothing inappropriate.
'He seems promising.'
As I walked toward him, he cleared his eyes and looked at me with confusion written all over his face.
"Hello?" he greeted first as I extended my hand toward him; seeing someone reach here before him would definitely be surprising for someone of his status.
"Hello, young-... Mister Raphael. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." I was cheerful so a new confusion clouded his face.
"You know me? Wait—do I know you?" He asked with genuine curiosity; that pure face held nothing behind it—no mask or ulterior thoughts—nothing at all—he resembled a blank mirror in which you could see yourself reflected.
His mirror-like blue eyes especially… they were very pretty.
"Who doesn't know the famous angel of gold? I'm Adrian, someone who will take part in the examination just like you. Let's do our best~." I cheered him on as he shook my hand in response.
His hand felt smooth yet contained unique warmth, that angelic touch made me smile wider though, with a different motive than what this pure person could imagine.
"Hello… I'll also join the academy. Nice to meet you!" Zora came over and asked for a handshake; we were exchanging greetings after all—and she wasn't some timid princess or anything anymore. If anything, she spoke her mind shamelessly.
There was surprise etched across Raphael's face, a shocked expression would be more appropriate, so an astonished angel… what an extraordinary sight we had, haha.
The angel turned red as a rose due to her presence; the poor little child found Zora a little too charming for some reason.
"H-hello! I'm called Raphael! N-nice to meet you!" He grabbed her hand and shuddered slightly; it seemed like he still wasn't used to individuals like her in this new world, but it was understandable.
He could feel pure spirit energy emanating from her without even knowing she possessed such power, a force that would take time for any being to perceive, but spiritual creatures like angels or spirits could sense it easily.
This grandpa hiding beside us knew too… which explained why he'd kept an eye on her for such an extended period even after hiding away. The power she held required self-exploration, a journey she'd have to undertake herself.
Well… that wasn't our topic right now.
"You weak bastard!! You really reached fir-, hum?" A female voice interrupted us as a character as amusing as Raphael himself appeared next.