---Two Days Later, Leon POV---
My time at the Royal Academy began today, and I was looking forward to finally being out of this stuffy inn. While the high-end amenities were nice, the constant comings and goings of noblemen bringing entertainers had nearly driven me to murder. Aside from the twilight hours, the lustful screams of both men and women echoed along the corridor right outside my room. It made getting any actual work done on the damaged lightsaber and the Spacehog completely impossible.
‘The Academy dorms shouldn’t be anywhere near this bad. After a good night’s sleep, I can finally crack open that lightsaber and examine its inner workings,’ I thought, handing my room key over to the front desk with genuine relief.
“Lord Aremus, before you go, we received a message from the Adventurer’s Guild for you,” the receptionist said, puffing out her chest and flashing her pearly whites. “The Guildmaster would like to meet with you after your courses are done for the day. He has received the Royal Court’s blessing to proceed with your rank-up exam.”
Elated by the news, I gave the woman a heartfelt smile and thanked her. As I turned to leave, she hesitantly reached out and grabbed the cuff of my student uniform.
“Lord Aremus… Would you maybe like to have dinner with me sometime soon?” she asked, her face completely flustered. “I’m the fourth daughter of Viscount Carlson. My family’s territory is close to House Bartfort’s territory.”
“Forgive my ignorance, but I am not familiar with your family,” I replied, glancing back warily. “Why approach me of all people with this request? There are plenty of high-ranking nobles who come here regularly; you could—”
At their mention, the woman’s face contorted in disgust. Since she was one of the inn’s receptionists, she knew exactly how scummy those men truly were. Still, if she were to marry one, her financial needs would be entirely taken care of, and she could likely take a lover on the side. It wasn't a terrible deal for someone who had failed to find a spouse during their time at the Academy.
“To me, being affluent and wealthy means nothing anymore. I learned the hard way that love is far more valuable,” she said softly. “While I was attending the Academy, I rejected my childhood friend for a powerful Marquis’s son. My childhood friend eventually found love with another, while the man I chose dumped me just weeks before graduation. I discovered he had been stringing me and several other women along, ultimately choosing the one who came with the most political benefits.”
Unsure if she was being truthful, I focused my mind and peered into her thoughts. Since I couldn't physically work on my tech these past few days, my time had been spent meditating to hone my Force abilities. With no instructor or manual to guide me in this world, I was doing the best I could with vague recollections from my past life. The specific powers were fuzzy, but I clearly remembered that the core foundation of the Force was meditation. While the relentless, degenerate noise of the inn had made my technical work impossible, it had inadvertently helped me train my mind to block out external stimulation completely on demand.
As I entered her mind, I could feel genuine regret and remorse. She lamented not staying true to her heart and pursuing her childhood friend. While he lived happily with his wife and children, she worked at an upscale inn to support herself, as her father had completely cut her off years ago. All she wanted now was to find true happiness, just as her old friend had.
“I cannot promise things will go anywhere, but I don’t mind going on a date with you,” I said, breaking the silence. “The semester starts today, so it will be two weeks or more before I am free. Is that fine?”
“Of course!” she replied, her eyes lighting up, overjoyed that I had accepted. “Let me get you my address. When you decide on a night, please send a message to my apartment.”
She skipped over to the counter, scribbled her information on a slip of paper, and placed it in my hand with a radiant smile. As another guest entered the lobby, she promptly returned to her professional posture and greeted them.
Solaris and I exited the inn and began making our way toward campus. Once we were alone in a quieter section of the street, Luxion disabled his stealth field and positioned himself just above my shoulder.
“I assume you want to ask about that exchange just now, correct?” I asked.
<Correct, Master. I trust you used your abnormal psychic abilities to assess her worthiness prior to accepting her request. While I still find it difficult to understand the exact mechanics of how your mental abilities function, what I am more concerned about is why you accepted. Even if she was speaking the unvarnished truth, I see no quantifiable benefit for you in courting an older woman who has entirely lost her noble connections.> (Luxion)
“I accepted her offer because I have absolutely zero interest in most women at the Academy. They are selfish creatures who would sell me out the exact moment things got difficult,” I remarked, bitter images of Zola and her toxic allies flashing to the forefront of my mind. “What I want in a wife is honesty, love, and loyalty. Everything else is completely negotiable. It’s quite sad that such basic traits are almost impossible to find nowadays. While I may not end up actively pursuing her, she will at least prove to be a breath of fresh air compared to the rotten atmosphere of the Academy.”
Luxion was an AI. While he was second to none in pure computational power, he simply didn’t comprehend the exhausting complexities of the human mind. The receptionist was an attractive, slightly older woman who had approached me without a single ulterior motive. She was merely looking for a suitable husband who would treat her well, and she saw me as a decent man precisely because I didn’t partake in the carnal conquests, like her other patrons did.
I required a fiancée before I graduated just to maintain my formal appearance as a nobleman and keep the vultures off my back. As long as I treated her well, I was certain she wouldn’t hinder my work. Furthermore, since she was the daughter of a Viscount, she possessed the necessary lineage to satisfy social protocols, making her a highly viable candidate for my legal wife.
<I suppose those are valid points. The life of a noble can be quite a burden sometimes.> (Luxion)
I chuckled at his statement. “That’s the understatement of the millennium.”
<If I may, Master, you mentioned that you have zero interest in “most” of the women at the Academy. Does that imply there are a few you would consider pursuing, circumstances permitting?> (Luxion)
“That’s correct. I have an interest in four women at the Academy; however, three of them already have fiancés and the other is a commoner,” I answered as the main gate came into view. “Enough talking about my romantic pursuits, though. We are nearly at our destination, and I would prefer to keep your existence hidden for a while longer. Solaris already draws enough attention to me as it is.”
Luxion reengaged his stealth field, while Solaris looked up at me. Though Solaris could not talk, his steady gaze more than conveyed his feelings. I gently patted him on the head, reassuring him that the attention he brought me wasn’t a big deal. His companionship more than made up for it.
“Welcome to the Royal Academy, Lord Aremus,” one of the Academy guards said, tipping his hat to me. “Allow me to fetch your dorm room key for you. One moment, please.”
He slipped into the guard shack and returned a few seconds later with my key. It was a golden skeleton key, something I would have thought went out of use decades ago. After all, even the upscale inn had magic key cards similar to hotels in my former life.
“Quite archaic, isn’t it?” I noted, receiving the gold plated, heavy brass key from him. “Does the Academy not have the funds to upgrade the dormitory locks?”
The guard chuckled, clearly having heard the same question many times before. “The Academy keeps things simple because students misplace things constantly. A normal key replacement is easy; a magic key card is much more expensive. They require High-Quality Magic Stones to craft, and those are scarce.”
I nodded, understanding the Academy’s viewpoint. The Crown’s coffers were not bottomless; they had to keep expenditures in check, and physical keys were just one easy way to do so.
“Your room is on the top floor of the men’s dormitory,” the guard said, gesturing toward a large, brick building to the right of the Great Hall. “I’m technically supposed to tell you that women aren’t allowed in the men's rooms after dark, but no one really follows that rule these days. Just keep the noise down, and no one will bother you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied, stepping through the gate. “Have a good day, gentlemen.”
“Likewise, Lord Aremus,” the men at the gate said in unison.
Solaris and I wandered over to the dormitory, passing many carts laden with extravagant items that wealthy noble families had shipped in for their children. My parents couldn't afford such luxuries, so my room was going to look entirely barren for a while. I intended to visit a few noble auctions soon to purchase relics that people thought little of—much like the data caches I bought from Wiz. If I was lucky, I might find a few hidden gems I could set up the way the Guildmaster had in his private office.
We took the magic lift in the dormitory lobby up to the top floor. Upon stepping off, a few of my new neighbors turned to glare at me while their servants hauled heavy crates into their rooms. They clearly hated the fact that a lowly honorary baron like me had scored perfectly on all three exams, securing the position of top first-year student. I didn’t spare them a single moment of my time and walked straight to my room.
The suite I had been allocated was massive. At roughly nine hundred square feet, it came complete with a chef-grade kitchen, a luxury bathroom, and a private balcony overlooking the main courtyard. I loved the cherry wood flooring that ran throughout the space—save for the tiled bathroom—but the gaudy gold and silver wallpaper absolutely had to go.
<Master, shall I dispatch droids to renovate the suite to suit your tastes?> (Luxion)
“Yes, please do,” I acknowledged. “Have them strip the interior walls back to the bare brick. The rest of the walls can be painted a clean, light gray—except for one wall in the living room. I want a metallic blue accent wall there.”
<It will take a few hours to complete the renovations, Master. What will you do in the meantime? You explicitly told Miss Roxanne and Miss Yunyun that you would be busy today.> (Luxion)
‘I had assumed the Academy would provide at least the bare basics for us, but clearly, I overestimated them,’ I thought, peering into the completely empty bedroom. “Since classes don’t start until noon today, I think I’ll head out to purchase some necessities.”
I retrieved a notepad from my item box and began jotting down a shopping list. Luxion could have easily manufactured everything for me back on his island, but I didn’t want to waste his processing capacity on such trivialities. The Market District was only a short distance away, so picking up what I needed was no trouble. With my decision made, I headed back downstairs and made my way toward the front gate.
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