“Ugh, my head…”
Aint woke up with a stabbing headache. His stomach was also upset, which made him feel quite sick.
“So this is a hangover. I never want to go through this again.”
Aint raised his aura, and the alcohol fumes began to escape from every pore of his body like steam.
The unbearable smell filled the room, forcing him to open the window.
— That’s why I told you to dispel the alcohol while drinking. How did you expect not to end up like this if you only drank without restraint?
“And when else was I going to get drunk? Besides, the atmosphere was not so suitable for…”
Looking for water to soothe his dry throat, Aint froze.
“…Did I enter the wrong room?”
— No, this is your room.
It was indeed the Ravidus Hall. Everything there belonged to him.
“Then my eyes must be wrong?”
— They’re perfectly normal.
Then why had the carpet turned white?
“…Yesterday, before going out, it wasn’t like this.”
Had someone changed it while he slept? It made no sense.
— Stop looking at the floor and look up.
Aint raised his gaze. The supposed white carpet was actually a heap of feathers piled up like hills.
It took him a while to realize they were feathers. An enormous number of feathers. And in the middle of them, curled up inside the room and taking up all of it, was a gigantic being.
Could it be…?
“…Silver?”
Piiiiiii!
The now enormous Silver let out a cry. Crack— the window glass cracked.
“W-wait, Silver!”
Aint hastily covered its beak.
“Shh, let’s talk quietly, okay?”
Silver nodded its head.
Aint carefully removed his hand from its beak.
“Why did you grow so much all of a sudden?”
Pii!
Silver shook its head, as if it didn’t know either.
— It’s the molting. Saintbirds, like any other bird, molt their feathers, but in their case, they grow all at once during the process.
— Although I didn’t expect it to happen this soon. Usually it occurs several years after birth. Could it be because Fernan gave it several elixirs?
Molting in a Saintbird happens at the boundary between chick and adult. When its body determines it has grown enough, it changes feathers and grows in size.
According to Gardner, the tonics Fernan had given Silver had accelerated that process.
“Molting?”
If Silver did that twice, it would cover the entire Academy.
— Keep those feathers. They’re beautiful and contain mana, very useful as materials for magical research or artistic pieces.
— If you sell them to Fernan at a good price, you can make a nice sum. After all, you have debts to pay.
“But Silver belongs to Fernan.”
— You’re forgetting it was originally yours? The previous Emperor left it for you!
“Ah, that’s true.”
Aint nodded.
Pii, pii.
Then Silver looked outside and let out a plaintive cry. It seemed uncomfortable.
“Do you want to go out?”
Pii.
Silver shook its head.
— Ask it if it wants to see Fernan.
“Do you want to see Fernan?”
Pii-pii!
Silver made a different sound this time.
— The previous Emperor’s Saintbird also flew to see him after molting, no matter where he was.
— Tsk, I thought it had gotten attached to you, but it still sees Fernan as its true master.
“So what do I do?”
— What else? If you don’t want it to hate you, you’ll have to let it go.
“Yes, I guess… But how? Silver is too big to get out through the door or the window.”
— There’s no other choice. You’ll have to knock down the wall.
“…What?”
— Silver wants to see Fernan. Do you really think Fernan will be upset about the cost? He’ll pay for it himself.
“Even so…”
Pii, pii, pii.
Silver grew restless, anxious. With that small movement, it overturned the table and knocked everything off it.
— Or do you plan to lock it up here forever?
“…I have no choice.”
Aint raised his aura and slashed directly at the wall.
──!
The magical circles engraved to protect the dormitory resisted violently.
──!
But they couldn’t withstand repeated full-force blows.
Boom—
With a crash, the wall came down and Silver spread its wings, taking off into the sky.
“Go back to Fernan.”
Piiiiiiii!
Silver disappeared into the sky.
“…Student Aint? What the hell happened here?”
The maids, alerted by the noise, came running in and were left speechless at the destroyed room.
Unable to understand the situation, they found no words.
‘And what am I supposed to say?’
— I don’t know either.
And neither did Aint.
“The dormitory is destroyed!”
“It was Aint!”
“The Saintbird…!”
The alarmed voices of the students on the street filtered through the window.
***
“How did it all end?”
“…A week of community service at the Academy. And they revoked my Ravidus Hall privileges for this semester.”
Aint sighed deeply as he answered Verian’s question after spending several hours with the disciplinary committee.
Knocking down the wall for Silver was fine, but the complicated part was the punishment afterward.
It was logical for them to punish him: he had destroyed part of the Ravidus Mansion, regardless of the reason.
Luckily, they considered that the Saintbird had forced him and that he would pay for the repairs himself. That reduced the penalty quite a bit.
If not for that, he would have been expelled.
“A week? Just what’s left of the festival, huh?”
It seemed like a punishment designed to prevent him from enjoying the event.
“Even so, the festival atmosphere improved.”
“It improved?”
“Look.”
Verian handed him a newspaper.
【What happened with Ravidus Hall during the festival?】
【Saintbird appearance during the festival! The Empire’s symbol further brightens the anniversary of its foundation】
【Is Aint Armian the owner of the Saintbird? The young heir flies again with the legendary bird!】
Despite being the Foundation Festival, most of the headlines talked about Aint and Silver.
— No wonder. After all, it’s been nearly a thousand years since one appeared.
Until then, Saintbirds hadn’t truly been extinct, but one raised by human hands hadn’t appeared since the First Emperor.
For the Saintbird, the Empire’s symbol, to appear at the Foundation Festival after a thousand years—if someone didn’t go crazy over that, they couldn’t call themselves a citizen of the Empire.
There had already been rumors circulating that Aint owned a Saintbird, but this was the first time an adult-winged one had truly taken flight.
That fact also influenced the leniency of Aint’s punishment.
“The nobles who came to the Academy during the festival, they all want to see you and Silver. If you go out right now, you’ll most likely be surrounded by a crowd. Forget about enjoying the festival.”
“…That much?”
Anyway, he didn’t really care that much either. He had to fulfill his community service at the Academy regardless.
And if the crowd was so large it kept him from doing it properly, well, that wouldn’t be such a bad outcome.
“What about Valoshi?”
“His match starts soon. According to him, he’s going to win without any trouble.”
What an unpleasant guy.
Verian let out a sarcastic laugh.
“Why do you hate Valoshi so much?”
“You’re mistaken if you think it’s personal. Simple I hate anyone stronger than me.”
“So that includes me too?”
“Of course. You’re the one who annoys me the most. I still haven’t forgotten your threats.”
He growled, but half of it was a joke. At this point, their relationship had advanced enough to leave that memory behind.
“So, what exactly does community service involve? Picking up trash?”
“No. They said it’s enough to go to the professors and help them with whatever they need.”
“Professors? Which ones?”
“For now, Professor Grad.”
“That guy does anything besides teaching? He always looks like he’s slacking off.”
Verian frowned, genuinely doubting that man had any real duties.
“Wanna come with me if you’re curious?”
“I’m not dumb enough to get into trouble and earn penalties.”
“…How cruel.”
“It’s your own karma.”
Verian left shortly after, and Aint headed unhurriedly toward Professor Grad’s office.
“Sit down.”
Professor Grad’s office was surprisingly bare. It had the basic furniture like any other, but everything was empty.
What stood out the most were the shelves—completely devoid of books.
“What a mess you made.”
“…I had no choice.”
“Everyone who causes trouble says the same.”
Although, this time, it was true that he hadn’t had a choice.
Grad had also seen Silver rise into the sky. The spectacle had been magnificent.
“And since when is that Saintbird so big?”
“It grew like that overnight. That’s why I had to break the wall. I didn’t want to.”
“A trait of legendary beasts? Fascinating.”
Grad moved his hands skillfully. On closer look, he was polishing his sword.
“Where is it now?”
“It wanted to fly freely, so I let it go roam the skies.”
“I see.”
After checking the mirror-like gleam of the blade, he smiled in satisfaction and stood up.
“Follow me. I’ll give you something to do.”
Grad led him to his private training ground. A huge, solid, enclosed place, shielded from any outside gaze.
“Draw your sword.”
“…This sounds more like training than community service.”
Not that training with Grad bothered him in the least. Aint wasn’t afraid to face the strong.
But, come to think of it, this didn’t seem related to “community service” at all.
“Fighting me is a way to satisfy my battle thirst. That is a service. And defining the ‘task’ of the service is the professor’s prerogative.”
No matter how he thought about it, it sounded like an excuse.
“I’ll be in charge of you for three days. So for those three days, you’ll come here every morning at nine.”
So, three straight days of duels.
“If that’s the case, I don’t mind, but why?”
There are no favors without reason. As Fernan always said.
Grad had no reason to show him any goodwill.
“Because it would be a waste. In my eyes, your offense doesn’t warrant you wasting your time. The demons are stirring, and meanwhile, the hero is being wasted on dumb punishments.”
He clicked his tongue and drew his sword.
“Come on, Aint Armian. Your level has far surpassed that of a mere student, so I won’t be holding back.”
His aura surged instantly.
Drrrrrr—
The pressure made Aint hold his breath. His skin bristled, and he had to quickly gather his aura to withstand it.
He knew Grad was strong, but now he was sure: stronger than he’d expected.
— What the hell? Didn’t they say he wasn’t a Royal Knight?
Aint drew his sword.
“Oh, and when these three days are over, tell Fernan I treated you very well.”
“Huh? What does that—?”
He didn’t finish the question.
“Just say it. He’ll understand.”
───!
The fight began.
____
Join the discord!
https://dsc.gg/indra
