So far, most of the places where Roel had been to on the Sia Continent were still quite peaceful. Small countries often met with political changes, but most of the large countries were still quite stable internally.

  As a result, most of the coming-of-age students had never experienced bloodshed and war. In fact, it would have been the same for Roel too if not for his bloodline. From this, it could be seen just how important the Ascart Bloodline was to his growth. Had he never awakened it, he would have probably walked down a very different path in the end.

  On this aspect, the only one who fared a little better was probably the Xeclydes. Not every royal family would be so brave as to dare send their successor to the borders to fight a war.

  Roel guessed that Nora had probably accumulated far more combat experience than him in the years she had spent at the eastern border, or at least in terms of normal fights. When it came to life-and-death battles, however, he did have an advantage over her.

  One went for quantity whereas the other quality. It would be hard to determine which one was superior at this point yet.

  As for the talk about them having to shoulder the responsibilities of humankind, honestly, if Roel hadn’t known about the existence of the Six Calamities, he wouldn’t have really thought much about it either.

  It was the divergence in experiences that gave rise to the different perceptions. Principal Antonio’s words carried deep meaning, but most of the freshmen probably wouldn’t be able to relate to them. Still, there was definitely a deeper reason why Antonio chose to say those words in advance, and Roel could fathom a guess at it.

  Most likely, it was something like a heads up regarding the fight with the deviants. However, if his guess was right, that would mean that Antonio wasn’t too optimistic about the situation over at the frontline.

  Does this mean that he has some information that others knew not of, or is he just being careful here?

  Roel’s train of thoughts brought a deep frown to his face.

  Soon, Antonio finally finished his speech and left the stage amidst the warm applause of the students.

  “It feels like there’s something deeper to what the principal said,” murmured Nora broodingly while applauding along with the crowd.

  As someone who had spent quite some time in the eastern border, she seemed to have notice something was amiss here too. At the same time, Charlotte, who had witnessed the existence of the Six Calamities together with Roel, also had a complicated look on her face.

  “Indeed, though I reckon that most here wouldn’t have gotten it.”


  Charlotte gave a rare nod of agreement to Nora’s judgment. She scanned the surroundings with her emerald eyes, only to see the excited smiles of the freshmen. That left her with a deep sigh.

  Roel listened to the words of the two young ladies, but he chose not to give his take on the matter. The applause soon died down, and yet another person stepped on the stage. The moment she made her presence, the entire room fell into silence.

  It was a young woman with long black hair. She wore a neat military uniform consisting of a dark-colored buttoned shirt paired with a lanyard, a short skirt that stopped right above her knees, and a pair of black stockings wrapping around her legs. A cape fluttered lightly behind her, giving her the impression of a military commander.

  She carried an aura that was disproportionately mature compared to her young age. Her dignified facial features gave off a feeling of solemnness, and her enigmatic amethyst eyes seemed to contain endless wisdom. Sitting on a finger on her right hand was an amethyst ring shaped like a rose, and it glowed as brightly as her eyes.

  Lilian Ackermann was her name, and she was the ruling Ringbearer of this academy. Her appearance immediately stirred a commotion amongst the freshmen.

  “Who is that person?”


  “What a beautiful senior……”


  “It’s Her Highness!”


  It would appear that the sense of aesthetics in the Sia Continent was fairly standard too. An ice beauty dressed in a military uniform was really a killer combo, such that it immediately won her goodwill from many of the freshmen. The excited crowd simply couldn’t stop raving about her, and even Roel, despite his wariness of her, was a little dazzled too.

  She’s indeed good-looking.

  As a noble from the conservative Austine Empire, a short skirt was definitely not a part of Lilian’s usual get-up. She was dressed as such because this was the uniform of the Saint Freya Academy’s Enforcement Division.

  As the Enforcement Division was tasked with the responsibility of maintaining law and order in the academy, there was a possibility that enforcers might find themselves getting into a fight in the course of carrying out their duties. It wouldn’t be convenient for female enforcers to be dressed in long skirts which could hinder their movement, so she designed a set of clothes based on the female military uniform from the other countries.

  Of course, the clothes worn by the Enforcement Division couldn’t possibly be ordinary clothes. Aside from looking fashionable, it also had decent defensive properties, such that it could be somewhat considered as a magic tool.

  The Enforcement Division did have access to significant financial resources, but this was all founded on the basis that they had a powerful leader, which they did.

  “I am Lilian Ackermann, the speaker of Saint Freya Academy’s Rose Council and chief of the Enforcement Division. As the representative of the student populace, I warmly welcome the freshmen who have joined us in this new semester……”


  Compared to the speech from Principal Antonio, Lilian’s one was much more ordinary. It was basically the standard speech one would hear in every entrance ceremony, though it was probably much more apt and comprehensible to the freshmen. Her beautiful appearance and her warm welcome easily won her the goodwill from the student populace……

  Well, maybe except for those sitting beside Roel.

  Nora looked at the black-haired young woman on the stage with a cold, nonchalant expression, but her sapphire eyes betrayed her wariness. The earlier exchange of gazes between Lilian and Roel back on the grass field had already left her feeling a little uneasy.

  Meanwhile, even though Charlotte hadn’t made it in time to witness the interaction between Roel and Lilian, the grudge between Rosa and the Austine Empire made it hard for her to bear any goodwill toward the Ackermanns.

  Perhaps it was due to the glaring difference in the atmosphere, Lilian halted her gaze in their direction more than once throughout her speech. In fact, her eyes even narrowed a little while sweeping past Roel’s seat.

  Typically speaking, Roel, as Nora’s subordinate, should have been sitting on her left, but instead, he was currently sandwiched between Nora and Charlotte. This was enough to reveal many things about their relationship to her.

  It looks like there’s an error in our intelligence. Rather than to say that he’s two-timing, it might be more accurate to say that he has multiple suitors courting him.

  Lilian was able to swiftly interpret the significance of the visual information she was receiving, but it birthed a doubt in her mind.

  How did things develop in such a direction though? Even if the successors of two countries fall in love with the same person, there’s no way they would bring the fight to the surface. Is it their pride at play? Or is there something they are determined to obtain from the Ascart House?

  Having never experienced the powerful feelings arising from love before, Lilian struggled to understand their thoughts. Nevertheless, that didn’t hinder her from doing a reassessment of Roel’s influence. Considering the current dynamics of their relationship, it could be said that both the Theocracy and Rosa were his stalwart allies.

  Such an occurrence was rare even when considering the centuries of history of the Saint Freya Academy.

  Lilian marked down this information with grave importance in her mind, but she didn’t let any of her thoughts show on her mind. Her eyes gradually moved across the room, and soon, she caught sight of yet another young man seated inconspicuously at a corner.

  Paul Ackermann.

  To be honest, Lilian was quite disappointed with her stepbrother’s performance on the grass field earlier on.

  Brave, but witless.

  This was her evaluation of him. It was good that he had the guts to retaliate against his oppressors, but if he wasn’t going to use his brains after realizing that he wasn’t powerful enough to put up a fight, his courage would only lead him to his doom.

  More often than not, it was the flexible, not the courageous and powerful, who won in politics. It was all about remaining calm in times of turmoil and accurately assess the situation. If needed, one might even have to feign weakness so as to create a window of opportunity required to clinch victory. All of these were vital qualities to a politician, but clearly, Paul was lacking.

  On the other hand, it was Roel who displayed overwhelming superiority in that regard.

  Of course, Lilian also understood that these soft skills needed to be nurtured. She had no idea what Roel had been through thus far, but she was at least familiar with Paul’s circumstances. It had only been half a year since he was brought back from a remote mountainous village, so it was inevitable that he was still lacking in terms of experience.

  Still, that didn’t hinder her from giving out a stern warning to the oppressors.

  “As a Ringbearer and the chief of the Enforcement Division, it’s my responsibility to ensure that our students are entitled to peace and safety during their time in the academy. For the following year, we’ll be cracking down heavily on all bullying cases in the campus.

  “It’s our ability to cooperate with one another in times of difficulty that allowed us to triumph over powerful demonic beasts during the earlier years of the Third Epoch. Protecting the weak is the greatest virtue that sets us apart from mindless beasts. As students of the Saint Freya Academy, future leaders of humankind, it’s our responsibility to ensure that justice and impartiality are upheld.”


  Lilian’s calm voice echoed loudly in the assembly hall. Her rhetoric resonated with the students, swiftly winning their support.

  As freshmen, they were currently the most vulnerable group in the academy. The earlier incident with Paul had stirred some worries amongst the students as they wondered if they might be the next one to get picked on, but Lilian’s guarantee assuaged their worries.

  Resounding applause and cheers sounded in the assembly hall as Lilian bowed slightly and took her leave. It took some time before the excited crowd to calm down once more. With the representative of the students concluding her speech too, there was just one last procedure left for the entrance ceremony.

  “Fellow freshmen, please raise your hands up high and channel your mana.”


  The voices of the staff members echoed loudly in the assembly hall. Hands emanating a faint glow rose up, and soon afterward, they were welcomed with spherical objects falling from the ceiling.

  It was a bell roughly the size of a candy, but its interior wasn’t filled with metal but a little spirit that resembled a speck of light. The staff members were currently using their mana to deliver these magic tools into the hands of the students who were emanating their mana.

  Roel received one of the floating magic tools too. He stroked the runes inscribed on its exterior while feeling the lively movements of the spirit inside the bell. At the same time, the voice of a staff member sounded.

  “For students who have received the magic tools, please note that this is an item required for the entrance ceremony. It’ll be recollected tomorrow, so be sure to take good care of it. Before then, please try your best to build up a good relation with your spirit guide so as to better facilitate your journey into the dungeon later at night. You’re strictly forbidden from harming the spirits, and those who do so will face severe consequences.

  “With this, I hereby declare the commencement of the final ritual of the Saint Freya Academy’s entrance ceremony—Night of the Demons. I wish you all the best.”