Chapter 22: Shaya, Danger!
The City of Nations, Camelot.
Of course, it also has a name more familiar to the citizens of the Freista Empire – the Imperial Capital.
This is the core of politics and economics for the entire Freista Empire, and even for the entire Western Continent.
Even across the entire continent, only a few large cities can compare to Camelot, such as the City of Knowledge on the Golden Plains and the Holy See’s sacred land.
The steam train let out a long, leisurely whistle.
Then, amidst the gushing white mist, the various checkpoints at the station were opened.
Shaya blended in with the crowded populace and filed out.
In half a year, he had cleared most of the tasks within the Lesa Directorate.
Shaya had basically completed all the high-value, time-efficient wanted missions, and had even cleared out a considerable portion of the Lesa Directorate’s material warehouse.
In addition, the Historical Echo within the Ancient Azure Court ruins had been marked, allowing for travel back and forth at any time. Naturally, there was no longer any reason to linger in Lesa.
“She should have given up by now, right?”
Shaya exited the station and looked around.
To be frank, Diris, as the student council president of Saint Roland Academy, was indeed competent.
Moreover, her requests to Shaya were genuinely well-intentioned.
For a commoner student who had Beast Tamer talent but no family support—
Participating more in Saint Roland Academy’s social events and connecting with nobles, the military, and the church in the Imperial Capital would undoubtedly be beneficial for his future development after graduation.
It could even change his destiny and truly achieve class mobility.
However, it couldn’t be helped.
You think it’s for my own good, but perhaps the reality is not so.
From the very beginning, Shaya knew that his path was different from others.
Instead of going through the trouble of getting acquainted with noble children, attending various banquets and social events to obtain so-called connections and resources…
For him, it was more practical to complete one more task in the novice quest line.
Because of this, ever since Shaya joined Saint Roland Academy.
Except for systematically reviewing some basic knowledge related to Beast Tamers in the first two semesters, he had spent the rest of his time either skipping class or on his way to skip class.
Even the time spent at school was mostly spent in the Grand Library and the Familiar training grounds.
This trip to explore the Ancient Azure Court ruins in Lesa was a case of skipping class for half a year straight.
“It must have been difficult for her.”
“I haven’t shown up at school for almost a year. Even my hairstyle and height have changed, yet she still recognized me at a glance.”
As Shaya silently lamented President Diris’s dedication, he had Sparkle intermittently use Blink to travel.
Soon, a magnificent architectural complex appeared before him.
Saint Roland Academy was not located in the main urban area of the Imperial Capital but in the suburbs.
Furthermore, key facilities of the Freista Empire, such as the Royal Breeding Institute, the Directorate Headquarters, the Military Department, and the Mystic Tower, were almost all located outside the main urban area.
The reason for this was quite simple.
After all, no high-ranking noble would want to be walking along one day and suddenly have a rampaging overlord-level Hellfire Monarch, who had broken free from its Soul Pact, appear above them and casually obliterate them with “Meteor Rain.”
Although he hadn’t returned to the academy for over half a year, Shaya, with the memory of a quasi-Third Ring Beast Tamer, was not lost.
His footsteps stopped in front of a detached house.
According to Saint Roland Academy’s rules, students who reached the Second Ring, that is, intermediate Beast Tamers, were eligible to have an independent dormitory.
For the offspring of nobles, they didn’t need to live in dorms anyway; their own noble residences in the Imperial Capital were far better than any dorm.
So this was considered a benefit for commoner students, though Shaya didn’t use it much.
The wooden door of the dormitory was dusty from disuse, and Shaya squatted down, noticing that the iron maple leaf he had placed in the door crack before leaving had fallen.
The iron maple leaf, which should have been as hard as steel, had a small silver-white slash mark etched onto it.
“Little Ai…?”
Shaya pushed the door open.
What greeted his eyes was a room bathed in the sunset, and the maiden, waiting quietly, hugging her knees by the window.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the window onto her plain white cheeks, her light golden long hair reflecting the light.
Sensing Shaya’s arrival, the other party jumped down from the bay window and held up a rice ball in her hand.
“Have you eaten?”
“Not yet, thanks to you.”
Shaya did not stand on ceremony and took the still-warm rice ball.
After all, the food provided on the train, whether before or after his transmigration, was invariably expensive and unpalatable.
“Long time no see, Little Ai. How long have you been waiting?”
“I just finished a mission in the military department. After I received your telepathic letter, I rushed over. I haven’t been waiting too long.”
“That’s good.”
Shaya unwrapped the rice ball.
The blonde maiden named Aerora before him had a complicated relationship with him.
She was not only a classmate but also a childhood friend.
She had lived with Shaya since she was nine years old, and they only began living separately after entering Saint Roland Academy.
At the same time, because Shaya had been busy with the archaeological exploration of the Azure Court ruins in recent years, Aerora had been managing Shaya’s assets in the Imperial Capital.
“There’s juice here, your favorite orange juice.”
“Thank you.”
After quickly finishing the drink and food, Shaya lazily collapsed onto the bed.
Watching Shaya’s actions, a hint of helplessness appeared on Aerora’s plain white cheeks, “You just got off the train, you should at least change your clothes first.”
“There’s an old saying in my hometown: great men do not fuss over small details.”
“So, for our grand undertaking in the future, this bedding will have to be sacrificed.”
“We were both born in the Northern Territory, Ceylon, yet I’ve never heard you mention so many famous quotes before,” the blonde maiden shook her head, somewhat helplessly.
She took off her wool boots, sat on the bedside table, and her feet, encased in white socks, dangled freely in the air. “The Royal Publishing House sent the seventh installment of royalties last month.”
“The profit sharing from ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ and ‘The Three Musketeers’ totaled one thousand seven hundred Rhine gold coins.”
“The shops for ornamental pet care and food, cosmetics, and wedding rings have accumulated a total of two thousand five hundred Rhine gold coins during this period.”
“In addition, a Countess has shown interest in our luxury clothing design business.”
“Based on your valuation at the time, this part of the businesses and shops was transferred for a total of six thousand three hundred Rhine gold coins.”
“A little over ten thousand in total…”
Shaya lay flat, rubbing his temples, feeling his entire body sink into the soft bedding. “Your Main Familiar is about to advance, so you can’t touch the merit points you’ve accumulated in the military department.”
“After deducting our daily expenses and those of our familiars, only eight thousand Rhine gold coins remain.”
“Eight thousand… If I remember correctly, based on last year’s auction house prices, eight thousand should only be enough to buy ‘Fragmented Spirit of the Vengeful Flame Soul’.”
“The lowest tier of Fourth Ring fire-attribute material. It’s a bit too shabby to use on ‘Amaterasu’.”
“If the money isn’t enough, my Main Familiar’s advancement can be postponed for now.”
As she spoke, Aerora brushed aside her long hair and leaned closer to Shaya.
“My accumulated merit points in the military department, if converted to Rhine gold coins, should be around thirty to forty thousand…”
Aerora’s words suddenly paused slightly.
She sniffed gently at Shaya’s collar, and her casual tone became a bit more serious.
“President Diris?”
