One month has passed since the completion of the Hanuman subjugation in the Gagun Great Forest, the conquest of the Laofen Labyrinth, and the large-scale survey of the Mylight Mountains.
During that time, I can hardly believe how quickly it flew by, what with finishing my wedding ceremony with Athena, researching metal materials and evolution, and restarting the development of MARS.
The wedding ceremony with Athena was held as planned at the Crystal Palace in Mount Wilness.
When marrying a Dragonian, Gaia generally takes on the role of the priest. However, since this was my daughter Athena’s wedding, Claut, who also married Souya, took on that role, just like Gaia.
Gaia and Claut are not registered as priests, but it’s not uncommon for Dragonian weddings to be held at the Crystal Palace, and it is said that they are exceptionally recognized by the gods because they don’t know when they will be held.
There is a condition of being a High Dragonian or above, and being a Yellow Dragonian means being a High Dragonian, so there was no problem.
By the way, Athena decided to take the name Athena Crystal Mikami Fleidranthia.
This is because Dragonian names include not only their own name but also the dragon name they use when transformed into a dragon.
After the ceremony, we also held a presentation party. Since the main purpose this time was to present to newly-wed Dragons, the venue was the Crystal Palace, and the attendees were limited to me, my wife, my fiancée, members of the Wing Crest, and the Dragonians residing on Mount Wilness.
There were only four men: myself, Ed, Raus, and Lucas, so I felt a little out of place.
I’m progressing steadily with the research on metal materials and the development of MARS.
However, with the completion of the Memoria General School buildings and the decision to open them in the spring, MARS must be finished quickly.
Even if it can’t be used for combat training, it can be used to observe monsters up close, and I’ve been told that even that would be acceptable. However, I consider that a defeat, so completing MARS is my top priority.
However, as I am a Fleidranthia Heavenly Noble and also the husband of the Amaterista Marquis, I must also conduct inspections.
Therefore, two days after receiving the report on the building’s completion from Rika, I, accompanied by Prim and Aria, came to Memoria for an inspection, guided by Rika.
“Wow, it’s quite a magnificent building.”
“It’s the first general school in Helios Orb, and various guilds are putting their efforts into it, so yes.”
The general school was a large-scale facility with a five-story main building whose exterior resembled a fusion of Earth-like schools and noble mansions, seven three-story guild-specific buildings, an auditorium, a dance hall, a schoolyard, four training grounds, a facility planned for MARS installation, a large cafeteria, and dormitories.
“There are so many buildings.”
“The front is the main building where lectures will be held. We are also considering a system of ‘class divisions,’ which existed in Yamato’s world.”
“In other words, the main building is the center of the general school?”
“That’s right.”
Rika answered Aria’s question.
The main building has an instructor’s room, principal’s office, duty room, administrative office, and reception room on the first floor, with classrooms on the second to fifth floors.
This part is not much different from schools on Earth.
The second to fifth floors have basically the same structure, with ten classrooms prepared on each floor.
Each classroom seems large enough to accommodate 30 students, but the planned enrollment for each grade is around 200 students, so there will be spare classrooms.
They also existed in Japan, so I think we can consider how to use those classrooms as needed.
The guild-specific buildings have considerable differences in their exteriors.
The Trader building looks like a large trading company with several shops, the Crafter building is a row of various workshops, the Butler building is a noble mansion, the Healer building is a hospital, and the Priest building looks like a temple.
The Scholar building is adjacent to the facility planned for MARS installation, and the Hunter-Ritter joint building is located in the middle of the training grounds.
Each building can accommodate about 500 students, so there should be no inconvenience in classes.
The auditorium is large enough to accommodate about 2,000 people, so it seems capable of holding full school assemblies without issue. The adjacent dance hall, which can accommodate 500 people, is also available for events like graduation ceremonies.
Since some traders are also entertainers and musicians, it could also be used for performances.
The schoolyard also serves as a secondary entrance to the main building and is equipped with small ponds and waterways.
Although small in scale, several gardens with cherry trees and roses are prepared, and these are planned to be utilized for classes for Crafters and Butlers aiming to become gardeners.
The four training grounds consist of a dirt field, a field with rocks and other obstacles randomly placed, a field designed to resemble a marshland with a small pond, and a field with targets like a shooting range.
These will be mainly used by Hunters and Ritters, but they are also scheduled to be used for combat classes in the common curriculum.
There are not a few Traders and Crafters who can fight, and there is always the possibility of being attacked by monsters or thieves while traveling, so combat skills are always useful.
The facility planned for MARS installation looks like a giant Coliseum, but since it’s not uncommon to encounter huge monsters, and once MARS is completed, it will be usable for combat training. Currently, Scholars use it for research, so it doesn’t feel that large.
The cafeteria is like a food court, with several shops operating as tenants.
This also serves as a training ground for students aiming to become chefs or butlers, so the prices are set to be lower than eating in town.
It’s a little scary to think of students cooking, but it seems there will be instructors, so it should be fine unless something goes terribly wrong.
Finally, we were shown the dormitories.
They are separated by gender, but since Helios Orb has a high proportion of women, there are more female dormitories.
The basic structure of both is a five-story building, with 200 rooms in each building.
There are two men’s dormitories and four women’s dormitories, so it is possible for all students to live in the dormitories.
However, the rooms are basic, with a bed and a desk, and are only 10 square meters.
Each room has a toilet, but there are communal baths in the center of the men’s and women’s dormitories for them to use.
While it is acceptable to provide housing in Memoria, all expenses will be out-of-pocket. The guilds treat everyone, including royalty and nobles, equally, so it is intended for students to get used to this from an early age.
Normally, constructing a facility of this scale would be a years-long undertaking on Earth, but in Helios Orb, magic allows for incredibly fast work.
As a result, it was successfully completed in just over three months.
After looking around, we discussed the buildings and facilities over tea in a small cherry tree garden, which is part of the school grounds.
“Some parts are similar to schools in Japan, but that’s only natural for a school.”
“I took a lot of inspiration from what Yamato and Mako told me. It’s only natural that they’re similar.”
I seem to recall being asked about it.
At that time, I was preoccupied with preparations for the wedding reception and my marriages to Lydia, Ludia, and Mako, and after that, there was Neige’s issue and the Labyrinth Flood, so I had completely forgotten.
“Well, you were quite busy, weren’t you?”
Prim offered a wry smile, but it didn’t make me feel any better.
“It’s alright. Thanks to you, it was completed quickly, so from my perspective, I’m grateful.”
Being reassured by Rika made me feel even more apologetic.
Instead of changing the subject, I decided to move it forward.
“I didn’t expect the dormitories to be single rooms. Was there no consideration for shared rooms?”
“That idea was considered, but wouldn’t room assignments be difficult? Even if they get along at first, it’s possible they might have compatibility issues later on. And if a noble were to share a room, the other child might feel intimidated.”
Ah, so that was the problem, and they decided against shared rooms.
Indeed, if their personalities clashed, it could lead to arguments, and if the other person were an aspiring Hunter or Ritter, there’s a possibility of them getting injured.
In cases where a noble shares a room, some children might be treated like servants, making it impossible to relax even in their own rooms, which would hinder their studies.
In that case, having individual rooms seems to be a better option to avoid future problems.
“There will likely be other issues, but we’ll deal with them as they arise. After all, we can’t anticipate every problem. The bigger issue is that even though the buildings have just been completed, there’s a flood of admission inquiries.”
“What? There are already many people applying?”
“That’s right. Within Amister alone, all underage noble children are applying. The same goes for children of high-ranking registrants. And from abroad as well. In terms of numbers, we’ve already exceeded 500.”
There are already that many applications?
And apparently, among them are two candidates for the Queen of Torencia.
They are cousins of Hilde, and since the succession rights to the throne of Torencia are granted after reaching adulthood, these two, aged 12 and 10, are only candidates for now.
Although etiquette will be taught at the general school, there are no plans for lessons on politics or governance.
This is understandable, as the purpose is to learn knowledge and practical skills related to guild activities. However, it is said that royalty and nobles learn about territory management from a young age.
Moreover, for the duration of their schooling, they are expected to live in dormitories, which would limit their time for such studies.
“Hmm, perhaps we should create a ‘Noble Department’ or something similar?”
“I think that would be a good idea. Even if it’s not entirely comprehensive, if we can provide some direction, it could reduce the number of incompetent lords who neglect their people.”
Hearing that only makes it feel more necessary.
The curriculum in the first year will focus on basic lectures, reading, writing, and arithmetic, with practical training in simple combat techniques.
From the second year, students will choose which guild’s classes to attend and build their curriculum accordingly. Since it’s not uncommon for people to register with multiple guilds, students will be able to take up to two guild classes.
Many guilds have age restrictions for registration, so the basic target age for admission is children who will turn 11 between April and March of the following year. However, I’ve heard that for the next few years, there are plans to not restrict the age of incoming students.
Adding a Noble Department would require a complete revision of the curriculum, but it feels necessary.
“Regarding the curriculum, we’ll have to leave it to the Scholar’s Guild to decide. If we add a Noble Department, it would have to be added to the guild departments or created as several separate ones.”
“If you say ‘several,’ I can’t easily think of any off the top of my head.”
After all, the general school is meant to teach students about the guilds they can register with.
The issue of nobility was something I hadn’t considered at all.
“Isn’t it better to let them choose what they want to study, including that? Even noble children don’t necessarily have to inherit their family’s position.”
“Aria is probably right. The Noble Department will likely be incorporated as one of the guild departments, and with the option to take three subjects in total, that’s how it will probably be settled.”
I can’t think of any other departments either, and that seems like the quickest solution.
The subjects to be taken from the second year onward are commercial studies, crafts, butlerry, healing, natural history, religious studies, and knight-hunter studies, making seven in total. Adding a Noble Department would make it eight, and students would choose three to major in until graduation.
I feel that choosing three might be difficult, so perhaps two would be sufficient, but I believe there’s no harm in learning.
Also, the content differs between Hunters and Ritters, so I suspect they will eventually be separated, but for now, it will remain this way, partly to reduce the number of Hunters with poor conduct.
“I thought it wouldn’t be that difficult since the Butler’s Guild and the Order’s Guild have similar things, but it seems that’s not the case.”
“That’s right. We can’t just leave everything to the Scholar’s Guild, so His Majesty and I participated, and there were endless meetings every day.”
Rika’s distant gaze is a little intimidating.
Indeed, she mentioned participating in several meetings regarding the general school, held at Amagi Castle.
For transportation, we and Raus can use Traveling, and His Majesty and Sayuri can even use Teleportation to the Ou Renten Street mansion within Amagi Castle. I heard that His Majesty had no hesitation in summoning them.
This applies to Lucas and Lyra as well, but passing through Ou Renten Street is apparently difficult for various reasons. I’ve also been told that they’re eager to have a separate residence of the Fleidranthia Heavenly Noble House or the Lapislazurite Heavenly Noble House built on Float soon.
“Um, thank you for your hard work.”
“Well, thanks to that, we’ll be ready for the opening in April, so I’ll consider it a success.”
Once the school opens, it will also benefit the economy of Memoria.
Although there’s no student discount system, guild registration during school is encouraged, so students will likely visit Memoria on their days off.
However, since the first registrants are expected to be around 10 years old, there’s the question of whether they can actually go out on their days off.
It seems they’ve decided that it’s no use being overly protective about that.
Anyway, I haven’t been able to get involved much with Memoria or the general school, so I might as well lend Rika a hand for a while.
