Chapter 8 (1/2)
The Campus was a giant island shaped like a semi-circle that could be reached by sailing for an hour from the Empire’s capital, Gavelin. At the centre of the island was the College, the most prestigious school of the campus, while other schools were spread across the entire island.
The Campus was home to many schools such as magic, military, sailing, finance, art, technology, and others. It was designed to enroll talented individuals into a specific school with the goal of producing the finest professionals into the Empire, and only those whose talents had been approved by the Empire could enroll into the Campus.
The Campus was sometimes called the Duchy of Campus due to their independence and isolation from the outside world, which was to make sure their students would focus on education and education alone. In fact, the Campus was run by a Committee made up of the Student Council members and the professors and lecturers of the Campus.
“So this is the Campus.”
After the short cruise across the ocean, Isaac disembarked onto the empty port. It was different from what he expected. The port was empty, containing only the necessities such as the docks, a few warehouses, and lodges. There was a wall separating the inner and outer port, and the only way into the Campus was through a gate atop a gentle slope. The sailors busy with unloading the goods looked at Isaac, who stood alone.
“You lot! Stop wasting time and get back to work!”
The loud and rugged voice prompted the sailors back to work, and the sailors began to move faster than before.
“Hm? What’s this? Did no one come to see you? Well, don’t worry. I’m sure someone will come to check the unloading of the supplies.”
“Thank you Mr. Gonzales, for letting me know.”
Isaac gave his grat.i.tude to the middle-aged sailor who comforted him. Mr. Gonzales scratched his beard, unaccustomed to words of grat.i.tude from a n.o.ble.
“Are you really a n.o.ble? I guess I’m weird too, talking so casually to a n.o.ble like this.”
The first monster attack in 10 years had gathered much attention from the Empire. As the sole survivor, Isaac became famous, along with his current family situation.
“Well, none of that will matter since you’re set for life after you graduate from the Campus, so perk up you hear. Ah! There he is.”
Gonzales gave his encouragements as he patted Isaac’s shoulder. Isaac turned to look where Gonzales was looking, and he saw a car slowly approaching them.
‘It’s so strange to see them every time. Using mana… It’s basically the cleanest fuel imaginable.’
A familiar object in an unfamiliar world. Isaac was dumbfounded when he saw it for the first time, but soon accepted it. If the social infrastructure is at a modern level, so too must their transportation.
“Oh! Is that the new automobile that everyone’s been so noisy about? Heard they were planning on selling them to the n.o.bles, but it seems like they’re already up and running in the Campus.”
As Gonzales struggled to contain his excitement, the car gently stopped in front of Isaac and Gonzales.
“h.e.l.lo. You’ve arrived early today.”
A handsome young man with a blonde hair stepped out of the car and greeted Gonzales.
“Yes. We were blessed by lady luck with a good wind.”
“That’s good to hear. I a.s.sume the supplies are fine?”
“You can bet on it, sir. We checked them before we sailed here. We’re currently unloading them into one of the warehouses; would you like to observe?”
“I’ll deal with the doc.u.ments first. But who is this young man? This isn’t enrollment season and I believe no one left the Campus to my knowledge.”
Gonzales was perplexed at the boy’s question and replied.
“He was supposed to enroll into the Campus, was he not?”
“Huh? I’ve never received report on a transfer student.”
“h.e.l.lo, my name is Isaac Rondart. Nice to meet you.”
“Rondart? From the Baron Rondart family?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, so you must be Kainen’s little brother.”
“… I’m his older brother.”
According to Isaac’s memories, his two younger brothers were Kainen and Kaizen. Of the two, Kainen had already entered the Campus through normal procedures and was now enrolled in the College. If this man in front of Isaac knew Kainen, he must be from the College as well.
Confused, the young man tilted his head and replied.
“Older brother? I’ve never heard that he had an older brother?”
“Uh, Master Mazelan, just a moment.”
Gonzales couldn’t stand how the conversation was heading and took Mazelan into a corner. He began to whisper into his ear, letting Mazelan know what situation Isaac was in.
After the explanation, Mazelan sighed deeply and approached Isaac.
“You did well in making all the way here.”
“It was nothing.”
“Just wait a moment. I need to find out something.”
Mazelan excused himself and entered one of the buildings in the port. He soon came out with a serious expression as he talked to Isaac and Gonzales.
“Come with me for now. This isn’t something I can handle alone. Ah! Mr. Gonzales, tell the captain I’m sorry. I’ll also leave the doc.u.ments to you.”
“Don’t worry sir. I’ll have it ready. Kid… I mean, farewell, Master Isaac.”
Despite how casually Gonzales treated Isaac, he was still a n.o.ble. Gonzales couldn’t treat him as he usually did when Mazelan was watching. He bowed toward them and then headed for the warehouse.
“We should get going too. Get in.”
Mazelan got into the driver’s seat and opened the pa.s.senger seat for Isaac. As Isaac hesitated to get in, Mazelan smiled.
“You don’t have to be so scared. This is the newest invention from the Empire’s Inst.i.tute of Technology. It’s still in its testing phase, but there haven’t been any accidents yet.”
“…”
Isaac reluctantly entered the car. As he watched the trees pa.s.s by him through the window, Mazelan began to talk.
“I think you should know about this. From what I know, we’ve never had a case like this before.”
“What…”
“I know it might sound cruel, but the Campus teaches their students that you can only make the best decisions when you have a firm grasp on the situation you’re in. So I’ll be straight about this.”
“… Yes.”