There is only a single empire in this world: the Karuan empire.
There were no alliances, nor were there nations, that could go up against the Empire. It truly was the strongest power in the world. And in the heart of this Empire, there were four schools gathered within.
First, there was Arucia, the school of swords.
It could be said to be the place that produced about half of the empire’s knights. It gathers countless talented young men and women from prestigious families, and trains them to become powerful knights. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that most of the knights in the Royal Guard are from this school.
Second, Marcis, the school of magic.
It is the school that has the most amount of outsiders. It is managed by members that were sent from different magic towers spread out in the empire. Many of its most talented students were often taken away by the magic towers as a result, which caused a fierce competition between the imperial palace and the towers to appear. Although it’s called a school, it resembles a tower more, and it is a place where political battles are most often seen.
Third, Mercaria, the normal school.
It is a school that many of the peasants try to enter. It is a school that trains future government workers, and because of that, they always take the last place in most school competitions! As the students here are all average, they simply can’t win in athletic or cultural competitions that take place between schools.
The school has often been looked down upon because of this in the past, but having produced important government officials in the recent years raised their status up to the levels nearing the aforementioned schools above.
Lastly, Yugrasia, the school of summoning.
It is a school that focuses on training summoners, and… it is one of the stranger schools in the Empire. A lot of people think that summoners are made for fighting, but that isn’t the case. Each and every one of summoned beasts have a different specialty, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that these areas of specialty can vary extremely greatly.
Of course, the one who gets favored the most in the end is a summoner specialized for battle.
Special summoners who possess god-ranked beasts are beings that can turn the tide of the battlefield in an instant, and they can get multiple times stronger depending on what battlefield they are in. But these kinds of summoners only appear once in a decade or so… and since some of them have similarities to wizards, and some of them have similarities to knights, they are kind of like jacks of all trades.
Why am I talking about this, you ask?
“You’re about to close down the school?”
They’re about to close the school the moment I arrive, hoho.
“Apologies, professor Nicerwin. You came all the way here after hearing our request, and yet you got greeted with a news like this…”
Nicerwin Ein.
He’s an honorary professor who’s well-respected in the circle of summoners. He’s also one of the fake identities I’ve created in the past. But don’t get me wrong. While the person himself may be fake, it doesn’t mean that the rank of the honorary professor is. I managed to attain that position purely through my work.
Funnily enough, the summoned beasts of this world were all based upon the creatures and gods that appear in old mythologies in earth. I used that fact to my advantage, and wrote myself a essay. That earned me a place as a professor. After all, knowing a bit more about the beast you encounter when summoning would help you form a contract with it easily.
I suppose this was one of the few advantages that I had left from the other world?
Well, that’s that. But in any case.
“Why is that?”
“…What should I say… we aren’t really showing good results compared to the other schools…?”
“Are you talking about the other 3 schools?”
“Yes. The students who are able to summon armour and weapons are being pressured by those in Arucia, and the students who have elementals get pushed down by the students at Marcia… No, in the first place, the descendents of noble families at both schools have summoned beasts already…”
After hearing out what the old man had to say, I organized everything into this:
Many knights and magicians from richer families have summoned beasts of their own. And even though the students in the school of Yugrasia work their asses off with their summoned beasts, but the guys at the other schools are knights/magicians from the start. Their stats outrank that of the people in Yugrasia from the very beginning. Of course, the students of Yugrasia might have a stronger connection to their summoned beasts, but their own firepower is severely lacking from. Because of that, they always take last place in annual competitions between schools. And since they always get terrible scores at national festivals and such, the students who attend the school has been slowly decreasing? Students who have talent to become a summoner join Marcis or Arucia instead. That says quite a lot.
“Is it fine for people to summon beasts at different schools?”
“It’s a very dishonourable act, but… since a lot of people are contracted from the start, and since the four schools pride themselves in letting the people do what they want…”
“We can’t interfere?”
“…Right.”
“Just what is the summoner’s association saying about this?”
“The summoner’s association share close ties with the magic tower…”
“Hah, there’s just nothing we can do?”
“Yes…”
The geniuses are all going over to different schools, and our only support is not to be trusted.
-We’re screwed? What about my freedom, then?!
[…I never said we were.]
It just looks like we’re screwed. Honestly, at this point, it would be better to bail to a different school. Hell, it’s just right next door. But to be honest, it’s best to join a school like this at a chaotic time!
“How long will this school stay up for?”
“About… about 3 years.”
“The imperial festival… You’re planning to keep the school going until the festival?”
“Yes. Even though we are about to close down, we still have our pride as one of the schools that took care of education from the early days of the empire.”
“I see.”
“I apologize once again.”
“It’s fine. It’s not like the school’s actually closing down yet.”
After the assistant principal went away, I moved to my dorm and unloaded my luggage. Once I did so, the metal bat began to talk again.
-What do we do if this place closes? We’d either be merchants or just be retired. Then what happens to me?! What about my freedom?!
I’ve said this before, but the energy that the metal bat uses is something that gets gathered in small increments in time. But when it changes form, its efficiency drops significantly. And if it transforms into a human? No need in saying how little the energy intake is. If it isn’t a safe place like a school, it’s hard to guarantee this thing’s freedom. After all, my freedom comes first.
[It hasn’t closed down yet.]
-But it will soon!
[…It’s not like we have no way to save it.]
-…For real? Seriously? How?
[That’s…]
-That’s?
[A secret.]