Chapter 43
The notice board displayed the names of students selected for the North Expedition.
Lively discussions buzzed among both first-years and senior classes.
The list read:
· Princess Lyanna Rotherham – Fourth Year
· Emillien Westfall – Final Year
· Genevieve Theron – Final Year
· Percival Zenya – Final Year
· Azek Willowheart – First Year
No students from the second or third years were included, yet a first-year had already secured his place.
Curious seniors even visited the first-year class to inquire about the newcomer, but the first semester exam results left them tongue-tied.
After all, this new student had achieved something no senior class had managed to even approach, despite their ample experience and practice.
For the fourth-years, this was particularly shocking. Normally, at least three or four of them were selected. But this year, Princess Lyanna—the eldest daughter of King Lucian and the only princess of the Saika Kingdom—was the sole representative from their year.
And she was a force to be reckoned with.
Azek had overheard her name in the mess hall multiple times. Students described her as obsessive maniac when it came to studying magic; she had even given up her right to the throne to pursue her magical path. Her unparalleled genius in the field was acknowledged by all professors.
She was also the reason the Crown Prince decided to study at the Royal Academy, as the world had begun recognizing the grave danger of creeping black magic. The royal family stood at the forefront of the fight against it.
Although Princess Lyanna had not taken the Crown Princess seat, her influence remained immense.
She was also one of the strongest advocates for opening the Royal Magic Academy to commoners, selecting students solely based on talent. Her relentless meetings with ministers, backed by grim statistics on monster assaults, finally led to the academy exam becoming open to everyone possessing magic.
Since the previous year, many potential magicians had come to the academy from every corner of the empire, boosting the kingdom's lacking manpower. Still, it was too early to deploy them; they would not be ready for active roles for another five or six years. Yet the change Lyanna had brought already earned her immeasurable popularity among common people.
Some noble families secretly debated pushing her toward the throne and attempted to align themselves with her.
But their efforts were thwarted by the Princess herself, who instead directly proposed that the Crown Prince attend the academy once his magical aptitude was observed. This political move finally settled the unrest, and the sibling duo could focus on their studies—at least for the time being.
While her selection was expected, a first-year advancing ahead of the older students wounded their pride considerably.
Some tried to stalk Azek, but he paid them no mind and concentrated on his lectures.
There would be a gap in studies during the expedition, and he needed to cover as much ground as possible while he still could. His unbothered attitude, combined with nonstop studying, eventually made the other students give up in disappointment.
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Azek observed the people gathered before the carriage.
Lyanna commanded respect wherever she went. Percival belonged to the Zenya Dukedom, though Azek knew little about him. Emillien and Genevieve were both seniors he had never heard of before.
He offered a respectful greeting to the Princess. Lyanna glanced at him, offered a light smile, and nodded. He then proceeded to greet the other seniors collectively.
Although he was the sole anomaly in the group, the other four showed neither obvious regard nor hostility. Their attitude remained neutral. He did notice that Percival's smile seemed somewhat meaningful, but he paid it no attention.
Their main focus was the Magic Brigade reinforcements standing before them.
Margrave Sebastian was in charge of their group. He was a first-grade magician with metal affinity.
There were four basic elements, but many more types of mana existed within the world. By commanding the basic lifeforms of mana, magicians opened the pathway to their specific affinities.
In Professor Selvian's case, he had mastered earth mana in his early days but later developed magic completely unrelated to his element.
He learned mana flow and eventually joined the Intelligence Department due to his ability to conjure memories and traces left by mana usage.
Sebastian Margrave explained the details to them: they would travel with their assigned in-charge and observe how the Royal Magic Brigade operated and applied various techniques in practical combat. Nothing beyond that was expected of them.
Sebastian sat in the carriage with Ainsworth. Both were twin brothers with massive physiques and muscular builds—anyone would mistake them for warriors rather than magicians, especially given the weapons they wielded.
Each carried a double axe arcane labrys, the symbol of the Margrave family's heirloom and history.
Though it demanded arduous effort for a magician to practice with such heavy equipment, the Margrave family took pride in its superior bloodline and physique, easily handling heavy weaponry.
These magic-imbued staves now served as their symbols of authority and provided a significant advantage when fighting with low mana reserves.
Azek recalled the novel's description of this family.
Warrior magicians.
He hadn't realized the description would be so literal.
Lost in thought, he boarded the carriage last, after the others had taken their seats. It would take at least five days to reach the North Front, even with the magic-imbued devices used in cavalry carriages.
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The Brigade flag fluttered over North Castle.
King Lucian had dispatched this force to stabilize the North Front as quickly as possible. But the situation was anything but stable.
Monster corpses piled up everywhere, rotting.
The horrid stench made breathing difficult.
The Church constantly monitored the situation with rotating shifts, ensuring their people weren't overburdened while also minimizing contaminated corpses.
Their consistent efforts allowed the Willowheart army to operate without hindrance.
Yet the coordinated monster assaults only grew more frequent, even after the Magic Brigade's arrival. They had been fighting ceaselessly since their deployment.
The head of the Brigade, Isidore Blackwood, had sent a request for reinforcements shortly after arriving and assessing the situation at North Castle.
The Northwest Front had also become a target, leaving them with their hands full. To their dismay, the monsters intelligently baited them with assaults, dividing their manpower.
It was a massive headache.
The Blackthorn family, tasked with gathering forces throughout the empire, received the royal command and immediately deployed a mini brigade to the Northwest Front.
The carriage came to a halt.
Night had fallen, and they paused for a short rest by the roadside.