Chapter 12

༺ The First Letter (12) ༻

The afternoon at the academy passed by calmly.

Birds chirping through the trees, and buildings boasting years of history and tradition reflected the white sunlight. It had already become a familiar landscape now.

The Academy’s history was close to 1,000 years. It existed even before the Empire was founded.

The continent at that time was chaotic. The Great Empire that unified the world collapsed, and countless countries were rushing to take its place. Soon, the world became a battlefield.

And as the war continued, the lands became barren, as always.

The enormous cost of supplies because of the war, the looting by the enemy, and the birth of monsters inevitably missed due to the concentration of troops on the front line.

The decades-long war turned a rich continent into a groaning corpse. It was around that time that leaders of each country felt a sense of crisis.

No matter how big the land they had under their rule, it was meaningless without the people living on it. The war, which lasted too long, caused the continent’s population to plummet.

In addition, mankind had a common enemy. Monsters called ‘Demonic Beasts’, which were both aggressive and tough.

After years of meetings and talks, the war ended, and the Academy was built in a neutral zone as evidence of this peace agreement.

It symbolized the ending of the era of conflicts and the dawn of an era of harmony and coexistence.

It was during the reign of the Empire’s ‘Conquering Sovereign’ that the Academy, which had remained neutral for about 500 years, became a “Protectorate Academy.”

It is said that even he, who conquered half of the continent while riding his horse, did not bring his army into the site in respect of the Academy. However, after that day, there was a title called “Protectorate” in front of the academy.

From that day, the academy became a symbol that proclaimed that the Empire was the center of the world. Talents from all over the world who decided to enter the academy must face the flag of the Empire hanging throughout the academy.

That alone seemed to make the Empire think that the astronomical cost of running the academy was worth it. Still it was a matter that the higher ups had to worry about, it wasn’t something that a second son of a countryside Viscountcy such as myself should care about.

I was simply admiring how, despite having such a long history, the campus of the Academy was so well preserved.