Once the doors to the throne room closed, Sasha hugged Kojo.
"Thanks for standing up for us, darling," she said, kissing him on the cheek.
"Oh, it was nothing," Kojo said, blushing.
"(Pervert.)"
"Huh?"
"(Why are you thinking about how soft Sasha's boobs are? Pervert.)"
Kojo groaned. He and Sasha walked to a summer hut where Rey and the others were seated.
Kojo saw Sharone and Koniko trying to restrain Lin from getting her hands on a girl. He recognized her as the one who bumped into him when he was going to see the king. Now that Kojo was looking at her properly, she was quite beautiful and had the elegance of royalty. Kojo also saw she had firm breasts.
"(Pervert.)"
"This is my cousin, Klara," Adriana said.
The girl got up.
"Good morning," she said. "I apologize for bumping into you in the hallway."
"Oh, it's fine. And you don't have to speak so formally. We are friends now, after all," Kojo said. Klara thought that Kojo was quite charming and blushed.
"Yes, of course," she said. Lin managed to break free and hugged Klara from behind, grabbing her breasts. Klara let out a small moan.
"You're really sensitive, aren't ya?" Lin said mischievously as she groomed them. Kojo's face turned red. "We're in a public area. Please conduct yourselves in a fitting manner," Rey said, taking a sip of tea.
Lin stuck her tongue out.
"So what did the king say?" Rey asked.
Kojo sat down and told them everything that happened.
"I see," Rey said, putting the cup down.
"So you turned down His Majesty's offer to stay in the Capitol. Well, it can't be helped. Your display the last time put you in a position where you can't be forced to do anything. Not that the king would try to force you. I do have a major concern about your confrontation with Cabolt."
"How do you mean?" Kojo asked. "He was talking bad about you guys, and I couldn't just let a small man get away with talking big."
"That's not it. Politically, he is the highest-ranking noble here in the royal court and has influence over the majority of other nobles who are supporting the enthronement of Billiam," Rey said.
"Why did you say majority? Isn't Billiam the crown prince?" Sharone asked.
"Due to... obvious reasons, Father has not taken an heir," Klara said.
"This matter is quite complicated. You see, it's law that the firstborn of the king should inherit the throne and rule the people. It's been that way since the establishment of the Kingdom of Archadia, with the only known deviation being that of the king and Duke Philip," Sasha said. "The Kingdom is very strict about their rules."
"Okay, I think I get it now," Kojo said.
"So, the corrupt nobles don't want another breach of protocol 'cause then it would lead to reforms that would prevent them from manipulating the people," Sharone said.
"And, since Billiam would be the perfect puppet through which they can rule the people," Lin added.
"And the leader of the pro-Billiam faction is none other than Cabolt V'ray," Kojo said, finally coming to that realization.
"Cobalt wasn't able to manipulate Sasha when she was champion, so he was hoping she'd lose. He planned to use intimidation to hound you into working for him. But you turned out to be even more free-spirited and stubborn than she was," Klara said, smiling at Kojo.
"Uh, thanks?" Kojo said.
A butler walked up to them and bowed.
"It's time," he said. Rey got up.
"Let's get going," he said.
"Going where?" Kojo asked.
"We're going to the Academy for the graduation ceremony," Rey said. He saw Billiam also boarding a carriage to the venue.
Adriana looked at him questioningly.
"Just ignore it," he said, climbing in.
"We need to get rid of that Kojo fellow," he said, speaking to the projection of a man in a robe.
"Were you unable to turn him?" the man asked.
"That bastard. How dare he belittle me!" Cabolt yelled.
"Hmm, I see. But is he really on the same level as Sasha?" the man asked.
"I believe he may possess a strength far stronger than she has," Cabolt replied. "That is why he needs to be eliminated."
"I see. Well, you're in luck. I have just the puppet," the man said, turning around to look at a huge beast inside a cage.
Kojo stepped out of the carriage. The Jewel Academy was a beautiful place.
"(The architecture of this place is pretty advanced.)"
"This building is over 700 years old," Rey said with an air of pride.
"(No scientific technique could preserve a building for such a long time and in such good shape.)"
"Hey, that's magic for ya." Many students looked at them as they passed, whispering to each other.
"It seems the two of you were quite popular," Sharone said. Rey groaned.
"Excuse me," a girl walked up to them.
"Chelsea, what's up?" Klara asked.
"I'm alright. I'm actually working in guiding students and parents around the venue."
She noticed Kojo.
"He's so handsome," she said.
"Huh?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing," she said quickly, her face turning red. She coughed.
Kojo looked at a cluster of girls looking at them. He waved, and they fainted.
"(Stop fooling around.)"
"Well, graduates and students are going to be separated, so if you'll follow me."
"We'll see you after the event," Adriana said. They separated, entering two different entrances to the hall. Chelsea led Kojo and the others to their seats while Adriana and Rey went over to the graduate side in their robes.
There was an opening speech by the headmistress of the Academy. Kojo slept through it. Lin nudged him awake.
"And now a speech by the outgoing Student Council President," he said.
There was a round of applause as Adriana mounted the podium.
"Ladies, gentlemen, I believe it's been a rough 5 years of study we've had here at the academy, years that broke dreams, soured relationships, drowned us in loss of friends, loved ones, and companions.
Second or two of silence.
But nonetheless, years that brought us improvement in our worth, prowess, and self as a whole. Through struggles, we've persevered and persisted, all to receive our just rewards today, our graduation.
But let me ask you, ladies and gentlemen, is this the end?
NO.
This is but a new beginning, the end of life under protection, supervision, and guidance, and our genesis into society as we know it.
People out there not as privileged as us to attend such an institution have already been successful. Famous raiders in the raiders bureau, wealthy merchants of the various Provinces, prestigious mages making major breakthroughs. There is no end to people who become successful in life as a result of their diligence.
Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we all know of the new Champion of the recent Diori tournament?
Would you believe that our current champion is no older than 17 years old?" she asked.
"I'm older than that," Kojo said.
"One who could have been our peer had he attended the academy.
I thus implore you to strive to reach greater heights, further improve ourselves, and thus bring glory to yourselves, your family, and our kingdom Arcadia. I congratulate you all on your efforts these years, not as Adrianna Listowell, Student Council President, but as Adrianna Listowell, your fellow graduate in study. Thank you for the wonderful memories."
Silence, utter silence, enveloped the hall.
"Woohoo, you go, girl!" Kojo shouted in the auditorium as he clapped his hands. Adrianna blushed and turned her head.
The audience then erupted in a resounding applause and cheer.
There was a loud roar and the flapping of wings in the distance. The building shook as something heavy landed on the roof of the building. There was silence. The roof was suddenly ripped off, and a dragon peered inside. It purred then roared.
Looking at the dragon, it was as big as the length of one and a half football fields. While everyone else was still stunned, Billiam screamed and made a dash for the exit. The people present seemed to have snapped out of whatever trance they were in and all ran for their lives. The dragon began tearing off bits of the building and tossing them aside. It flapped its wings and hovered above them, looking at the fleeing people. It opened its mouth, and a ball of energy began to form.
Adriana rushed forward.
"Ice Fortress."
A giant glacier trapped the dragon. It began to fall. The headmistress made portals around her. Staffs ,spears and wands of different shapes protruded, and she fired magic of various elements, causing the beast to crash into some nearby buildings. The dust cleared, and the dragon reared its head and roared.
"Madam Vanessa," Adriana said as the headmistress came to stand beside her.
"Let's try and take this thing down while the students evacuate," Vanessa said.
Seeing that Adriana had the situation under control, Kojo and the others moved to evacuate the students.
The dragon looked at them. It charged up a beam of energy and fired indiscriminately, destroying the nearby buildings.
Vanessa sucked the beam into a portal. Adriana ran forward and made for water disks which spun around her. The dragon hovered and fired blasts of energy at both of them. Adriana used the discs to fire water bullets at the dragon while dodging the swings it made at her, using the water to slide around the dragon to attack. Vanessa made portals around it while firing her magic, deflecting its own attacks at it while hitting it with both her and Adriana's attacks from all directions. Kojo noticed that due to Vanessa's strategy, they were doing more damage. The dragon seems to have gotten used to their attacks and knocked Vanessa away with its tail and fired a beam of energy at Adriana. She made a barrier by enforcing her water discs with arcana, causing a magic circle to appear in front of her. Her barrier began to crack, and the ground on either side of her began to burn. She fell on her knees while trying to maintain the barrier. Sasha appeared in front of Adriana and cut away the beam. Sharone threw a blood spear into its neck. It roared, trying to pull it out. Sharone forced the blood from the spear into its body, causing it to bleed from its mouth and nose. It charged up and fired another beam, but Lin trapped it in a wind barrier. Koniko fired an arrow, and the wind caught fire, engulfing the dragon in a fireball.
"Are you alright?" Kojo asked, helping her up.
"Yes, I'm alright," she replied. Energy beams burst through the fireball Koniko made. She tried to feed it with more power, but it was still breaking up.
The headmistress rushed over. She made a magic circle under her and pulled out a spear from a portal.
"Oh, mother storm, queen of the unending winter, devourer of the dawn and birth giver of the eve, I beseech you,"
As she chanted, a giant magic circle began to form above the academy. Before long, it began to take the shape of a snowflake.
"Cool," Kojo muttered, amazed.
"(That's a pretty powerful spell. Storing data in Archive.)"
"Grant me this request and bind my foe in thy icy grasp and as a testament to your glorious might."
"Ice Fortress of Winter Dread."
There was an omnidirectional blast of cold that froze everything within the magic circle she created, plunging the whole academy into winter. Koniko's fireball became a huge ice formation. Vanessa sighed, lowering the staff as the magic circle faded.
"That should take care of it," she said. She turned to Kojo.
"What the hell!" she yelled at him.
"Huh?" was his confused reply.
"You're supposed to be this nation's champion; you should at least be able to take on a single dragon."
Kojo was unsure how to respond. He unconsciously looked her over. She seemed to be in her early thirties with long black hair.
"She's hot," Kojo thought.
"Hey, what are you looking at?" she yelled at him.
"But she's got attitude."
The ground began to shake. The glacier suddenly broke apart, and an energy wave knocked everyone aside. The dragon seems to have increased in size, with black veins spreading over its golden armor. It gave off a black aura, and its body began to swell. It burst, releasing dozens of mutated beings. It returned to its normal form, but the monsters ran off in other directions.
"You guys go take care of those things. I'll handle the big one," Kojo said.
"Oh,So now you're trying to play hero?" Vanessa said sarcastically. The dragon hovered above them and charged up a beam. Kojo raised his hand.
"Impact."
Gravity increased, and the dragon crashed into the ground. The girls looked at him and nodded.
"Whatever," Vanessa said, teleporting away. The dragon managed to break free of the gravity. The dragon flew up, heading toward the city. Kojo caught its tail with his thread.
Yukio hurriedly walked up to a door. She was about to knock but ended up barging in.
"Oh, Yukio," said a man in robes as he read a book.
"I've received word that there's a dragon currently attacking the Jewel Academy, Bishop. Please give me permission to go and slay that unholy beast," she said.
"That wouldn't be necessary. The church needn't interfere with the carnal matters of this kingdom."
"But we can't just let innocents lose their lives. Regardless of whether they have devotion to the goddess or not, a life is a life. Please, Bishop Rigarde, let me help these people," Yukio said. There was a roar in the distance.
"Do you know why this kingdom holds Dio'ri?" Rigarde asked.
"What?"
"It's so that in the event of war, they'd have their own ace in the hole, a hero, albeit one without the blessing of our goddess." He said and turned to her.
"I heard you sparred with this kingdom's champion, Kojo Atari?" he asked.
"Well, he's pretty strong, strong enough to catch me off guard," she said, holding her shoulder. She remembered the time she fought Kojo on the mountainside and the sensation as the water bullets missed her by mere centimeters. Rigarde noticed this unconscious movement.
"I see," he said.
"He still has a long way to go if he's to aspire to reach my level," Yukio said.
"I've seen what you're capable of. Not many people can become exceptional enough to be remembered by you, so I believe you when you say he's strong. I'm sure he's handling the beast right as we speak," he said, moving towards her. He put a hand on her shoulder.
"I appreciate your zeal and your compassion for others. It shows that you are truly worthy of the goddess' blessings."
"But—"
"All we can do now is pray that the light of Shrena shine upon him in this endeavor. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some things to attend to."
"Right, sorry for bothering you," Yukio said.
"Shalom," Rigarde said, putting his hands together.
"Shalom," Yukio responded, doing the same while bowing.
"If Kojo is strong enough to be acknowledged by Yukio, then I must have underestimated his strength when I sent out that dragon. Yukio's role as a hero, as well as the church having influence over her sister, make her easy to suppress. Kojo, on the other hand. A loose cannon who is acknowledged by the Capitol while maintaining his autonomy could pose a threat to the revival of Lord Minatori. I need to contact the other apostles in order to determine how to proceed."