An Uneasy Beginning (1)

Time flew by, and the day of my enrollment finally arrived.

Since I had finished all my preparations several days ago, all I had to do was check my suitcase, and I had already reserved a carriage. All that remained was saying goodbye to my parents.

"Our dear Isaac. Make sure you keep publishing your books even after you go to the Academy, all right?"

"...You care more about books than you do about me, don't you, Mother?"

"Of course I do."

... ...

"Hehe. I'm only joking. Don't make such a face."

It doesn't seem like a joke. I smiled bitterly. Still, she loved her child dearly, and she did give me a hug.

"Isaac. Your father has a gift for you."

My father was next to say goodbye, and he handed me a pen.

It looked like the fountain pens from my previous life, with a black body and stylish golden trim that immediately drew the eye.

To someone who had always used only nibs, it had a dazzling appearance that made my eyes widen.

When I looked back and forth between the fountain pen and my father, he smiled proudly and explained.

"It's called a Magic Pen. It contains magic that converts mana into ink. As long as you keep it charged with mana, you should be able to use it for the rest of your life."

"I-Isn't this expensive?"

In this world, magic had developed in place of science. Complicated things like machinery and engineering could also be replaced with magic.

However, magic here had not been widely distributed or popularized, so it was mostly used by the upper classes.

Even magic items like this required delicate craftsmanship, so dwarves usually made them by hand.

Therefore, the Magic Pen my father had so readily given me must have been absurdly expensive. It probably cost well over a commoner's living expenses for an entire year. It was a considerable expense even for my father, who held the rank of baron.

"Compared to the money you've earned, this is nothing. And when I thought about what gift to give you, this was the only thing that came to mind. I'm sorry, son."

"Father..."

"Keep writing hard even after you leave. That doesn't mean you should neglect your studies, though. If things get difficult, ask your brother and sister there for help."

My father offered his advice in a warm voice as he placed the Magic Pen directly in my hand. I could feel the touch of hands that had grown as hard as they possibly could after a lifetime of service as a knight.

Then my father gently stroked the bump between the first and second joints of my middle finger. It was the callus I had earned through all my hard work writing, commonly called a writer's bump.

"This can be called a wound of glory too. Daddy is proud of you."

... ...

"This is an honor you earned yourself, not something anyone else gave you. So carry yourself with pride."

"...Yes."

Simply being born and raised under such wonderful parents was both an honor and a blessing. Nothing was more important than growing up under good parents.

Although my family in my previous life had disappeared before I could repay their kindness, that wasn't the case in this life. I shared a heartfelt embrace with my father before boarding the carriage I had reserved in advance.

"Then I'll be off!"

"Take care of yourself! Come visit with your brother and sister when vacation starts!"

"I'll contact you if anything happens! Above all, stay healthy!"

My parents continued watching me until the very end, even after I boarded the carriage. Once I had gotten far enough away, they went back into the estate, but I kept glancing back.

'So I'm really leaving now.'

I looked out at the scenery from inside the jolting carriage. The territory my father managed was so empty that it could easily be called a remote backwater.

Instead, monsters almost never appeared there, and the people of the territory lived happily from day to day, filling the place with laughter and vitality. Besides, since my father had originally been a knight who accomplished terrifying feats, some of the young men even sought him out personally for training.

Whenever I was writing, I would often hear the sound of wailing from outside, but most of those people were aspiring knights training under my father. As far as I knew, my father had personally sponsored some of the more talented ones to attend the Academy.

'I won't be able to see that anymore, will I?'

What should I call this feeling...? I couldn't express it with a single word.

I was excited, but I also wondered whether I, who had hardly interacted with anyone until now, would really be able to adapt. After all, this was a completely different world from the one I knew.

People say that everywhere humans live is essentially the same, but I had no idea whether that common sense applied here too. This was a world where social status actually existed, so there were far too many variables.

'What's the point of worrying about it now?'

I decided to put my mind at ease. No one in this world had the slightest idea that I was the author of The Chronicle of Xenon, and all I had to do was behave like a diligent student.

I didn't know what I would learn at the Academy, but my goal was to study hard and earn a scholarship. If trouble arose during my time there, I could simply tell my older brother or sister.

'First, I should find my brother and sister.'

My sister had navy hair, but my brother's hair was red like our father's, so he would be easy to find. Red hair wasn't common in this world. His golden eyes, which shone like those of a wild beast, would make him even easier to spot.

I leaned comfortably against the backrest, then suddenly thought of something and asked the coachman.

"Sir, how many hours will it take to reach the Academy?"

"If the weather is good, it should take about ten hours."

"That's shorter than I expected. I thought it would take at least a day."

"The territory managed by Baron Maishal is close to the capital. Besides, this territory simply hasn't been developed yet; full-scale development will begin five years from now."

Ten hours... That was just the right amount of time to read a few books or take a nap. Still, it didn't change the fact that it was an extremely long journey.

When I first reincarnated, I once wondered how I could make good use of all the excess time I had. The result was books.

Sometimes, though, I wished science had advanced just a little further. Even dwarves, whose craftsmanship surpassed that of humans, focused their efforts on making superior weapons and items while putting transportation on the back burner.

'Should I add this to The Chronicle of Xenon? As a masterpiece created through the combined efforts of dwarf craftsmen.'

This wasn't a bad idea either. Dwarves were full of eccentrics who crafted magical weapons so novel they bordered on bizarre. So long as they had a goal related to transportation and the supply of goods, along with a suitably depressing past, the premise would be convincing enough.

I had once heard from my father that among dwarves, the relationship between master and apprentice was no different from that between parent and child, and that it was their tradition for an apprentice to succeed a master after the master's death.

Even if the work was something everyone pointed fingers at them for, they tended to endure it to the very end. That made it easy to see why there were so many eccentrics among the dwarves.

'That should be enough of a tragic backstory. I can set it up as a steam locomotive powered by burning mana.'

I scribbled the idea in my notebook with the Magic Pen my father had given me. I had also made a habit of recording things so I wouldn't forget them in my previous life, so I used a notebook for that purpose now.

'I don't even know how it works, so it's not like I'd really build one, right?'

Let me make this clear in advance: I'm a liberal arts major. What do I know about machines?

I could simply describe it well enough for readers to imagine it roughly, and if that proved too difficult, I could add illustrations.

For the record, I'm surprisingly good at drawing too. When I first published The Chronicle of Xenon, I even included a world map to make it easier for readers to understand.

Of course, I couldn't call myself exceptionally skilled, but it was good enough to encourage immersion. Drawing them myself was fun as well, so I included several illustrations whenever a book was published.

'It has that old-fashioned novel feel.'

Before web novels became popular in my previous life, paperbacks often included several illustrations to help readers understand the world. They made it easier to become immersed in the story.

After recording the steam locomotive's design in my notebook, I checked whether the ink had dried. The ink in the notebook dried quickly, as expected of something so expensive.

I felt pleased that my father had given me something so nice. After that, I focused on reading until we arrived.

"Sir?"

... ...

"Sir?"

"Yes?"

While I was absorbed in my reading, the coachman called out to me. I closed my book for a moment and lifted my head.

"We'll be arriving at Halo Academy soon."

"Huh? Already?"

"Hahahaha. Already? Ten hours have passed. Your concentration is frightening."

The coachman said that with a hearty laugh. I scratched my head awkwardly before glancing out the window.

"Wow..."

It was a city—and the capital at that. Even the streets were utterly different.

Back home, most of what you saw when you went outside was fields or farmland, but this place was packed with buildings. The architecture, the pedestrians walking down the streets—it all made me feel as though I had come to Europe.

Every now and then, I saw knights wearing metal armor and mages carrying staffs. They seemed to be in charge of security.

"If you look ahead, you'll be able to see Halo Academy."

"Where...? Oh."

As the coachman said, I looked ahead and spotted a building with an especially unusual structure. My impression of it was simple.

'...Is that Hogwarts?'

I wasn't exaggerating. Hogwarts from Harry Potter was standing there in plain sight. It was the size of a castle, complete with conical roofs, and it had exactly the appearance of the Hogwarts I knew.

Of course, it wasn't completely identical, and there were slight differences here and there, but they weren't significant.

'Surely the magic incantations aren't something like abracadabra, right?'

I had never seen a mage with my own eyes, so I even found myself wondering about that.

"We've arrived. I hope you have a pleasant time here."

"Thank you. You've worked hard."

After I got off the carriage, the coachman gave me a gentlemanly bow. I bowed according to proper etiquette as I had been taught at home.

The coachman smiled once more before turning around. I watched him walk away for a moment, then turned around myself.

"Whoa..."

Even though I tried not to show it, a gasp of admiration naturally escaped my lips. Anyone who had come from Earth would understand how I felt.

With a fantasy civilization that had existed only in comics and novels standing before me, who wouldn't be amazed? I had felt it even from a distance, but this wasn't a university so much as a castle.

"...This isn't the time for that."

I hurriedly came to my senses and looked around. People who appeared to be incoming students were already heading toward the main gate.

Every now and then, I also saw people wearing matching outfits—in other words, school uniforms. They were probably current students. Uniforms were only issued to incoming students, after all.

I calmed my pounding heart and started walking toward the gate. As I moved, my suitcase full of luggage made a dragging sound behind me.

"Oh my! Look over there! Isn't that Crown Prince Leort?"

"It really is. He's handsome no matter how many times you see him..."

"Is that Princess Rina beside him?"

"Probably. The princess is beautiful too. I'm jealous."

Suddenly, the atmosphere grew noisy. The people heading toward the Academy entrance stopped in the middle of the road and stared in one direction.

I also turned my head to see what the commotion was about. A man and a woman were walking side by side, exuding such dazzling beauty that they seemed to make one's eyes hurt.

"...Oh."

So people could really look like that. I prided myself on being fairly handsome, but standing in front of that man, I felt I had to concede defeat.

And what about the woman walking beside him? Wearing a pure-white dress, she radiated a beauty that rivaled even the elves, who were called incarnations of beauty.

The unusual thing was that both of them had blond hair and blue eyes. Their impressions were somewhat different, but anyone could tell they were siblings.

"...More importantly, they're the Crown Prince and Princess?"

The two who had said in the newspaper that they would drag me off and rough me up? Just as I was thinking that, someone ran up and clung to them.

She was a cute girl with wavy brown hair and round eyes, and her relatively small frame made her resemble a squirrel.

"Lord Leort! It's been so long!"

"Hmm? You are..."

I wasn't imagining it: Leort's expression cracked for a moment.

Regardless, the brown-haired girl clung even more tightly to Leort. Since she even subtly linked arms with him, it seemed she wanted to emphasize her familiarity with Leort to everyone around them.

However, Leort remained indifferent even after the girl linked arms with him. The girl then spoke in a bright, ringing voice.

"It's me, Sophia! Do you remember me?"

"...Ah, Lady Sophia. Of course I remember you."

It was a lie. Anyone could tell from his artificial smile. The Crown Prince was extremely displeased.

Then again, anyone would get angry if a stranger suddenly clung to them while they were walking down the street. Even more so if the stranger's intentions were so obvious.

Unfortunately, it seemed Lady Sophia was either oblivious or had two lives to spare, because she pressed herself even closer to him.

She even looked moved.

"Y-You remember me! Honestly, I thought you wouldn't...!"

"How could I fail to recognize a small and adorable lady like you?"

"Ahh...!"

Wow, look at him lie shamelessly without even a hint of hesitation. With that voice and that face, anyone would fall for it.

Of course, acting it out must have been incredibly difficult.

'Even the Crown Prince has it rough.'

For some reason, I felt sorry for him and chuckled inwardly before moving on. This was a story from a distant land to me, and meddling would only bring trouble.

"R-Right! Lord Leort, you read the latest volume of The Chronicle of Xenon too, didn't you?"

That was until Sophia asked that question. I stopped dead and looked back toward Leort.

As soon as The Chronicle of Xenon came up, Leort's expression brightened considerably. That was only natural, considering he loved it enough to threaten to lock me in the imperial palace.

"Of course. Did you read the new volume as well?"

"Of course I did! But that ending... I was angry because it felt like the author was playing with the readers' feelings. You agree, don't you, Lord Leort?"

"That only means the author is talented enough to move people's hearts. I was angry after reading the ending too. So was my younger sister."

"Princess Rina was too?"

Sophia's gaze shifted toward the princess—in other words, toward Rina. Rina smiled sweetly and answered.

But her gaze wasn't directed at Sophia. It was pointed toward Leort.

"Brother. Did you really have to mention that? It's embarrassing."

Why are you dragging me into this? That was what it sounded like.

However, Leort was no pushover either.

"Hobbies are more fun when you share them."

Let's suffer together. That was what it sounded like.

Despite their gentle tones and refined language, it seemed that the essential nature of siblings didn't change no matter where they went.

"How did you two feel after reading the ending? Just like it said in the newspaper..."

"Ah, that? I wrote it in a fit of anger, so you needn't worry about it too much."

"It was the same for me. There's no need for you to worry about it, Miss Sophia."

That was wonderful news for me. I sighed in relief, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

Well, who in their right mind would write something like that in a newspaper...

"I was half serious about wanting to lock the author in the imperial palace, though. Hahaha."

... ...

I absolutely had to avoid getting involved with those bastards—or even running into them.

Deciding that there was nothing more worth hearing, I moved my legs quickly and hurried away.

'No, wait a second. Is the princess enrolling too?'

Now that I thought about it, things seemed even more fucked.

I absolutely must not get caught.