“Well, I’m off, Your Majesty.”

Jill turned around with a bag slung over her back. Hades, wearing an apron, looked to at her.

“Can I go, too?”

“No.”

“But Rho and Sauté will be your classmates?! Why do I have to stay home with Rave? Moreover, you turned the Dragon Empress’ ring invisible!”

“Praise be the Dragon God Rave.”

The gold ring on her left ring finger symbolized her status as the Dragon Empress. If she couldn’t remove it, the only option was to cast an invisible spell over it. Thus, Jill asked Rave who happily obliged. Only those with a strong enough magical power could see it, just like with Rave.

However, when Hades found out, he bawled.

“Rave, you betrayed me! Why couldn’t Jill insist that it’s a magic tool?!”

Until yesterday, he was excited just being allowed to stay with her and was busy preparing for their new life. But when the time came, he started to whine. It was Hades’ bad habit.

“Well, it’s not like I have a choice. I want to reduce the risk of my being revealed as the Dragon Empress as much as possible. Besides, I’m going to school. I’m a student. It’d be troublesome if they found out I’m betrothed.”

“Why would you say that?!”

“Anyway, we were attacked the day before yesterday. While we don’t seem to have been chased, we mustn’t let our guard down. Please lay low. Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon. I’m just going to greet my homeroom teacher.”

“Is it a man?!”

“Shut up! So noisy! Just stay at home and do the laundry!”

She slammed the front door shut.

“Jiiiiiiiillllllll—!”

She could hear a pathetic voice from inside, but she ignored it and locked the door. Hades was acting spoiled because she paid attention to him.

The housing Vissel had prepared for her was a two-story house. The kitchen, living room, and bathroom were on the first floor while two small rooms were on second.

Honestly, Jill had expected Vissel to prepare a rundown hut for her. Instead, it turned out to be a sturdy house made of bricks. It was also very convenient, since she only needed a short walk to reach town.

I’m a bit suspicious as to why it wasn’t a student dormitory, though…

She heard that most of the students at her academy lived in dormitories. Of course, local kids would commute from home, but Jill, who was from Radea—Rave’s home country—should be able to live in the dorms. The arrangement was welcomed now that Hades was here, but there was definitely something fishy going on.

With a map in hand, Jill went to find a post office. Then, she bought some stamps and asked the counter to deliver a letter to “Vissel.” Although, to be quite honest, it was addressed to a strange woman in the Fairert territory who seemed to be acting as an intermediary.

—The letter simply said, “Thanks to you, I can start a new life comfortably, and tonight’s dinner is salmon aquapazza!”

Jill had no idea what an aquapazza was, but since Hades hadn’t returned, Vissel would surely be able to guess who was making it.

Feeling like she had fulfilled her duty, Jill left the post office and unfolded the map, careful not to bump into anyone.

The town Jill had arrived to was the easternmost town in the Grand Duchy of Leyca. The Governor’s Office was on the largest island opposite of Radea, so it had many impressive public facilities. For example, the city hall that served as the contact point, or the thriving port. It honestly surprised Jill.

Dragons were also flying overhead. Perhaps they were carrying luggage or it was an extracurricular activity. She couldn’t help but notice that they never tried to fly across the vast ocean. Of course, they might be prohibited from doing so to avoid accident at sea, but it seemed suspicious.

So far, there was no news about Jill’s attack. The townsfolk thought it was another military drill. Even if they didn’t pursue Jill and the others, the way they handled it was too clean.

Jill also heard that the imperial army often held military drill.

…I don’t know much about the inner workings of the Grand Duchy of Leyca. I’ve never heard about His Majesty’s younger brother, either…

The central figure who once opposed Hades and changed the course of the war were Listeard and Vissel. There was also Natalie’s brother, who asked Kratos for help and was the direct reason for the outbreak of the war. Nevertheless, he was merely Geraldo’s pawn. According to Geraldo, his “information” was merely bogus research and speculation, nothing useful.

None of that seemed to be of any use in understanding the current status quo in the Grand Duchy of Leyca.

“…Hmm. I wonder if there’s something… anything. Come to think of it, what kind of research was it…?”

“Kyu?”

As Jill was walking, pondering, Rho popped his head out from her bag. Jill suddenly looked up.

Before she knew it, she had arrived before a large iron gate that separated the school from the city. A splendid school building could be seen at the top of the gentle slope.

La Baia Military Academy was the oldest school in the Grand Duchy of Leyca and attracted the most prestigious students.

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***T/N: School arc! School arc! Who’s excited for School arc!

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