After about thirty minutes or so, the assembly hall is starting to fill out a bit more. A fair amount of them are clearly nobles, as they're accompanied by men in knight uniforms. Just as many, however, are clearly commoners - they enter in clusters, without knights, and nervously search for seating, pecking about as though they were lost chicks. I can't help but feel pity for them.

With every student and knight pair that enters, it just cements the idea in my mind that Dame Alex looks better in a Knight's uniform than literally any other knight.

However, as a new knight approaches, and takes his post next to Dame Alex, I realize that I was wrong. This man wears his outfit just as well as Dame Alex does!

He has a similar complexion to Dame Alex, and his dark skin contrasts the yellow and green in his uniform quite well. Remarkably, he has red eyes! I nod to him, and he bows his head. His eyes flash a murky brown. That's new.

"Your Highness - I am Sir Demetrius. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise, Sir Demetrius." Why couldn't I get reincarnated into someone with a cool name like that!?

"Eric?" My attention is drawn by an approaching young man. He seems to be around my age. Something deep within me instantly recognizes him - his name is Michael Turing, the son of Duke Turing. And he's someone that Eric used to call a close friend. I don't remember what caused a rift between them, but it can't be anything good.

"Hello, Michael. Been a while."

"How did someone like you manage to get into the Academy?"

I shrug. "You know how it is - I've got powerful parents. They pulled some strings."

He stops in the middle of sitting down to stare at me.

"You…you're just coming out and admitting that?"

"Yeah. Why should I bother lying about it when it's completely obvious?"

"Your Highness…" The now familiar sound of Dame Alex's sigh comes from behind me.

"In any case…" Michael clears his throat, and turns his attention to the stage. "Just see to it that you don't bring any shame upon the good name of the Academy."

"I make no promises."

Michael glares at me, but before he can say anything more, an aged man walks onto the stage and taps on what appears to be a microphone. When he clears his throat, and his voice is projected throughout the room, it confirms my suspicions. I wonder how it works?

"Greetings, incoming students." His gaze sweeps over the crowd. Many of the students appear to be impressed by the volume of his voice. I suppose that the microphone is a new invention.

"It is always wonderful to see a new set of young faces, with so many of you eager to learn." He clears his throat again.

"My name is Arthur Samuel. As some of you may know, I am the headmaster of this fine Academy.

"Now, I'm sure that many of you have had a rather long journey here, and that you would like nothing more than to retire to your dorms and meet your roommates, before returning for dinner. As such, I will do my best to keep this brief.

"First and foremost, nobility does not matter here. Every student is considered equal. Those of you that are found to be holding your status above others will be punished. The purpose of this institution is not to cement the nobility's position, or to challenge it - it is to elevate all the citizens of Beruzia Kingdom who are willing." A murmur goes through the crowd. I roll my eyes in impatience.

He holds up a hand, and the commotion quickly dies down. Once he's satisfied with the level of noise, he continues.

"While at the Academy, you may focus on one of several tracks of study.

"Firstly - magic, led by Instructor Howell."

On cue, a man in a long, flowing robe walks onto the stage, and bows.

"Secondly - alchemy, led by Instructor Povenmire."

A rather stout man climbs onto the stage, and bows as well. It looks a bit awkward, since he's already pretty short.

"Next, Magical Weapons Engineering, led by Instructor Felmin."

A man riddled with scars climbs onto the stage and takes a bow.

"And finally, the new track - Magical Engineering, led by Instructor Trentor."

I perk up at that. It's almost like it was made for me!

The last instructor climbs onto the stage - a smartly dressed young woman, with a curtain of hair framing her face. She curtsies, and I can't help but think that it looks quite unnatural for her.

"For those of you that are unsure of what you'd like to pursue, you may elect to take a more general array of classes until you have found your passion.

"Now, under your seats you'll find a key with a tag on it. It will lead to your dorm rooms. You can all find your uniforms in the dresses provided.

"For those of you with knight escorts, they will be staying in a room connected to your own."

I reach under my seat, and quickly fish out a key. The tag on it says "Building A - Room D1".

"Tonight's dinner will be held at 8 PM, in the mess hall. I strongly recommend that you be on time.

"Now, you may proceed to your rooms, in a calm and orderly-"

Nearly everyone is on their feet immediately, as I expected. I can't help but smile to myself in nostalgia - I remember being 18…

Well, I mean, I'm technically 18 again - but as Simon, I died at 25, so you know, been there and done that.

"Your Highness…we should go, as well."

I wave her off. "And get caught in the chaos? Nah - let's wait until the hubbub dies down. Besides, we have an assigned room. I bet the commoners don't - poor bastards."

"You're correct that they don't. They'll have to scramble to find a room, and they can't choose their roommates." I turn in surprise. Michael Turing is still here!

"Oh, so you had the same idea, huh?" I stretch my legs for a bit, and then notice that the headmaster and the instructors are still on the stage, taking questions from some students.

I briefly consider approaching to ask my own questions, but decide against it. All of my questions are decidedly technical, and would be better suited to office hours or the classroom.

"So, Michael - what track are you going to focus on?"

"Magical weapons," is his curt response.

"Cool - I'm going to focus on Magical Engineering."

He seems surprised, but he doesn't say anything.

Now that I've run out of topics to discuss, I'm at a loss. I quickly look over at the door, and find that some of the chaos has dispersed.

"Dame Alex, let's go." I stand to go. "See you later, Michael."

"Hrmph."

I ignore him, and carry on my way.

Once we're outside, Dame Alex draws close and lowers her voice to barely a whisper.

"Admitting to His Majesty's influence in such a wasy was very reckless, Your Highness."

I shrug. "Whatever. He already knew that I shouldn't be here, why bother with some bullshit about redemption or whatever?"

"Because without that, the royal family fails to save face. If someone had overheard you, this could have caused a rather large scandal."

I anxiously bite the inside of my cheek. "Yeah...Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry."

She nods, and gives me a bit more space. "Good."

As we continue our walk through the campus, I do my best to take in every little detail. It's absolutely breathtaking - and the clock tower! My God, it's even more beautiful up close!

I end up taking a detour to approach it, and find that there's absolutely nothing stopping anyone from walking inside. I do just that, and take a moment to stare up at the beautiful machinery. No matter what, a giant clock just never gets old.

"Your Highness, shouldn't we continue on to the dorms?"

"Ah! I see you've found yourself enamored with the inner workings of the clock tower!"

I tune out Dame Alex's question as a rather portly man approaches. He has a very kind face, but nothing about him seems soft. He seems like a man that is always very precise.

His eyes flash green as we make eye contact.

"Yeah, man. I love a good clock movement - there's nothing quite like 'em."

His agreement is emphatic. "Indeed! All those gears, moving in perfect synchronicity - it is a beautiful ballet of mathematics!"

Suddenly, there's a rather imposing click from far above. I immediately know what the sound means - my parents had a grandfather clock.

"We should get out of here," I announce, backing out of the building.

"Too true, Mister Moore, too true. I'm quite surprised you could recognize the sound."

"What sound?" Dame Alex looks up in confusion. I usher her along, my pulse rapidly rising.

"That's the hammers being primed - if we're in there when it goes off, it'd blow our eardrums."

Dame Alex sighs. "Then why did we come in here in the first place?"

"Because it's cool!" I pout at her as we quickly retreat to the edge of the square, just as the bells begin to sound. They ring out seven times - 7 PM.

"Your Highness, we need to go to the dorms, now!" Dame Alex seems properly frustrated now. She turns to the man that evacuated from the clocktower with us. "Excuse us, my lord - but dinner is to be served in one hour. I cannot allow for His Highness to be late."

He nods. "I understand. Have a pleasant night." With that, he turns on his heels, and takes his leave.

"Alright, to the dorms?"

"Yes, to the dorms!"

I giggle a little bit. "You sure you don't want to stop by a bench for a quick rest?"

"Your Highness, please, this is no laughing matter. You must make a good impression on your first day here."

I sigh in resignation. I guess I can't joke around with her as much as I thought. "Okay, fine - let's go."

Following the signs, we make our way over to the dorm rooms, taking in the gorgeous campus as we go.