“Sonia, time to get up.”
“Mmm… Mr. Yide, let me sleep a little longer…”
“You’ll be late for school.”
“Stop tricking me, Mr. Yide, I don’t even have to go to—wait, I actually do have to go to school!”
(」ﾟﾛﾟ)｣
Girl startled awake.jpg
“Ahhh! I’m going to be late!”
Watching the girl hurriedly start her morning routine, Mr. Yide sighed.
It had already been two weeks since that night’s dark duel.
And in those two weeks, Sonia’s life had changed dramatically once again.
Because she was going back to Duel Academy.
It all started with that meeting with Tivia.
At first, both Mr. Yide and Sonia thought Tivia was only joking with her comment.
But, unexpectedly, just two days after meeting Tivia, Sonia received another notice for re-enrollment.
When the notice arrived, both the girl and her spirit were left dumbfounded.
Just like that… she could go back to school again?
Was the Council of Trustees always this casual?
What they didn’t know was that, aside from the Old Principal, there was another woman—someone they’d only met once—who had played a significant role in making this happen.
It was thanks to that woman that the Council of Trustees realized:
Rather than letting Sonia grow stronger outside and return in three years to trample their graduates and tarnish the academy’s reputation, it was better to bring her back now—so in three years, she’d be one of their own graduates.
And so, the notice found its way to Sonia.
Moreover, since Sonia had already made a name for herself at the Seat of the Heavens Duel Arena, and had a chance to be selected for World Tree Exploration as a first-year, the academy offered her extremely generous terms.
She’d receive the same basic treatment as any other student, but if there was a reason, as long as it wasn’t an important class or activity—like a practical combat test—she could skip the rest.
To put it simply: we just want you here. Whether you actually attend classes or not doesn’t matter.
Hearing such freedom, Sonia couldn’t help but complain.
“So what does the academy even want from me?”
Mr. Yide replied, “This is the reality of dealings between adults.”
So, with Mr. Yide’s agreement, Sonia accepted the academy’s offer.
And today was her first day back at school.
“Little Sonia, are you heading off to school?”
“Yep, Uncle Jack.”
“So, are you moving back to the Upper City? Not coming back here anymore?”
“No way, I’ll still come back on weekends and whenever I have free time!”
Bidding farewell to the neighbors, Sonia hurried toward the entrance to the Upper City.
Ringworld City Duel Academy was the only Duel Academy in Ringworld City.
Normally, it only accepted students from noble families in the Upper City. Only on rare occasions would they invite youths from the Lower City, which was why, after Sonia ended up in the Lower City, she thought she’d never get another chance to return.
The Duel Academy wasn’t far from the Upper City entrance, so Sonia managed to reach the academy just before class started.
Sonia: I almost ended up late on my very first day back (ﾟдﾟ)
Classroom.
It was already time for the first period, but the Class Teacher hadn’t arrived yet.
Just as the students were about to start making a ruckus, a disheveled young man walked in.
“Settle down, everyone.”
“Uh… Before we start, I’d like to introduce a new classmate—well, not really new.”
The man scratched his head, as if unsure how to put it, and finally gave up and waved someone in from outside.
“Anyway, Sonia Seth will be rejoining us from today. Please welcome her back.”
A black-haired girl with a single strand of hair sticking up walked in, looking completely at a loss for words.
But the class couldn’t hold back.
“Sonia Seth?”
“No way, she’s really back?”
“Academy, just kill me now. My ranking was low enough already, and now you’re bringing this monster back?”
Cries of shock and wails of despair erupted, sounding less like a welcome and more like prayers begging Sonia not to return.
Sonia hadn’t expected this reaction.
Though she could tell there was no malice in her classmates’ loud lamentations, she was still a little startled.
After a moment, she spoke up in a small voice.
“Um… Hello, everyone. I’m back?”
The young man with dark circles under his eyes looked a bit helpless. “Alright, Sonia, just take your old seat.”
“Okay.”
Sonia nodded, thanked the Class Teacher, and stepped down from the podium.
“Sonia, over here!”
Tivia waved excitedly.
Seeing her best friend, Sonia couldn’t help but tease her.
“Why is it that when I wasn’t in school, you were always taking days off and running around, but now that I’m back, you’re suddenly back at school too?”
“Tivia, were you really just skipping class before to hang out with me?”
“How could you say something so hurtful, Sonia?”
The red-haired girl pretended to cry. “See? Ever since you got Mr. Yide, you’ve forgotten all about me.”
Mr. Yide: “How did this get pinned on me again?”
Mr. Yide didn’t mind the girls’ playful banter.
What he was really curious about was what teachers at this world’s Duel Academy actually taught.
Although he’d been with Loveland before, and the Sissel Kingdom also had a Duel Academy, Loveland hadn’t needed to attend, so he’d never gotten a chance to see inside.
Now that he had the chance, Mr. Yide listened even more intently than Sonia.
After a whole morning of lessons, Mr. Yide realized these teachers actually had something to offer.
Aside from the cultural subjects—which he definitely couldn’t handle—the other classes related to dueling all gave him a fresh perspective.
The teachers might not be top-tier duelists themselves, but when it came to the ins and outs of dueling, they knew it all.
They not only covered most of the effects that had been created so far, but also how to counter them, and even how to combine them into simple combo techniques.
You see, because refining points were scarce and element affinities limited, many duelists in this world might only ever master one or two elements in their lives, with zero understanding of the rest.
Teaching this way might not let students progress as quickly as duelists who just grow wild, but once they graduated, their understanding of dueling would far surpass the average duelist.
With Mr. Yide listening so intently, the whole morning flew by.
Sonia slumped over her desk, turning her head to ask her best friend.
“Tivia, what’s the class this afternoon?”
“This afternoon? No classes. It’s time for cross-grade duels!”
Tivia gave an answer that Sonia hadn’t expected.