When the thieving boy pulled a dozen or so Magic Jewels out of his pocket, the air around Kira visibly dropped. He felt the eyes of the other examinees on him, filled with a complex, unreadable mixture of emotions. He figured his next few years at the Academy were going to be quite interesting!
Kira couldn't help but click his tongue. "Honestly, a kid who causes this much chaos during the entrance exam is practically the main character of a novel..."
The attack by Grimoire Heart had damaged most of the Demisol Academy buildings, including the main auditorium where the orientation meeting was supposed to be held. This forced Kona, the Headmistress, to temporarily relocate the assembly to a long-unused plaza near the valley entrance.
In the plaza, a few old streetlights flickered with a dim glow, and the ground still radiated some heat. Fortunately, the air in the valley was always clean and clear, and the moonlight was bright, so visibility wasn't an issue.
The 24 soon-to-be students neatly lined up in a 4x6 formation. After a day of travel and back-to-back battles, they had already gotten to know those around them and were now chatting quietly amongst themselves.
The topic of their conversation was mostly along the lines of, "Why does this Academy look so dilapidated?" which made Kona, standing in front, a bit embarrassed.
She couldn't help it; the Academy had just gone through a major battle. Finding an open space in such a short time was already difficult enough.
"Ahem... I am Kona, the Headmistress of Demisol Magic Academy. First, congratulations on passing all three stages of this year's entrance exam..."
As the Headmistress, Kona naturally stepped forward first. Less than two hours after the fighting ended, all traces of her battle aura were gone, and she had returned to her original elegant demeanor. Her kind and gentle attitude quickly won over the new students, making Kira inwardly marvel at her acting skills, which he felt surpassed his own.
Kona began to speak to the new students. Her clear, cool voice quickly captured the children's attention. As the eager new arrivals looked up, she offered them verbal commendations and encouragement.
Kira, along with Hyberion and Org (Gran Doma), stood aside and listened quietly, growing more impressed the longer he listened.
He had to admit, she truly earned her title as a Headmistress of over a decade. She didn't need notes for a speech at such an important event—it just flowed out. Her heartfelt delivery was captivating and inspiring, easily rivaling Makarov Dreyar himself.
"To reassure your guardians and to allow you time to prepare for your enrollment, the Academy has decided to hold the official orientation seven days from now. For everyone's safety, you may rest in the valley tonight. Tomorrow morning, the Academy will arrange for teachers to escort you and the other examinees back to Harms City."
The "other examinees" Kona mentioned were, of course, the students who had failed the test. After sunset, Academy instructors had already brought them into the valley and settled them. Since they were all young children, it was unthinkable to make them sleep outdoors.
---
### 🍻 Back to the City
The next morning, Kona assigned a group of teachers to escort the students back to Harms City, even temporarily halting the Academy's reconstruction work to do so. Kira and the three invited guests were also part of the returning group. Since they were scheduled to conduct a month of teaching afterward, the three did not leave immediately.
With seven days of preparation time before enrollment, they could have chosen to stay and explore the Academy if it hadn't been damaged. But now, Headmistress Kona was busy with the reconstruction and couldn't host them. The magical library was also closed to outsiders. If they stayed, they'd just be supervising construction, so they might as well return to the city.
Back in Harms City, Kira went back to eating, drinking, and having fun, fully enjoying the sights of another city. He visited the food streets, amusement parks, and Magic Item shops—he explored every location. Besides the three children he brought with him, Rufus was now also part of his group.
Although Ikar still occasionally rubbed him the wrong way, their friendship had clearly grown in a strange way.
Meanwhile, Zancrow, Azuma, and Bluenote had been taken back to the Council's prison by Org and Hyberion. Kira wasn't sure if Hades would attempt a rescue, but he was certain this unexpected development would have a significant impact on the original storyline.
"Heh heh heh... I wonder how Ultear is going to explain things to Hades when she gets back. Is she going to say she got lost?" Kira mused about the future of Grimoire Heart while strolling. "Hades really got hit hard. Half of the fighting force he spent years cultivating is just gone."
Besides Hades himself, the Guild's high-ranking battle strength was now down to just Ultear, Meredy, the Image Guy, and the Fat Guy.
The Fat Guy was a simpleton; Meredy's magic was largely ineffective in solo combat, often resulting in a mutual knockout, and she currently had serious psychological issues; and Ultear was busy searching for the truth behind her "Mommy doesn't love me" complex.
"Counting it all up, the only one left with decent power in the entire Guild is the Image Guy, whose name no one can even remember. Pitiful! Though, I have to say, Arc of Embodiment is an incredible magic. I should try to poach him to work for me if I get the chance!"
Kira had been eyeing that magic, which could create money and metal, for a long time!
---
### 🏰 The Perfect Sanctuary
Seven days passed quickly, and nothing eventful happened. On the last day, Hyberion and Org also returned from the Council. According to them, the prisoner transfer went smoothly, and no one attempted a jailbreak in the following days. This left Kira somewhat disappointed; truth be told, he wanted to see Hades fight the Council.
When Kira returned to Demisol Academy with the children for the enrollment orientation, he was astonished to find that the Academy had been largely rebuilt.
Keep in mind, the entire Demisol Magic Academy, including the surrounding valley, covered an area larger than Tenrou Island! This speed of reconstruction was nothing short of incredible.
When he saw Kona again, she was smiling. He soon found out why: she could finally justify building brand-new, elegant dormitory and office buildings.
The buildings had a sleek, sophisticated architectural style and were lavishly decorated and expensive, making Kira incredibly envious.
"Our Academy has a history of over 200 years, and countless famous wizards have graduated from here..."
On the first day of enrollment, Kona, along with Kira and the three invited guests, guided the 24 new students on a tour of the renovated Academy, step by step.
The auditórium, the teaching buildings, the residential areas, the library, the offices, various scenic spots, the battle arena, the food street, the sports field, the hot springs, the Magic Item shops, the farms, and the ranches... After this round of renovation, they had even added places like an amusement park and a movie theater. Everything Kira could think of, and even things he couldn't, was here. It was practically a self-sustaining town, and richer than even Magnolia.
"This is truly the best Magic Academy in the Kingdom of Fiore. They have so much funding! The residents here must be happier than those living in the capital..."
Most of the residents were the Academy's teachers and students. The rest were people either running businesses or possessing special talents in farming, ranching, and other fields—not a single ordinary person. One could say that the people living here were the true high-level talent of the Fiore Kingdom.
Kira sincerely sighed: "This is truly a sanctuary! I should consider retiring here someday!"
Hyberion, holding the ever-present wine glass, recalled, "Academy life isn't as perfect as you might imagine. First, getting admitted is difficult. Second, there are many troublesome rules here. Even if you have the power to avoid detection, you can't just come and go freely. If you're caught, you lose your residency qualifications."
Org nodded and added, "That's right. Even a research-focused person like myself sometimes needs to get out and move around. A person can't stay in the same place forever."
These two, like Kona, were Academy graduates. They spoke with an air of sophisticated familiarity, but Kira just thought they were being pretentious.
"Can't leave whenever you want?" Kira's eyes lit up with delight. "This is a recluse's dream paradise!"
"..."
After the instructor's detailed explanation, Kira finally grasped the true nature of Demisol Magic Academy and the general living conditions of its residents:
The city within the valley is centered around the Academy, and the Headmistress and teachers manage all the citizens. Students are the priority. They can only earn money to sustain themselves by taking on tasks issued by the Academy, similar to taking requests from a Magic Guild. For these young wizards, the costs of food, clothing, housing, and travel all come from these earnings.
Compared to a Magic Guild, Kira felt this way of life was more like the Naruto universe.
The city in the valley was like the Hidden Leaf Village, the Academy was the Ninja Academy, the Headmistress was the Kage, and the students were the ninjas.
The biggest difference between Demisol Academy and a Magic Guild was this: Here, if you don't take requests, you starve. In the outside world, you can always change careers.
It's worth noting that everyone here, from the Headmistress down to the new students, gets a house.
While all students are initially assigned a simple small wooden cabin, this is already the lifelong dream of many people in the outside world. Not to mention, there are many successful examples of students who, through years of effort, successfully upgraded their dwellings from a cabin to a stately house or even a luxurious villa!
Based on this alone, Kira figured Natsu and Lucy would cry if they ever found out.
After all, the place Natsu and Happy lived was far more rudimentary than even the small wooden cabins here!