Arcadia's Ignoble Knight: The Sorceress' Knights Tournament

Chapter 8

Arcadia's Knight Academy was located in the very heart of the city. It was a colossal mass of interconnecting structures surrounded by a giant wall. Flying buttresses and corinthian columns combined to create an impressive aesthetic. Hallways connected buildings built to look like ancient temples of the old kingdom, the elven kingdom, all of which centered around various courtyards that students could admire while walking to class.

Five towers jutted from the wall that surrounded the academy, forming what, from a bird's eye view, would have been a pentagram. They loomed over the city, these towers, like monolithic guardians standing their silent vigil, or fingers grasping for the heavens.

As Caspian, Elincia, and Christo entered through the main gate, a massive portcullis that used a system of levers and spirit crystals to open and close, his best friend was given her first glimpse of the beautiful cathedral-like buildings that made up the academy.

"Oh, wow!" Elincia gazed upon the beautiful building. "I never expected the academy to be so pretty."

"It's quite the sight, isn't it?" Caspian asked.

Too bad the people who live there don't live up to the academy's splendor.

Elincia nodded. "Yes! It reminds me a lot of home!"

They walked across the courtyard surrounding the main building. Several people were already awake and ready to start their day. Students dressed in the rich civilian wear of nobles walked in the opposite direction, clearly ready to hit the town on their last day off before the week started again. All of them stopped and whispered when they saw Caspian and his companions walk by.

"Who is that?"

"She's beautiful!"

"What is she doing with Sol?"

"How can she stand to be in that guy's presence?"

"The peasant must have seduced her with lies."

"Disgusting."

Elincia's grip on his hand tightened. "Caspian, what are these people talking about?"

Caspian thought about lying, but he knew that wouldn't solve anything. Whether from him or from someone else, Elincia would eventually learn of how his peers thought of him. It was better that she heard the truth from him than from another.

"I told you before, didn't I? That I'm not very well liked around here? It's not just the people in town who dislike me. My peers at school aren't fond of me either."

"B-but why? What have you ever done to them?"

That question had so many answers that Caspian didn't know which one to give. At the start, when Caspian first arrived at the academy, he'd done nothing to earn such hatred. They'd simply despised him because he was a peasant who'd upset the status quo.

These days, Caspian was also hated because, rather than put up with it like he'd done before, he pushed back. If someone insulted him, he returned it with an insult that was twice as vicious. If someone tried to goad him into a fight, he would slander their family's name until they either threw the first punch or wised up.

Fighting wasn't allowed outside of the sparring mat, but that didn't mean it never happened. Caspian always made sure that, should someone pick a fight with him, he never threw the first punch. By goading the people trying to start something into attacking first, he gave himself an alibi by turning it into a case of self-defense. Fortunately, while most of the staff would love to see him gone, the headmaster was always on his side.

"Because they don't want the status quo to be disrupted."

"Wh-what?" Elincia didn't seem to understand.