Chapter 5.Welcome to the summoners school.(1)

There is only a single empire inthis world: the Karuan empire.

There were no alliances, norwere there nations, thatcould go up against the Empire. It truly was the strongest power inthe world. Andin the heart of this Empire, there were four schools gathered within.

First, there was Arucia, the school of swords.

It could be said to be the place thatproduced about half of the empires knights. It gathers countless talented young men andwomen from prestigious families, andtrains them to become powerful knights. It wouldnt be a stretch to say thatmost of the knights inthe Royal Guard are from this school.

Second, Marcis, the school of magic.

It is the school thathas the most amount of outsiders. It is managed by members thatwere sent from different magic towers spread out inthe empire. Many of its most talented students were often taken away by the magic towers asa result, whichcaused a fierce competition between the imperial palace andthe towers to appear. Althoughits called a school, it resembles a tower more, andit is a place wherepolitical battles are most often seen.

Third, Mercaria, the normal school.

It is a school thatmany of the peasants try to enter. It is a school thattrains future government workers, andbecauseof that, they always take the last place inmost school competitions! Asthe students here are all average, they simply cant win inathletic orcultural competitions thattake place between schools.

The school has often been looked down upon becauseof this inthe past, buthaving produced important government officials inthe recent years raised their status up to the levels nearing the aforementioned schools above.

Lastly, Yugrasia, the school of summoning.

It is a school thatfocuses ontraining summoners, and it is one of the stranger schools inthe Empire. A lot of people think thatsummoners are made forfighting, butthat isnt the case. Each andevery one of summoned beasts have a different specialty, andit wouldnt be a stretch to say thatthese areas of specialty can vary extremely greatly.

Of course, the one whogets favored the most inthe end is a summoner specialized forbattle.

Special summoners whopossess god-ranked beasts are beings thatcan turn the tide of the battlefield inan instant, andthey can get multiple times stronger depending onwhat battlefield they are in. Butthese kinds of summoners only appear onceina decade orso andsince some of them have similarities to wizards, andsome of them have similarities to knights, they are kind of like jacks of all trades.

Whyam I talking about this, you ask?

Youre about to close down the school?

Theyre about to close the school the moment I arrive, hoho.

Apologies, professor Nicerwin. You came all the way here afterhearing our request, andyetyou got greeted with a news like this

Nicerwin Ein.

Hes an honorary professor whos well-respected inthe circle of summoners. Hes also one of the fake identities Ive created inthe past. Butdont get me wrong. Whilethe person himself may be fake, it doesnt mean thatthe rank of the honorary professor is. I managed to attain thatposition purely through my work.

Funnily enough, the summoned beasts of this world were all based upon the creatures andgods thatappear inold mythologies inearth. I used thatfact to my advantage, andwrote myself a essay. Thatearned me a place asa professor. Afterall, knowing a bit more about the beast you encounter whensummoning would help you form a contract with it easily.

I suppose this was one of the few advantages thatI had left from the other world?

Well, thats that. Butin any case.

Why is that?

What should I say we arent really showing good results compared to the other schools?

Are you talking about the other 3 schools?

Yes. The students whoare able to summon armour andweapons are being pressured by those inArucia, andthe students whohave elementals get pushed down by the students atMarcia No, inthe first place, the descendents of noble families atboth schools have summoned beasts already

Afterhearing out what the old man had to say, I organized everything into this:

Many knights andmagicians from richer families have summoned beasts of their own. Andeventhoughthe students inthe school of Yugrasia work their asses off with their summoned beasts, butthe guys atthe other schools are knights/magicians from the start. Their stats outrank thatof the people inYugrasia from the very beginning. Of course, the students of Yugrasia might have a stronger connection to their summoned beasts, buttheir own firepower is severely lacking from. Becauseof that, they always take last place inannual competitions between schools. Andsince they always get terrible scores atnational festivals andsuch, the students whoattend the school has been slowly decreasing? Students whohave talent to become a summoner join Marcis orArucia instead. Thatsays quite a lot.

Is it fine forpeople to summon beasts atdifferent schools?

Its a very dishonourable act, but sincea lot of people are contracted from the start, andsince the four schools pride themselves inletting the people do what they want

We cant interfere?

Right.

Just what is the summoners association saying about this?

The summoners association share close ties with the magic tower

Hah, theres just nothing we can do?

Yes

The geniuses are all going over to different schools, andour only support is not to be trusted.

-Were screwed? What about my freedom, then?!

[I never said we were.]

It just looks like were screwed. Honestly, atthis point, it would be better to bail to a different school. Hell, its just right next door. Butto be honest, its best to join a school like this ata chaotic time!

How long will this school stay up for?

About about 3 years.

The imperial festival Youre planning to keep the school going untilthe festival?

Yes. Eventhoughwe are about to close down, we still have our pride asone of the schools thattook care of education from the early days of the empire.

I see.

I apologize onceagain.

Its fine. Its not like the schools actually closing down yet.

Afterthe assistant principal went away, I moved to my dorm andunloaded my luggage. OnceI did so, the metal bat began to talk again.

-What do we do ifthis place closes? Wed either be merchants orjust be retired. Then what happens to me?! What about my freedom?!

Ive said this before, butthe energy thatthe metal bat uses is something thatgets gathered insmall increments intime. Butwhen it changes form, its efficiency drops significantly. Andif it transforms into a human? No need insaying how little the energy intake is. Ifit isnt a safe place like a school, its hard to guarantee this things freedom. Afterall, my freedom comes first.

[It hasnt closed down yet.]

-But it will soon!

[Its not like we have no way to save it.]

-For real? Seriously? How?

[Thats]

-Thats?

[A secret.]