Chapter 51: The Secret Meeting, and an Order to Enroll

The reception hall of the Solaris Palace was flooded with morning light pouring through stained-glass windows etched with the royal crest.

Emperor Alaric de Solaris sat in his red velvet throne, a cup of white porcelain rose tea in hand. Across from him at the small tea table sat Sword Emperor Regulus — today shedding his usual sloppy house robes for an expensive black pinstripe suit from Vance Commerce, carrying himself with all the gravitas of the continent's leading business magnate.

The two men who held the empire's supreme military and political power sipped their tea leisurely, like two old friends catching up.

Lucian stood with his hands clasped off to the side of the table, his eyes occasionally drifting toward the jade-inlaid iron chest in the corner of the room — the one holding the five hundred thousand gold championship prize.

Every formality had been completed. The Royal Vault had cleared the funds. All he had to do was pick up that chest, climb into a carriage back to the Vance estate, lock his bedroom door, and sleep for three full days and nights to make up for the exhausting stretch he'd just been through.

Alaric set his teacup down on its saucer, glanced at Lucian, then turned to Regulus, his voice warm.

"The five-hundred-thousand-gold Tournament Championship prize is yours. The Treasury has completed the disbursement."

Lucian's attention immediately returned to the chest.

Alaric slid a second, red-wax-sealed scroll across the table.

"Separately, the Crown is offering you a full Academy scholarship, unrestricted access to the Grand Tower of Knowledge, and a royal research grant — on the condition that you enroll next term representing House Vance."

Ting!

A System v2.0 notification appeared in front of Lucian.

[NEW LONG-TERM QUEST: THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC NETWORK]

• Location: Solaris Royal Academy (Rank A — Legendary).
• Objective: Decode 5 Ancient Languages archived in the Grand Tower of Knowledge.
• Stage completion reward: High-Tier Skill Fusion opportunity.

Before Lucian could get a word of refusal out, Regulus slammed a hand down on the table with a bang, laughing loud enough to shake the whole hall.

"Deal! An excellent decision, Your Majesty! My boy's gotten far too lazy lately — all he does is lie around the house counting his money! Tossing him into the Academy under Princess Eleanor's strict watch is exactly the discipline he needs!"

Lucian stood frozen where he was, staring wide-eyed at his own father, the Sword Emperor.

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"Dad! I just repaired the barrier and saved this entire nation yesterday! Why are you shipping me off to fancy kindergarten today?!"

Regulus turned and shot Lucian a mischievous wink, then lowered his voice to explain the actual economics of the situation.

"With you officially enrolled, Vance Commerce can sponsor your research division through the Academy and classify the whole thing as educational development expenditure. Research access, corporate prestige, and a perfectly legal tax deduction!"

Regulus grinned.

"Three birds. One tuition form."

Lucian went completely speechless in the face of his father's shameless, cunning genius.

Click.

The oak door of the reception hall opened.

Eleanor walked in. She wore the elegant navy-blue-and-black knight's uniform of the Solaris Royal Academy, a gold crown-shaped badge pinned to her chest marking her as Student Council President. Her golden hair fell loose over her slender shoulders, radiating proud, absolute authority.

She walked up to Lucian and stopped half a step away, the corner of her mouth curling into a sharp smile.

"Welcome to Solaris Academy, classmate Vance. As Student Council President, I look forward to giving you very thorough 'attention' throughout the coming school year."

Lucian looked at her radiant smile and felt a cold chill race straight up his spine to the top of his skull.

Behind them, the assembled ministers and nobility watched the scene unfold, nodding to one another in admiration, murmuring back and forth.

"House Vance and the Crown are tying themselves together through the Academy."

"After what happened at the barrier? Of course they are."

"And the Princess is Student Council President. She'll be watching him personally."

Lucian pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a long, mournful sigh.

He had absolutely no desire to become the poster child for some royal–Vance political alliance. He was simply the collateral damage of a large-scale corporate tax dodge cooked up between his father and the Emperor.

The Solaris Royal Academy was no ordinary school. It was a miniature political battlefield — a place where neighboring empires, Sword Saint families, and the great trade guilds sent their finest heirs to serve as "peace hostages" while competing for control over the region's resource-rich dungeons.

But there was one thing no one could have guessed: hidden somewhere among that academy full of magical prodigies and arrogant nobles... was a second transmigrator from Earth.

...

That night, in the bedroom of the Vance family suite.

Sylvia moved briskly, packing bags, carefully sealing scrolls of ancient-language documents into a leather trunk. Astra sat on the bed, excitedly trying on the brand-new Academy uniform that had just arrived for her.

Lucian sat at his desk and pulled the small blue-black simili-covered notebook out of his spatial ring.

He opened to the first page — where the unknown Earthling's ridiculous to-do list still sat.

He turned to the second page.

On the yellowed, ruled paper, another line of handwriting in blue ballpoint ink stood out clearly in the candlelight:

'If you can read this, meet me at the Academy Library, Section 4. Don't act like a hero, you nerd.'

Lucian stared at the short line of English, the corner of his mouth slowly curling into a delighted grin.

He closed the notebook and tapped it lightly against the wooden desk.

"Alright then... let's see if you're a programmer, an engineer, or just another poor bastard grinding KPIs like me."