Chapter 65: Leaving for the Academy

Breakfast around the table was a little quieter than normal, and Arlo found it more than a little uncomfortable.

He might have even collapsed under the pressure if not for the fact that he was also a prince and was already somewhat used to such situations back in Umbrasol.

But the silence didn’t last forever.

"I have a trick question for you, Arlo," King Eboncrest suddenly called out, causing Arlo to raise his head and turn toward him.

"A... trick question?"

"Yes. Why do you want to go to the Cthulhu Academy?" the King asked, causing Arlo’s eyebrows to furrow.

If he remembered correctly, it was King Eboncrest and Queen Isadolla who had suggested that he attend the academy as he was too young for duties around here.

That was the reason they had wanted him to go to the Cthulhu Academy in the first place.

"Personally, want to grow strong," Arlo replied, drawing the curious gazes of everyone around the table.

"Strong?" King Eboncrest asked as Arlo nodded.

"Yes. Strong."

"How strong?" Prince Demois butted in, causing Arlo to look him directly in the eyes before answering.

"Strong."

"Wow. Just strong?" Queen Isadolla asked as Arlo nodded once more.

"Now that is a good goal," King Eboncrest said with a wide grin.

"That said, Arlo, the Cthulhu Academy is currently in one of the most tumultuous eras since its creation," Queen Isadolla said, causing Arlo’s eyebrows to crease slightly.

"In what way?"

"There are strange existences beginning to appear within the Cthulhu Academy. Dangerous existences whose purpose has yet to be identified," she said, and Arlo’s furrowed eyebrows gradually relaxed.

"What should I know about them?" he immediately asked.

Judging from Queen Isadolla’s wording, he could tell those existences weren’t things he was meant to know everything about, so he might as well get straight to the point and learn exactly what he needed to know.

"When you arrive at the Cthulhu Academy, you might begin noticing special cults among the Vorath. They will offer you promises of respect or strength in exchange for joining them."

"You must be careful and properly investigate them before deciding to join any of those cults," Queen Isadolla warned as Arlo nodded.

"Or don’t join any cult at all. Then you’ll be safe," Prince Demois added, giving what Arlo considered to be an important piece of advice.

"I won’t join any dangerous group," Arlo firmly assured them.

At that moment, the sound of footsteps echoed out.

Turning toward the entrance, they saw a messenger kneeling before them.

"It has been completed, Your Majesty," he reported.

The King waved him away, and after giving a respectful bow, the messenger quickly disappeared.

"Your runic teleporter to Eldorin Settlement has been completed," the King said, turning his attention toward both Arlo and Milliani.

Eldroin Settlement, if Arlo remembered correctly, was where the Cthulhu Academy was located.

Unlike the humans, who preferred calling their territories Sectors, the Vorath had different names for them, usually based on the name of the royal family that ruled that continent.

This place, for example, was known as Eboncrest Settlement rather than Sector U, as the humans called it.

"You will be accompanied by five guards all the way to the gates of the academy. I also hope you pass the exam, Arlo."

"If you don’t, you have no reason to worry. You can always return to the palace," Queen Isadolla said as Arlo nodded.

"I’ll be leaving you under his care, Milliani. You both try to avoid trouble as much as possible in the academy, and Arlo...don’t stick out too much."

"I’ll try my best," Arlo replied curtly.

"Good. Then you both better get going."

________________

The teleportation room was just like the one Arlo had seen before when he first arrived at the palace with Prince Demois

It was a simple dark room with strange green runic lines covering the ground.

Entering after the five guards who were already standing within, Arlo turned toward the right, where King Eboncrest and Queen Isadolla could be seen standing.

"You’d better take back your record, you roughneck, or you won’t be allowed back into my castle!" Queen Isadolla yelled at Milliani, who simply rolled her eyes.

The runic lines soon lit up with a bright green light, and after giving them one last wave, a pillar of light burst out from beneath their feet.

Arlo closed his eyes against the sudden brightness, and in the next instant, he felt himself become weightless as the feeling of solid ground beneath his feet rapidly disappeared.

The teleportation took quite a while, with the intense pressure around his body only becoming worse and worse, but soon, everything became like a fading dream.

The moment he finally felt solid ground beneath his feet again, Arlo opened his eyes and looked around the room, seeing the dark ceiling and equally dark tiles covering the entirety of the place.

Around him were Princess Milliani and the five Vorath guards, all dressed in such ordinary clothing that it would have been difficult for anyone to even realize they were guards.

"This way, my lady," one of them said, taking the lead.

They exited the room and walked down a short flight of stairs before an ancient door was opened, allowing Arlo to finally see the main Vorath street.

"Strange, they don’t use cars," Arlo mused to himself after noticing there wasn’t a single car anywhere on the streets.

Most of the Vorath used horses, while some rode other strange creatures, including massive cats and enormous lizards.

The environment on the street was almost no different from the one in Sector F, with Vorath children running around, stalls spread everywhere as the arguments of traders and customers echoed through the area, while others simply walked through the streets in groups of twos and threes, their laughter mixing with the sounds of greetings.

"So, what do you think of a pretty normal Vorath street?" Princess Milliani asked as she came to his side.

Arlo simply nodded.

"Just like an ordinary day in Sector F," he casually replied, but suddenly noticed something as he turned his head behind him.

All he could see were Vorath moving through the streets.

"Hmm, where are they?" Arlo asked after noticing that the five guards who had previously been following them were nowhere to be seen.

"Don’t worry about it. They’re around," Princess Milliani said, placing her arm around his neck before dragging him into the crowd as their figures quickly disappeared among the Vorath.

__________________

Thirty minutes later...

"So, um, where is the Cthulhu Academy?" Arlo finally asked after they had continuously walked for around thirty minutes.

"Why the crazy rush? Besides, it’s really close by," Milliani replied as they continued moving through the streets.

But the more they walked, the farther they moved away from the crowded areas, and the number of people around them gradually began decreasing until they finally arrived before a forested area, where a large bridge could be seen stretching over a massive body of water.

"The Cthulhu Academy’s territory is just at the end of this bridge," Princess Milliani said as they stepped onto it and continued walking forward.

Yet, Arlo soon began feeling something strange.

A strange feeling that seemed to ring a bell somewhere in his mind.

"Um, Milliani. I’m not sure, but isn’t today supposed to be the resumption date for the Cthulhu Academy?" Arlo asked.

Princess Milliani shook her head.

"No. It’s actually tomorrow. Still, it’ll be better to arrive a day earlier," she concluded.

Arlo’s eyes furrowed even more.

"And don’t you find it suspicious that there’s no one on this bridge? Not even a single soul?"

"Huh?"

Only then did Milliani seem to notice the strangeness.

Even though today wasn’t the official resumption date, many students would still be crossing this bridge since there was no way they could arrive in Eldorin tomorrow and still make it to the academy on time.

Yet now, the entire bridge was completely deserted, with not a single person anywhere in sight, not even the regular merchants who worked within Cthulhu City.

"Hmm, that’s really strange. Perhaps there’s a festival going on?" Princess Milliani said, simply shrugging it off before continuing forward and dragging Arlo along.

But after another ten minutes of walking, Arlo forcefully stopped.

Princess Milliani turned toward him with a raised eyebrow.

"What is it?"

"There’s something around here. Something strange," Arlo muttered.

Milliani released him from her grasp, and the two turned to look around the area.

Yet, aside from the flowing water below, there was nothing else to be seen for miles.

"Milliani, where are the five guards?" Arlo repeated the question Milliani had brushed off earlier.

"They only show themselves in times of danger," Princess Milliani answered.

Arlo’s eyebrows furrowed.

’For them to be able to show up in times of danger, they would have to be close enough to watch out for unexpected attacks.’

’Yet we’re standing in the middle of a bridge, and they are nowhere to be found. That’s not normal at all...’ Arlo thought.

Suddenly, his expression changed.

Both he and Milliani turned toward the distance, where they saw five figures walking in their direction.

"Well, there they are. Satisfied now?" Princess Milliani said, rolling her eyes before continuing forward.

Arlo, however, didn’t move a single inch.

He stared intently at the five approaching guards, then suddenly, he noticed something:

A strange quickness in their footsteps.

His brows furrowed as he continued quietly staring at them, and suddenly, Arlo’s nose twitched and it instantly dawned on him.

"They are not the guards..."