[TW: boyoyoyoyoing]
...
Grant punched a wall, "FUCK."
His entire life was built off the sword, and although he would have the opportunity to practice the art of the sword in the academy, it wouldn't compare to the growth he could have with actual experience out on the battlefield.
It was too obvious they were trying to bury him before he got any more influential. If Grant, the hero of the empire, collected more fame, power, and allies, it wouldn't be hard to overthrow the emperor. But he just wasn't that kind of person. I'm sure he was beginning to think of overthrowing the emperor now that he's gone and done this, though.
This move wasn't hard to predict, but the fact that he'd never get to be on the battlefield again was hard to face. Leaving the bloody war grounds would normally be something to celebrate, but because Grant was a swordmaster, this was the equivalent to an execution. Riding the tides of battle and ridding evildoers was his character's raison dêtre. Now that he didn't have that anymore, he probably felt lost.
I undid my transformation and sat down on the one guest room's bed, "They really want to get rid of you, huh?"
Grant grabbed a pillow from the bed and threw it on the floor, "Those ******* can suck my ****. I swear I'm gonna rip their **** off and shove them up their *****. ************* who can't do **** for themselves. ***** spreading for emperor ****."
The string of curses didn't stop until the pillow on the floor was completely decimated.
I stared at Grant's pretty eyes for a while before lying completely back on the bed, "It's such a shame the academy is so far from the outer empire. I mean, you could always continue gaining experience by sneaking out at night. It's not going to be as good as the battlefield, but it's something. You could pick up some new techniques too since it's an academy that also dabbles in magic."
Grant fell on the bed beside me, "I guess so. Maybe all hope isn't lost. But still… for them to do this to me even though I've been fighting for them for so long…" his words drifted off as he sighed and shook his head, "Whatever. Not like I can change anything right now."
"Yes, not now. Maybe in the future," I checked out my flawless nails, "We're leaving for the academy tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah. They really want us out of here."
The academy was starting in a few weeks, and it would take around that amount of time for travel. I felt like this coincidence was a bit odd, but I didn't pay too much mind to it.
The hunchback told us a bit about Eldom Academy, or The Great College of Fine Magic Arts, Alchemy, and Swordsmanship.
'What a mouthful.'
The academy would definitely stunt Grant's growth if he took classes on swordsmanship since he's the best in the empire when it comes to that. I doubt they'll have him take those classes, but he might be pushed into magic and alchemy.
Just as magic has its different categories of elements and more, the classes that touch on alchemy at the academy are not limited to the good kind that heal people but also extend to dark creations that may be weaponized. It's an academy that prepares the geniuses of the empire to protect its existence from the other malicious species of the world and maintain the integrity of humanity's territory during disputes.
When I ruled over the Abyss, its size quadrupled, and so, there were many species who viewed me as a threat. They threw everything they had at me, even resorting to uniting together. Since the pressure from ruling that insanely large territory is gone, I'm not too distressed about my loss, even though the territory is in a bit of danger now that I'm not overlooking it. Being a villain is hard.
'The elders of the Abyss should've realized the abandonment of my post and started selecting someone to hold my place right now… I wonder how they will turn out.'
My mind drifted as I rolled my head over to look at Grant not hiding his stare.
I smiled and transformed into my bird form, perching myself on the coat stand by the door.
Although I'd love to relax by Grant, I can't risk getting caught by maids or anyone spying in on us.
He slowly lifted himself from the bed to walk over to my coat stand and caress my head.
"Goodnight, Birdie."
> Goodnight, hero. <
…
Time passed as the uneventful trip to Eldom Academy went by.
We were coming close to the Academy gates when, in my BIRD form, I got off Grant's lap. Let me repeat, in my BIRD form.
I hopped onto one of his broad shoulders to take a peek at the approaching campus. It wasn't too different in structure from the palace, but wasn't as sky-scraping and had more conjoined towers. There was one building that stood above in the center of the campus. I was sure that our destination was the top.
The carriage came to a halt and the coachman opened the door for Grant to exit. He stepped down with nothing but a duffle bag of his armor and artifacts, and his large sword in a sheath on his back. Plus a tiny black bird on his shoulder.
As the coachman drove the carriage away, a girl came jogging over.
Boy was I stunned.
> Holy fuck, her boobs are big. <
Grant tapped my head and looked disgusted at me.
> It's true, though! <
Grant stood as still as a rock and averted his eyes as she made her way to us. I just looked at her, a bit boggled.
She felt oddly familiar to me. The big-breasted lady had pink, flowy hair and sweet, pink, doe-y eyes.
'This appearance… Oh, it's her.'
The title of the cliche third-rate harem novel I've been living in for the past eighteen years of my life, "The Shadow Prince Who is The Descendant of an Ancient Dragon Will Gather Four Sexy Maidens And Prove All of His Enemies Wrong!" had an awfully lazy author. The novel was a complete joke and I only read through to shit on it with my friends.
Because of how lazy the writing was, the character descriptions were extremely simple and rounded to the male audience. I found it really hard to read through and equally hard to forget the female leads' introductions for that reason.
I could remember, clear as day, reading—
[ BOOM! A girl crashed into me, and the jellied toast she had in her mouth fell on my pants! She had pink hair and eyes, but all I could look at were her big soft boobs that jiggled with every move she made! ]
> … <
That was Irene, the bimbo princess of the empire.
"Haaa… Haaa…" Irene panted after her short jog to our location, "Sorry for being a bit late, Sir Brimhorn~! It's Sir Brimhorn, isn't it?" she said sweetly, her voice clear and crisp. She had a charming appearance, and her loose strands of hair could weaken the knees of any male audience. I felt jealous for some reason.
Grant stood firm as he looked her dead in the eye, "Yes. It's no matter. I take it the emperor has ordered you to guide me, your highness?"
"Yes, that's right! Please follow me as I guide you to the grandmaster's office, Sir Brimhorn!" Irene squealed and smiled like a field of flowers.
"... Lead the way," he replied dispassionately.
"Will doooo!" she giggled, "By the way, have we met somewhere before? You seem oddly familiar."
I looked up to see Grant's face, but the angle made it hard to see his expression, "No, I doubt it."
…