I stepped into a sparsely filled classroom. There were less than ten students in there at the moment, a total of ten if you counted me. This was more than in the game, where there were nine students. The floorboards squeaked slightly when I stepped over them. A faint scent of the oil that was used to clean the wood filled my nose.

  Seeing Augusta sitting in a corner of the class, I waved to her. She gave me a cold and yet amused gaze. Augusta waved back, but there wasn't much emotion in it.

  As expected of her, she's so cool!

  "Hey," a voice came from behind me.

  I turned to see that Robert was right there.

  "Whatever you do, don't sit next to her," he commanded. "She is a princess. Even trying to do that as a commoner will get you a beating at best."

  "Don't worry. I wasn't planning on sitting next to her," I assured him.

  Truth be told, in the game, there is only one seat you can take as Dante. It was right in the center of the room, two seats away from the nearest classmate. I saw no reason to change it. So, I walked over and sat down.

  Robert, Janek, and Millia took their seats soon after I did. They sat separate from the others, too.

  I made a mental note to remember to get magic after the first day was over. There was a way to do that, and I'd have to take advantage of it if I wanted to live. You don't get taught magic in formal classes in The Duke's Duplicity's setting. Alternative means of learning were needed.

  The first teacher came in after a few moments. He was a tall man with grey hair and a long beard. Robes decorated his body, and he had a slight smile on his face. There was a smell of exotic perfumes wafting from him.

  "Welcome, class," he said. "I am Ouren Lishenski, and I am your first teacher. The topic I teach is history."

  Ouren walked over to the podium in front of the desks before continuing to address us.

  "I am aware that some of you are not from the Kingdom of Katow. That is normal. Our academy teaches many foreign students, even foreign royalty."

  The teacher, after a moment of hesitation, gave Augusta a nod. She ignored him, so cool.

  "That is a proud part of our tradition. As such, our history classes will focus on subjects that lead into the modern era of many places rather than hyper-fixating on one country," Ouren stated.

  His smile then widened.

  "But first, let's focus on some history that impacts the students of this school specifically. It is called King Casimir Academy. Does anyone here know how it got its name?"

  Janek raised his hand.

  "Yes, you, Janek," Ouren nodded.

  The boy blinked in shock.

  "I did not think you would know my name so soon," he said.

  Ouren chuckled.

  "Do not worry. I memorize the names and appearances of all my students before class starts," he waved it off. "Now, tell us how King Casimir Academy got its name."

  Janek nodded and explained.

  "It was named after its founder, King Casimir the Great of Katow, the kingdom we are currently in."

  Ouren nodded.

  "That is correct. King Casimir the Great is Katow's most celebrated monarch. He highly valued education and believed that everyone, noble and commoner alike, had a right to knowledge."

  A loud scoff came from Robert's mouth. Ouren turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

  "Is something the matter, Robert Baker?" he asked.

  "I just find it hard to believe that any noble could be that altruistic, especially to commoners," Robert answered.

  "You are studying here now, and you are a commoner," Ouren pointed out. "And our records show that commoners have attended this school ever since King Casimir the Great founded it. Is that not proof enough of his benevolence, especially since other kings of his time did not try to give commoners any education?"

  Robert folded his arms.

  "No, it isn't," he said.

  Ouren nodded. A look of surprise crossed Robert's face. I was shocked too when I saw this scene in the Duke's Duplicity.

  "That is understandable. Humans can have alternate motives for seemingly benevolent actions So, tell me, what would be proof enough to you?" the teacher asked.

  "I...I don't know," Robert admitted

  He looked away, shame crossing his face.

  "Then, take some time to study King Casimir the Great. Look into his actions using both records from Katow and other kingdoms," Ouren recommended. "Then, come to a conclusion based on what you find."

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Robert nodded slowly.

  "Al-Alright. I will," he said.

  Ouren then turned to the other students.

  "I am aware that many of those present are nobles. Hierarchy must be observed, that is a simple fact of society, but be fair to the commoner students here. While you are at King Casimir Academy, you are a student first and everything else second. Is that clear?"

  Every student in the room nodded. Even Augusta did, so I guessed that she was taking her education seriously. Good.

  Ouren smiled. He then stretched out his arms in a wide gesture.

  "Now that this is clear, let us move on to history that affects everyone," he stated. "We shall start with the oldest civilization that we know of: the Plenomians."

  His expression then turned sad as his arms fell back to his sides.

  "Of course, 'Plenomians' is the foreign name for these people. Their written language has yet to be deciphered, so we do not know what they called themselves," Ouren said.

  He then gestured behind himself. A large map was lowered from above.

  "This is the latest map of Avur. The regions shaded in red are where we presume the Plenomian borders were at their height," Ouren explained. "This is a best guess based on where Plenomian ruins were found and the records of civilizations we know the languages of."

  I heard a few gasps around me. Several people spoke.

  "Wow, I can't believe the Plenomian kingdom was so large."

  "That's amazing! An empire of that size so long ago!"

  "How could something that large and powerful possibly fall?"

  A student raised his hand. He had red hair done up in a ponytail and green eyes. His school uniform was decorated with jewelry, and there was a saber on his hip. An emerald was embedded in its pommel.

  I recognized him as Prince Boleslaw, the Crown Prince of Katow. He didn't do much in the first act of the game, so I always assumed he would do more later. He'd probably be a valuable ally too. That is, if I could get him on my side.

  "Yes, Your Highness?" Ouren asked.

  "Do we know what sort of government the Plenominas had?" Boleslaw questioned.

  "Some of the records from other societies mention Plenomian kings. However, that does not provide much insight. They make no mention of whether the Plenomians were unified under one king or if they had many. The Plenomian civilization is also much older than any of the societies that wrote records about them. It could be that the Plenomian monarchy was a fairly recent development when those societies wrote about them."

  Then, Augusta raised her hand. Ouren flinched away before speaking.

  "Yes, Your Highness?"

  "Are there any Plenomian ruins in this city?' she asked.

  Ouren tapped the part of the map where King Casimir Academy presumably was.

  "We have found some scant evidence of a Plenomian presence," he answered. "However, there is no evidence that they made anything larger than a trading post here."

  Augusta lowered her hand.

  "I see," she said.

  Ouren then resumed his lecture.

  "The Plenomian civilization's exact start and end dates are unknown. Traditionally, it is said that they fell 3,000 years ago. However, it is possible that some outposts of their civilization endured longer than that. As for the cause of their fall, the ancient sources give different accounts. Herendus of Seluvia claims a magical mishap brought about their end. However, Emperor Valsuvius of Ren claims that barbarian invaders destroyed their civilization. Meanwhile, oral traditions from Thule say that a great beast destroyed the Plenomians."

  He addressed the class with a wide gesture.

  "Now, can anyone here tell me the difference between these sources?"

  I raised my hand with excitement flashing through me. Now was my chance to impress Augusta! While I might have avoided spoilers, I also read every in-game lore book I could get my hands on!

  "Yes, Dante," Ouren nodded.

  "Herendus of Seluva is often criticized for being an unreliable source because he was dedicated to writing down everything he learned in his studies. And even he admitted that he didn't believe everything he wrote. However, Herendus also includes details that were confirmed by primary sources that other ancient historians omitted."

  The teacher smiled wide.

  "Very good. Go on," he said.

  I did as commanded.

  "Emperor Valsuvius of Ren is considered an incredibly reliable source for most things. However, his reliability is called into question where alleged barbarians are concerned. Ren was under attack by people they called barbarians during his reign, so he may have had a political agenda in cases where he mentions barbarians. He was also writing centuries after the Plenomians fell."

  Then, I shrugged.

  "As for the Thule sources, oral traditions are considered innately unreliable by a majority of scholars. However, the Thule tribes take great care to make sure their passed-down stories are accurate. Whether or not they succeeded is the subject of much scholarly debate."

  Ouren nodded with a wide grin.

  "Very good, Dante. You understand the subject matter incredibly well," he said. "What all this leaves us with is a lack of fully reliable sources on the fall of the Plenomian civilization. Thus, putting their ultimate downfall under a layer of mystery that has yet to be solved."

  I took a quick glance at Augusta. Her gaze was focused on the teacher. Dammit! Not that I could blame her for it, but it seemed that my attempt to impress her failed.

  That's when I remembered something. In the game, Millia was constantly raising her hand and answering questions. She was noted as being highly intelligent and very learned. What was she doing right now?

  Turning my head, I saw Millia's eyes burning a hole into my head. Shock, suspicion, and a contemplative gaze mixed on her face. I returned my attention to the teacher with swiftness.

  Millia was acting strangely. I'd have to confront her about this sometime in the future.

  Now, I understand that the game skipped over a lot of the lectures. It had to do this to make the plot go along. But I had no idea how many it did until I lived Dante's life for myself.

  Most of the day was spent going through various classes. Some of it was fascinating, but a lot of it was painful or just boring. Still, I paid attention and took notes. This stuff was going to be on some test sooner or later. At least, I was pretty sure it would be.

  Morning turned to noon, which turned to afternoon. There was just one class left in the day: physical education. I stood up from my desk with a massive smile on my face.

  "One more class left, and I'll be able to get some magic spells!" I thought. "I think I'll start off with Dark Orb and Fist of Power. Those were always useful in the game."

  As I stepped out of the classroom, a voice came to my ears.

  "Hey, why are you smiling?"

  I turned to see Millia there. She seemed more confused than anything else.

  "People usually smile when they're happy," I replied.

  "You seem far happier than you should be," she noted.

  "And you seem to think you know more about me than you should," I said. "Perhaps we should have a talk about this later? Preferably tomorrow?"

  Millia narrowed her eyes. She started walking fast.

  "Follow me," she stated. "We should have enough time on our way to physical education."

  I did as she said. We moved with enough swiftness that we were soon out of earshot of the rest of the class.

  "You aren't acting like Dante," Millia said.

  "And you aren't acting like Millia," I replied.

  She narrowed her eyes. I felt as if my every little motion was being examined.

  "This might sound like a weird question," Millia sighed. "But I should just cut to the chase. Are you also someone from another world who played the Duke's Duplicity?"

  By the gods that may or may not exist, depending on how the game goes. Millia was like me!

  "Yes," I nodded. "But I never got past the first boss, and I have no idea how I got to the game's world."

  Millia facepalmed.

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