There was only so much they could do to prepare for this. Ludere, with the help of Tyler, the Oracle, and for a few days, Cire, worked. He got as much preparation as he could have done in the three weeks, and before he knew it, it was time.

  Cire and the Oracle were ready for him to leave. The Oracle took him to the port where they would get onto a boat. The government crew boarded them quietly, and they ducked out only once the vessel was away from shore. For security reasons, they arrived in baggy clothing

  The journey would take less than a day, but they wanted to arrive a day early. To his utter shock, the Empire ran on time.

  “Oh, good, now we’re moving. Now, what has my father made you promise to do?” Cire hadn’t let him leave her sight since they got onto the solid oak ship, which resembled a floating battering ram more than anything else.

  “He didn't say anything. I haven't promised him anything. In fact. I only barely accepted this request. Senator Celisar made it seem like we would have to be friends after this, but I don't think that's… that's not a thing, right?”

  “Interesting way to think about that. You think that he's actually going to go through with whatever he's telling you?”

  “Look, I know you don't know everything, because I'm under a writ of silence. But, safe to say, I stopped a demon invasion. Your father would have died without me. Hundreds of people would have died without me. So, excuse me if I'm a little bit… jaded about the situation.”

  The ship moved in the waves, a reminder that they were not flying to their location. The option had been removed as a security precaution.

  “Remind me again why we’re on a boat, when the empire can fly us there in one of those little flying boxes they use?”

  Cire crossed her arms. “It’s a waste of energy, and with the potential for demonic incursions, the senate has directed the clergy to spread out who arrives, when. We got a ticket because you’re almost a part of the family.”

  “Yeah, your father said something about me being adopted into the family, and I said 'absolutely not' in my mind.”

  She giggled, holding up the side of the ship. "Well, they wanted me to marry you. He asked me that, and I told him about your situation with the Oracle, and I feel like that might have ended that really fast. Great. There's nothing you want to do less than interfere with an actual Oracle doing their duties."

  “I don't need you to defend me. I'm also concerned that you think that I am part of her duties.”

  “If you don't think that you're part of her duties, then you're not paying attention. The legendary hero shows up and defeats demons, however unrealistic that sounds. Of course they're going to take note. Of course, she’s going to keep you in good spirits. It's literally just her job to keep you happy so that you don't cause a calamity.”

  The ship rocked again.

  Ludere worried about an attack. The cat hadn’t spoken to him, and it had been three weeks. He wanted answers, but he wasn’t sure that he would be getting them.

  The Oracle hadn’t known anything about the cat. If the gods were playing tricks on him, then he wished that they would just talk to him directly.

  That would be so much easier.

  Smoke and mirrors didn’t play well with the presumption of near-infinite power.

  It was one of those things that was a near-universal constant for him. He didn't want to deal with it, but he didn't want to know. The cat not telling him more hurt him in so many ways.

  “So you're saying I should have bided my time and tried to marry one of the other students here to increase my station. Is that what you're saying?”

  “At least give it a shot. There's a lot of us, and a few of us might be interested in your rash, no-nonsense approach. You seem to want to grind yourself into a paste trying to save the world, but you don't want to save the empire.”

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Ludere had had a long time to ponder if he wanted to join the military or governance after this. He resolved to find out as much as possible while he was in.

  There was always a chance that he could just get selected as a priest for one of their religions. If they needed one. He didn't think that was going to be an option. He also wasn't going to create a cult of the cat, as it were. Wherever the cat did, he wasn't going to be beholden to his decisions. He, too, could be shifty and mercurial.

  “But let's say that I was interested in some of these. Why would you think that I would ask you?”

  Cire held up her hand, counting on her fingers. “Well, first of all, I'm in the first class. I know all the girls. That's one. Second of all, I didn't start off in the first class, I had to work my way up. There's only so many spots in the girl's dormitory. You are aware that we talk to each other constantly, correct? So I can hype you up if you want. I can also hype you down.”

  He had never considered having a hype woman on his staff. He didn't think he needed a staff to begin with, but she was making a compelling case.

  “Go on.”

  “Now, if you want that kind of attention. Then you should probably listen to me about why what you did with the Oracle is not going to benefit you in the long run. It just seems like you're taking the poor blind girl everywhere, pulling her around by the nose, because she is na?ve.”

  “She's not na?ve.”

  “She grew up inside of religion. She will die as an Oracle. She cannot see, she relies on other people for her food. For everything.”

  “She does have issues getting dressed correctly, but so what?”

  “Put her inside of a Skill cage like the island, and she’ll flounder. Did you know she petitioned her higher ups to go with you? That would have been something. Here is Regnicus, and oh, it’s his girlfriend, the Oracle of the Fiddler?”

  “That might have caused a stir, yes. And she’s not my girlfriend.”

  “The only reason I haven’t slapped you for that, is because I know she’s na?ve, but she understands men. You need to think about how your actions look to others. She might not be able to have children, but she…she’s still a kid.”

  “She is our age!”

  She braced herself. Ludere didn’t, and he got tossed two feet up into the air by rough seas before she caught his toga. He reflexively used his Willpower to float.

  “You need to be far less casual about your magic usage. This is just flaunting it.”

  “I need practice!”

  “Well, like you’ve been practicing on the oracle, you can practice in the academy.”

  She pulled him down to the deck.

  He looked ahead, and thankfully there were no more large waves. He could have braced himself; he should have, at least.

  Ludere knew he wasn't paying attention. Her words had affected him more than he expected them to.

  “There shouldn't be this many waves. This is not the stormy season.”

  "What would that even have to do with it?"

  "Oh, you skimmed over the weather books, didn't you?"

  Ludere threw up his hands. "I might have read it, but none of it made any sense. It was just numbers lacking context. I love numbers, but the whole thing there? The author clearly was very interested in his accounting of the coastal normal distribution."

  Cireblinked several times.

  "You, the numbers guy, thought that the Coastal Study of Weather Events was one of those things where the writer would give context? That's something that would never happen. Whoever this guy was, he was obsessed with giving weather data, and just about nothing else. Which, incidentally, is exactly the thing that the academy rewards while you're in it, but don't tell anyone I said that."

  "Got it. Don't tell anyone your secret. Understood."

  The doors of the academy were the first thing henoticed. They could be seen for a ways away They were bright, but they also had a kind of Willpower hue to them. They looked as if somebody was actively using magic, which he knew that people could imbue things, but he hadn't seen it often. He was told that he would learn how to imbue external things better. He could imbue his body to make himself stronger. If he imbued his fist enough, he could punch through the doors, but he didn't want to mess it up. If he did it wrong then he'd be paying the price for weeks. That said, the doors opened on their own, some obviously by magic. The thick, marble doors were at least twice as tall as him!

  Grammarian Cass stood there. It wasn't that he was the only person there that was going to be joining this class. It was that he was the only one that wasn't from the top row of society already. The Grammarian wore a pair of dark spectacles that obscured his eyes as he gave Ludere an intense glare. He didn't leave the school grounds to meet them. He was just simply waiting there, at the top of the steps.

  "Cire, good to see you again. Thank you for bringing the newest student to us in one piece. Your travel was uneventful, I hope?"

  Cire nodded. "Save for the waves. It was about as good as one could hope. I stand ready to finish my studies."

  He gave Ludere his full attention."Excellent. Regnicus. I am pleased to meet you. I've heard so much about you in my letters with Senator Celisar."

  The fact that the man was sending letters to a Senator did not bother him in the slightest. And it might have. But that was the least of many slights that he could imagine happening. He had just come there to train, and do the best he could. Whatever it took to have been showing up in the middle of the sea.

  The island was big. That was true. It was also isolated, and impossible for people to get there without some sort of method of transportation that the Empire itself strictly controlled. They had taken a boat, though many of the people had traveled a different way.

  "Headmaster Cass, I'm so glad to meet you. I heard so much about you, and I appreciate that you're going to help me get settled in."

  They walked inside the large open area. He pointed out several things on the way up.

  "Indeed. Allow me to show you a few things."