With the remaining Valkaan taken care of, peace returned to Kuwol.
Apparently, we were going to send a few researchers to conduct a joint investigation with Kuwol to survey the area south of Mount Kayankaka. However, the whole process would take two years, so there was no rush to start immediately.
In the meantime, my friends and I graduated from Meraldia University, but right now, I have a new problem.
“Congrats on getting accepted into the Demon Army, Shirin and Joshua!”
We were holding a graduation party at my house today. Hopefully, future historians won’t write about this. It’d be embarrassing to read, “And then Friede and her friends held a party at the Demon Lord’s mansion.” The dropout grimalkin ninjas I’d befriended in Wa were serving the food and cleaning up for us.
“Here’s your tea.”
“Here are your snacks.”
“Enjoy, meow.”
Officially, they were servants of the Aindorf family, but in reality, they were just freeloaders. Worst of all, they knew they could get away with it by acting cute and making cat noises. Anyway, the stars of today’s party were Shirin and Joshua, since they’d been accepted into the departments they’d applied to.
As Yuhette sipped her tea, she turned to Shirin and asked, “You’re starting out as a platoon leader in the Azure Knights, right, Shirin? I’m not that familiar with military ranks. How high of a position is that?”
“It’s the starting position for commissioned officers. I’ll have twenty dragonkin knights under my command, along with a few field medics and a group of gunners. It’s a unit of fifty members altogether. It’s kind of awkward since they’re all older than me,” Shirin said with a small frown.
I turned to Joshua, who was wearing his sharp new black uniform, and asked, “I guess you’ve got the same problem, huh, Joshua?”
“Yeah. Being a werewolf squad leader is cool, but the other three members of my unit are all older than me. Their criticisms have ramped up from when I was a trainee, so I feel like I’ve been demoted rather than promoted.”
The werewolf corps was a small unit of handpicked elites, so even being a four-man squad leader was a heavy responsibility. It certainly wasn’t the kind of job I’d want, at least.
I gently patted both my friends’ shoulders. “Your promotions are going to keep coming, guys, so you better get used to it now. I’m looking forward to seeing how far you get in a few years. You’ve both got a lot of potential, after all.”
“Th-Thanks,” Shirin said awkwardly and looked away.
“If you say so...” Joshua said, blushing slightly.
Wait, did I say something bad? For some reason, Yuhette’s grinning at me too. What’s going on?
As I turned to her, Yuhette said, “You’re still an officer cadet, right, Friede?”
“Oh...yeah.” This time, I looked away awkwardly as Joshua and Shirin looked up at me.
“You got an invitation to join the werewolf squad, didn’t you? Why’d you refuse?” Joshua asked.
“I heard from uncle that you were also offered a diplomatic position by the Commonwealth Council. You don’t want to take it?”
Dang it, Dad, why’d you have to run your mouth... I smiled wanly and said, “I don’t think I could handle such a difficult job.”
My friends exchanged glances.
“Even though you graduated at the top of your class from the magic department?”
“There were only eight of us,” I clarified, “so that doesn’t count for much...”
The magic track at Meraldia University was geared towards teaching people how to research new spells and magic items, so not many pursued it. I didn’t consider myself adept at inventing things, and my grades were only good because Granny Movi was a great teacher.
Just then, Iori walked in with a silver tray piled high with Wa sweets.
“Your graduating class only has eight people because the other eleven couldn’t pass the final exam. Too much humility will make you seem insincere,” Iori said.
“I guess that’s true.” Our final exam had a practical section, coupled with a written section on the history of magic and mathematics, so it was pretty hard. Honestly, I was lucky to have passed at all.
“I bet you’re thinking something silly, like you were lucky to pass at all,” Yuhette said as she poked me in the cheek. “Iori’s right, you know? Toxic humility isn’t any different from pure arrogance. Stop pretending like your accomplishments don’t mean much.” Yuhette let out a long sigh and added, “Where did all your self-confidence go?”
Shirin put a hand on his chin and mused, “Are you worried because you can’t decide what to do now that you’ve graduated?”
“Yeah...maybe that’s it?” I scratched my head. “I’ve experienced a bunch of different things, but I feel like people are overestimating me. Also, dad’s so famous that I’m worried people are trying to recruit me just because of that.”
“And that’s added extra pressure to perform?” Yuhette asked worriedly, and I nodded.
“I mean, I’m not that great, but people still call me the Black Werewolf King’s daughter or the Demon Lord’s daughter. And now, people even came up with a new nickname for me, ‘the Black Werewolf Princess.’ I’m just not sure I can live up to those expectations...”
Shirin started munching on a dango skewer and said, “You solved the mystery of the Windswept Dunes, helped take down the dragon, and participated in the battle against the Valkaan.”
“Yeah, but everyone helped with those things. I didn’t do any of them alone.”
“Well, you’ve definitely accomplished more than I have.” Joshua sighed. “You keep showing me how much room for improvement I still have every time we go somewhere. And at this rate, I’ll never be able to catch up to— You know what? Never mind.”
What were you gonna say? I sighed and replied, “If another person had been dad’s kid, I’m sure they could have done way better than I did.”
Joshua and the others exchanged glances.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Yeah, I don’t see your point.”
“Me neither...”
I hurriedly explained, “Look, I was born into the Aindorf family and I got dad—the Black Werewolf King—and Demon Empress Gomoviroa to personally teach me. It’s also thanks to them that I met so many influential people. So, like, it’s not because I’m special that I got this far; it’s because of the environment I was born into.”
“Oh, I see now,” Shirin said, finishing off his dango skewer. “Your social class...and I guess the luck of who you’re born to matter, I suppose. But that’s true for everyone. I’m the son of the famous general Baltze, and he was able to give me the greatest training a knight could hope for. In that regard, I’m also fortunate to have had such an opportunity.” Shirin pointed the now empty dango skewer at me and added, “But you know, that privilege carries an equal amount of responsibility with it. It’s my duty to become a skilled knight because I had the opportunity to receive such a gifted education. I need to work my way up to becoming a trusted general, just like my father. But I’m not even close right now, and that definitely bothers me.”
Iori nodded in response. “Ever since I was adopted by the Mihoshi family, I’ve borne the same responsibility as Shirin. We all received such an excellent education to help us fulfill that responsibility, so there’s no need to feel bad about it.”
“That’s...true, I guess.”
The problem was, I’d heard all about dad’s old home, Japan, from him. Apparently, everyone there got nine years of education for free. Every child in the country could attend school and study at the government’s expense until they were fifteen. It was honestly hard to believe. Furthermore, from what dad said, most kids spent another three years attending an institution called “high school.” And they only entered universities like Meraldia University after completing those twelve years of education. In other words, commoners there got to study as much as nobles did in this world. On the flip side, in this world, people with a formal education were extremely rare and valuable.
I hung my head and asked, “Do you think I’ll manage to be a proper successor to the Black Werewolf King?”
“Of course! I bet you’ll even manage to surpass Lord Veight!” Iori shouted, bringing her face right next to mine.
“Iori, you’re too close!” I scooted back a few inches. “A-Anyway we’re all still young, so there’s no need to rush.”
“You say that, but we’re seventeen now.”
In Meraldia, Rolmund, and Wa, you were considered an adult at fifteen. According to dad, in his world, you weren’t officially an adult until you were twenty, and most university students still got to study and act like kids for a few years after that. If only I’d gotten to live in Japan and be a regular high school girl... Anyway, this is supposed to be Shirin and Joshua’s celebration party. I can’t keep making this about me.
“For now, I think I’ll keep helping Granny Movi with her research. Studying magic is pretty fun,” I said, and Yuhette smiled at me.
“Thinking of becoming a professor?” she asked. “That’s a perfectly respectable career path.”
“Maybe. But if I do, it’ll be a while off, at least.”
For now, I was just an assistant helping Granny Movi with her lectures and preparing study materials. I wasn’t getting paid for it, but it meant I had continued access to the university library and lab rooms, so I could study as much as I wanted. If I wrote an impressive enough thesis, I could become a professor. But considering how hard it was to write a thesis that met Granny Movi’s standards, I probably wouldn’t get that far.
I smiled and added, “Besides, things are going to get busy at home, so it’s probably best that I don’t take on too much responsibility for now.”
“Why’s that?” Shirin asked.
“Well, you see...”