Capital of All Kingdoms, Camelot.
Of course, there's another name for it, well-known among the citizens of the Fresta Empire — Empire Capital.
It is the political and economic core of the entire Fresta Empire, and even of the entire Western Continent.
Even when considering the whole continent, the only metropolises that can be mentioned in the same breath as Camelot are a handful of places like Knowledge City in the Golden Plains and the sacred land of the Holy Creed Kingdom.
The steam train let out a leisurely long whistle.
Subsequently, amidst the billowing white steam, the various checkpoints of the station were opened.
Shiayar blended into the crowded stream of people as he filed out with the rest.
In half a year's time, he had nearly swept through all the tasks within the Resa Jurisdiction Bureau.
The relatively high-value and less time-consuming wanted tasks had mostly been completed by Shiayar, along with a significant amount of materials from the internal storage of the Resa Jurisdiction Bureau.
Furthermore, since he had completed the marking of the Echo of History in the Ancient Dukedom Azure Garden ruins, he could travel back and forth at any time, naturally eliminating any reason to stay in Resa any longer.
I should have shaken her off by now, right?
Upon exiting the train station, Shiayar looked around.
Frankly speaking, as the student council president of St. Roland Academy, Dyres was indeed competent.
Moreover, her requests to Shiayar were truly well-meaning.
For a commoner student with beast taming talent but without family support—
attending more networking events at St. Roland Academy and forming connections with the nobility of the Empire Capital, the military, and the Holy See would undoubtedly be highly beneficial to his development after graduation.
It could even potentially change his fate and enable a true leap across the social classes.
It's just that, it's not possible.
You may think you're acting in my best interest, but in reality, that may not be the case.
Right from the start, Shiayar knew his path was different from others'.
Compared to making great efforts to become acquainted with the children of nobility, attending various banquets and social events to acquire so-called networking resources... for him, it would be more practical to complete more tasks for novices.
This is why, ever since Shiayar joined St. Roland Academy,
aside from systematically making up for some beast taming foundational knowledge during the first two terms, he spent most of his other time either skipping classes or on his way to skip classes.
Even the time he spent at school was mostly in the Great Library and the Pet Beast training field.
This time, his exploration of the Azure Garden ruins in Resa meant skipping classes for half a year straight.
Gotta give her credit, though. I've hardly appeared at the school in almost a year. Even my hairstyle and height have changed, yet she could still recognize me at a glance.
While silently appreciating President Dyres's dedication, Shiayar intermittently had Shiny use Flash to quicken his journey.
Soon, a majestic complex of buildings appeared before him.
St. Roland Academy is not located in the main urban area of the Empire Capital, but rather in the suburbs.
Not only that, but almost all key facilities of the Fresta Empire, such as the Royal Breeding Institute, Jurisdiction Bureau Headquarters, military headquarters, and Arcana Tower, are also outside the main urban area.
The reason for this is quite simple.
After all, no great noble would like to be walking along one day and suddenly find a Tyrant Rank Hellfire Sovereign that has broken free from its Soul Pact and casually unleash a Meteor Shower to pancake them on the spot.
Although it had been over half a year since he last returned to the academy, Shiayar's memory as a nearly 3-Ring Beastmaster ensured that he didn't lose his way.
His footsteps stopped in front of a detached house.
According to the rules of St. Roland Academy, students who had reached 2-Ring, which is the intermediate Beastmaster level, were entitled to their own private student dormitory.
For the offspring of noble families, there was no need to live in dorms to begin with. Their family's mansions in the Empire Capital were already far superior to any dormitory.
So this privilege was considered a benefit to commoner students, although Shiayar didn't make much use of it.
The wooden door of the dormitory, due to long periods of disuse, was somewhat dusty. Shiayar crouched down and saw that the iron maple leaf he had left in the door crack before leaving had already fallen.
The iron maple leaf, which should have been as hard as steel, bore a slender silver-white cut mark.
Ennie...?
Shiayar pushed the door and entered.
What caught his eye was the room dyed red by the setting sun, and the girl sitting by the window, hugging her knees, quietly waiting.
The fading sunlight filtered through the window and landed on her pale cheeks, her long golden hair reflecting a slight glow.
Sensing Shiayar's arrival, she hopped down from the window seat and raised the rice ball in her hand.
"Have you eaten?"
"Not yet, thanks to you."
Shiayar didn't stand on ceremony and took the still-warm rice ball.
After all, the meals provided on the train were consistently expensive and unpalatable, both before and after Shiayar's time travel.
"It's been a long time, Ennie. How long have you been waiting?"
"I just finished a mission at the Military Department. I rushed over after receiving your voice message. I haven't been waiting long."
"That's good."
Shiayar unwrapped the rice ball.
The relationship with the golden-haired girl named Enola sitting before him was quite complicated.
Not only were they classmates, but also childhood friends. They had lived together since the age of nine, only separating to live independently after they entered St. Roland Academy.
In addition, because Shiayar had been busy with excavating the Azure Garden ruins for the past few years, Enola had been managing his properties in the Empire Capital on his behalf.
"Here's some juice, your favorite orange juice."
"Thanks."
After quickly finishing the drink and food in one go, Shiayar lazily lay down on the bed.
Seeing Shiayar's action, a hint of helplessness flashed across Enola's pale cheeks, "You've just come off the train, at least change your clothes first."
"In my homeland, there's an old saying, 'One who seeks to achieve great things should not sweat the small stuff.'
"So, for our future grand undertaking, let's sacrifice this bedsheet."
"We were both born in Northern Territory Ceylon, so why have I never heard so many famous sayings?" The golden-haired girl shook her head, somewhat exasperated.
She took off her wool boots and sat on the bedside table. Swinging her feet, clad in white socks, in mid-air, she said, "The Royal Book Society sent over the royalties for the seventh edition last month."
"'The Count of Monte Cristo' and 'The Three Musketeers' together totaled 1,700 Rhine gold coins."
"Pet Beast care and food, cosmetics, marriage engagement rings, and other shop revenues totaled 2,500 Rhine gold coins during this period."
"Besides, a countess has shown interest in our luxury clothing design business."
"Following your initial valuation, we sold off that part of the shops and business for a total of 6,300 Rhine gold coins."
Adds up to a little over 10,000, huh...
Shiayar lay flat and rubbed his temples, feeling his entire body sinking into the soft bedding, "Your main Pet Beast is about to advance, so you can't touch the merits you've accumulated at the Military Department."
"Taking out our day-to-day expenses with the Pet Beasts, only 8,000 Rhine gold coins are left."
"8,000... If I remember correctly, based on last year's auction prices, 8,000 would only be enough to buy a 'Fragment of the Vengeful Flame Spirit.'"
"The lowest grade among the 4th Order fire attribute materials, using it on 'Amaterasu' is a bit too shabby."
"If we don't have enough money, the advancement of my main Pet Beast can wait."
As she spoke, Enola brushed aside her long hair and moved closer to Shiayar.
"The merits I've accumulated in the Military Department, if converted into Rhine gold coins, should also be around 30,000 to 40,000..."
Enola's words suddenly paused.
She gently sniffed at Shiayar's collar, and her casual tone became a bit more serious.
"President Dyres?"