The day of the entrance ceremony at the Royal Academy of Builders.
　As I walked along the cobblestones of the castle town, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a bundle of thin strips of paper bound together with a clasp.

　This is a magic tool called "Correspondence Paper.
　The strips of paper come in sets of two, and when each is held by a different person, the two can communicate through the strips anytime, anywhere. I took out the one connected to Chris from the bundle of communication papers, and poured magic power into the center of it.

"Chris.

　The connection was established. I called out his name.

"Something terrible has happened.

"......

　They should have been able to communicate, but Chris was silent.
　I told him the situation straightforwardly.

"I'm lost.

"You!　You can't break up with me like that, can you?

　It's true that I had a romantic breakup with her before, but this is not the time to be talking about that.

I'm going to be late on my first day. What should I do?

What do I do? ...... Where are you?

I don't know. I don't know. I'm in the castle town, towards the noble quarter.

　I'll add, looking around.

When I was walking through the castle town, I saw a sign and followed it, but when I got to ...... the only thing I could see was a large mansion. It's a white, unnecessarily opulent building. I'm sure it's the residence of a duke or royal family, but I can't find any school buildings nearby. Was the information board wrong?

　While explaining the situation, I looked at the huge mansion in front of me.
　If it wasn't bad enough, it was a facility that rivaled the royal castle, the symbol of the kingdom. The white exterior walls were decorated with elaborate and artistic ornaments, and there was a huge clock in the center. Surrounded by a beautiful lawn garden, it was a unique space that seemed to be complete on its own, even within the royal capital.

　It was a bit too rich for my taste.
　The main residences of royalty and dukes are not here, but elsewhere. Then, this is probably a villa. Spending so much money on a villa that is rarely used makes me want to question how they spend their money.

'No, you're not wrong.

　But Chris said something I didn't expect.

But Chris said something I didn't expect: "Because that's where the Builder's School is.

　I swallowed her words slowly, taking a long time.

"This is?

"That's it.

　I took in oxygen deeply into my lungs and exhaled slowly.

"......?

　That was all I could mutter.
　I heard a sound from the communication paper. It seemed that Chris had disconnected the communication.

　I looked again at the building in front of me.
　I've never been to an academy before, but I've seen study halls in other countries and territories in the course of my work. But this one in front of me is something else.

　The Royal Builders' Academy. It is the largest school in the kingdom, the place where the current hero Zion Vale grew up, and an institution full of history and tradition worthy of being called a prestigious school. The fact that it retains a brand new look despite its long history is proof of the amount of money that has been poured into it.

It's so big, I don't even know where to go.

　We went through the gate and entered the compound.
　I remember the day when Chris explained to me about the dismantling of the institution.

　--I remembered that day when Chris explained to me about the dismantling of the agency.

　In the end, my intentions didn't change one bit from that day.
　Along with the notification of passing the screening, I received the school's documents. From what I read, the Heroic Department seemed to be an interesting place. However, it was the normal course of study that was more suitable for my purpose of living a normal life.

　--The school's materials say, "Let's acquire a culture that is useful for a peaceful society.

　I remembered the concept of the regular course from the school's documents.
　Now that the Demon Lord has been defeated, the world is at peace... maybe not so much.

　There will never be perfect peace in the world. Likewise, there will never be complete strife.
　Peace and turmoil appear alternately like waves. This is because some people are troubled by conflict while others are troubled by peace. Therefore, the world will never lean one way or the other. The closer we get to peace, the stronger the call for strife becomes. The opposite is also true.

　I wonder if I should just go to a place where people are gathering.
　As I approached the school building, I saw many boys and girls gathered in one place, though I could not see them from the outside. A person who seemed to be an employee of the school said loudly, "Please get in line.

You want to enroll?

　Suddenly, a voice called out to me from the side.
　There was a large, muscular man standing there. He was not the same age as me. This man must be a teacher at the school.

"Yes?

"Good. Then get in line over there. You'll get instructions soon.



　I said "Thank you" to the man who briefly showed me the way.
　I did as I was told and got in line.
　After waiting for a while, a beautiful woman appeared in front of us prospective students.

　It was a woman with fiery red hair. She was wearing light knightly equipment, so she was not very revealing, but even so, the slightest glimpse of her body showed that she had excellent proportions. Her nose is high and her eyes are sharp. She must be a strong-willed woman. She had a sword at her waist.

"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen!　I am Farnese Evans, teacher at the Builders' Academy!

　The name didn't sound familiar.
　The name didn't sound familiar to me. I thought he might be someone who had made great strides in the last war because of his dignity despite his young age, but if I didn't know him, he probably didn't take part in the war.

Builders Academy is a prestigious school with a long history, and I am proud to say that all of our students are of the highest caliber. In the event that you have any questions concerning where and how to use the internet, you can contact us at the following web site: ....... This is a school that has produced brave men and women. It's not surprising that everyone's nerves are on edge.

　In addition to me, there were many other boys and girls around. I had expected the "hero effect" to bring in a flood of applicants, but apparently there were many who thought, "This is the school that produced the hero, so I can't enter with half-hearted intentions. As a result, it seems that this year's freshmen will be more diverse than usual.

　However, I belong to the regular course, so there is no need for me to be a hero.
　I'm fine as long as I can lead a normal life.

No time to waste. I'll leave the greetings at this point.

　The greeting was over sooner than I expected.
　According to the information distributed in advance, the students of the regular course would go to their classrooms and wait until the exam of the heroic course was over. Once all the classmates are present, the homeroom teacher will instruct the students to have a short HR session, and then the class will be dismissed.

　From now on, my first school life will begin.
　I felt my body tremble. It seems I'm nervous. I've been through a lot of brutal battlefields, but I never thought I'd get so nervous that my limbs would shake at a place like this. I can't help but laugh at myself.

　I don't need the skills I've developed as a soldier in the Agency.
　Techniques for killing. A ruse to deceive. I don't need those things.
　I'll just be a normal student. That's what I want to do.

So, I will now begin the entrance exam for the Royal Academy of Builders, Heroic Department (・・・・・・・・)!

　.......
　.............
　...................




　--Oh?