I’m an Ordinary Returning Student at the Academy

[Translator – Angel Dust]

[Proofreader – Prototype]

Side Stories 1

With my niece turning one year old, there’s one event that stands out as the most important in my life.

It’s not my birthday, nor is it the birthday of any of my three best friends. It’s not my parents’ anniversary or my older sister’s birthday either.

It’s this!

“We must prepare the most splendid banquet for the Crown Princess’ first birthday.”

“I propose we consider showing leniency or granting amnesty to some prisoners across the empire to mark this joyous occasion.”

“That sounds like a good idea, Minister of Justice.”

That’s right. It’s the first birthday of my niece, Her Highness the Crown Princess.

This isn’t just a big deal only for me. The Emperor, my brother-in-law, is already seriously preparing for it.

“To celebrate the Crown Princess’ first birthday, we will hold a grand magic festival near the capital.”

“The Ministry of Magic and the Ministry of Finance will prepare for this and report directly to me.”

“In addition, send invitations to Hyzens, Lasker, and Avileshti.”

Officially, he’s the Emperor, showcasing the future monarch to his subjects. But personally, he’s a proud father, eager to celebrate his daughter’s first birthday.

The message to the officials is clear: get on the Crown Princess’s good side.

They immediately bowed their heads in agreement.

“I’m excited. What do you think the Crown Princess will grab?”

“Well, thinking of my sister, probably a sword…”

Strangely enough, there’s a ‘doljabi’ here too, a Korean tradition where a baby’s future is predicted by what they grab first.

The only difference is that instead of a law book, there’s a magic book.

Personally, I hope my niece picks the book.

She’s destined to be the Empress, and choosing a book would suggest an inclination towards knowledge and intellect.

Please, let her era be one without the need for swords.

Meanwhile, beside me, Lefia was chattering away without a pause.

She said that Lasker didn’t have such a tradition (doljabi), and she wanted to tell her sister about it later.

She thought it would be nice since it wasn’t too serious but had its own fun meaning.

“How’s the vice president work going? Isn’t it hard?”

“No, not at all! It’s actually fun. Everyone takes good care of me.”

“That’s good to hear.”

It’s quite fascinating, but people tend to gather around Lefia.

She doesn’t possess any extraordinary talents or charisma, but there’s something about her genuine laughter and easygoing nature that draws others in.

Thanks to that, she was recommended for the vice president position near the end of her sophomore year and took on the role in her junior year.

It’s the first time a foreign exchange student has become a student council official at the academy.

‘Lefia seems to think it’s entirely thanks to me.’

That’s nonsense. Just because we’re going to be married, it has nothing to do with the student council.

In fact, I’d rather not give her such a position because I don’t want to burden her.

The fact that it turned out this way means Lefia has a charm that attracts people.

I can understand why some strange guys in Lasker tried to make Lefia their queen.

They were probably also drawn to Lefia’s mysterious charm. Or maybe they were trying to use it as a weapon to recruit others into their faction. It must be one of the two.

“Selena seems busy again?”

“It’s a battle of whether I’ll get my master’s degree within this year or not.”

“I heard last time that victory was in sight?”

“That’s true, but it’s still good to have a flawless thesis presentation.”

After recharging during the New Year’s celebration, Selena went back to her battle for her degree.

I bet she’s fighting fiercely right now. Fighting! My wife!!

“Lav is probably talking to the veterans right now.”

“Yeah, they’re half-jokingly calling it a military reunion!”

“What reunion? They’re veterans, not high-ranking officers. They don’t hold any significant power or influence in the military.”

It would be different if they were high-ranking officers shouting about revolution or coups.

Even then, it would be over before it starts. All I’d have to do is pick up my greatsword, and those guys would scatter like mice.

Even though I’m discharged, my position in the military is still rock solid.

“What about Eloise?”

“She’s keeping the exchange students in line.”

“Oh.”

“She’s making sure something like last time doesn’t happen again, where some of them got brainwashed with weird ideas from those weirdos. She’s giving them a stern warning that it’s not just them but also their families and friends who could get into trouble.”

The southern region, which had been showing signs of unrest, was unexpectedly calm.

It seems the Heijens leadership, wary of another incident that could jeopardize their standing, was taking strict measures to suppress any dissent.

There haven’t been any reports of unrest in the South.

The Imperial Special Task Force has also been concentrating its forces in the South, but there haven’t been any strange reports like before.

‘Well, even the most foolish person wouldn’t cause trouble at a time like this.’

It’s not just any other time, it’s my niece’s birthday. Her first birthday.

If those guys cause trouble now, they’re not just fools, they’re fucking r*tards.

It’s like begging me to kill them, but surely they wouldn’t do that.

The Empire doesn’t want to be criticized for being too harsh, and they don’t have a clear justification.

That’s why they’re holding back, but those guys wouldn’t give them an excuse, would they?

* * *

“Uncle! Uncle!!”

I’ve heard that the word ‘uncle’ is harder for babies to say than ‘mom’ or ‘dad.’ So I thought it would be a while before I heard a clear ‘uncle’ from her, even though she might babble it. But when I visited today, my niece’s pronunciation had improved significantly.

“Oh my, Your Highness. Your pronunciation has gotten so much better.”

“Uncle! Uncle!”

“Yes, yes, Uncle. Try to say it after me. Un-cle.”

“Uncle!!”

Hmm. Good. This is definitely significant progress.

“Hehehe. She’s been excitedly calling for ‘Uncle’ all morning, eagerly awaiting your arrival.”

For reference, my sister has already been called ‘Mama’ for a while now.

At first, it was ‘Mama,’ ‘Muh-ma,’ and then, just recently, she said a perfect ‘Mama,’ bringing tears to my sister’s eyes.

This has made my brother-in-law, His Majesty the Emperor, even more eager.

She’s saying ‘Mama,’ and the difficult word ‘Uncle’ seems to be coming soon.

But the word ‘Papa’ doesn’t seem to be coming at all, and it’s driving him crazy.

He even said this to me—

“Isn’t ‘Papa’ easier than ‘Uncle’? Why is our daughter saying ‘Uncle’ instead of ‘Papa’? It’s so sad!”

Your Majesty, please, I beg you, don’t say such things in front of your subjects.

I mean, what subject could remain unfazed when the Emperor openly expresses his personal woes?

They’d be utterly bewildered, wondering if it’s even appropriate for him to display such vulnerability in front of them.

“Uncle! Uncle!”

“His Majesty has been quite down lately. Have you noticed?”

“Of course. He’s been lamenting how much he longs to hear her say ‘Papa.'”

“Does Noona have any ideas on how to encourage it?”

“Perhaps if my dear brother would grace us with his presence more often and shower our little princess with attention, she might be inclined to call him ‘Papa.'”

I call her ‘Noona’ a lot. And she speaks informally to me when it’s just the two of us.

If other officials saw this, they’d be shocked and try to stop it.

“And don’t worry, Karl. She already calls him ‘Papa’ a lot.”

“Huh? Wait, but His Majesty…”

“I mean she calls me ‘Mama’ but instead of ‘Papa,’ she calls him ‘Pyeha’?”

[TL/N: ‘Pyeha’ is another common way of saying Your Majesty.]

“…Ah.”

It seems that since everyone around her keeps saying ‘Your Majesty,’ she learned ‘Pyeha’ first.

Technically, ‘Your Majesty’ does refer to the Emperor, so it’s synonymous with ‘Papa.’ But the Emperor is desperate to hear ‘Papa’ instead.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make her call him ‘Papa’ soon. She’s quite clever, you know, just like someone I know.”

“Oh? She takes after you a lot?”

“Hmm? I thought she takes after you, Karl?”

“…”

Hey, sis. Even if it’s true, you should say your child takes after you or your spouse.

It’s very awkward for your younger brother to hear that his niece takes after him…

“Aren’t you curious about what she’ll grab?”

“Personally, I hope she grabs a book.”

“Why?”

“Why? It’s good if the future empress grabs a book, right? Honestly, a book is better than a sword.”

“What’s wrong with a sword? You can rule just fine with a sword.”

I almost agreed with her for a moment.

* * *

To cut to the chase, my niece grabbed a sword instead of a book.

“Uncle! Uncle!!”

“Your Highness, not me, please grab one of the objects over there…”

“Unnncle!!”

The problem wasn’t that she grabbed a sword, but that she grabbed the person named Karl next to her.

[Translator – Angel Dust]

[Proofreader – Prototype]

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