The Retired Hero is an Extra

The Academy used its own currency, YP (Year Points), for all transactions, so there was no problem in continuing using it for the new areas.

Over time, more small quarters and districts took form, with their own set of guidelines to follow.

Of course, the situation remained the same, that is, only students, professors and staff of the Academy could visit these places.

That meant that not even one person on the Academy premises was unaffiliated with the Academy, even if it was just a cook or waiter.

Well, they too needed staff anyway, making it all the more self-sustainable as even some students did odd jobs due to a lack of YP.

How they had done it, so many people still could not fathom, but one thing was completely and irrefutably certain in everyone's mind.

All of the Academy's prestige and self sustainability had only been possible because of one person.

The Past Female Empress and ruler of the Empire, who was the sole creator, owner, Principal, and Dean of the Academy during her time.

Naturally, she was the one who gave it to autonomous people and restricted them from putting any undeserving person as their successor.

And due to her influence, the Academy worked in a similar manner as to how she envisioned the future.

At the academy, only strength and power would take you far, along with a good amount of reasonable intelligence and wit.

'She sure was different from every other imbecile to ever grace the Empire as its ruler,' Jash disparaged in his mind.

Had he said that out loud, the blissful and animated conversations around him would have stopped for a deathly silence.

Even if the Academy was free from any form of discrimination, that didn't mean one could say whatever came to their mind.

Around him the sprawling courtyard was graced with gentle rays of sunshine, enveloping it in an inviting atmosphere that was completely packed.

Despite it being early morning, all the students looked youthful and excited for the journey ahead excluding Jash...

Impromptu friendships were forming between the freshmen in just over a few minutes, causing them to have discussions about the Entrance Test.

After all, they could see its champion, so why wouldn't they talk about it?

Some didn't care though, choosing to stay away from all of the machinations, focusing on their dreams and aspirations instead.

'Damn this noise!' Jash cursed inwardly, his irritation growing as he moved further into the bustling crowd.

A buzzing atmosphere of animated but almost chaotic conversations that were nothing short of nonsense if one actually tried listening.

Finally, arriving at the auditorium mentioned for the Opening Ceremony, Jash felt like he could relax, but it was even worse.

Some seniors and professors had set up booths and stalls which lined the periphery of the courtyard.

'What a scam,' Jash ignored everything on them, knowing it was just a way to trick the naive juniors into fake promises.

Well, at least some stalls offered festival-like dishes, being the only thing Jash approved of.

Everything else—potions, 'enchanted' trinkets, and unique talismans—seemed dubious, being nothing but fakes.

Many students eagerly browsed these stalls, hoping to find charms for good luck or 'enchanted trinkets' to aid them, unaware of its true nature.

Just like how Jash ignored it, most nobles chose to do the same, irrespective of the race.

They would much rather take in the almost festive atmosphere at the Opening Ceremony with an open heart instead.

—Dong!

However, it all began to disperse with just one loud sound, signaling the start of the Opening Ceremony.

As everyone began to rush inside the large auditorium fitting in all the official thousand as well as another thousand inside it.

Jash heard an indistinct murmur of someone nearby:

"I just need to avoid other influential people. I will only mess with those who can't do anything to me."

Jash smiled at the unfamiliar voice, already knowing who the nervous whisper belonged to.

'This will surely be interesting,' he thought, already inside before the loud announcing sound.

After all, it had forced not only the freshmen inside but also the seniors and staff to scramble about.

With just one glance around, Jash caught quite a few nervous faces with some fidgeting with their fingers, clattering their teeth, or even biting their nails.

He casually walked past them, maintaining the same slow pace since he entered the premises of the Academy.

Despite his slow pace, no one behind him urged him to increase his pace and anyone who wanted to was pulled back by someone else.

After all, offending the Year Representative on Day One would be completely stupid.

'The first rows are so far away,' Jash grumbled inwardly, finding the loud hub-bub and buzzing noises to be super annoying.

They seemed to dig at his brain, causing him great discomfort.

'If only I left early with the two of them,' he lamented not going with Ziva and Caera despite them going way earlier than him.

'And this darned attention-seeking uniform code really makes it worse,' Jash cursed, getting to hear many unwanted whispers.

It wasn't that they hurt his feelings or anything; they were just annoying, and it wasn't that hard to get on his nerves.

Imagine getting annoyed first thing in the morning due to your sleep getting interrupted, only to be forced to go through the chores.

Yes, Jash considered all the security checks to get past the teleportation portals to be chore.

However, his different from others uniform allowed him to go through it faster, but it annoyed him regardless.

If only he had a system inventory where he could place everything and wouldn't have to worry about his belongings.

Of course, the Academy strictly prohibited any kind of artifact, potions, treasures, or anything considered unfair inside their premises.

'What a drag,' Jash grumbled, feeling uncomfortable from his uniform.

Normally, the student uniform was blue-white with golden designs and the Academy insignia on the upper arm area.

In contrast, the student council's version had red and purple accents for easy distinction.

'If only they used black, it would look so much cooler,' Jash mused, but knew such a thing wouldn't happen.

The majority of the populace either prayed to the Goddess of Light or just didn't pray, but everyone knew that she had some hatred for the color of darkness: black.

Thankfully, no such racism or discrimination ever followed into the populace despite her firm beliefs.

It was just that any prayer to the Goddess of Light could not have black colored items, and she never got angry.

It didn't matter if someone had the element of darkness or shadows, they could still pray to the benevolent Goddess.

'Benevolent, my ass! She's a straight-up racist and colorist,' Jash cursed a Goddess, not believing in her omnipotence or omniscience.

'If she was, then she would've already discovered me and sought me out,' he shook his head, reaching the front row.

Looking at Ziva, he passed a polite smile, thankful for her to have kept a seat for him.

There was no way he wanted to hover around the back, scrambling to look for a seat under the eyes of the professors on the stage.

The professors were there even before the loud ringing sound, though many had been unaware of it.

"Welcome to the Solarnelle Academy!"

The voice boomed unexpectedly, like thunder, signaling the start of the Opening Ceremony all of a sudden.

***

{A/N}

Yo~ It's been a long while~

There we go my dear readers-

Your academy arc has officially begun!!

That's more work for me and my brain though, sigh~

That's fine ⊂⁠(⁠◉⁠‿⁠◉⁠)⁠つ

(Insert burning house meme)

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