Shadow Monarch: Heroines Could Hear My Thoughts?!

Chapter 69- To The Academy (Part 1)

(Chapter number: noice :) just so you lot have a paragraph to drop that meme in)

10 Days later.

In the last two weeks, Aviresion faced a huge change never witnessed before in the history of this kingdom. The death of their king was akin to a lightning bolt that befell everyone. The whole population loved that king since he was a kind and compassionate king who cared for his people and put them his priority.

With him, Aviresion was able to develop at a fast rate and become a respectable kingdom that can't be ignored at all. It was still extremely weak compared to the other empires around it but it was still an evolution for the better.

However, now that he died, chaos ensued in multiple parts of the country. Many didn't believe that he would die just like that and even more feared the unknown future waiting for them.

However, for better or worse, the nobles were able to calm down their people. They hid the fact that the king was assassinated for obvious reasons and made sure to reassure the people of the future of Aviresion.

After that, the news of the princess leaving her position as the crown princess was dropped like a bombshell. Elise was put in high esteem for her ethereal, fairy-like beauty and her mysterious personality which was the best breeding ground for rumors and baseless stories that only worked in fueling her image in their eyes.

That's why, when she just left that place, many were extremely sad and even some tried to infiltrate the castle just to beg her not to leave them.

Meanwhile, Elise didn't really care about those things and merely focused on getting ready for the academy. She made sure to note every major event that will happen and also some predictions for the course of events after all the major changes in the plot that occurred in the last month.

'We really wreaked havoc in the whole story in less than 20 days. I'm impressed.' She thought to herself with a sigh.

Not only did Rin almost kill his parents, die in a D-Rank dungeon, and literally almost killed the crown prince. But Elise also had her fair share of events that ruined the plot on her side.

The biggest one is the death of the king but there was also the nightmare she saw. Even though she hid the details from Rin, her mind was still working to find an explanation for it. But, in the end, she could only put it aside for now.

After all of that mess, the time for the departure finally came.

The time was early in the morning, the sun was still barely peeking at the world from the horizon. Its beautiful rays illuminated Elise's snow-white face and gazed silently at the sky. She was enjoying the cold breeze of the morning and the fresh air that accompanied it.

"Your highness, we will depart now." Maya came and told her.

"I'm coming."

"The journey to the border will take 3 days and then from there, representatives from the academy will take care of the rest."

"I know."

'The first hard part of the academy… The test.' Elise's eyes turned slightly sharp just from recalling that event.

The test was the prologue of this world and the start of the actual story and what a start it was. It was safe to say that the prologue made Divine Sapphire one of the most played worlds in TOI. Many loved it to the point of claiming it to be the best start for a game in history.

Huge claims but in Elise's point of view, it was a very intriguing way of presenting Divine Sapphire. This world was rich with all kinds of mysteries, creatures, cults, and organizations that work in the shadows and twist the world however they wanted.

But, for better or worse, the heart of that start is the protagonist and not Elise and Rin so the way they will deal with that can determine how the story will go.

'Hopefully, it won't twist too badly. We won't be able to predict anything if things went down really bad.'

After that, she turned around and left the castle. Sitting inside the carriage, she watched the scenery move from the window.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oi, Rin, hurry up! We will be late."

"I know, I know," Rin shouted from inside his room.

He was sitting on the table, scribbling something on a piece of paper. After that, he lifted it up to check it carefully before nodding with a satisfied look on his face.

'This should work just fine.'

After that, he stood up and walked out to the front door where he found his family. Selina was already holding a handkerchief while sobbing silently.

"My little boy grew up and now he will leave his mama! Hick!"

Rin smiled at her and then hugged her tightly.

"Take care of yourself, mother. We will be back before you even realize it."

"I will miss both of you so much. Mama will be extremely lonely. Don't forget to send me letters every week and also eat properly. Don't stay awake all night and also don't seduce many girls. You are a very handsome boy Rin so take care of yourself and don't let some bad girls get close to you."

"Ok, mother. The last one was unnecessary though."

"I will make sure that he won't go around playing with girls, mother," Aria said with a proud smile as she tapped her chest with her fist.

'Do you take me as a gigolo or something?!'

"Fufuf!" Aria snickered.

After that, Rin turned to Damian and nodded at him.

"Don't forget what we talked about yesterday, Rin."

"I know."

"You are very special, Rin. But, people in this world hate special individuals so don't trust anyone without making sure they weren't getting closer to you with bad intentions."

"That's true, Rin. You don't know how talented you are so don't let anyone use you. I will also make sure that you don't get in trouble."

'I'm sorry, sister. Trouble is the only thing that will follow me there.'

Aria's face turned grim a little bit but she tried to keep herself fairly composed.

'I already know about everything, Rin. But, don't worry, your big sister will protect you. I will be by your side the whole time.'

As much as she didn't believe it at first, she was now sure that this world was an actual virtual world and that she was a virtual character inside of it.

But, that didn't make her question whether she was a real person or not as she was sure of that. Her feelings were real and that was enough of a proof for her.

"Take care, father."

Extending his hand, Rin wanted to shake his hand. However, the latter surprisingly smiled and then pulled him in for a hug. Rin never expected a serious man like Damian to actually do something like that but he quickly woke up from his daze and hugged him back

After that, they both left the house and embarked on their journey.

"Are you excited?" Aria asked with a smile as she rested her head on Rin's lap. A sweet smile bloomed on her face.

"I am. But, after all the things that happened in the past month. I have a bad hunch."

"A bad hunch?"

"Yeah. There is something going on in the background… something big that I can't quite grasp yet." He explained.

"With all the things that occurred, I'm sure our time there won't be as peaceful as we think."

Aria silently looked at him with a complicated gaze. Then, she extended her arm and touched his cheek softly.

"Don't worry too much. I know that no matter how hard it is, we can challenge everything that stops us. So, just do your best!"

"Mmm, you're right. However…" A wide grin appeared on Rin's face.

"I'm also excited about meeting many people. I heard girls from other kingdoms are quite the feast for the eye. Maybe I can try my chances at getting a girlfriend."

His voice sounded amused and it was clearly an attempt to tease Aria. However, the latter's face still changed and her smile vanished.

'Are? Why is the carriage turning very cold? Hmm, it's still morning.' Rin thought to himself as he looked down.

His body flinched instinctively and he broke a sweat.

"Mmm, Mrs. Aria."

"Yes, Mr. Rin?" She said with a smile that wasn't a smile at all.

"I was joking… Hehehe!" He said as he tried to defuse the tension.

"About what?"

"You know that I won't try to get a girlfriend, right?!"

"Oh! How can the handsome Rin Silvereye leave girls alone and single? You should try your luck and strike a few girlfriends."

"As I said… Woahh!"

"Come here! I will teach you how to hit on girls!"

"Wait, wait!! No!!"

After that, Rin was tortured for hours. But, that's a story for another time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading. Any support you give me is always appreciated no matter how small it was. Let's all keep it up :)