"I suppose that is fine." Aqua reluctantly inched closer to the elven priestess.
She doesn't feel evil like the actual slaves of divinity.
"I really want to be friends with you, even if you hate me." She smiled widely and slid her parchment to Aqua. "I am sure we can be amazing girlfriends."
Azure grumbled. Her gaze stuck on the teacher, who was in the process of explaining details about the worship of each god. However, despite details about every god being throughout, her goddess was completely glossed over.
She clicked her tongue and turned to Aqua and Hikari.
Hikari leaned closer to the duo, "Lady Aqua, Lady Azure, would you like to study with me when you finish your next class?"
Aqua hummed. She disliked the girl, but she had not given her any reason to display pure hatred.
"I suppose you deserve the benefit of the doubt."
"I would love to, Lady Hikari." Azure smiled widely.
A moment of silence reigned between them before a cough reached their ears. "Ladies, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't interrupt my lesson, even if you are top scorers, I won't tolerate disturbance."
"Forgive us, Sir. We were exchanging notes." Hikari stood up and bowed. "We will be quiet."
The teacher nodded and returned to his lesson. "Since this is the first introduction class, we shall keep it short. Tomorrow, we will speak of how the specific religions affect our society. Dismissed." Zora's eyes washed over the present pupils, and he nodded in a satisfied manner before walking out of the classroom.
"Well, I can say that was a positive experience." Aqua's lips stretched into a smile. "We have history right after this."
"Umu, I do not have history, so this period is free for me. Let's meet in the lobby later. Ciao~" Hikari waved them off and walked out of the classroom, leaving both Azure and Aqua gawking at her.
"She is such a suspicious girl…"
"Aqua… I think you are overthinking it. I don't see anything but someone who wants friends in her behavior." Azure placed her hands in front of her and lay down.
"You think so? I really don't want to trust her."
"Relax~" Azure grabbed Aqua's hand and held it tightly. "I am a blessed child like her, and you still like and at least I like to believe you trust me."
"If you say so, I will give her the benefit of the doubt." Aqua placed her other hand on top of Azure's and leaned onto her shoulder. "We should head to the next classroom. I promise I won't do anything to Hikari."
"Good." Azu smiled, and a small blush appeared on her cheeks. "Let's go." Her hand tightened around Aqua's, and she promptly pulled her out of the classroom, pushing past the arriving students.
The duo quickly rushed into the classroom where the history would be held.
The classroom was identical to their previous one, but the occupants were different, the nobles who attended history were completely different than ones attending history.
Aqua and Azure took the front seat and waited patiently.
"Aqua, you do realize that this is just basic history, it will cover everything. I know you like knowledge, but this doesn't seem like something that would interest you."
Aqua's lips stretched into a line, and she leaned back.
"Azu, I want to learn everything I can about my new home. I am a foreigner, did you forget that already? How could I ever call myself a citizen of this nation if I do not know basic history?"
"I suppose…" Azure's face turned slightly red. "So you will live here forever?"
Aqua tapped her fingers against the desk and hummed. "I don't know about forever, but at least in the foreseeable future."
"Forever!" She puffed out her cheek and leaned against Aqua. The champion closer her eyes and rubbed herself against the heroine. "At least while I live, can you promise me that?"
Aqua cast her gaze downward, her expression turning serious. I really can't promise her that. While I like this kingdom, I cannot be chained down.
However, when she looked at her friend, it made it hard not to make such a promise.
She placed her hand over Azure's shoulder and pulled her closer. "Sure, I will try my best not to leave this kingdom, I consider it my home after all."
Azure's eyes sparkled in excitement. "That's great! So you decided to stay just for me~."
"I did… didn't I~" Aqua smiled and turned her gaze toward the door. "Isn't the instructor supposed to have arrived already?"
Azure hummed. "They are understaffed, I wouldn't hold it against them for being late."
"I suppose you are correct." Aqua put her hands behind her head and leaned back, rocking her chair slightly. "I do like this environment."
The other students spoke in sounds ranging from whispers to borderline shouting with each other, while it would have annoyed most, it was certainly not something that Aqua minded.
So lively. She placed her fingers on her mouth and giggled.
Soon, the doors to the room opened, and a woman with long platinum hair and silver eyes entered the room. Her ears were short, and her dress was simple. "Good day, my dear students. Thank you for your patience." The woman had beads of sweat rolling down her forehead, and her breathing was ragged.
The room went silent, the instructor caught her breath, and took the stand. Her short frame almost hid her behind the wooden structure. "I will be your history instructor. My name is Sara."
Her gaze scanned the room before falling onto Azure, her stance straightened, and her expression turned ice-cold. "It will be my duty to instill in you knowledge of our nation's history. Starting from the recorded history of the Age of Frost, up to today. We will hold quizzes at the start of each week as I need to make sure you have understood the material on an acceptable level." Her grip tightened. "Our focus this semester will be on recent history, the start of the Southern War."
This is good information. Aqua focused on the small woman, intending to absorb the useful information about the so-called southern savages who were attacking her new home.
"I will go through the curriculum with you and tell you how the tests will be structured once today's intro is completed."
"First week, we will briefly go over the Age of Frost. The second week will touch upon the general history of our nation in the third week, we shall study the Southern War, after which we will hold an exam. Does this plan work for everyone present?"
"Professor, isn't the fourth week for an exam a bit too fast? Other professors said that the fifth or sixth week would work better for them and give us more time." A young noble elven man raised his hand.
Sara put her hands behind her back and turned toward the large blackboard. She hummed before turning around.
"Maybe, but the content we study for this first semester is much smaller than Magical Theory, for example. Four weeks should be enough to cover both the content and give you enough time to study. You should be thankful I didn't stuff history in the same week as everything else." The short woman grinned. "Unlike with others, we can definitely come to an agreement, if you really need the exam moved, that is doable, but I suggest not doing that."
The short retort from the teacher shut down the man, who quickly sat down.
Her eyes scanned everyone present again. Satisfied with their responses, she picked up a piece of chalk and approached the blackboard.
"Let's start with the Age of Frost, shall we?"
Aqua carefully listened to the teacher's words. The Age of Frost seemed to be an incredibly important event in the history of the world.
The teacher climbed on her toes and drew a line. "Unfortunately, our historical record only reaches back to the depths of the frozen era. We do not know what happened before then, as our kingdom and race barely survived."
Aqua turned to Azure and whispered, "How many times were you brought near extinction?"
The champion scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. "A lot, honestly, I am surprised we still exist as a species."
The red-haired elf crossed her arms and focused on the teacher once again. "It's a miracle…for sure."
Age of Frost, The Toxic Seed Famine, Numerous Wars, and Surrounded by incredibly hostile enemies. Her kin were incredibly hardy to survive all of those events.
"We do not know how the Age of Frost ended; however, we know that the main entity perpetuating it was an entity known as the Empress of the Frozen Wastes."
Empress? Aqua's ears twitched at the title. While it was not probably, it was certainly possible that it was the very empress of the frozen wastes that the world called out to.
Aqua could not let such important information slip, and thus she focused her full attention on the teacher.