Isekai Brainwashing – Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Royal Academy

It had been a month since I left the Pnosis Territory, and I finally set foot in the Royal Capital.

No, the Royal Capital is way too far!

It was exactly thirty days ago on my birthday that my father told me to head to the Royal Capital. The next day, I set off on my journey as instructed, but the road ahead was far more grueling than I had imagined.

First off, I had to travel on foot from the start. Unlike my previous life, I couldn’t just hop on a car, train, or plane to reach my destination. In fact, there weren’t even any proper roads. The only highway leading from the Pnosis Territory was unpaved and poorly maintained. I lost my way countless times, mistaking it for a beast trail.

It was no wonder my father didn’t lend me a carriage. The roads were so bad that I could easily imagine a carriage breaking down and getting stuck along the way. While I might have managed to traverse the terrain on horseback, I wasn’t particularly skilled at riding. I’d rather walk than try to ride a horse.

After walking for a week along a path that was hard to distinguish as a road, I finally reached the largest town in the neighboring noble’s territory. From there, I had to transfer to a shared carriage thirteen times to move from town to town.

The distance from the Pnosis Territory to the Royal Capital was truly immense. Assuming the average distance a carriage could travel in a day was about 35 kilometers, it would take around 22 days to make the journey—roughly 770 kilometers…

In any case, it was far. This was the greatest adventure of my nearly forty years of life, including my previous one.

But why was I making this long journey to the Royal Capital in the first place? It was due to a certain obligation imposed on the nobles of the Kingdom of Reese.

“If a skill bestowed by the gods has the potential to be useful in war, the children of nobility must study at the Royal Academy for three years.”

Once upon a time, the Kingdom of Reese was embroiled in a great war that engulfed the entire continent.

The reigning king gathered the children of nobility who possessed war-oriented skills in one place to provide military training, intending to utilize the immense power of these skills in battle.

This was the origin of what is now known as the Royal Academy of Reese, which began as the Royal Military Training School over a hundred years ago.

Currently, the international relations surrounding the Kingdom of Reese are peaceful. War has become a relic of the past. Yet, it seems strange that a royal decree from a century ago still holds power today.

The skill I carelessly mentioned, Firekinesis, is precisely the kind of skill suited for warfare. My mouth has landed me in trouble, and I inadvertently qualified for admission to the Royal Academy.

Ignoring the royal decree would lead to execution without question. I had no choice but to go to the Royal Capital.

However, there was a silver lining: the Royal Academy had an entrance exam.

Apparently, about ten years ago, they began gathering talented individuals with skills from the common folk, leading to an influx of candidates exceeding the academy’s capacity.

As a result, entrance exams were instituted to select qualified candidates.

For someone like me, who harbored the dangerous Brainwashing Skill, being thrown into an academy where I would have to spend three years surrounded by many people was far too risky.

So, I had to make sure I didn’t fail the entrance exam…!

“—I need to hurry!”

The entrance exam was today, of all days. I had arrived just in the nick of time.

If I were even a minute late, I could be executed for defying a royal command. I rushed toward the Royal Academy located on the northern outskirts of the Royal Capital.

“So this is the Royal Academy of Reese…!”

As I passed through the grand gates, a vast garden unfolded before me, and beyond it stood a magnificent white building, though not as grand as the royal castle. This was indeed the kingdom’s highest institution of learning. I had no intention of enrolling, but I couldn’t help feeling a bit exhilarated.

“Hey, look at that!”
“What’s with those filthy clothes? Is she a commoner?”
“I can’t understand why His Majesty would allow a commoner to enroll in such a prestigious academy.”

I heard voices of disdain from the surrounding crowd.

I braced myself, thinking they were talking about me, but it seemed I was mistaken.

As I scanned the area, I noticed a girl walking nervously a little ahead of me.

She wore a tattered, filthy gray dress, and her light blue hair, which reached her shoulders, was unkempt and dull. She was about my shoulder height, slightly shorter than most girls her age.

A commoner… She must have come from a poor district. Her appearance stood out painfully in this setting, as if she were struggling with poverty to the point where she couldn’t afford to take care of herself.

“Hey, you filthy commoner!”

Like a moth drawn to a flame, a pompous-looking man stood in her way.

He was dressed in extravagant clothing adorned with gaudy designs, draped in a tasteless bright red cape.

He looked every bit the spoiled son of a noble, flanked by five boys and girls who seemed to be his entourage. It appeared he was quite a high-ranking noble.

The girl with the blue hair was abruptly blocked in her path and was completely intimidated by the noble’s overbearing demeanor.

“Who do you think you are, standing here without permission? This esteemed institution is no place for filthy commoners like you!”

“B-but, just a moment ago, the priest told me to come here right away after hearing about the skill I received…”

Huh? Did she just receive her skill recently?

If someone receives a skill from the gods within a month before the entrance exam, they are allowed to defer their participation to the following year. I had barely made the cutoff for participation, which is why I had to rush to the Royal Capital.

I couldn’t believe the priest at the church in the Royal Capital wouldn’t know this. Perhaps the skill she received was exceptionally remarkable.