An hour later, Aisha and I finally reached the grand iron gates leading into the third residential district. The streets were swarming with crowds...refugees carrying packed satchels, weary families searching for open lodgings, and merchants shouting over the din to sell inflated rations.
Aisha shifted her satchel, looking around at the sea of displaced civilians.
"Eirene... why are there so many people packed into this ward?"
"I have no idea, don't ask people who don't know the answer. It's rude." I replied flatly, keeping my head low beneath my heavy hood.
"Oh... sorry," she murmured, shrinking back slightly.
In truth, I knew exactly why the streets were choking on refugees. It was the Bureau's doing. Whenever a continental disaster struck Andromeda, Caria City always served as the final, absolute bastion of humanity. A century ago, during the Great Demon War, millions perished across the land, but Caria stood as an impenetrable fortress. In the aftermath of that war, the Immoral Knights had risen...renegades who turned their backs on the Bureau and allied with the demons, sacrificing their very humanity in exchange for raw power and immortality.
If the remnants of the Immoral Knights or Edrie's forces strike Caria now, will history repeat itself?
With the Nightwalker outbreak spreading across the hundred-mile border, more survivors would inevitably flood into the city walls day after day. A full-scale war against the demon factions was looming on the horizon. But based on Edrie's tactical behavior...infecting the continent to bleed our supplies dry before launching a final assault...the demons would need time to gather their strength. Since their true numbers were relatively low, a full invasion would likely take four to seven years to materialize.
That timeframe was ideal. It meant I could watch my son, Cliff, grow up in relative peace. And by the time the war finally breached these walls, the tool standing right beside me would be fully forged.
With Aisha's latent fire magic potential, she would serve as my vanguard on the field.
A sappy quote from my past life on Earth drifted through my mind: "Kindness is a single stone cast into a vast, silent lake. You may only see the initial splash, but long after the water seems still, the invisible currents are carrying your warmth to shores you will never stand upon."
I scoffed inwardly beneath my hood.
Kindness? No. This is merely a minor disturbance on the surface of a stagnant pond, calculated precisely to trigger a later wave.
In this world, gold and resources must be spent to generate value. Throwing my remaining coin to enroll an orphaned girl with rare fire talent is not an act of charity; it is dropping a heavy rock into the river of fate.
People speak of the ripple effect as an unpredictable, noble phenomenon. They foolishly believe a small good deed spreads blindly through the universe, hoping fate will somehow return the favor. That is the naive optimism of the weak. For me, the ripple is a strict mathematical trajectory.
I invest a minor, depreciating asset today...the gold required to cover her full tuition...into a high-yield variable: an elemental battle mage. As she grows, the ripples of her strength, emotional gratitude, and institutional position will expand. When those ripples eventually collide with my future objectives, they will create the exact constructive interference I require to protect my son and secure my survival.
She thinks she was saved by a merciful saint. In truth, she was merely mobilized as a pawn on a chessboard she cannot comprehend...a pawn pushed forward early in the game to clear a path for the king later on. Whether the ripple brings life or destruction to her in the end is completely irrelevant, so long as it carries me a few steps closer to my goal.
We crossed the stone bridge into the 2nd District...the academic hub of Caria City where the heavy granite walls of the Caria Mastery Academy towered over the surrounding avenues.
We paid the district toll at the inner checkpoint and made our way straight to the registrar's office. Walking through those massive iron-reinforced doors brought back memories of enrolling Zenni a year ago.
Another pawn forged in the exact same furnace, I thought coldly.
Behind the desk sat the very same registrar from my last visit. She looked up from her parchment, her expression professional and composed.
"Good morning. How may I assist you today?"
"Morning," I replied flatly, keeping my hood drawn low over my brow while holding Cliff against my shoulder. "I'm enrolling this girl right here. She's transferring from the Sisiphon Magic Academy and is ready to begin her combat training."
The registrar pulled out a fresh parchment slip.
"Very well. I will need her official birth certificate and status card, young lass."
Aisha fidgeted with the hem of her tunic, her voice shrinking.
"I... I don't have my birth certificate with me, but I have my status card."
It was an expected complication. Her physical birth records were either lost in the ashes of Lulu City or locked away back in Sisiphon. Fate grants curses to the weak, but bureaucratic paperwork wasn't going to stop this transaction.
"The status card is sufficient for transfer verification, please present it." the registrar said, extending her hand.
Aisha slid her card across the polished wooden desk. The registrar carefully noted the details down in a large financial ledger before looking back up at me with a respectful tone.
"The standard tuition, uniform fee, and processing cost will be exactly one gold coin per annum, covering her basic expenses for a full year. However, as she is entering the Combat Mastery program...which runs for four full terms...her guardian may choose to pay annually, or pay four gold coins right now to fully secure her dormitories, meals, high-grade training gear, and a guaranteed academic scholarship until her final graduation."
Without a single word or moment of hesitation, I reached into my coat, pulled out my remaining gold, and placed the four heavy gold coins directly onto the counter with a steady, unblinking hand. The metallic clink of the coins echoed softly through the quiet room, paying the orphaned girl's entire four-year path to power in one single deposit.
I turned my cold gaze down to the girl standing beside me.
"Do not mistake this for kindness, and never look to me for comfort, the academy will give you a roof and the path to power. If you are weak, you will die, and these coins will have been wasted. Become strong, survive, and make yourself useful to me." I said, my voice flat and chilling.
Aisha's eyes brimmed with tears. But instead of fleeing from my frigid demeanor, her mind...shattered by loss...saw only the savior who had pulled her out of the dirt. She threw her arms around my waist, wrapping me in a desperate, fierce hug as she sobbed into my tunic.
"I will, Eirene! I will become the strongest weapon for you, I swear it...even if it costs my life!"
I stood entirely still, letting her hold me without returning the embrace, my hand merely resting on Cliff's head as I looked out the window.
How truly fragile and easily manipulated the human heart is, she clings to me as if I am her absolute salvation, completely blind to the fact that she has merely traded one cage for another. Let her embrace this sweet illusion. A pawn bound by absolute, self-imposed loyalty is far more reliable and lethal than one bound by mere contracts or fear.
These gold coins are gone, draining my immediate reserves, but in their place, I have planted a seed that will sprout into a flawless weapon. Fire talent nurtured by profound gratitude will gladly throw itself into the flames at my command. She will cultivate frantically day and night just to prove her worth to me. She will climb the ranks of this brutal military academy, and when the day comes that I require her life, her blood, or her entire magic pool to pave my path toward protecting my son, she will offer it up with a smile.
In this cruel world where mortals are treated like grass and even immortals are just larger ants, everything must be utilized to its absolute limit. If her destiny is to burn to ash just to light a single inch of my endless journey, then this hug is simply the prelude to her ultimate sacrifice.
"Hey, don't hug me like that, Little Cliff will cry."
Aisha immediately pulled back, her cheeks flushing red as she wiped her eyes with her sleeves.
"Oh! Sorry, sorry!"
She leaned over slightly to look at Cliff, who was nestled safely against my chest. He cooed softly, waving a tiny fist in the air.
A tiny, determined smile broke through her tears as she looked back up at me.
"Aw... I promise, Eirene. When I graduate from this academy, I will protect you and your son with everything I have!"
"Well, visit my house whenever you have time off."
Before she could answer, the registrar cleared her throat and signaled to an armored guard standing near the archway.
"Sir Knight, please guide this young lass to the first-year dormitories and administrative building."
"Understood," the guard nodded, stepping forward and gesturing down the broad granite hall. "Follow me, kid."
Aisha gave me one last deep, grateful bow.
"Thank you for everything, Eirene! I won't let you down!"
She turned and followed the guard deeper into the fortress-like complex. I watched her figure disappear around the stone corner, leaving me alone in the high-ceilinged registry with my son resting quietly in my arms.