Another SSR is released

They say the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, but to travel from the Crown Prince’s mansion on the east side of the Imperial City to the Royal Academy on the west, the fastest route is actually to detour north.

The Imperial City is riddled with checkpoints, and the streets are bustling with traffic and people, making it possible that even tripling the time wouldn’t get you to your destination.

Ryan chose to detour south.

The reason was that the northwest route passed through the Azure Lion Knight Regiment’s territory, and the northeast route would pass by the Watch Knight Regiment’s camp.

Ryan disliked both of these.

The southwest, however, was home to the Church’s Hymn Knight Regiment, whose stance was relatively neutral.

Even if it was slightly further, Ryan preferred this route.

The time in the carriage was truly boring.

After watching for a while, Ryan turned his head to observe the golden-haired girl in front of him.

Perhaps it was considering that personal maids in noble households often served certain special purposes, but the Royal Academy’s maid uniforms were exceptionally beautiful.

The upper half was a formal top similar to a regular student’s uniform, while the lower half was a short, maid-like skirt with lace trim.

It also came with creamy-smooth, pristine white stockings that subtly revealed a hint of flesh tone while perfectly showcasing the girl’s elegant leg shape.

Although Ryan now somewhat disliked blue, the blue round-toe leather shoes, the blue floral bow tie at her chest, and the blue ribbon tying her hair all suited the golden-haired girl perfectly.

Of course, what truly captivated Ryan was that hint of blue in her eyes, as beautiful as the sky, which he found so enchanting.
…

But the golden-haired girl wasn’t meeting his gaze at the moment; instead, she was looking out the window with great interest, as if everything she saw was completely novel to her.

It wasn’t that Flora had been like this on the way to Fattler Territory last time, but at that time, Ryan had been in no mood to think about anything else.

“You really like looking at the scenery?”

Flora paused slightly, then quickly turned back, bowing gently, and said:

“Reporting to Your Highness, not entirely. The other scenery in the Imperial Capital is indeed beautiful, but I am mostly familiarizing myself with the route.”

“Familiarizing yourself with the route?”

Ryan couldn’t help but smile faintly. “What’s there to familiarize yourself with? It’s such a short distance…”

But as he spoke, recalling the blue beast-shaped ornament on her, his smile faded somewhat.

Getting lost might truly be a joke for others, but people from the Blue Fox family found it no laughing matter.

“This is just a personal habit, Your Highness need not worry about it.”

Flora said, feigning composure.

It was precisely because she was skilled at observation and remembering the subtle differences of every road she’d seen, and mentally calculating how weather might affect the terrain, that she was never lost.

However, some people inexplicably succeed at this kind of light novel trope.

Thinking of this, Flora’s eyes involuntarily grew melancholic.

Seeing this, Ryan couldn’t help but inwardly lament his misstep.

Perhaps realizing the atmosphere in the carriage was a bit off, and that her own expression was not good, Flora quickly adjusted her face and changed the subject:

“Your Highness, have you practiced your studies?”

Although the topic wasn’t particularly interesting, and Ryan could see that Flora was putting on a brave face, he decided to humor her and chat about school along this line.

“No, I don’t think I’ll be able to use the knowledge from school.”

“That’s not quite right, Your Highness.

I know you’re someone with real combat experience, but Your Highness is only proficient in combat magic and swordsmanship, aren’t you?

While other types of magic and skills may not directly assist you, they can still provide inspiration for drawing inferences!”

“Besides, the school conducts regular exams. If Your Highness doesn’t achieve a decent score, it could affect talent recruitment.”

“You’re very right, but my ancestor, Emperor Tom, the founder of the nation, was a very ordinary person.

He managed to defeat the tyrant Hannibal, mostly by luck.”

“Later, he recklessly ran off to fight the barbarians alone and nearly lost his life. He was quite pathetic.”

Recalling that founding emperor, a figure with a century of history.

Ryan laughed disdainfully.

“Your Highness cannot say that. I believe Emperor Tom was a very capable person… If nothing else, the Emperor knew his weaknesses, yet he knew whom to seek out to compensate for them, and clearly understood who was best suited for what tasks… This is undoubtedly a top-tier talent.”

Seeing Ryan’s dismissive attitude, Flora continued,

“Your Highness believes matters outside of combat can be left to subordinates.

That idea is certainly good, but can you truly select genuine talent now, without any understanding of an industry?”

Ryan was about to say that he would always have knowledgeable subordinates, but the words caught in his throat as he thought that his subordinates might also lack discernment, or even conspire to deceive him.

“I understand. I will strive to learn all useful knowledge.”

He had no choice but to change his tune, submitting to Flora’s instruction.

At the same time, he also noticed,

“You are very interested in going to school?”

“Yes, because this is my first time going to school.”

Ryan initially thought Flora was simply rebuking him as a young noble from a declining family.

But seeing the natural expression of longing on Flora’s face… Ryan told himself, this was not a pretense.

Ryan’s heart was suddenly filled with confusion.

‘How can this be? With so much knowledge and wisdom, she’s never been to school?’

While the Empire’s overall literacy and school enrollment rates weren’t high, among nobles—even knights—they would do everything possible to send their children to school.

Knowledge might not entirely change one’s fate, but a literate man, even if he couldn’t become a knight, could secure a clerical position with a lord and live a worry-free latter half of his life.

Morik was a commoner, but he initially followed this path.

And literate women could enter the households of barons or higher as maids or female officials, or marry knights…

Knights actually prioritized educated and well-mannered women, as this was beneficial for raising literate descendants from a young age.

Even if they ultimately couldn’t establish a foothold in noble circles, going into the commoner world, becoming teachers, or joining merchant guilds… would still be a dimension-crushing advantage.

So Ryan found it hard to believe that Flora had never been to school.

But soon, Ryan thought of that person.

As the Empire’s most talented and legendary figure, that person, though born to the Azure Lion family, was an illegitimate child who wandered among the common folk from a young age.

After his biological grandfather died early, he even became an orphan wandering the streets for a time…

It wasn’t until the age of six that that person was adopted by the Azure Lion family.

Later, he was favored by the old man, and his rise to prominence shone brightly, in turn bringing glory to the Ryan family, who had provided him no upbringing…

Considering the Azure Lion family’s long-standing habit of adopting orphans merely for show.

Ryan also reached a conclusion: the Azure Lion family had once again struck gold; a top genius had reappeared among their abandoned orphans.