Egret: The Great Sage

Chapter 10

The True Name Ceremony

Ruvar-H compiled a list of students who had registered for the true name ceremony and assigned them a date to travel to the Vatican. The students did not need to gather their own group, because the academy had assigned them into trios based on each student’s ability. No one was allowed to make a complaint about the assigned group.

The academy offered this opportunity for the students to build new relationships outside of their usual cliques. Students who were separated from their close friends were disappointed, but it worked out for the better for Egret. He didn’t have anyone close that he could ask to join his group. Rather, he felt lucky if no one avoided him.

That was what Egret thought until he saw a familiar figure arrive at the administration office on the day of his departure.

“Judas...?”

“Well, this is a pleasant surprise. Hello, Ethan.”

Egret, who had arrived well ahead of the scheduled time, raised his hand in greeting. Ethan bowed his head in return while coming closer.

“I wouldn’t have guessed that you registered for the true name ceremony this year.”

The prince was twelve and had three more years to register for the ceremony. One only needed to receive their true name before they turned sixteen. In fact, many people had visited the Vatican after postponing it until their last chance. Ethan had guessed that the prince would wait, given his weak health.

Egret understood what the boy meant and smiled softly.

“It is wisest to take a chance when it comes. Don’t you think? Do you reckon I am going too far with this endeavor?”

“I didn’t mean it that way...”

“Then?”

Ethan saw the mischief in the golden eyes, and he couldn’t help but smile back.

“Your decision shows your tenacity.”

“Well now.”

Ethan genuinely thought that the prince was tenacious in participating in the ceremony despite the physical limitations that plagued him. He hoped that the white heron prince would recover his health as soon as possible. If he could, then he would be difficult to ignore and would be able to stand tall as the first prince of the kingdom.

They sat in the chairs in the administration office together, waiting for their last teammate to arrive. They watched other trios with all their members leaving. There weren’t very many groups left that were scheduled to leave for today. If their third person didn’t show up, their trip would be canceled. And since the academy required students to travel in a group of three to be granted permission to visit Elysium, there were no exceptions.

As the window of time for departure was closing, Ethan stood up from his seat.

“It seems like...”

“Patience is a virtue. There is still time.”

“It’s almost over.”

Ethan slightly furrowed his brow. Having been raised by a strict family of martial artists, he was usually quite stoic. He never took shortcuts, diligently executed given tasks, and had an excellent record of time management.

Ethan didn’t even want to imagine the lack of discipline from the last member of the group. And he just knew that even if they came before the departure window closed, the group wouldn’t get their permission issued on time.

Thinking this, he stole a glance at the prince. Judas must have been waiting longer than he had, but he looked as calm as ever.

“There is still time remaining.”

“They should’ve arrived already if they meant to come. I think it’s useless to keep waiting.”

It was then that they heard an icy voice of a girl behind them. “How uncultured to speak so rashly.”

It was their last teammate, Cristina Delfia. She was the queen of Ruvar-H, so to speak. Her cool and proud demeanor was incomparable to any average fourteen-year-old girl. Her attitude perfectly complimented her being a Delfia, the daughter of one of the two most powerful dukes in the Ruvarsan kingdom, and she had a huge fan base among the students.

It also helped that she was an exceptional beauty with unique ocean-blue hair that was lighter at the ends. There were many students who wouldn’t even dare speak to her. It was unusual for her to appear alone, without her usual followers.

Ethan’s face stiffened at the sight of her. It wasn’t too obvious, given how he was usually expressionless, but it was enough of a change for people around him to notice. He spoke with a chilly tone that rivaled Cristina’s. “Doesn’t sound like something one should say after troubling the entire group.”

“I wonder if this is worth the bother for me.”

Egret was the only one unfazed by the hostile team environment. He got up from his seat with a chuckle.

“Oh, my child. This boy Ethan had been wishing that you’d arrive on time.”

“You...”

Her haughty expression cracked for a moment as she heard the prince speak in a manner she had never heard from her peers.

“Wouldn’t an honest apology suffice for such a situation?”

After looking down at him for a moment, Cristina took a breath and ran a hand through her hair.

“Uh... All right. You’re not wrong. I’m sorry about being late.” She offered a straightforward apology, and Ethan accepted it without a qualm.

“That’s okay.”

The combination of the prince and the son and daughter of dukes seemed very unlikely. Egret knew the three of them hadn’t been assigned to the same team by coincidence. He’d thought it the moment he saw Ethan walk in.

If the emperor’s favored first prince rose to the position of the crown prince, this trio must build a good rapport. Even if the prince didn’t attain the title, he was still an important pawn needed in the royal court.

Egret smiled bitterly as he realized that the academy was an extension of human society.

What a contradiction to stage such a convenient opportunity while preaching to the students not to make cliques.

The permission document was issued as soon as it was confirmed that all three of them had shown up. Then they were escorted to the portal for safe travels.

Portals were elemental transportation devices that dotted the vast land of the Kingdom of Ruvarsan. It was the greatest invention made by the scholars of magic. Without it, the kingdom would not have been as united as it was across its huge territory. The invention had been useful during the wars, and it still served a crucial role as a means of transportation, in this case, for noble children to travel outside of the academy.

Of course, the portal alone couldn’t take the students directly to the Vatican, Elysium, from the academy. The maximum distance humans could travel via portal without harm was two thousand kilometers. A well-trained soldier was said to be able to withstand twenty thousand kilometers of portal travel, but students who weren’t of age were limited to the safe figure of two thousand. So they had to use the portal once a day until they reached the Vatican, traveling through specific provinces.

It was in fact Egret who had contributed the most in making it possible to travel long distances by expanding on the portal principle. Only magical knowledge was used to advance the portals until he applied the four elements of nature to make longer-distance travel as safe and harmless as possible to the human body. That was how it had become famous for not having aftereffects.

Standing in front of the portal, Egret scanned the device, which had come a long way from its predecessor.

“Please provide your permission for leave.”

“Here it is.”

Ethan presented the document for the portal manager to review.

The manager went over the rules once more. “Your permission grants you ten days of travel. Unauthorized violations will be reflected in your grade for the class for that period.”

Then he professionally operated the portal that looked like a large full-length mirror. Its surface started to ripple and then turned dark as if stained by black ink. The space was being separated by magic.

“Minors are allowed to use the portal once a day. Your final stop is the Vatican, Elysium. You’ll be spending a total of three days traveling through your first and second portal locations before reaching your destination. Your first stop is Charles Territory.”

The portal let out a sound like a monster’s roar. Students and even adults normally shuddered at the sound, but the trio did not budge.

The manager seemed impressed at how Cristina looked almost arrogant while Ethan was expressionless, and Judas looked as comfortable as he could be. The manager gestured toward the portal for them to go.

They stepped in without hesitation, and a dark, inky energy engulfed them.

“We wish you safe travels.”

***

The darkness cleared as the light came into view.

The three were standing in front of a portal once again. The portal manager of the Charles Territory was on standby, and he bowed to greet them. Their visit wasn’t an official one based on their status but rather a field trip as Ruvar-H students, so there were no other personnel to offer more formal greetings.

“Welcome. This is Charles Territory. The portal opens again tomorrow at ten in the morning, so please enjoy your free time in the castle before then. We wish you a comfortable stay at Charles.” The manager gave them a brief explanation as he escorted them outside the control room, where there was a staircase to the outskirts of the castle.

Egret had contributed to the advancement of portals but had little experience traveling long distances through them himself. He looked around the corridor in excitement. He could see the entire village of Charles as he looked out over the railing.

“Charles Territory...”

The prince’s silver hair fluttered lightly in the spring breeze. Cristina turned and walked past him.