It was the first time Lakshman went from one place to another through the use of Phoenix Portal. He found himself walking through what looked like a veil of darkness. The path he walked on was lit brightly and he could see into the distance, but everything around was shrouded by darkness.

Next thing he knew, he walked into a sunlit room. He quickly closed his eyes to avoid the glare of the sunlight. That was when he heard familiar voice speaking from nearby.

“Ah!”

“He’s finally here!”

“Cool!”

“Felix! Master’s here!”

“Yes, yes. I can see for myself so keep the volume down, please.”

Lakshman slowly opened his eyes and saw the room was well spaced. Shelves were lined along the wall and were filled with books and folders. Sunlight streamed through the open windows and shone the room in a bright glow of light.

He turned around and saw Ondine, Tetra, Cantia and Emilia standing near a desk. The desk was piled up with paper and papers littered everywhere. Seated behind the desk was none other than Felix.

“Felix?” Lakshman asked in amazement.

“Ah! Lucky! Glad you could make it!” Felix said brightly when he looked up and saw him.

Lakshman walked over as the girls waved at him. He smiled at them then turned his gaze towards the many papers scattered about.

“What’s with all the paper?” Lakshman asked curiously.

“This... is the responsibility of being a Phoenix Emperor!” Felix said dramatically.

“Really? Wow!” Lakshman said in awe. He looked at the many papers and said “Looks fun!”

Felix groaned and said “No! Not fun at all!” Then he went through several papers and said “Complaints about robbery... Acceptance letters for a permit on construction... Reports on security... Blah, blah, blah... Yup...! Not fun at all!”

When Lakshman laughed, Felix sighed and said “You’re only lucky you don’t have these kind of duties.”

“Can’t you get help with them?”

“I usually get Rasha to help out, but she often gets annoyed that I’m slacking off and pushes me to do most of the work.”

“That’s right! It’s your duty so you should do it!” Ondine said and she nodded in satisfaction with Rasha’s decision.

“Ugh... Don’t remind me...!” Felix groaned after saying that.

After chuckling, Lakshman asked “So? We’re all here. What do we do now?”

“Just a moment...” Felix said and he pulled a drawer. While searching through it, he muttered “I think I put them here... Hmm...”

When he found what he was looking for, he picked them up and closed the drawer. Then he placed them on the desk and said “Here you are, your enrolment letters! You’ll need to show this to be allowed to go past the gates.”

“Really?” Lakshman asked, one by one, Felix handed them over to the girls.

Felix nodded and said “The security at Astra Academy is pretty high! It’s a place of elites and, as such, security is top notch! If you don’t have permit to enter the premises, they’ll blast you out and punish you severely.”

“Yikes! That’s tough!” Lakshman exclaimed and Felix nodded.

Then he pointed at the enrolment letters and said “As promised, I got the girls their enrolment letter. Do you have yours with you?”

With a grin, Lakshman pulled it out of his pocket and showed it to Felix.

“Good man,” Felix said in satisfaction and Lakshman pocketed it.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. When Felix said “Come in,” the door opened and a butler appeared.

Master Felix, you called for me?” the man asked after bowing to him.

“That’s right, Samuel. Please escort the ladies to the Astral Academy,” Felix told the butler.

“As you request,” the butler said with a nod of his head. He turned and indicated to the door and said “This way, please.”

Ondine, Tetra and Emilia looked hesitant and Cantia asked “Isn’t master coming?”

“No. I have some things to talk to him, but you’ll see him soon. So go on ahead,” Felix told them.

“Ah. Okay then,” Cantia said and she nodded in understanding.

The girls waved their goodbye and the butler closed the door as they left. Now it was just Lakshman and Felix within the room. Felix began writing while Lakshman looked around curiously.

“Where is this place?” he asked when he wanted to know where they were.

“Inside the castle.”

“What? Inside the castle? Your work room is inside the castle?”

“That’s right. Well... Originally, my base of operations was from the Phoenix Clan village. However, the king thought it was best suited if I worked from the castle.”

“Why is that?”

“I used to have a Phintex Raja to delegate messages, but the king got scared of the Phintex Raja. So now I lugged all of my work stuff over here. I’m also living here with Rasha and Sasha.”

“No kidding. It feels like a lot of work and stuff for you to keep moving around.”

Felix shrugged and said “It can’t be helped. My role is just that important to the Phoenix Clan and to the Floria Kingdom.”

“I see...” Lakshman nodded in understanding.

Felix completed writing on the piece of paper and put it away. Then he put his pen down and looked intently at Lakshman.

“Lucky, listen. You came here for education purpose, okay?”

Felix suddenly looked surprised when Lakshman began to chuckle at what he said.

“What’s so funny?”

Lakshman, trying to control his chuckle, said “Before coming here... Dad said he was fine if I get more lovers so long as I take responsibility.”

Felix raised his eyebrows and smiled. He shook his head in exasperation and said “That fool. He’s jealous of how popular you are with the ladies.”

“I don’t know. I’m not trying to get the attention of the girls. They just seem to... love me on their own,” Lakshman said honestly.

Felix smiled and said “Being yourself is also an attraction that draws girls in. You just have a natural ability for it which is pretty rare.”

After smiling at each other, Felix’s expression became serious. Lakshman guessed that whatever he was going to tell him was very important.

“Lucky, from this day onwards, you are no longer a Phoenix Titan,” Felix told him in a firm voice.

Lakshman blinked in surprise. Then his surprised expression slowly turned to shock and he exclaimed “What?! I’m no longer the Phoenix Titan?! What do you mean I’m not?!”

“Relax. You’re still the Phoenix Titan, but don’t appear like one in public,” Felix told him.

“Oh...” Lakshman said and he sighed in relief. Then he looked puzzled and he asked “Why, Felix?”

“You see... It will draw too much attention. People will want to try and get close to you just for your powers. Then they will use your name to do whatever they want and then you’ll be held responsible. That’s why I think its best that you don’t appear as the Phoenix Titan in public. Don’t even think you’re the Phoenix Titan from now on!”

Lakshman nodded in understanding and said “I see... That’s actually quite good, but... wouldn’t people recognise me?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean... They’ve seen my face three years ago, right? Wouldn’t they recognise me with just one glance?” Lakshman asked in a worried voice.

Felix looked surprised at his question. Then he burst out laughing and caused Lakshman to get really confused.

“I see what you mean, but you shouldn’t worry about it,” Felix said easily once he calmed down.

“Eh? I shouldn’t worry about it? Explain!”

Felix cleared his throat and said “I mean... Look at you! It’s been three long years since people had seen your face! You’ve grown so much, become so manly with really strong muscly body and a handsome face. They will only remember the spiky blond hair and the red crown shaped eyes.”

“Oh! So people will only remember me by the key feature that identify me as the Phoenix Titan? Lakshman asked and Felix nodded.

“Exactly! So there’s nothing you need to worry about at all!” Felix said and he grinned at him.

Lakshman sighed and said “That’s a relief.”

Felix smiled and he clicked his finger. Lakshman looked surprised and, as nothing happened, he asked “Why did you click your fingers, Felix?”

“I’m telling my Phintex Raja to go call for an attendant to escort you to the academy.”

“Wow! There was one in the room?” Lakshman asked and he looked around the room curiously as if he was going to see them. Then he asked “Is it a Magic Spell that hides them and lets them not make any sound?”

“Yes. They use the Illusion Magic Spell called Hide which lets them go invisible while Sneak lets the move around silently and stealthily. Additionally, they use the Transport Magic Spell called Warp to move from one place to another.”

“Ah! Warp. I should’ve known...” Lakshman said and Felix smiled.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. When Felix said “Enter,” a man entered wearing butler uniform.

“You called, sir?” he asked after bowing to Felix.

“Yes, I did. Please kindly escort this young man to Astral Academy,” Felix told the man.

The butler nodded at Felix before turning to Lakshman and saying “Please follow me.”

“Ah. Sure!” Lakshman said and he got to his feet. He extended his hand and shook with Felix’s hand while saying “Thanks for the help, Felix.”

“Anytime,” Felix said with a grin on his face.

Lakshman slung his bag over his shoulders and followed the butler out of the room. Once the door closed, Felix sighed and returned to doing his work.

“Hmm?”

At that moment, he suddenly thought he had forgotten to tell Lakshman something. He pondered for a moment, but he could not think of what it was.

“Oh well. I’m sure Lakshman will be fine,” he said before sighing and returning to go through the pile of papers.

He had no idea the kind of trouble Lakshman got into because of not knowing that forgotten information.