In a room full of students, there was silence. They all sat at individual desks and were concentrating on writing on pieces of paper. At the front of the room was a teacher who sat while constantly checking the Crystal Clock that was on her desk.

Two months had passed and it was time for the exams. The students of Astral Academy were currently studying their hardest to pass their exams with the highest marks. At that moment, Class 1A were sitting their Magic Theory exam with several other classes in different rooms.

Lakshman was sitting at the back of the room with his head down. He looked severely at the question paper and did his best to answer all the questions on it. Through the entire term, he had studied very hard for this so he was confident he will get good marks.

Finally, after two hours passed, the teacher rose to her feet and said “Alright, people! Finish whatever you are doing and then place your pens down. I will come around and collect your question and answer sheets so make sure you labelled them with your names.”

Then the teacher began walking around while collecting the papers. She placed the question sheet above the answer sheet so as to cover up the answers of the students. Sometimes, she stopped and had to indicate a few things before collecting them. Once all papers were collected, the teacher walked back to the front and placed them inside a box.

“Okay. I hope you all did your best and class dismissed!” she announced.

“Finally!”

“Yay!”

“Phew!”

With voices of relief and tiredness, the students rose to their feet and slowly exited the room.

“Ha…” Lakshman sighed as he stretched as he stood up.

As he bent to pick up his bag, a voice asked him “How did you go?”

“I did well so I’m not expecting to get bad marks,” he said when he straightened up and looked at Venezuela.

“That’s true. I am also confident I will get good marks.”

Lakshman laughed and he placed an arm around her shoulder. Together, they walked out of the classroom. As they passed other students, they came together and began whispering to each other.

“There they are.”

“Look at them… so lovely…”

“Loving one another is so great…”

“I want to fall in love too…”

It had been two months since the public became aware of the relationship between Lakshman and princess Venezuela. Everyone was astonished when the king announced, in public, his approval of their love. However, he clearly stated that he wanted Lakshman to finish his studies before the marriage.

Due to this, Lakshman had been working really hard to study so as not to look bad. Additionally, he also spent a great deal of time with Venezuela. She could see that he was trying his hardest to make her happy, but she noticed a sense of loneliness and realised what it was.

“Want to meet up with Ondine, Tetra, Emilia and Cantia?” she asked him with a smile.

“Sure!” he said enthusiastically.

Venezuela was aware of his love for the four girls and did not want to interfere in it. Instead, she enjoyed the time she got to spend together with the girls. Ondine was proud, but reckless, Tetra is calm and cool, Emilia is timid, but nice and Cantia is crazy and wild with her behaviour. With all these different personalities, it was only fun times for her.

Lakshman finally returned to his dormitory that evening. He did not use Warp because he wanted to take a nice stroll along the school grounds. It had been a while since he walked through the garden which was trimmed neatly on either sides of the footpath.

“Ah! Mr. Reddy! You have a letter,” the receptionist said when she saw him enter.

“A letter? From who?” Lakshman asked when he walked over to her.

The woman flipped to the back side of the envelope and said “It says it’s from Mrs. Lakshmi Reddy.”

“Ah! That’s from my mum. I should’ve known since dad doesn’t know how to write properly.”

“I see. So he’s an adventurer, I take it?”

“That’s right. I think he’s an A-Ranked Adventurer who’s constantly going on missions.”

“That’s nice of him. It’s always good when the head of the family works hard for the family. Well, please sign here your signature.”

“Alright,” Lakshman said and he took the pen from her before scribbling what he thought was a signature on the paper.

There was a moment’s pause before the envelope glowed brightly. Then the woman smiled at him and said “All done. Have a good day.”

“I wish the same to you,” Lakshman said brightly.

He took the letter from her and headed upstairs. Once he reached the second floor, he turned right and headed towards his room.

“Open,” he said when he stopped outside his room door.

There was a click and the door swung open. The moment he walked in, the lights turned out automatically.

As of late, he had used a Sensor Barrier Magic Spell to turn the light on or off when someone entered or left. The people of the campus had no idea about this which made him wonder if they will approve it one they found out he experimented with their equipment.

Just as he closed his door, a solid form with a white tail ended figure appeared. She had a bright smile on her face when she saw him.

“How did you go? Did you write well?” Spectra asked him curiously.

“I did alright. I doubt they will fail me with how good I answered the questions,” Lakshman replied as he walked over to the bed and laid his bad down.

Spectra frowned and asked “What’s with that attitude? You don’t have to be so negative when you speak about the results, right?”

“I know, I know. Sorry, but I’m a little distracted.”

“From what?”

Lakshman held his letter and showed it to her. As she looked confused, he said “It’s a letter my mum sent me which just arrived.”

“Is this the reply for the one you sent two months ago? That’s wonderful,” she said happily.

“It is!” he said happily and he cut open the envelope.

Taking the letter out of it, he straightened it while he sat down on the bed. Then Spectra hovered over him to read the letter with him.

Lakshman looked surprised when he saw her hovering there. He scowled and said “Oi! Privacy!”

“Aww…!” she said unhappily and she floated away.

After watching her go away, he returned his attention to his letter. The hand writing unmistakably belonged to his mother. Then he started reading what his mother had to write in the letter.

“Dear Lucky,

How are you? I hope you are doing well. I am also hopeful that you’re eating on time and sleeping on time.

What about us? We are doing alright. Your cute sisters are complaining they miss you. Things are getting very noisy and that’s keeping me and Mariana very busy.

Your father, Indra’s also gotten sick recently. The winter’s finally got to him and he came down with a cold. I don’t know when you will receive this letter, but don’t worry. He should be fine by the time you receive this letter.

Do we need anything from Floira capital? No need. We can get most of the necessary things from here or travel to the capital of Rodfox. It’s only three days trip from here to the capital so it’s fine if you don’t send anything here.

Now to answer your question regarding the nobility. Felix is an idiot for not wanting to tell you, but I understand where he’s coming from. It’s a topic Indra loathes that topic so much that he walks out if that topic is brought up.

Now why does he feel that way? It’s because he… I mean, the Reddy family were part of the high nobility within the Rodfox Kingdom. We had great control over different parts of the kingdom. They were tyrannical rulers who stepped on anyone that got in their way.

The people hated the Reddy family and the royal family. This eventually boiled into a heated rebellion against the high society. That was thirty years ago when the Phoenix Clan came and put a stop to the mess. Due to their mistakes, the high society were executed because of treasonous actions.

Indra was only seven at that time that happened. His hatred was towards nobility and those with political powers. Ever since then, he turned his back on the nobility he once had, but continued to carry the Reddy family which was erased from the high society.

Please understand that it was a difficult life your father led after that. It was thanks to a fateful meeting with the Sword King, Darian Ronald, he was able to survive. Thanks to that, I met him and fell in love with which bore fruit in the form of you and two cute girls!

Anyway, I wish you the best of luck and I hope you will do your best.

Sincerely,

Your loving mother,

Lakshmi Reddy”

The letter was long and heart felt. Lakshman finally understood the reason to why his father was such a rebellious kid when he was young. It was due to his early bad experience that caused Indra to grow up to be very strong. Although, his desire for girls might be due to him wanting to forget about the past.

“Dad really is something else…” he muttered with a shake of his head.

“He certainly is to be able to survive with a scar like that in his heart,” Spectra said from behind him.

Lakshman widened his eyes and he whipped around to see her floating over him.

“What?! I told you to go away and what are you thinking reading other people’s letters?” he demanded in frustration.

Spectra shrugged her shoulders and said “Not quite true. I did leave like you suggested, but I got curious about why were you frowning. So I snuck over from the ground and appeared at your back so you wouldn’t get disturbed.”

“Seriously…! You need to learn the definition of privacy!” he said as he looked at her with an annoyed expression on his face.

“And you should learn to show some respect to someone who died in this room!” Spectra told him with a serious look in her eyes.

“Uh… Right. Sorry.”

“It’s fine. Anyway, you got a really good dad. He’s lived through all that and never once told you about it? He must have really enjoyed his life and all.”

“True that, although I only noticed the parts where he kept getting hit by mum.”

Spectra looked surprised at him. Then she laughed and said “That’s a good thing then. It means your father and mother were very close! If they did not argue at all, it means there is something wrong with their relationship.”

“Huh? How could you interpret it like that?”

“Oh? Then how about the times when your lovers and you argue? Don’t you feel annoyed, but somehow it makes you really appreciate having them around? Right? Right?”

Lakshman hesitated for a moment as he thought about it. Now that she mentioned it, he indeed feel annoyed on the spur of the moment, but it somehow made him feel happy. Their company made him feel really glad to be with them and all.

He finally shrugged his shoulders and said “Fine. That’s definitely true.” Then he decided to change subject and said “Anyway, it seems the letter took some time due to the travel and fighting monsters. I think there should be a safe way to send letters quicker and faster.”

“If you think so, why not work on it? You’re already working on that magic formula for the magic ranks right?” Spectra asked him as she watched him put the letter away.

“Yeah, but I’ll push it back a bit. It’s a lot more complicated than I thought it was. Instead, I’ll just focus on working out the other ones. Yeah. I’ll write this down and experiment with the others.”

Lakshman pulled a book from the bed side table and opened it. He turned a page and there was a list of things written on it. The header read “Magic Invention Ideas” with the list being those ideas. Then he wrote down the idea for sending and receiving letters quickly.

Magic Ranks

Power Counter

Electricity

Cooling System

Heating System

Messenger

Visual Communication

Just then, there were three knocks on the door.

“Open,” he said and the door got opened.

A Phintex Raja appeared through it and walked into the room. Then he knelt and said “Excuse me, sir. I have something to inform you,”

Lakshman looked up from his book and was surprised to see it was a Phintex Raja. If he came down personally, then it must be something urgent. So he closed his book and put it away to listen to the Phintex Raja.

“What is it?” he asked the kneeling man.

“The Phoenix Emperor, Felix Phoron, wishes to see you as soon as possible.”