"Hiyah!" Flint shouted as he attacked Tobias with his sword.

Tobias raised his wooden shield to block the incoming attack. He exerted more force forward to try and offset Flint's balance. He then followede with a thrusting motion using the blunt spear he wielded. This caused Flint to fall down. Tobias then pointed the tip of the spear at his fallen friend. Flint threw his sword and raise his hands in surrender.

"You know it's unfair when I'm a Master Knight and you're an intermediate knight and you still defeated me."

"It's because we did not use our elemental energy. If we did, I would probably lose."

"Still, I would win because I have more elemental energy. You're still as skillful as back then." Flint said as he jokingly punched the shoulders of his friend.

"Anyway, why did you asked me to spar? Something bothering you?" Flint asked.

"Well, yeah, sort of. And also, I needed some exercise."

"So you asked me to get beaten for your exercise?! ~laughs~"

"It's not as if I beat you to a pulped or something, you know like the academy days." Tobias jokingly said causing Flint to glare at him. He just laughed at his friend glaring.

"C'mon, stop beating around the bush. So what's the matter?"

"You know, Aurae, she just awakened her plant element. And she's already four years old right now."

"And...?"

"I don't know if it's a good idea to send her to school." Tobias said as his head drooped down.

"Ah, so your doting father side is preventing you from sending your daughter away because father here can't stand a day without her cute little princess?" Flint teasingly said which cause his friend to blush a bit.

"W-who's the doting father?! Don't think I didn't see you go out and buy lots of candies and flowers as gifts to her. Doting uncle." Tobias responded.

"U-uncle, what uncle. I told her to call me big bro.'

"Big bro? I thought you liked my sister, that would be weird if she has to call her aunt and you big bro."

"W-who said I l-like Esta?!" Flint said as his voice slightly rose, a bit of sweat was seen in his forehead. Tobias looked at his friend judgingly, not believing his friend.

"Why did the conversation turn to me, we were supposed to talk about you sending your daughter to school."

"You know, I don't think I hate the idea of you being with my sister. Still, you have to make an effort. I saw you trying to help her in the kitchen. Keep up the good work." Tobias said as he patted his friend's shoulder.

"Stop changing the topic, so are you sending your daughter or not? She also needs to meet people around her age, The only interaction she has with others are with people older than her. I know you're a doting father, but you also have to let her meet other people."

"I do understand that, I'll visit the school with Aurae."

Besides who are you calling a doting father anyway. Isn't it normal to love your adorable daughter?! Hmph, my cute little princess is such a good kid, I should really make her happy.

"Okay, that sounds good. At least the kid won't be lonely looking at us working all the time."

...

That night...

"So you're really going to send her to school. You finally decided to." Esta said to his brother.

"Yeah, that's why I'm going to write a letter to the school to request for an appointment. Luckily the school year would start two months from now. I can still send her." Tobias said as he started writing the letter.

"Just tell me what I can do to help. I just checked and Aurae is already asleep, don't stay up too late. Good night brother."

"Yeah, you should also go to sleep. Writing this letter won't take that long."

...

2 days later...

"You should follow your father all the time and make sure to hold his hand, okay? Be careful out there." Esta said as she placed a brown hat on top of Aurae's head. [1] Aurae nodded her head.

"Don't worry too much, Aunt Esta. We're taking a carriage, we won't walk there."

"Of course you won't, that's at the east side of the city from the auction hall, far east. If you walk then that would take around two hours, specially with a kid." Flint said.

"Let's all go down now, the coachman is waiting for us." Tobias said as he entered the room. Aurae approached him and held his hand as the other two followed downstairs. The tavern is opened as the two said they could manage, even though Tobias insisted on closing today. There are no customers yet as they haven't opened yet early in the morning. They decided to visit the school early as even with a carriage they would still take about an hour to reach the school

Carriages usually pass by the roads looking for passengers that would rent them. They usually charged 15 coppers an hour. While Esta was preparing Aurae, Tobias went out to look for a carriage for him and Aurae. If he was alone, he would just be fine with walking but he won't let his daughter walk for two hours. He might be thrifty, a habbit he developed, but that is only towards himself.

"Good day sir, are there luggages you need help with?" the coachman asked.

"Good day too, we don't have any luggage." Tobias replied. He approached the carriage and opened the door. He then carried Aurae and placed her on the seat, then he then beside her. Once they're settled, the carriage moving. Aurae peeped out of the window and waved goodbye to her aunt and uncle.

The schools and academies in the city are located at a single spot which is the east of the city. It is located far away from the bustling market, it was to make sure that the noise will not affect the students going to school. The difference between schools and academies is that schools were more for training younger children in knowledge such as learning how to read and write, arithmetic, history of the world, elemental types, and different classes. Academies, however, were about training the students to control and develop their elemental energies amd class.

There is currently two academies and one school in Greisa City. It might sound few in number however, the school and academies are large in size. There are dormitories for older students that came from far away such as villages. These villages are usually scattered and does not belong to any city. There are also dormitories in schools for these type of students despite the fact that there are only few students who live alone. This is because the age of people who goes to school are under the age of twelve.

"Father, am I really going to school?"

"Of course princess, you will learn lots of things there and make lots of friends too." Tobias replied.

I still am anxious about this but if it will make her happy. I just hope her being a dryad won't be a problem. I know that we are in the border of the two continents and seeing other races isn't that rare anymore but I still worry. Tobias thought as he patted her head. This cause the little girl to smile and get close to him. She reached out to his hand and held it as she rested her head in her father's arm. Tobias wrapped his arms around the little girl, causing her to snuggle to him.

The journey was smooth sailing. After almost an hour, they finally arrived at the school. The school is located at the middle of what was called as the 'education triangle'. The two academies are located at northeast and southeast respectively while in between them was the school. Although it might sound near, the institutions are actually very far from each other, specially considering their size. Tobias stepped out of the carriage and carried Aurae down. He then paid the carriage.

In front of Aurae is a tall wall surrounding the school. It was painted in white while the gate is made of iron. The gate was painted black. The wall and the gate was around 5 m (16 ft.) At the top of the gate, the words "WIndville School" were written in gold. There were two guards in front of the school. Tobias approached them.

"I have an appointment with the headmaster, here is the letter." Tobias said as he pulled out a letter from his space bag. He presented a letter of appoinment to the guard. They read the letter before allowing the two entry. Once they confirmed it's real, they let them enter.

What greeted them was the biggest building in front. It looked slightly old however the paint was not chipping away. It was five-story tall. The color of the walls was white. There is a road extending from the entrance of the building up to the main roads. A fountain is seen at the center, in front of the building. The headmaster's office is located inside that tall building.[2]

Tobias held his daughter's hands as he walked towards the building. The school is silent today as there are no students yet. Aurae was looking around enthusiastically, admiring the scenery. Entering the building, what greeted them was the long hallways and classroms. The headmaster's office is located at the top floor so they had to take the stairs. To avoid making Aurae fatigued, he decided to carry her. Once they reached the top floor, Tobias looked for the room with the sign 'Headmaster' in it. Once he found it, he knocked on the door.

~knocks~

"Please enter." a slightly deep voice that of a woman said. Tobias put Aurae down and held her hand and slowly entered the room. What greeted them was a woman, around the age of 30s. She had violet hair that is tied in a bun and white skin. Her eyes are of yellow color and her lips were pale pink in color. Her eyebrows were slightly arched, making her appear a little bit strict. She wore a light purple robe that matches her skin. On the table was a plaque with her name written on it which says "Headmaster Lily". She has an aura of a strict teacher around her.

"Good day Headmaster Lily." Tobias greeted her.

"Good day to Mr. Haywood. Please have a seat. Would you like some tea?" Tobias declined the tea but obliged and sat at the chair in front of the headmaster's table.

"So this is your daughter that you want to enroll? It is very rare for us to have drayd students." Headmaster Lily said as she sipped her tea.

"I am aware of that. She just turned four and I heard that you start admitting students that are four years old and above. Are there any necessary requirements that she needs?" Tobias asked.

"Indeed she is in the right age. Of course you need to pay a tuition of one gold but I assume you already know that. The school is not really strict with the requirements as this is not an academy, we are a school that focuses on knowledge. You just have to fill up this paper for your daughter, pay the tuition and everything is set." The headmaster said as she took a paper from her drawer. Tobias took it and started filling it with Aurae's personal details. Once he's done, he gave it back to the headmaster.

"We look forward to having you little Aurae in our school. Thank you for entrusting your daughter to us Mr. Haywood." the headmaster said as she stood up and offer a handshake to Tobias which he took.

"My daughter will be in your care, Headmaster."

...

After the meeting with the headmaster, Tobias proceeded to pay his daughter's tuition in advance. Although one gold was a lot for an average money and it could last a month if spent wisely, Tobias has enough money from the reward he got. Adding the fact that the tavern earns a decent sum of money every month. He can afford sending his daughter to school.

"Well we don't usually go out like this,so what do you say about going aroung the city?" Tobias asked his daughter as they exited the school, it was early and so he decided that taking a stroll around would not hurt.

"Take a stroll?" asked Aurae as her eyes sparkled in excitement.

"Yeah, we still have a lot of time." Tobias said.

"Let's go father, I want to buy candied apples."

Oh yeah, you really do love your candied apples. He thought as he called a carriage. His daughter immediately pulled him excitedly as they rode the carriage, ready to take a stroll at the city.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ash's Note:

[1] Here's how the hat (sort of) looks like:

[2] Here's an image that is close to what I had in my mind except it does not have a fountain: