The welcome ceremony concluded, with hordes of children exiting the grand cathedral into the courtyard, being extremely excited for their new classes.
Chattering non-stop in groups as they moved to the main building where their classrooms were supposed to be.
Shinazu kept moving as if another not so important student, blending in the crowd as if he always living here but still, keeping a careful distance from the groups of noble children who were easy to notice by their arrogant tone.
But his mind was entirely occupied by Arashi Kurotsuki’s powerful words.
“Shinazu-kun.” A certain familiar voice cut through the noise of the courtyard.
Shinazu turned around and spotted Minato walking toward him out of the ceremony hall as he was also supposed to stand in the side of the stage just for appearances of the welcome ceremony.
Though he looked slightly less sleep-deprived than the previous day.
“Minato-sensei,” Shinazu greeted him with a respectful nod.
Minato stopped beside him, adjusting his glasses as his sharp gaze scanned the boy from head to toe giving up a faint nod of approval.
“The uniform really suits you well.
You look like a proper student now.” Minato praised.
Shinazu was now wearing his official academy uniform which consisted of white a crisp white shirt and trousers, over them was a overcoat, made of rich black fabric embroidered with golden thread and buttons, the broad shoulders decorated with ornate golden tassels.
“Thank you,” Shinazu muttered, shifting slightly under the observation.
Then he quickly changed the subject to avoid drawing any unnecessary attention on him from passing students.
“The Headmaster said that out of thousands of students only eleven hundred were selected.
Did you get me in with a personal recommendation?”
Minato smiled.
“Recommendations are just recommendations, not a guaranteed acceptance, even if it comes from me.”
“Then?”
“You got in based entirely on your own potential.”
“Potential?” Shinazu blinked in confusion.
“But I didn’t even passed a test or something.”
“Himetsu does not conduct traditional entrance examinations.”
“Then how exactly were the students selected?” Shinazu pressed.
Minato smiled gently.
“The academy receives records from all four kingdoms and every aspirant around the continent and from those records, we strictly evaluate a student’s mana constitution and awakened attributes, then comparing them we only select the best of the best.”
“When did you evaluated my mana constitution?
That day in the room?” Shinazu immediately remembered the crystal vial Minato had used on him back in the room when they met for the first time.
Minato nodded with a smile.
“Hmm, The liquid inside a Mira Vial is highly reactive to mana,” Minato explained as they walked slowly.
“The speed at which it rises indicates your natural absorption rate, while the internal movement of the liquid reveals the raw quality of your control or your constitution.
Like a stable spiral or a clean whirlpool inside the vial indicates excellent, precise mana control but turbulent movements and chaotic bubbling indicates incredibly poor control.”
“But there are so many nobles, poor people and commoners would naturally be weeded out since nobles always live in good places with mana rich food to eat and with strong bloodlines.” Shinazu asked with curiosity.
“Nobles do often possess high base mana and awaken rare elements because of generations of inherited bloodlines,” Minato admitted.
“But a bloodline is not everything.
Many commoners possess better mana control due to their difficult circumstances, making them very great craftsmen.
And those very nobles you see at the top were also once commoners who possessed exceptional talent and mana control, climbing up the ranks with pure hard work to gain power and wealth their children boast about today.”
Shinazu nodded, “Hmm” holding his chin in thought.
Minato saw the boy contemplating and chuckled softly, turning to walk with him toward the main courtyard exit.
“But tell me, how was your night in your new place?
I assume the accommodations were satisfactory?” He said sarcastically.
Shinazu’s expression instantly turned flat as his mind flashed back to the rusty-overgrown foliage wooden shed and gave Minato an unamused stare.
“You told me it was a ‘better and bigger place’,” Shinazu said with dry sarcasm.
“But you conveniently forgot to mention that it was a decades-old wooden shack covered with entangled vines and ghosts.”
Minato burst into a loud, hearty laugh, entirely unbothered by the boy’s grievance.
“But it is bigger, isn’t it?
And it’s completely secluded.
No noisy roommates, no nosy neighbors, and more than enough space for a growing boy to exercise in private.
Moreover soon enough you will come thanking me.”
Shinazu let out a defeated sigh, realizing that arguing with him was futile.
“The backyard also has a pool.”
Minato stopped walking.
“Oh?
The pool.
It’s very rare, even as still water, the pool is surprisingly pristine.
You need that, don’t you…” He patted the boy’s shoulder firmly.
“…to wash your clothes or bathe.” Minato chuckled.
Shinazu shirked away slightly.
“I know, I know.
I almost drowned in it,” Shinazu muttered under his breath, his cheeks flushing slightly at the embarrassing memory.
“Then I suggest you learn how to swim quickly,” Minato replied smoothly, entirely dismissing his near-death experience.
Waving off that embarrassing topic, Shinazu asked what he was really curious about.
“Minato-sensei, why exactly were Headmaster’s eyes shining like that?
What are those Divine Eyes?”
Minato glanced down at the curious boy.
“Shinazu-kun, do you know why the Headmaster is called The Divine Sage?”
“Well, I heard that the Headmaster of Himetsu Royal Academy is a world-renowned, triple-affinity, eighth-grade Lightning, Light, and Wind mage,” Shinazu spoke the facts that he heard on the streets.
“I heard there isn’t a single human alive who can match him in terms of power, and he holds the highest authority in the Hinokami Kingdom.
Even foreign kingdoms respect him deeply.
So, I just figured he had some cool, fancy title because of that.”
Minato chuckled softly.
“Well, you aren’t wrong about his strength, but that’s not the actual reason for the title.”
“Then why?” Shinazu looked properly puzzled.
“He is called The Divine Sage specifically because he possesses the Divine Sage Eyes.”
“Divine Sage Eyes?” Shinazu asked as if hearing it for the first time.
“What are those?”
“They are a rare form of Ocular Arts,” Minato said.
“Ocular Arts?
Do they have some godlike powers?” Acting like a clueless child who knew absolutely nothing.
Minato nodded, “They can do absolute appraisal, detect flawlessly, and main uses are light magic.”
Shinazu already knew that from his own star sight, but hearing the confirmation from Minato made him feel even more tense.
He forced a childish, curious look onto his face.
“Can I get them too?” he asked, sounding exactly like a kid who had just spotted a cool toy and wanted it.
Minato burst out laughing.
“Haha!
That is completely impossible, kid.”
“Then how did the Headmaster manage to get them?” Shinazu pressed, keeping up the childish act as he wanted to know more about ocular arts so that he might get a hint about his own.
“Well, from my knowledge, Ocular Arts cannot be found lying around in an artifact or a dungeon, but you can technically obtain those Divine Sage Eyes if you happen to have a dragon’s strength and heaven’s absolute luck,” Minato nodded, confirming the fact.
Shinazu squinted his eyes in confusion.
“You are saying I can’t find them in an artifact or a dungeon, but you say I can get those with strength and luck.
What do you exactly mean?”
“What I meant was, from the decades of my life, the only ocular art I know of is the Headmaster’s, and those can only be directly imparted.”
“Imparted?
By whom?”
“Who else but the Headmaster.” Minato smiled but Shinazu still furrowed in confusion.
“I don’t understand.” Shinazu’s brows narrowed sharply in confusion, wanted to uncover everything.
“I simply mean that Headmaster is the one who could impart his ocular arts to someone else.”
“So you mean I would need to cozy up to the headmaster to get those.” Shinazu began contemplating while Minato burst into laughter at his so casual words “You would certainly need more than cozying up to him.”
“That can be regarded as a dragon’s strength but still it’s not that simple.”
“Sensei, Could you please explain me in simple terms?” Shinazu cried out loud.
Minato let out a sigh, “Do you know who imparted those eyes to the Headmaster?”
“How would I?
I am merely 14 years old.”
Minato nodded in agreement with him on that, “He got those eyes from his wife.”
“His wife?!” Shinazu blurted and stared blankly at him for two full seconds.
“Well…
I can agree that finding a good wife surely requires a lot of luck, sensei, but are you subtly mocking me that I look so horrible that I would need a Dragon’s Strength and Heaven’s absolute luck just to get a wife?”
Minato laughed loudly for a few seconds, clapping his hand against his leg.
“No, no, that’s not what I meant at all, kid!
Do you even know who his late wife actually was?”
“Who?”
“She was the daughter of the former King of the Hinokami Kingdom.”
Shinazu blinked in thought process asand squinted, “So you mean I need to persuade headmaster to marry me, to give me those ocular arts?”
Minato literally burst out in loud uncontrollable laughter gathering attention of several students nearby who thought of Minato being weird, while Shinazu looked totally unamused.
“Why would you marry the headmaster?” Minato said coming to pause from his laughter.
“Why would I?
You are just puzzling everything, sensei.
Kindly explain clearly!”
“Ahem,” Minato coughed, coming back to his calm composure.
“The Divine Sage Eyes have been handed down sequentially within the Hinokami Royal Family since the ancient era, and with the Headmaster being under and eternal oath, He can only ever impart the Divine Sage Eyes to someone who belongs to the Hinokami Royal Family, someone who is fundamentally destined to protect the Hinokami Kingdom and The Royal Family.” Minato exhaled calmly.
“Now, is that nice and clear?”
“How is that clear?
You said I can get it but now you are saying he could only give them to the royal family, I can’t exactly travel back in time and force myself to be born as a Hinokami child.” Shinazu puffed out his cheeks.
Minato smirked.
“Well, don’t you know the Sage wasn’t even from the Hinokami Kingdom originally?”
“Wait!
Then how did he get into the Royal Family?” Shinazu utterly curious and confused.
“Marriage into the royal line,” Minato said calmly.
“Marriage into the royal line?
…That means…” Shinazu quickly began piecing the puzzle together while muttering.
“Headmaster got into the royal family by marrying the daughter of the former king and he could he give those to someone from the royal family, so if i want them then i need to get to into the royal family as well by ma…” before he could finish his own words, his ears started to burn red.
Minato was looking at his expression but before he could make comment on him, a sweet voice came from behind them.
“How is that clear?
You said I can get them, but now you are saying he can only give them to the royal family.
I can’t travel back in time and force myself to be born as a Hinokami child.” Shinazu puffed out his cheeks.
Minato smirked.
“Well, don’t you know the Sage wasn’t even from the Hinokami Kingdom originally?”
“Wait!
Then how..” Shinazu asked, utterly curious and confused.
“He got married into the royal line and became a part of it.” Minato said calmly.
“Married into the royal line?
…That means…” Shinazu quickly began piecing the puzzle together while muttering, “The Headmaster got into the royal family by marrying the daughter of the former king, and he can only give those to someone from the royal family.
So if I want them, then I need to get into the royal family as well by ma…” Before he could finish his own words, his ears started to burn red.
Minato was watching his expression, but before he could make a comment on him, a sweet voice came from behind them.
“Greetings, Takahashi-sensei.”
Minato turned back at the voice.