Ye Xu practically fled from the Third Hangar.
When Elena, obsessively hugging Nightfall’s armor, began murmuring:
“If I could just meet the Night Princess in person once in my life, I’d have no regrets…”
“If I could shake hands with the Night Princess, it would be worth dying…”
And other such scalp-tingling statements, Ye Xu finally surrendered completely.
—Really, he couldn’t take even a tiny bit more!!!
It was too embarrassing, you know?!
He simply could not comprehend how a woman who seemed to harbor something akin to “lust” toward steel could fall into such fanatical fervor while chanting his own name.
Feeling as though he might dig through the soles of his shoes with his toes, Ye Xu confirmed that all hangar matters were settled and then fled in defeat.
After leaving the hangar, he let out a long sigh and walked slowly along the path toward the dormitory area.
Recalling his youthful arrogance—watching the rebel army he had single-handedly built grow ever stronger—Ye Xu had naturally been unable to avoid the pride that came with such success.
Back then, to flaunt his status and the achievements he had earned at such a young age, he had ordered the entire army to address him as “Great Young Master.”
After issuing the command, he had privately cringed in embarrassment for days, feeling the title was sufficiently chuunibyou and humiliating enough.
Who could have imagined that there were “experts” in this world capable of retelling his deeds in a way even more mortifying than his own experiences?
And the most absurd part was that what they were telling was a falsified version tampered with by those bastards!
“Sigh…”
Rubbing his temples in despair, Ye Xu felt as though his worldview had been run over by a steamroller driven by some blonde vampire, shattered into pieces on the ground.
But in the end, he calmed down and, following the address provided by Lady Nara, began searching for his dormitory.
—He had lingered too long in the hangar. He needed to settle in quickly and hurry to attend tonight’s freshman welcome banquet.
With the navigation projected onto his retina by the Night God, he swiftly headed toward the marked location on the map.
Soon, a cluster of buildings that could scarcely be called “dormitories”—more accurately described as magnificently opulent—came into view, collectively named the “Dormitory District.”
Of course, to be precise, conventional dormitories did exist: for example, eight-person rooms with only shared bathrooms, or slightly better four-person rooms with private baths.
But beyond that, certain accommodations were rather extraordinary:
So-called “double dormitories” were in fact luxurious suites with two bedrooms, full kitchen and bath, and a living room—nothing like dormitories at all.
Even more extreme were those labeled “single dormitories,” which were actually three-story luxury villas with multiple guest rooms in addition to the master bedroom, complete with a basement. Not only were all infrastructure facilities provided, but they even included fully equipped underground workshops suitable for researching magic, magitech, and alchemy.
Though outrageous, it was somewhat understandable.
Setting aside the fact that the academy itself had commoner students, the gap between nobles and nobles could sometimes be greater than that between nobles and commoners.
Those powerful, wealthy high nobles would never allow their children to live alongside those “lowly” existences.
And when Ye Xu returned to his dormitory, he discovered something even more exaggerated.
—The villa actually came with a servants’ quarters already staffed by two dedicated maids.
“Young Master, welcome home.”
“Uh…”
Arriving at the door marked “Z03” for his single dormitory, Ye Xu inputted the magical signal password, and the magitech door slid open silently.
Inside, a girl with pure white fox ears, silver hair, and red eyes stood beside another with pointed long ears, golden hair, and emerald eyes. Both wore elegant short maid skirts and awaited him quietly, greeting in unison.
“Half-elf.” “Half-foxkin.”
With a single glance, Ye Xu identified their races.
In this world where humans harbored extreme hostility toward other races, both elves and beastkin were mortal enemies of humanity. And since humans had no reproductive isolation with nearly all humanoid magical beings, such mixed-blood existences were not uncommon.
Naturally, in human society, they were generally not recognized as “people,” reduced to the lowest, most despised stratum—merely bought and sold as playthings and slaves, not even permitted to resist.
Though their mixed blood granted them slightly superior physique and magic reserves compared to ordinary humans, they lacked the terrifying physical strength of pure-blooded beastkin to challenge Magitech Knights head-on, nor the natural affinity of true elves to command magical beasts. Moreover, due to impure bloodlines, they were disqualified from linking to magitech cores and piloting Magitech Knights.
“Sigh…”
Though as a transmigrator he deeply understood this injustice, Ye Xu also knew: unless humanity one day completely eradicated all magical beasts and other races, as long as this hostility born of survival competition persisted even a single day, they would never be accepted.
And on this vast, boundless continent hiding who-knew-how-many powerful other races and magical beasts, that was a nearly impossible task.
All he could do was uphold his own principles and refrain from discrimination.
Even though he knew full well that these subhumans were merely victims forced to bear the destiny of sinful blood due to the violations suffered by their ancestors.
“This is my dormitory?”
Confirming the door number once more, Ye Xu asked.
“If you are Young Master Yelaisi · Nal,”
“Then yes, this is the place.”
The two well-mannered maids bowed slightly and answered calmly.
“Then you two are…”
He understood that such a villa was comfortable to live in but troublesome to maintain, so providing servants was normal. He simply hadn’t expected the academy to directly include subhuman maids as a bonus.
“We are, after your family signed the four-year lease for this dormitory,”
“Gifts from the academy…”
“Freebies.”
The maids’ responses were calm and emotionless, showing not the slightest trace of humiliation—as if they had been born solely for this purpose.
—A single dormitory, rented annually at thirty gold coins per year, was a symbol of extremely high-status students. Four years meant one hundred twenty gold coins, equivalent to tens of millions even when converted to Earth currency.
The academy did not allow students to bring their own servants, as that would enable families to directly interfere with the school’s educational plans.
Thus, merely gifting two subhuman servants with no rights was considered very “cost-effective.”
“Hm.”
Confirming it was correct, Ye Xu nodded and stepped into the dormitory, closing the door behind him.
He removed his school uniform jacket and let out a long-lost breath of relief.
The half-elf obediently stepped forward, naturally taking the jacket as he removed it and hanging it on the entryway rack.
The half-foxkin knelt down, gently removing his shoes and replacing them with indoor slippers.
“Please entrust your daily necessities to us, Young Master.”
“We will properly arrange them for you.”
Without further words, Ye Xu silently accepted their service. His fingertip lightly touched the gem at his neck, and the next moment, all sorts of personal items prepared by Nara appeared on the floor.
—Even including female-style school uniforms of every type, just in case.
“…”
The two women watched in silence, showing no unusual reaction—nor would they—before picking up the items and heading deeper inside.
Ye Xu then briefly toured the dormitory, inspecting the second floor and basement before returning to the living room sofa to rest and gather his energy for the upcoming freshman banquet.
“Young Master, please…”
After a moment, the two finished arranging the items and instinctively brought over a set that appeared to be a school uniform but was far more refined and gorgeous, presenting it to him.
—The Magic Academy provided each student with four sets of uniforms: spring/autumn styles, summer wear, winter wear, and one set of formal ceremonial uniform that, though less practical for movement, was extremely gorgeous and dignified, to be worn for various formal occasions and ensure students always maintained proper decorum.
“Hm, good.”
Having rested enough and noticing the wall clock’s hands approaching banquet time, Ye Xu stood up.
The maids tidied his appearance and skillfully assisted him in donning the ceremonial uniform.
He walked to the full-length mirror, slightly adjusted his collar, and nodded in satisfaction.
Then, he spoke softly:
“Do you two have names?”
As expected, they gently shook their heads.
—From birth, they had been confined in cages, referred to only by numbers.
Now that they had a new master, those rather unpleasant codes were casually stripped away, leaving them blank—awaiting their master’s grace to bestow new names, or to remain forever nameless.
“Hm.”
“From now on, you shall be called Sushia.”
“And she shall be Aila.”
Ye Xu lightly pointed at the half-foxkin, then turned to the half-elf. He then took out two badges.
They were based on the eagle emblem of the Ross Kingdom, with the crimson angular crest of House Nal embedded in the center. He engraved their names at the bottom before tossing them to the two women.
“Thank you for bestowing names upon us, Master.”
The two bowed in courtesy, catching the badges symbolizing noble household servants and slowly affixing them to their maid chokers.
From this moment, the half-foxkin was named Sushia, and the half-elf was Aila.
“And also…”
Just as he was about to leave, Ye Xu suddenly remembered something.
He took out another thousand silver coins and handed them to the two.
For daily purchases and household expenses.
Then he informed them that, from now on, at the beginning of each month, they could take five silver coins each as a bonus.
Daily, after completing their assigned duties, they could discuss between themselves.
As long as one remained at the residence ready to serve Ye Xu at any time, the other was free to go out and explore the academy or the city.
They only needed to ensure everyone was back home before Ye Xu finished classes in the afternoon.
“…”
Even if their expressions remained as calm as ever, the two women’s bodies still trembled almost imperceptibly.
Then, they bowed even more respectfully and replied in unison:
“Yes.”
Ye Xu nodded slightly, murmured “Hm,” and after preparing some items he might need for the banquet, turned and stepped out of the villa.