The Herb King

Two days later, Aethelwolf headed to the academy with Olivia and Albert. There was a meeting with the faculty members and apparently, there would be a discussion about the future development of the academy. Aethelwolf was already briefed by the second prince so he already knew what was going to happen.

"Sir Aethelwolf, we are here." Albert said after stopping the carriage at the entrance of the academy.

Aethelwolf lifted Olivia and alighted the carriage. He then put her down and held her hand.

"It looks decent." He muttered as he glanced at the buildings ahead of them. The land occupied by the academy was many times larger than the land owned by the colleges and schools in his past life. Although the building design looked lackluster in comparison to the futuristic architecture of those in his memories, it wasn't that bad. Furthermore, he noticed that there were runes inscribed all over the walls that surrounded the academy buildings. 'Level 4 Defense Runes? It looks like the Imperial Family emptied their coffers to build this place. They even hired a Level 4 Engraver to make those runes...'

He wondered how they managed to hire the services of a Level 4 Engraver.

"Sir Aethelwolf!" A voice suddenly interrupted his train of thought.

Aethelwolf turned his gaze at the person who had just called him. It was an average-looking woman who was dressed formally. She looked to be in her early thirties with long black hair.

The woman walked up to them and introduced herself. "Headmaster Aethelwolf, I am Madilyn Urgel and I'm one of the teachers of the academy. It's a pleasure to meet you." It was Julie Irish Urgel who told her to wait for Aethelwolf and get on his good side. Madilyn knew what her family head was thinking so she did as she was told.

He was still not used to this new title, but he had to be accustomed to it.

Aethelwolf nodded his head at Madilyn. "Bring me to the meeting room." He said to her.

"Yes, Headmaster Aethelwolf." Madilyn lightly bowed her head and led the way for them. She kept on stealing glances at the little girl by his side. According to the rumors, Aethelwolf has an adopted daughter.

Olivia's legs were short so she had to walk faster to keep up with Aethelwolf. She curiously looked around the buildings while munching on her homemade cookies.

Nom. Nom. Nom.

Soon, they arrived at the meeting room.

Aethelwolf noticed that there were already a lot of people. He stared at his wristwatch and coughed dryly after looking at the time. 'It seems like I am a bit late...' He thought to himself.

"Miss Madilyn, thank you for bringing me here. Please take your seat." Aethelwolf smiled at Madilyn.

Madilyn bowed her head and walked towards an empty seat.

He sat on the head seat and said. "Hello, everyone. I believe you've already been notified about the agenda of this meeting." He paused and scanned the people inside the room. They nodded their heads at his words.

Aethelwolf adjusted his posture and continued. "The academy will take in students below the age of twenty and train them in various courses that they will choose from. Espers, Alchemists, Blacksmiths, Engravers, and many other professions will be taught inside the academy. All of you are experts in these fields and I believe that everyone here will become great teachers. However, we need to ensure..."

Aethelwolf began his long speech. It was tiring, but it was necessary since he was now the headmaster of the academy.

Aethelwolf paused in the middle of his speech and gave a signal to Albert with his eyes.

Albert stood up and handed folders to everyone inside the meeting room.

"In the last two days, I've prepared a lot of things. I wrote the rules and regulations that everyone must follow while they are inside the academy. The rules must be followed with no exception!"

"I also designed the uniforms for our students and teachers. You may check it in the files in your hands and give me your opinions."

"Now, let's discuss the open positions in the academy."

Everyone's eyes suddenly turned sharp when the discussion reached this point. All of them were eager to get the best positions in the academy. The higher the authority they earn, the higher the benefits they would receive.

Aethelwolf tapped on the table with his fingertips. He scanned the people one by one and he noticed the look of greed in their eyes. The corners of his mouth rose upwards upon seeing this.

"The academy will need one Superintendent, one Supervisor for each course, one Guidance Counselor, one..." Aethelwolf listed all open positions.

Suddenly, someone raised his hand.

"Speak." Aethelwolf stared at the man calmly.

"Headmaster Aethelwolf, do you have any plans on who would be getting the positions?" The man asked.

Everyone silently stared at Aethelwolf. They wanted to know how he would handle this situation. If he would just randomly give those positions to the people close to him, many would be dissatisfied and they would certainly file a complaint to the emperor. Some of them were just waiting for him to make a mistake so that they will have a chance to rob the headmaster position from him.

Aethelwolf smiled at the man. "Don't worry. I don't plan to give the open positions at this moment. They will remain vacant for the time being."

Everyone furrowed their eyebrows when they heard this.

"I will watch every one of you in the first opening month of the academy and based on your performance, I will give you the positions that you deserve." Aethelwolf's words made them silent. He was already establishing his authority as the headmaster!

"And if I found out that someone is slacking from their jobs, I won't hesitate to kick them out of the academy!" He warned while looking at them with a piercing gaze.

"Do you guys still have any questions?"

No one dared to ask him again.

"One last thing before we end this meeting. Our academy is still unnamed now and His Majesty told me to give it a name. Check the last page of your files. That will be the name of our academy... That would be all..." Aethelwolf grabbed Olivia's hand and walked out of the meeting room with her.

Meanwhile, everyone flipped to the last page of their files.

Mystic Arcana Institute of Magic

It was a name that would soon be known to the whole of the Leone Empire.

***

"Let's go back to the mansion." Aethelwolf said to Albert.

"Yes, Sir Aethelwolf."

"Oh wait." Aethelwolf revealed a thoughtful look as he smiled. "Let's go to the nearest restaurant of the Urgel Household." He wanted to check whether Julie Irish has already implemented the ideas inside the book that he gave to her. Only a few days passed by since she got the book from him, but it should be enough time for her to integrate those ideas into the restaurants and wine stores they own.

Albert nodded his head. "Alright."

"Are we going to eat?" Olivia stared at him with a shining gaze. Aethelwolf noticed that her eyes were sparkling with excitement.

The only thing that could make her this excited was food. This little girl was a big foodie and she had already tried many dishes. He even had to cook for her sometimes just to placate her desire for food.

Aethelwolf rubbed her head. "Yes. Do you remember the elder sister who wears a veil?"

Olivia nodded her head eagerly. "Mn."

Aethelwolf smiled as he said. "We will be visiting one of the restaurants she owns."

"That elder sister was strange. I couldn't sense her aura." Olivia mumbled before biting on her cookies.

Nom. Nom. Nom.

Aethelwolf squinted his eyes when he heard this. The little girl is a magical beast so she was sensitive to the aura of living creatures, but even a Level 3 magical beast like her couldn't perceive the power of Julie Irish.

Not long later, their carriage stopped in front of a two-story building.

Olivia excitedly jumped out of the carriage. She then inhaled the lingering smell of food in the air.

"Smells good!" She giggled. She quickly grabbed Aethelwolf's hands and pulled him inside the building.

Aethelwolf turned his head at Albert and said. "Come. Let's eat together."

Albert smiled at his words. His boss was treating him like family and it made him feel warm.

A waitress greeted them. "Welcome, guests. Do you want a private room?" She noticed that they were nobles so she offered them a private room. Most nobles didn't want to dine in the public seats.

"No need. Just lead us to an empty table." Aethelwolf said to the waitress.

"Alright. Please follow me."

Aethelwolf noticed that this restaurant was a lot bigger than the one he previously went to.

"Please check the menu. Just tell me which food you like and I'll bring them for you." The waitress handed them the menu.