CHAPTER 68: NIGHTSHADE ACADEMY

"Thank you, Mr. Alcott." The academy provided the carriage for free, and when Jinn offered him a tip, the driver responded with a sly smile. "Are you sure you don’t want me to drop you at the academy?"

Jinn smiled and looked around at the glowing streets and the towering shop in the area they stopped at before saying, "This is perfect; I want to look around before going to the academy."

The sun had already risen up in the sky by the time they reached the Nightingale city, and a new day had started for the people living there.

"Goodbye, sir." The driver waved his hat off at the boy politely before driving his carriage away. Jinn was not surprised by the treatment he got from the man. Anyone who could get into a prestigious place like the Nightshade Academy was treated as if they were in the ranks of the nobles, despite their background or status.

Turning away from the carriage, disparaging many of its kind, Jinn started walking while taking in everything the city had to offer.

"Fresh Bread! Strength from Mommy Seth’s Oven. Come Check it out!"

"Fresh Vegetables! Limited stock! Buy before the stock ends."

Like every other city, this city had a bazaar with all kinds of items. Buying a freshly baked sweet bun, Jinn walked down the lane with a suitcase in his hands like he was taking a casual stroll.

Right next to the block where baked goods were sold, there was a commercial district with taverns and pubs.

’Hotels right next to a place to get drunk—what a nice business plan.’ Jinn was once again reminded of the tactics used in his old world, how people would do anything to increase their sales by even a penny.

"How do you do, ladies?" His attention was caught by a sultry young voice he heard coming from the entrance of one of the establishments.

There he saw a young man who seemed to be around his age, leaning against the door with his arms crossed. With his blonde sideburns that reached his shoulder and noble green eyes, he immediately attracted the attention of the three young ladies passing by.

Jinn was particularly drawn to the boy’s clothes; despite being wrinkled and untidy, the profound emblem on his chest unmistakably told him that the young man was wearing the uniform of Nightshade Academy.

Jinn did not stop and only watched as the boy started flirting with the girls. Everything seemed to be going well for him until....

Smack! Slap! Thud!

Two girls slapped him on each side of the face, and the third one directly slammed her knee into his balls, making him fold.

Unable to watch his misery, Jinn looked away, but the people around him were gleaming in it.

"Isn’t this the third time he was kicked like that?"

"Tch, what a stubborn fool. He even seems like a child of noble background."

"If that was really the case, the girls would have been taken away by his families for committing such a crime, but I don’t hear something like that happening."

Jinn laughed inwardly hearing the ignorant talk. From what he could tell, the boy was no ordinary person but an Awakened one. If he could hear their words, so could that good-looking young man.

As Jinn left the area while munching on the sweet bun in a trance, a pair of green eyes glanced in his direction.

By the time he finished his bun, Jinn was already in the smithy’s lane. The loud thumping of metals and the unusual heat in the area made him speed up.

For this very reason, the residential areas and the churches were established in the opposite corner of the city, far away from the chaos and bustling area.

During his travels, Jinn realized that the city was pentagon-shaped. It was divided into four sections with major roads all leading up to the center.

’I should go back to the academy.’ Realizing an hour had passed, Jinn turned his feet in the direction of the majestic building in the center of the city.

The road leading to the academy stretched wide and clean, paved with pale stones that glimmered faintly under the afternoon sun.

The noise of the city faded with every step Jinn took, replaced by the rustling of leaves and the distant sound of bells chiming from within the academy walls.

Before long, he stood before the grand sight of Nightshade Academy.

It was nothing like he had imagined.

It was grand, majestic, and breathtaking. A fortress built within tall, sturdy walls of silver-gray stones. Students and teachers could be seen walking through the indestructible black gates of the academy for the awakened.

Jinn did not even have any doubts about the security of the place once he saw the imposing cannons glowing with profound energies along with the tank-sized turrets mounted on the walls.

The Nightshade academy was like a miniature view of the city, also shaped like a pentagon but in reverse.

Jinn stood before the academy’s open gates, which, once closed, completed its intended sharp edge.

Unlike Veloria city, there was no snow here, but the cold still followed Jinn. Pulling his overcoat tightly around himself, Jinn stepped forward, following the people inside the academy.

Passing the grand entrance, he was greeted by the beautiful and relaxing sight of a garden. In the distance he could even hear the rushing sound of a water reserve.

Before he could focus more on something else, Jinn heard the chatter growing around him, drowning the peaceful noises.

"I wonder if I will be able to pass the exam. I heard only those with special abilities and great control can make it into this class and get special treatment."

A group of anxious girls passed Jinn, talking among themselves. "I wanted to ask my father to get me into that class, but he said not even a duke’s daughter can sway the decision of the academy."

’A special class?’ Hearing their distant conversation, Jinn paused to think, ’There will definitely be powerful teachers, which could risk exposing my true nature. But...’

"If they have what I want, this could be a chance as well." The lure of the benefits was something not even a devil like him could refuse.

Despite how calm and inviting the academy looked on the surface, Jinn somehow got a hunch that the challenges he was going to face here would only make it difficult for him to keep his identity as a devil a secret.