A new day had dawned on Cloudscraper Academy, and Mikayla and Nya had agreed that there was something very important that they had to do before anything else.

  Shopping.

  They'd collected Keldryn from the boys' dormitories - at Mikayla's insistence - and returned to the train station in the administrative building, where Mikayla had a crash course on how trains worked in Guili.

  It was no surprise that they were reliant on Train Cores. If anything, Mikayla was more surprised that the tracks were real, and not projected by Track Cores.

  Cloudscraper Academy was only connected by rail to the closest city, the City of Roses, but that was because they were only separated by a few miles. The distance was so short that there wasn't even a set schedule for trains to come and go. Train Cores could be chartered for passage with only a few minute's notice, thanks to a semaphore system of operators using Techniques that projected coloured flares of light into the sky.

  After a mere five minutes of relaxing in the passenger carriage of the Train Core, the three teenagers were disembarking into a train station that was a strange mix of old-fashioned and modern. The platforms and terminal were hewn from quarried stone, but holographic signs fed through Engraved runes displayed schedules and destinations. Burly labourers were loading crates into wood-and-metal cargo carriages that were being linked up to and pulled away by glowing Locomotive Cores.

  "You built all this without even inventing the steam engine . . and I can't even blame you, why would you need one?" Mikayla mused, awed.

  "The Train Core series is quite recent, actually. They were invented about ten years ago by an Engraving prodigy. Before that, everyone got around with various types of Courier Cores, or rideable Companion Cores," Nya explained, stifling a smile at not only Mikayla's fascination with her home, but at how much fun it was to be the knowledgeable one.

  "It's all too loud," Keldryn groused, pressing his paws over his ears.

  They exited the terminal, and Mikayla idly noticed that everyone got out of their way as soon as they saw Nya's face and uniform. It seemed that being a Yevgenia really did afford special privileges.

  "So. You two have your wallets, yes?"

  Both Mikayla and Keldryn checked on the Kaiju-leather bags full of coins that they'd been given. The currency of choice in Guili was the Imperial Silf, a one-ounce silver coin embossed with the Emperor of Guili's crest.

  "Yep, present and accounted for. Why do we have silver coins, not gold, though, anyway?" Mikayla wondered.

  "Gold? Only a fool would use gold for coinage. Gold only has two uses, either as a Mana-conductive metal or as decoration. There simply isn't enough demand," Nya denied.

  "How about that," Another fantasy trope, disproven. Mikayla shouldn't have been surprised; in real-world history, silver had been just as valuable a commodity. Perhaps she would be better served drawing from her historical studies to relate to this world, rather than fantasy fiction.

  "By the by, they are called silfs," Nya added, and Mikayla committed that to memory.

  "Ah, Ten, there you are," Outside the station, they found a prim yaoguai with grey skin, dark hair and a perfectly tailored suit waiting for them. "Ten, these are my new teammates, or so it would seem. Mikayla, Keldryn, this is Se Bas Ten, one of my family's attendants. He shall be escorting us today,"

  "Charmed, young master and madam,"

  Keldryn perfunctorily bowed his head, still looking around and wincing. "So, where are we going first? Somewhere quiet?"

  "This trip is so that you two can improve your kits before we begin the school year. Mine has been prepared for years already, as per The Template," Nya reminded them. "Ten is here to guide us around the city,"

  "Well, how about we make our first port of call finding someone who can do something with this," Mikayla hitched open her rucksack and let the Giant Roc's Kaiju Pearl peek out.

  Nya's jaw fell open. Ten's eyebrows vanished into his hairline, and he offered, "I say, young madam, that is the most incredible Kaiju Pearl I have ever seen,"

  "Yeah. It'd be a shame to let it go to waste, right? So how about we start by visiting someone who can turn it into something useful,"

  <=====}—o

  Wandering the streets of the City of Roses was Mikayla's first true taste of Guili culture, and she was not disappointed.

  "It's part of Guili culture that buildings are decorated to make their function obvious. Florists resemble giant bouquets, sculptor's shops look like large statues or vases," Nya explained, still sounding almost insufferably smug about knowing more than her guests did.

  Mikayla marvelled at a building with crenellations and carvings to look like a tunic with hanging sleeves.

  "Seems impractical," Keldryn shrugged. "Just have a sign,"

  "Signs are cheap," Nya brushed him off. "Only poor people use signs. People should be able to tell what you're selling without even needing to be able to read,"

  Mikayla paused, digesting that. Was that just hyperbole or an actual concern? She voiced the question, and Nya shrugged. "That used to be a serious concern, but this is a prosperous city. You'd be hard pressed to find someone who's genuinely illiterate. It's just part of the culture. See, look? There's the schoolhouse for the commoners' children," she gestured to a six-storey building designed to look like a stack of books, towering over its neighbours, with open play areas around it and a spiralling staircase mounted to the side of the building with a huge quill pen wrapped around it.

  "And where did you go to school?" Keldryn questioned.

  "I had tutors. Most of us who are worthy of the Rosebush Huntress' honoured name do," Nya explained in a perfectly matter-of-fact tone.

  Mikayla winced. "So, hang on. Did you not get to play with other children? Or teenagers?"

  "I have interacted with other Yevgenias. It was tiresome. They refused to acknowledge my superiority," Nya groused. "And I've engaged in mock battles and demonstrations with other young warriors, as well. But I am superior, so none of them ever had anything to offer me,"

  Keldryn frowned and leant closer to Mikayla, whispering, "Are we sure we want to tie our carts to this horse?"

  Mikayla cast him a reproachful look, accelerating to catch up with Nya. "Just yesterday you were telling me about how mixblood and pureblood yaoguai aren't better than each other. So what makes you superior?"

  "Is it not obvious? That's only an aesthetic difference. Carrying the genetic profile of the Rosebush Huntress makes me measurably, objectively more potent than ordinary people. I thought that was apparent,"

  Mikayla raised an eyebrow. "So, just to get this straight; you agree that certain people aren't inherently better than others because of how they're born, but you also believe that you are better than everyone else?"

  "That . . that is an oversimplification," Nya retorted, though her smile had slipped. "I have privileges that stem from my duties and my destiny. It is a noble burden that I have been entrusted with and devoted my life to fulfilling,"

  "Sounds snobby to me," Keldryn snidely interjected.

  "Would you care to repeat that? Because you will find that I am nothing like those lazy, entitled scions who do nothing but swell their waistlines. I am the Reborn Rose!"

  "Guys, guys, stop!" Mikayla threw herself between her old and new friends before Keldryn could find a response to that, holding her hands up. "Please don't fight!"

  "And why not?" Nya pressed.

  ". . because I don't want you to?"

  Keldryn huffed, his tail bristling. "You're going to need a better reason than that,"

  Mikayla's jaw worked, but she could only muster an "Uhhhhh . ." - she didn't know how to resolve fights between her friends! She'd never even had enough friends to witness them fighting before! ". . let me think about that one?"

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  "I . . ah . . I'm sorry if I offended you?" Nya tried. She still looked like she had no idea what she'd done wrong. Her eyebrows grew pinched. "Though, really, I don't know why you're reacting like so to simple facts," Apparently considering that to be the final word on the matter, she turned and quickened her pace. "Now, come along, we have places to be,"

  Keldryn rolled his eyes.

  Mikayla pursed her lips. "She's indoctrinated. You've got three years to break her out of that mindset. Baby steps," she muttered.

  "Quite," She jumped a bit, having not realised that Ten was so close to her. "Do forgive the Lady Han," he said, making sure Keldryn was listening to him too. "She is," he hesitated, lips tightening, "afflicted with a mindset that is a product of her surroundings. I dare say that the environment in Cloudscraper Academy will be good for her. I beg of you, do not let this rocky start sour your impression of her permanently. She has her own trials to overcome, and is yet blind to many of them,"

  Keldryn frowned. "Why should I care?"

  "She's my roommate. We're kinda stuck with her," Mikayla reminded him. "I'll figure something out, and you don't have to be friends with her, just try not to hate each other? Please?"

  The foxkin sighed. "I know you said you wanted to make friends. But not everyone's worth being friendly with,"

  "Yeah, but . . I think we just need to get to know her a little better. Get her to let down her hair. See who she is underneath the 'Reborn Rose' thing,"

  ". . I'll try, but I'm not going to let her walk all over us just because she 'doesn't know any better'," Keldryn asserted, and Mikayla decided that was good enough.

  For a few moments, Mikayla let herself just take in the scenery. This was an alien city, populated mostly by yaoguai. A few humans and beastkin passed by, but she couldn't help feeling like an intruder in a storybook.

  Unfortunately, Keldryn had much less patience for drinking in the ambience of city life than her. "So where exactly are we going first? Techniques? Cores?"

  "No," Nya shook her head. "Our first stop is to get you both some uniforms,"

  <=====}—o

  Getting uniforms turned out to be not quite as boring as Mikayla had expected, but still pretty boring.

  It turned out that the only actual uniform was a red tunic with yellow fringes and optional matching leggings, and students were permitted to wear whatever else they wanted with it. At least, that was the theory.

  In practice, Nya turned into a flurry of activity, trying to create ensembles for her new friends that 'would make people take them seriously'.

  For Keldryn, this turned out to be a mottled brown and green cloak and belts wrapped across his chest and legs, filled with pouches and small metal implements. He idly fingered a pack of caltrops. "What Kaiju would actually be vulnerable to caltrops? When am I ever going to need these?"

  "You won't, but it makes you look more dangerous," Nya assured him, then refocused on Mikayla. "Now, what sort of aesthetic do we go for with you?"

  "How about scholarly?" Mikayla half-jokingly suggested.

  "No, not at all. You actually have the guts to use a Black Knight Core, that says plenty on its own and we want to lean into that. You need to look rebellious. Disrespectful. A little unhinged,"

  "I'm not sure about giving our teachers that impression," Mikayla raised an eyebrow.

  "No, this is for the benefit of the other students. Looking dangerous will benefit us more than looking scholarly," Nya brushed her off, already rushing away to search for accessories.

  The resultant blur of clothing, during which Mikayla barely managed to get a word in edgewise, resulted in a thick, armoured leather coat being draped over her shoulders, heavy black boots on her feet and a thick belt with a hoop through it to carry a sword. "Why do I need a scabbard? I keep my sword in a magic rock on my wrist,"

  "Presentation!" Nya looked over her again. "Alright, I believe this will do,"

  [EQUIPPED CLOUDSCRAPER ACADEMY TUNIC (PRISTINE)]

  [EQUIPPED CLOUDSCRAPER ACADEMY LEGGINGS (PRISTINE)]

  [EQUIPPED STEEL-TOED BLACK HIKING BOOTS (PRISTINE)]

  [EQUIPPED REINFORCED LEATHER DOUBLET (PRISTINE)]

  [EQUIPPED LEATHER BELT WITH SCABBARD (PRISTINE)]

  "Is this really 'respectable'?" Mikayla wondered. Neither of their ensembles were anything like what she'd been expecting. They looked more like D&D cosplayers than anything serious.

  "Oh, respectable was never going to happen. You're both scruffy outlanders clinging to my coattails," Nya waved it off.

  "Wrong," Keldryn growled.

  "Oh, er, yes, we all know better than that, but that is what people are going to see. Trying to have people accept either of you as any sort of nobility is a non-starter, you simply don't have the pedigree and no amount of fine clothing will change that. You can present yourselves as either a couple of ingrates following me around, or talented and dangerous individuals worthy of being allied with me. The only way that anyone will respect the two of you is if you come off as too intimidating to disrespect,"

  Keldryn pursed his lips. "So I'm your attack dog?"

  Even Nya wasn't oblivious enough to let that pass. "No. That's, not, ah, how I'd put it . . ah . . Mikayla?"

  Mikayla started. She'd been watching the argument, wanting to intervene but uncertain how to help. And now she was being put on the spot?! "Uh . . um . ."

  "If I might intervene," Ten cleared his throat, and all three teenagers turned to face him. "Lady Han, I understand and appreciate that you are trying to be flattering, but if I'm not mistaken, Keldryn values and expects to maintain his individuality in a way that simply isn't possible in the political landscape that you were raised in. Similarly, Keldryn, the Lady Han is trying to accomodate you in the best way she knows how, but is failing because she has no experience with the ways of the frontier. Please do not ascribe malice to her lack of knowledge,"

  "So, what, that was supposed to be a compliment?"

  "I was simply saying that you will benefit from looking the part of the warrior that I don't doubt you are, and I'm sorry if I implied anything less savoury,"

  Keldryn looked mollified by that, and Mikayla breathed a sigh of relief as she smiled gratefully at the butler.

  "You all have lived very different lives, and attending Cloudscraper will be a new experience for all of you," Ten continued. "You have had different experiences, but you are going to be classmates, which means that you are going to need to find common ground and understand each other. Can you do that?"

  Mikayla swallowed a sigh of relief. "Yeah, yeah absolutely, that. Thanks, Ten,"

  "Sure," Keldryn, at least, looked willing to drop it for now.

  Nya's lips tightened, schooling her features and drawing into herself. "I am, of course, wholly capable,"

  Mikayla tried to smile at the both of them, but neither seemed willing to open up.

  Nya broke the silence. "Ahem. Perhaps we should go and visit the Core Emporium next. Make some upgrades to your equipment. On my dime, of course?"

  "You can't buy the right to treat us however you want," Keldryn huffed.

  Nya flinched as though he'd struck her. "That's not - ah -"

  "Keldie, that, that's not helping," Mikayla interjected.

  He looked away, ears drooping. "Just saying, money isn't everything,"

  "I agree," Nya added a bit too hastily, and Keldryn cast her a look of surprise. "In fact, money is nothing to me. So you both might as well conserve what you have. I believe we're done here. Ten, arrange for spares and pick up the tab?" she off-handedly instructed, already making to leave the shop.

  "Of course, madam," the butler bowed, then span towards the counter and the waiting attendant.

  Since neither of her friends were going to, Mikayla took it upon herself to smile at the tailor and offer a "Thanks for all your help!"