We walked through the huge corridors of the School District. A field of white buildings and blue roofs spread before us, intersected by wide streets that made it hard to believe we were on the water. With a bit of help from the faint scent of the sea wafting up, the scenery of the School
District, framed by gorgeous blue skies above and blue water below, feels almost like a holiday resort.
"One day isn't enough to see all of the school district, so today I'll introduce you to the academic layer." Nina proposed as she started guiding us.
"Academic layer?" Drawn in by the beautiful blue-and-white scenery, Asfi questioned curiously.
"Mhmm." She smiles. "The School District can be broadly split into three layers. The control layer, the residential layer, and the academic layer."
"Layer, huh? Is that similar to the floors in the Dungeon, right?" I wondered.
"Hee-hee. It's a little different, but it's fine to think of them that way in a general sense."
Asfi adjusted her glasses slightly, her gaze sweeping across the structures around us. "So each layer serves a distinct function… and they are stacked vertically. That must require a very stable internal framework to maintain balance at sea."
Nina's eyes lit up slightly at that. "Yes! The control layer plays a big role in stabilizing the entire structure."
Apparently, the School District was divided up into three massive discs set atop each other called layers.
The control layer, the lowest level, holds the mechanisms and structures that could be called the heart of the ship, along with several laboratories and many large-scale magic-stone devices—including things similar to the elevator in Babel.
In the middle was the residential layer where students and teachers lived.
"And finally..." Nina continued, "The highest of the three layers is the academic layer. That's where we are now. As you can see, there are many schoolhouses and seminar halls and all sorts of places for lessons."
Asfi nodded thoughtfully. "Separating living space from study space… efficient. It would also help maintain discipline among students."
Each layer had its own role, which was a feature of the School District...or rather, they are all crucial to the Hringhorni being able to continue sailing all around the world and performing its mission.
When I looked out at it from the land, it was undoubtedly a long vessel, but it was also unbelievably tall...
"Stacked like this… it's closer to a moving fortress than a ship," Asfi murmured quietly.
Because of the way the three layers are arranged in a stack, the School District was sometimes jokingly called a short stack of pancakes...
"I see, by the way, I am changing the subject here, but when will you all be allowed to enter inside Orario?" I asked.
Nina tapped her chin and answered. "Hmm… we haven't received any official announcement yet, but I believe it will be after two to three days. And I heard that you would be looking after us."
She bowed her head lightly. "I wanted to thank you for that. We are all inexperienced, so I hope you will be patient."
I waved my hand lightly. "Don't worry about it. Just focus on learning—I'll handle the rest." I said, then my eyes drew towards a specific room. The door to it was open, and a lot of small egg-like pods were placed inside it. "Nina, which room is it? And what are these pods?"
Nina followed my gaze towards the room. "Oh, those are the healing pods, designed and made by our school researchers."
"Healing pods?" Asfi asked, observing the pods in detail.
"Yes, it's similar to healing magic, you just lie inside, and after a while, depending on the severity of the injury, you will be healed in minutes to hours."
Asfi and my eyes met, a silent decision being made between us regarding the healing pods. After that, Nina continued to guide us around until we reached our destination.
"Yes! Oh, this is the place." Nina stopped in front of a large club room. I looked up at the gate and noticed the signboard "CRAFT CLUB" written on it. Nina knocked once before opening the door and entering the room. Asfi and I followed after her.
The room was filled with workbenches, tools, and half-completed items scattered across tables. The faint glow of magic stones lit up the interior, and the air carried a mix of metal and parchment.
Students were gathered in small groups assembling devices. Asfi's eyes sharpened immediately. "…Impressive," she murmured, already scanning the room like a researcher who had found a new world to dissect.
Nina smiled proudly. "This is where the students design and create magic items."
One of the students called out, "Nina, you're back—" Her voice halted mid-sentence as her eyes landed on us.
"…Wait."
The room slowly grew quieter.
"…Is that…?"
"That's Perseus…"
"One of the greatest item makers…"
"And ...that's him, right?"
"The High Human… Astralis."
"He is also an item maker, too!"
"They are really here in flesh…"
Whispers spread across the room like wildfire. A few students stood up from their seats, and others leaned forward, their eyes filled with curiosity and excitement.
Nina smiled slightly at their reaction. "Yes, these are the adventurers Professor Leon mentioned. Mister Arin and Miss Asfi will be helping us with the ship repairs, and you will be working and learning from them."
"Instructors?!"
"No way… seriously?!"
I scratched my cheek lightly at the sudden attention. Asfi, however, didn't seem bothered in the slightest.
"Can you take a look at this?" A student stepped forward, showing an item he had made.
"Hey, no fair! We decided to do this with a lottery!" the girl who seemed to be the one who spoke first cried out.
"Please look at mine too!"
"Mine as well!"
"Hey, no cutting in line!"
The room descended into chaos as the students pushed each other away. Nina gave a bitter apologetic smile, and we ended up spending the rest of the day reviewing and giving input to the student creations.
⟡───⚔───⟡
By the time we were done, it was already evening, and we decided to call it a day, and just as promised, we came to talk with Leon and Balder before leaving.
We were sitting inside Balder's office. "So what did you think about our students?" Balder asked.
Asfi put the tea cup back on the saucer as she answered. "They are…really passionate about their craft."
"Yes," I added, "we were flooded from all sides, I almost felt like I was being tested by the number of questions they had."
Leon and Balder let out a small laugh, likely imagining the scene. "Seems like you are getting along just fine, then," said Leon.
"You can say that, but I think starting tomorrow, we will be able to work on the repairs." I took a pause and continued. "That said, there is something that caught our attention."
Balder tilted his head as he asked, "Oh, and what might that be?"
"The healing pod," Asfi answered simply.
"While I am honoured that there was something worthy enough to attract the great Persues attention, the healing pod is one of our most kept technologies."
"We are not asking you to give it for free," I replied, having already expected him to refuse. I retrieved one of the communications devices from my pocket and put it in the center of the table.
"What might this be?" Leon asked, though judging from his reaction, he had already deduced its usefulness.
I let Asfi take on the role of explaining it. "This is a communication device, and it has a range of about twenty kilometers as of now. And we are continuously working on extending the range." Asfi picked her teacup up as she continued. "What do you say we do a little technological exchange?"
"..."
Both Balder and Leon remained silent there gaze meeting for a split second as they gave a nod. "Certainly, a magic item of this caliber has equal value to those healing pods."
"So?" I asked.
Instead of Balder, Leon answered. "Yes, we would like to do this deal."
"That's great!" I shook their hands the deal was made. Though Asfi seems skeptical.
"Are you sure you can make this big a decision alone?"
Balder chuckled lightly, "As you said, young miss. I don't have the ultimate authority, but I heavily doubt the others would reject a deal like this."
"That's good enough. I will draft an official contract we can sign tomorrow."
Asfi nodded once, already thinking several steps ahead. Looked like things were about to get busy.