Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are So Hot! [BL]-Chapter 239: Joining the Academy and New Beginnings

"You’re no longer just the servants of the Dalehaven household, you’re now the retainers of the Crowell family," Theo responded.

Oh, right.

Damien realized that everyone—Leonide and the others—had recently transitioned from being Theo’s servants to his own retainers.

And, they had only just recently been granted the status of retainers.

Retainers aren’t exactly nobles, but they are treated as full members of a household, akin to someone who can stand on their own.

The nature of their work had changed, and their pay... after becoming retainers, they were likely receiving a salary, which had increased significantly.

In terms of Earth, Leonide and the others were now independent adults.

Damien and Leonide still hadn’t fully adjusted to the change—it felt too recent, and it was hard to keep up with.

"Still, to enter the academy as non-nobles requires someone’s recommendation and a donation..." Leonide began, but then he trailed off as though he had suddenly thought of something.

"Is that so? But wait, isn’t Leonide a noble?" Damien asked, confused. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

He thought everyone, except for Lorenzo, were noble sons.

"Well," Theo explained, "now that you’ve established your own households as retainers, you and the others are no longer considered nobility, even though you may be related to noble families."

Ah, I see. So, this meant they had "stood on their own" now.

Thinking about it, which was better: being the child of nobles as a servant, or becoming a retainer, even though they weren’t nobles anymore? Damien still didn’t fully understand the difference in how he should feel about it.

Well, Leonide and the others seemed happy about it, so he decided it was probably a good thing.

"And as for the recommendation and donation, we have a great noble right here." Theo flashed a proud grin. "It’s nothing to throw in four more people along with Damien."

Damien couldn’t help but clap at Theo’s display of power.

It was rare to see him act like this.

"There’s no need to trouble you..." Leonide hesitated, still feeling unsure.

"Come on, we’re all the same—I’m also Damien’s lover, after all. Don’t be shy. What’s mine is Damien’s, and what’s his is for everyone," Theo said, grinning.

Damien thought he recognized this logic from before.

According to this reasoning, a lot of things would flow from Theo’s side.

Theo seemed pleased with the idea, but Damien couldn’t help but worry about whether he could ever return the favor.

He really wanted to do something for Theo someday, even if it was just a small gesture.

Leonide was still hesitating, but it seemed like it was only a matter of time before Theo convinced him.

"Attending the academy would be a huge benefit for you as retainers. It would also be helpful if you ever earn a title, as it would be essential for that. So, let’s go ahead and enroll, shall we?" Theo continued.

Damien now understood.

As she had explained earlier, an academy education was a valuable asset that wouldn’t hurt anyone.

If Leonide and the others went on to achieve higher statuses—perhaps even becoming nobles themselves—it would be better for them to have that experience.

At this point, Damien also felt he couldn’t just sit back and do nothing as their master.

He had to make sure they had the opportunities they needed.

He turned his head to Sebas, who nodded in response, lowering his head in a silent agreement.

With that, everything seemed to be on track.

Was Damien worried about whether everything was truly understood?

Not at all.

"Thus, it has been decided that Leonide, Lysander, Lucian, and Lorenzo will also attend the academy," Theo announced.

Realizing it wasn’t just about Leonide, the other three had joined the discussion but were ultimately talked into agreement by Theo.

Now, all four of them looked bewildered, as if still unsure how things had escalated to this point.

Nevertheless, Damien would be able to attend the academy alongside Leonide and the others.

"Of course, all four of you still have your duties as retainers, so you won’t be able to attend classes every day like Damien," Theo added.

Ah, that made sense—Leonide and the others were already fairly busy with their work.

Even so, Damien couldn’t hide his excitement at the thought of attending school with them.

It felt like a dream come true.

Now, there was the matter of Zima and Ithnan’s group, though...

From Theo’s demeanor, it seemed she already had a plan for them.

"As for Zima and Ithnan’s group, I’m thinking of having them work at the dormitory," Theo said with a confident smile.

There it was.

But what exactly did "working at the dormitory" entail? A change of profession?

Zima and Ithnan’s group all looked puzzled, clearly wondering the same thing.

"Regarding the dormitory," Theo continued, "as Leonide mentioned, the academy has dormitories, and in principle, all students are supposed to live there. However, in reality, only about half the students actually reside in the dorms. The other half are either people who have jobs or those who’ve arranged for an exception."

So, about half of the students didn’t live in the dormitories.

While it made sense for those with jobs to live elsewhere, Damien couldn’t help but wonder about the "arranged exceptions." Were they just students who didn’t want to live in the dorms?

"Are there really that many students who don’t stay in the dormitory? I’d always assumed everyone lived there from what I’d heard," Leonide remarked, clearly surprised. It seemed he hadn’t been aware of those details either.

"That’s correct," Theo said. "For various reasons, that’s how it works. However, for nobles and members of the upper class, which dormitory they belong to during their academy years becomes a status symbol. That’s why nearly all of them become dormitory residents. Even those with jobs, like myself, maintain at least a nominal dormitory registration."

"A status symbol?" Damien asked, puzzled.

He understood that being a student at the academy itself could be a mark of status, but how could simply belonging to a dormitory carry such weight?