So it is done

Who do you want to be when you grow up?

Jonathan had been in his office for about an hour and a half, but not doing anything stately nor actually all that important. Doing the little things that should have been rightfully unworthy of a Glenn ruler. He was tidying up the teachers' schedules and minor administrative matters that's not really something the Director of the Academy needs to be handling, like stocking up on food and the ongoing renovation of the training wing.

Though then again, as the benefit of also being the King in addition to being the Director, Jonathan didn't need to worry about the things that usually occupy the times of other Directors, like securing funding.

Jonathan enjoyed doing the little things, though because of his busy schedule, most of the busy work of the Academy has been delegated to many deputies. So, after only two hours, the backlog of things needing his attention has been finished. Enough time to prepare himself for his birthday celebration, that's taking place three hours from now.

The only invitees were the small circle of friends and family he has, in order to prevent the event from becoming 'official' state business. Jonathan did not want to give up the bit of privacy he still had left, where he's not under the microscope of the public and... For other pragmatic reasons.

When making magic, don't let others see it. Even if you're absolutely certain that no one will understand your intent.

Sitting back, enjoying the feeling of a job well done, his grumbling stomach informed him that he should take his lunch break, after all, the time seemed right enough for it. Thinking about it for a bit, Jonathan decided to make use of the Academy's service and headed to the cafeteria that he had guided the prospective students to not long ago.

After all, the food selection was excellent, and he would be visiting a fine dining restaurant later in the evening anyway.

When he arrived downstairs a few seconds later, Jonathan paused for a second, as he took in the long corridor of the academy that led from the students' dormitory to the classrooms. And then at the small, well-maintained park outside the window. It might not be anything special, but the general picture of it looked pleasant enough.

Once, when Jonathan had been younger, in his early twenties, maybe, he hadn't understood the point of parks at all. What was so interesting about moving along beaten paths amidst trimmed vegetation? Now, however, as he grew older, he occasionally snatched small bits of time in his busy schedule to walk along the manicured paths. Immersing himself in his thoughts and letting his gaze glide amongst the picture of tame trees and breathing in the fresh air...

"Am I really getting that old already?" Jonathan couldn't help but chuckle at the thought, as he turned towards the cafeteria, walking at a leisurely pace.

Jonathan was not an old man, and that was speaking objectively, and not by the opinion of the students of his Academy. He could be as young as a spring chicken, but to his students he might as well be an old goat.

He was only a little over thirty years old, not an age that could be called old, but neither can he be called young.

Students and young children could now call him an uncle, and it couldn't be taken as an insult. Even some of the freshly graduated Hunters treated him as an 'older' man. And well, it's not like Jonathan had any attachment to being called young.

Jonathan had no time to keep up with the trendiest fashions, letting Cinder and Neo tell him that ties were once again in bad taste, and belts were back in fashion. He often missed the jokes and new topics of conversation among the students. One could say, of course, that the reason for this was simply because he was swamped with work and had no time for such trivial pursuits.