“…….”
“…Asuka.”
“…….”
“Asuka!”
“Ugh, yeah?”
“What are you doing? You’ve been spaced out more than usual lately.”
In the Swordsmanship Club room of Eloni Academy.
Despite being a first-year, Asuka Elposis sat in the most prominent seat, while her best friend, Nob Ersosa, waved her hand and plopped down on the sofa.
As a high elf with remarkable swordsmanship skills attending Class A of their first year, she had been friends with Asuka even before joining the academy.
Even if there was a 100-year age gap.
“Nope.”
They were similar in mental age, after all.
“No way. You’re thinking about that woman, right?”
“……”
“Sigh. I just wanted to suggest you join the club, you know?”
“Forget it.”
If you had to pick the hot topic of the academy these days, you’d definitely name two people.
One is ‘Asuka Elposis,’ the second daughter of the Elf Queen and the ‘Child of the World Tree.’
The other is ‘Ria Elposis,’ known as the nightmare of professors.
“It’s just using magic. It has nothing to do with swordsmanship.”
“Is it because you can’t solve the problems that woman created?”
“……”
At first, it was just curiosity.
A girl radiating an eerie aura.
But afterward, when that presence faded, she thought it was just an illusion and moved on.
However, as Ria challenged professors and became known as the nightmare of magic professors, Asuka’s interest grew even more.
‘Her strength is weak. She’d probably drop dead if swung at lightly.’
Ria Elposis is weak.
But for some reason,
there’s this feeling that if they fought head-on, she’d never win.
“A few days ago, she made a bet with a professor, and that woman solved it while the professor couldn’t. And that problem even required the Dean to solve.”
“……”
“She must have a brilliant mind. I feel like she’ll be coming up to Class A soon…”
Asuka knew.
She was such a celebrity that it was impossible not to hear about her, and she even tried to solve the problem herself.
‘……What the heck was that?’
It wasn’t that she couldn’t solve it; it was just that her brain refused to work.
At first, she thought Ria had merely created an ‘unsolvable’ problem.
But the moment the Dean personally clarified that it was a ‘normal’ problem, Ria Elposis became a celebrity of the academy.
There wasn’t a place in the academy where someone didn’t know Ria Elposis.
All of this happened merely three months after their enrollment.
“…Forget it. If she comes, we’ll find out.”
“Come on. She doesn’t seem bad from what I see.”
“More importantly, what about the people who signed up for the club?”
“Oh, I actually came here to tell you that. Hold on a second.”
“I’m here to say that. Just a moment.”
“Hey! Come in!”
Nob shouted towards the door, and it seemed like it was waiting as the door opened.
“What? You brought her already?”
“No need to delay. Her skills are certain.”
The downside is…
“She’s a beastman.”
“…Hello?”
The silver-haired fox beastman nodded her head slightly.
‘I infiltrated. Big brother.’
Her eyes sparkled like starlight.
■
Aisha was in deep thought.
For three months. To be precise, she had been observing Lily for five hours since entering the dungeon, but she couldn’t find any useful information.
The peculiar thing was that she had an uncommonly deep knowledge of magic.
It’s clear that she was no ordinary user, seeing how she was adept at various practices like magic formulas and mana lines.
Closer to an NPC than a user.
However, it was already too late to question this since Lily had been like this for quite some time.
Teaching how to sense mana and the methods to use special techniques.
‘…But why did I take that for granted?’
Isn’t it strange when you think about it?
That someone who has only been in the game for a few months possesses such knowledge.
Of course, you could say she learned it through job penalties, but even before the penalties came into play, Lily already knew odd bits of information.
It’s definitely suspicious.
‘…But what if the penalties were applied from the start?’
Lily had obtained a hidden job by taking down a tutorial boar not with the usual provided equipment but with a nearly broken sword.
Many had tried that before but very few succeeded, and even if they spent a few hours trying, they didn’t end up getting a job.
The method was likely a time attack.
Anyway, if that job was applied from the start of the game, it could certainly be a plausible story.
‘Come to think of it, there’s Leo, and the Devil, and even that weird magical girl.’
This game isn’t lacking in loony characters.
More than half of all those with hidden jobs and races could be considered not quite sane.
That just shows how crazy this game is, and Lily doesn’t seem normal either.
“Ugh… I’m lacking clues…”
At this rate, it’s just a conspiracy theory.
To seriously question Lily’s absurd abilities, solid information is necessary.
“Mm?”
While following along for quite some time, Aisha found a letter placed in a desk drawer.
This is…
– Aisha. Stay close to Asuka Elposis. Use any means necessary.
“Stick close to Asuka Elposis. It doesn’t matter how you do it.”
“Is that… Sword Saint Oppa?”
“It’s in the Sword Saint’s handwriting.”
“The Sword Saint’s fan club, ‘Hand Grip,’ investigates everything about him.”
For Aisha, who is at the top, the president of the club, knowing the Sword Saint’s handwriting was one of the basic knowledges.
“Asuka… Isn’t she that princess?”
Why on earth did the Sword Saint ask for this?
Aisha didn’t care about that.
What mattered was that “Sword Saint Oppa” had made a request.
After a brief tidying up, Aisha stood up.
Alright. First, let’s approach Asuka Elposis’s acquaintance.
Currently, Aisha’s identity was a Beastman.
Being in the so-called ‘subordinate race,’ she couldn’t approach the princess in a simple manner.
So she left her spot to carry out her task.
“She’s gone.”
Originally, Aisha was the only one left since the Sword Saint had left long ago and didn’t show up for class, and now she had vanished while murmuring about the Sword Saint.
Finally, things could be a bit relaxed.
[She’s gone]
[Finally, she’s gone, lol]
[I thought she was a Sword Saint stalker, but she’s a Lily stalker]
[LOL]
[Geez, why are they always stuck together?]
[I thought lasers were coming from her eyes, lol]
[Is Aisha holding a grudge against Lily or something? lol]
“Well, you see, this is the first time meeting today…”
There may have always been enemies, but today was Aisha’s first actual encounter.
“It’s not like we have a relationship that’s enough to hold a grudge.”
If she had to think about it… it probably had to do with beating the Sword Saint.
According to the chat window, Aisha was an enormous fan of the Sword Saint.
[Ep.3 Club activities are underway.]
[You have built up a contribution degree with several talented individuals. It might have a slight impact on your choices.]
[The prominent talent, Asuka Elposis, is aware of you!]
[Some stats are unlocked.]
It’s already been three months since I entered the academy.
I’ve already become a celebrity, yet I haven’t exchanged even a word with Asuka, and I’ve amassed a whopping 3% contribution degree.
Though one might say it’s just 3%, Asuka is already a confirmed talent as the Child of the World Tree.
In other words, anything I do is unlikely to increase my contribution degree as it has pretty much already been decided.
“Unless a talent suddenly pops up to threaten Asuka’s position.”
“As long as no threatening talent pops up.”
“…But why isn’t Merini coming up?”
Asuka is fine, but why hasn’t her sister Merini shown up?
Merini is a fourth-year at the Academy and aiming for graduation, so she should know me.
[Right?]
[Hmm.]
[That’s a problem.]
[Pretty cheeky.]
[What, isn’t she developing any fondness for Lily? Let’s take her out!]
[Kill, let’s go!]
[What if we just cut off an arm? Maybe that would boost her affection?]
[Affection (physical)!]
[Hahahahahahaha!]
[There’s just a bunch of crazy people here, lol.]
“Ria Elposis!”
“Yes.”
“Take this. It’s my report card.”
I released the barrier magic and walked towards the teacher’s desk.
The Elf Professor, Denver Elbua, looks displeased with me.
Not only did he wager a dropout bet with me, but when his class was called out, he was the one who said if you’re that good, why not show us.
-…I still can’t solve the Ria problem…
-At this rate, shouldn’t Ria be the professor?
-I’ll concede that.
Thanks to that, my influence grew even larger.
“Umm… You’re first place, right?”
The ‘Placement Exam’ held every three months.
It’s a test taken by all students, and based on this exam, the classes get shuffled around again.
Naturally, I was ranked first.
Since the tests differ by grade, I was top in the first year.
Here, being first means surpassing the princess, Asuka Elposis.
“Don’t act so cheeky. This is merely a written test. Midterms will have practicals too, so just like now—”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“…….”
I answered sweetly, and he frowned as he called the next name.
[Hahahahahahaha!]
[Lily is so cute!]
[Agree!]
[What’s with the “yes, ma’am,” lol.]
[That would be infuriating.]
[Lilypaws.]
[Lily being first is a given.]
“So, am I in Class A now?”
“…We’ll have an announcement later.”
“Got it.”
Then after this episode passes, I’ll be in Class A.
I returned to my seat, packed my things, and headed straight for the door.
Regular classes were about to end, and the professor was eager for me to disappear.
“Let’s find a club or something.”
Since this episode is about clubs anyway.
Where would be a good fit…?
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