Chapter: 416
In the midst of the chaos unfolding around the Academy’s affairs, the dominant power belonged to the forces of the First Queen.
To put it simply, they had the biggest clout and the best connections, so no matter how hard the Second Queen’s faction and the scholars within the Academy resisted, they were no match for the First Queen’s group.
Thus, those who had become the most powerful among the Academy’s professors plotted their schemes without any qualms.
Of course, they didn’t operate out in the open.
Even with their immense power, they were still outsiders who had squeezed their way in. They knew all too well that the moment they raised any objection, public sentiment could turn against them. They carefully discussed their plans only among themselves.
Their defenses were pretty thorough. If it weren’t for Adrien, who was an unpredictable variable, nobody would have had a clue about what they were thinking.
In other words, one could say that their incompetence in not anticipating Adrien had created this situation.
“I don’t know why, but those guys wanted to verify your skill and talent.”
The forces of the First Queen intentionally threw me into a dilemma to test my abilities.
It wasn’t hard to guess why they had such thoughts. The reason the First Queen focused on me as an individual was simple.
Why does the Medieval Trump have his sights set on me?
What’s their intention? Sure, my atmosphere has been pretty high lately, but would they really go so far as to mess with the Academy while facing various backlash?
Is there another motive? Is there something going on that I’m not aware of?
Surely, Medieval Trump hasn’t stumbled upon the hidden secrets of the Academy yet, right?
I was engrossed in these thoughts, but the answers weren’t coming easily. I still lacked information.
“That’s all I’ve heard for now. I thought I might get in trouble if I delved any deeper.”
“Just like a cockroach, huh? Good at self-preservation!”
“…Ugh! How can someone like this receive the love of the Lord?!”
Truth be told, I found that one a little amusing too.
I figured it was just the pervy god’s taste, but on the flip side, I felt that even a useless god shouldn’t be that desperate.
It wasn’t something I should say to the current commander, so I chuckled at the grumbling Adrien and asked her to keep working hard before sending her off.
*
This year’s entrance ceremony for the Soul Academy proceeded rather blandly without any incidents.
Those new students who either heard about the Academy’s entrance ceremony tradition or were re-enrolling kept their tension till the end, but it didn’t lead to anything happening.
What could be done? All the golems had been shattered just days before the ceremony.
In fact, even among the graduate students who were supposed to create those golems, there were losses, leaving the Academy’s entrance ceremony to be quiet.
So after the loudest day turned out to be the quietest, I gathered my friends in a private room.
We were going to decide what classes they’d attend.
“You look like you have a lot on your mind today, Lucy Alrn.”
“…If you know, how about you gauge the atmosphere and keep quiet?”
“That’s a bit sharp. Well, isn’t it possible to consider our opinions?”
“Fine. Since the poor prince is that enthusiastic, I’ll make sure to give him even more credits than before.”
“…What?”
“I wanted to show a bit of generosity, but if the poor prince insists on it, then so be it.”
“W-Wait, Lucy Alrn! I never said anything like that…”
Turning away from the sweating Arthur, I shifted my gaze back to the lecture schedule.
Arthur’s expression, which suggested he was really worried today, was spot on.
Back in first year, when I determined the classes they had to take, I didn’t think twice.
If I had written down the most efficient route I researched in the game, that would have been enough, and there was no room for hesitation.
But this time, it was different. The things written on the schedule had changed so much compared to what I knew. From the professors in charge to the contents and times of the classes.
Because of that, I found myself in a position where I had to erase everything I knew and plan anew from scratch.
Fortunately, establishing a rough framework wasn’t too difficult since nothing goes to waste in old swamp water; I could combine the names of those still left in the Academy with ones I recognized to yield some level of efficiency.
The problem was that I couldn’t be sure this would yield maximum efficiency.
Ugh. If this were a game, I would’ve been grinding like crazy to calculate the optimal efficiency, but I couldn’t do that in reality.
What to do? Now, it seemed I had no choice but to give up on efficiency.
However, my pride as swamp water wouldn’t allow me to throw away stubbornness either.
“Lady Alrn, is there really no need to decide right now?”
Noticing my inability to reply promptly, Joy carefully spoke up.
“After all, all we need to do is submit it within a week, so wouldn’t it be better to attend the classes with unfamiliar professors first and see if they’re suitable?”
Hmm. That’s true.
It would probably be better to witness and experience it firsthand before pondering which courses would be good rather than making an immediate decision.
There weren’t that many classes I needed to attend. The truly important ones had mostly already been decided; now, I just needed to finalize the smaller ones.
“Did you eat something strange today, idiot? Why are you saying something so sensible?”
“Hmph. It’s because the young lady always ignores me that I have good thoughts all the time!”
Despite grumbling, a faint smile appeared on her lips.
“Hey, Lucy Alrn. Isn’t this attitude a bit too different? I wanted to say the same thing, so why do I get scolded?”
“Well, it’s because the poor prince isn’t cute at all.”
“What?”
“Do you want to hear praise like idiot? Then do something cute. Something cute. Then I’ll tell you, ‘Good job!’”
“…Something cute?”
Seeing Arthur’s bewildered expression made me burst into laughter.
“Ha! Were you actually thinking about that?! You really wanted compliments, huh? The poor prince has some unexpectedly cute and pathetic sides!”
“Th-That’s impossible! I was just thinking for a moment because I heard some rude comments!”
“That sounds super convincing~ Yes~ I’ll believe you~”
“Stop! My words!”
With his face flushed, Arthur shouted, suddenly quieted by Frey, who popped up beside him.
“…Frey, what are you doing.”
“Wasn’t this what you wanted?”
Frey, tilting her head while patting her own head, made Arthur sit down with a heavy sigh.
“That’s not it at all. I felt wronged because I was showing my grievances.”
“Is that so?”
“Absolutely.”
“But the prince calmed down after a head pat.”
“…That was because what you did was just so ridiculous!”
While I was watching Arthur and Frey bicker as usual, I relayed a list of classes to Joy and Phoebe, asking them to report back on how they fared.
If it were up to me, I’d want to attend them all myself, but there are parts like Sacred Magic and various branches of Magic Studies that I could never grasp. It would be better to leave evaluating those classes to the two of them.
In that same vein, I informed Karl about the classes he needed to attend.
“Lucy. What about me?”
Lastly, Frey, who was left, looked up at me with expectations in her eyes, but I didn’t give her anything.
“You silly swordman, you just need to stay by my side.”
There’s no way I’d ask her to evaluate something; it would only result in a headache.
Better just have her stick around.
After all, the classes we needed to attend would likely be similar anyway.
“Okay! I’ll do that!”
It was practically an announcement of her incompetence, but strangely enough, Frey looked overly happy.
What’s up with that? Why is she so pleased? Could it be that Frey also awakened some strange taste…
Nah. Her tastes have always been weird. It wasn’t long ago that she was sulking because she didn’t get berated by me.
Are there really no normal people around me?
As I looked at Frey’s smiling face with a complicated heart, I ordered my friends to disperse before moving to check on various professors’ classes.
First was the Dungeon Studies class. I wanted to see what level the new guy was bringing to the table.
“As you can see, in the dungeon…”
Being from the First Queen’s faction, the professor’s teaching was decent enough.
Although he had a somewhat stiff way of thinking, it was normal for someone teaching dungeon strategies in a place where reality is involved.
However, it really didn’t seem worth attending. The new professor’s thoughts sounded like something boring to my swampy ears; sitting through his lecture would only waste my time.
“Lady Alrn, you might already know all of this. Would you mind answering?”
The professor must have been annoyed by my blatant disinterest because he pointed me out directly.
“Sure, I can talk all you want. It’s just that your level is painfully low.”
“…You’re quite confident, aren’t you?”
“More like, are you even confident, professor? I wouldn’t want to see you tear up after being called out by a grown-up.”
“Feel free to do as you wish. Answering questions is part of a professor’s role too.”
Essentially, giving me a chance to point out the gaps in his explanation.
“Well, first, let’s address how much of a moron you are, being so far from reality.”
The professor’s pride didn’t last long.
When it comes to dungeons, even the professors at the Academy would have to concede to me; there was no way that some parachutist could best me.
“It wasn’t all bad. Keep working hard, and you’ll be okay. Though you won’t be as good as me.”
I turned the new professor’s face bright red before moving on to the Combat Studies class.
Since Karl had gotten a proper class, I wanted to see what the new assistant professor was like.
While the assistant professor didn’t say much during theory discussions, when it came to applying those theories in practice, he subtly stepped forward.
“I’ve heard that the talents of the Lady Alrn of the Alrn family and the Lady Kent of the Kent family are among the finest on the continent. How about performing a demonstration for the other students?”
His interest was clearly directed towards me.
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