After the exam, there was a break, and after the break, there was a festival. So, what awaited after that festival?
“Ugh…”
“What’s wrong?”
“I only got to play for a day, and it’s back to regular attendance already. It’s so unfair!”
What was waiting, of course, was the new semester.
The education level at the Imperial Academy is undisputedly the best in the continent, and if the first semester was an easy introduction, the second semester would officially kick off the real classes.
It would be tough with more difficult theories and practicals. Perhaps foreseeing her future, Rena’s expression was not so great.
The biggest characteristic of the second semester for first-year students is that the Top Defense would become tougher, yet Iria’s expression remained calm.
Rena almost asked how she could be so calm but decided against it.
It wasn’t that she was calm; rather, it was just the usual expression Iria had. It was the ordinary Iria expression.
“Sigh, fine. What can I say to you?”
“……?”
“Never mind, what’s the next class?”
“Fundamentals of Mana.”
“That Albert professor’s class?”
“Yeah.”
Iria scratched her cheek while following Rena.
I wonder if Albert is still alive. Even if he is awake, it’s questionable whether he could teach with that body.
Judging by the lack of news regarding the class, he probably hasn’t died.
The academy would announce if students couldn’t attend class for some reason.
No news is good news.
As for Eve…
Well, since she didn’t attend Eve’s lecture, she had no idea what happened.
“Speaking of which, I had something I wanted to ask.”
Iria turned to Rena and spoke.
Iria’s face had so little change in expression that it was hard to notice a difference, but Rena, who always hung out with her, was able to differentiate to some extent.
She had a dazed look, and her gaze was somewhat unfocused. The frequency of her blinks was slightly higher than usual, and her response time to questions was a bit slow.
It suggested she had a lot on her mind.
“Uh? You’re asking me? What is it?”
It was quite rare for Iria to initiate a conversation. Rena questioned back with a slightly surprised face.
“Do you know anyone among the second-years with black hair?”
“If you mean Ariel, I know her. I’d say it’s rare for a current student not to know her.”
“Is she famous?”
“Very famous. She’s probably even more famous than you.”
Iria scratched her cheek as if she was hearing it for the first time.
There was someone who had garnered attention with all sorts of eccentric acts right after enrollment—someone who seemed even worse. Maybe he was just a strange person after all.
Feeling more curious, Iria asked about it.
“Why is she famous?”
“That senior is the strongest in our academy. Usually, the strongest person in an academy is the top student of the fourth year, but I heard that senior beat all the fourth-years right after entering in her first year.”
“Is she really that strong?”
“Of course! Getting the title of the strongest in the academy as a freshman is unprecedented in the academy’s history. Now that she’s in her second year, she must have grown stronger than in her first year, right?”
Her skill being above average was something Iria understood from the day before.
Being able to exchange blows with a Sword Saint alone placed her far beyond the level of current academy students.
If she compared the scene she had seen, he might even be stronger than regular knights and just shy of matching the top knight.
Even that level was indeed far above student level. But Iria was concerned about something else.
Was it Ariel’s name?
She easily deflected Iria’s mental attack. That was something even Albert, the empire’s strongest mage, couldn’t do.
No matter how much magic was used, reading or altering his memory was impossible. Iria could instinctively sense that.
He was not an ordinary human. More than the rumors floating in the academy.
Should I look into it? After sorting her thoughts in that direction, she felt a sharp gaze beside her. It was Rena’s.
Seeing Iria show an interest in someone was something new for Rena. She was watching her with an intrigued expression.
“But why that senior?”
Iria hesitated to answer as she didn’t know how to explain.
How could she say she was curious about who the human emitting the irresistibly sweet scent, enough to make someone faint, was?
Deciding to make something up instead, she replied.
“………Just curious.”
Upon hearing this, Rena’s expression turned strange.
She asked Iria, sporting her usual sly smile.
“Is it a crush?”
“No, it isn’t.”
“Oh, come on, it’s fine. Just be honest with me. Honestly, that senior is handsome, right?”
“No, he isn’t.”
“Really? Hmm~ So that’s how it is? Looks like spring might have come to Iria too.”
“………”
“Don’t worry too much. You have a good style, so just approach him, and he’ll definitely fall for you! Since he’s in Class B of the Swordsmanship Department, why not ask him what he’s doing after school?”
It seemed some great misunderstanding had arisen.
In such cases, it was best to clear up the misunderstanding before the fire spreads larger.
Iria made it clear as if she was going to firmly set a boundary here.
“I don’t like that guy.”
Before coming to this world, she had actually been a guy herself.
“Gasp, so you like girls?!”
“Yes.”
Before coming to this world, she did.
“………!!!!”
Iria thought that this answer would have been enough for her to understand.
Just as Iria was about to take a step away, for some unknown reason, Rena’s face was flushed.
“Iria. I, I’m that, you know, um…”
“………?”
“I’m sorry! I have to go!”
With that, Rena hurriedly left the scene.
Since she didn’t even have a chance to meet her eyes, Iria couldn’t figure out what was on her mind.
Left alone, Iria scratched her cheek. Wondering if she had said something wrong, she recalled what she had said, and there didn’t seem to be any concerning issues.
Maybe it was because they were of different races?
She thought humans’ thoughts were sometimes unpredictable.
*
After that day, Iria decided to investigate a man named Ariel.
Perhaps he could be the protagonist of the novel she fell into.
He might actually be the person Iria had longed to find. That alone was worth looking into.
Now, unlike before, where she knew nothing except that he was a second-year student, she had information.
Was it Class B of the Swordsmanship Department he was in?
In reality, her investigation didn’t involve anything special. Since she couldn’t peek into his memories, she had to simply follow him around and observe his behavior patterns.
During the free periods, he truly dedicated himself to training. Whether during lunch or break, he wielded a sword alone, and after school at night, he had personal lessons with the Sword Saint.
He really looked like someone obsessed with something.
It seemed he wasn’t just an exceptionally talented human. He spent every day in a time of pain.
Wielding his sword, attending lectures, and fighting with the Sword Saint. There wasn’t even a moment of break to be found in his routine.
She suddenly grew curious.
Why was he so desperate, what drove him to act like this?
Of course, there had been humans around who worked hard in the past.
Rena maintained high grades to support her family after graduation, and Lucia aimed to earn recognition from her family by becoming the top student.
Thus, hard work typically has goals they want to achieve.
Usually, academy students aim for the single top student position in their year.
However, he wasn’t just aiming for the top spot of the academy.
From the very start, his goal had to be set somewhere different. Somewhere higher than the academy’s top student.
Iria decided to delve into that. So, she began tailing him.
While she too had to vacate her seat during the time she had classes as a student, she concentrated on following him during all other times.
What had been an immediate rush to the library after classes had now transformed into following Ariel.
As a result, rumors began to spread.
“Did you hear? The rumored top student of the first year has been following Ariel lately.”
“Is that the girl in a maid outfit who stepped on the guest’s face?”
“She pretended to be all innocent but turned out to be a fool.”
“But still, she’s pretty.”
“What’s the use of being pretty? Ariel is a training fanatic. Is he going to swing his sword one more time instead of talking to a girl?”
“Still, if it works out, they could be well-suited, right? A handsome duo of the top student couple.”
“What? If you become the top student, you’ll have a silver-haired red-eyed girl following you in school life.”
“You don’t even have the looks.”
“Damn.”
With Iria exhibiting strange behavior over several days without caring much for others’ gazes, rumors spread quickly.
Simply following someone wasn’t an issue, but Iria’s silver hair drew unnecessary attention.
Her striking appearance ensured that rumors spread at lightning speed.
And there was someone who didn’t take kindly to that rumor.
The second-year top student Ariel generally devoted himself to training and avoided romance and leisure. But that didn’t mean he had no admirers.
Who exactly was Ariel?
Within less than a month of entering the academy, he had dominated all students. He was undeniably the strongest student in the academy and someone who wrote a new history.
With his handsome appearance added to that, there were many who secretly observed him even if they acted like they weren’t.
Like looking up at a flower blooming on a cliff.
“So, who’s targeting Ariel?”
“Seems like a famous first-year top student lately.”
“Really? A first-year did that?”
“Yeah, but he’s a top student.”
“So what if he’s a top student?”
It was something remarkable; in the academy, overcoming a grade difference was quite difficult.
Typically, a student ranking in the top ten of the second year would be stronger than the first-year top student.
As for a first-year top student, they might barely approach a student ranking in the twenties of the second year.
And now…
“So, what’s that person’s name?”
“Iria.”
The student, with her red hair flowing and legs crossed arrogantly, was Sera, the second-year’s second rank.
Had Ariel not existed, she could have easily claimed the second-year top student position.
The rumor had reached her ears too.
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