On the other side of the cafeteria, in a dark corridor far from the crowd.
“I told you to test her.”
“Not to make a grand spectacle of it and announce to everyone that someone is targeting that newcomer from the White Garden.”
As the cold words fell, a thin layer of sweat broke out on Levi's forehead.
The gray-haired youth standing before him had his hands in his pockets, and pinned to his chest was a silver academy badge representing the upperclassmen's Red Garden.
“Senior, I originally just wanted to use those freshmen's mouths to see how she would handle the praise and pressure.”
“The plan was going smoothly, but then that Lynn suddenly intervened, and even Professor Siss...”
“So?”
The youth glanced at him indifferently.
“A few casual words from someone else, and your so-called carefully prepared test turned into a farce.”
“And now, you plan to blame your own incompetence on the opponent being too clever?”
Levi opened his mouth but ultimately lowered his head. “...It was a lack of foresight on my part.”
“Lack of foresight?”
As if hearing a joke, the gray-haired youth waved his hand impatiently.
“Finding a bunch of idiots with weeds for brains to surround her and sing her praises.”
“Crude methods, obvious motives.”
“You so-called elite children always like to huddle together in daily life, as if having more numbers can cover up the mediocrity in each of you.”
He gently patted Levi's shoulder with a warm motion, but there was not a trace of a smile in his eyes.
“I will give you some more time. Her abilities, character, weaknesses... I want to see actually useful information.”
“Not a bunch of trash gathering together to put on a show of huddling for warmth. Do you understand?”
Levi gritted his teeth.
“...Understood.”
“Very well.” The youth withdrew his hand and turned to walk deeper into the corridor.
“Don't disappoint me again.”
“Levi Sah, you won't get a second chance.”
The sound of footsteps gradually faded.
Only when the silhouette completely disappeared did Levi slowly raise his head.
In his lowered eyes, there was already nothing left but cold, venomous resentment.
Lynn von Reinhardt...
If not for that busybody, how would he have suffered such humiliation?
“You are the son of the Grand Duke. I cannot afford to provoke you...”
But it didn't matter.
His gaze swept over the crowd and landed on the distant, fleeing figure of the white-haired dumpling, a sinister smile creeping onto his face.
She was just a mudblood who didn't even know basic magic.
Who knew what kind of dumb luck she had to actually be sorted into the White Garden?
“Trash is trash...”
In the upcoming classes, no one would give her the chance to swing her sword. Once everyone had to construct their spell formations in public—
her empty-headed true nature would naturally be exposed before everyone.
“A mere freak...”
Levi slowly curled his lips.
“Enjoy your moment of pride while you can. Soon...”
“everyone will know exactly what kind of thing you are.”
...
The four entrance exams that made thousands of freshmen tremble in fear finally came to an end amidst a sea of wails and despair.
At least before the grades were posted over the weekend, the freshmen could briefly forget about all this.
Even if some had their dreams crushed by the exam papers and had their dignity repeatedly desecrated by Siss's sarcasm, they still had to pack their bags after a night's sleep and start a brutal new day of 8:00 AM classes.
“My classroom for the first period... is 201.”
Following the room numbers all the way forward, Lynn, who had just finished his morning exercise, stepped into the classroom just as the final bell was about to ring.
It was worth mentioning that during his morning exercise today, Lynn failed to pull that wild white-haired dumpling out of any corner.
‘...Is she avoiding me?’
‘Strange... I didn't really do anything, did I?’
All I did was encourage her with my eyes in the exam hall, and then disperse a crowd of overly enthusiastic 'fans' for her in the cafeteria.
How gentle, how kind.
In any case, Lynn was almost moved to tears by his own goodness.
‘In this day and age, outstanding youths like me who don't seek fame or fortune, but only want to farm Emotion Points, are truly rare.’
“By the way... there are really a lot of people...”
Unlike the simple cutscenes in the game, the bustling classroom actually felt a bit crowded right now.
“The front rows are completely full... Everyone is really enthusiastic.”
He couldn't help but think of when he had first entered university in his previous life. Everyone's enthusiasm had been so high that if one arrived even slightly late, not a single seat would be left in the front.
Though after just two months, the reason everyone arrived early shifted from grabbing front row seats to snatching the back row.
Lynn casually found a window seat in the back row, sat down, and propped his head up with his hand to observe his surroundings.
The entire classroom accommodated about seventy students. At a glance, most wore the uniforms of the Regal Department and the Knight Department, followed by the Arcane Department, and finally, the scarce few from the Primordial Department.
Every student wore a badge on their chest symbolizing their status.
“Excluding the only White Garden student, little Irene, there are a total of seven Red Garden students, and the remaining sixty or so are all the top talents of the Azure Garden from the original plot.”
...Is this some kind of otherworld version of an honors class?
“Still, they're all familiar faces...”
Lynn's gaze slowly swept across the classroom.
In the very front row, Veronica sat with her back perfectly straight. The textbooks, notes, and quill on her desk were neatly arranged, her posture alone exuding the honor student aura of “I am definitely taking first place in this class.”
Across the aisle, Anna was sitting quietly by the window.
Today, she did not wear the disguise named “Sasha.”
Her cascading purple hair fell to her waist, and her exquisite, cold face glowed like white jade in the morning light. Her violet eyes rested calmly on the pages of her book, and the noble aura she naturally exuded with every movement left a small empty circle of seats around her.
The Second Princess of the Empire.
Even just by sitting there, she seemed to be separated from the surrounding noise by a completely different layer.
As if sensing Lynn's gaze, the fingertips Anna used to turn the pages paused slightly. But when he looked closer, the girl had already lowered her eyes as if nothing had happened, her expression indifferent.
“Young Master—over here!”
A familiar voice rang out from the other side.
Lilian was sitting in the Azure Garden section, excitedly waving her small hand at him.
Her pink hair tips swayed with her movements, and the new hair clip on her head sparkled in the morning light.
Beside her sat a serious-looking, green-haired girl.
Lisa Lanfa. (For details, see Chapter 10)
Veronica's personal knight, and also a rigid Knight-Maiden whose every strand of hair and sitting posture screamed “abide by the rules.”
Her back was as straight as an unsheathed sword, and her hands were placed properly on her knees. Seeing Lilian waving so widely in the classroom, her brow instantly furrowed.
“Miss Lilian. Please maintain proper etiquette in the classroom.”
“But class hasn't started yet...”
“The bell will ring in forty-seven seconds.”
“...”
The cherry-haired dumpling pulled her hand back with an aggrieved look.
Lynn silently looked away.
Lilian and Lisa paired together... He didn't know if the Demon Pill would corrupt the Spirit Bead, or if the Spirit Bead would properly keep the Demon Pill in line.
As for the remaining four Red Garden students, they were also characters with names and reputations in the original plot.
The red-haired youth sitting in the first row on the left was named Otto Balk.
Standing nearly two meters tall, his shoulders were wide enough for two Irenes to sit side by side. At this moment, however, he was carefully pinching his quill, terrified that a tiny bit too much force would snap the poor little thing in two.
A classic firepower-supremacist, his creed in life consisted of only one sentence—
As long as the fireball is big enough, there is no problem that cannot be solved... If there is, it just means it isn't big enough yet.
Identified as a firepower-focused, high-DPS, mid-tier meta character!
Diagonally behind him was a golden-short-haired girl with healthy, wheat-colored skin.
Caroline Mist, daughter of the Lord of the Southern Territory's Storm Domain, a rare spellcaster with excellent affinity for both wind and lightning elements.
Cheerful and fond of dueling, in the plot she had challenged fifty-three freshmen in a row during her first semester, ultimately achieving an excellent record of fifty-one wins and two losses.
As for the only two matches she lost... all I can say is that after a fifty-one-match winning streak, Caroline had inflated like a balloon and actually issued a challenge to the Saintess on the spot.
After being casually kicked aside like a stray dog, she still didn't give up and went on to challenge Princess Anna.
“Hmph! Just a royal show-off with a hollow reputation. Do I need to remind you again? You are the challenger!” she had said, tossing her short golden hair and pointing spiritedly at the displeased princess.
...Only to end up lying in the infirmary for a week afterward, muttering to anyone she met, “I failed to let Lady Anna enjoy herself.”
Another mid-tier character, no explanation needed.
By the wall, a pale-faced, black-haired youth wrapped himself in a thick blanket, his fingertips playing with an ice crystal that radiated a chilly mist.
Samuel Crown, son of a Count of the Eastern Territory, a quiet, introverted young master.
Further ahead was a petite and cute brown-haired girl: Ruby Field.
Of commoner origin, she was currently hugging her textbook nervously, stealing occasional glances at her luxuriously dressed classmates around her, shrinking back like a little quail that had wandered into a pack of wolves.
‘Veronica, Anna, Otto, Caroline, Samuel, Ruby, and then including me...’
‘Exactly seven Red Garden students.’
These four exceptionally talented individuals, if placed in previous years, might have all competed for the sole annual First Seat.
But unfortunately... they were born in the same era as cheats like Irene and Veronica.
‘...So you will just have to obediently act as background characters.’
So thought Lynn, who was also a cheat himself but completely lacked self-awareness.
Rate on N.U.
