Chapter 16: Instructor Lee Han (2)

The Academy, or the Pendragon Academy, was pretty similar to a military academy. Regardless of their social status, young talents between the ages of 18 and 25 were treated equally as students. No matter what they did or what they were outside the Academy, they would be receiving the same treatment.

…Well, except if they were criminals…

In any case, because of this, countless people came to the Academy, especially those who wanted to overcome the limitations of their social status. However, the Academy’s entrance exams were notoriously difficult to pass. Also, even if they succeeded getting into the Academy, it wasn’t a guarantee that they would be able to graduate.

Someone getting expelled because they failed to obtain average grades in certain subjects, or if they just failed to meet the Academy’s standard overall was a common occurrence.

In fact, the average graduation rate of the Academy barely even reached 10%.

It wasn’t strange to see merely a hundred students graduate out of the thousand who enrolled. However, those who actually managed to graduate would be able to get into a high position in the kingdom easier. That was why even the nobles would do their best to stay at the Academy.

The interesting thing here was that, even though the Academy was notoriously difficult to survive in, the students who enrolled in it were rather confident in themselves. All of them believed that they would definitely graduate from the Academy because they were ‘them’. An understandable mindset, since they were people whose ‘talent’ were recognized by others.

After all, the fact that they were able to enroll in the Academy itself meant that most of them were gifted since their childhood. That was why they became rather arrogant, they believed that they wouldn’t be expelled no matter what.

…But, even they didn’t dare to think that they’d become the best of their years.

Because they knew that in the Academy, there were so many geniuses that were clearly more gifted than them.

For example…

“Is that her? You know, the rumored mage?”

“I heard she entered the world of magic through self-study.”

“A genius…”

The woman they were talking about was a beautiful woman with impressive blonde hair. Even though her beauty was reminiscent of fairies, the mythical race, something stood out even more than that; the watery waves that she gently exuded from her body.

This was magic power; a talent needed for someone to be a mage, something that only a few humans were born with.

To be born with it meant that one was a chosen one. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that they were people who were blessed by nature.

This woman’s name was Irene Windler.

Born as the lowest class in the kingdom, yet managed to become one of the only ten mages among the new students. But, there was a reason why everyone was paying attention to her; her talent was the most unique one among the ten.

Not only that, if the newspaper article from the day before—where it stated that Duke Galahad had adopted her as his daughter—was true…

With those in mind, it was only natural that everyone was paying attention to her.

“…Ugh.”

However, rather than enjoying all the attention, Irene Windler just turned her head away embarrassedly.

That was why, eventually, the others’ gazes turned to other people instead.

Like the disciple of the Mercenary King…

Or the eldest son of a noble swordsman family…

There was also the second daughter of the chancellor…

The son of a wealthy merchant…

And…

The descendants of the mythical races.

Once again, they realized that this year was filled with big fish.

“I feel bad for the previous year’s students for saying this but… This year is filled with talented people…”

“Well, I doubt anyone thinks otherwise.”

“I even heard that the royal family had already set their sights on some of the students.”

“Hmm.”

“Still, even among those talented youngsters, that student in particular will definitely become the top student of the year.”

“Indeed…”

“I agree.”

But, even among the countless talented students, there was one person who stood out more than the rest.

He was someone with both a noble aura and a handsome aura. Someone with such an overwhelming aura that people would compare him to a finely made sculpture when they looked at him.

Roen Dmitri de Lionel, the illegitimate son of the archduke, a genius who managed to overshadow his own status as an illegitimate son with his talent. It was known that his skills were on par with the average knights. On top of that, he was known to have opened up new horizons in regards to Combat Technique.

If the gazes directed at Irene Windler were filled with curiosity and surprise, the gazes of those who were looking at Roen were filled with faint jealousy and admiration. Though, a lot of them also showed their competitive nature, not even bothering to hide their intention to put him in his place as to them, he was nothing but an illegitimate child.

“…”

However, facing all those stares, Roen’s face showed no sign of change. His cold face, seemingly devoid of humanity, and his whole body exuded an aura that said ‘I am on a different level from you lot’.

That was probably what made him seem even more unlikable to those nobles, but ordinary people didn’t mind that and were busy admiring him.

He possessed both a noble bloodline and an overwhelming talent. Not only that, he was admitted as the top of his class.

From commoners to nobles, there were quite a few people who looked at him with admiration.

[The Entrance Ceremony will now begin. Students, please take your seats. I also would like to ask the guardians and guests to take their seats. I repeat. The Entrance Ceremony will now begin, guardians and guests, please-!]

With that announcement as a cue, the entrance ceremony had finally begun, leaving behind the exceptional students who were talking about the challenges they were about to face.

…I’m nervous.

Irene Windler was trying hard to hold it in, but her whole body was still shaking. She was someone who’d feel uncomfortable receiving this kind of attention, so it wasn’t a wonder that she was like this.

In fact, she didn’t even want to go enroll in the Academy or anything. She just wanted to play around and eat in her cozy nest, just like a pet hamster.

However, she had to come here.

Because…

[Wow, Arin, look around! There are so many people! Wow…!]

Please, stop making a fuss. I’m so nervous that I feel like I’m going to vomit.

[That’s because you’re too timid, Arin! You should just enjoy this situation!]

Do you think I’m an insider like you?

[An insider? What’s that?]

Someone like you.

[…Sometimes, you’re saying something that doesn’t make any sense, Arin.]

This loud voice that echoed in Irene Windler’s mind. The identity of this voice was actually a woman who had been occupying this body with her for seven years; the original owner of this ‘body’ that Irene currently possessed.

If someone had seen her, they’d probably suspected that she was a schizophrenic or something, but she actually wasn’t. She had the memories of the world she originally lived in, though. That was why she made it her life mission to go back to that world and return this body to the original owner.

That damn angel…! One day, I’ll definitely find you and pluck all your wings out!

Thinking about the culprit who dragged her into this world, Irene grounded her teeth.

[But, Arin! I know it’s too late to doubt your words now, but is there really an angel in the Academy?]

There is! It appeared at the last minute in the original story to help out the female protagonist!

[Ah, the duke’s real daughter that you told me about?]

Yes.

[I see, I see! I wonder what she looks like, hehe~]

…Sometimes, I envy your simple-mindedness…

That would spare me a lot of suffering at least…

Anyway, so far, everything is progressing according to the original story, so the female protagonist will definitely appear.

Since the story was progressing just like in the original, she had to figure out a way to subdue the angel, or at least, threaten it when it finally appeared.

That was the only way for her to end this complicated circumstances of hers and move on to a happy ending for both her and the original owner of her body.

…However…

…Why is the male protagonist here?

There was one thing that she failed to understand. The existence of a certain man who was exuding his power on the other side of hers.

Roen, the male protagonist of the original work. The future archduke who should have been rebelling against his current family was instead enrolling in the Academy and managed to secure his position at such a young age.

Seeing this, Irene’s feelings turned complicated. After all, she didn’t know what kind of butterfly effect this kind of development would have.

Rustle-!

Flinch-!

At that moment, Roen noticed Irene’s gaze and turned his eyes to her. Irene quickly lowered her head, trying to avoid the gaze. But, his sharp gaze still lingered even after that, making the area around her head stung, but she didn’t dare to look back at him.

[Arin, you coward.]

Shut up.

[Hinnggg, Arin is being a meanie.]

…Ugh, this kid is so annoying—!

Right, I should just hit her once. She’s five years youn—

…No, nevermind. She isn’t that annoying anyway.

Irene genuinely felt that her personality had changed after dealing with this rascal for seven years. This was also why she wanted to catch the angel as soon as possible, so she could gain her original good personality back.

Of course, she still wanted to pluck the angel’s wings.

My college entrance exam…

She had no intention of showing that angel mercy. After all, it went ahead and brought her, a third year high schooler who was about to take her college entrance exam, to this world without her consent. She wanted to at least get some revenge on it.

The anger of a college entrance exam taker was endlessly deep and hot.

[Oh, Arin, look at that! It’s the teachers, the teachers!]

They aren’t teachers, they’re professors. You should— Huh?

Irene Windler blinked for a moment.

Up there on the stage, she saw someone who carried a different vibe from the other professors, who were introducing themselves one by one.

How should I put this…?

Uh…

Why is there a Tom Hardy in a pure love manhwa…?

Well, to be exact, the professor reminded Irene of the mafia role that Tom Hardy played in a certain movie.

And, as if it wasn’t her who thought so, the rest of the students also fell silent,

…Just like that, she felt like the genre of this world had changed in an instant.

…Did I wear the wrong clothes?

Trying to dress as neatly as possible, Lee Han wore a tailored suit and a matching tailcoat. Since this wasn’t a party, he figured that he should wear a rather plain suit, but even though it was plain, it still served its purpose to make him look neat and tidy.

He also applied some perfume on his hair, so he was pretty proud of himself currently. Because of the way he dressed, he was confident that he wouldn’t look messy and would leave a pretty good first impression on others.

The only problem here was that the suit was a little tight for him. Not because he had gained some weight, but because his muscles had grown a little more. That was why the area around his arm and his chest felt especially tight.

Fortunately for him, the tailor who made the clothes was good. His suit was quite stretchy so it didn’t seem it would burst at any moment.

And yet, he still felt a little out of place here.

I didn’t know I could just wear something comfortable here…

Most of the other professors only wore neat clothes. He could barely see anyone who was wearing a dress or a tailored suit like him. Seeing this, he couldn’t help but feel that he was overdressing.

And as if to prove that it wasn’t just a feeling of his, an unsettling silence greeted him the moment he stood on the stage.

…Fuck, I should throw this away when I get home.

Anyway, let’s end this quickly.

Lee Han looked straight ahead before focusing his gaze on the guy named Roen.

He had his reason for doing this. First, he needed to leave a strong impression on him. Second, because it would be easier on him to focus on just a single guy instead of having his focus spread out all over the place.

As Lee Han opened the script he had roughly written and briefly introduced himself…

“Hmph, how dare a demoted knight shamelessly show his face.”

Woosh-!

Once again, at that moment, the auditorium fell silent, albeit for a different reason now. Meanwhile, a student who realized that he was talking too loudly, quickly covered his mouth.

To this, Lee Han let out a bitter laugh.

…Right, right, why do I need a script for? That’s so out of character of me.

With that in mind, he decided to do it the usual way.

Crunch-!

Following that sound, the podium broke.