episode_0015

That day, the academy was bustling as Rudy had expected.

The rumor that the top-ranking 1st-year student, Daves, had been defeated spread like wildfire.

Daves, who had reached the late 1-star stage.

He was defeated with a sword, unable to even use magic,

And the one who beat him was a new student who enrolled today.

‘As expected, the national grand mage doesn’t take just anyone as a disciple, is that it?’

‘If he easily defeated a late 1-star like Daves, is he a 2-star?’

‘If he’s a 2-star, does that mean he’s on the same level as Charlotte? Maybe even Charlotte, who has firmly held the title of the strongest 1st-year student so far…’

The swordsmanship students were extremely excited, creating new topics of discussion.

The rumors spread.

They were exaggerated.

And eventually, it was speculated that the new student could defeat even the one called the ‘Charlotte Claret,’ who was hailed as the best in the swordsmanship department.

“Hmph!”

The white hair fluttered in sync with her movements.

After training for several hours, the sweat beads on her forehead clung to her skin.

Crack! Boom!

Dozens of magic golems made for training shattered and flew around.

All of them were either slashed by her sword or destroyed by the ice-based 2-star magic ‘Frost Rain.’

“…I feel a bit sluggish today.”

Her name was Charlotte Claret.

She was training in the academy’s training golem room, as usual, for the students’ training.

“Let’s stop here for today.”

It was when Charlotte was about to leave the golem room.

As the surrounding students noticed Charlotte walking out,

They began whispering to each other.

‘It’s Charlotte!’

‘I didn’t like seeing her act cool and composed every day, but she’s about to be exposed by the new student. Hehe.’

‘Oh, hey! Your voice is too loud!’

“…Ha.”

As the student next to her pointed out, her voice was indeed too loud.

Charlotte, feeling annoyed, approached the whispering students.

“What did you just say?”

“Gasp…!”

“Could you repeat what you were just saying?”

*

“You still haven’t left?”

“Hehe.”

After exchanging greetings and a light spar, Rudy returned to the mansion in the forest.

He sighed as he saw Zion smiling broadly at the entrance.

“I told you I would report if you kept staying at the mansion.”

“I’ve been thinking since earlier about what you were worrying about!”

“Worrying?”

“Yes!”

Zion was firmly convinced.

‘Right. A normal guy like me wouldn’t push me away.’

Wealth and power.

Looks and magical abilities.

He had everything.

Everyone wanted to be friends with him, so why was Rudy pushing him away? Zion thought and came to a conclusion.

‘Probably because of the rumors spread by those who saw me leaving the mansion.’

Agnes Academy’s students spread information quickly among themselves.

Worried about those who tried to get close to him when he first enrolled,

Zion thought that Rudy was trying to push him away for that reason.

“Don’t worry. Normal people can’t enter the mansion in the forest, and the barrier is up, so nothing can be seen from the outside.”

“…Sigh.”

Looking at Zion like that, Rudy covered his face with his hand.

“…Is something wrong?”

“Excuse me.”

Rudy approached Zion closely.

And then.

“Back off.”

“….”

In a heavy and annoyed tone,

Rudy warned Zion as he looked down at him.

.

.

.

.

“Why is he acting like that! Is he gay or something?”

After being chased away by Rudy,

Zion grumbled as he walked down the street towards the principal’s office.

“I should tell my mom. I can’t stand being with such a pathetic guy!”

If he admitted defeat, his pride would be hurt.

Trying to rationalize as much as possible, Zion thought of excuses.

“Huh? Oh! Second Prince~!”

“…Sion?”

It was during a walk that Julian, the second prince, unexpectedly met Sion.

Sion approached him with a friendly smile.

“Where are you headed? I haven’t seen you around lately.”

“Haha, Sion is from the Magic Department, and I’m from the Swordsmanship Department. I was just on my way to buy some drinks. How about you, Sion?”

“Me? Me? Huhuh….”

“S-Sion…?”

Suddenly, Sion made a sad expression and pretended to cry.

“I approached someone I wanted to be friends with, but that person told me to leave! So, I was walking back with tears in my eyes….”

“No way! Who would tell kind Sion to leave… Who is this person?”

“Sob… Do you want to know?”

“Yes, anyone who behaves badly at the Academy should be disciplined. Who is it?”

Julian frowned, feeling uncomfortable as he held his waist with both hands.

“…Sob, do you know the new disciple of the Grand Master who just enrolled?”

“What? Oh, they enrolled today?!”

“Yes… So, I tried to befriend them, but they told me to leave! Sob….”

“……”

In the sudden silence, Sion stopped pretending to cry.

‘Huh?’

Sion peeked at Julian through his clenched fists.

Seeing Julian’s stiff expression, he said, “Um, Sion, were you trying to get too close too quickly?”

“…What?”

“You might have unintentionally offended them without realizing it.”

“…?”

Sion was taken aback by Julian’s unexpected reaction.

*

“As expected, students these days are too careless with their words.”

Rudy felt a sense of disillusionment as he walked through the hallway of the Swordsmanship Department’s 1st-year Class A classroom.

Wherever he went, he could hear whispers linking him with Charlotte, the strongest 1st-year student.

As soon as Rudy opened the classroom door.

“……”

“……”

The classroom fell silent for a moment, and all eyes turned to him.

Phantom.

The supernova who defeated Daves with a single blow during the last self-training session and left gracefully.

Daves, who was at the front, was lying face down on his desk.

His reputation had plummeted to the point where he couldn’t even show his face after that incident.

‘He’s pitiful, but… it can’t be helped.’

Rudy felt sorry for Daves, but he was a necessary sacrifice for spreading rumors.

The world’s desolation caused by the Lunar Cult and the Black Dragon they would summon.

To stop them, they needed to choose one heroine and join forces.

The magical heroine and the Black Dragon confrontation route. (Combining magic families and strength.)

The swordsmanship heroine and the Black Dragon confrontation route. (Combining swordsmanship families and strength.)

The saintly heroine and the Black Dragon confrontation route. (Choosing the saint and turning her into a hero.)

The elf heroine and the Black Dragon confrontation route. (Seeking help from the World Tree.)

These four routes were currently intertwined in the game.

Only one could be chosen.

‘Already, the heroine has been ruined, not to mention connected.’

By provoking the heroines while hiding his identity.

Indirectly helping them grow.

They would have no choice but to join forces and stop the Lunar Cult and the Black Dragon.

The first heroine for this purpose was Charlotte Claret.

And one of the sacrifices to connect her was Daves.

Didn’t he suggest the duel first?

Rudy had no qualms about it.

He sat at the top of the pyramid-shaped seating arrangement.

The once quiet classroom was now filled with lively chatter again.

After about five minutes.

Creak!

The door opened again, and the professor entered.

“Everyone, be quiet.”

The middle-aged male professor they had seen during the last self-training session.

He stood at the podium and began to speak to the students who were seated.

“Everyone, remember that there will be a mock battle with another class in a week?”

A mock battle?

Everyone seemed to already know what the professor was talking about, nodding their heads as they listened.

Only Rudy looked at the professor with confusion.

“B, C, and D classes will each have a representative, and B class will be the first to compete. The representatives for the other classes have already been chosen, and we also need to select three representatives for our class.”

The professor continued to explain the rules.

From what Rudy understood roughly,

The format would involve three representatives from each class competing.

They would progress in a tournament style.

It wouldn’t be a 3v3 tag match,

But rather one-on-one fights.

The winner would then face the next person from the opposing class.

If they won again!

They could continue to face the next person… meaning one person could potentially defeat three opponents.

“Everyone should discuss and decide on the representatives by tomorrow. Do you have anyone in mind?”

At the professor’s words,

Everyone turned to look at Rudy.

“……”

“……”

It was only natural.

The best in Class A was Davess.

No one had been able to defeat him in a match,

Yet Rudy had beaten him in just one round.

Davess was currently lying on his desk, showing no intention of participating, which naturally led everyone to look at Rudy.

“…By the way, freshmen are not allowed to participate.”

“……”

“You haven’t even received the proper curriculum yet, how can you have the right to participate? You’re not a class representative.”

It was a valid point.

Rudy felt a bit disappointed, but he also thought it was for the best.

‘Let’s just let this one go. There’s plenty of time.’

His current goal was to win over Charlotte.

Charlotte was competitive and took pride in her sword skills.

She was likely upset due to the rumors circulating about her,

And not being able to participate in the mock battle this time would only fuel her obsession with Rudy.

He just needed to take it slow.

…Or so he thought.

“Are you the freshman from those rumors?”

“……”

On the way out after class,

Charlotte was waiting for Rudy with her arms crossed.

Students passing by couldn’t help but be curious about what was happening.

Rudy had no idea that Charlotte was such an impulsive heroine.