episode_0026

A blow to the back of the head stings.

In reality, the sensation of feeling someone’s gaze is just the subjective interpretation of the person experiencing that sensation. There are no lasers coming out of people’s eyes. When we talk about “eye contact,” it’s not the light coming out of their eyes, but simply the light reflecting off them, like sunlight or other sources of light.

Unless we’re talking about nocturnal predators or animals, such a light wouldn’t be visible in a person’s eyes.

So, strictly speaking, the reason my back of the head stung was probably just because of my own thoughts. It’s because I was conscious of Claire sitting behind me and Alice, who were sitting side by side.

If Claire hadn’t recognized me at all, I wouldn’t have been so concerned. I might have felt a little down, but that’s it. I would have just been satisfied that Claire had grown up well and moved on, knowing that there would be more opportunities to become closer in the future.

Of course, as a character known for being expressionless, I can’t suddenly pretend to be friendly, but isn’t there a cliché for expressionless, emotionless characters like me? The cliché where a character who initially didn’t react much to what others said starts to blend in with friends, slowly breaking down their expression and eventually even making jokes.

Ah, perfect.

Just thinking about laughing and chatting with the characters I like already makes me excited. And imagining the surprised expressions of the others when I first smiled.

To achieve that, I’ll have to maintain my expressionless character for a while.

But that’s a concept I’ve maintained for over 10 years, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.

“….”

There was a strange tension in the classroom.

It was probably because of what happened in the corridor earlier. Alice pointed out that I hadn’t properly greeted the princess.

Although everyone probably saw what happened afterwards, these kids also saw Alice not bowing her head in front of the principal before. So instead of immediately choosing to confront Alice, they were probably trying to observe a bit more and choose the “way Alice prefers.”

Moreover, displaying an overly casual attitude could leave a bad impression on someone who is being considered a likely candidate for the next emperor. While there may be some noise around the children of viscounts and marquises in the other classes, it’s unlikely that viscounts, marquises, and emperors would be put on the same level.

Furthermore, since Alice rarely attends balls or parties, and no one in the class personally knows her, it’s not strange for the atmosphere in the class to become stiff. Perhaps the commoner class would be much more lively.

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

The classroom, so quiet that you could hear the ticking of the clock in my arms, maintained its silence until the sound of the sliding door opening interrupted it.

…By the way, the reason the classroom door is a sliding door, the reason the arrangement of desks in the classroom reminds one of a Japanese-style classroom seen in manga, all of this is because the development company of this isekai’s original game is a Japanese company. The corridor has a somewhat steampunk and Victorian vibe, but with the classroom like this, the sense of dissonance was overwhelming.

But it seems like no one else really cares except me.

“Um.”

The young female teacher who entered the classroom, freezing at the icy atmosphere, seemed somewhat flustered as she stopped in front of the door, then coughed awkwardly as if embarrassed by her surprise, and finally entered the classroom.

She was a young female teacher.

In fact, she was someone who was teaching a class for the first time in her life. Unlike Winterfield’s granddaughter who taught the noble class B, this gentle-looking female teacher wasn’t from a military background.

But that doesn’t mean she was just an ordinary person. She’s actually the daughter of a viscount.

Caroline Noswood. She is a viscountess who manages a viscountcy somewhat distant from the central authority. Although she is somewhat removed from the central power, she is still a viscountess with the blood of the royal family mixed in.

With slightly wavy light brown hair, similarly light brown eyes, and slightly droopy eyes, her appearance already looks somewhat dull. The clothes she wears are oddly loose, almost like a middle school student in uniform. In reality, she hides a fantastic figure underneath, but she usually covers it up with those loose-fitting suits, which is the setting of this character named Caroline.

Although she is not a character that can be controlled, she does have a romantic route with the protagonist. In a way, she could be considered a “supporting character who could potentially become a lover.”

To control Class A, where high-ranking nobles and families close to the royal family are gathered, one must be a member of a family with the corresponding power. Winterfield was certainly a capable teacher to be in charge of Class A, but due to his rebellious nature of saying, “My grandfather will not listen anyway,” Caroline ended up being in charge of Class A… that was the original setting.

She was a teacher who inherited the blood of a viscount, but she is barely ten years older than us, having just graduated from university and started her job.

As she entered the classroom, Caroline, who had been stiff in front of the open classroom door, finally gathered her thoughts and started moving.

With her head slightly bowed, her gaze fixed on the floor as she walked, her appearance was almost pitiful.

It seemed like she was hoping to avoid making eye contact with the two princesses sitting side by side in the front row, closest to the teacher’s desk, but—

—Unfortunately, in order to lower her gaze towards the attendance book on the teacher’s desk, she had to make eye contact with us for a moment.

“Any absences?”

Ah.

She opened her mouth, but her voice seemed to disappear.

However, no one in the classroom laughed. It would have been embarrassing for Caroline if someone had laughed, but the fact that no one laughed was pushing our Noswood further into obscurity.

“I… I!”

But she couldn’t back down from being a teacher.

No matter how new she was, she was staking her family name as an academy teacher. If it were to be heard that she was being pushed around by a student, it would be a disgrace to the name of the Noswood viscount.

Caroline tried to gather her thoughts and shout, but her voice was thin and high-pitched, so she didn’t think of shouting.

“I am, Caroline Noswood! The second daughter of the Noswood viscount!”

Of course, there was no grand response.

In the empire, there were twelve viscounts.

Two of the heroines who appeared prominently in the main story were viscounts, and if you counted all the grades, there were only sixteen children of viscounts.

That’s right.

The empire is such a vast country that just being a viscount can be considered prestigious. While it may have some effect to boast the title of viscount to each student, it can’t help but be a bit excessive to have a viscount in one class.

Above all, with two princesses sitting in front of her, it was inevitable.

“Nice to meet you!”

And as I looked at Caroline like that, I couldn’t help but smile inwardly.

I was the one who conquered all the heroines and uploaded a video titled “For Those Who Are Too Lazy to Conquer All the Heroines.”

Of course, I’ve seen Leo and Caroline’s kissing scene.

I also saw the scene where B-class homeroom teacher Winterfield tricked students into coming out of the pool wearing bikinis.

She was a character with many flaws, but in the game, she was also portrayed as a positive character.

Caroline’s mindset as a teacher is sincere and unwavering.

When the empire’s world war broke out in the latter part of the story and the empire was divided into civil war, Caroline risked her life to protect the students. No, not just the academy students, but all visible minors, she wanted to protect them in the name of Northwood.

And she successfully protected them. At least until the latest work.

Although she seemed a bit awkward as a teacher for the first time, she was an impeccable character in terms of personality. That was the image I had of Caroline as a character.

So, she naturally made a good first impression.

Of course, I only thought that internally, and my expression was still wooden.

“….”

Half of the class remained silent in response to Caroline’s greeting, until someone started clapping.

Clap, clap.

The sound of applause started next to me.

Yes. It was Alice who started clapping.

Listening to the slow clapping, I also followed Alice’s clapping, and soon the students in the class started clapping one by one, filling the classroom with enthusiastic applause.

Looking at Alice’s face, she had a slight smile on her lips.

Caroline Northwood seemed to be slightly relieved after seeing Alice’s expression, placing her hand on her chest and letting out a small sigh.

Well, at least Alice’s first impression, which was ingrained by the homeroom teacher, doesn’t seem to be ‘scary’.

*

Although the Academy is a 4-year institution, it is not really modeled after a university. It feels more like a combination of the last year of middle school and the three years of high school. In this world, there are separate higher education institutions called universities.

Therefore, there are no teachers who introduce themselves for a few minutes and then end the class, especially if the teacher in front is a passionate history teacher.

Caroline Northwood was such a teacher.

It could be considered unfortunate for the students that the first period was Caroline’s homeroom class.

However, no one dared to take Caroline lightly and not pay attention to the class or doze off.

Because the princess sitting in the front row was studying diligently.

The atmosphere of the class is determined by the student who leads the class. If the class president, who is supposed to lead the class, gives up on studying, the students may not pay much attention in class.

Of course, with the imperial caste system in place at the Academy, it is uncertain how things will unfold.

In the original work, Class A also had a good class atmosphere.

“… And that’s how the Azerna Empire was born.”

The first class was on a light topic. It started with the founding myth of the empire, how the empire merged surrounding kingdoms, and what the territory of the empire was like when it was first established.

Most of the students sitting here probably already know this. It was part of the Academy entrance exam.

But they are still just 15-year-old kids.

To learn the more advanced content that will come later, they need to review and understand the basics. Besides, there were foreign students among the new students.

As Caroline finished her lecture, the bell rang accordingly.

In the original work, it seemed like they adjusted the dialogue to match the end of class time, but seeing the bell ring right after Caroline finished her explanation, it makes me wonder if they had really agonized over how to conduct the class before school.

“Today’s class ends here. Any questions?”

No one raised their hand.

They probably don’t want to waste the 10-minute break.

“Well then, that’s it for today’s class. See you in the afternoon.”

Perhaps Caroline felt more relaxed throughout the class, as she gave us a slight smile before leaving the room.

… But still, she didn’t even do a salute or a bow. It seems like a place where it would fit in.

Well, the original work didn’t have such scenes either. Maybe the production team thought that the absence of formal greetings was the standard for the “Western casualness” they had in mind.

Even though the school system is completely like a Japanese academy setting.

“It’s not as difficult as I thought.”

In a much more relaxed atmosphere than before, Alice said to me as if relieved.

“Since it’s the beginning of the semester, we start by confirming what you already know. There might be students who get almost everything wrong on the Empire History exam.”

There’s no lockout in the academy entrance exam.

“Hmm, is that so?”

Still, Alice’s expression seemed to relax, as if she thought I could keep up.

… Actually, not just keeping up, but becoming one of the best students in this school.

Did I perhaps overestimate my abilities a bit too much?

“Have you been well?”

As I pondered internally, someone suddenly greeted me with a warm and friendly tone.

The voice belonged to—

“Oh, Charlotte!”

I was startled as Alice called out Charlotte’s name with an incredibly lively voice.

But thankfully, my expression didn’t falter.

Wait, Charlotte?