Ch.11I’m the Top Student? (1)

Not far from the academy.

There is a city famous for its thick fog that blankets the entire area, making the sun invisible even during daytime.

The City of No Tears, Rukiye.

It’s the largest slum within the Empire.

The eerie atmosphere and the regional characteristic of light never penetrating the area naturally led to it becoming a crime-infested slum.

Rukiye serves as a sanctuary for the wicked.

-All dirty money passes through Rukiye.

Though it was said to be a slum where beggars gathered to live.

In reality, it was no different from hell, where assassination groups, black magicians, and murderous demons ran rampant.

Even the Imperial Guard couldn’t easily patrol the area.

As such, it was also a place where various villains flourished.

Although there were numerous criminal organizations in the city, the most notorious among them was…

-I hear the slum has been turned upside down again.

-Is it the work of that “Astro” group or whatever they’re called?

-That’s right.

-The world is truly going to hell.

Astro. Sometimes called the “Stars Without Light.”

Now they were counted among the most dangerous groups not just in Rukiye, but throughout the entire Empire.

After appearing like a comet about two years ago, they quickly devoured the slum and rose as the new overlords of the underworld.

For some reason, their activities had been quiet recently.

-Speaking of Astro, there’s been no news of them lately.

-Did they get taken down by other organizations?

-Rumors say they left the Empire.

-From what I heard, there was some internal division.

Various speculations ran wild, but no one knew the truth.

Since they had always been shrouded in mystery from the beginning.

All people could do was pray that those nightmares would never appear again.

“……”

Meanwhile, in a building located in the center of the city.

In a basement covered with blackout curtains on all sides, a single girl sat at a desk.

Long, disheveled silver hair.

Her empty eyes reflected nothing but hollowness.

The girl’s identity was the vice-commander of “Astro.” The second-in-command of the criminal organization that had devoured the Empire’s slums.

The girl doesn’t make any movement.

A living corpse. She was breathing, but that was all.

To her, nothing in the world held any meaning. Breathing was merely an activity to prolong life.

She resembled a puppet with its strings cut.

“…I miss you, Commander.”

The girl suddenly muttered incomprehensible words.

Tears had formed in her eyes.

Her deeply sunken pupils were recalling a certain scene.

[This is just a temporary farewell. I hope you all are doing well.]

A hastily scribbled letter.

With that, the commander had disappeared from the members without a trace.

The girl fidgeted with the innocent paper.

“Where are you?”

Nearly half a year had passed.

Though the commander had always been elusive, it was the first time there had been no contact for so long.

Perhaps… she had been abandoned?

A terrible thought suddenly occurred to her. The girl tried hard to erase it.

Just thinking about it felt like her heart was being torn to pieces. Teardrops fell one after another.

“No, there’s no way they would abandon us… I shouldn’t doubt them…”

She tried to calm herself.

Nevertheless, her silver eyes trembled with longing.

As she sat helplessly with a cold sense of solitude, suddenly there was a commotion outside the door.

Laughter echoed brightly.

It soon burst through the door.

“Neria!!”

Bang-!

The door was kicked open roughly.

Beyond it stood a middle-aged man with red hair.

Perhaps he’d had a drink or two. When his eyes met the girl’s, the man gave a silly, foolish smile.

“Neria! Here you are!!”

“…What is it?”

“It finally came! It came!”

“I don’t know what trouble you’ve caused again, but please calm down first.”

The girl glared at the man.

Whatever it was, she didn’t seem pleased with his making such a fuss.

With the commander gone, what was there to be so excited about…

“We finally got a message from the commander!!”

“…What?”

For a moment, the silver-haired girl was dumbfounded.

She seemed to be checking in her mind whether what she had just heard was correct.

Soon, light returned to her previously empty eyes.

“Really?! When, where, how did it come?!”

“Now, now, calm down. Look at this letter.”

“Give it to me quickly!”

Neria quickly snatched the letter.

As if he had expected her to be happy, the man smiled contentedly.

“The content is simple. The commander asked us to protect some children. All ten of them are fox demi-humans.”

The girl quickly examined the letter.

The handwriting, style, composition, even the habit of placing periods—everything matched the commander’s.

Joy spread across her silver eyes.

“I’ve already handled it at my level. I selected only the elite forces to escort the guests.”

“Sniff, haah, sniff, haah…”

“You’re not listening.”

The girl was smelling the letter with her nose buried in it.

On the thin paper surface, faint but definite, was the commander’s scent.

Her shoulders trembled as if in ecstasy.

After breathing for a while, the girl commanded.

“…Get ready. Soon, the commander will need us.”

Her silver hair fluttered brilliantly.

Holding the letter preciously to her chest, the girl bowed her head as if in prayer.

“Everything according to their will.”

It was worship solely for her god.

***

A snake and a fox walking side by side.

We were able to reach the academy’s main gate before long.

It was truly an imposing building even upon second glance. Even Irene couldn’t stop admiring it for a while.

I’ll be spending three years in a place like this from now on.

It was a feeling where strange excitement and tension coexisted.

And so we entered the academy.

On our way to the main building where the entrance ceremony would take place, we encountered a familiar face.

I promptly greeted her.

“Miss Lezia! It’s been a while.”

“…Young Master Snakus?”

Green eyes looked in my direction.

Her pink hair, flowing with the spring breeze, resembled fully bloomed cherry blossom petals.

The flight goggles hanging around her neck were like a trademark.

‘Lezia Pillots.’

The girl who played the protagonist role in the original work.

At the same time, the character I cherished the most.

When Lezia’s eyes met mine, she stiffened with a start. Perhaps she still found it difficult to deal with nobles.

I smiled slightly.

“Have you been well?”

“Ah… y-yes.”

“My~ You’re so stiff. I thought we became quite close last time.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Was it just my imagination?”

“N-no… it’s just, this is like a chronic condition…”

Lezia was making excuses earnestly, perhaps worried that my feelings might be hurt.

She could just say it if she was uncomfortable.

She seemed unable to even speak her mind properly, but.

I thought that was also fitting for a protagonist, and stood beside her.

“I’m glad I could keep my promise.”

“What?”

“I told you we’d meet again after enrolling together.”

“Ah… I just remembered.”

“I almost felt neglected.”

I added with a mischievous smile.

“Congratulations on entering the academy, Miss Lezia.”

A light congratulatory message.

Though it might seem like a ceremonial greeting at first glance, it held special meaning for me.

‘I really wanted to say this to you. Even just these words.’

Lezia has no family.

She lived a wandering life without a home, so perhaps it was natural.

Therefore, no one congratulated her on her admission.

Exactly 1,943 times. I had seen this scene in the game.

The girl standing alone in the entrance ceremony procession each time.

Though she pretended to be cheerful, there was clearly a bitterness that seemed to exist beyond the screen.

Every time, I wanted to tell her.

“Let’s enjoy our academy life.”

Just one warm word.

Lezia was stunned, as if she hadn’t expected it.

Her green eyes wavered for a moment. After being frozen briefly, the girl soon wore a blooming smile.

It was the purest curve.

“Yes…!”

“Haha, shall we go then?”

We started walking again.

Perhaps her tension had eased a bit, as Lezia’s atmosphere seemed more comfortable.

Having regained her vitality, the girl took an interest in the fox.

“Waha…! This is my first time meeting a fox demi-human!”

“W-what? Why are you like this?”

“I’ve met various demi-humans while traveling the continent, but there wasn’t a single fox among them! C-can I touch your tail?”

“Absolutely not!”

“Heeng…”

Irene snarled fiercely.

Lezia, who had been looking at her with sparkling eyes, became dejected again at the harsh response.

It was quite a sight worth watching.

As I was enjoying this scene of popular original characters together, we soon arrived at the main building.

It was the place where the entrance ceremony would begin soon.

“Shall we go to the waiting line? It seems like they’re giving some guidance over there…”

Inside, students were swarming.

As I was looking around to line up, someone called my name.

“Student Judas.”

“…?”

“Judas Snakus. Is that you?”

When I turned my head, a man was looking at me. Judging by his attire, he seemed to be a faculty member.

I answered his question, though puzzled.

“Yes, that’s me… but what’s this about?”

“Your seat is over there. Please sit in the first chair on the platform.”

“What?”

The man pointed toward the platform, stopping me as I was heading for the general seating area.

For a moment, I was confused by this unexpected statement, but the faculty member simply pushed my back firmly.

“The entrance ceremony will begin soon. Please hurry.”

“Wait a moment? Could you at least explain what’s going on…”

“As you were informed beforehand. Student Judas, as the top student of this year’s class, you will be giving the new student representative speech.”

“What…?”

For a moment, I thought I had misheard.

What, top student? New student representative? Speech?

What nonsense is this?

I was considerably flustered and asked the faculty member questioningly.

“…Top student, you say?”

“Yes. Did you not receive the notification?”

Only then did the faculty member pause.

“Student Judas, you’ve been admitted as the top student of this year’s class. A speech has also been prepared for you as the new student representative.”

“…?”

Top student? Me?

At this completely unexpected news, I felt my vision grow dizzy.