Ch.14Chapter 14. First Week at the Academy (1)

Today, the weather was really nice.

Maybe it was because I slept well, but I was in good condition, and I was also in a good mood after meeting an old friend yesterday.

“Ugh.”

The only downside was that I had to walk all the way to the classroom without any other option.

‘When I have time, I should find some warp points.’

Since gaining the ability to Teleportation, I really hated walking to places I’d already visited unless absolutely necessary, but since this was precisely one of those unavoidable situations, I gritted my teeth and took a step forward.

I earned 50 million gold yesterday, so I could easily smile through this minor inconvenience.

‘Hehe. With 50 million, I won’t have to work for longer than I thought.’

I hope Addy collects the money soon.

As I walked while reminiscing about yesterday’s events, specifically the 50 million gold, I reached the classroom relatively quickly.

The freshman lecture building, which I had now arrived at, was bustling with students, unlike yesterday.

It was only the second day of school, but everyone seemed to have already made friends, as I could see groups of three or five walking together to class.

With so many people around, it finally felt like a proper school.

‘…I wonder if I can find a warp point.’

Of course, as someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy crowds, this wasn’t exactly a welcome sight for me.

Plus, finding a warp point in such a crowded place seemed extremely difficult.

“Um… Ryu…”

“Hmm?”

I slowly turned around when I heard someone calling my name from behind.

The girl who called my name and now wore an awkward expression, as if she regretted it, was Cynthia Surplus, who had testified on my behalf yesterday.

Despite having unusual purple hair and being a noble with the surname “Surplus,” she had taken my side in yesterday’s incident with Cain Hover.

Thanks to that, the name Cynthia was now the second most memorable in my mind after Elaine.

“Oh, Cynthia! Is it okay if I call you Cynthia?”

“Oh, um… sure, whatever. It’s not like it’s new, you did it yesterday too.”

“Did I?”

I tried to recall if I had directly called Cynthia by her name yesterday, but then decided it didn’t really matter.

What was important was that I now had a partner to navigate through this crowd to the second floor.

“So did you really leave in the middle of the student council meeting yesterday?”

“Ah, the meeting. Right. I’m sure our Elaine handled everything well. To be honest, I think Elaine is more suited to be the representative than I am.”

“That’s true.”

Cynthia nodded in agreement with my words.

Although I brought it up, it still felt strange that she so readily agreed that “Elaine is more suited to be the class representative” when I was the actual representative, but whatever.

“By the way.”

“Hmm?”

As soon as we took our first step on the stairs heading to the second floor, Cynthia spoke up.

“I wanted to ask you something about yesterday.”

“Yesterday?”

There were quite a few things that happened yesterday.

“That thing at the training ground… how did you do it?”

“Hmm? Do what?”

I asked with genuine curiosity, not understanding what she was getting at.

What was she referring to?

“Hover’s flame bird.”

“Flame bird…?”

“Yes, the flame bird.”

‘Can that mass from yesterday really be called a bird?’

Thinking back on it now, I vaguely remember something protruding from both sides of the flame sphere that Cain Hover created yesterday.

I had wondered why he made such an inefficient shape for a fireball, but I guess it was supposed to be a bird.

‘…Wait, could it be?’

“Bird? Why? You mean that bird that scattered mid-way because he couldn’t properly control his magic?”

I spoke quickly, deliberately avoiding giving her anything to contradict.

Cynthia frowned subtly after hearing my words, then continued.

“That didn’t seem like it scattered due to poor mana control…”

‘…She noticed?’

“Wh-what? No way. It just disappeared right before our eyes, didn’t it?”

“…Hmm.”

When I responded as if I had no idea what she was talking about, Cynthia tilted her head and frowned even more.

Judging by her reaction, she didn’t seem entirely certain.

If that’s the case, I should push more confidently.

“Yesterday, that guy cast his spell too hastily, so there must have been some error in the circuit design or something like that. Plus, he had just taken a hit from me, so his concentration was probably broken too.”

“That might be true, but… it definitely didn’t disappear like mana dispersing… it was more like something was devouring the flame bird from the front…”

‘Oh.’

I may have underestimated the abilities of the Academy students.

Of course, Cynthia was close by, and she witnessed me teleporting the flame mass into another space from the side rather than from the front.

Anyone with decent skills could have noticed what I did from that distance.

Still, I never imagined that an Academy freshman would catch that fleeting moment.

“R-really? I couldn’t tell. I was just bracing myself to be roasted by that fireball, and when the fire suddenly disappeared, I thought it was my chance and rushed in, hahaha.”

“Hmm. Maybe I saw wrong…”

Despite feeling flustered, I desperately tried to act natural.

Addy always insisted that “The Director should never be involved in operations requiring acting” because my acting skills were terrible, but desperation somehow made it work.

“Y-you probably saw wrong…?!”

“…Hmm. I thought you might have used some technique. But maybe not.”

“Right! What could I possibly do in such a short moment… Wow, you have good eyes though! To observe so carefully in that situation.”

“Well, it’s kind of a habit…”

*Slide*

While I was giving my all to act in front of Cynthia, we arrived at the classroom.

As if answering my desperate need to change the subject, something immediately caught my eye as we entered the classroom.

Elaine, sitting upright and looking straight ahead.

I thought Cynthia and I had arrived quite early, but Elaine was already here. What a relief.

“Elaine! You’re early!”

“Ah. Mr. Ryu.”

“…I mentioned this yesterday too, but are you more comfortable with formal speech?”

Elaine nodded firmly.

“Yes. I see Miss Surplus is with you as well.”

“Um, I also said this yesterday, but you can just call me Cynthia. And of course, you can speak casually with me…”

“Hmm. I suppose formalities between fellow students could create distance, so I’ll try.”

‘Formal speech is plenty distancing too…’

Still, thanks to Elaine, the topic had changed, which was good.

Anyway, with Cynthia harboring even a little suspicion, I didn’t want to continue the conversation and risk giving her more to go on.

“There were some matters discussed at yesterday’s student council meeting. Some are trivial and can be overlooked, but there are things that a class representative should know.”

“Uh…”

Watching Elaine immediately start talking as soon as I arrived, I suddenly thought of Addy.

From that stiff way of speaking to her behavior.

It felt like I had gained a secretary at the Academy too.

“Would you like to sit next to me?”

Elaine pulled out the chair beside her and asked me very politely as I stood there awkwardly.

It was an invitation impossible to refuse.

“S-sure. What is it?”

“First, there might be some talk about you leaving early yesterday… Anyway, the first agenda item is…”

It feels just like getting a work report from Addy.

‘Phew.’

This is much better than having to act in front of Cynthia.

**

‘He’s definitely suspicious.’

Cynthia watched the black-haired Ryu receiving a report about the student council meeting from “the” Elaine Sinclair in the front row, and thought to herself.

In fact, although Cynthia had told Ryu earlier that she might have seen wrong and was only suspicious, after their conversation just now, she was 99% certain.

Ryu had desperately tried to act innocent, but it was too obvious.

His awkward responses to her questions, which practically screamed “I actually did something,” were essentially a confession.

Yesterday’s disappearance of the flame bird was definitely related to Ryu somehow.

Cynthia Surplus, the eldest daughter of the Surplus Family, was known among her noble peers as a representative “egalitarian,” but that wasn’t her only reputation.

Cynthia was a skilled individual who had ranked in the top 7 among numerous entrance exam competitors.

And that was in the 158th class, which included formidable talents like those from the Six Great Families, including the Sinclair Family.

Cynthia’s specialty was archery, which she had learned directly from her father since childhood—the very skill that had elevated the Surplus Family to prominence.

In a society where those who weren’t knights or mages were somewhat looked down upon, the Surplus Family wielded influence exceeding that of many prestigious houses through pure “archery,” and Cynthia had inherited more than 100% of her father’s talent.

‘If I didn’t see wrong, it definitely looked like Ryu absorbed the flame bird.’

Cynthia had particularly excellent dynamic vision.

Although she lacked combat experience or practical experience, so she wasn’t completely confident in what she saw.

“And there will be meetings every other week from now on.”

“Whaaat? Every other week?!”

“Yes. They’ll be held on Mondays…”

“Ughh… You’ll come with me each time, right?”

“…Pardon?”

Cynthia had been pondering what technique Ryu might have used to make the flame bird disappear when her attention was suddenly drawn to the conversation between Ryu and Sinclair.

“H-how can you make such an unreasonable request so casually…?”

“Huh? Is this unreasonable? What do you think, Elaine?”

“N-no, it’s not. If the class representative wishes it… And since Mr. Ryu is a commoner, you might find such an atmosphere uncomfortable…”

Elaine Sinclair’s response immediately overshadowed all thoughts about the flame bird in Cynthia’s mind.

Both Ryu and Elaine were quite remarkable.

‘Is Ryu really a commoner… Surely he must know about the Sinclair Family…’

“Oh! As expected! My sec—I mean, Elaine!”

‘Sinclair is just as I heard, but I didn’t expect her to be like this with commoners too.’

“Not at all. This is no trouble. I also learn things by attending the meetings.”

It was surprising enough that a commoner was speaking casually to a noble, especially one from the great Sinclair Family, not to mention making unreasonable requests, but what was more surprising was that Elaine was accepting it all without any issue.

There had been rumors about Elaine Sinclair that she showed respect to skilled individuals regardless of their status or position, but Cynthia hadn’t expected this to apply to commoners as well.

‘This is how it should be, but…’

As Cynthia listened to the conversation between the commoner Ryu and the high-born Elaine Sinclair, thoughts about the flame bird naturally faded away, and she began to seriously reconsider what she had understood about social dynamics until now.