Ch.20The Good, the Bad, and the Weird

Special admission students, due to their unique status, receive completely different treatment compared to regular students.

Regular students are selected from talented imperial citizens to be trained as excellent warriors, then guided toward joining the imperial army after graduation through senior-junior relationships or expensive student loans.

Since even commoners could obtain qualifications equivalent to imperial knights upon graduation, students’ motivation to study was generally very high.

In contrast, while some special admission students came voluntarily, most were sent as hostages of sorts, symbolizing their countries’ submission to imperial order.

Naturally, these students had no particular reason to aim for the imperial army, and thus little motivation to attend lectures.

As for binding them with tuition fees, despite being outcasts from their home countries, special admission students were typically core figures equivalent to royalty. If such figures were to appear impoverished, it would bring national shame, so living expenses and tuition sent from their countries for the sake of appearances ensured they never experienced financial difficulties.

As a result, these special students typically only showed up for occasional lectures they found interesting, while spending most of their time idling somewhere in the academy as delinquent students.

…In the game, they would only appear once every few turns, and if you didn’t build rapport with them during those opportunities, they would never join as companions. Some characters were only mentioned in dialogue or background settings.

Despite this, being children of royalty and high nobility from various countries, the empire couldn’t mistreat them.

While imperial nobles and royals would obey the emperor’s commands, these were nobles from other countries, and mistreating them could give their home countries reason to apply diplomatic pressure against the empire.

Therefore, the empire bestowed many benefits upon these special admission students. They were allowed to wear their national attire out of respect for “cultural diversity,” permitted to be accompanied by servants and guards, and even provided with private rooms.

Since there weren’t many of them, the idea was to grant all their requests and keep them in one place.

All academy students are equal. But special admission students were more equal than others.

…From regular students’ perspective, this was truly irritating.

They had to live in cramped dormitories with at least 2 and up to 4 people per room, always wear academy uniforms outside the dormitory, and attend rigorous academy lectures with all their might due to concerns about grades, tuition, and career prospects.

To them, special admission students who could leisurely enjoy themselves while having large private rooms and permission to wear whatever they wanted represented clear evidence of discriminatory treatment.

Naturally, a considerable gap formed between these two groups.

In fact, this was one of the reasons the empire deliberately provided discriminatory benefits to special admission students. Thanks to having special students as a common enemy, regular students could integrate well despite their different social statuses.

—-

Walking toward the second-floor viewing area, I scanned their appearances.

All three seemed uninterested in each other, sitting apart from one another.

The bald Dragonborn sat with his scaled arms crossed, repeatedly yawning while looking down at the arena with a languid expression.

The scales covering his face and arms showed he was a high-ranking Dragonborn of nearly pure blood.

Four red scales arranged in two lines in the middle of his forehead stood out.

His plain gray monk’s robe, without any decorations, bulged with muscles that seemed ready to burst.

Kalix Terban, was it?

He was set up as a Dragonborn from Jin, the Dragon Kingdom in the northwest of the empire.

Being a second-year character, I couldn’t recruit him to my party and had never seen him fight.

He seemed to be checking if there were any useful freshmen, but his bored expression suggested he wasn’t impressed.

Opposite the Dragonborn, a dwarf woman sat in the stands, swinging her feet that didn’t reach the ground.

True to her dwarf nature, she was only about chest-high to a human, but her firm brown skin exuded healthiness.

Her gray hair, with the sides and back gathered and braided behind the crown, swayed gently, and her face—combining sturdiness and maturity—displayed confidence and playfulness, showing a unique charm.

Her eyes sparkled as she looked down at the stands with an excited expression.

On her back was a complex mechanical device.

A complicated metal backpack covering her shoulders, part of her arms, and her entire back.

Gears and cylinders moved constantly, making clanking noises.

Her short legs were also equipped with similar metallic mechanical boots.

Asha.

A freshman from Himmel, the Republic of Dwarves.

In the game, she was a popular character with unusually high critical hit rates against humanoid enemies like thieves.

At the very back of the stands, a silver-haired woman was resting her chin on her hand, indifferently looking down at the testing grounds.

A westerner wearing an academy uniform like regular students despite being a special admission student, with only a luxurious black fur coat over it.

Her reddish-brown eyes, devoid of any emotion, were frozen cold.

The most popular character among players.

The princess of Faelrun, the northern duchy. Frider van Faelrun.

—-

As I approached the second-floor viewing area, the three seemed to notice my presence and turned toward me.

Three pairs of eyes of different colors watched me and Nigel.

Hmm. What should I do? I should at least greet them, but what should I say?

Hello? No, that’s too informal and pretends we’re close, which doesn’t match my image.

Should I go with a rougher approach, asking what they’re looking at?

But I’d like to be on friendly terms with fellow special admission students.

Perhaps seeing me hesitate, Kalix gestured toward an empty seat with a nod.

It was right between Kalix and Asha, in front of Frider.

So he wants me to sit here. I’m completely surrounded on three sides.

Having no particular reason to refuse, I went and sat down. Nigel stood right behind me.

“Nigel, don’t just stand there, sit down.”

“Hmm… there doesn’t seem to be any threatening elements, so it should be fine. Yes, I’ll do that.”

I ordered him to sit down as it looked awkward with him standing alone.

Nigel looked around briefly before sitting down.

…If we’re talking about threatening elements, there’s one right on my right.

A half-human, half-dragon muscular bald man.

I turned my head to the right and made eye contact with Kalix.

His reptilian vertical golden pupils emitted a strange pressure.

“Hmm…!”

After scanning my face and armor, Kalix nodded with a strangely satisfied smile.

His scaled trapezius muscles flexed as his head moved.

What is it? What’s the “hmm” about?

“You must be the freshman miss. May I ask your name?”

Kalix addressed me.

His voice was husky and rumbling, but surprisingly polite.

“…Haschal. Haschal Aishan-Gioro.”

“Aishan-Gioro… Ah! Those eastern people. I’ve heard you’re famous among humans. Then, are you the princess of Ka’har that rumors speak of?”

Kalix smiled and extended his hand.

I noticed a sharp horn protruding from his elbow at the end of his scaly, strong arm.

This must mean he wants to shake hands…?

I hesitated a bit before reaching out and grasping his hand.

“This humble monk is Kalix Terban from Jin. I’ve been at the academy for two years now. Pleased to meet you. Should I call you Lady Aishan-Gioro?”

Kalix’s enormous hand, about twice the size of mine, gripped my hand and shook it up and down.

His strength was so great that my shoulder almost moved up and down with it.

“Just call me Haschal. By the way, you’re surprisingly friendly. Didn’t you say you’ve heard about me?”

“Aren’t we all special admission students? Regular students tend to dislike us, so it’s better for us to be friendly with each other.”

Kalix shrugged and laughed heartily.

His overly friendly attitude was rather perplexing.

After releasing my hand, Kalix pointed to my scale armor and continued.

“Above all, those scales. It’s an admirable attitude to resemble dragons, just like us. Also, coming here means seeking serenity by controlling one’s innate anger. This too is like us. With two similarities, you are practically our kin. How could I hide my goodwill toward a descendant of dragons?”

So he liked my armor.

I felt deflated.

Indeed, I had seen the setting that Dragonborn worship dragons and train to resemble them, but I didn’t know it meant this.

“…Let me tell you, most rumors about me are true. Are you still okay with that?”

“It’s just human affairs, isn’t it?”

Kalix tilted his head, seeming puzzled.

“Humans often kill each other and hold grudges. But that’s not something I, a Dragonborn, need to concern myself with.”

His way of thinking is completely different.

“However, it would be better not to eat people. Meat stirs up the mind, so vegetarianism is preferable.”

“…That’s a false rumor.”

Who on earth spread the false rumor that I eat people?

If people want to criticize me, I wish they’d stick to the facts.

“I see! Well, cannibalism isn’t that common after all. Then it’s settled. Lady Haschal. I look forward to our future acquaintance.”

Kalix smiled and nodded once more.

His smile, with sharp teeth protruding, looked threatening, but it was probably his way of showing goodwill.

“Sure. Looking forward to it.”

The start felt better than expected.

“…Hmph.”

A sharp snort came from behind me.

“That’s your problem, Kalix. You see everything too positively. Even treating non-humans as people.”

It was a sharp, cold voice filled with contemptuous irritation.

I turned my head to look at the northern princess, Frider van Faelrun, sitting behind me.

Her previously cool brow was now distorted with hatred, like cracked ice.

“What are you looking at, barbarian?”

Her tone was even insulting.

Well, since the north is constantly at war with Werebeasts raids, it makes sense they wouldn’t look kindly upon Ka’har, which commits similar acts.

But that’s something I’ve decided not to worry about anymore.

Should I confront her head-on?

“Who are you to talk? Your appearance isn’t much different from mine.”

I sneered, mocking her attire, and smiled showing my canines.

Though hers is more luxurious, what’s the essential difference between a fur shoulder cape and a fur coat?

“Watch your mouth, barbarian. In the north, I would have already gutted you.”

“Oh, really? In the east, you’d already be tied to the back of a horse and dragged away.”

The atmosphere turned hostile rapidly.

Nigel looked at me and Frider alternately with trembling eyes.

Though nominally my guard, he was essentially a knight of the marquis family, so if I were to engage in bloodshed with the princess of the Northern Duchy, Nigel’s position would become quite difficult.

After hesitating, Nigel finally looked toward Frider and placed his hand on his sword hilt.

So he would take my side if a fight broke out here.

It seems my friendly treatment of him has paid off.

The dwarf, Asha, sitting on my left, was quietly watching us with interested eyes and a grin.

“Ha ha. Calm down, Lady Haschal. Lady Frider, please stop as well. Isn’t today a festival? Unnecessary commotion would inconvenience others.”

Kalix intervened with an awkward laugh.

His attitude was casual, but his flexing pectoral muscles were anything but.

Frider and I glanced at those muscles, each the size of a human head, then snorted and turned away from each other.

“What? You’re not going to fight?”

After quietly asking this question, Asha seemed to lose interest when we didn’t respond and turned back to look at the arena.

The entrance exam continued.