Chapter 17: Entrance Ceremony (2)

“Hey, Jessica. I’ve been curious for a while now. Isn’t it heavy to carry those big buns on each side of your head? If you accidentally make the right one bigger, doesn’t your head tilt to that side?”

“…….”

I kept asking Jessica about her bun hairstyle, but she remained silent.

Jessica kept her eyes closed as if she didn’t want to see me.

If it were anyone else, they would have been deeply hurt by such superb ignoring, but my iron heart, honed by Baldo, didn’t waver at all.

They say that dripping water hollows out stone.

If I kept talking to her, surely, someday, my desire to tease Jessica would reach her.

“Do you give bonuses to the maid who sets your hair? It must be a tough job to get up in the morning and set those buns.”

“……!”

Jessica’s face turned red, and veins started to pop out on her forehead like in a comic.

“Jessica~ Jessica~ Cute Jessica~! If you don’t answer, I’ll be so sad I’ll cry!”

“Enough already…!”

Finally, Jessica reacted and turned towards me. Waiting for that moment with my chin resting on my hand, I said to her,

“Finally, you’re looking this way?”

“You…!”

Just as Jessica, in her excitement, raised her fist, the lights in the bright hall suddenly began to go out as if to stop her.

As the lights vanished, the students, including Jessica, began to murmur and look around.

But I, having seen this scene several times in the novel, calmly looked towards the podium, knowing the lights would soon return.

“It’s the podium.”

“The podium, what?”

Jessica, responding curtly, turned her head towards the podium. Shortly after, the lights on the podium came on.

Then, white snow began to fall from the ceiling, and the students gasped as they watched the glowing snow in the dark.

In an atmosphere that felt like a play was about to start, everyone tensed as the white snow gathered on the podium and began to form a human shape.

‘An attention-seeking b*tch who doesn’t act her age.’

Having seen this phenomenon several times in the novel, I squinted, waiting for the woman who would soon break through the snow.

The gathered white snow slowly solidified like ice and then began to crack.

A moment later, the woman who emerged from the ice-like snow was a white-haired lady wearing a white witch’s hat.

Standing proudly as if she were the protagonist of this stage, with a faint smile, her name was Marina Snowwhite.

She appeared to be in her early to mid-thirties, exuding an intimidating, noblewoman-like aura.

‘Archwizard… seeing her in person, she’s impressive.’

Marina, the headmaster and guardian of the academy, remained one of the strongest characters even in the later parts of the novel, unaffected by the power inflation.

The setting was that the academy was safe because she was protecting it, but…

‘What’s the point of the setting… the academy always gets breached, and Leon ends up solving everything.’

Though not inherently a villain, she was one of the characters I would someday crack open with my sword for the endless advancement of swordsmanship.

“Nice to meet you all.”

When Marina opened her mouth, a cold yet sweet voice echoed through the hall.

Judging by the magical quality in her voice, it wasn’t just a simple volume enhancement; there must have been magic to make her voice enchanting as well.

“On such a wonderful day, I am truly delighted to welcome you all, who are the new future of this country, to our school.”

What did she say next in the novel…? Something about history, I think.

While I was thinking about that, Marina continued to speak in a calm tone.

“I, as well as the heroes who have left their names in the history of the kingdom, have grown through both rivalry and cooperation at this academy.”

Incidentally, in the side story, Marina had no friends during her academy days and always studied alone in her room.

Perhaps, her current tendency to flaunt herself was a reaction to her school days when no one paid attention to her.

“Among you, there must be a few descendants of those proud heroes.”

At those words, a few students and Jessica beside me shrugged their shoulders and wore proud expressions.

Unlike nobles like me with a short history, high-ranking nobles had strong pride in their lineage.

“To avoid disgracing such ancestors, you must always be mindful of your conduct. Trampling on those of lower status with your ancestors’ achievements is like tarnishing their legacy.”

“Did you hear that, Jessica? Tarnishing their legacy!”

“…Shut up.”

“Furthermore.”

As Marina, who had paused for a moment, spoke again, Jessica and I focused on her speech.

“Although it is forbidden to assert one’s status at the academy, that does not mean you should forget your worldly duties and act recklessly. Especially… refrain from foolish actions that waste your future on momentary exhilaration.”

Was that last part aimed at commoners?

In the novel, a commoner student who outperformed nobles academically was once assaulted as a form of punishment.

Though the noble was expelled because the assaulted commoner was a heroine, it wouldn’t end that way for other commoners.

This was Marina’s way of giving a warning to commoner students.

Of course, the most important thing was to prevent such incidents from happening in the first place, but Marina couldn’t control what happened outside the academy.

‘Hori’s goal was to find a sponsor, so she’ll be careful.’

Even if someone picked a fight with her, I could handle it with a duel, one of the good customs of this world.

While I was thinking that, someone poked me from the side. Turning, I saw Jessica smirking arrogantly.

“Did you hear what she said earlier?”

“What?”

After thinking it over, I realized she was echoing what I had said to her earlier.

“What, are you returning what I said earlier? Our Jessica really does act cute in a petty way.”

When I said that, Jessica didn’t just raise her fist this time, but tried to swing it at my face.

-Smack!

Before she could swing her fist, I grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

“If you use violence at the entrance ceremony, your illustrious ancestors will be saddened.”

“Let go of me…! Ugh…!!”

Jessica’s strength was considerable, trained to wield heavy hammers.

But even so, she couldn’t match my strength, limited by her inability to use sword techniques.

“I was wrong, so calm down for now.”

“Ugh…!”

Jessica growled quietly enough that others couldn’t hear. I spoke calmly to her as if soothing a wild beast.

“I’ll let go, so when I do, return to being the good bun-haired lady. Got it? Okay, I’m letting go. One, two… three…!!”

I let go of her fist, but Jessica didn’t lower it.

Instead, she swung her fist even faster than before. I slightly tilted my head, narrowly avoiding the attack.

“Jessica breaking her promise? I’m disappointed.”

Since we were still in the middle of the entrance ceremony, Jessica couldn’t shout and could only tremble with anger.

“You… I really will kill you someday!”

“If you’re going to kill me, please ask someone stronger than you to do it instead. I don’t like wasting my time.”

“Ugh…!!”

Unable to contain her anger, Jessica ground her teeth, the sound ringing in my ears.

She wasn’t an idiot; she wouldn’t attack me directly. She’d probably go to her father or send an assassin after me.

Either way, it was beneficial for me.

Teasing the cute bun-haired lady would bring a strong opponent for me to practice my Baldo on?

If anyone wouldn’t tease her under such circumstances, they’d be the type to leave a “buy one, get one free” deal at a convenience store with just one item.

‘She probably won’t tattle right away. She’ll send an assassin first, I bet.’

There were plenty of idiot assassin groups in this world, proudly flaunting their organization tattoos. I wondered which group she would send.

Given Jessica’s bun hair, a symbol of wealth, she would surely spend money lavishly to send the best assassin.

After that, Marina’s long, nostalgic speech about school days continued for a while.

The speech was so long that I began to feel sleepy. I was about to tease Jessica again to stay awake when:

“Finally, we will conclude with a pledge from Prince Euclid, the fifth prince, representing the new students.”

Hearing that this boring entrance ceremony was almost over, I couldn’t help but smile.

Yes, once the fifth prince finished the pledge, the ceremony would end… Wait, what?

“Jessica, who did they say was giving the pledge?”

“…Shut up.”

Ignoring Jessica’s grumpiness, I looked at the podium to see a thin man, barely 160 cm tall, far from 180, stepping up.

The man raised one hand and began reading the pledge with a solemn expression.

“I pledge, on behalf of all new students of the year 1,243, that it is an honor to become a member of the Royal Academy. With gratitude to the country, I solemnly vow to dedicate myself to academic pursuits and martial training.”

New student representative, Euclid Von Derpardt.

Hearing that name, my mind went blank as if I’d been struck hard on the head.

Who the hell is this guy?!