Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: What the Hell, This Girl?
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What the hell, this girl?
The next day in the afternoon.
All the first-year students had gathered in the training grounds for the announcement of the dungeon practicum results.
“17th place...! That’s pretty good?!”
“Sigh... 62nd. Way lower than I expected.”
“I should’ve put more effort into the report if I knew it’d be like this.”
The practicum rankings were determined by combining the dungeon conquest scores and the report scores.
In my and Cecilia’s case, we got perfect scores for the dungeon conquest out of 100, but we lost a few points on the report.
It was a last-minute cram job, so it was hard to expect perfection.
So, how did the results turn out?
“Just as expected.”
“Of course. After all the hard work we put in.”
[1st Place: Cecilia Ren & Halibal Belder]
[2nd Place: Ran Fen & Aren Bright]
………
……
…
.
Naturally, we took 1st place.
‘2nd place is Aren and Ran, huh.’
Without me, Aren would’ve been 1st.
In the original story, Aren wasn’t at 1st place level at this point.
On top of that, I’d hogged all the experience from the beast dungeon, so his growth must’ve been even slower.
And yet, 2nd place.
Thinking back, even after we started sharing a dorm, he hadn’t skipped a single day of training.
I thought about it while fiddling with the ‘Sun Shine’ tucked in my bosom.
‘I need to step it up too if I don’t want to fall behind.’
Purely by score, there were teams that outranked us.
[3rd Place: Luna Grace & Senia Ren]
Their combined score was even higher than ours.
They got perfect marks on the report.
But because of the penalty from their duel at the start of the semester, they were deducted points and pushed to 3rd.
If there hadn’t been that incident, they would’ve taken 1st.
There was another unexpected result.
[71st Place: Mine Rose & Inia Barfen]
‘...Mine didn’t fail? How the hell did that happen?’
Mine was definitely supposed to have dungeon phobia at this point. And yet, she’d conquered the humanoid doll dungeon.
‘How on earth?’
Scanning the students for Mine, there she was, looking as haggard as ever with a duskweed flower between her lips.
‘Not sleeping well lately?’
Next were Eugene, Ellier, and Richard. They were all in the upper ranks as expected.
No big differences from the original story.
While Cecilia and I were checking the scores, students started swarming us before we knew it.
“Oh! It’s Halibal Belder! Here to check the rankings?”
“He had to have known he’d be 1st. Who’s he trying to kid?”
“Cecilia Ren’s here too. The next Sword Fairy, they say... Did she beat out Senia Ren?”
“Who’d have thought they’d conquer all the way to the second abyss. Now the gap’s huge.”
The gazes directed at us were a mix of awe and envy, different from before.
We’d never had ordinary looks thanks to the beast dungeon and entrance exam, but this doll dungeon conquest had an impact on another level.
Especially since most of the students gathered here were nobles.
Because of the incident tied to the Church of the Divine God, I’d become an important figure they desperately wanted to pull into their factions.
“Lord Halibal! If it pleases you, pick me as your next follower!”
“Hey, I’m Ian. How about me for your next follower? I got 9th in this practicum.”
“Lady Cecilia! How about me as your follower? I’m confident I can do better than Funeral Sword!”
Of course, Cecilia was getting the same treatment.
“Even if there were a hundred of you, it’d be impossible.”
“S-Such...!”
She just seemed in a bad mood about us being split up, staying low-energy ever since we entered the grounds.
I inwardly sighed amid the flood of attention.
In the original story, all this attention should’ve gone to Aren.
The feeling of somehow stealing it never got easier, no matter how many times it happened.
“All students, attention!”
The rowdy students fell silent at Instructor Kalben’s voice from the platform.
Beside him stood Adelin, Kalluks, the support squad instructor, and about ten other instructors.
“I trust you’ve all checked the results of this dungeon practicum. The 1st and 2nd place teams will be called separately at the upcoming award ceremony.”
His gaze lingered briefly on me and Cecilia, then Aren and Ran.
Kalben continued with a faint smile.
“Isn’t it funny when you think about it? Forcing freshmen who’ve just arrived to team up with total strangers and shoving them straight into a dungeon.”
The students voiced their agreement with cries of “Right!” and “Exactly!”
“There must be plenty who thought Lui Del’s policies were reckless, or who just couldn’t mesh with their partners.”
Of course, I thought so too.
Even now, it still seemed like an utterly absurd policy.
“But understand this. You’re now part of the Empire’s greatest educational institution. To pierce the heart of the Demon God, dungeon experience was inevitable sooner or later. So it’s easier to think of it as getting the rod a little early.”
But I knew the reason.
The first practicum was unfair because it was a process to early-sort students with raid squad talent.
And it was also the Academy’s consideration, giving those unsuited to it a chance to choose another path early.
“So, good work, everyone. There won’t be any more mandatory dungeon practicums after this.”
The students’ faces visibly brightened at Kalben’s words.
Especially Mine, whose expression lit up radiantly at the news of no more dungeons, befitting her Saintess nickname.
At that moment, a soft-featured middle-aged female instructor stepped forward.
“The reason we gathered you all here today isn’t just for the practicum results. It’s also to select followers for the second follower class starting next week.”
Cecilia’s expression darkened noticeably.
Senia and a few other students did the same.
They’d caught on to the intent of gathering the entire first-year class for this.
“For reference, this follower class won’t have you picking from your own class. You’ll select from the other two classes, excluding your own.”
Murmurs rippled through the students again.
Those who’d already lined up their next followers looked bewildered.
The Academy hadn’t announced the rule in advance precisely to prevent such collusion.
“You’ll be conducting special practicums with your new followers for the next two months.”
“Two months?!”
“Since a follower must be your most trusted comrade, it’s natural to build synergy over a long period. The first practicum was only a month to help you adjust to the system.”
The instructor continued explaining the special practicum.
From the second follower class onward, special tasks would be assigned based on each student’s talents.
The instructors must’ve gauged everyone’s aptitudes from this practicum.
For students weak in combat but gifted in info-gathering, a mission to retrieve specific intel.
For those talented in crafting, a task to create an item.
This policy was all to ensure fairness with students unskilled in dungeon conquests.
At the mention of the second follower, eyes naturally turned to me and Cecilia.
Then Adelin stepped up.
“For reference, some students will get non-dungeon tasks depending on their profiles. In those cases, it wouldn’t necessarily be best to pair with Halibal.”
The hot gazes on me scattered one by one.
I was prime stock for combat-heavy tasks, but not so much otherwise.
Looking at Adelin, she winked.
She’d singled me out on purpose to ease my burden.
Then, Eugene raised his hand.
“What’s the criteria for selecting followers this time?”
“Same as before.”
Adelin’s eyes turned to me again.
“1st place Halibal and Cecilia will get first pick. Since you were followers before, decide the order between yourselves.”
Cecilia and I exchanged looks.
It was time to part ways.
⁎⁎⁎
After the instructor’s explanation, the award ceremony began right away.
Cecilia, I, Aren, and Ran received prizes according to our rankings.
After the ceremony, the students were given free time.
In the meantime, they went frantic discussing aptitudes to find partners fitting their new tasks.
Even amid the chaos, Cecilia couldn’t hide her gloom.
“Students from other classes... If only Sis were in a different class.”
“No helping it. It’s the policy.”
Of course, I wasn’t thrilled either.
Setting aside rational fondness, it was like...
My diligently raised daughter leaving the nest.
I’d invested quite a bit in her over the past month.
Plenty of students approached to pitch themselves, but I brushed them off appropriately and stayed by her side perceptively.
Once free time ended.
Cecilia and I ascended the platform again.
We’d agreed she’d call first, then me.
“I select Aren Bright.”
At the sound of Aren’s name from her lips, he looked up at the platform with a stiff expression.
Something bothering him?
It was odd for him to react so rigidly when 1st place Cecilia had picked him.
“What do you say, Aren?”
“......Ah... I...”
“You can refuse if you want. The rules are the same.”
“...No. I accept.”
As expected, Aren accepted Cecilia as his follower. He wasn’t the type to turn that down anyway.
I was the one who’d suggested Aren.
Cecilia didn’t want to pick anyone, so I proposed the most rational, efficient, safe choice.
In the original story, Aren and Cecilia made the best synergy pair, and they’d just placed 2nd here too.
No reason not to pick him.
Of course, the fact that he shared a room with me seemed to please her most.
She’d use the task as an excuse to drop by our room.
‘Kinda bittersweet.’
Of course, Aren would do well.
As an alpha male, he’d cater to Cecilia’s moods, and they wouldn’t clash.
But would that pull Cecilia’s attention away from me?
It felt like part of me didn’t mind her leaving, while another part felt reluctant.
‘Whatever.’
I decided to shake it off.
Two months from now, I could party with her again.
I’d see then.
“And Halibal’s choice?”
“I...”
I scanned the crowd below the platform.
Countless students, including Eugene and Ran blatantly pitching themselves, stared up at me.
Ran was out due to position overlap.
Eugene was a candidate.
Aegis’s room buffs were top-tier.
The old me might’ve picked Eugene just to avoid pain.
But this conquest had shifted my mindset.
“...Mine Rose.”
I needed a healer.
One who could pull me back from death’s door no matter how much I got beaten.
One who could conserve ‘Rene’s’ effects as much as possible.
The academy’s strongest healer, rivaling even Cecilia’s Lumen.
⁎⁎⁎
While students busily selected new followers.
Cecilia approached her new follower, Aren.
“Lady Cecilia.”
“We’re fellow students. No need for formalities. We’re not strangers anyway, right?”
“Then I will. Looking forward to the next two months.”
She’d picked him on Halibal’s suggestion, but Cecilia knew almost nothing about Aren.
Just that he was pretty laid-back from their brief spar in the training grounds, and the wielder of that famous Extreme Divine Single Sword.
Nothing else had caught her interest.
‘Still, I should build some rapport to make room visits easier.’
Entertaining dark thoughts, Cecilia eyed Aren up and down.
He was a bit shorter than her, with a slender build.
His voice was slightly husky, but overall closer to pretty girl than pretty boy.
Long lashes, flawless skin.
‘From a distance, I’d believe he was a girl.’
Thinking that, she extended her hand to Aren.
“At least don’t drag me down.”
“Haha. I might not match Halibal, but I’ll do my best.”
“I’m not expecting that much.”
It was when Aren smiled and took Cecilia’s hand.
‘?’
A small question mark popped up in Cecilia’s mind.
Something was off.
The soft skin between calluses, the slender, delicate bones forming the hand.
This was no man’s hand.
It was eerily similar to her own.
The image of Aren she’d just scanned flashed through her mind.
‘Pretty girl-like appearance.’
‘Slightly high, husky voice.’
‘Smaller build than me.’
“Ah, feel free to drop by the room anytime. You’ll need dorm supervisor permission, though.”
The moment Aren’s voice reached her, Cecilia’s pupils shook violently like aspen leaves.
‘???’
Her mind went blank, endless questions multiplying uncontrollably.
No way. It couldn’t be.
But if, just if it was?
“Anyway, I had something to ask Halibal, but it felt awkward. Maybe it’s okay to ask you since you were followers together...?”
‘?????’
Seeing him scratch his cheek shyly, Cecilia’s suspicion hardened into certainty.
Her wildly shaking eyes cooled to ice.
What the hell, this girl.