The Clown of the Entrance Ceremony (2)
Morning of the entrance ceremony.
Flash!
The moment the faint dawn light spilled across the windowsill, Leon's eyes snapped open on pure reflex.
"Up we go."
No lingering. No rolling over for another few minutes. Leon was absolutely not the type to sleep in.
He sprang upright, worked through a light stretch, and cycled his mana once through his body to loosen everything up.
Gulp, gulp!
After downing a cup of cold water in one go, he headed straight for the shower. A quick rinse later, he began pulling on his uniform piece by piece.
"Definitely handsome, I'll give it that."
Leon swept his hair cleanly back and smiled at the mirror in pure satisfaction. Why anyone would ever hide a face like this behind bangs was beyond him. That classic European noble-young-master look made his previous life's face as Kim Jeon-woo almost embarrassing to compare. His body, tempered by years of training, was tall and solidly built from head to toe.
Hmm. Before heading out…
Leon suddenly felt his mouth start to itch.
"…"
He casually fished out a cigarette and a single magic scroll. Cigarette between his lips, he activated the ten-by-ten-centimeter scroll and set it on the table.
Of course smoking was banned inside the academy—especially inside the dormitories.
Fssst!
He sparked a flame with a pinpoint of mana at his fingertip and lit up. One deep drag cleared his head and made his mana circulation feel sharper.
"Hoo…"
That was when the expensive scroll he'd bought started earning its keep.
Whoosh!
Every wisp of smoke that left his mouth was sucked clean into the activated scroll without a single trace left behind. A smoke absorber that vacuumed everything within a set radius—performance well worth the money. Thanks to it, no smell or haze ever leaked out for the dorm supervisor to catch.
Cigarette finished, Heaven-Shattering Sword strapped to his left hip, Leon stepped out of the dorm.
New students were beginning to gather on campus. Second- and third-years returning from their family homes over the break were visible as well. Most of the students he'd seen yesterday were the type who simply never left the academy even during vacation. Students who arrived days early like Leon were rare.
He had already memorized the entire campus map the night before. Rubbing his empty stomach, Leon made for the cafeteria.
As expected, the dining hall was absurdly large and well-appointed—yet still almost empty. Among the handful of students grabbing breakfast in twos and threes, one bright-red head stuffing himself with bread alone stood out like a beacon.
Huh?
A face he remembered. Let's see… that bastard's name was…
Carotin.
Carotin Bastio. Fourth son of the Bastio ducal house—one of the four great ducal pillars of the empire, just like the Crusifs.
Leon immediately bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"Hey! Carotin!!"
A voice that ripped straight through the peaceful morning cafeteria. The few students present all snapped their gazes toward the entrance in the same instant. Leon paid those stares not the slightest attention and strode straight for Carotin.
"…?"
Carotin's head whipped around, buttered toast still jammed in his mouth. His thick eyebrows furrowed at the sight of the stranger marching boldly toward him.
…Because he had absolutely no idea who this guy was.
"Carotin! Long time no see. Last time was at last year's banquet, right?"
Leon clapped the broad, thick shoulders with cheerful force.
Who the hell is this bastard?
It was hard not to remember someone who acted this familiar. Carotin chewed thoughtfully, racking his brain. But Carotin was the sort of man who hated thinking for more than three seconds. True to form, he simply asked straight out.
"Sorry. I don't know who you are."
Leon put on a genuinely wounded expression.
"Aw, that stings. It's me—Leon. Leon."
"Leon…?"
"Leon Crusif."
"……!"
Carotin's mouth fell open, completely forgetting to chew.
One hour later.
A deserted building behind the academy.
"Hahaha! So then I cut those barbarians down with a single stroke…"
"Oh… not bad."
Like men do, the two of them had hit it off in no time. After breakfast they were even smoking together. Carotin's war stories were genuinely entertaining, and Leon listened with real interest.
Carotin Bastio had never been a major character in the original novel. But as a northern man he was straightforward and loyal—that much was certain. Getting close to him early would be useful. More than that, Leon felt a strong sense that he and Carotin simply clicked. He had a feeling the two of them could become very close indeed.
Whoosh!
The scroll stuck to the wall cleanly vacuumed up every wisp of smoke they exhaled.
"By the way, this scroll is something else! With this I can smoke freely even at the academy!"
"How were you planning to smoke without me?"
"Huh? Just light up and get caught if you're unlucky, I guess."
"…"
Leon was deeply impressed by the sheer shamelessness. There was a bastard even worse than him in this world.
Carotin, still chatting away, suddenly tilted his head.
"But were you always this kind of personality? Last time I don't think I even got a proper look at your face."
His eyes flashed sharply for a moment. He was referring to the emperor's birthday banquet in the Latia Empire the previous year—back when the original owner of Leon's body had still been in charge.
"I wasn't feeling well back then."
Leon brushed it off with an easy smile.
"Hmm. That so?"
Despite the sharp look he'd just shown, Carotin's simple nature accepted the answer at once. Checking the time, he hurriedly put out his cigarette.
"Ceremony's at ten, right? Let's move!"
No reason to leave butts lying around and get caught later.
Fssst!
When Carotin released mana from his fingertips, the cigarette disintegrated into powder without even leaving ash. Leon did the same, collected the scroll from the wall, and they set off.
A technique only possible for Sword Experts who could release mana externally—and even among them, only those with outstanding control like Leon and Carotin. Both of them, as scions of great houses, clearly possessed skill far beyond their years.
…And those two were using that talent just to erase smoking traces.
The empire's future was looking bright.
9:50 a.m. The grand auditorium.
Inside, new students dressed smartly in their uniforms packed the hall. Lined up twenty across and twenty-five deep—five hundred in total. They weren't divided by class yet; the instructors simply kept them in neat rows.
Behind the new students, a handful of domestic and even foreign reporters were visible. This particular class contained quite a few students of considerable status.
On the stage stood the dean and vice-dean, with the faculty arrayed behind them. Leon deliberately took a place in the very back row with Carotin. It was the position that gave the widest view of the entire auditorium—he wanted to watch people's reactions to the event that was about to unfold.
At exactly ten o'clock, Dean Alcyon Serzef stepped forward. Contrary to the image of a white-haired grandfather, he was a handsome middle-aged man with black hair and a sharp, commanding presence. Female students whispered among themselves, creating a soft stir.
Alcyon's deep voice, amplified by magic, reached every corner of the assembly without fail.
Arrogant—but he had every right to say it. Even the renowned academies of the eastern kingdoms were said to fall short of Elprime.
Why was a principal's speech just as boring as in his previous life? As the parade of tedious words continued, Leon couldn't help yawning. After about five minutes the dean finished his prepared remarks and moved on.
The new student representative was naturally the top scorer of the entrance exam. But despite the dean's call, no one moved.
Alcyon's voice rose slightly in bewilderment. Even the second call returned only awkward silence. The crowd began to murmur.
Finally searching for the representative by name, the dean turned his head. An instructor rushed over to check the roster. The dean, vice-dean, and a few instructors stepped back and began whispering rapidly.
Watching them, Leon smiled faintly.
Their protagonist, Billy Kaintel, was not here.
If that guy showed up, he'd ruin the whole party.
The one who should take the spotlight wasn't him.
As expected, money can do anything.
Billy was, regrettably, scheduled to miss this entrance ceremony. Leon had made sure of it.
Apparently finished with their contingency meeting, the dean stepped forward again.
In the end they appointed the second-place entrance exam scorer as representative and proceeded with the oath. This time the crowd erupted in genuine commotion—because she was a princess of the Latia Empire.
Thud. Thud.
Under the heated gazes of five hundred students, a woman with refined silver hair tied in a ponytail ascended the stage. Her straight, restrained gait alone proved she was a skilled martial artist. Especially the martial arts students felt in their bones, from the sheer presence she carried, that her skill was no joke.
At that point one question began to bloom in every mind present.
Wait—then what kind of monster is Billy Kaintel, who beat even a princess like that?
In this historic class where scions of countless prestigious houses and high nobles had poured in like bamboo shoots after rain, it was the natural conclusion: an unknown house named Kaintel had somehow taken first place. And that same guy hadn't even bothered to attend the entrance ceremony. Naturally, Billy's name was being carved into one corner of every student's mind.
Anyway, the ceremony continued.
Esabel recited the oath in a firm, upright voice. When it ended, Dean Alcyon began to wrap things up.
Here it comes!
At Alcyon's closing words, Leon's presence—which had been languidly spread out until now—flipped in an instant. His concentration spiked so hard his eyes glittered blood-red.
"…?!"
Carotin, half-dozing beside him, startled awake and stared.
Reporters packing up their notebooks. Instructors preparing to clap. Students whose faces brightened at the end of the boring ceremony. All of it looked to Leon like slow-motion film.
"For the people!!!!!"
Exactly toward the center of the packed student body, a man came sprinting out.
Fwoosh!
A male student flung open his uniform jacket with both arms and leaped high into the air. Dark-blue orbs dangled in clusters from the inside of the jacket.
Bombs!
The single word shot through every mind present like a bullet. Students around the leaping boy frantically scrambled backward, drawing a wide empty circle in the center of the hall.
"Oh shit—!"
"Kyaaaaaaah!"
"Get out of the wayyy!!"
Screams erupted from everyone who believed an explosion was about to go off. Barriers bloomed open in every direction. The male student floating in midair squeezed his eyes shut, a deep smile spreading across his lips. The orbs began to glow brightly.
They're going to explode!
Everyone in the hall screamed and crouched low.
"Nooooooo!!!"
"Uwaaaaaah!"
"Block it! Block ittt!!"
…
Thump-thump! Thump-thump!
"Uwaaah!! Uwaaaaa…?"
"Huh…?"
"??"
Even after several seconds, no explosion came. The screams gradually died. Arms that had covered faces lowered one by one.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…?"
Thump, thump-thump, clap!!
"???"
"What?"
"Huh? This song…"
Thump-thump, thump-clap-thump-clap!
An upbeat rhythm rang out through the quietly settled hall. People got up shakily and looked around.
Oh~! My Ariel~!
Your golden smile~!
Thump-thump-thump! Thump-clap-clap!
A lively voice and rapid drumbeats. A popular song that had recently exploded across the empire's capital filled the auditorium at full volume. The music was coming from the exact center of the hall.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
Every eye in the place locked onto that single spot. From one boy, flashy lights and sound were pouring out in every direction.
"Th-th-th-this is… What is thiiis!!!"
There stood a male student whose face had turned red as a beet, frantically shaking out his jacket. The orbs flashed blue light like disco-ball fixtures.
"Kh… khp…! Pffft…!"
Leon ducked his head deep, fighting with everything he had to keep the laughter from exploding out of him.
"Aaaah, aaaaaaah!!"
Thump-clap-thump-clap!
The boy's desperate scream joined the music as a perfect duet, echoing through the hall like a chorus.