Me, the Top Student? (3)
Even after the new student representative’s speech ended, the entrance ceremony dragged on a little longer. Nothing particularly memorable. Just the usual first-day briefing: simple announcements, faculty introductions, a tour of the facilities—the standard fare. If anything was worth noting, it was the part about the dormitories. The news that we could move in starting today was genuinely useful. It meant no more nights at the inn; we could settle properly into academy life.
The original story is finally beginning. The realization hit me with unexpected weight.
“With this, we conclude the entrance ceremony of Galimard Academy.”
“I wish you all the best in your endeavors.”
With the headmaster’s closing encouragement, the event wrapped up. Students began trickling out of the auditorium. I let the crowd carry me along, only for a sudden voice to snap my head around.
“Young Master Sneykers!”
“Over here.”
Pink-haired pilot and crimson-haired fox. Legia and Irene. They’d clearly been waiting for me, hovering near the auditorium entrance. I broke into a bright smile and waved.
“You both waited for me? I’m so moved…!”
The sudden top-student title had left me mildly irritated, but seeing them washed the annoyance clean away. My favorite characters from the game were greeting me. If this wasn’t the mark of a successful fanboy, I didn’t know what was.
“What are you on about? You’re the one who told us to wait.”
“I had no idea you cared for me this deeply! Does this mean we’re all friends after all?”
“No, earlier you were the one who—”
“Of course, Miss Irene! I’m truly grateful.”
“…Forget it.”
There had been a rather impure attempt to shatter the moment, but I let it slide with practiced ease.
“Shall we head back now?”
The dorms had just opened, after all. I wanted to inspect my assigned room. Better to spot any problems early. Since the academy itself rivaled a small city in scale, memorizing the route to the dormitory was only sensible. The distance was long enough that a carriage was preferable.
The three of us walked toward the nearby carriage stop. Legia and Irene had only just met, so an awkward air still lingered between them. I smoothed it over with light small talk.
“So… what did you think of my speech?”
A casual question. I’d thought it was the kind of stirring address you’d find in a youth drama, and I was curious about their honest impressions.
“Eh? E-eh? Yes?”
“Why so startled? I asked with no hidden motive, so answer comfortably.”
“Ah, y-yes. You mean your… um… s-speech, Young Master…”
Legia’s reaction was strange. The moment the question landed she began glitching like a broken machine, stuttering hard. What was this? Some kind of problem?
“Miss Legia? Is everything all right?”
“U-uh… It was… it was wonderful! Your speech completely… m-moved my heart!”
“Haha~! Such high praise honors me!”
They say praise can make whales dance. I wasn’t sure about whales, but it seemed more than enough to make a little snake cut a rug. I felt ready to break into tap dance at any second.
As I hummed a cheerful tune, Irene gave me a thoroughly fed-up look.
“You really are…”
“Yes? What is it, Miss Irene?”
“…Never mind.”
“Hmm?”
“Just watch where you’re walking. What if you trip?”
“Oh my, worrying about me? Does this mean you’re finally opening your heart?”
“Absolutely not.”
“How can you be so cruel…!”
Our childish back-and-forth continued. While we traded silly banter, I suddenly felt eyes on me.
“……?”
Someone was standing squarely in the middle of the path. What now? I lifted my gaze and found a girl who seemed to shine with her own light.
“……Ah.”
The sight was intimately familiar. Platinum hair falling to her shoulders. Blue eyes so clear they seemed to reflect the world itself.
“Hello.”
The greeting drifted down like a fluttering petal. Even her voice carried a mystical calm, quiet as the sea at dawn.
I knew her.
Another protagonist of the original dark fantasy RPG The World Seen by the Little Prince. The player character users voted their absolute favorite, a character inspired by the Little Prince himself.
Charlotte.
The First Imperial Princess, Charlotte von Littlestaufen. In the original story she had entered as valedictorian, but because of me she had been pushed down to second place.
I dropped to one knee at once.
“I greet the star of the empire.”
“Mm. Nice to meet you.”
Charlotte gave a small nod. Her somewhat free-spirited tone perfectly showcased her signature otherworldly personality.
I quietly turned the gears in my head. Charlotte wasn’t the type to show interest in others. For her to approach first like this was extremely rare. Had something gone wrong? Was she here to pressure me over losing the top spot?
…That doesn’t sound like her.
Charlotte didn’t particularly care about grades. Or, more accurately, she didn’t care about anything in the world—except her precious “rose.”
Then why?
She was the sort of person whose actions were impossible to predict, so guessing her motive was difficult.
While I remained frozen, Charlotte spoke first.
“I just came because I was curious.”
She patted the crown of my head a few times, then stroked my hair as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Everyone around us sprouted question marks.
“Your hair. It’s soft.”
“Pardon?”
“Well then, goodbye. See you later.”
“……?”
She turned on her heel as if her business were finished. The girl who had approached so abruptly, offered a greeting, and promptly left. The conversation had been so outside my experience that my brain simply stopped processing.
What… just happened?
It wasn’t quite a hit-and-run. More like a greet-and-run? It had happened so fast I didn’t even have time to feel properly bewildered. So this was the Little Prince style of speech.
I stood there dazed, but Charlotte was already walking into the distance.
“Maybe… my head’s so bad I couldn’t follow the flow?”
“Eh? Then… I-I guess my head’s bad too……”
It seemed the fox and the pilot were every bit as stunned as I was. Still on one knee, I finally let out a hollow laugh. It was supposed to be a historic first meeting with a new character, yet she had vanished before I could even feel moved.
“Well… that kind of behavior is part of her charm, I suppose.”
I brushed off my knees and stood. I could feel curious glances from passersby, but I decided to ignore them.
“Shall we go?”
I started walking again. The two who had been lost in thought quickly snapped out of their daze and followed.
That aside.
What exactly had Charlotte wanted to say? She said she was curious about something… but I hadn’t caught the rest. It would have been nice if she’d finished the sentence.
I walked on, still chewing over the odd little question.
The dormitory buildings we reached by academy carriage were on a scale comparable to mansions—no, perhaps even grander. The quality of the facilities was beyond anything ordinary academies could dream of. Since it was everyone’s first time at Galimard, we couldn’t help but stare in awe. Legia openly gaped out the window, while Irene pretended indifference yet kept sneaking glances at the scenery.
Yes, a sight like this was rare anywhere. After all, this was a near-city-sized academy capable of housing up to five thousand people.
My chest feels grand just looking at it.
Of course I was no exception. I had seen the background countless times in the game, but experiencing it in the flesh was on an entirely different level. The sheer majesty of it overwhelmed me.
Clatter, clatter—.
After a little more travel we finally arrived at our assigned dormitory. To be precise, it was the building where Irene and I would stay. Legia’s dormitory was located a short distance away, so we disembarked first.
I raised my hand in a light farewell.
“I had a wonderful time today, Miss Legia.”
“If it hadn’t been for you, Young Master, I would have felt terribly lonely at the entrance ceremony. Thank you so much.”
“Hehe… Let’s continue to get along well.”
Let’s meet again. My friend.
At the relaxed whisper, Legia’s initially blank face slowly brightened. The line had been calculated to raise favorability, and it seemed to have worked. She nodded, failing to hide the smile tugging at her lips.
“Yes! I’ll see you next time…!”
With the girl’s cheerful goodbye, the carriage rolled away again. As I watched it recede, I felt a poking gaze from beside me.
“Why are you looking at me like that, Miss Irene?”
“No… You were smiling in a particularly ominous way. I wondered if you were plotting something.”
“Just what kind of person do you take me for?”
“An untrustworthy one.”
“Oh dear. I’m so heartbroken I can barely see through my tears.”
I pretended to wipe at my eyes. Naturally, it had zero effect.
“By the way… what did you think?”
“Of what?”
“Of Miss Legia. She seems like a decent person, doesn’t she?”
“She looked a bit clueless.”
“She’s still young. She hasn’t learned to hide her feelings yet, so her innocence shows through clearly…”
“You’re young too.”
Irene’s blunt remark made me smile at the fox.
“I may be young… but I don’t look innocent, do I?”
A sly, crooked smile sat on my lips. Irene studied my face for a moment, then turned away as if convinced.
“…No. Definitely not.”
Ouch. That one actually stung a little. Of course I had expected the answer, but hearing it still hurt. Since when was it fair to judge people by their faces? This filthy looks-obsessed world. One day I’d flip the whole thing upside down.
As I quietly chewed on that sorrow, one fact suddenly occurred to me.
“I just remembered something.”
“What?”
“The room I’ve been assigned is probably the largest in the entire academy.”
Galimard Academy operated on a strict merit-based distribution system. The higher your rank, the greater the privileges and the better the quality of life. The dormitories were no exception.
“Since it’s the top student’s room, it’s bound to be enormous. Which comes with a clear advantage!”
“Advantage?”
“The fact that there will be a tremendous amount of cleaning to do. From now on, Miss Irene will have to handle every inch of it, alone, with passionate dedication.”
“…Where exactly is the advantage in that?”
“It doesn’t concern me. After all, I’m not the one cleaning.”
“……”
I delivered the teabagging with a perfectly straight face. Irene’s expression visibly curdled. We continued bickering as we walked.
Once the noisy entrance ceremony ended, we were granted a full week of free time. All academy activities would begin only after the class placement exam. In short, there were no particular schedules for the next several days.
It was the school’s thoughtful consideration for new students still unfamiliar with the campus, giving them a light period of adjustment. I welcomed it with open arms. I had been itching to explore the academy anyway.
The place I had longed for most over the past three years. The thought of finally setting foot there sent a thrill through me.
With the lighthearted feeling of someone on a picnic, I wandered here and there across the academy grounds—until a sharp voice cut through the air.
“You! Did you understand what I said?”
“……”
“I don’t know how someone like you became the top student, but stop acting so arrogant!”
Now who is this supposed to be?