Chapter 13
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Ariel Academy (1)
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Since I'd been fighting all through the previous dawn, I was short on sleep. As soon as the carriage set off, I fell right asleep.
In the meantime, the carriage crossed the border into the Riana Empire, and by the time I woke up, the scenery had completely changed.
The barren plains where there was nothing had given way to the lush forests of densely packed trees that characterized the Riana Empire.
True to its status as the great empire that unified three nations, the streets teemed with people of various races.
There were burly, dark-skinned warriors strutting around with massive maces strapped to their backs, showing off their bulging muscles, and elves who had blended into human society as archers. All sorts of adventurers were visible on the streets.
'Seeing it like this really brings it home again...'
A fantasy world.
It felt different from what I'd sensed confined within the narrow ducal territory.
Beautiful landscapes like tourist spots in Western Europe that delighted the eyes.
Mixed in among them were fantasy elements—staves, armor, and weapons.
It was a game fantasy world stuffed to the brim with every appealing element you could imagine at a glance.
"We'll arrive at Ariel Academy soon!"
Not long after, the coachman shouted.
About thirty minutes later, the carriage came to a stop right at the entrance of a building.
"Thank you for your hard work."
"Good job."
Sara and I got out of the carriage, bid farewell to the coachman, and headed inside the academy.
Four or so escort knights followed behind us, carrying our luggage.
"Hey, fatty, don't walk so close. People might get the wrong idea that we're friends."
"...You've been calling me fatty from the start, but I'm not that fatty anymore? I'd appreciate it if you stopped."
"What else am I supposed to call a fatty? Shut up and keep your distance."
"......"
I really wanted to smack her one.
Anyway, once school starts, I won't have to see your enemy-like face anymore.
Leaving behind Sara with her piss-poor attitude, I strode ahead first.
A pointed rooftop building with a massive analog clock attached.
Flanking it like guardians were two enormous, majestic white rectangular buildings.
They looked big enough to easily house several thousand students.
True to its reputation as the empire's top academy, one of the world's top three in the story.
If comparing to Korea, Seoul National University? Nah, forget that.
More like Stanford University.
"...Seeing it up close, it really is impressive. I wonder how much the game dev team poured into the graphics."
As I stood there in admiration.
"Hey, fatty! I told you to stay back—who said you could go ahead?! You're pissing me off, so walk behind me!"
The bitchy Sara yelled from behind.
After dismissing the two escort knights who'd carried our luggage to the dorms.
I set out to explore the buildings.
The dorms had nothing much to see.
A bit inferior to my room back in the ducal territory...
I hadn't expected lavish interiors with grand beds and spa bathrooms in the first place.
With over ten thousand students, how could they customize dorms for each one?
If they had that kind of money to burn, they'd be running a motel chain on the side.
But the academy buildings were a different story.
Honestly, I was impressed.
Lecture halls spacious enough to hold at least fifty people.
Each one had tiered seating like in a foreign university, pyramid-style, with a blackboard and podium at the center bottom clearly designed for professors.
Plus, corridors of marble etched with geometric patterns stretching up to twenty stories at the top floors.
It was so captivating it made me actually look forward to going to school. The interior design perfectly captured the fantasy of a magic academy, beyond mere aesthetics, filling the viewer with a sense of grandeur.
'If this place is like this, what about the training grounds?'
It was back day today, after all.
Working out in a fancy building like this would really get the pump going.
Unable to contain my excitement, I hurried up to the second floor.
The second-floor corridor classrooms were similar to the first floor.
But I knew there was a training ground at the end of this second-floor hallway.
The gym... er, training hall that the protagonist character had frequented to boost his strength stats.
I hadn't seen the interior in detail in the game, so I couldn't help but feel my heart race at the thought of checking it out for real.
Tak! Tak! Tak! Tak!
The sound of footsteps echoing on the marble in the quiet corridor.
I was the only one there. I'd come early, and most students were arriving in the evening.
Finally reaching the end of the second-floor corridor.
A luxurious door that looked like layers of red mini cushions stacked together appeared before me.
'This must be the gates of heaven!'
Unable to hold back my excitement, I grabbed the handle, pulled it back, and opened the door.
Kuhuu...
"Get ready, back muscles... Today's your last day..."
"Hm?"
Whoops, someone was inside.
A woman doing push-ups as warm-ups, with exercise equipment set aside.
If she'd heard my mutterings, it might've been a bit embarrassing.
As I thought that, I hurriedly clamped my mouth shut in major panic.
"Y-You... you're...?!"
"......"
The person alone in the training hall recognized me.
And it wasn't just that—I recognized her too.
"...Pardon the intrusion!"
"H-Hey, where do you think you're going—! Stop right there!"
I slammed the door shut like a lost pedestrian who'd taken a wrong turn and bolted for the first-floor stairs.
"Hah, huff... She won't follow me this far..."
After a chase with her, I'd fled back to the men's dorms where I'd come from.
The one pursuing me was Aria of the Silvesta Family.
Aria, whom I'd saved once during the griffon battle.
In my awe at the academy's grandeur, I'd completely forgotten she attended here too.
Getting involved with her would be a headache.
Aria was one of the protagonist Cain's heroines in the game.
The protagonist Cain was like Conan, dragging every disaster and incident in his wake...
Get tangled up with people around a guy like that?
A smooth school life would be impossible. Why court trouble on purpose?
My goal was to build a foundation and connections at the academy, then quietly graduate to survive in this harsh world.
Graduating from Ariel Academy guaranteed a stable life to some extent.
So, my policy was to avoid any connections with the game's major characters.
'Clean up my identity and start fresh... If they find out I'm Sian, the debauched young master with rock-bottom reputation, who knows what annoyances I'll get dragged into? They might even misunderstand me as hitting on the heroines again.'
Fortunately, I'd lost so much weight that even those around me didn't recognize me... Lucky break.
Now I just had to avoid running into Aria and live quietly.
"...Guess I'll work out at night."
Regrettably, I did bodyweight exercises in the dorm, and evening came.
From the afternoon, noises started coming from the next rooms one by one, so it seemed the other students had finished moving in.
Time to head to dinner.
The student cafeteria opened this evening.
I wondered what a cafeteria at an academy with swordsmanship and magic would be like. Probably just the same old place to eat...
I couldn't help the silly imaginings. I opened the dorm door and headed to the third floor where the cafeteria was.
Guess my expectations were too high.
I'd half-hoped for a magic system to order food, but as if that'd be a waste of mana, it was just a plain menu board and staff at the counters taking orders.
The cafeteria was vast, big enough for about five hundred people.
So there was no need to line up at the entrance.
Passing several counters, I reached a corner with food that looked similar to East Asian cuisine.
I ordered something that seemed like a rice dish and grabbed a table at random.
"Oh my...! Rubern, the only son of the Garius Countess Family, has a crush on the 4th Princess...?! Is that reliable info?!"
"Totally! A friend of a younger sibling I know works at the Garius Countess Family and told me! ...The 4th Princess is about that age to start dating too! I wonder who she'll end up with..."
"So intriguing...! What do I do... I already claimed Rubern for myself!!"
"Hey, over there! Shh! Check out the guy who just sat at the table next to us!"
"Huh? Why... Whoa."
"Who is that?! Which family?! He's like a total sculpture of a handsome guy?! Lose a bit more weight and he'd be exactly my type!"
"Looks like my heart's Rubern is finally getting ready to leave... Ah, now my heart belongs to that guy..."
Sitting alone, the chatter from the next table overlapped and drifted over.
I couldn't make out what they were saying exactly, but at least the ambiance kept things from feeling dull.
Soon, an announcement via amplification magic signaled my food was ready.
I picked up something resembling black curry and returned to my table.
It wasn't bad. Rice mixed with soy sauce soup...? And chunks of meat here and there, so plenty of protein too.
As I ate, emptying about half the plate.
-Thud.
Someone set their tray down and sat across from me.
I wondered why.
With so many tables, why pick mine...?
Curious, I looked up.
"You, you punk...! You're Sian, aren't you?"
A sleazy-looking guy my age was staring wide-eyed, acting like he knew me.
Who was this?
I gave him a puzzled look and asked.
"...Who are you?"
"You, you punk! It's Sian, right! That voice... sounds a bit thinner since you lost weight, but it's definitely Sian!"
He pointed dramatically at me.
I'm trying to eat here—what kind of manners were these?
More importantly, he recognized me as Sian?
No way...
One of the cronies the original debauched Sian hung out with before possession?
"Hey! What're you doing there! Catch another sucker?!"
"That guy's itching to bully someone..."
As I thought that, two guys who looked like his friends slowly approached my table.
As they got right up close, he yelled dramatically again.
"Hey, hey! Look at this bastard! This bastard...!!"
"Huh? ...What an annoyingly pretty-boy-looking creep. What's with him?"
"Now even the victims you fleece don't meet your taste standards?"
Frustrated that his friends didn't get it, he hopped in place and explained.
"No, you idiots! It's Sian! Sian—hey?!"
"What's Sian?"
"What's his deal all of a sudden..."
"......"
Should I move seats?
By the time I'd pondered it a hundred times and missed the timing, the guy who'd recognized me burst out in frustration.
"Sian!! This bastard's Siannnn—!! Take a good look at his faccccce—!!"
"...Sian?"
"What nonsense is..."
The three of them shoved their faces close, staring intently at my calmly seated one.
Slowly.
Then their eyebrows twitched a few times, and their expressions gradually filled with horror.
"Wha...? Whaa...? His face is coming into..."
"focus... Wha...? Whaaa...? Whaaaa...?!!"
"Whaaaa?! Whaaaaaa—?!!"
"Whaaaaaaaaa—?!!"
"What'd I tell you, idiots! It's Sian! Siiiiaan—!!"
"......"
Their commotion drew the eyes of everyone eating nearby.
Even in that embarrassing situation, I ignored those fools and the surroundings, steadfastly shoveling down the rest of my food.
'...Gotta finish quick and head to the training grounds.'